The use of Landsat digital data to detect and monitor vegetation water deficiencies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, D. R.; Wehmanen, O. A.

1977-01-01

In the Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment a technique was devised using a vector transformation of Landsat digital data to indicate when vegetation is undergoing moisture stress. A relation was established between the remote-sensing-based criterion (the Green Index Number) and a ground-based criterion (Crop Moisture Index).

Mapping Vegetation Community Types in a Highly-Disturbed Landscape: Integrating Hiearchical Object-Based Image Analysis with Digital Surface Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snavely, Rachel A.

Focusing on the semi-arid and highly disturbed landscape of San Clemente Island, California, this research tests the effectiveness of incorporating a hierarchal object-based image analysis (OBIA) approach with high-spatial resolution imagery and light detection and range (LiDAR) derived canopy height surfaces for mapping vegetation communities. The study is part of a large-scale research effort conducted by researchers at San Diego State University's (SDSU) Center for Earth Systems Analysis Research (CESAR) and Soil Ecology and Restoration Group (SERG), to develop an updated vegetation community map which will support both conservation and management decisions on Naval Auxiliary Landing Field (NALF) San Clemente Island. Trimble's eCognition Developer software was used to develop and generate vegetation community maps for two study sites, with and without vegetation height data as input. Overall and class-specific accuracies were calculated and compared across the two classifications. The highest overall accuracy (approximately 80%) was observed with the classification integrating airborne visible and near infrared imagery having very high spatial resolution with a LiDAR derived canopy height model. Accuracies for individual vegetation classes differed between both classification methods, but were highest when incorporating the LiDAR digital surface data. The addition of a canopy height model, however, yielded little difference in classification accuracies for areas of very dense shrub cover. Overall, the results show the utility of the OBIA approach for mapping vegetation with high spatial resolution imagery, and emphasizes the advantage of both multi-scale analysis and digital surface data for accuracy characterizing highly disturbed landscapes. The integrated imagery and digital canopy height model approach presented both advantages and limitations, which have to be considered prior to its operational use in mapping vegetation communities.

7 CFR 1410.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... mean a vegetative barrier with a linear configuration composed of trees, shrubs, or other vegetation... approved combinations of certain grasses, legumes, forbs, shrubs and trees with a life span of 10 or more...

Reliability and Validity of Digital Imagery Methodology for Measuring Starting Portions and Plate Waste from School Salad Bars.

PubMed

Bean, Melanie K; Raynor, Hollie A; Thornton, Laura M; Sova, Alexandra; Dunne Stewart, Mary; Mazzeo, Suzanne E

2018-04-12

Scientifically sound methods for investigating dietary consumption patterns from self-serve salad bars are needed to inform school policies and programs. To examine the reliability and validity of digital imagery for determining starting portions and plate waste of self-serve salad bar vegetables (which have variable starting portions) compared with manual weights. In a laboratory setting, 30 mock salads with 73 vegetables were made, and consumption was simulated. Each component (initial and removed portion) was weighed; photographs of weighed reference portions and pre- and post-consumption mock salads were taken. Seven trained independent raters visually assessed images to estimate starting portions to the nearest ¼ cup and percentage consumed in 20% increments. These values were converted to grams for comparison with weighed values. Intraclass correlations between weighed and digital imagery-assessed portions and plate waste were used to assess interrater reliability and validity. Pearson's correlations between weights and digital imagery assessments were also examined. Paired samples t tests were used to evaluate mean differences (in grams) between digital imagery-assessed portions and measured weights. Interrater reliabilities were excellent for starting portions and plate waste with digital imagery. For accuracy, intraclass correlations were moderate, with lower accuracy for determining starting portions of leafy greens compared with other vegetables. However, accuracy of digital imagery-assessed plate waste was excellent. Digital imagery assessments were not significantly different from measured weights for estimating overall vegetable starting portions or waste; however, digital imagery assessments slightly underestimated starting portions (by 3.5 g) and waste (by 2.1 g) of leafy greens. This investigation provides preliminary support for use of digital imagery in estimating starting portions and plate waste from school salad bars. Results might inform methods used in empirical investigations of dietary intake in schools with self-serve salad bars. Copyright © 2018 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Seasat synthetic aperture radar ( SAR) response to lowland vegetation types in eastern Maryland and Virginia.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Krohn, M.D.; Milton, N.M.; Segal, D.B.

1983-01-01

Examination of Seasat SAR images of eastern Maryland and Virginia reveals botanical distinctions between vegetated lowland areas and adjacent upland areas. Radar returns from the lowland areas can be either brighter or darker than returns from the upland forests. Scattering models and scatterometer measurements predict an increase of 6 dB in backscatter from vegetation over standing water. This agrees with the 30-digital number (DN) increase observed in the digital Seasat data. The density, morphology, and relative geometry of the lowland vegetation with respect to standing water can all affect the strength of the return L band signal.-from Authors

Intermediate-scale vegetation mapping of Innoko National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska using Landsat MSS digital data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Talbot, Stephen S.; Markon, Carl J.

1988-01-01

A Landsat-derived vegetation map was prepared for lnnoko National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge lies within the northern boreal subzone of northwestern central Alaska. Six major vegetation classes and 21 subclasses were recognized: forest (closed needleleaf, open needleleaf, needleleaf woodland, mixed, and broadleaf); broadleaf scrub (lowland, upland burn regeneration, subalpine); dwarf scrub (prostrate dwarf shrub tundra, erect dwarf shrub heath, dwarf shrub-graminoid peatland, dwarf shrub-graminoid tussock peatland, dwarf shrub raised bog with scattered trees, dwarf shrub-graminoid marsh); herbaceous (graminoid bog, graminoid marsh, graminoid tussock-dwarf shrub peatland); scarcely vegetated areas (scarcely vegetated scree and floodplain); and water (clear, sedimented). The methodology employed a cluster-block technique. Sample areas were described based on a combination of helicopter-ground survey, aerial photo-interpretation, and digital Landsat data. Major steps in the Landsat analysis involved preprocessing (geometric correction), derivation of statistical parameters for spectral classes, spectral class labeling of sample areas, preliminary classification of the entire study area using a maximum-likelihood algorithm, and final classification utilizing ancillary information such as digital elevation data. The final product is 1:250,000-scale vegetation map representative of distinctive regional patterns and suitable for use in comprehensive conservation planning.

Where’s the Ground Surface? – Elevation Bias in LIDAR-derived Digital Elevation Models Due to Dense Vegetation in Oregon Tidal Marshes

EPA Science Inventory

Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) is a powerful resource for coastal and wetland managers and its use is increasing. Vegetation density and other land cover characteristics influence the accuracy of LIDAR-derived ground surface digital elevation models; however the degree to wh...

The Need for (Digital) Story: First Graders Using Digital Tools to Tell Stories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solomon, Marva Jeanine

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the process and product of African American First Graders as they participated in digital storytelling. Of interest was the role digital tools played in the creation process. Eight participants participated in 18 study sessions during which they composed, recorded, and then shared their digital texts with…

Composing for Affect, Audience, and Identity: Toward a Multidimensional Understanding of Adolescents' Multimodal Composing Goals and Designs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Blaine E.

2018-01-01

This study examined adolescents' perspectives on their multimodal composing goals and designs when creating digital projects in the context of an English Language Arts class. Sociocultural and social semiotics theoretical frameworks were integrated to understand six 12th grade students' viewpoints when composing three multimodal products--a…

Modelling high arctic percent vegetation cover using field digital images and high resolution satellite data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Nanfeng; Treitz, Paul

2016-10-01

In this study, digital images collected at a study site in the Canadian High Arctic were processed and classified to examine the spatial-temporal patterns of percent vegetation cover (PVC). To obtain the PVC of different plant functional groups (i.e., forbs, graminoids/sedges and mosses), field near infrared-green-blue (NGB) digital images were classified using an object-based image analysis (OBIA) approach. The PVC analyses comparing different vegetation types confirmed: (i) the polar semi-desert exhibited the lowest PVC with a large proportion of bare soil/rock cover; (ii) the mesic tundra cover consisted of approximately 60% mosses; and (iii) the wet sedge consisted almost exclusively of graminoids and sedges. As expected, the PVC and green normalized difference vegetation index (GNDVI; (RNIR - RGreen)/(RNIR + RGreen)), derived from field NGB digital images, increased during the summer growing season for each vegetation type: i.e., ∼5% (0.01) for polar semi-desert; ∼10% (0.04) for mesic tundra; and ∼12% (0.03) for wet sedge respectively. PVC derived from field images was found to be strongly correlated with WorldView-2 derived normalized difference spectral indices (NDSI; (Rx - Ry)/(Rx + Ry)), where Rx is the reflectance of the red edge (724.1 nm) or near infrared (832.9 nm and 949.3 nm) bands; Ry is the reflectance of the yellow (607.7 nm) or red (658.8 nm) bands with R2's ranging from 0.74 to 0.81. NDSIs that incorporated the yellow band (607.7 nm) performed slightly better than the NDSIs without, indicating that this band may be more useful for investigating Arctic vegetation that often includes large proportions of senescent vegetation throughout the growing season.

Digital Tools: Enhancing Painting Skills among Malaysian Secondary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samah, Azimah A.; Putih, Abu Talib; Hussin, Zaharah

2016-01-01

Digital tools refer to software applications in the production of artworks particularly in painting. Digital art work is materialized by using computers, software and a combination of computer peripherals such as tablet support. With the aid of electronic equipment, digital artists manipulate pixels or coloring with light to compose the work and…

Mapping coastal vegetation, land use and environmental impact from ERTS-1. [Delaware Bay area

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klemas, V. (Principal Investigator)

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Vegetation map overlays at a scale of 1:24,000 compiled by multispectral analysis from NASA aircraft imagery for all of Delaware's wetlands are being used as ground truth for ERTS-1 mapping and by state agencies for wetlands management. Six major vegetation species were discriminated and mapped, including percentages of minor species. Analogue enhancements of wetlands vegetation and dredge-fill operations have been produced using General Electric's GEMS data processing and ERTS-1 false color composites. Digital, thematic land use, and vegetation mapping of entire Delaware Bay area is in progress using Bendix Corporation's Earth Resources Data System and ERTS-1 digital tapes. Statistical evaluation of target-group selection reliability has been completed. Three papers have been published on ERTS-1 coastal vegetation and land use. Local and state officials are participating in the ERTS-1 program as co-investigators.

Use of slope, aspect, and elevation maps derived from digital elevation model data in making soil surveys

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klingebiel, A.A.; Horvath, E.H.; Moore, D.G.; Reybold, W.U.

1987-01-01

Maps showing different classes of slope, aspect, and elevation were developed from U.S. Geological Survey digital elevation model data. The classes were displayed on clear Mylar at 1:24 000-scale and registered with topographic maps and orthophotos. The maps were used with aerial photographs, topographic maps, and other resource data to determine their value in making order-three soil surveys. They were tested on over 600 000 ha in Wyoming, Idaho, and Nevada under various climatic and topographic conditions. Field evaluations showed that the maps developed from digital elevation model data were accurate, except for slope class maps where slopes were <4%. The maps were useful to soil scientists, especially where (i) class boundaries coincided with soil changes, landform delineations, land use and management separations, and vegetation changes, and (ii) rough terrain and dense vegetation made it difficult to traverse the area. In hot, arid areas of sparse vegetation, the relationship of slope classes to kinds of soil and vegetation was less significant.

Multimodal Composing in Classrooms: Learning and Teaching for the Digital World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Suzanne M., Ed.; McVee, Mary B., Ed.

2012-01-01

Taking a close look at multimodal composing as an essential new literacy in schools, this volume draws from contextualized case studies across educational contexts to provide detailed portraits of teachers and students at work in classrooms. Authors elaborate key issues in transforming classrooms with student multimodal composing, including…

Composing across Modes: A Comparative Analysis of Adolescents' Multimodal Composing Processes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Blaine E.

2017-01-01

Although the shift from page to screen has dramatically redefined conceptions of writing, very little is known about how youth compose with multiple modes in digital environments. Integrating multimodality and multiliteracies theoretical frameworks, this comparative case study examined how urban twelfth-grade students collaboratively composed…

National Park Service Vegetation Inventory Program, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hop, Kevin D.; Drake, J.; Strassman, Andrew C.; Hoy, Erin E.; Menard, Shannon; Jakusz, J.W.; Dieck, J.J.

2013-01-01

The National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Inventory Program (VIP) is an effort to classify, describe, and map existing vegetation of national park units for the NPS Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program. The NPS VIP is managed by the NPS Biological Resources Management Division and provides baseline vegetation information to the NPS Natural Resource I&M Program. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Vegetation Characterization Program lends a cooperative role in the NPS VIP. The USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, NatureServe, and NPS Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CUVA) have completed vegetation classification and mapping of CUVA.Mappers, ecologists, and botanists collaborated to identify and describe vegetation types within the National Vegetation Classification Standard (NVCS) and to determine how best to map them by using aerial imagery. The team collected data from 221 vegetation plots within CUVA to develop detailed descriptions of vegetation types. Data from 50 verification sites were also collected to test both the key to vegetation types and the application of vegetation types to a sample set of map polygons. Furthermore, data from 647 accuracy assessment (AA) sites were collected (of which 643 were used to test accuracy of the vegetation map layer). These data sets led to the identification of 45 vegetation types at the association level in the NVCS at CUVA.A total of 44 map classes were developed to map the vegetation and general land cover of CUVA, including the following: 29 map classes represent natural/semi-natural vegetation types in the NVCS, 12 map classes represent cultural vegetation (agricultural and developed) in the NVCS, and 3 map classes represent non-vegetation features (open-water bodies). Features were interpreted from viewing color-infrared digital aerial imagery dated October 2010 (during peak leaf-phenology change of trees) via digital onscreen three-dimensional stereoscopic workflow systems in geographic information systems (GIS). The interpreted data were digitally and spatially referenced, thus making the spatial database layers usable in GIS. Polygon units were mapped to either a 0.5 ha or 0.25 ha minimum mapping unit, depending on vegetation type.A geodatabase containing various feature-class layers and tables shows the locations of vegetation types and general land cover (vegetation map), vegetation plot samples, verification sites, AA sites, project boundary extent, and aerial photographic centers. The feature-class layer and relate tables for the CUVA vegetation map provides 4,640 polygons of detailed attribute data covering 13,288.4 ha, with an average polygon size of 2.9 ha.Summary reports generated from the vegetation map layer show map classes representing natural/semi-natural types in the NVCS apply to 4,151 polygons (89.4% of polygons) and cover 11,225.0 ha (84.5%) of the map extent. Of these polygons, the map layer shows CUVA to be 74.4% forest (9,888.8 ha), 2.5% shrubland (329.7 ha), and 7.6% herbaceous vegetation cover (1,006.5 ha). Map classes representing cultural types in the NVCS apply to 435 polygons (9.4% of polygons) and cover 1,825.7 ha (13.7%) of the map extent. Map classes representing non-NVCS units (open water) apply to 54 polygons (1.2% of polygons) and cover 237.7 ha (1.8%) of the map extent.A thematic AA study was conducted of map classes representing natural/semi-natural types in the NVCS. Results present an overall accuracy of 80.7% (kappa index of 79.5%) based on data from 643 of the 647 AA sites. Most individual map-class themes exceed the NPS VIP standard of 80% with a 90% confidence interval.The CUVA vegetation mapping project delivers many geospatial and vegetation data products in hardcopy and/or digital formats. These products consist of an in-depth project report discussing methods and results, which include descriptions and a dichotomous key to vegetation types, map classification and map-class descriptions, and a contingency table showing AA results. The suite of products also includes a database of vegetation plots, verification sites, and AA sites; digital pictures of field sites; field data sheets; aerial photographic imagery; hardcopy and digital maps; and a geodatabase of vegetation types and land cover (map layer), fieldwork locations (vegetation plots, verification sites, and AA sites), aerial photographic index, project boundary, and metadata. All geospatial products are projected in Universal Transverse Mercator, Zone 17, by using the North American Datum of 1983. Information on the NPS VIP and completed park mapping projects are located on the Internet at and .

Texture classification of vegetation cover in high altitude wetlands zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wentao, Zou; Bingfang, Wu; Hongbo, Ju; Hua, Liu

2014-03-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of datasets composed of texture measures and other features for the classification of vegetation cover, specifically wetlands. QUEST decision tree classifier was applied to a SPOT-5 image sub-scene covering the typical wetlands area in Three River Sources region in Qinghai province, China. The dataset used for the classification comprised of: (1) spectral data and the components of principal component analysis; (2) texture measures derived from pixel basis; (3) DEM and other ancillary data covering the research area. Image textures is an important characteristic of remote sensing images; it can represent spatial variations with spectral brightness in digital numbers. When the spectral information is not enough to separate the different land covers, the texture information can be used to increase the classification accuracy. The texture measures used in this study were calculated from GLCM (Gray level Co-occurrence Matrix); eight frequently used measures were chosen to conduct the classification procedure. The results showed that variance, mean and entropy calculated by GLCM with a 9*9 size window were effective in distinguishing different vegetation types in wetlands zone. The overall accuracy of this method was 84.19% and the Kappa coefficient was 0.8261. The result indicated that the introduction of texture measures can improve the overall accuracy by 12.05% and the overall kappa coefficient by 0.1407 compared with the result using spectral and ancillary data.

A Taxonomy of Digital Media Types for Learner-Generated Digital Media Assignments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reyna, Jorge; Hanham, Jose; Meier, Peter

2017-01-01

The notion of students as co-creators of content in higher education is gaining popularity, with an ever-increasing emphasis on the development of digital media assignments. In a separate paper, the authors introduced the Digital Media Literacies Framework, which is composed of three interrelated domains: (1) conceptual, (2) functional, and (3)…

One Screen, Many Fingers: Young Children's Collaborative Literacy Play with Digital Puppetry Apps and Touchscreen Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wohlwend, Karen E.

2015-01-01

This article examines the digital literacy practices that emerge when young children play together with digital apps on touchscreen devices. Children's collaborative composing with a digital puppetry app on a touchscreen--with many hands all busy dragging, resizing, and animating puppet characters, and many voices making sound effects, narrating,…

ANAEROBIC BIODEGRADABILITY OF NON-PETROLEUM OILS.

EPA Science Inventory

Research has demonstrated that vegetable oils are amenable to anaerobic biodegradation. This is in contrast to petroleum oils. Vegetable oils are already oxygenated because they are composed of fatty acids and glycerols, which contribute to the biodegradability. A strategy has be...

Rethinking Composing in a Digital Age: Authoring Literate Identities through Multimodal Storytelling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vasudevan, Lalitha; Schultz, Katherine; Bateman, Jennifer

2010-01-01

In this article, the authors engage the theoretical lens of multimodality in rethinking the practices and processes of composing in classrooms. Specifically, they focus on how learning new composing practices led some fifth-grade students to author new literate identities--what they call authorial stances--in their classroom community. Their…

Integrated geomorphologic and GIS analysis for the assessment of erosion zones and its relationship with hazardous zones in the Zacatecas and Guadalupe quadrangles, Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Escalona-Alcázar, F. d. J.; Escobedo-Arellano, B.; Castillo-Félix, B.; Carrillo-Castillo, C.; García-Sandoval, P.; Gurrola-Menchaca, L. L.; Núñez-Peña, E. P.; Esparza-Martínez, A.; Bluhm-Gutiérrez, J.; Guijarro-Rodríguez, C. J.

2012-04-01

The morphology of the Zacatecas and Guadalupe quadrangles is composed to the West by a NNE-SSW fault bounded range and to the East a valley cut by minor hills. The most important and fast growing cities in the state are located in that range. However, in urban development plans variables such as the geology and geomorphologic processes, as well as the land cover characteristics, are poorly taken into consideration. Due to the landscape modification the erosion agents, mainly water, removes loose materials that are either natural or artificial. The effects on the buildings and roads are fractures, slope instability, and rock falling. In this study we present a model that considers the detailed geologic mapping, the geomorphology, land use, vegetation, and the digital slope model scale 1:50 000. The geomorphologic parameters considered were: relief energy, dissection density, general dissection density, and maximum dissection depth. The location and internal characteristics of mapped talus deposits were the basis to define the erosion criteria. High erosion zones are located in slopes over 20° where the talus deposits initiate due to the relative abundance of loose debris. Medium erosion areas are located in slopes over 10° that downslope has progressive accumulation of sediments. While the low erosion zones are located in slopes ranging from 5° to 20° with almost flat lying beds. These parameters were analyzed in ArcGIS together with the digital slope model, detailed geology mapping, the land use cover, and the soil information. The results where verified in the range where the city has been growing in recent years. The soils all over the range are lithosols which are only 10 to 15 cm thick; while the vegetation is composed mainly of bushes and nopals. Even though both, vegetation and soil are not modified, the erosion effects in them are very slow regardless of their location. The faults located in high erosion zones facilitate rock falling mainly during the rainy season; whereas in medium erosion zones it occurs if the road cuts or cliffs are steep. The rocks varying from loose to moderately consolidated, as well as the artificial fillings and talus deposits, are easily or difficultly eroded according with the erosion zones proposed in our model. The effects observed are fractured roads and house walls, removal of soil underneath the buildings, gullies formation, and slope instability. The model defines areas where the erosion effects can be related to the development of hazardous zones. This model gives criteria for land use planning and urban development.

Creating Digital Authors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zoch, Melody; Langston-DeMott, Brooke; Adams-Budde, Melissa

2014-01-01

Elementary students find themselves engaged and learning at a digital writing camp. The authors find that such elementary students usually have limited access to technology at home and school, and posit that teachers should do all they can to give them more access to and experience in digital composing. Students were motivated and learned to use…

Characterization of Seasonally Dependent Emergent Vegetation Variables for Coastal Impact Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stellern, C.; Grossman, E.; Linneman, S. R.; Fuller, R.

2015-12-01

Emergent wetland vegetation has been shown to mitigate coastal inundation and erosion hazards by reducing wave energy through friction (Shepard et al., 2011), although its use in coastal protection planning is limited because predictive models require improved vegetation data. We isolated biophysical characteristics (biomass, stem density, rigidity, etc.) of plants using horizontal digital photographs (Side-On Photos) in conjunction with remote sensing and physical surveys. We studied the dominant salt-marsh species/assemblages in Port Susan Bay of Washington State, a vulnerable estuary that has experienced up to 1 kilometer of marsh retreat since the mid-1960s. We measured plant height, stem diameter, stem density (area available for flow) from fall to early spring (August 2014 through April 2015) using Side-On Photography and digital image processing techniques. Metrics from Side-On Photography were highly correlated to physical lab measurements. Vegetation rigidity was measured in-situ with a handheld digital scale with respect to measurement height and bending angle. Plant elasticity showed a strong correlation to stem diameter in two dominant bulrush species. We employed remote sensing supervised classifications techniques (Maximum-Likelihood and Decision Tree Classifiers) to hyperspectral imagery to map the spatial extent of vegetation assemblages with an overall accuracy of 86.7%. Combining these methods enabled us to extrapolate and validate vegetation characteristics across the study area and to estimate species-specific friction coefficients for input to cross-shore wave models. On-going studies include sensitivity analyses of wave models to seasonally-dependent vegetation parameters in the nearshore and ultimately wave impacts along the coast. By accounting for site-specific and spatiotemporal variability in vegetation data, we inform scientific understanding of the interactions of vegetation, waves, and sediment processes.

Digital soil mapping using remote sensing indices, terrain attributes, and vegetation features in the rangelands of northeastern Iran.

PubMed

Mahmoudabadi, Ebrahim; Karimi, Alireza; Haghnia, Gholam Hosain; Sepehr, Adel

2017-09-11

Digital soil mapping has been introduced as a viable alternative to the traditional mapping methods due to being fast and cost-effective. The objective of the present study was to investigate the capability of the vegetation features and spectral indices as auxiliary variables in digital soil mapping models to predict soil properties. A region with an area of 1225 ha located in Bajgiran rangelands, Khorasan Razavi province, northeastern Iran, was chosen. A total of 137 sampling sites, each containing 3-5 plots with 10-m interval distance along a transect established based on randomized-systematic method, were investigated. In each plot, plant species names and numbers as well as vegetation cover percentage (VCP) were recorded, and finally one composite soil sample was taken from each transect at each site (137 soil samples in total). Terrain attributes were derived from a digital elevation model, different bands and spectral indices were obtained from the Landsat7 ETM+ images, and vegetation features were calculated in the plots, all of which were used as auxiliary variables to predict soil properties using artificial neural network, gene expression programming, and multivariate linear regression models. According to R 2 RMSE and MBE values, artificial neutral network was obtained as the most accurate soil properties prediction function used in scorpan model. Vegetation features and indices were more effective than remotely sensed data and terrain attributes in predicting soil properties including calcium carbonate equivalent, clay, bulk density, total nitrogen, carbon, sand, silt, and saturated moisture capacity. It was also shown that vegetation indices including NDVI, SAVI, MSAVI, SARVI, RDVI, and DVI were more effective in estimating the majority of soil properties compared to separate bands and even some soil spectral indices.

Stereophotogrammetry in studies of riparian vegetation dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hortobagyi, Borbala; Vautier, Franck; Corenblit, Dov; Steiger, Johannes

2014-05-01

Riparian vegetation responds to hydrogeomorphic disturbances and also controls sediment deposition and erosion. Spatio-temporal riparian vegetation dynamics within fluvial corridors have been quantified in many studies using aerial photographs and GIS. However, this approach does not allow the consideration of woody vegetation growth rates (i.e. vertical dimension) which are fundamental when studying feedbacks between the processes of fluvial landform construction and vegetation establishment and succession. We built 3D photogrammetric models of vegetation height based on aerial argentic and digital photographs from sites of the Allier and Garonne Rivers (France). The models were realized at two different spatial scales and with two different methods. The "large" scale corresponds to the reach of the river corridor on the Allier river (photograph taken in 2009) and the "small" scale to river bars of the Allier (photographs taken in 2002, 2009) and Garonne Rivers (photographs taken in 2000, 2002, 2006 and 2010). At the corridor scale, we generated vegetation height models using an automatic procedure. This method is fast but can only be used with digital photographs. At the bar scale, we constructed the models manually using a 3D visualization on the screen. This technique showed good results for digital and also argentic photographs but is very time-consuming. A diachronic study was performed in order to investigate vegetation succession by distinguishing three different classes according to the vegetation height: herbs (<1 m), shrubs (1-4 m) or trees (>4 m). Both methods, i.e. automatic and manual, were employed to study the evolution of the three vegetation classes and the recruitment of new vegetation patches. A comparison was conducted between the vegetation height given by models (automatic and manual) and the vegetation height measured in the field. The manually produced models (small scale) were of a precision of 0.5-1 m, allowing the quantification of woody vegetation growth rates. Thus, our results show that the manual method we developed is accurate to quantify vegetation growth rates at small scales, whereas the less accurate automatic method is appropriate to study vegetation succession at the corridor scale. Both methods are complementary and will contribute to a further exploration of the mutual relationships between hydrogeomorphic processes, topography and vegetation dynamics within alluvial systems, adding the quantification of the vertical dimension of riparian vegetation to their spatio-temporal characteristics.

The use of UAVs for monitoring land degradation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Themistocleous, Kyriacos

2017-10-01

Land degradation is one of the causes of desertification of drylands in the Mediterranean. UAVs can be used to monitor and document the various variables that cause desertification in drylands, including overgrazing, aridity, vegetation loss, etc. This paper examines the use of UAVs and accompanying sensors to monitor overgrazing, vegetation stress and aridity in the study area. UAV images can be used to generate digital elevation models (DEMs) to examine the changes in microtopography as well as ortho-photos were used to detect changes in vegetation patterns. The combined data of the digital elevation models and the orthophotos can be used to identify the mechanisms for desertification in the study area.

Seeing Music--Hearing Art

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephens, Pam

2007-01-01

In this article, the author explores the digital artwork of Brian Evans, a composer-artist who creates visualizations of sound. Through the years Evans' love for music and visual art led him to explore ways to work concurrently with image and sound. Digital technology proved to be such a means. Digital technology is based upon the transcription of…

Digitizing a Cultural Heritage--The Key Issue for Preservation and Electronic Publishing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bogen, Manfred; Bonkowski, Christian; Borowski, Marion; Loffler, Jobst

This paper describes a realization approach to evaluate the best fitting service provider in the context of "The Digital Beethoven House" pilot project, involving the digitizing of a composer-referred collection of colored manuscripts and other sources at the Beethoven House Association (Germany). Practical hints for museums are provided…

NASA/BLM Applications Pilot Test (APT), phase 2. Volume 1: Executive summary. [vegetation mapping and production estimation in northwestern Arizona

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

Data from LANDSAT, low altitude color aerial photography, and ground visits were combined and used to produce vegetation cover maps and to estimate productivity of range, woodland, and forest resources in northwestern Arizona. A planning session, two workshops, and four status reviews were held to assist technology transfer from NASA. Computer aided digital classification of LANDSAT data was selected as a major source of input data. An overview is presented of the data processing, data collection, productivity estimation, and map verification techniques used. Cost analysis and digital LANDSAT digital products are also considered.

Phenopix: a R package to process digital images of a vegetation cover

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filippa, Gianluca; Cremonese, Edoardo; Migliavacca, Mirco; Galvagno, Marta; Morra di Cella, Umberto; Richardson, Andrew

2015-04-01

Plant phenology is a globally recognized indicator of the effects of climate change on the terrestrial biosphere. Accordingly, new tools to automatically track the seasonal development of a vegetation cover are becoming available and more and more deployed. Among them, near-continuous digital images are being collected in several networks in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia in a range of different ecosystems, including agricultural lands, deciduous and evergreen forests, and grasslands. The growing scientific interest in vegetation image analysis highlights the need of easy to use, flexible and standardized processing techniques. In this contribution we illustrate a new open source package called "phenopix" written in R language that allows to process images of a vegetation cover. The main features include: (i) define of one or more areas of interest on an image and process pixel information within them, (ii) compute vegetation indexes based on red green and blue channels, (iii) fit a curve to the seasonal trajectory of vegetation indexes and extract relevant dates (aka thresholds) on the seasonal trajectory; (iv) analyze image pixels separately to extract spatially explicit phenological information. The utilities of the package will be illustrated in detail for two subalpine sites, a grassland and a larch stand at about 2000 m in the Italian Western Alps. The phenopix package is a cost free and easy-to-use tool that allows to process digital images of a vegetation cover in a standardized, flexible and reproducible way. The software is available for download at the R forge web site (r-forge.r-project.org/projects/phenopix/).

Prescribed burning effects on summer elk forage availability in the subalpine zone, Banff National Park, Canada.

PubMed

Sachro, L L; Strong, W L; Gates, C C

2005-11-01

The effects of prescribed burning on forage abundance and suitability for elk (Cervus elaphus) during the snow-free season was evaluated in east-central Banff National Park, Canada. Six coniferous forest and mixed shrub-herb plant communities (n=144 plots), and 5223ha of burned (n=131) vegetation <12 years old were sampled using a stratified semi-random design. Sampling units represented various combinations of vegetation, terrain conditions, and stand ages that were derived from digital biophysical data, with plant communities the basic unit of analysis. Burning coniferous forest stands reduced woody biomass, and increased herbaceous forage from 146 to 790 kg/ha. Increases commonly occurred in the percent cover of hairy wild rye (Leymus innovatus (Beal) Pigler) and fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium (L.) Holub.). The herbaceous components of mixed shrub-herb communities increased from 336-747 kg/ha to 517-1104 kg/ha in response to burning (P<0.025, Mann-Whitney U-test). Browse biomass (mostly Salix spp. and Betula nana L.) increased >or=220% (P

Modeling gross primary production of an evergreen needleleaf forest using MODIS and climate data

Treesearch

Xiangming Xiao; Qingyuan Zhang; David Hollinger; John Aber; Berrien, III Moore

2005-01-01

Forest canopies are composed of photosynthetically active vegetation (PAV, chloroplasts) and nonphotosynthetic vegetation (NPV, e.g., cell wall, vein, branch). The fraction of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) absorbed by the canopy (FAPAR) should be partitioned into FAPARPAV and FAPARNPV. Gross primary production (...

National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Inventory Program: Appalachian National Scenic Trail vegetation mapping project

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hop, Kevin D.; Strassman, Andrew C.; Hall, Mark; Menard, Shannon; Largay, Ery; Sattler, Stephanie; Hoy, Erin E.; Ruhser, Janis; Hlavacek, Enrika; Dieck, Jennifer

2017-01-01

The National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Mapping Inventory (VMI) Program classifies, describes, and maps existing vegetation of national park units for the NPS Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program. The NPS VMI Program is managed by the NPS I&M Division and provides baseline vegetation information to the NPS Natural Resource I&M Program. The U.S. Geological Survey Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, NatureServe, NPS Northeast Temperate Network, and NPS Appalachian National Scenic Trail (APPA) have completed vegetation classification and mapping of APPA for the NPS VMI Program.Mappers, ecologists, and botanists collaborated to affirm vegetation types within the U.S. National Vegetation Classification (USNVC) of APPA and to determine how best to map the vegetation types by using aerial imagery. Analyses of data from 1,618 vegetation plots were used to describe USNVC associations of APPA. Data from 289 verification sites were collected to test the field key to vegetation associations and the application of vegetation associations to a sample set of map polygons. Data from 269 validation sites were collected to assess vegetation mapping prior to submitting the vegetation map for accuracy assessment (AA). Data from 3,265 AA sites were collected, of which 3,204 were used to test accuracy of the vegetation map layer. The collective of these datasets affirmed 280 USNVC associations for the APPA vegetation mapping project.To map the vegetation and land cover of APPA, 169 map classes were developed. The 169 map classes consist of 150 that represent natural (including ruderal) vegetation types in the USNVC, 11 that represent cultural (agricultural and developed) vegetation types in the USNVC, 5 that represent natural landscapes with catastrophic disturbance or some other modification to natural vegetation preventing accurate classification in the USNVC, and 3 that represent nonvegetated water (non-USNVC). Features were interpreted from viewing 4-band digital aerial imagery using digital onscreen three-dimensional stereoscopic workflow systems in geographic information systems (GIS). (Digital aerial imagery was collected each fall during 2009–11 to capture leaf-phenology change of hardwood trees across the latitudinal range of APPA.) The interpreted data were digitally and spatially referenced, thus making the spatial-database layers usable in GIS. Polygon units were mapped to either a 0.5-hectare (ha) or 0.25-ha minimum mapping unit, depending on vegetation type or scenario; however, polygon units were mapped to 0.1 ha for alpine vegetation.A geodatabase containing various feature-class layers and tables provide locations and support data to USNVC vegetation types (vegetation map layer), vegetation plots, verification sites, validation sites, AA sites, project boundary extent and zones, and aerial image centers and flight lines. The feature-class layer and related tables of the vegetation map layer provide 30,395 polygons of detailed attribute data covering 110,919.7 ha, with an average polygon size of 3.6 ha; the vegetation map coincides closely with the administrative boundary for APPA.Summary reports generated from the vegetation map layer of the map classes representing USNVC natural (including ruderal) vegetation types apply to 28,242 polygons (92.9% of polygons) and cover 106,413.0 ha (95.9%) of the map extent for APPA. The map layer indicates APPA to be 92.4% forest and woodland (102,480.8 ha), 1.7% shrubland (1866.3 ha), and 1.8% herbaceous cover (2,065.9 ha). Map classes representing park-special vegetation (undefined in the USNVC) apply to 58 polygons (0.2% of polygons) and cover 404.3 ha (0.4%) of the map extent. Map classes representing USNVC cultural types apply to 1,777 polygons (5.8% of polygons) and cover 2,516.3 ha (2.3%) of the map extent. Map classes representing nonvegetated water (non-USNVC) apply to 332 polygons (1.1% of polygons) and cover 1,586.2 ha (1.4%) of the map extent.

Inexpensive Tools To Quantify And Map Vegetative Cover For Large-Scale Research Or Management Decisions.

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Vegetative cover can be quantified quickly and consistently and often at lower cost with image analysis of color digital images than with visual assessments. Image-based mapping of vegetative cover for large-scale research and management decisions can now be considered with the accuracy of these met...

Predicting Southern Appalachian overstory vegetation with digital terrain data

Treesearch

Paul V. Bolstad; Wayne Swank; James Vose

1998-01-01

Vegetation in mountainous regions responds to small-scale variation in terrain, largely due to effects on both temperature and soil moisture. However, there are few studies of quantitative, terrain-based methods for predicting vegetation composition. This study investigated relationships between forest composition, elevation, and a derived index of terrain shape, and...

Seasat synthetic aperture radar /SAR/ response to lowland vegetation types in eastern Maryland and Virginia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krohn, M. D.; Milton, N. M.; Segal, D. B.

1983-01-01

Examination of Seasat SAR images of eastern Maryland and Virginia reveals botanical distinctions between vegetated lowland areas and adjacent upland areas. Radar returns from the lowland areas can be either brighter or darker than returns from the upland forests. Scattering models and scatterometer measurements predict an increase of 6 dB in backscatter from vegetation over standing water. This agrees with the 30-digital number (DN) increase observed in the digital Seasat data. The brightest areas in the Chickahominy, Virginia, drainage, containing P. virginica about 0.4 m high, contrast with the brightest areas in the Blackwater, Maryland, marshes, which contain mature loblolly pine in standing water. The darkest vegetated area in the Chickahominy drainage contains a forest of Nyssa aquatica (water tupelo) about 18 m high, while the darkest vegetated area in the Blackwater marshes contains the marsh plant Spartina alterniflora, 0.3 m high. The density, morphology, and relative geometry of the lowland vegetation with respect to standing water can all affect the strength of the return L band signal.

The effectiveness of annotated (vs. non-annotated) digital pathology slides as a teaching tool during dermatology and pathology residencies.

PubMed

Marsch, Amanda F; Espiritu, Baltazar; Groth, John; Hutchens, Kelli A

2014-06-01

With today's technology, paraffin-embedded, hematoxylin & eosin-stained pathology slides can be scanned to generate high quality virtual slides. Using proprietary software, digital images can also be annotated with arrows, circles and boxes to highlight certain diagnostic features. Previous studies assessing digital microscopy as a teaching tool did not involve the annotation of digital images. The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of annotated digital pathology slides versus non-annotated digital pathology slides as a teaching tool during dermatology and pathology residencies. A study group composed of 31 dermatology and pathology residents was asked to complete an online pre-quiz consisting of 20 multiple choice style questions, each associated with a static digital pathology image. After completion, participants were given access to an online tutorial composed of digitally annotated pathology slides and subsequently asked to complete a post-quiz. A control group of 12 residents completed a non-annotated version of the tutorial. Nearly all participants in the study group improved their quiz score, with an average improvement of 17%, versus only 3% (P = 0.005) in the control group. These results support the notion that annotated digital pathology slides are superior to non-annotated slides for the purpose of resident education. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A preliminary study of the feasibility of detecting the floating macrophytes by means of digital processing of MSS/LANDSAT data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Valeriano, D. D. (Principal Investigator)

1984-01-01

The feasibility of mapping the floating macrophytes (mostly water hyacinth: (Eichornia crassipes) in the Salto Grande reservoir in Americana, SP, by means of digital processing of MSS/LANDSAT data is described. The area occupied by the macrophytes was extracted by exclusion after the merging of two thematic masks representing the area of vegetation free water surface. One of the masks was obtained from a date when the vegetal cover is insignificant, while the other represents a large infestation episode. The utilization of digital processing of MSS/LANDSAT data techniques for the documentation of macrophytes infestation is feasible only when the phenomenon occurs in large areas.

YF-12 cooperative airframe/propulsion control system program, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, D. L.; Connolly, G. F.; Mauro, F. M.; Reukauf, P. J.; Marks, R. (Editor)

1980-01-01

Several YF-12C airplane analog control systems were converted to a digital system. Included were the air data computer, autopilot, inlet control system, and autothrottle systems. This conversion was performed to allow assessment of digital technology applications to supersonic cruise aircraft. The digital system was composed of a digital computer and specialized interface unit. A large scale mathematical simulation of the airplane was used for integration testing and software checkout.

FIA: An Open Forensic Integration Architecture for Composing Digital Evidence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raghavan, Sriram; Clark, Andrew; Mohay, George

The analysis and value of digital evidence in an investigation has been the domain of discourse in the digital forensic community for several years. While many works have considered different approaches to model digital evidence, a comprehensive understanding of the process of merging different evidence items recovered during a forensic analysis is still a distant dream. With the advent of modern technologies, pro-active measures are integral to keeping abreast of all forms of cyber crimes and attacks. This paper motivates the need to formalize the process of analyzing digital evidence from multiple sources simultaneously. In this paper, we present the forensic integration architecture (FIA) which provides a framework for abstracting the evidence source and storage format information from digital evidence and explores the concept of integrating evidence information from multiple sources. The FIA architecture identifies evidence information from multiple sources that enables an investigator to build theories to reconstruct the past. FIA is hierarchically composed of multiple layers and adopts a technology independent approach. FIA is also open and extensible making it simple to adapt to technological changes. We present a case study using a hypothetical car theft case to demonstrate the concepts and illustrate the value it brings into the field.

Estimating Vegetation Height from WorldView-02 and ArcticDEM Data for Broad Ecological Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meddens, A. J.; Vierling, L. A.; Eitel, J.; Jennewein, J. S.; White, J. C.; Wulder, M.

2017-12-01

Boreal and arctic regions are warming at an unprecedented rate, and at a rate higher than in other regions across the globe. Ecological processes are highly responsive to temperature and therefore substantial changes in these northern ecosystems are expected. Recently, NASA initiated the Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE), which is a large-scale field campaign that aims to gain a better understanding of how the arctic responds to environmental change. High-resolution data products that quantify vegetation structure and function will improve efforts to assess these environmental change impacts. Our objective was to develop and test an approach that allows for mapping vegetation height at a 5m grid cell resolution across the ABoVE domain. To accomplish this, we selected three study areas across a north-south gradient in Alaska, representing an area of approximately 130 km2. We developed a RandomForest modeling approach for predicting vegetation height using the ArcticDEM (a digital surface model produced across the Arctic by the Polar Geospatial Center) and high-resolution multispectral satellite data (WorldView-2) in conjunction with aerial lidar data for calibration and validation. Vegetation height was successfully predicted across the three study areas and evaluated using an independent dataset, with R2 ranging from 0.58 to 0.76 and RMSEs ranging from 1.8 to 2.4 m. This predicted vegetation height dataset also led to the development of a digital terrain model using the ArcticDEM digital surface model by removing canopy heights from the surface heights. Our results show potential to establish a high resolution pan-arctic vegetation height map, which will provide useful information to a broad range of ongoing and future ecological research in high northern latitudes.

Evaluation of a native vegetation masking technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kinsler, M. C.

1984-01-01

A crop masking technique based on Ashburn's vegetative index (AVI) was used to evaluate native vegetation as an indicator of crop moisture condition. A mask of the range areas (native vegetation) was generated for each of thirteen Great Plains LANDSAT MSS sample segments. These masks were compared to the digitized ground truth and accuracies were computed. An analysis of the types of errors indicates a consistency in errors among the segments. The mask represents a simple quick-look technique for evaluating vegetative cover.

Modeling vegetation heights from high resolution stereo aerial photography: an application for broad-scale rangeland monitoring.

PubMed

Gillan, Jeffrey K; Karl, Jason W; Duniway, Michael; Elaksher, Ahmed

2014-11-01

Vertical vegetation structure in rangeland ecosystems can be a valuable indicator for assessing rangeland health and monitoring riparian areas, post-fire recovery, available forage for livestock, and wildlife habitat. Federal land management agencies are directed to monitor and manage rangelands at landscapes scales, but traditional field methods for measuring vegetation heights are often too costly and time consuming to apply at these broad scales. Most emerging remote sensing techniques capable of measuring surface and vegetation height (e.g., LiDAR or synthetic aperture radar) are often too expensive, and require specialized sensors. An alternative remote sensing approach that is potentially more practical for managers is to measure vegetation heights from digital stereo aerial photographs. As aerial photography is already commonly used for rangeland monitoring, acquiring it in stereo enables three-dimensional modeling and estimation of vegetation height. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility and accuracy of estimating shrub heights from high-resolution (HR, 3-cm ground sampling distance) digital stereo-pair aerial images. Overlapping HR imagery was taken in March 2009 near Lake Mead, Nevada and 5-cm resolution digital surface models (DSMs) were created by photogrammetric methods (aerial triangulation, digital image matching) for twenty-six test plots. We compared the heights of individual shrubs and plot averages derived from the DSMs to field measurements. We found strong positive correlations between field and image measurements for several metrics. Individual shrub heights tended to be underestimated in the imagery, however, accuracy was higher for dense, compact shrubs compared with shrubs with thin branches. Plot averages of shrub height from DSMs were also strongly correlated to field measurements but consistently underestimated. Grasses and forbs were generally too small to be detected with the resolution of the DSMs. Estimates of vertical structure will be more accurate in plots having low herbaceous cover and high amounts of dense shrubs. Through the use of statistically derived correction factors or choosing field methods that better correlate with the imagery, vegetation heights from HR DSMs could be a valuable technique for broad-scale rangeland monitoring needs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modeling vegetation heights from high resolution stereo aerial photography: an application for broad-scale rangeland monitoring

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gillan, Jeffrey K.; Karl, Jason W.; Duniway, Michael; Elaksher, Ahmed

2014-01-01

Vertical vegetation structure in rangeland ecosystems can be a valuable indicator for assessing rangeland health and monitoring riparian areas, post-fire recovery, available forage for livestock, and wildlife habitat. Federal land management agencies are directed to monitor and manage rangelands at landscapes scales, but traditional field methods for measuring vegetation heights are often too costly and time consuming to apply at these broad scales. Most emerging remote sensing techniques capable of measuring surface and vegetation height (e.g., LiDAR or synthetic aperture radar) are often too expensive, and require specialized sensors. An alternative remote sensing approach that is potentially more practical for managers is to measure vegetation heights from digital stereo aerial photographs. As aerial photography is already commonly used for rangeland monitoring, acquiring it in stereo enables three-dimensional modeling and estimation of vegetation height. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility and accuracy of estimating shrub heights from high-resolution (HR, 3-cm ground sampling distance) digital stereo-pair aerial images. Overlapping HR imagery was taken in March 2009 near Lake Mead, Nevada and 5-cm resolution digital surface models (DSMs) were created by photogrammetric methods (aerial triangulation, digital image matching) for twenty-six test plots. We compared the heights of individual shrubs and plot averages derived from the DSMs to field measurements. We found strong positive correlations between field and image measurements for several metrics. Individual shrub heights tended to be underestimated in the imagery, however, accuracy was higher for dense, compact shrubs compared with shrubs with thin branches. Plot averages of shrub height from DSMs were also strongly correlated to field measurements but consistently underestimated. Grasses and forbs were generally too small to be detected with the resolution of the DSMs. Estimates of vertical structure will be more accurate in plots having low herbaceous cover and high amounts of dense shrubs. Through the use of statistically derived correction factors or choosing field methods that better correlate with the imagery, vegetation heights from HR DSMs could be a valuable technique for broad-scale rangeland monitoring needs.

Relationship between leaf optical properties, chlorophyll fluorescence and pigment changes in senescing Acer saccharum leaves.

PubMed

Junker, Laura Verena; Ensminger, Ingo

2016-06-01

The ability of plants to sequester carbon is highly variable over the course of the year and reflects seasonal variation in photosynthetic efficiency. This seasonal variation is most prominent during autumn, when leaves of deciduous tree species such as sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) undergo senescence, which is associated with downregulation of photosynthesis and a change of leaf color. The remote sensing of leaf color by spectral reflectance measurements and digital repeat images is increasingly used to improve models of growing season length and seasonal variation in carbon sequestration. Vegetation indices derived from spectral reflectance measurements and digital repeat images might not adequately reflect photosynthetic efficiency of red-senescing tree species during autumn due to the changes in foliar pigment content associated with autumn phenology. In this study, we aimed to assess how effectively several widely used vegetation indices capture autumn phenology and reflect the changes in physiology and photosynthetic pigments during autumn. Chlorophyll fluorescence and pigment content of green, yellow, orange and red leaves were measured to represent leaf senescence during autumn and used as a reference to validate and compare vegetation indices derived from leaf-level spectral reflectance measurements and color analysis of digital images. Vegetation indices varied in their suitability to track the decrease of photosynthetic efficiency and chlorophyll content despite increasing anthocyanin content. Commonly used spectral reflectance indices such as the normalized difference vegetation index and photochemical reflectance index showed major constraints arising from a limited representation of gradual decreases in chlorophyll content and an influence of high foliar anthocyanin levels. The excess green index and green-red vegetation index were more suitable to assess the process of senescence. Similarly, digital image analysis revealed that vegetation indices such as Hue and normalized difference index are superior compared with the often-used green chromatic coordinate. We conclude that indices based on red and green color information generally represent autumn phenology most efficiently. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Enhanced dispersion and removal of ammonia emitted from a poultry house with a vegetative environmental buffer

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Vegetative environmental buffers (VEBs), composed of tolerant trees, shrubs, and tall grasses, can be used to control and reduce the transport of ammonia (NH3) emissions from animal feeding operations (AFOs). However, the effectiveness of VEBs has not been quantitated. Here, we measure the dispersio...

Management considerations to enhance use of stock ponds by waterfowl broods

Treesearch

Mark A. Rumble; Lester D. Flake

1983-01-01

Use of 36 livestock watering ponds by mallard (Anas playtrhynchos), blue-winged teal (A. discors), and total broods was tested against 32 habitat variables from 1977 and 1978. Pond size, shallow water areas with submersed vegetation, number of natural wetlands in a 1.6-km radius, and emersed vegetation composed of smartweed (

Quantification of soil mapping by digital analysis of LANDSAT data. [Clinton County, Indiana

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kirschner, F. R.; Kaminsky, S. A.; Hinzel, E. J.; Sinclair, H. R.; Weismiller, R. A.

1977-01-01

Soil survey mapping units are designed such that the dominant soil represents the major proportion of the unit. At times, soil mapping delineations do not adequately represent conditions as stated in the mapping unit descriptions. Digital analysis of LANDSAT multispectral scanner (MSS) data provides a means of accurately describing and quantifying soil mapping unit composition. Digital analysis of LANDSAT MSS data collected on 9 June 1973 was used to prepare a spectral soil map for a 430-hectare area in Clinton County, Indiana. Fifteen spectral classes were defined, representing 12 soil and 3 vegetation classes. The 12 soil classes were grouped into 4 moisture regimes based upon their spectral responses; the 3 vegetation classes were grouped into one all-inclusive class.

Digital Beamforming Synthetic Aperture Radar (DBSAR): Performance Analysis During the Eco-3D 2011 and Summer 2012 Flight Campaigns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rincon, Rafael F.; Fatoyinbo, Temilola; Carter, Lynn; Ranson, K. Jon; Vega, Manuel; Osmanoglu, Batuhan; Lee, SeungKuk; Sun, Guoqing

2014-01-01

The Digital Beamforming Synthetic Aperture radar (DBSAR) is a state-of-the-art airborne radar developed at NASA/Goddard for the implementation, and testing of digital beamforming techniques applicable to Earth and planetary sciences. The DBSAR measurements have been employed to study: The estimation of vegetation biomass and structure - critical parameters in the study of the carbon cycle; The measurement of geological features - to explore its applicability to planetary science by measuring planetary analogue targets. The instrument flew two test campaigns over the East coast of the United States in 2011, and 2012. During the campaigns the instrument operated in full polarimetric mode collecting data from vegetation and topography features.

Creating Spaces for Students to Position Themselves as Writers through Experiences with Digital Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zoch, Melody; Adams-Budde, Melissa; Langston-Demott, Brooke

2016-01-01

The authors present the experiences of Wyatt, a nine-year-old whose mother described him as a struggling writer, in a summer digital writing camp. The authors consider how Wyatt was positioned as a writer at camp and how this may have differed from his experiences at school. They found that for Wyatt, being able to compose with digital tools along…

Silence, Voice, and "Other Languages": Digital Storytelling as a Site for Resistance and Restoration in a South African Higher Education Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Kristian D.; Ivala, Eunice

2017-01-01

In order to investigate the composing practices of digital storytellers in a South African context, a qualitative case study, set within a university of technology in South Africa and framed by literature stemming from the disciplines of digital storytelling and composition and rhetoric, was implemented as part of a larger dissertation project…

Canopy Modeling of Aquatic Vegetation: Construction of Submerged Vegetation Index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Z.; Zhou, G.

2018-04-01

The unique spectral characteristics of submerged vegetation in wetlands determine that the conventional terrestrial vegetation index cannot be directly employed to species identification and parameter inversion of submerged vegetation. Based on the Aquatic Vegetation Radiative Transfer model (AVRT), this paper attempts to construct an index suitable for submerged vegetation, the model simulated data and a scene of Sentinel-2A image in Taihu Lake, China are utilized for assessing the performance of the newly constructed indices and the existent vegetation indices. The results show that the angle index composed by 525 nm, 555 nm and 670 nm can resist the effects of water columns and is more sensitive to vegetation parameters such as LAI. Furthermore, it makes a well discrimination between submerged vegetation and water bodies in the satellite data. We hope that the new index will provide a theoretical basis for future research.

Classification of vegetation communities in the Battle Mountain SE quadrangle, Nevada with MSS digital data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ridd, M. K.; Ramsey, R. D.; Douglass, G. E.; Merola, J. A.

1984-01-01

LANDSAT MSS digital data were utilized to identify vegetation types in an area of Battle Mountain SE in northern Nevada. Ways in which terrain data may improve spectral classification were investigated. The basic data set was a CCT of LANDSAT scene 82233617450, dated 15 June 1981. Seventeen ecotypic classifications were identified in the study area on the basis of field investigations. The percent cover by life form and non-living material for the 17 classes is summarized along with the percent cover by species for the 17 classes.

Monitoring land cover changes by remote sensing in north west Egypt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richards, Timothy Steven

The Mediterratiean coastal strip of Egypt is a semi-arid environment which supports a variety of agricultural practices ranging from irrigated sedentary agriculture to semi-nomadic pastoralism. The sedentarisation of the nomadic Bedouin coupled with an increase in population of both people and livestock and a decrease in the extent of the rangelands, has resulted in severe pressure being exerted upon the environment. Satellite remote sensing of vegetation offers the potential to aid regional management by complementing conventional techniques of vegetation mapping and monitoring. This thesis examines the different techniques available for vegetation mapping using visible and near infrared spectral wave bands. The different techniques available for vegetation mapping using remotely sensed data are reviewed and discussed with reference to semi-arid environments. The underlying similarity of many of the techniques is emphasised and their individual merits discussed. The spectral feature-space of Landsat data of two representative study areas in northern Egypt is explored and examined using graphical techniques and principal components analysis. Hand held radiometric field data are also presented for individual soil types within the region. It is proposed that by using reference data for individual soil types, improved estimates of vegetation cover can be ascertained. A number of radiometric corrections are applied to the digital Landsat data in order to convert the arbitrary digital values of the different spectral bands into physical values of reflectance. The effect of this standardization on the principal components is examined. The stratified approach to vegetation mapping which was explored using the field data is applied in turn to the digital Landsat images. Whilst the stratified approach was not found to offer significant advantages over the non-stratified approach in this case, the analysis does serve to provide an accurate datum against which to measure vegetation. In conclusion a satellite based system for operational vegetation monitoring is proposed.

Fruit and Vegetable Plate Waste among Students in a Suburban School District Participating in the National School Lunch Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Handforth, Kellyn M.; Gilboy, Mary Beth; Harris, Jeffrey; Melia, Nicole

2016-01-01

Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this project was to assess fruit and vegetable plate waste, examine patterns of selection and consumption of specific fruit and vegetable subgroups, and analyze for differences across gender, grade level, and school. Methods: A previously-validated digital photography method was used to collect plate waste data…

47 CFR 36.125 - Local switching equipment-Category 3.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... electronic analog or digital remote line locations. Equipment used for the identification, recording and... which has a common intermediate distributing frame, market group or other separately identifiable... composed of an electronic analog or digital host office and all of its remote locations. A host/remote...

Love that Book: Multimodal Response to Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dalton, Bridget; Grisham, Dana L.

2013-01-01

Composing with different modes--image, sound, video and the written word--to respond to and analyze literary and informational text helps students develop as readers and digital communicators. This article showcases five multimodal strategies for engaging children in rich literature-based learning using digital tools and Internet resources.

Playing Digital: Music Instruction for the Next Generation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hardy, Lawrence

2001-01-01

Active involvement in music can yield significant intellectual and emotional benefits. A Washington-area high school features a digitally literate music teacher and a piano lab with 25 workstations allowing music-loving students to express their creativity. MIDI sequencers and synthesizers aid young composers' efforts. (MLH)

Development of metal-organic framework for gaseous plant hormone encapsulation to manage ripening of climacteric produce

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Spoilage of fruits and vegetables accounts for 50% of the 2.6 trillion U.S. dollars lost annually to global food wastage. Seventy-eight percent of this wastage is associated with overripe produce. Fresh fruits and vegetables are composed of biological tissues and their life processes continue after ...

78 FR 64327 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for the Bi-State...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-28

... 2001 (Pub. L. 106-554; H.R. 5658)), and our associated Information Quality Guidelines, provide criteria..., agricultural lands, and steppe dominated by native grasses and forbs. However, the Bi-State DPS of greater sage... sagebrush vegetation as well as a vegetative understory composed of native grasses and forbs are essential...

Multi-discipline resource inventory of soils, vegetation and geology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simonson, G. H. (Principal Investigator); Paine, D. P.; Lawrence, R. D.; Norgren, J. A.; Pyott, W. Y.; Herzog, J. H.; Murray, R. J.; Rogers, R.

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Computer classification of natural vegetation, in the vicinity of Big Summit Prairie, Crook County, Oregon was carried out using MSS digital data. Impure training sets, representing eleven vegetation types plus water, were selected from within the area to be classified. Close correlations were visually observed between vegetation types mapped from the large scale photographs and the computer classification of the ERTS data (Frame 1021-18151, 13 August 1972).

Study on the Feasibility of RGB Substitute CIR for Automatic Removal Vegetation Occlusion Based on Ground Close-Range Building Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, C.; Li, F.; Liu, Y.; Li, X.; Liu, P.; Xiao, B.

2012-07-01

Building 3D reconstruction based on ground remote sensing data (image, video and lidar) inevitably faces the problem that buildings are always occluded by vegetation, so how to automatically remove and repair vegetation occlusion is a very important preprocessing work for image understanding, compute vision and digital photogrammetry. In the traditional multispectral remote sensing which is achieved by aeronautics and space platforms, the Red and Near-infrared (NIR) bands, such as NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), are useful to distinguish vegetation and clouds, amongst other targets. However, especially in the ground platform, CIR (Color Infra Red) is little utilized by compute vision and digital photogrammetry which usually only take true color RBG into account. Therefore whether CIR is necessary for vegetation segmentation or not has significance in that most of close-range cameras don't contain such NIR band. Moreover, the CIE L*a*b color space, which transform from RGB, seems not of much interest by photogrammetrists despite its powerfulness in image classification and analysis. So, CIE (L, a, b) feature and support vector machine (SVM) is suggested for vegetation segmentation to substitute for CIR. Finally, experimental results of visual effect and automation are given. The conclusion is that it's feasible to remove and segment vegetation occlusion without NIR band. This work should pave the way for texture reconstruction and repair for future 3D reconstruction.

Monitoring height and greenness of non-woody floodplain vegetation with UAV time series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Iersel, Wimala; Straatsma, Menno; Addink, Elisabeth; Middelkoop, Hans

2018-07-01

Vegetation in river floodplains has important functions for biodiversity, but can also have a negative influence on flood safety. Floodplain vegetation is becoming increasingly heterogeneous in space and time as a result of river restoration projects. To document the spatio-temporal patterns of the floodplain vegetation, the need arises for efficient monitoring techniques. Monitoring is commonly performed by mapping floodplains based on single-epoch remote sensing data, thereby not considering seasonal dynamics of vegetation. The rising availability of unmanned airborne vehicles (UAV) increases monitoring frequency potential. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the performance of multi-temporal high-spatial-resolution imagery, collected with a UAV, to record the dynamics in floodplain vegetation height and greenness over a growing season. Since the classification accuracy of current airborne surveys remains insufficient for low vegetation types, we focussed on seasonal variation of herbaceous and grassy vegetation with a height up to 3 m. Field reference data on vegetation height were collected six times during one year in 28 field plots within a single floodplain along the Waal River, the main distributary of the Rhine River in the Netherlands. Simultaneously with each field survey, we recorded UAV true-colour and false-colour imagery from which normalized digital surface models (nDSMs) and a consumer-grade camera vegetation index (CGCVI) were calculated. We observed that: (1) the accuracy of a UAV-derived digital terrain model (DTM) varies over the growing season and is most accurate during winter when the vegetation is dormant, (2) vegetation height can be determined from the nDSMs in leaf-on conditions via linear regression (RSME = 0.17-0.33 m), (3) the multitemporal nDSMs yielded meaningful temporal profiles of greenness and vegetation height and (4) herbaceous vegetation shows hysteresis for greenness and vegetation height, but no clear hysteresis was observed for grassland vegetation. These results show the high potential of using UAV-borne sensors for increasing the classification accuracy of low floodplain vegetation within the framework of floodplain monitoring.

e-phenology: monitoring leaf phenology and tracking climate changes in the tropics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morellato, Patrícia; Alberton, Bruna; Almeida, Jurandy; Alex, Jefersson; Mariano, Greice; Torres, Ricardo

2014-05-01

The e-phenology is a multidisciplinary project combining research in Computer Science and Phenology. Its goal is to attack theoretical and practical problems involving the use of new technologies for remote phenological observation aiming to detect local environmental changes. It is geared towards three objectives: (a) the use of new technologies of environmental monitoring based on remote phenology monitoring systems; (b) creation of a protocol for a Brazilian long term phenology monitoring program and for the integration across disciplines, advancing our knowledge of seasonal responses within tropics to climate change; and (c) provide models, methods and algorithms to support management, integration and analysis of data of remote phenology systems. The research team is composed by computer scientists and biology researchers in Phenology. Our first results include: Phenology towers - We set up the first phenology tower in our core cerrado-savanna 1 study site at Itirapina, São Paulo, Brazil. The tower received a complete climatic station and a digital camera. The digital camera is set up to take daily sequence of images (five images per hour, from 6:00 to 18:00 h). We set up similar phenology towers with climatic station and cameras in five more sites: cerrado-savanna 2 (Pé de Gigante, SP), cerrado grassland 3 (Itirapina, SP), rupestrian fields 4 ( Serra do Cipo, MG), seasonal forest 5 (Angatuba, SP) and Atlantic raiforest 6 (Santa Virginia, SP). Phenology database - We finished modeling and validation of a phenology database that stores ground phenology and near-remote phenology, and we are carrying out the implementation with data ingestion. Remote phenology and image processing - We performed the first analyses of the cerrado sites 1 to 4 phenology derived from digital images. Analysis were conducted by extracting color information (RGB Red, Green and Blue color channels) from selected parts of the image named regions of interest (ROI). using the green color channel. We analyzed a daily sequence of images (6:00 to 18:00 h). Our results are innovative and indicate the great variation in color change response for tropical trees. We validate the camera phenology with our on the ground direct observation in the core cerrado site 1. We are developing a Image processing software to authomatic process the digital images and to generate the time series for further analyses. New techniques and image features have been used to extract seasonal features from data and for data processing, such as machine learning and visual rhythms. Machine learning was successful applied to identify similar species within the image. Visual rhythms show up as a new analytic tool for phenological interpretation. Next research steps include the analyses of longer data series, correlation with local climatic data, analyses and comparison of patterns among different vegetation sites, prepare a compressive protocol for digital camera phenology and develop new technologies to access vegetation changes using digital cameras. Support: FAPESP-Micorsoft Research, CNPq, CAPES.

Composing Change: The Role of Graduate Education in Sustaining a Digital Scholarly Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blair, Kristine L.

2014-01-01

In "Reading the Archives: Ten Years on Nonlinear ("Kairos") History," James Kalmbach acknowledges the significant role graduate students have played as digital innovators in the field, particularly in the formation of "Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, Pedagogy" in 1996. Graduate students in the Rhetoric and…

Vegetation Removal from Uav Derived Dsms, Using Combination of RGB and NIR Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skarlatos, D.; Vlachos, M.

2018-05-01

Current advancements on photogrammetric software along with affordability and wide spreading of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), allow for rapid, timely and accurate 3D modelling and mapping of small to medium sized areas. Although the importance and applications of large format aerial overlaps cameras and photographs in Digital Surface Model (DSM) production and LIDAR data is well documented in literature, this is not the case for UAV photography. Additionally, the main disadvantage of photogrammetry is the inability to map the dead ground (terrain), when we deal with areas that include vegetation. This paper assesses the use of near-infrared imagery captured by small UAV platforms to automatically remove vegetation from Digital Surface Models (DSMs) and obtain a Digital Terrain Model (DTM). Two areas were tested, based on the availability of ground reference points, both under trees and among vegetation, as well as on terrain. In addition, RGB and near-infrared UAV photography was captured and processed using Structure from Motion (SfM) and Multi View Stereo (MVS) algorithms to generate DSMs and corresponding colour and NIR orthoimages with 0.2 m and 0.25 m as pixel size respectively for the two test sites. Moreover, orthophotos were used to eliminate the vegetation from the DSMs using NDVI index, thresholding and masking. Following that, different interpolation algorithms, according to the test sites, were applied to fill in the gaps and created DTMs. Finally, a statistic analysis was made using reference terrain points captured on field, both on dead ground and under vegetation to evaluate the accuracy of the whole process and assess the overall accuracy of the derived DTMs in contrast with the DSMs.

"Convince Me!" Valuing Multimodal Literacies and Composing Public Service Announcements

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Selfe, Richard J.; Selfe, Cynthia L.

2008-01-01

For some teachers, the increasing attention to digital and multimodal composing in English and Language Arts classrooms has brought into sharp relief the profession's investment in print as the primary means of expression. Although new forms of communication that combine words, still and moving images, and animation have begun to dominate digital…

The use of UAV to document sloping landscapes to produce digital elevation models to examine environmental degradation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Themistocleous, K.; Agapiou, A.; Papadavid, G.; Christoforou, M.; Hadjimitsis, D. G.

2015-10-01

This paper focuses on the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) over the study area of Pissouri in Cyprus to document the sloping landscapes of the area. The study area has been affected by overgrazing, which has led to shifts in the vegetation patterns and changing microtopography of the soil. The UAV images were used to generate digital elevation models (DEMs) to examine the changes in microtopography. Next to that orthophotos were used to detect changes in vegetation patterns. The combined data of the digital elevation models and the orthophotos will be used to detect the occurrence of catastrophic shifts and mechanisms for desertification in the study area due to overgrazing. This study is part of the "CASCADE- Catastrophic shifts in dryland" project.

The influence of changes in soil moisture in association with geomorphic change on the formation of a subalpine coniferous forest on Mt. Akita-Komagatake, northern Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konno, A.

2015-12-01

The coniferous forest (largely composed of Abies mariesii) is presently the typical vegetation of the subalpine zone in Japan. Pollen analysis revealed that few A. mariesii were present during the last glacial period, and the species began to expand to the subalpine zone during the Holocene (Morita, 1992). However, on Mt. Akita-Komagatake in northern Japan, the expected predominance of A. mariesii is not extensively observed, and the predominant vegetation is instead the dwarf bamboo (Sasa kurilensis). It is unknown why the area under coniferous forest is small in this region. Therefore, I examined this issue from the perspectives of (1) distribution of vegetation, (2) geomorphology, (3) soil moisture, and (4) vegetation history. (1) Precise digital elevation model data and photographic interpretation showed that this coniferous forest was densely distributed in a flat segment considered to be formed by a landslide; (2) this landslide is thought to have occurred up to 3,699 ± 26 yr BP because a boring-core specimen from the landslide included the AK-3 tephra layer (2,300-2,800 yr BP: Wachi et al, 1997) and the radiocarbon date of the lowermost humic soil layer was 3,699 ± 26 yr BP; (3) the soil in the forest area had higher volumetric water content than that in the non-forest area; and (4) phytolith analysis revealed that the main species in the study site was initially dwarf bamboo, but coniferous forest replaced it after the Towada-a tephra (1035 cal. BP, Machida and Arai, 1992) layer fell. These results suggest that soil water conditions changed because of the formation of the flat segment by the landslide, and the coniferous forest was consequently established. However, the landslide only indirectly affected the formation of the coniferous forest, because the forest developed over several thousand years after the landslide occurred. In other words, more direct reasons for the establishment of the coniferous forest may involve changes in soil moisture. This unresolved issue warrants further investigation of the vegetation on the subalpine zone.

Mapping SOC (Soil Organic Carbon) using LiDAR-derived vegetation indices in a random forest regression model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Will, R. M.; Glenn, N. F.; Benner, S. G.; Pierce, J. L.; Spaete, L.; Li, A.

2015-12-01

Quantifying SOC (Soil Organic Carbon) storage in complex terrain is challenging due to high spatial variability. Generally, the challenge is met by transforming point data to the entire landscape using surrogate, spatially-distributed, variables like elevation or precipitation. In many ecosystems, remotely sensed information on above-ground vegetation (e.g. NDVI) is a good predictor of below-ground carbon stocks. In this project, we are attempting to improve this predictive method by incorporating LiDAR-derived vegetation indices. LiDAR provides a mechanism for improved characterization of aboveground vegetation by providing structural parameters such as vegetation height and biomass. In this study, a random forest model is used to predict SOC using a suite of LiDAR-derived vegetation indices as predictor variables. The Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed (RCEW) is an ideal location for a study of this type since it encompasses a strong elevation/precipitation gradient that supports lower biomass sagebrush ecosystems at low elevations and forests with more biomass at higher elevations. Sagebrush ecosystems composed of Wyoming, Low and Mountain Sagebrush have SOC values ranging from .4 to 1% (top 30 cm), while higher biomass ecosystems composed of aspen, juniper and fir have SOC values approaching 4% (top 30 cm). Large differences in SOC have been observed between canopy and interspace locations and high resolution vegetation information is likely to explain plot scale variability in SOC. Mapping of the SOC reservoir will help identify underlying controls on SOC distribution and provide insight into which processes are most important in determining SOC in semi-arid mountainous regions. In addition, airborne LiDAR has the potential to characterize vegetation communities at a high resolution and could be a tool for improving estimates of SOC at larger scales.

Canopy BRF simulation of forest with different crown shape and height in larger scale based on Radiosity method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Jinling; Qu, Yonghua; Wang, Jindi; Wan, Huawei; Liu, Xiaoqing

2007-06-01

Radiosity method is based on the computer simulation of 3D real structures of vegetations, such as leaves, branches and stems, which are composed by many facets. Using this method we can simulate the canopy reflectance and its bidirectional distribution of the vegetation canopy in visible and NIR regions. But with vegetations are more complex, more facets to compose them, so large memory and lots of time to calculate view factors are required, which are the choke points of using Radiosity method to calculate canopy BRF of lager scale vegetation scenes. We derived a new method to solve the problem, and the main idea is to abstract vegetation crown shapes and to simplify their structures, which can lessen the number of facets. The facets are given optical properties according to the reflectance, transmission and absorption of the real structure canopy. Based on the above work, we can simulate the canopy BRF of the mix scenes with different species vegetation in the large scale. In this study, taking broadleaf trees as an example, based on their structure characteristics, we abstracted their crowns as ellipsoid shells, and simulated the canopy BRF in visible and NIR regions of the large scale scene with different crown shape and different height ellipsoids. Form this study, we can conclude: LAI, LAD the probability gap, the sunlit and shaded surfaces are more important parameter to simulate the simplified vegetation canopy BRF. And the Radiosity method can apply us canopy BRF data in any conditions for our research.

Applied regional monitoring of the vernal advancement and retrogradation (Green wave effect) of natural vegetation in the Great Plains corridor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rouse, J. W., Jr. (Principal Investigator); Deering, D. W.; Haas, R. H.; Welch, R. I.; Harlan, J. C.; Whitney, P. R.

1977-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. LANDSAT 2 has shown that digital data products can be effectively employed on a regional basis to monitor changes in vegetation conditions. The TV16 was successfully applied to an extended test site and the Great Plains Corridor in tests of the ability to assess green forage biomass on rangelands as an index to vegetation condition. A strategy for using TV16 on a regional basis was developed and tested. These studies have shown that: (1) for rangelands with good vegetative cover, such as most of the Great Plains, and which are not heavily infested with brush or undesirable weed species, the LANDSAT digital data can provide a good estimate (within 250 kg/ha) of the quantity of green forage biomass, and (2) at least five levels of pasture and range feed conditions can be adequately mapped for extended regions.

Spatial statistical analysis of tree deaths using airborne digital imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Ya-Mei; Baddeley, Adrian; Wallace, Jeremy; Canci, Michael

2013-04-01

High resolution digital airborne imagery offers unprecedented opportunities for observation and monitoring of vegetation, providing the potential to identify, locate and track individual vegetation objects over time. Analytical tools are required to quantify relevant information. In this paper, locations of trees over a large area of native woodland vegetation were identified using morphological image analysis techniques. Methods of spatial point process statistics were then applied to estimate the spatially-varying tree death risk, and to show that it is significantly non-uniform. [Tree deaths over the area were detected in our previous work (Wallace et al., 2008).] The study area is a major source of ground water for the city of Perth, and the work was motivated by the need to understand and quantify vegetation changes in the context of water extraction and drying climate. The influence of hydrological variables on tree death risk was investigated using spatial statistics (graphical exploratory methods, spatial point pattern modelling and diagnostics).

Geomorphometric correlations of vegetation cover properties and topographic karst features based on high-resolution LiDAR DTM of Aggtelek Karst, NE Hungary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Székely, Balázs; Telbisz, Tamás; Koma, Zsófia; Kelemen, Kristóf; Szmorad, Ferenc; Deák, Márton; Látos, Tamás; Standovár, Tibor

2015-04-01

Topography and lithology are two major factors influencing the vegetation cover, its mosaic pattern and lateral transitions. In karstic areas the topography has a high diversity, microtopographic landforms influence the local ecological setting, vegetation structure. Presence of sinkholes of various sizes and geometric arrangements causes rapid lateral variation of the slope, aspect patterns as well as highly modify the soil water balance in time and space. These diversity of factors defines a mosaicked habitat pattern for vegetation assemblages. The World Heritage Site Aggtelek Karst/Slovakian Karst Caves has characteristic natural and environmental properties concerning the geomorphological as well as the ecological values. In order to be able to study the topographic influence on the ecological setting, a high-resolution digital terrain model (DTM) and digital surface model (DSM) have been derived from airborne laser scanning data depicting the karstic micro- and macrotopographic Landscape elements and the envelope surface of the canopy. Additional vegetation parameters like closure and average height have been derived from a normalized digital surface model (nDSM). Extensive mapping of vegetation properties has been carried out: centered on points of a grid array several vegetation-specific data - including composition and structure of tree and shrub layers, herbacesous vegetation and tree regeneration - have been acquired. Various classification patterns - based on trees pecies composition, vertical vegetation structure - have been derived from this data set. The comparison of the vegetation classification data and the geomorphometric DTM derivatives yielded interesting results. Certain vegetation characteristics often correlate with the geomorphometric properties. We interpret this similarity as sensitivity of vegetion to fine-scale variations in geomorphic properties like aspect, illumination conditions and soil properties. However, in many cases the vegetation pattern shows no correlation with natural settings. It may be the result of human impact, which actively formed the local land use in these hilly-low mountain karst area since the Middle Ages. These studies have been financed partly by the following projects: data acquisition: "Hungarian-Slovakian Transnational Cooperation Programme 2007-2013", "Management of World Heritage Aggtelek Karst/Slovakian Karst Caves" (HUSK/1101/221/0180, Aggtelek NP), data evaluation: 'Multipurpose assessment serving forest biodiversity conservation in the Carpathian region of Hungary', Swiss-Hungarian Cooperation Programme (SH/4/13 Project), and Hungarian National Research Fund OTKA NK83400 and OTKA 104811. BS contributed as an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow, TT was supported by the János Bolyai Scolarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Identification of phenological stages and vegetative types for land use classification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckendrick, J. D. (Principal Investigator)

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Classification of digital data for mapping Alaskan vegetation has been compared to ground truth data and found to have accuracies as high as 90%. These classifications are broad scale types as are currently being used on the Major Ecosystems of Alaska map prepared by the Joint Federal-State Land Use Planning Commission for Alaska. Cost estimates for several options using the ERTS-1 digital data to map the Alaskan land mass at the 1:250,000 scale ranged between $2.17 to $1.49 per square mile.

Impacts of Vegetation and Development on the Morphology of Coastal Sand Dunes Using Modern Geospatial Techniques: Jockey's Ridge Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weaver, K.; Mitasova, H.; Overton, M.

2011-12-01

LiDAR surveys acquired in the years 2007 and 2008, combined with previous LiDAR, topographic mapping and aerial imagery collected along the Outer Banks of North Carolina were used for comprehensive geospatial analysis of the largest sand dune on the eastern coast of the United States, Jockey's Ridge. The objective of the analysis was to evaluate whether the dune's evolution has continued as hypothesized in previous studies and whether an increase of development and vegetation has contributed to the dune's stabilization and overall loss of dune height. Geospatial analysis of the dune system evolution (1974 - 2008) was performed using time series of digital elevation models at one meter resolution. Image processing was conducted in order to analyze land cover change (1932 - 2009) using unsupervised classification to extract vegetation, development and sand in and around Jockey's Ridge State Park. The dune system evolution was then characterized using feature-based and raster-based metrics, including vertical and horizontal change of dune peaks, horizontal migration of dune crests, slip face geometry transformation and volume change analysis using the core and dynamic layer concept. Based on the evolutionary data studied, the volume of sand at Jockey's Ridge is consistent throughout time, composed of a stable core and a dynamically migrating layer that is not gaining or losing sand. Although the peak elevation of the Main Dune has decreased from 43m in 1953 to 22m in 2008, the analysis has shown that the sand is redistributed within the dune field. Today, the dune field peaks are increasing in elevation, and all of the dunes within the system are stabilizing at similar heights of 20-22m along with transformation of the dunes from unvegetated, crescentic to vegetated, parabolic dunes. The overall land cover trend indicates that since the 1930s vegetation and development have gradually increased over time, influencing the morphology of the dune field by stabilizing the area of sand that once fed the dunes, limiting aeolian sand transport and migration of the dune system. Not only are vegetation and development increasing around the Jockey's Ridge State Park, but vegetation is increasing inside the park boundaries with the majority of growth along the windward side of the dune system, blocking sand from feeding the dunes. Vegetation growth is also found to increase in front of the dune field, recently causing the migration of the dune to slow down.

Identifying images of handwritten digits using deep learning in H2O

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadhasivam, Jayakumar; Charanya, R.; Kumar, S. Harish; Srinivasan, A.

2017-11-01

Automatic digit recognition is of popular interest today. Deep learning techniques make it possible for object recognition in image data. Perceiving the digit has turned into a fundamental part as far as certifiable applications. Since, digits are composed in various styles in this way to distinguish the digit it is important to perceive and arrange it with the assistance of machine learning methods. This exploration depends on supervised learning vector quantization neural system arranged under counterfeit artificial neural network. The pictures of digits are perceived, prepared and tried. After the system is made digits are prepared utilizing preparing dataset vectors and testing is connected to the pictures of digits which are separated to each other by fragmenting the picture and resizing the digit picture as needs be for better precision.

Early Pliocene vegetation distribution in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popescu, S.; Warny, S.; Suc, J.

2010-12-01

The Early Pliocene corresponds to a global warm climate documented by marine & terrestrial records. Reconstruction of climatic parameters, based on terrestrial proxies, indicate at European mid-latitudes a MAT higher of about 1-5°C than today and MAP higher of about 400-1000 mm. This global warm situation was interrupted between 4.7 - 4.5 Ma by a cooling event related to small fluctuations of the Antarctic ice-sheet that modify the floristic assemblages. according to pollen recors, the Northern Mediterranean area is characterized by dominance of arboreal pollen, suggesting a dense forest cover, on contrary to the Southern Mediterranean where herbs were prevalent, signifying a widespread development of open vegetation during the early Pliocene. Such a contrast in landscape between the North and the South of the Mediterranean is to be related to the latitudinal gradient in humidity. In the North Mediterranean area, the vegetation organization was also closely linked to the relief. Coastal plains were inhabited by Taxodiaceae swamps replaced in some places by marshes. With respect to the geographic position, several plant ecosystems can distinguished: (1) salt marshes, along the Atlantic coastline (zone A); (2) marshes mostly made of Cyperaceae evidenced on the Mediterranean coastline. Such juxtaposed assemblages resemble the modern vegetation of the Mississippi Delta and Florida. Peculiar vegetation assemblages characterize the Mediterranean coastal plains. In the southeastern Mediterranean region (Zone B), the open vegetation was composed by herbs including subdesertic elements. Mediterranean xerophytes are only numerically represented in the area of Tarragona and Sicily, their assemblage resemble the modern thermo-mediterranean formation. Close to the mountains (Zone C) vegetation is organized according to an altitudinal gradient. The low altitude vegetation was composed by Taxodiaceae (Sequoia) while Cathaya and Cedrus dominated the mid-altitude belt. Abies and Picea developed in higher altitude. The Eastern Europe vegetation (zone D) was characterized by coexistent warm-temperate forests and open ecosystems. Some megathermic and mega-mesothermic elements were persisting. Mediterranean xerophytes were indentified in few amounts in the Eastern Europe, showing a slight increase according to the latitudinal gradient. Site 380A (Black Sea) provides relatively high percentages of Artemisia growing in Anatolia, which increased again during the cooler periods. Anatolia probably represents the origin of the repeated steppe expansions which occurred in Europe at each glacial phase. Finally, the Nile region (zone E) documents the presence of savannah (composed mainly by Poaceae and Cyperaceae) including some subdesertic taxa. Nile riparian forests preserved several tropical-subtropical elements.

Characterization of ASTER GDEM Elevation Data over Vegetated Area Compared with Lidar Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ni, Wenjian; Sun, Guoqing; Ranson, Kenneth J.

2013-01-01

Current researches based on areal or spaceborne stereo images with very high resolutions (less than 1 meter) have demonstrated that it is possible to derive vegetation height from stereo images. The second version of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer Global Digital Elevation Model (ASTER GDEM) is a state-of-the-art global elevation data-set developed by stereo images. However, the resolution of ASTER stereo images (15 meters) is much coarser than areal stereo images, and the ASTER GDEM is compiled products from stereo images acquired over 10 years. The forest disturbances as well as forest growth are inevitable in 10 years time span. In this study, the features of ASTER GDEM over vegetated areas under both flat and mountainous conditions were investigated by comparisons with lidar data. The factors possibly affecting the extraction of vegetation canopy height considered include (1) co-registration of DEMs; (2) spatial resolution of digital elevation models (DEMs); (3) spatial vegetation structure; and (4) terrain slope. The results show that accurate co-registration between ASTER GDEM and the National Elevation Dataset (NED) is necessary over mountainous areas. The correlation between ASTER GDEM minus NED and vegetation canopy height is improved from 0.328 to 0.43 by degrading resolutions from 1 arc-second to 5 arc-seconds and further improved to 0.6 if only homogenous vegetated areas were considered.

Digital Media Literacy in a Sports, Popular Culture and Literature Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fortuna, Carolyn

2015-01-01

This article considers how media sports culture is an apt space for digital media literacy instruction. Describing a senior year high school English course that requires students to deconstruct and compose with sports media texts, the author outlines how learning modules, analysis of curated collections of texts through heuristics, and mentor…

Trading Spaces: An Educator's Ethnographic Exploration of Adolescents' Digital Role-Play

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haynes-Moore, Stacy

2015-01-01

In this work, the author examines a digital role-play in which participants composed an alternate version of "The Hunger Games" (Collins, 2008). Participants imagined characters and posted more than 400 scenes in the online collaboration. The author draws upon ethnographic methods (Merriam, 2009) to describe her participant-observer…

Incoherent digital holograms acquired by interferenceless coded aperture correlation holography system without refractive lenses.

PubMed

Kumar, Manoj; Vijayakumar, A; Rosen, Joseph

2017-09-14

We present a lensless, interferenceless incoherent digital holography technique based on the principle of coded aperture correlation holography. The acquired digital hologram by this technique contains a three-dimensional image of some observed scene. Light diffracted by a point object (pinhole) is modulated using a random-like coded phase mask (CPM) and the intensity pattern is recorded and composed as a point spread hologram (PSH). A library of PSHs is created using the same CPM by moving the pinhole to all possible axial locations. Intensity diffracted through the same CPM from an object placed within the axial limits of the PSH library is recorded by a digital camera. The recorded intensity this time is composed as the object hologram. The image of the object at any axial plane is reconstructed by cross-correlating the object hologram with the corresponding component of the PSH library. The reconstruction noise attached to the image is suppressed by various methods. The reconstruction results of multiplane and thick objects by this technique are compared with regular lens-based imaging.

a R-Shiny Based Phenology Analysis System and Case Study Using Digital Camera Dataset

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Y. K.

2018-05-01

Accurate extracting of the vegetation phenology information play an important role in exploring the effects of climate changes on vegetation. Repeated photos from digital camera is a useful and huge data source in phonological analysis. Data processing and mining on phenological data is still a big challenge. There is no single tool or a universal solution for big data processing and visualization in the field of phenology extraction. In this paper, we proposed a R-shiny based web application for vegetation phenological parameters extraction and analysis. Its main functions include phenological site distribution visualization, ROI (Region of Interest) selection, vegetation index calculation and visualization, data filtering, growth trajectory fitting, phenology parameters extraction, etc. the long-term observation photography data from Freemanwood site in 2013 is processed by this system as an example. The results show that: (1) this system is capable of analyzing large data using a distributed framework; (2) The combination of multiple parameter extraction and growth curve fitting methods could effectively extract the key phenology parameters. Moreover, there are discrepancies between different combination methods in unique study areas. Vegetation with single-growth peak is suitable for using the double logistic module to fit the growth trajectory, while vegetation with multi-growth peaks should better use spline method.

Examination of the semi-automatic calculation technique of vegetation cover rate by digital camera images.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takemine, S.; Rikimaru, A.; Takahashi, K.

The rice is one of the staple foods in the world High quality rice production requires periodically collecting rice growth data to control the growth of rice The height of plant the number of stem the color of leaf is well known parameters to indicate rice growth Rice growth diagnosis method based on these parameters is used operationally in Japan although collecting these parameters by field survey needs a lot of labor and time Recently a laborsaving method for rice growth diagnosis is proposed which is based on vegetation cover rate of rice Vegetation cover rate of rice is calculated based on discriminating rice plant areas in a digital camera image which is photographed in nadir direction Discrimination of rice plant areas in the image was done by the automatic binarization processing However in the case of vegetation cover rate calculation method depending on the automatic binarization process there is a possibility to decrease vegetation cover rate against growth of rice In this paper a calculation method of vegetation cover rate was proposed which based on the automatic binarization process and referred to the growth hysteresis information For several images obtained by field survey during rice growing season vegetation cover rate was calculated by the conventional automatic binarization processing and the proposed method respectively And vegetation cover rate of both methods was compared with reference value obtained by visual interpretation As a result of comparison the accuracy of discriminating rice plant areas was increased by the proposed

Digital representation of oil and natural gas well pad scars in southwest Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Garman, Steven L.; McBeth, Jamie L.

2014-01-01

The recent proliferation of oil and natural gas energy development in southwest Wyoming has stimulated the need to understand wildlife responses to this development. Central to many wildlife assessments is the use of geospatial methods that rely on digital representation of energy infrastructure. Surface disturbance of the well pad scars associated with oil and natural gas extraction has been an important but unavailable infrastructure layer. To provide a digital baseline of this surface disturbance, we extracted visible oil and gas well pad scars from 1-meter National Agriculture Imagery Program imagery (NAIP) acquired in 2009 for a 7.7 million-hectare region of southwest Wyoming. Scars include the pad area where wellheads, pumps, and storage facilities reside, and the surrounding area that was scraped and denuded of vegetation during the establishment of the pad. Scars containing tanks, compressors, and the storage of oil and gas related equipment, and produced-water ponds were also collected on occasion. Our extraction method was a two-step process starting with automated extraction followed by manual inspection and clean up. We used available well-point information to guide manual clean up and to derive estimates of year of origin and duration of activity on a pad scar. We also derived estimates of the proportion of non-vegetated area on a scar using a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index derived using 1-meter NAIP imagery. We extracted 16,973 pad scars of which 15,318 were oil and gas well pads. Digital representation of pad scars along with time-stamps of activity and estimates of non-vegetated area provides important baseline (circa 2009) data for assessments of wildlife responses, land-use trends, and disturbance-mediated pattern assessments.

An object-based approach for tree species extraction from digital orthophoto maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamil, Akhtar; Bayram, Bulent

2018-05-01

Tree segmentation is an active and ongoing research area in the field of photogrammetry and remote sensing. It is more challenging due to both intra-class and inter-class similarities among various tree species. In this study, we exploited various statistical features for extraction of hazelnut trees from 1 : 5000 scaled digital orthophoto maps. Initially, the non-vegetation areas were eliminated using traditional normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) followed by application of mean shift segmentation for transforming the pixels into meaningful homogeneous objects. In order to eliminate false positives, morphological opening and closing was employed on candidate objects. A number of heuristics were also derived to eliminate unwanted effects such as shadow and bounding box aspect ratios, before passing them into the classification stage. Finally, a knowledge based decision tree was constructed to distinguish the hazelnut trees from rest of objects which include manmade objects and other type of vegetation. We evaluated the proposed methodology on 10 sample orthophoto maps obtained from Giresun province in Turkey. The manually digitized hazelnut tree boundaries were taken as reference data for accuracy assessment. Both manually digitized and segmented tree borders were converted into binary images and the differences were calculated. According to the obtained results, the proposed methodology obtained an overall accuracy of more than 85 % for all sample images.

Skylab

NASA Image and Video Library

1973-01-01

This EREP photograph of the Uncompahgre Plateau area of Colorado illustrates the land use classification using the hierarchical numbering system to depict land forms and vegetative patterns. The numerator is a three-digit number with decimal components identifying the vegetation analog or land use conditions. The denominator uses a three-component decimal system for landscape characterization.

Classification of wetlands vegetation using small scale color infrared imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williamson, F. S. L.

1975-01-01

A classification system for Chesapeake Bay wetlands was derived from the correlation of film density classes and actual vegetation classes. The data processing programs used were developed by the Laboratory for the Applications of Remote Sensing. These programs were tested for their value in classifying natural vegetation, using digitized data from small scale aerial photography. Existing imagery and the vegetation map of Farm Creek Marsh were used to determine the optimal number of classes, and to aid in determining if the computer maps were a believable product.

Increasing the accuracy and automation of fractional vegetation cover estimation from digital photographs

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The use of automated methods to estimate canopy cover (CC) from digital photographs has increased in recent years given its potential to produce accurate, fast and inexpensive CC measurements. Wide acceptance has been delayed because of the limitations of these methods. This work introduces a novel ...

Bringing the Book to Life: Responding to Historical Fiction Using Digital Storytelling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kesler, Ted; Gibson, Lenwood, Jr.; Turansky, Christine

2016-01-01

Using participatory action research, the first researcher functioned as co-teacher in a fifth-grade class in a large northeastern city public school. The researcher and classroom teacher guided 28 students working in book clubs to compose digital stories in response to historical fiction. The research questions were: (a) What interpretations did…

Adolescents Composing Fiction in Digital Game and Written Formats: Tacit, Explicit and Metacognitive Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McClay, Jill Kedersha; Mackey, Margaret; Carbonaro, Mike; Szafron, Duane; Schaeffer, Jonathan

2007-01-01

This article reports on a study of 23 tenth-grade students who created fiction in digital game and written formats. The researchers observed them at work, analysed their stories in both formats, and interviewed selected students to learn what affordances and constraints they demonstrate and/or articulate in such authoring. The students used…

Capacity and degree of iodine absorbed and enriched by vegetable from soil.

PubMed

Weng, Huan-Xin; Weng, Jing-Ke; Yong, Wen-Bin; Sun, Xiang-Wu; Zhong, Hang

2003-01-01

To understand the biogeochemical transfer of iodine, the absorbability and bioaccumulation of iodine in tested vegetables (radish, spinach and Chinese cabbage) are examined by applying iodic fertilizer composed of kelp and diatomaceous earth. The experimental results show that when iodine in soil is not excessive, the concentrations of iodine in tested vegetables increase as the content of iodine in soil increases. The absorbability and enrichment degree of iodine in various vegetables and in various parts of the same vegetable a redifferent, which explains that the concentration of iodine in plant is determined by the plant type and the physiological action of plant. The patience order of tested vegetables to excessive iodine is Chinese cabbage > spinach > radish. These results have theoretical and practical significance in opening up a new way for ameliorating poor iodine environment with artificial means.

Inventories of Delaware's coastal vegetation and land-use utilizing digital processing of ERTS-1 imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klemas, V. (Principal Investigator); Bartlett, D.; Rogers, R.; Reed, L.

1974-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Analysis of ERTS-1 color composite images using analogy processing equipment confirmed that all the major wetlands plant species were distinguishable at ERTS-1 scale. Furthermore, human alterations of the coastal zone were easily recognized since such alterations typically involve removal of vegetative cover resulting in a change of spectral signature. The superior spectral resolution of the CCTs as compared with single band or composite imagery has indeed provided good discrimination through digital analysis of the CCTs with the added advantage of rapid production of thematic maps and data.

A time-domain digitally controlled oscillator composed of a free running ring oscillator and flying-adder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Liu; Wei, Li; Peng, Ren; Qinglong, Lin; Shengdong, Zhang; Yangyuan, Wang

2009-09-01

A time-domain digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) is proposed. The DCO is composed of a free-running ring oscillator (FRO) and a two lap-selectors integrated flying-adder (FA). With a coiled cell array which allows uniform loading capacitances of the delay cells, the FRO produces 32 outputs with consistent tap spacing for the FA as reference clocks. The FA uses the outputs from the FRO to generate the output of the DCO according to the control number, resulting in a linear dependence of the output period, instead of the frequency on the digital controlling word input. Thus the proposed DCO ensures a good conversion linearity in a time-domain, and is suitable for time-domain all-digital phase locked loop applications. The DCO was implemented in a standard 0.13 μm digital logic CMOS process. The measurement results show that the DCO has a linear and monotonic tuning curve with gain variation of less than 10%, and a very low root mean square period jitter of 9.3 ps in the output clocks. The DCO works well at supply voltages ranging from 0.6 to 1.2 V, and consumes 4 mW of power with 500 MHz frequency output at 1.2 V supply voltage.

Using LANDSAT digital data for estimating green biomass. [Throckmorton, Texas test site and Great Plans Corridor, US

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deering, D. W.; Haas, R. H. (Principal Investigator)

1980-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Relationships between the quantity of mixed prairie rangeland vegetation and LANDSAT MSS response were studied during four growing seasons at test sites throughout the United States Great Plans region. A LANDSAT derived parameter, the normalized difference was developed from theoretical considerations fro statistical estimation of the amount and seasonal condition of rangeland vegetation. This parameter was tested for application to local assessment of green forage biomass and regional monitoring of range feed conditions and drought. Results show that for grasslands in the Great Plains with near continuous vegetative cover and free of heavy brush and forbs, the LANDSAT digital data can provide a useful estimate of the quantity of green forage biomass (within 250 kg/ha), and at least five levels of pasture and range feed conditions can be adequately mapped for extended regions.

Processing of airborne laser scanning data to generate accurate DTM for floodplain wetland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szporak-Wasilewska, Sylwia; Mirosław-Świątek, Dorota; Grygoruk, Mateusz; Michałowski, Robert; Kardel, Ignacy

2015-10-01

Structure of the floodplain, especially its topography and vegetation, influences the overland flow and dynamics of floods which are key factors shaping ecosystems in surface water-fed wetlands. Therefore elaboration of the digital terrain model (DTM) of a high spatial accuracy is crucial in hydrodynamic flow modelling in river valleys. In this study the research was conducted in the unique Central European complex of fens and marshes - the Lower Biebrza river valley. The area is represented mainly by peat ecosystems which according to EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) are called "water-dependent ecosystems". Development of accurate DTM in these areas which are overgrown by dense wetland vegetation consisting of alder forest, willow shrubs, reed, sedges and grass is very difficult, therefore to represent terrain in high accuracy the airborne laser scanning data (ALS) with scanning density of 4 points/m2 was used and the correction of the "vegetation effect" on DTM was executed. This correction was performed utilizing remotely sensed images, topographical survey using the Real Time Kinematic positioning and vegetation height measurements. In order to classify different types of vegetation within research area the object based image analysis (OBIA) was used. OBIA allowed partitioning remotely sensed imagery into meaningful image-objects, and assessing their characteristics through spatial and spectral scale. The final maps of vegetation patches that include attributes of vegetation height and vegetation spectral properties, utilized both the laser scanning data and the vegetation indices developed on the basis of airborne and satellite imagery. This data was used in process of segmentation, attribution and classification. Several different vegetation indices were tested to distinguish different types of vegetation in wetland area. The OBIA classification allowed correction of the "vegetation effect" on DTM. The final digital terrain model was compared and examined within distinguished land cover classes (formed mainly by natural vegetation of the river valley) with archival height models developed through interpolation of ground points measured with GPS RTK and also with elevation models from the ASTER-GDEM and SRTM programs. The research presented in this paper allowed improving quality of hydrodynamic modelling in the surface water-fed wetlands protected within Biebrza National Park. Additionally, the comparison with other digital terrain models allowed to demonstrate the importance of accurate topography products in such modelling. The ALS data also significantly improved the accuracy and actuality of the river Biebrza course, its tributaries and location of numerous oxbows typical in this part of the river valley in comparison to previously available data. This type of data also helped to refine the river valley cross-sections, designate river banks and to develop the slope map of the research area.

An approach to the optical MSD adder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takahashi, Hideya; Matsushita, Kenji; Shimizu, Eiji

1990-07-01

The intrinsic parallelism of optical elements for computation is presently taken fuller advantage of than heretofore possible through an optical implementation of the modified signed digit (MSD) number system, which yields carry-free addition and subtraction. In the present optical implementation of the MSD system, optical phase data are used to preclude negative value representation. Attention is given to an MSD adder array for addition operations on two n-digit trinary numbers; the output is composed of n + 1 trinary digits.

Influences of watershed geomorphology on extent and composition of riparian vegetation

Treesearch

Blake M. Engelhardt; Peter J. Weisberg; Jeanne C. Chambers

2011-01-01

Watershed (drainage basin) morphometry and geology were derived from digital data sets (DEMs and geologic maps). Riparian corridors were classified into five vegetation types (riparian forest, riparian shrub, wet/mesic meadow, dry meadow and shrub dry meadow) using high-resolution aerial photography. Regression and multivariate analyses were used to relate geomorphic...

Hyper-temporal remote sensing for digital soil mapping: Characterizing soil-vegetation response to climatic variability

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Indices derived from remotely-sensed imagery are commonly used to predict soil properties with digital soil mapping (DSM) techniques. The use of images from single dates or a small number of dates is most common for DSM; however, selection of the appropriate images is complicated by temporal variabi...

Can a Satellite-Derived Estimate of the Fraction of PAR Absorbed by Chlorophyll (FAPAR(sub chl)) Improve Predictions of Light-Use Efficiency and Ecosystem Photosynthesis for a Boreal Aspen Forest?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhang, Qingyuan; Middleton, Elizabeth M.; Margolis, Hank A.; Drolet, Guillaume G.; Barr, Alan A.; Black, T. Andrew

2009-01-01

Gross primary production (GPP) is a key terrestrial ecophysiological process that links atmospheric composition and vegetation processes. Study of GPP is important to global carbon cycles and global warming. One of the most important of these processes, plant photosynthesis, requires solar radiation in the 0.4-0.7 micron range (also known as photosynthetically active radiation or PAR), water, carbon dioxide (CO2), and nutrients. A vegetation canopy is composed primarily of photosynthetically active vegetation (PAV) and non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV; e.g., senescent foliage, branches and stems). A green leaf is composed of chlorophyll and various proportions of nonphotosynthetic components (e.g., other pigments in the leaf, primary/secondary/tertiary veins, and cell walls). The fraction of PAR absorbed by whole vegetation canopy (FAPAR(sub canopy)) has been widely used in satellite-based Production Efficiency Models to estimate GPP (as a product of FAPAR(sub canopy)x PAR x LUE(sub canopy), where LUE(sub canopy) is light use efficiency at canopy level). However, only the PAR absorbed by chlorophyll (a product of FAPAR(sub chl) x PAR) is used for photosynthesis. Therefore, remote sensing driven biogeochemical models that use FAPAR(sub chl) in estimating GPP (as a product of FAPAR(sub chl x PAR x LUE(sub chl) are more likely to be consistent with plant photosynthesis processes.

Feasibility Study for Ballet E-Learning: Automatic Composition System for Ballet "Enchainement" with Online 3D Motion Data Archive

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Umino, Bin; Longstaff, Jeffrey Scott; Soga, Asako

2009-01-01

This paper reports on "Web3D dance composer" for ballet e-learning. Elementary "petit allegro" ballet steps were enumerated in collaboration with ballet teachers, digitally acquired through 3D motion capture systems, and categorised into families and sub-families. Digital data was manipulated into virtual reality modelling language (VRML) and fit…

Extraction of Urban Trees from Integrated Airborne Based Digital Image and LIDAR Point Cloud Datasets - Initial Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dogon-yaro, M. A.; Kumar, P.; Rahman, A. Abdul; Buyuksalih, G.

2016-10-01

Timely and accurate acquisition of information on the condition and structural changes of urban trees serves as a tool for decision makers to better appreciate urban ecosystems and their numerous values which are critical to building up strategies for sustainable development. The conventional techniques used for extracting tree features include; ground surveying and interpretation of the aerial photography. However, these techniques are associated with some constraint, such as labour intensive field work, a lot of financial requirement, influences by weather condition and topographical covers which can be overcome by means of integrated airborne based LiDAR and very high resolution digital image datasets. This study presented a semi-automated approach for extracting urban trees from integrated airborne based LIDAR and multispectral digital image datasets over Istanbul city of Turkey. The above scheme includes detection and extraction of shadow free vegetation features based on spectral properties of digital images using shadow index and NDVI techniques and automated extraction of 3D information about vegetation features from the integrated processing of shadow free vegetation image and LiDAR point cloud datasets. The ability of the developed algorithms shows a promising result as an automated and cost effective approach to estimating and delineated 3D information of urban trees. The research also proved that integrated datasets is a suitable technology and a viable source of information for city managers to be used in urban trees management.

Topographic and geomorphologic controls on the distribution of vegetation formations in Elephant Point (Livingston Island, Maritime Antarctica).

PubMed

Ruiz-Fernández, Jesús; Oliva, Marc; García-Hernández, Cristina

2017-06-01

This article focuses on the spatial distribution of vegetation formations in Elephant Point, an ice-free area of 1.16km 2 located in Livingston Island (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica). Fieldwork carried out in January 2014 consisted of floristic surveys and designation of a vegetation map. We have examined these data in a GIS environment together with topographical and geomorphological features existing in the peninsula in order to infer the factors controlling vegetation distribution. This has allowed quantifying the total area covered by the four different vegetation formations distributed across the peninsula, proliferating mainly on bedrock plateaus and Holocene raised beaches. Grass formation is essentially composed of Deschampsia antarctica, distributed almost exclusively on raised beaches, and covering 4.1% of the ice-free surface. The remaining three formations are fundamentally composed of cryptogam species. The first of which is fruticose lichen and moss formation, present on high bedrock plateaus and principally formed by lichens such as Usnea aurantiaco-atra. The next is the crustose lichen formation, spreading on bedrock plateaus near the coast populated by bird colonies. In this case, ornitocoprophilous lichens such as Caloplaca regalis, Xanthoria elegans and Haematomma erythromma are predominant. Together, both formations have colonised 5.1% of the peninsula. The last variety, moss carpet and moss cushion formation, occupies 1.4% of the deglaciated surface, spreading primarily in flooded areas, stabilised talus slopes, and bedrock plateaus as well. Therefore, the total surface colonised by vegetation is 12.2ha, which comprises 10.5% of the peninsula. Due to the retreat of the Rotch Dome glacier, 20.1ha remain ice-free since 1956 (17.3% of the deglaciated area). Ever since, even though the Antarctic Peninsula has registered one of the most significant temperature rises on Earth, vegetation has only colonised 0.04ha of this new space, which merely represents 0.3% of the vegetated area in Elephant Point. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Irrigation scheduling, freeze warning and soil salinity detecting. [in Cameron County Texas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wiegand, C. L. (Principal Investigator)

1975-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Correlations of multispectral scanner (MSS) digital data differences between vegetated and bare soil areas with salinity levels from the eight saline areas using MSS bands seven and ten in the infrared region were significant. Correlations were derived for Cameron County, Texas. Detection of saline soils may be possible, using either film density readings or multispectral scanner data, when the lower reflectance of vegetation on highly saline soil and the higher reflectance of vegetation on lower saline soil are considered by using film on MSS contrasts between vegetation and bare soil.

The place-value of a digit in multi-digit numbers is processed automatically.

PubMed

Kallai, Arava Y; Tzelgov, Joseph

2012-09-01

The automatic processing of the place-value of digits in a multi-digit number was investigated in 4 experiments. Experiment 1 and two control experiments employed a numerical comparison task in which the place-value of a non-zero digit was varied in a string composed of zeros. Experiment 2 employed a physical comparison task in which strings of digits varied in their physical sizes. In both types of tasks, the place-value of the non-zero digit in the string was irrelevant to the task performed. Interference of the place-value information was found in both tasks. When the non-zero digit occupied a lower place-value, it was recognized slower as a larger digit or as written in a larger font size. We concluded that place-value in a multi-digit number is processed automatically. These results support the notion of a decomposed representation of multi-digit numbers in memory. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

A high-quality fuels database of photos and information

Treesearch

Clinton S. Wright; Paige C. Eagle; Diana L. Olson

2010-01-01

Photo series and their associated data provide a quick and easy way for managers to quantify and describe fuel and vegetation properties, such as loading of dead and down woody material, tree density, or height of understory vegetation. This information is critical for making fuel management decisions and for predicting fire behavior and fire effects. The Digital Photo...

Automating the Fireshed Assessment Process with ArcGIS

Treesearch

Alan Ager; Klaus Barber

2006-01-01

A library of macros was developed to automate the Fireshed process within ArcGIS. The macros link a number of vegetation simulation and wildfire behavior models (FVS, SVS, FARSITE, and FlamMap) with ESRI geodatabases, desktop software (Access, Excel), and ArcGIS. The macros provide for (1) an interactive linkage between digital imagery, vegetation data, FVS-FFE, and...

Multipolarization radar images for geologic mapping and vegetation discrimination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evans, D. L.; Farr, T. G.; Ford, J. P.; Thompson, T. W.; Werner, C. L.

1986-01-01

NASA has developed an airborne SAR that simultaneously yields image data in four linear polarizations in L-band with 10-m resolution over a swath of about 10 km. Signal data are recorded both optically and digitally and annotated in each of the channels to facilitate completely automated digital correlation. Comparison of the relative intensities of the different polarizations furnishes discriminatory mapping information. Local intensity variations in like-polarization images result from topographic effects, while strong cross polarization responses denote the effects of vegetation cover and, in some cases, possible scattering from the subsurface. In each of the areas studied, multiple polarization data led to the discrimination and mapping of unique surface unit features.

An accounting system for water and consumptive use along the Colorado River, Hoover Dam to Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Owen-Joyce, Sandra J.; Raymond, Lee H.

1996-01-01

An accounting system for estimating and distributing consumptive use of water by vegetation to water users was developed for the Colorado River to meet the requirements of a U.S. Supreme Court decree and used with data from calendar year 1984. The system is based on a water-budget method to estimate total consumptive use by vegetation which is apportioned to agricultural users by using percentages of total evapotranspiration by vegetation estimated from digital-image analysis of satellite data.

Crafting a positive professional digital profile to augment your practice

PubMed Central

Kraakevik, Jeff

2016-01-01

Abstract A digital profile is the sum content about a person on the Internet. A digital profile can be composed of personal or professional information shared on public Web sites posted personally or by others. One of the most effective ways to build a positive professional digital profile is through social media. It is increasingly important to maintain a positive digital profile as others mine the Internet to find out about a professional prior to meeting him or her. As the digital environment continues to grow, it will become increasingly difficult to neglect a professional digital profile without potential negative consequences. There are many benefits to creating a digital presence and using the tools available to learn about neurology and interact with other professionals and patients in ways that were not possible in the past. The spread of social media to a large part of the population makes it unlikely to go away. PMID:29443275

Crafting a positive professional digital profile to augment your practice.

PubMed

Kraakevik, Jeff

2016-02-01

A digital profile is the sum content about a person on the Internet. A digital profile can be composed of personal or professional information shared on public Web sites posted personally or by others. One of the most effective ways to build a positive professional digital profile is through social media. It is increasingly important to maintain a positive digital profile as others mine the Internet to find out about a professional prior to meeting him or her. As the digital environment continues to grow, it will become increasingly difficult to neglect a professional digital profile without potential negative consequences. There are many benefits to creating a digital presence and using the tools available to learn about neurology and interact with other professionals and patients in ways that were not possible in the past. The spread of social media to a large part of the population makes it unlikely to go away.

Electronics for a prototype variable field of view PET camera using the PMT-quadrant-sharing detector array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, H.; Wong, Wai-Hoi; Zhang, N.; Wang, J.; Uribe, J.; Baghaei, H.; Yokoyama, S.

1999-06-01

Electronics for a prototype high-resolution PET camera with eight position-sensitive detector modules has been developed. Each module has 16 BGO (Bi/sub 4/Ge/sub 3/O/sub 12/) blocks (each block is composed of 49 crystals). The design goals are component and space reduction. The electronics is composed of five parts: front-end analog processing, digital position decoding, fast timing, coincidence processing and master data acquisition. The front-end analog circuit is a zone-based structure (each zone has 3/spl times/3 PMTs). Nine ADCs digitize integration signals of an active zone identified by eight trigger clusters; each cluster is composed of six photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). A trigger corresponding to a gamma ray is sent to a fast timing board to obtain a time-mark, and the nine digitized signals are passed to the position decoding board, where a real block (four PMTs) can be picked out from the zone for position decoding. Lookup tables are used for energy discrimination and to identify the gamma-hit crystal location. The coincidence board opens a 70-ns initial timing window, followed by two 20-ns true/accidental time-mark lookup table windows. The data output from the coincidence board can be acquired either in sinogram mode or in list mode with a Motorola/IRONICS VME-based system.

[Fast discrimination of edible vegetable oil based on Raman spectroscopy].

PubMed

Zhou, Xiu-Jun; Dai, Lian-Kui; Li, Sheng

2012-07-01

A novel method to fast discriminate edible vegetable oils by Raman spectroscopy is presented. The training set is composed of different edible vegetable oils with known classes. Based on their original Raman spectra, baseline correction and normalization were applied to obtain standard spectra. Two characteristic peaks describing the unsaturated degree of vegetable oil were selected as feature vectors; then the centers of all classes were calculated. For an edible vegetable oil with unknown class, the same pretreatment and feature extraction methods were used. The Euclidian distances between the feature vector of the unknown sample and the center of each class were calculated, and the class of the unknown sample was finally determined by the minimum distance. For 43 edible vegetable oil samples from seven different classes, experimental results show that the clustering effect of each class was more obvious and the class distance was much larger with the new feature extraction method compared with PCA. The above classification model can be applied to discriminate unknown edible vegetable oils rapidly and accurately.

Use of vegetation indices to estimate intercepted solar radiation and net carbon dioxide exchange of a grass canopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bartlett, David S.; Whiting, Gary J.; Hartman, Jean M.

1989-01-01

Results are presented from field experiments relating spectral reflectance to intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and net CO2 exchange in a natural canopy composed of the marsh cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). Reflectance measurements made by a hand-held radiometer with Landsat TM spectral wavebands are used to compute remote sensing indices such as the normalized difference vegetation index. Consideration is given to the impact of standing dead canopy material on the relationship between intercepted PAR and spectral vegetation indices and the impact of changes in photosynthetic efficiency on the relationship between vegetation indices and CO2 exchange rates. The results suggest that quantitative remote assessment of photosynthesis and net gas exchange in natural vegetation is feasible, especially if the analysis incorporates information on biological responses to environmental variables.

Multi-feature machine learning model for automatic segmentation of green fractional vegetation cover for high-throughput field phenotyping.

PubMed

Sadeghi-Tehran, Pouria; Virlet, Nicolas; Sabermanesh, Kasra; Hawkesford, Malcolm J

2017-01-01

Accurately segmenting vegetation from the background within digital images is both a fundamental and a challenging task in phenotyping. The performance of traditional methods is satisfactory in homogeneous environments, however, performance decreases when applied to images acquired in dynamic field environments. In this paper, a multi-feature learning method is proposed to quantify vegetation growth in outdoor field conditions. The introduced technique is compared with the state-of the-art and other learning methods on digital images. All methods are compared and evaluated with different environmental conditions and the following criteria: (1) comparison with ground-truth images, (2) variation along a day with changes in ambient illumination, (3) comparison with manual measurements and (4) an estimation of performance along the full life cycle of a wheat canopy. The method described is capable of coping with the environmental challenges faced in field conditions, with high levels of adaptiveness and without the need for adjusting a threshold for each digital image. The proposed method is also an ideal candidate to process a time series of phenotypic information throughout the crop growth acquired in the field. Moreover, the introduced method has an advantage that it is not limited to growth measurements only but can be applied on other applications such as identifying weeds, diseases, stress, etc.

Estimation of Leaf Area Index and Plant Area Index of a Submerged Macrophyte Canopy Using Digital Photography

PubMed Central

Zhao, Dehua; Xie, Dong; Zhou, Hengjie; Jiang, Hao; An, Shuqing

2012-01-01

Non-destructive estimation using digital cameras is a common approach for estimating leaf area index (LAI) of terrestrial vegetation. However, no attempt has been made so far to develop non-destructive approaches to LAI estimation for aquatic vegetation. Using the submerged plant species Potamogeton malainus, the objective of this study was to determine whether the gap fraction derived from vertical photographs could be used to estimate LAI of aquatic vegetation. Our results suggested that upward-oriented photographs taken from beneath the water surface were more suitable for distinguishing vegetation from other objects than were downward-oriented photographs taken from above the water surface. Exposure settings had a substantial influence on the identification of vegetation in upward-oriented photographs. Automatic exposure performed nearly as well as the optimal trial exposure, making it a good choice for operational convenience. Similar to terrestrial vegetation, our results suggested that photographs taken for the purpose of distinguishing gap fraction in aquatic vegetation should be taken under diffuse light conditions. Significant logarithmic relationships were observed between the vertical gap fraction derived from upward-oriented photographs and plant area index (PAI) and LAI derived from destructive harvesting. The model we developed to depict the relationship between PAI and gap fraction was similar to the modified theoretical Poisson model, with coefficients of 1.82 and 1.90 for our model and the theoretical model, respectively. This suggests that vertical upward-oriented photographs taken from below the water surface are a feasible alternative to destructive harvesting for estimating PAI and LAI for the submerged aquatic plant Potamogeton malainus. PMID:23226557

Quantum reading of a classical digital memory.

PubMed

Pirandola, Stefano

2011-03-04

We consider a basic model of digital memory where each cell is composed of a reflecting medium with two possible reflectivities. By fixing the mean number of photons irradiated over each memory cell, we show that a nonclassical source of light can retrieve more information than any classical source. This improvement is shown in the regime of few photons and high reflectivities, where the gain of information can be surprising. As a result, the use of quantum light can have nontrivial applications in the technology of digital memories, such as optical disks and barcodes.

National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Inventory Program: Natchez Trace Parkway vegetation mapping project report

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hop, Kevin D.; Strassman, Andrew C.; Nordman, Carl; Pyne, Milo; White, Rickie; Jakusz, Joseph; Hoy, Erin E.; Dieck, Jennifer

2016-01-01

The National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Mapping Inventory (VMI) Program is an effort to classify, describe, and map existing vegetation of national park units for the NPS Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program. The NPS VMI Program is managed by the NPS I&M Division and provides baseline vegetation information to the NPS Natural Resource I&M Program. The U.S. Geological Survey Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, NatureServe, NPS Gulf Coast Network, and NPS Natchez Trace Parkway (NATR; also referred to as Parkway) have completed vegetation classification and mapping of NATR for the NPS VMI Program.Mappers, ecologists, and botanists collaborated to affirm vegetation types within the U.S. National Vegetation Classification (USNVC) of NATR and to determine how best to map them by using aerial imagery. Analyses of data from 589 vegetation plots had been used to describe an initial 99 USNVC associations in the Parkway; this classification work was completed prior to beginning this NATR vegetation mapping project. Data were collected during this project from another eight quick plots to support new vegetation types not previously identified at the Parkway. Data from 120 verification sites were collected to test the field key to vegetation associations and the application of vegetation associations to a sample set of map polygons. Furthermore, data from 900 accuracy assessment (AA) sites were collected (of which 894 were used to test accuracy of the vegetation map layer). The collective of all these datasets resulted in affirming 122 USNVC associations at NATR.To map the vegetation and open water of NATR, 63 map classes were developed. including the following: 54 map classes represent natural (including ruderal) vegetation types in the USNVC, 5 map classes represent cultural (agricultural and developed) vegetation types in the USNVC, 3 map classes represent nonvegetation open-water bodies (non-USNVC), and 1 map class represents landscapes that had received tornado damage a few months prior to the time of aerial imagery collection. Features were interpreted from viewing 4-band digital aerial imagery by means of digital onscreen three-dimensional stereoscopic workflow systems in geographic information systems. (The aerial imagery was collected during mid-October 2011 for the northern reach of the Parkway and mid-November 2011 for the southern reach of the Parkway to capture peak leaf-phenology of trees.) The interpreted data were digitally and spatially referenced, thus making the spatial-database layers usable in geographic information systems. Polygon units were mapped to either a 0.5 hectare (ha) or 0.25 ha minimum mapping unit, depending on vegetation type or scenario.A geodatabase containing various feature-class layers and tables present the locations of USNVC vegetation types (vegetation map), vegetation plot samples, verification sites, AA sites, project boundary extent, and aerial image centers. The feature-class layer and related tables for the vegetation map provide 13,529 polygons of detailed attribute data covering 21,655.5 ha, with an average polygon size of 1.6 ha; the vegetation map coincides closely with the administrative boundary for NATR.Summary reports generated from the vegetation map layer of the map classes representing USNVC natural (including ruderal) vegetation types apply to 12,648 polygons (93.5% of polygons) and cover 18,542.7 ha (85.6%) of the map extent for NATR. The map layer indicates the Parkway to be 70.5% forest and woodland (15,258.7 ha), 0.3% shrubland (63.0 ha), and 14.9% herbaceous cover (3,221.0 ha). Map classes representing USNVC cultural types apply to 678 polygons (5.0% of polygons) and cover 2,413.9 ha (11.1%) of the map extent.

An integrated and open source GIS environmental management system for a protected area in the south of Portugal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teodoro, A.; Duarte, L.; Sillero, N.; Gonçalves, J. A.; Fonte, J.; Gonçalves-Seco, L.; Pinheiro da Luz, L. M.; dos Santos Beja, N. M. R.

2015-10-01

Herdade da Contenda (HC), located in Moura municipality, Beja district (Alentejo province) in the south of Portugal (southwestern Iberia Peninsula), is a national hunting area with 5270ha. The development of an integrated system that aims to make the management of the natural and cultural heritage resources will be very useful for an effective management of this area. This integrated system should include the physical characterization of the territory, natural conservation, land use and land management themes, as well the cultural heritage resources. This paper presents a new tool for an integrated environmental management system of the HC, which aims to produce maps under a GIS open source environment (QGIS). The application is composed by a single button which opens a window. The window is composed by twelve menus (File, DRASTIC, Forest Fire Risk, Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), Bioclimatic Index, Cultural Heritage, Fauna and Flora, Ortofoto, Normalizes Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Digital Elevation Model (DEM), Land Use Land Cover Cover (LULC) and Help. Several inputs are requires to generate these maps, e.g. DEM, geologic information, soil map, hydraulic conductivity information, LULC map, vulnerability and economic information, NDVI. Six buttons were added to the toolbar which allows to manipulate the information in the map canvas: Zoom in, Zoom out, Pan, Print/Layout and Clear. This integrated and open source GIS environment management system was developed for the HC area, but could be easily adapted to other natural or protected area. Despite the lack of data, the methodology presented fulfills the objectives.

[The structure of vegetative organs, and saponins histochemical localization and content comparization in Polygala sibirica L].

PubMed

Teng, Hong Mei; Fang, Min Feng; Hu, Zheng Hai

2009-02-01

Anatomical, histochemical and phytochemistry methods were used to investigate the structure of vegetative organs, and saponins localization and dynamic changes in Polygala sibirica L. The root consisted of developed periderm and secondary vascular. The secondary phloem was thick, and mainly composed of parenchyma. There were well-developed vessels and fibers in the secondary xylem. The stem was composed of epidermis, cortex and vascular bundle. The ring of sclerenchymatous cells lied between cortex and phloem might be the apoplastic protective screen which could protect the stem from drought. The leaf was bifacial one. The root and stem possessed characteristics adapting to arid environment. Histochemical localization results showed that saponins distributed in secondary phloem and phelloderm of root, in epidermis, cortex and phloem of stem, mainly in mesophyll of leaf. It displayed that saponins accumulated mainly in parenchyma cells of vegetative organs, among of which, the secondary phloem was the main storage site. The HPLC results also showed that the saponins accumulated in all the vegetative organs of Polygala sibirica L., with higher content in roots and lower content in the aerial part that included stems and leaves. The study indicated the aerial part of Polygala sibirica L. also had medicinal value. The saponins content had dynamic variance at the developmental stage, the crude drug should be gathered at period from April to May.

Analyzing long-term changes in vegetation with geographic information system and remotely sensed data

Treesearch

Louis. R. Iverson; Paul. G. Risser; Paul. G. Risser

1987-01-01

Geographic information systems and remote sensing techniques are powerful tools in the analysis of long-term changes in vegetation and land use, especially because spatial information from two or more time intervals can be compared more readily than by manual methods. A primary restriction is the paucity of data that has been digitized from earlier periods. The...

Development and Functionality of a Handheld Computer Program to Improve Fruit and Vegetable Intake among Low-Income Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nollen, Nicole L.; Hutcheson, Tresza; Carlson, Susan; Rapoff, Michael; Goggin, Kathy; Mayfield, Carlene; Ellerbeck, Edward

2013-01-01

Mobile technologies hold promise for improving diet and physical activity, but little attention is given to creating programs that adolescents like and will use. This study developed a personal digital assistant (PDA) program to promote increased intake of fruits and vegetables (FV) in predominately low-income, ethnic minority girls. This study…

Landsat-faciliated vegetation classification of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and adjacent areas, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Talbot, S. S.; Shasby, M.B.; Bailey, T.N.

1985-01-01

A Landsat-based vegetation map was prepared for Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and adjacent lands, 2 million and 2.5 million acres respectively. The refuge lies within the middle boreal sub zone of south central Alaska. Seven major classes and sixteen subclasses were recognized: forest (closed needleleaf, needleleaf woodland, mixed); deciduous scrub (lowland and montane, subalpine); dwarf scrub (dwarf shrub tundra, lichen tundra, dwarf shrub and lichen tundra, dwarf shrub peatland, string bog/wetlands); herbaceous (graminoid meadows and marshes); scarcely vegetated areas ; water (clear, moderately turbid, highly turbid); and glaciers. The methodology employed a cluster-block technique. Sample areas were described based on a combination of helicopter-ground survey, aerial photo interpretation, and digital Landsat data. Major steps in the Landsat analysis involved: preprocessing (geometric connection), spectral class labeling of sample areas, derivation of statistical parameters for spectral classes, preliminary classification of the entree study area using a maximum-likelihood algorithm, and final classification through ancillary information such as digital elevation data. The vegetation map (scale 1:250,000) was a pioneering effort since there were no intermediate-sclae maps of the area. Representative of distinctive regional patterns, the map was suitable for use in comprehensive conservation planning and wildlife management.

Age discrimination among eruptives of Menengai Caldera, Kenya, using vegetation parameters from satellite imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blodget, Herbert W.; Heirtzler, James R.

1993-01-01

Results are presented of an investigation to determine the degree to which digitally processed Landsat TM imagery can be used to discriminate among vegetated lava flows of different ages in the Menengai Caldera, Kenya. A selective series of five images, consisting of a color-coded Landsat 5 classification and four color composites, are compared with geologic maps. The most recent of more than 70 postcaldera flows within the caldera are trachytes, which are variably covered by shrubs and subsidiary grasses. Soil development evolves as a function of time, and as such supports a changing plant community. Progressively older flows exhibit the increasing dominance of grasses over bushes. The Landsat images correlated well with geologic maps, but the two mapped age classes could be further subdivided on the basis of different vegetation communities. It is concluded that field maps can be modified, and in some cases corrected by use of such imagery, and that digitally enhanced Landsat imagery can be a useful aid to field mapping in similar terrains.

The natural resources inventory system ASVT project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Joyce, A. T.

1979-01-01

The hardware/software and the associated procedures for a natural resource inventory and information system based on the use of LANDSAT-acquired multispectral scanner digital data is described. The system is designed to derive land cover/vegetation information from LANDSAT data and geographically reference this information for the production of various types of maps and for the compilation of acreage by land cover/vegetation category. The system also provides for data base building so that the LANDSAT-derived information can be related to information digitized from other sources (e.g., soils maps) in a geographic context in order to address specific applications. These applications include agricultural crop production estimation, erosion hazard-reforestation need assessment, whitetail deer habitat assessment, and site selection. The system is tested in demonstration areas located in the state of Mississippi, and the results of these application demonstrations are presented. A cost-efficiency comparison of producing land cover/vegetation maps and statistics with this system versus the use of small-scale aerial photography is made.

Field-Deployable Acoustic Digital Systems for Noise Measurement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shams, Qamar A.; Wright, Kenneth D.; Lunsford, Charles B.; Smith, Charlie D.

2000-01-01

Langley Research Center (LaRC) has for years been a leader in field acoustic array measurement technique. Two field-deployable digital measurement systems have been developed to support acoustic research programs at LaRC. For several years, LaRC has used the Digital Acoustic Measurement System (DAMS) for measuring the acoustic noise levels from rotorcraft and tiltrotor aircraft. Recently, a second system called Remote Acquisition and Storage System (RASS) was developed and deployed for the first time in the field along with DAMS system for the Community Noise Flight Test using the NASA LaRC-757 aircraft during April, 2000. The test was performed at Airborne Airport in Wilmington, OH to validate predicted noise reduction benefits from alternative operational procedures. The test matrix was composed of various combinations of altitude, cutback power, and aircraft weight. The DAMS digitizes the acoustic inputs at the microphone site and can be located up to 2000 feet from the van which houses the acquisition, storage and analysis equipment. Digitized data from up to 10 microphones is recorded on a Jaz disk and is analyzed post-test by microcomputer system. The RASS digitizes and stores acoustic inputs at the microphone site that can be located up to three miles from the base station and can compose a 3 mile by 3 mile array of microphones. 16-bit digitized data from the microphones is stored on removable Jaz disk and is transferred through a high speed array to a very large high speed permanent storage device. Up to 30 microphones can be utilized in the array. System control and monitoring is accomplished via Radio Frequency (RF) link. This paper will present a detailed description of both systems, along with acoustic data analysis from both systems.

Synthetic mixed-signal computation in living cells

PubMed Central

Rubens, Jacob R.; Selvaggio, Gianluca; Lu, Timothy K.

2016-01-01

Living cells implement complex computations on the continuous environmental signals that they encounter. These computations involve both analogue- and digital-like processing of signals to give rise to complex developmental programs, context-dependent behaviours and homeostatic activities. In contrast to natural biological systems, synthetic biological systems have largely focused on either digital or analogue computation separately. Here we integrate analogue and digital computation to implement complex hybrid synthetic genetic programs in living cells. We present a framework for building comparator gene circuits to digitize analogue inputs based on different thresholds. We then demonstrate that comparators can be predictably composed together to build band-pass filters, ternary logic systems and multi-level analogue-to-digital converters. In addition, we interface these analogue-to-digital circuits with other digital gene circuits to enable concentration-dependent logic. We expect that this hybrid computational paradigm will enable new industrial, diagnostic and therapeutic applications with engineered cells. PMID:27255669

Method and apparatus for measuring solar radiation in a vegetative canopy

DOEpatents

Gutschick, V.P.; Barron, M.H.; Waechter, D.A.; Wolf, M.A.

1985-04-30

An apparatus and method for measuring solar radiation received in a vegetative canopy. A multiplicity of sensors selectively generates electrical signals in response to impinging photosynthetically active radiation in sunlight. Each sensor is attached to a plant within the canopy and is electrically connected to a separate port in a junction box having a multiplicity of ports. Each port is connected to an operational amplifier. Each amplifier amplifies the signals generated by the sensors. Each amplifier is connected to an analog-to-digital convertor which digitizes each signal. A computer is connected to the convertors and accumulates and stores solar radiation data. A data output device such as a printer is connected to the computer and displays the data.

Method and apparatus for measuring solar radiation in a vegetative canopy

DOEpatents

Gutschick, Vincent P.; Barron, Michael H.; Waechter, David A.; Wolf, Michael A.

1987-01-01

An apparatus and method for measuring solar radiation received in a vegetative canopy. A multiplicity of sensors selectively generates electrical signals in response to impinging photosynthetically active radiation in sunlight. Each sensor is attached to a plant within the canopy and is electrically connected to a separate port in a junction box having a multiplicity of ports. Each port is connected to an operational amplifier. Each amplifier amplifies the signals generated by the sensors. Each amplifier is connected to an analog-to-digital convertor which digitizes each signal. A computer is connected to the convertors and accumulates and stores solar radiation data. A data output device such as a printer is connected to the computer and displays the data.

Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE). Detecting and monitoring agricultural vegetative water stress over large areas using LANDSAT digital data. [Great Plains

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, D. R.; Wehmanen, O. A. (Principal Investigator)

1978-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. The Green Number Index technique which uses LANDSAT digital data from 5X6 nautical mile sampling frames was expanded to evaluate its usefulness in detecting and monitoring vegetative water stress over the Great Plains. At known growth stages for wheat, segments were classified as drought or non drought. Good agreement was found between the 18 day remotely sensed data and a weekly ground-based crop moisture index. Operational monitoring of the 1977 U.S.S.R. and Australian wheat crops indicated drought conditions. Drought isoline maps produced by the Green Number Index technique were in good agreement with conventional sources.

Quantifying Forest Ground Flora Biomass Using Close-range Remote Sensing

Treesearch

Paul F. Doruska; Robert C. Weih; Matthew D. Lane; Don C. Bragg

2005-01-01

Close-range remote sensing was used to estimate biomass of forest ground flora in Arkansas. Digital images of a series of 1-m² plots were taken using Kodak DCS760 and Kodak DCS420CIR digital cameras. ESRI ArcGIS™ and ERDAS Imagine® software was used to calculate the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the Average Visible...

Geologic analyses of LANDSAT-1 multispectral imagery of a possible power plant site employing digital and analog image processing. [in Pennsylvania

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lovegreen, J. R.; Prosser, W. J.; Millet, R. A.

1975-01-01

A site in the Great Valley subsection of the Valley and Ridge physiographic province in eastern Pennsylvania was studied to evaluate the use of digital and analog image processing for geologic investigations. Ground truth at the site was obtained by a field mapping program, a subsurface exploration investigation and a review of available published and unpublished literature. Remote sensing data were analyzed using standard manual techniques. LANDSAT-1 imagery was analyzed using digital image processing employing the multispectral Image 100 system and using analog color processing employing the VP-8 image analyzer. This study deals primarily with linears identified employing image processing and correlation of these linears with known structural features and with linears identified manual interpretation; and the identification of rock outcrops in areas of extensive vegetative cover employing image processing. The results of this study indicate that image processing can be a cost-effective tool for evaluating geologic and linear features for regional studies encompassing large areas such as for power plant siting. Digital image processing can be an effective tool for identifying rock outcrops in areas of heavy vegetative cover.

Vegetation inventory, mapping, and classification report, Fort Bowie National Historic Site

USGS Publications Warehouse

Studd, Sarah; Fallon, Elizabeth; Crumbacher, Laura; Drake, Sam; Villarreal, Miguel

2013-01-01

A vegetation mapping and characterization effort was conducted at Fort Bowie National Historic Site in 2008-10 by the Sonoran Desert Network office in collaboration with researchers from the Office of Arid lands studies, Remote Sensing Center at the University of Arizona. This vegetation mapping effort was completed under the National Park Service Vegetation Inventory program which aims to complete baseline mapping inventories at over 270 national park units. The vegetation map data was collected to provide park managers with a digital map product that met national standards of spatial and thematic accuracy, while also placing the vegetation into a regional and even national context. Work comprised of three major field phases 1) concurrent field-based classification data collection and mapping (map unit delineation), 2) development of vegetation community types at the National Vegetation Classification alliance or association level and 3) map accuracy assessment. Phase 1 was completed in late 2008 and early 2009. Community type descriptions were drafted to meet the then-current hierarchy (version 1) of the National Vegetation Classification System (NVCS) and these were applied to each of the mapped areas. This classification was developed from both plot level data and censused polygon data (map units) as this project was conducted as a concurrent mapping and classification effort. The third stage of accuracy assessment completed in the fall of 2010 consisted of a complete census of each map unit and was conducted almost entirely by park staff. Following accuracy assessment the map was amended where needed and final products were developed including this report, a digital map and full vegetation descriptions. Fort Bowie National Historic Site covers only 1000 acres yet has a relatively complex landscape, topography and geology. A total of 16 distinct communities were described and mapped at Fort Bowie NHS. These ranged from lush riparian woodlands lining the ephemeral washes dominated by Ash (Fraxinus), Walnut (Juglans) and Hackberry (Celtis) to drier upland sites typical of desert scrub and semi-desert grassland communities. These shrublands boast a diverse mixture of shrubs, succulents and perennial grasses. In many places the vegetation could be seen to echo the history of the fort site, with management of shrub encroachment apparent in the grasslands and the paucity of trees evidence of historic cutting for timber and fire wood. Seven of the 16 vegetation types were ‘accepted’ types within the NVC while the others have been described here as specific to FOBO and have proposed status within the NVC. The map was designed to facilitate ecologically-based natural resources management and research. The map is in digital format within a geodatabase structure that allows for complex relationships to be established between spatial and tabular data, and makes accessing the product easy and seamless. The GIS format allows user flexibility and will also enable updates to be made as new information becomes available (such as revised NVC codes or vegetation type names) or in the event of major disturbance events that could impact the vegetation.

Proceedings of Conference on 73 Easting: Lessons from Desert Storm Via Advanced Simulation Technology Held in Alexandria, Virginia on 27-29 August 1991

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-04-01

fruits and vegetables , plentiful stocks of potatoes, fresh water and so forth. So they were doing all right. Q. Touchy area, but were you assisted by...34 to differentiate vegetation , roads, soils and depict special effects (e.g., dust clouds, explosions, smoke). Each pixel is assigned one of 4096 colors... vegetation and (di) roads. Lbind Featurcs. In ")L -era], land has bken modeled by digital eýlevation posts ona regular 125-meter ITEM gr-d. *he

Lidar and Hyperspectral Remote Sensing for the Analysis of Coniferous Biomass Stocks and Fluxes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halligan, K. Q.; Roberts, D. A.

2006-12-01

Airborne lidar and hyperspectral data can improve estimates of aboveground carbon stocks and fluxes through their complimentary responses to vegetation structure and biochemistry. While strong relationships have been demonstrated between lidar-estimated vegetation structural parameters and field data, research is needed to explore the portability of these methods across a range of topographic conditions, disturbance histories, vegetation type and climate. Additionally, research is needed to evaluate contributions of hyperspectral data in refining biomass estimates and determination of fluxes. To address these questions we are a conducting study of lidar and hyperspectral remote sensing data across sites including coniferous forests, broadleaf deciduous forests and a tropical rainforest. Here we focus on a single study site, Yellowstone National Park, where tree heights, stem locations, above ground biomass and basal area were mapped using first-return small-footprint lidar data. A new method using lidar intensity data was developed for separating the terrain and vegetation components in lidar data using a two-scale iterative local minima filter. Resulting Digital Terrain Models (DTM) and Digital Canopy Models (DCM) were then processed to retrieve a diversity of vertical and horizontal structure metrics. Univariate linear models were used to estimate individual tree heights while stepwise linear regression was used to estimate aboveground biomass and basal area. Three small-area field datasets were compared for their utility in model building and validation of vegetation structure parameters. All structural parameters were linearly correlated with lidar-derived metrics, with higher accuracies obtained where field and imagery data were precisely collocated . Initial analysis of hyperspectral data suggests that vegetation health metrics including measures of live and dead vegetation and stress indices may provide good indicators of carbon flux by mapping vegetation vigor or senescence. Additionally, the strength of hyperspectral data for vegetation classification suggests these data have additional utility for modeling carbon flux dynamics by allowing more accurate plant functional type mapping.

A Novel Triggerless Approach for Modeling Mass Wasting Susceptibility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aly, M. H.; Rowden, K. W.

2017-12-01

Common approaches for modeling mass wasting susceptibility rely on using triggers, which are catalysts for failure, as critical inputs. Frequently used triggers include removal of the toe of a slope or vegetation and time correlated events such as seismicity or heavy precipitation. When temporal data are unavailable, correlating triggers with a particular mass wasting event (MWE) is futile. Meanwhile, geologic structures directly influence slope stability and are typically avoided in alternative modeling approaches. Depending on strata's dip direction, underlying geology can make a slope either stronger or weaker. To heuristically understand susceptibility and reliably infer risk, without being constrained by the previously mentioned limitations, a novel triggerless approach is conceived in this study. Core requisites include a digital elevation model and digitized geologic maps containing geologic formations delineated as polygons encompassing adequate distribution of structural attitudes. Tolerably simple geology composed of gently deformed, relatively flat-lying Carboniferous strata with minimal faulting or monoclines, ideal for applying this new triggerless approach, is found in the Boston Mountains, NW Arkansas, where 47 MWEs are documented. Two models are then created; one model has integrated Empirical Bayesian Kriging (EBK) and fuzzy logic, while the second model has employed a standard implementation of a weighted overlay. Statistical comparisons show that the first model has identified 83%, compared to only 28% for the latter model, of the failure events in categories ranging from moderate to very high susceptibility. These results demonstrate that the introduced triggerless approach is efficiently capable of modeling mass wasting susceptibility, by incorporating EBK and fuzzy logic, in areas lacking temporal datasets.

Intensive Site 1 Vegetation Plot Photos 2012

DOE Data Explorer

Norby, Richard; Sloan, Victoria

2015-04-02

Photographs were taken on 24th June, 15th July and 17th August 2012, using a Canon Ixus 70 7.1 megapixel digital camera. Photographs were taken during the recording of weekly soil moisture, temperature and thaw depth measurements (Sloan et al., 2014), over a time period spanning approximately 6 hours on each day. Photographs were taken from positions where matted trail allowed access to vegetation plots.

Understory structure by season following uneven-aged reproduction cutting: a comparison of selected measures 2 and 6 years after treatment

Treesearch

Victor A. Rudis; Ronald E. Thill; James H. Gramann; Joseph Picone; Nirmala Kalidindi; Philip A. Tappe

1999-01-01

Deciding among cutting practices requires knowledge of forest structure, understory vegetation change, rates of recovery, and resource impacts. The authors used two field devices (a screenometer and a density board) and digital images of 35 mm photographs to compare measures and document the change in understory vegetation structure in forests following reproduction...

Characterizing sub-arctic peatland vegeation using height estimates from structure from motion and an unmanned aerial system (UAS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palace, M. W.; DelGreco, J.; Herrick, C.; Sullivan, F.; Varner, R. K.

2017-12-01

The collapse of permafrost, due to thawing, changes landscape topography, hydrology and vegetation. Changes in plant species composition influence methane production pathways and methane emission rates. The complex spatial heterogeneity of vegetation composition across peatlands proves important in quantifying methane emissions. Effort to characterize vegetation across these permafrost peatlands has been conducted with varied success, with difficulty seen in estimating some cover types that are at opposite ends of the permafrost collapse transition, ie palsa/tall shrub and tall graminoid. This is because some of the species are the same (horsetail) and some of the species have similar structure (horsetail/Carex spp.). High resolution digital elevation maps, developed with airborne LIght Detection And Ranging (lidar) have provided insight into some wetland attributes, but lidar collection is costly and requires extensive data processing effort. Lidar information also lacks the spectral information that optical sensors provide. We used an inexpensive Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with an optical sensor to image a mire in northern Sweden (Stordalen Mire) in 2015. We collected 700 overlapping images that were stitched together using Structure from Motion (SfM). SfM analysis also provided, due to parallax, the ability to develop a height map of vegetation. This height map was used, along with textural analysis, to develop an artificial neural network to predict five vegetation cover types. Using 200 training points, we found improvements in our prediction of these cover types. We suggest that using the digital height model from SfM provides useful information in remotely sensing vegetation across a permafrost collapsing region that exhibit resulting changes in vegetation composition. The ability to rapidly and inexpensively deploy such a UAV system provides the opportunity to examine multiple sites with limited personnel effort in remote areas.

Refining Landsat classification results using digital terrain data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, Wayne A.; Shasby, Mark

1982-01-01

 Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observation systems (EROS) Data Center have recently completed two land-cover mapping projects in which digital terrain data were used to refine Landsat classification results. Digital ter rain data were incorporated into the Landsat classification process using two different procedures that required developing decision criteria either subjectively or quantitatively. The subjective procedure was used in a vegetation mapping project in Arizona, and the quantitative procedure was used in a forest-fuels mapping project in Montana. By incorporating digital terrain data into the Landsat classification process, more spatially accurate landcover maps were produced for both projects.

Use of a digital camera to monitor the growth and nitrogen status of cotton.

PubMed

Jia, Biao; He, Haibing; Ma, Fuyu; Diao, Ming; Jiang, Guiying; Zheng, Zhong; Cui, Jin; Fan, Hua

2014-01-01

The main objective of this study was to develop a nondestructive method for monitoring cotton growth and N status using a digital camera. Digital images were taken of the cotton canopies between emergence and full bloom. The green and red values were extracted from the digital images and then used to calculate canopy cover. The values of canopy cover were closely correlated with the normalized difference vegetation index and the ratio vegetation index and were measured using a GreenSeeker handheld sensor. Models were calibrated to describe the relationship between canopy cover and three growth properties of the cotton crop (i.e., aboveground total N content, LAI, and aboveground biomass). There were close, exponential relationships between canopy cover and three growth properties. And the relationships for estimating cotton aboveground total N content were most precise, the coefficients of determination (R(2)) value was 0.978, and the root mean square error (RMSE) value was 1.479 g m(-2). Moreover, the models were validated in three fields of high-yield cotton. The result indicated that the best relationship between canopy cover and aboveground total N content had an R(2) value of 0.926 and an RMSE value of 1.631 g m(-2). In conclusion, as a near-ground remote assessment tool, digital cameras have good potential for monitoring cotton growth and N status.

On architecting and composing engineering information services to enable smart manufacturing

PubMed Central

Ivezic, Nenad; Srinivasan, Vijay

2016-01-01

Engineering information systems play an important role in the current era of digitization of manufacturing, which is a key component to enable smart manufacturing. Traditionally, these engineering information systems spanned the lifecycle of a product by providing interoperability of software subsystems through a combination of open and proprietary exchange of data. But research and development efforts are underway to replace this paradigm with engineering information services that can be composed dynamically to meet changing needs in the operation of smart manufacturing systems. This paper describes the opportunities and challenges in architecting such engineering information services and composing them to enable smarter manufacturing. PMID:27840595

Creating high-resolution bare-earth digital elevation models (DEMs) from stereo imagery in an area of densely vegetated deciduous forest using combinations of procedures designed for lidar point cloud filtering

USGS Publications Warehouse

DeWitt, Jessica D.; Warner, Timothy A.; Chirico, Peter G.; Bergstresser, Sarah E.

2017-01-01

For areas of the world that do not have access to lidar, fine-scale digital elevation models (DEMs) can be photogrammetrically created using globally available high-spatial resolution stereo satellite imagery. The resultant DEM is best termed a digital surface model (DSM) because it includes heights of surface features. In densely vegetated conditions, this inclusion can limit its usefulness in applications requiring a bare-earth DEM. This study explores the use of techniques designed for filtering lidar point clouds to mitigate the elevation artifacts caused by above ground features, within the context of a case study of Prince William Forest Park, Virginia, USA. The influences of land cover and leaf-on vs. leaf-off conditions are investigated, and the accuracy of the raw photogrammetric DSM extracted from leaf-on imagery was between that of a lidar bare-earth DEM and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission DEM. Although the filtered leaf-on photogrammetric DEM retains some artifacts of the vegetation canopy and may not be useful for some applications, filtering procedures significantly improved the accuracy of the modeled terrain. The accuracy of the DSM extracted in leaf-off conditions was comparable in most areas to the lidar bare-earth DEM and filtering procedures resulted in accuracy comparable of that to the lidar DEM.

USGS Digital Spectral Library splib05a

USGS Publications Warehouse

Clark, Roger N.; Swayze, Gregg A.; Wise, Richard K.; Livo, Eric; Hoefen, Todd M.; Kokaly, Raymond F.; Sutley, Steve J.

2003-01-01

We have assembled a digital reflectance spectral library of spectra that covers wavelengths from the ultraviolet to near-infrared along with sample documentation. The library includes samples of minerals, rocks, soils, physically constructed as well as mathematically computed mixtures, vegetation, microorganisms, and man-made materials. The samples and spectra collected were assembled for the purpose of using spectral features for the remote detection of these and similar materials.

Monitoring the Vernal Advancement and Retrogradation (Green Wave Effect) of Natural Vegetation. [Great Plains Corridor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rouse, J. W., Jr. (Principal Investigator); Haas, R. H.; Deering, D. W.; Schell, J. A.; Harlan, J. C.

1974-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. The Great Plains Corridor rangeland project successfully utilized natural vegetation systems as phenological indicators of seasonal development and climatic effects upon regional growth conditions. An effective method was developed for quantitative measurement of vegetation conditions, including green biomass estimates, recorded in bands 5 and 6, corrected for sun angle, were used to compute a ratio parameter (TV16) which is shown to be highly correlated with green biomass and vegatation moisture content. Analyses results of ERTS-1 digital data and correlated ground data are summarized. Attention was given to analyzing weather influences and test site variables on vegetation condition measurements with ERTS-1 data.

The Role of Signifier Differences, Associations, and Combinations in Creative Digital Video Composing: Making Meaning with Gestures, Objects, Actions, and Speech

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ranker, Jason

2017-01-01

This article presents an analysis of a digital video created by a student (age 13) in a classroom setting. Since sign functioning is a key focus in theories of meaning making as it occurs through language and through other modes, my analysis focuses on the relations between signifiers as they are inscribed in her video. This analysis explores new…

Mapping Arid Vegetation Species Distributions in the White Mountains, Eastern California, Using AVIRIS, Topography, and Geology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

VandeVen, C.; Weiss, S. B.

2001-01-01

Our challenge is to model plant species distributions in complex montane environments using disparate sources of data, including topography, geology, and hyperspectral data. From an ecologist's point of view, species distributions are determined by local environment and disturbance history, while spectral data are 'ancillary.' However, a remote sensor's perspective says that spectral data provide picture of what vegetation is there, topographic and geologic data are ancillary. In order to bridge the gap, all available data should be used to get the best possible prediction of species distributions using complex multivariate techniques implemented on a GIS. Vegetation reflects local climatic and nutrient conditions, both of which can be modeled, allowing predictive mapping of vegetation distributions. Geologic substrate strongly affects chemical, thermal, and physical properties of soils, while climatic conditions are determined by local topography. As elevation increases, precipitation increases and temperature decreases. Aspect, slope, and surrounding topography determine potential insolation, so that south-facing slopes are warmer and north-facing slopes cooler at a given elevation. Topographic position (ridge, slope, canyon, or meadow) and slope angle affect sediment accumulation and soil depth. These factors combine as complex environmental gradients, and underlie many features of plant distributions. Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data, digital elevation models, digitized geologic maps, and 378 ground control points were used to predictively map species distributions in the central and southern White Mountains, along the western boundary of the Basin and Range province. Minimum Noise Fraction (MNF) bands were calculated from the visible and near-infrared AVIRIS bands, and combined with digitized geologic maps and topographic variables using Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA). CCA allows for modeling species 'envelopes' in multidimensional environmental space, which can then be projected across entire landscapes.

Topography of Vesta Surface

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-26

This view of the topography of asteroid Vesta surface is composed of several images obtained with the framing camera on NASA Dawn spacecraft on August 6, 2011. The image mosaic is shown superimposed on a digital terrain model.

Digital photography provides a fast, reliable, and noninvasive method to estimate anthocyanin pigment concentration in reproductive and vegetative plant tissues.

PubMed

Del Valle, José C; Gallardo-López, Antonio; Buide, Mª Luisa; Whittall, Justen B; Narbona, Eduardo

2018-03-01

Anthocyanin pigments have become a model trait for evolutionary ecology as they often provide adaptive benefits for plants. Anthocyanins have been traditionally quantified biochemically or more recently using spectral reflectance. However, both methods require destructive sampling and can be labor intensive and challenging with small samples. Recent advances in digital photography and image processing make it the method of choice for measuring color in the wild. Here, we use digital images as a quick, noninvasive method to estimate relative anthocyanin concentrations in species exhibiting color variation. Using a consumer-level digital camera and a free image processing toolbox, we extracted RGB values from digital images to generate color indices. We tested petals, stems, pedicels, and calyces of six species, which contain different types of anthocyanin pigments and exhibit different pigmentation patterns. Color indices were assessed by their correlation to biochemically determined anthocyanin concentrations. For comparison, we also calculated color indices from spectral reflectance and tested the correlation with anthocyanin concentration. Indices perform differently depending on the nature of the color variation. For both digital images and spectral reflectance, the most accurate estimates of anthocyanin concentration emerge from anthocyanin content-chroma ratio, anthocyanin content-chroma basic, and strength of green indices. Color indices derived from both digital images and spectral reflectance strongly correlate with biochemically determined anthocyanin concentration; however, the estimates from digital images performed better than spectral reflectance in terms of r 2 and normalized root-mean-square error. This was particularly noticeable in a species with striped petals, but in the case of striped calyces, both methods showed a comparable relationship with anthocyanin concentration. Using digital images brings new opportunities to accurately quantify the anthocyanin concentrations in both floral and vegetative tissues. This method is efficient, completely noninvasive, applicable to both uniform and patterned color, and works with samples of any size.

SPRUCE Vegetation Phenology in Experimental Plots from Phenocam Imagery, 2015-2016

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Richardson, Andrew D.; Hufkens, Koen; Milliman, Thomas

This data set consists of PhenoCam data from the SPRUCE experiment from the beginning of whole ecosystem warming in August 2015 through the end of 2017. Digital cameras, or phenocams, installed in each SPRUCE enclosure track seasonal variation in vegetation “greenness”, a proxy for vegetation phenology and associated physiological activity. Regions of interest (ROIs) were defined for vegetation types (1) Picea trees (EN, evergreen needleleaf); (2) Larix trees (DN, deciduous needleleaf); and (3) the mixed shrub layer (SH, shrubs). This data set consists of two sets of data files: (1) standard “3-day summary product files” for each camera and eachmore » ROI (i.e. vegetation type), characterizing vegetation color at a 3-day time step and (2) a “transition date file” containing the estimated “greenness rising” (spring) and “greenness falling” (autumn) transition dates.« less

Inventory and monitoring of natural vegetation and related resources in an arid environment: A comprehensive evaluation of ERTS-1 imagery. [Arizona

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schrumpf, B. J. (Principal Investigator); Johnson, J. R.; Mouat, D. A.; Pyott, W. T.

1974-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. A vegetation classification, with 31 types and compatible with remote sensing applications, was developed for the test site. Terrain features can be used to discriminate vegetation types. Elevation and macrorelief interpretations were successful on ERTS photos, although for macrorelief, high sun angle stereoscopic interpretations were better than low sun angle monoscopic interpretations. Using spectral reflectivity, several vegetation types were characterized in terms of patterns of signature change. ERTS MSS digital data were used to discriminate vegetation classes at the association level and at the alliance level when image contrasts were high or low, respectively. An imagery comparison technique was developed to test image complexity and image groupability. In two stage sampling of vegetation types, ERTS plus high altitude photos were highly satisfactory for estimating kind and extent of types present, and for providing a mapping base.

Monitoring grasshopper and locust habitats in Sahelian Africa using GIS and remote sensing technology

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tappan, G. Gray; Moore, Donald G.; Knauseberger, Walter I.

1991-01-01

Development programmes in Sahelian Africa are beginning to use geographic information system (GIS) technology. One of the GIS and remote sensing programmes introduced to the region in the late 1980s was the use of seasonal vegetation maps made from satellite data to support grasshopper and locust control. Following serious outbreaks of these pests in 1987, the programme addressed a critical need, by national and international crop protection organizations, to monitor site-specific dynamic vegetation conditions associated with grasshopper and locust breeding. The primary products used in assessing vegetation conditions were vegetation index (greenness) image maps derived from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite imagery. Vegetation index data were integrated in a GIS with digital cartographic data of individual Sahelian countries. These near-real-time image maps were used regularly in 10 countries for locating potential grasshopper and locust habitats. The programme to monitor vegetation conditions is currently being institutionalized in the Sahel.

Design of an SolidWorks-based household substrate cultivation device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Guo; Yueying, Wang

2018-03-01

Rapid urbanization has caused increasingly severe environmental problems and smaller tillable land area. Even worse, negative reports on vegetable production are repeatedly found. In this case, home gardening has become an inexorable trend. To meet demand for vegetable cultivation in the home environment, an SolidWorks-based household substrate cultivation device has been designed. This device is composed of the cultivation tank, upright post, base, irrigation system, supplemental lighting system and control system. The household substrate cultivation device manufactured based on the design results has shown in practice that this device features an esthetic appearance, low cost, automatic irrigation and lighting supplementation, good vegetable growing conditions, full of ornamental value and practicability and thus is suitable for vegetable growing in the home environment. Hence it has a higher promotion value in the home gardening field.

Land Use on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii, 1998

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klasner, Frederick L.; Mikami, Clinton D.

2003-01-01

A hierarchical land-use classification system for Hawaii was developed, and land use on the island of Oahu was mapped. The land-use classification system emphasizes agriculture, developed (urban), and barren/mining uses. Areas with other land uses (conservation, forest reserve, natural areas, wetlands, water, and barren [sand, rock, or soil] regions, and unmanaged vegetation [native or exotic]) were defined as 'other.' Multiple sources of digital orthophotographs from 1998 and 1999 were used as source data. The 1998 island of Oahu land-use data are provided in digital format at http://water.usgs.gov/lookup/getspatial?oahu_lu98 for use in a Geographic Information System (GIS), at 1:24,000-scale with minimum mapping units of 2 hectares (4.9 acres) area and 30-meters (98.4 feet) feature width. In 1998, a total of 59,195 acres (15.4 percent) of the island of Oahu were classified as agricultural land use; 98,663 acres (25.7 percent) were classified as developed; 1,522 acres (0.4 percent) were classified as barren/mining; and 224,331 acres (58.5 percent) were classified as other. An accuracy assessment identified 98 percent accuracy for all land-use classes. In windward (moister) areas, dense vegetation and canopy cover along with rapid recolonization by vegetation potentially obscured land use from photo-interpretation. While in leeward (drier) areas, sparse vegetative cover and slower vegetation recolonization may have resulted in more frequent recognition of apparent land-use patterns.

Development of digital interactive processing system for NOAA satellites AVHRR data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, R. K.; Murthy, N. N.

The paper discusses the digital image processing system for NOAA/AVHRR data including Land applications - configured around VAX 11/750 host computer supported with FPS 100 Array Processor, Comtal graphic display and HP Plotting devices; wherein the system software for relational Data Base together with query and editing facilities, Man-Machine Interface using form, menu and prompt inputs including validation of user entries for data type and range; preprocessing software for data calibration, Sun-angle correction, Geometric Corrections for Earth curvature effect and Earth rotation offsets and Earth location of AVHRR image have been accomplished. The implemented image enhancement techniques such as grey level stretching, histogram equalization and convolution are discussed. The software implementation details for the computation of vegetative index and normalized vegetative index using NOAA/AVHRR channels 1 and 2 data together with output are presented; scientific background for such computations and obtainability of similar indices from Landsat/MSS data are also included. The paper concludes by specifying the further software developments planned and the progress envisaged in the field of vegetation index studies.

A compressed sensing method with analytical results for lidar feature classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, Josef D.; Yuan, Jiangbo; Liu, Xiuwen; Rahmes, Mark

2011-04-01

We present an innovative way to autonomously classify LiDAR points into bare earth, building, vegetation, and other categories. One desirable product of LiDAR data is the automatic classification of the points in the scene. Our algorithm automatically classifies scene points using Compressed Sensing Methods via Orthogonal Matching Pursuit algorithms utilizing a generalized K-Means clustering algorithm to extract buildings and foliage from a Digital Surface Models (DSM). This technology reduces manual editing while being cost effective for large scale automated global scene modeling. Quantitative analyses are provided using Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curves to show Probability of Detection and False Alarm of buildings vs. vegetation classification. Histograms are shown with sample size metrics. Our inpainting algorithms then fill the voids where buildings and vegetation were removed, utilizing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques and Partial Differential Equations (PDE) to create an accurate Digital Terrain Model (DTM) [6]. Inpainting preserves building height contour consistency and edge sharpness of identified inpainted regions. Qualitative results illustrate other benefits such as Terrain Inpainting's unique ability to minimize or eliminate undesirable terrain data artifacts.

Using open captions to revise writing in digital stories composed by d/Deaf and hard of hearing students.

PubMed

Strassman, Barbara K; O'Dell, Katie

2012-01-01

Using a nonexperimental design, the researchers explored the effect of captioning as part of the writing process of individuals who are d/Deaf and hard of hearing. Sixty-nine d/Deaf and hard of hearing middle school students composed responses to four writing-to-learn activities in a word processor. Two compositions were revised and published with software that displayed texts as captions to digital images; two compositions were revised with a word processor and published on paper. Analysis showed increases in content-area vocabulary, text length, and inclusion of main ideas and details for texts revised in the captioning software. Given the nonexperimental design, it is not possible to determine the extent to which the results could be attributed to captioned revisions. However, the findings do suggest that the images acted as procedural facilitators, triggering recall of vocabulary and details.

Q&A: The AI composer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spinney, Laura

2017-09-01

Computer scientist Luc Steels uses artificial intelligence to explore the origins and evolution of language. He is best known for his 1999-2001 Talking Heads Experiment, in which robots had to construct a language from scratch to communicate with each other. Now Steels, who works at the Free University of Brussels (VUB), has composed an opera based on the legend of Faust, with a twenty-first-century twist. He talks about Mozart as a nascent computer programmer, how music maps onto language, and the blurred boundaries of a digitized world.

Characterization of the horizontal structure of the tropical forest canopy using object-based LiDAR and multispectral image analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dupuy, Stéphane; Lainé, Gérard; Tassin, Jacques; Sarrailh, Jean-Michel

2013-12-01

This article's goal is to explore the benefits of using Digital Surface Model (DSM) and Digital Terrain Model (DTM) derived from LiDAR acquisitions for characterizing the horizontal structure of different facies in forested areas (primary forests vs. secondary forests) within the framework of an object-oriented classification. The area under study is the island of Mayotte in the western Indian Ocean. The LiDAR data were the data originally acquired by an airborne small-footprint discrete-return LiDAR for the "Litto3D" coastline mapping project. They were used to create a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) at a spatial resolution of 1 m and a Digital Canopy Model (DCM) using median filtering. The use of two successive segmentations at different scales allowed us to adjust the segmentation parameters to the local structure of the landscape and of the cover. Working in object-oriented mode with LiDAR allowed us to discriminate six vegetation classes based on canopy height and horizontal heterogeneity. This heterogeneity was assessed using a texture index calculated from the height-transition co-occurrence matrix. Overall accuracy exceeds 90%. The resulting product is the first vegetation map of Mayotte which emphasizes the structure over the composition.

An experimental distribution of analog and digital information in a hybrid wireless visible light communication system based on acousto-optic modulation and sinusoidal gratings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gómez Colín, R.; García Juárez, A.; Zaldívar Huerta, I. E.; Marquina, A. Vera; García Delgado, L. A.; Leal Cruz, A. L.; Gómez Fuentes, R.

2016-03-01

In this paper we propose a photonic architecture as an alternative tool to distribute point to multipoint analog and digital information over a hybrid wireless visible optical communication system. The experimental set-up is composed of a red laser pointer, an acousto-optic modulator, a sinusoidal grating and a photo-detector array. By using a simple and variable interferometric system, diffraction gratings with different spatial frequencies are generated and recorded on a photoemulsion which is composed of vanilla with dichromate gelatin. Analog video and digital information are first transmitted and recovered over a wireless communication system using a microwave carrier at 4.52 GHz which is generated by distributed feedback lasers operating in the low laser threshold current region. Separately, the recovered video information and digital data are combined with a radio frequency signal of 80 MHz, obtaining a subcarrier of information that is imposed on the optical carrier of the pointer laser using an acousto-optic modulator which is operated with an angle of incident light that satisfies the Bragg condition. The modulated optical carrier is sent to a sinusoidal grating, the diffraction pattern is photo-detected using an array of PIN photo-detectors. The use of sinusoidal gratings with acousto-optic modulators allows that number of channels to be increased when both components are placed in cascade.

Annual Research Progress Report. 1 July 1971 - 30 June 1972

DTIC Science & Technology

1972-07-01

scrub, an aboriginal village with surrounding scrub vegetation and disturbed primary forest. The lalang habitat consists mainly of Imperata cylindrica ...maintained by Government workers by burning, resulting in an overgrowth of lalang grass, Irperata cylindrica . The latter composed the third habitat as

Using High Resolution Remote Sensing Images to Investigate Hydrologic Connectivity and Degradation Thresholds along a Precipitation Gradient in Semiarid Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azadi, S.; Saco, P. M.; Moreno-de las Heras, M.; Willgoose, G. R.

2016-12-01

Arid and semiarid landscapes are particularly sensitive to climatic and anthropogenic disturbances. Previous work has identified that these landscapes are prone to undergo critical degradation thresholds above which rehabilitation is difficult to achieve. This threshold behaviour is tightly linked to the overland flow redistribution and an increase in hydrologic connectivity associated with the climatic or anthropogenic disturbances. In fact, disturbances (such as wildfire, overgrazing or harvesting activities) can disrupt the spatial structure of vegetation, increase landscape hydrologic connectivity, trigger erosion and produce a substantial loss of water. All these effects can eventually affect ecosystem functionality (e.g. Rainfall Use Efficiency). In this study, we explore the impact of degradation processes induced by vegetation disturbances (mostly due to grazing pressure) on ecosystem functionality and connectivity along a precipitation gradient (250 mm to 490 mm annual average rainfall) using a combination of remote sensing observations and Digital Elevation Model data. The sites were carefully selected in the Mulga landscapes bioregion (New South Wales, Queensland) and in sites of the Northern Territory in Australia, which display similar vegetation characteristics and good quality rainfall information. Vegetation patterns and the percent of fractional cover were obtained from high resolution remote sensing images (IKONOS, QuickBird and Pleiades). We computed rainfall use efficiency and precipitation marginal response using local precipitation data and MODIS vegetation indices. We estimated mean Flowlength as an indicator of structural hydrologic connectivity using vegetation binary maps and digital elevation models. We compared the trends for several sites along the precipitation gradient, and found that disturbances substantially increase hydrologic connectivity following a threshold behaviour that affects landscape functionality. Though this threshold behaviour is found in all sites, the plots in higher rainfall landscapes show evidence of higher resilience.

Present, Future, and Novel Bioclimates of the San Francisco, California Region

PubMed Central

Torregrosa, Alicia; Taylor, Maxwell D.; Flint, Lorraine E.; Flint, Alan L.

2013-01-01

Bioclimates are syntheses of climatic variables into biologically relevant categories that facilitate comparative studies of biotic responses to climate conditions. Isobioclimates, unique combinations of bioclimatic indices (continentality, ombrotype, and thermotype), were constructed for northern California coastal ranges based on the Rivas-Martinez worldwide bioclimatic classification system for the end of the 20th century climatology (1971–2000) and end of the 21st century climatology (2070–2099) using two models, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) model and the Parallel Climate Model (PCM), under the medium-high A2 emission scenario. The digitally mapped results were used to 1) assess the relative redistribution of isobioclimates and their magnitude of change, 2) quantify the loss of isobioclimates into the future, 3) identify and locate novel isobioclimates projected to appear, and 4) explore compositional change in vegetation types among analog isobioclimate patches. This study used downscaled climate variables to map the isobioclimates at a fine spatial resolution −270 m grid cells. Common to both models of future climate was a large change in thermotype. Changes in ombrotype differed among the two models. The end of 20th century climatology has 83 isobioclimates covering the 63,000 km2 study area. In both future projections 51 of those isobioclimates disappear over 40,000 km2. The ordination of vegetation-bioclimate relationships shows very strong correlation of Rivas-Martinez indices with vegetation distribution and composition. Comparisons of vegetation composition among analog patches suggest that vegetation change will be a local rearrangement of species already in place rather than one requiring long distance dispersal. The digitally mapped results facilitate comparison with other Mediterranean regions. Major remaining challenges include predicting vegetation composition of novel isobioclimates and developing metrics to compare differences in climate space. PMID:23526985

Present, future, and novel bioclimates of the San Francisco, California region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Torregrosa, Alicia; Taylor, Maxwell D.; Flint, Lorraine E.; Flint, Alan L.

2013-01-01

Bioclimates are syntheses of climatic variables into biologically relevant categories that facilitate comparative studies of biotic responses to climate conditions. Isobioclimates, unique combinations of bioclimatic indices (continentality, ombrotype, and thermotype), were constructed for northern California coastal ranges based on the Rivas-Martinez worldwide bioclimatic classification system for the end of the 20th century climatology (1971–2000) and end of the 21st century climatology (2070–2099) using two models, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) model and the Parallel Climate Model (PCM), under the medium-high A2 emission scenario. The digitally mapped results were used to 1) assess the relative redistribution of isobioclimates and their magnitude of change, 2) quantify the loss of isobioclimates into the future, 3) identify and locate novel isobioclimates projected to appear, and 4) explore compositional change in vegetation types among analog isobioclimate patches. This study used downscaled climate variables to map the isobioclimates at a fine spatial resolution −270 m grid cells. Common to both models of future climate was a large change in thermotype. Changes in ombrotype differed among the two models. The end of 20th century climatology has 83 isobioclimates covering the 63,000 km2 study area. In both future projections 51 of those isobioclimates disappear over 40,000 km2. The ordination of vegetation-bioclimate relationships shows very strong correlation of Rivas-Martinez indices with vegetation distribution and composition. Comparisons of vegetation composition among analog patches suggest that vegetation change will be a local rearrangement of species already in place rather than one requiring long distance dispersal. The digitally mapped results facilitate comparison with other Mediterranean regions. Major remaining challenges include predicting vegetation composition of novel isobioclimates and developing metrics to compare differences in climate space.

Pulse stretcher for narrow pulses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindsey, R. S., Jr. (Inventor)

1974-01-01

A pulse stretcher for narrow pulses is presented. The stretcher is composed of an analog section for processing each arriving analog pulse and a digital section with logic for providing command signals to the gates and switches in the analog section.

Measuring Environmental Stress

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, John E.; Dahm, Douglas B.

1975-01-01

Infrared remote sensors, plus photometric interpretation and digital data analysis are being used to record the stresses on air, water, vegetation and soil. Directly recorded photographic information has been the most effective recording media for remote sensing. (BT)

Examination of the spectral features of vegetation in 1987 AVIRIS data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elvidge, Christopher D.

1988-01-01

Equations for converting AVIRIS digital numbers to percent reflectance were developed using a set of three calibration targets. AVIRIS reflectance spectra from five plant communities exhibit distinct spectral differences.

Chorological classification approach for species and ecosystem conservation practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogova, T. V.; Kozevnikova, M. V.; Prokhorov, V. E.; Timofeeva, N. O.

2018-01-01

The habitat type allocation approach based on the EUNIS Habitat Classification and the JUICE version 7 software is used for the conservation of species and ecosystem biodiversity. Using the vegetation plots of the Vegetation Database of Tatarstan, included in the EVA (European Vegetation Archive) and GIVD (Global Index of Vegetation-plots Databases) types of habitats of dry meadows and steppes are distinguished by differing compositions of the leading families composing their flora - Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Poaceae and Rosaceae. E12a - Semi-dry perennial calcareous grassland, and E12b - Perennial calcareous grassland and basic steppes were identified. The selected group of relevés that do not correspond to any of the EUNIS types can be considered specific for ecotone forest-steppe landscapes of the southeast of the Republic of Tatarstan. In all types of studied habitats, rare and protected plant species are noted, most of which are South-East-European-Asian species.

On the Supply Chain Management Supported by E-Commerce Service Platform for Agreement based Circulation of Fruits and Vegetables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bao, Liwei; Huang, Yuchi; Ma, Zengjun; Zhang, Jie; Lv, Qingchu

According to analysis of the supply chain process of agricultural products, the IT application requirements of the market entities participating in the agreement based circulation of fruits and vegetables have been discussed. The strategy of supply chain management basing on E-commerce service platform for fruits and vegetables has been proposed in this paper. The architecture and function composing of the service platform have been designed and implemented. The platform is constructed on a set of application service modules User can choose some of the application service modules and define them according to the business process. The application service modules chosen and defined by user are integrated as an application service package and applied as management information system of business process. With the E-commerce service platform, the supply chain management for agreement based circulation of agricultural products of vegetables and fruits can be implemented.

Performance of a segmented HPGe detector at KRISS.

PubMed

Han, Jubong; Lee, K B; Lee, Jong-Man; Lee, S H; Park, Tae Soon; Oh, J S

2018-04-01

A 24 segmented HPGe coaxial detector was set up with a digitized data acquisition system (DAQ). The DAQ was composed of a digitizer (5 × 10 7 sampling/s), a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), and a real time operating system. The Full Width Half Maximum (FWHM), rise time, signal characteristics, and spectra of a 137 Cs source were evaluated. The data were processed using an in-house developed gamma-ray tracking system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Performance of the Fully Digital FPGA-Based Front-End Electronics for the GALILEO Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrientos, D.; Bellato, M.; Bazzacco, D.; Bortolato, D.; Cocconi, P.; Gadea, A.; González, V.; Gulmini, M.; Isocrate, R.; Mengoni, D.; Pullia, A.; Recchia, F.; Rosso, D.; Sanchis, E.; Toniolo, N.; Ur, C. A.; Valiente-Dobón, J. J.

2015-12-01

In this work we present the architecture and results of a fully digital Front End Electronics (FEE) read out system developed for the GALILEO array. The FEE system, developed in collaboration with the Advanced Gamma Tracking Array (AGATA) collaboration, is composed of three main blocks: preamplifiers, digitizers and preprocessing electronics. The slow control system contains a custom Linux driver, a dynamic library and a server implementing network services. This work presents the first results of the digital FEE system coupled with a GALILEO germanium detector, which has demonstrated the capability to achieve an energy resolution of 1.530/00 at an energy of 1.33 MeV, similar to the one obtained with a conventional analog system. While keeping a good performance in terms of energy resolution, digital electronics will allow to instrument the full GALILEO array with a versatile system with high integration and low power consumption and costs.

A review of vegetated buffers and a meta-analysis of their mitigation efficacy in reducing nonpoint source pollution.

PubMed

Zhang, Xuyang; Liu, Xingmei; Zhang, Minghua; Dahlgren, Randy A; Eitzel, Melissa

2010-01-01

Vegetated buffers are a well-studied and widely used agricultural management practice for reducing nonpoint-source pollution. A wealth of literature provides experimental data on their mitigation efficacy. This paper aggregated many of these results and performed a meta-analysis to quantify the relationships between pollutant removal efficacy and buffer width, buffer slope, soil type, and vegetation type. Theoretical models for removal efficacy (Y) vs. buffer width (w) were derived and tested against data from the surveyed literature using statistical analyses. A model of the form Y = K x (1-e(-bxw)), (0 < K < or = 100) successfully captured the relationship between buffer width and pollutant removal, where K reflects the maximum removal efficacy of the buffer and b reflects its probability to remove any single particle of pollutant in a unit distance. Buffer width alone explains 37, 60, 44, and 35% of the total variance in removal efficacy for sediment, pesticides, N, and P, respectively. Buffer slope was linearly associated with sediment removal efficacy either positively (when slope < or = 10%) or negatively (when slope > 10%). Buffers composed of trees have higher N and P removal efficacy than buffers composed of grasses or mixtures of grasses and trees. Soil drainage type did not show a significant effect on pollutant removal efficacy. Based on our analysis, a 30-m buffer under favorable slope conditions (approximately 10%) removes more than 85% of all the studied pollutants. These models predicting optimal buffer width/slope can be instrumental in the design, implementation, and modeling of vegetated buffers for treating agricultural runoff.

Program Merges SAR Data on Terrain and Vegetation Heights

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Siqueira, Paul; Hensley, Scott; Rodriguez, Ernesto; Simard, Marc

2007-01-01

X/P Merge is a computer program that estimates ground-surface elevations and vegetation heights from multiple sets of data acquired by the GeoSAR instrument [a terrain-mapping synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) system that operates in the X and bands]. X/P Merge software combines data from X- and P-band digital elevation models, SAR backscatter magnitudes, and interferometric correlation magnitudes into a simplified set of output topographical maps of ground-surface elevation and tree height.

BASIC STUDY ON APPLICABILITY OF MODIS DATA FOR VEGETATION MONITORING IN ASHIO AREA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikeda, Hirokazu; Todate, Hikaru; Tanaka, Hiroshi; Ota, Tametomo

Ashio Basin was once lushly green until 1800's. However, the forest had been almost lost by copper mine de velopment and forest fire by 1956. From that time on, afforestation has been carried out for over 50 years, and the vegetation is being recovered. Therefore, it is very important to estimate the past afforestation activities, and to propose future directions. There exists an earlier research on vegetation monitoring in Ashio area, but it was performed more than 15 years ago, and used expensive commercial GIS and LANDSAT data. The present study examined a sustainable and inexpensive system with using preferably free data and software. It is shown that, by comparison with aerial photographs and digital national land information, vegetation index (NDVI) by MODIS data, available to download free, are easy to obtain and manipulate, and applicable for vegetation monitoring in Ashio area.

Development of a Wireless Computer Vision Instrument to Detect Biotic Stress in Wheat

PubMed Central

Casanova, Joaquin J.; O'Shaughnessy, Susan A.; Evett, Steven R.; Rush, Charles M.

2014-01-01

Knowledge of crop abiotic and biotic stress is important for optimal irrigation management. While spectral reflectance and infrared thermometry provide a means to quantify crop stress remotely, these measurements can be cumbersome. Computer vision offers an inexpensive way to remotely detect crop stress independent of vegetation cover. This paper presents a technique using computer vision to detect disease stress in wheat. Digital images of differentially stressed wheat were segmented into soil and vegetation pixels using expectation maximization (EM). In the first season, the algorithm to segment vegetation from soil and distinguish between healthy and stressed wheat was developed and tested using digital images taken in the field and later processed on a desktop computer. In the second season, a wireless camera with near real-time computer vision capabilities was tested in conjunction with the conventional camera and desktop computer. For wheat irrigated at different levels and inoculated with wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), vegetation hue determined by the EM algorithm showed significant effects from irrigation level and infection. Unstressed wheat had a higher hue (118.32) than stressed wheat (111.34). In the second season, the hue and cover measured by the wireless computer vision sensor showed significant effects from infection (p = 0.0014), as did the conventional camera (p < 0.0001). Vegetation hue obtained through a wireless computer vision system in this study is a viable option for determining biotic crop stress in irrigation scheduling. Such a low-cost system could be suitable for use in the field in automated irrigation scheduling applications. PMID:25251410

75 FR 11010 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Oregon Chub...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-10

..., silty and organic substrate, and considerable aquatic vegetative cover for hiding and spawning (Pearsons..., and cadmium; human and animal waste products; pesticides; nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizers; and... substrates are typically composed of silty and organic material. In winter months, Oregon chub of various...

Is There Anything "Autonomous" in the Nervous System?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rasia-Filho, Alberto A.

2006-01-01

The terms "autonomous" or "vegetative" are currently used to identify one part of the nervous system composed of sympathetic, parasympathetic, and gastrointestinal divisions. However, the concepts that are under the literal meaning of these words can lead to misconceptions about the actual nervous organization. Some clear-cut examples indicate…

Design and performance of a custom ASIC digitizer for wire chamber readout in 65 nm CMOS technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, M. J.; Brown, D. N.; Chang, J. K.; Ding, D.; Gnani, D.; Grace, C. R.; Jones, J. A.; Kolomensky, Y. G.; von der Lippe, H.; Mcvittie, P. J.; Stettler, M. W.; Walder, J.-P.

2015-06-01

We present the design and performance of a prototype ASIC digitizer for integrated wire chamber readout, implemented in 65 nm commercial CMOS technology. Each channel of the 4-channel prototype is composed of two 16-bit Time-to-Digital Converters (TDCs), one 8-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC), a front-end preamplifier and shaper, plus digital and analog buffers that support a variety of digitization chains. The prototype has a multiplexed digital backend that executes a state machine, distributes control and timing signals, and buffers data for serial output. Laboratory bench tests measure the absolute TDC resolution between 74 ps and 480 ps, growing with the absolute delay, and a relative time resolution of 19 ps. Resolution outliers due to cross-talk between clock signals and supply or reference voltages are seen. After calibration, the ADC displays good linearity and noise performance, with an effective number of bits of 6.9. Under normal operating conditions the circuit consumes 32 mW per channel. Potential design improvements to address the resolution drift and tails are discussed.

Telecommunications and MIDI.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beckstead, David

1996-01-01

Explores the educational possibilities inherent in combining Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) with communications technology. A MIDI system (a combination synthesizer and computer) allows students to compose, record, experiment, and correct at one site. A MIDI file can be sent via e-mail to others for comments. (MJP)

Vegetation and terrain mapping in Alaska using Landsat MSS and digital terrain data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shasby, Mark; Carneggie, David M.

1986-01-01

During the past 5 years, the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center Field Office in Anchorage, Alaska has worked cooperatively with Federal and State resource management agencies to produce land-cover and terrain maps for 245 million acres of Alaska. The need for current land-cover information in Alaska comes principally from the mandates of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), December 1980, which requires major land management agencies to prepare comprehensive management plans. The land-cover mapping projects integrate digital Landsat data, terrain data, aerial photographs, and field data. The resultant land-cover and terrain maps and associated data bases are used for resource assessment, management, and planning by many Alaskan agencies including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Alaska Department of Natural Resources. Applications addressed through use of the digital land-cover and terrain data bases range from comprehensive refuge planning to multiphased sampling procedures designed to inventory vegetation statewide. The land-cover mapping programs in Alaska demonstrate the operational utility of digital Landsat data and have resulted in a new land-cover mapping program by the USGS National Mapping Division to compile 1:250,000-scale land-cover maps in Alaska using a common statewide land-cover map legend.

Illuminating Northern California’s Active Faults

USGS Publications Warehouse

Prentice, Carol S.; Crosby, Christopher J.; Whitehill, Caroline S.; Arrowsmith, J. Ramon; Furlong, Kevin P.; Philips, David A.

2009-01-01

Newly acquired light detection and ranging (lidar) topographic data provide a powerful community resource for the study of landforms associated with the plate boundary faults of northern California (Figure 1). In the spring of 2007, GeoEarthScope, a component of the EarthScope Facility construction project funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, acquired approximately 2000 square kilometers of airborne lidar topographic data along major active fault zones of northern California. These data are now freely available in point cloud (x, y, z coordinate data for every laser return), digital elevation model (DEM), and KMZ (zipped Keyhole Markup Language, for use in Google EarthTM and other similar software) formats through the GEON OpenTopography Portal (http://www.OpenTopography.org/data). Importantly, vegetation can be digitally removed from lidar data, producing high-resolution images (0.5- or 1.0-meter DEMs) of the ground surface beneath forested regions that reveal landforms typically obscured by vegetation canopy (Figure 2)

LANDSAT digital analysis of the initial recovery of the Kokolik River tundra fire area, Alaska

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, D. K.; Ormsby, J. P.; Johnson, L.; Brown, J. (Principal Investigator)

1979-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Considerable regrowth of vegetation was observed between August 1977 and August 1978, both in the field and through analysis of LANDSAT near infrared digital data. The spectral reflectances in the burned areas were found to increase with the age of the burn in a one year period due to vegetation regrowth. Regrowth was particularly evident in the lightly burned portions of the burned area. Image analysis techniques using the AOIPS system permitted delineation of burn severity categories. The conditions and type of ground cover prior to the fire influenced the severity of burning, as did the direction of the winds while the burning was in progress as determined from field and LANDSAT observations. More severe burning was induced by winds blowing in the northeastern and southeastern portions of the burned area.

Digital data sets that describe aquifer characteristics of the alluvial and terrace deposits along the Cimarron River from Freedom to Guthrie in northwestern Oklahoma

USGS Publications Warehouse

Adams, G.P.; Runkle, Donna; Rea, Alan; Cederstrand, J.R.

1997-01-01

ARC/INFO export and nonproprietary format files This diskette contains digitized aquifer boundaries, maps of hydraulic conductivity, recharge, and ground-water level elevation contours for the alluvial and terrace deposits along the Cimarron River from Freedom to Guthrie in northwestern Oklahoma. Ground water in 1,305 square miles of Quaternary-age alluvial and terrace deposits along the the Cimarron River from Freedom to Guthrie is an important source of water for irrigation, industrial, municipal, stock, and domestic supplies. Alluvial and terrace deposits are composed of interfingering lenses of clay, sandy clay, and cross-bedded poorly sorted sand and gravel. The aquifer is composed of hydraulically connected alluvial and terrace deposits that unconformably overlie the Permian-age Formations. The aquifer boundaries are from a ground-water modeling report on the alluvial and terrace aquifer along the Cimarron River from Freedom to Guthrie in northwestern Oklahoma and published digital surficial geology data sets. The aquifer boundary data set was created from digital geologic data sets from maps published at a scale of 1:250,000. The hydraulic conductivity values, recharge rates, and ground-water level elevation contours are from the ground-water modeling report. Water-level elevation contours were digitized from a map at a scale of 1:250,000. The maps were published at a scale of 1:900,000. Ground-water flow models are numerical representations that simplify and aggregate natural systems. Models are not unique; different combinations of aquifer characteristics may produce similar results. Therefore, values of hydraulic conductivity and recharge used in the model and presented in this data set are not precise, but are within a reasonable range when compared to independently collected data.

Using high-resolution digital aerial imagery to map land cover

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dieck, J.J.; Robinson, Larry

2014-01-01

The Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) has used aerial photography to map land cover/land use on federally owned and managed lands for over 20 years. Until recently, that process used 23- by 23-centimeter (9- by 9-inch) analog aerial photos to classify vegetation along the Upper Mississippi River System, on National Wildlife Refuges, and in National Parks. With digital aerial cameras becoming more common and offering distinct advantages over analog film, UMESC transitioned to an entirely digital mapping process in 2009. Though not without challenges, this method has proven to be much more accurate and efficient when compared to the analog process.

Pennsylvanian - Early Cisuralian interglacial macrofloristic succession in Paraná Basin of the State of São Paulo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernardes-de-Oliveira, Mary Elizabeth Cerruti; Kavali, Pauline Sabina; Mune, Sandra Eiko; Shivanna, Mahesh; Souza, Paulo Alves de; Iannuzzi, Roberto; Jasper, André; Hoelzel, Amanda; Boardman, Daiana R.; Rohn, Rosemarie; Ricardi-Branco, Fresia

2016-12-01

One of the most completely preserved glacial sedimentary records from the Late Carboniferous to the Early Permian time corresponds to the Itararé Group, which presents a large outcropping thickness in the northeastern border of Paraná Basin, especially in the State of São Paulo. This unit corresponds to the base of the Gondwana I Supersequence and is composed of continental to marine glacial and interglacial deposits. Based on some macrofloristic, lithostratigraphic and palynostratigraphic data, a formal scheme of the macrofloral succession is herein proposed for this interval, comprising five associations in ascending stratigraphic order namely: (1) Dwykea-Sublagenicula-Calamospora Association (recorded in Campinas Municipality), composed of lycophyte megaspores (Sublagenicula, Trileites and Calamospora sp.) and some bryophytes (Dwykea), concerning to a coastal glacial or coastal interglacial environment; (2) Eusphenopteris-Nothorhacopteris-Botrychiopsis Association (registered in Itapeva and Buri municipalities), composed of Eusphenopteris, Nothorhacopteris, Botrychiopsis, Paracalamites spp. along with Sphenophyllum, Koretrophyllites, Noeggerathiopsis and rare Cordaicarpus and Samaropsis - concerning to an interglacial deltaic plain associated to coal forming swamps with cold temperate hydro-hygrophilous vegetation; (3) Paranocladus-Ginkgophyllum-Brasilodendron Association (registered in Monte Mor Municipality), composed of the first conifers of the Paraná Basin (Paranocladus, Paranospermum and few Buriadia-type), lycophytes (Brasilodendron, Bumbudendron), Ginkgophyllum, Noeggerathiopsis, Samaropsis and Cordaicarpus and rare Nothorhacopteris, Botrychiopsis, Koretrophyllites and Sphenophyllum, interpreted as interglacial deltaic flood plain; (4) Dwykea-Sublagenicula-Calamospora Recurrent Association (recorded in Salto Municipality), composed of bryophytes (Dwykea) and lycopod megaspores, very similar to the first association, related to a coastal glacial or coastal interglacial depositional environment with a type- tundra vegetational cover; and (5) Gangamopteris-Arberia-Stephanophyllites Association (occurring in Tietê and Cerquilho municipalities), composed of the first glossopterid leaves and fructifications of the Paraná Basin (abundant Gangamopteris, Arberia, Arberiopsis and Hirsutum) and sphenophytes (Stephanophyllites and Phyllotheca), suggested as coastal prograding or alluvial environment, of an interglacial phase at the end of the sedimentary history of the Itararé Group. The first four associations are of Pennsylvanian age while the last one is of Asselian-Sakmarian age.

Scattering from a random layer of leaves in the physical optics limit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lang, R. H.; Seker, S. S.; Le Vine, D. M.

1982-01-01

Backscatter of electromagnetic radiation from a layer of vegetation over flat lossy ground has been studied in collaborative research at the George Washingnton University and the Goddard Space Flight Center. In this work the vegetation is composed of leaves which are modeled by a random collection of lossy dielectric disks. Backscattering coefficients for the vegetation layer have been calculated in the case of disks whose diameter is large compared to wavelength. These backscattering coefficients are obtained in terms of the scattering amplitude of an individual disk by employing the distorted Born procedure. The scattering amplitude for a disk which is large compared to wavelength is then found by physical optic techniques. Computed results are interpreted in terms of dominant reflected and transmitted contributions from the disks and ground.

Terrain-based Predictive Modeling of a Functional Riparian Corridor in a Coastal Northern California Watershed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, T.; Davis, J. D.

2016-12-01

Riparian corridors and their associated geomorphic landforms (e.g., channels, floodplains, and terraces) and vegetation communities (e.g., forests and wetlands) have been significantly degraded in California, prompting an expansion of efforts to delineate riparian corridors and identify priorities for conservation via deed restrictions and easements. Current techniques to delineate riparian corridors for these purposes include fixed-width buffers based on stream centerlines and digitization of woody vegetation from aerial photos. Although efficient, these delineation methods do not accurately capture the extent of ecologically functional riparian corridors and result in riparian habitat being excluded from conservation efforts while non-riparian is included. From a physical perspective, ecologically functional riparian corridors have widths that vary with topography and ample space for dynamic fluvial geomorphic processes that create and maintain river morphology and vegetation and sustain ecological interactions that extend from the stream channel laterally into upland ecosystems and up- and downstream ecosystems in longitudinal directions. New terrain-based spatial analysis techniques and high-resolution digital terrain data show promise in delineating ecologically functional riparian corridors. In this study, we compare the efficacy of three terrain-based predictors of riparian corridors that have emerged in the literature—elevation above channel, flow accumulation, and distance from channel. The results of each terrain predictor are compared with field-based indicators of the riparian corridor of an alluvial reach of Mark West Creek in Sonoma County, California (a mediterranean climate). Indicators include soil type, fluvial geomorphic landforms, and vegetation. A one-meter digital terrain model from LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) supplied by a NASA ROSES grant is used as the base terrain data for spatial analysis. We discuss in detail the use of regional curves of hydraulic geometry in the calculation of the elevation above channel predictor because it offers the advantage of efficiency while carrying significant potential for error.

Identification and extraction of the seaward edge of terrestrial vegetation using digital aerial photography

USGS Publications Warehouse

Harris, Melanie; Brock, John C.; Nayegandhi, A.; Duffy, M.; Wright, C.W.

2006-01-01

This report is created as part of the Aerial Data Collection and Creation of Products for Park Vital Signs Monitoring within the Northeast Region Coastal and Barrier Network project, which is a joint project between the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program (NPS-IM), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Observational Sciences Branch, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies (CCWS). This report is one of a series that discusses methods for extracting topographic features from aerial survey data. It details step-by-step methods used to extract a spatially referenced digital line from aerial photography that represents the seaward edge of terrestrial vegetation along the coast of Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS). One component of the NPS-IM/USGS/NASA project includes the collection of NASA aerial surveys over various NPS barrier islands and coastal parks throughout the National Park Service's Northeast Region. These aerial surveys consist of collecting optical remote sensing data from a variety of sensors, including the NASA Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM), the NASA Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL), and down-looking digital mapping cameras.

Forest structure analysis combining laser scanning with digital airborne photogrammetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lissak, Candide; Onda, Yuichi; Kato, Hiroaki

2017-04-01

The interest of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) for vegetation structure analysis has been demonstrated in several research context. Indeed, airborne or ground Lidar surveys can provide detailed three-dimensional data of the forest structure from understorey forest to the canopy. To characterize at different timescale the vegetation components in dense cedar forests we can combine several sources point clouds from Lidar survey and photogrammetry data. For our study, Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS-Leica ScanStation C10 processed with Cyclone software) have been lead in three forest areas (≈ 200m2 each zone) mainly composed of japanese cedar (Japonica cryptomeria), in the region of Fukushima (Japan). The study areas are characterized by various vegetation densities. For the 3 areas, Terrestrial laser scanning has been performed from several location points and several heights. Various floors shootings (ground, 4m, 6m and 18m high) were able with the use of a several meters high tower implanted to study the canopy evolution following the Fukushima Daiishi nuclear power plant accident. The combination of all scanners provides a very dense 3D point cloud of ground and canopy structure (average 300 000 000 points). For the Tochigi forest area, a first test of a low-cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry has been lead and calibrated by ground GPS measurements to determine the coordinates of points. TLS combined to UAV photogrammetry make it possible to obtain information on vertical and horizontal structure of the Tochigi forest. This combination of technologies will allow the forest structure mapping, morphometry analysis and the assessment of biomass volume evolution from multi-temporal point clouds. In our research, we used a low-cost UAV 3 Advanced (200 m2 cover, 1300 pictures...). Data processing were performed using PotoScan Pro software to obtain a very dense point clouds to combine to TLS data set. This low-cost UAV photogrammetry data has been successfully used to derive information on the canopy cover. The purpose of this poster is to present the usability of combined remote sensing methods for forest structure analysis and 3D model reconstitution for a trend analysis of the forest changes.

Evaluation of airborne image data for mapping riparian vegetation within the Grand Canyon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.; Staid, Matthew I.; Plescia, Jeffrey B.; Johnson, Jeffrey R.

2002-01-01

This study examined various types of remote-sensing data that have been acquired during a 12-month period over a portion of the Colorado River corridor to determine the type of data and conditions for data acquisition that provide the optimum classification results for mapping riparian vegetation. Issues related to vegetation mapping included time of year, number and positions of wavelength bands, and spatial resolution for data acquisition to produce accurate vegetation maps versus cost of data. Image data considered in the study consisted of scanned color-infrared (CIR) film, digital CIR, and digital multispectral data, whose resolutions from 11 cm (photographic film) to 100 cm (multispectral), that were acquired during the Spring, Summer, and Fall seasons in 2000 for five long-term monitoring sites containing riparian vegetation. Results show that digitally acquired data produce higher and more consistent classification accuracies for mapping vegetation units than do film products. The highest accuracies were obtained from nine-band multispectral data; however, a four-band subset of these data, that did not include short-wave infrared bands, produced comparable mapping results. The four-band subset consisted of the wavelength bands 0.52-0.59 µm, 0.59-0.62 µm, 0.67-0.72 µm, and 0.73-0.85 µm. Use of only three of these bands that simulate digital CIR sensors produced accuracies for several vegetation units that were 10% lower than those obtained using the full multispectral data set. Classification tests using band ratios produced lower accuracies than those using band reflectance for scanned film data; a result attributed to the relatively poor radiometric fidelity maintained by the film scanning process, whereas calibrated multispectral data produced similar classification accuracies using band reflectance and band ratios. This suggests that the intrinsic band reflectance of the vegetation is more important than inter-band reflectance differences in attaining high mapping accuracies. These results also indicate that radiometrically calibrated sensors that record a wide range of radiance produce superior results and that such sensors should be used for monitoring purposes. When texture (spatial variance) at near-infrared wavelength is combined with spectral data in classification, accuracy increased most markedly (20-30%) for the highest resolution (11-cm) CIR film data, but decreased in its effect on accuracy in lower-resolution multi-spectral image data; a result observed in previous studies (Franklin and McDermid 1993, Franklin et al. 2000, 2001). While many classification unit accuracies obtained from the 11-cm film CIR band with texture data were in fact higher than those produced using the 100-cm, nine-band multispectral data with texture, the 11-cm film CIR data produced much lower accuracies than the 100-cm multispectral data for the more sparsely populated vegetation units due to saturation of picture elements during the film scanning process in vegetation units with a high proportion of alluvium. Overall classification accuracies obtained from spectral band and texture data range from 36% to 78% for all databases considered, from 57% to 71% for the 11-cm film CIR data, and from 54% to 78% for the 100-cm multispectral data. Classification results obtained from 20-cm film CIR band and texture data, which were produced by applying a Gaussian filter to the 11-cm film CIR data, showed increases in accuracy due to texture that were similar to those observed using the original 11-cm film CIR data. This suggests that data can be collected at the lower resolution and still retain the added power of vegetation texture. Classification accuracies for the riparian vegetation units examined in this study do not appear to be influenced by season of data acquisition, although data acquired under direct sunlight produced higher overall accuracies than data acquired under overcast conditions. The latter observation, in addition to the importance of band reflectance for classification, implies that data should be acquired near summer solstice when sun elevation and reflectance is highest and when shadows cast by steep canyon walls are minimized.

Using historical aerial photography and softcopy photogrammetry for waste unit mapping in L Lake.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Christel, L.M.

1997-10-01

L Lake was developed as a cooling water reservoir for the L Reactor at the Savannah River Site. The construction of the lake, which began in the fall of 1984, altered the structure and function of Steel Creek. Completed in the fall of 1985, L Lake has a capacity of 31 million cubic meters and a normal pool of 58 meters. When L Reactor operations ceased in 1988, the water level in the lake still had to be maintained. Site managers are currently trying to determine the feasibility of draining or drawing down the lake in order to save taxmore » dollars. In order to understand the full repercussions of such an undertaking, it was necessary to compile a comprehensive inventory of what the lake bottom looked like prior to filling. Aerial photographs, acquired nine days before the filling of the lake began, were scanned and used for softcopy photogrammetry processing. A one-meter digital elevation model was generated and a digital orthophoto mosaic was created as the base map for the project. Seven categories of features, including the large waste units used to contain the contaminated soil removed from the dam site, were screen digitized and used to generate accurate maps. Other map features include vegetation waste piles, where contaminated vegetation from the flood plain was contained, and ash piles, which are sites where vegetation debris was burned and then covered with clean soil. For all seven categories, the area of disturbance totaled just over 63 hectares. When the screen digitizing was completed, the elevation at the centroid of each disturbance was determined. When the information is used in the Savannah River Site Geographical Information System, it can be used to visualize the various L Lake draw-down scenarios suggested by site managers and hopefully, to support evaluations of the cost effectiveness for each proposed activity.« less

Using digital time-lapse cameras to monitor species-specific understorey and overstorey phenology in support of wildlife habitat assessment.

PubMed

Bater, Christopher W; Coops, Nicholas C; Wulder, Michael A; Hilker, Thomas; Nielsen, Scott E; McDermid, Greg; Stenhouse, Gordon B

2011-09-01

Critical to habitat management is the understanding of not only the location of animal food resources, but also the timing of their availability. Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) diets, for example, shift seasonally as different vegetation species enter key phenological phases. In this paper, we describe the use of a network of seven ground-based digital camera systems to monitor understorey and overstorey vegetation within species-specific regions of interest. Established across an elevation gradient in western Alberta, Canada, the cameras collected true-colour (RGB) images daily from 13 April 2009 to 27 October 2009. Fourth-order polynomials were fit to an RGB-derived index, which was then compared to field-based observations of phenological phases. Using linear regression to statistically relate the camera and field data, results indicated that 61% (r (2) = 0.61, df = 1, F = 14.3, p = 0.0043) of the variance observed in the field phenological phase data is captured by the cameras for the start of the growing season and 72% (r (2) = 0.72, df = 1, F = 23.09, p = 0.0009) of the variance in length of growing season. Based on the linear regression models, the mean absolute differences in residuals between predicted and observed start of growing season and length of growing season were 4 and 6 days, respectively. This work extends upon previous research by demonstrating that specific understorey and overstorey species can be targeted for phenological monitoring in a forested environment, using readily available digital camera technology and RGB-based vegetation indices.

MIDI-Assisted Composing in Your Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reese, Sam

1995-01-01

Describes a junior high school course in musical composition using Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) technology. Discusses course objectives and three composition projects. Includes a list of definitions and asserts that MIDI technology offers students and teachers a powerful method to study how music works. (CFR)

PLZT block data composers operated in differential phase mode. [lanthanum-modified lead zirconate titanate ceramic device for digital holographic memory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Drake, M. D.; Klingler, D. E.

1973-01-01

The use of PLZT ceramics with the 7/65/35 composition in block data composer (BDC) input devices for holographic memory systems has previously been described for operation in the strain biased, scattering, and edge effect modes. A new and promising mode of BDC operation is the differential phase mode in which each element of a matrix array BDC acts as a phase modulator. The phase modulation results from a phase difference in the optical path length between the electrically poled and depoled states of the PLZT. It is shown that a PLZT BDC can be used as a matrix-type phase modulator to record and process digital data by the differential phase mode in a holographic recording/processing system with readout contrast ratios of between 10:1 and 15:1. The differential phase mode has the advantages that strain bias is not required and that the thickness and strain variations in the PLZT are cancelled out.

Map Classification In Image Data

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-25

showing the signicant portion of image and video data transfers via Youtube , Facebook, and Flickr as primary platforms from Infographic (2015) digital...reserves • hydrography: lakes, rivers, streams, swamps, coastal flats • relief: mountains, valleys, slopes, depressions • vegetation: wooded and cleared

Stand dynamics in 60-year-old Allegheny hardwoods after thinning

Treesearch

Gary W. Miller

1997-01-01

Stand dynamics and tree growth in even-aged hardwood stands can be influenced by manipulating relative stand density, species composition, and stand structure. Land managers need quantitative information on the effect of vegetation manipulation to prescribe stand treatments that are appropriate for specific management objectives. Sixty-year-old stands composed of black...

Vegetative anatomy and relationships of Setchellanthus caeruleus (Setchellanthaceae)

Treesearch

Sherwin Carlquist; Regis B. Miller

1999-05-01

On account of its distinctive features, Setchellanthus cannot be included within any of the families of glucosinolate-producing plants. Features unknown in any of these families include abundant vasicentric tracheids, abaxial axial parenchyma, and only short uniseriate rays (composed of upright cells) in wood: and the presence of wide-helix tracheary elements in leaves...

Sensitivity of an Integrated Mesoscale Atmosphere and Agriculture Land Modeling System (WRF/CMAQ-EPIC) to MODIS Vegetation and Lightning Assimilation

EPA Science Inventory

The combined meteorology and air quality modeling system composed of the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model and Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model is an important decision support tool that is used in research and regulatory decisions related to emissions, meteo...

Effects of Shade on Blue Oak and Coast Live Oak Regeneration in California Annual Grasslands

Treesearch

Pamela C. Muick

1991-01-01

Canopy effects and annual vegetation have been shown to strongly influence oak seedling survival. From the many elements composing canopy, shade was selected for experimental manipulation. A split-plot, multifactorial experiment was designed to test whether blue oak (Quercus douglasii) and coast live oak (Q. agrifolia) could...

Effects of monoacylglycerols on low-temperature viscosity and cold filter plugging point of biodiesel

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Biodiesel is composed of mono-alkyl fatty acid esters made from the transesterification of vegetable oil or animal fat with methanol or ethanol. Biodiesel must meet rigorous standard fuel specifications (ASTM D 6751; CEN EN 14214) to be classified as an alternative fuel. Nevertheless, biodiesel that...

Oil content in seeds of the NPGS jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) germplasm collection

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Jojoba, Simmondsia chinensis, (Link) Schneider is a shrub native to warm and arid land regions of North and Latin America. Its seeds contain vegetable oil composed of long (C20-22), straight-chain liquid wax of non-glyceride esters. Minute amounts of triglycerides in its composition make the oil a l...

Remote sensing-based characterization, 2-m, Plant Functional Type Distributions, Barrow Environmental Observatory, 2010

DOE Data Explorer

Langford, Zachary; Kumar, Jitendra; Hoffman, Forrest

2014-01-01

Arctic ecosystems have been observed to be warming faster than the global average and are predicted to experience accelerated changes in climate due to global warming. Arctic vegetation is particularly sensitive to warming conditions and likely to exhibit shifts in species composition, phenology and productivity under changing climate. Mapping and monitoring of changes in vegetation is essential to understand the effect of climate change on the ecosystem functions. Vegetation exhibits unique spectral characteristics which can be harnessed to discriminate plant types and develop quantitative vegetation indices. We have combined high resolution multi-spectral remote sensing from the WorldView 2 satellite with LIDAR-derived digital elevation models to characterize the tundra landscape on the North Slope of Alaska. Classification of landscape using spectral and topographic characteristics yields spatial regions with expectedly similar vegetation characteristics. A field campaign was conducted during peak growing season to collect vegetation harvests from a number of 1m x 1m plots in the study region, which were then analyzed for distribution of vegetation types in the plots. Statistical relationships were developed between spectral and topographic characteristics and vegetation type distributions at the vegetation plots. These derived relationships were employed to statistically upscale the vegetation distributions for the landscape based on spectral characteristics. Vegetation distributions developed are being used to provide Plant Functional Type (PFT) maps for use in the Community Land Model (CLM).

Monitoring the vernal advancement and retrogradation (green wave effect) of natural vegetation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rouse, J. W., Jr. (Principal Investigator)

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Continued evaluation of autumnal phase and early vernal phase data indicate that the quality of ERTS-1 imagery over the Great Plains Corridor test sites are adequate to show relatively small temporal changes in the condition and quantity of vegetation at the several test sites. Vegetation changes measured from August through April are observable in reflectance changes recorded by ERTS-1. Vegetation changes due to grazing treatment and environmental conditions at the test sites are being monitored with ground data and ERTS-1 data, and appear adequate to complete all phases of the Great Plains Corridor investigation. NASA high flight aerial photography proved to be an indispensable tool for locating the Great Plains Corridor test sites on the computer derived grey maps of ERTS-1 digital data.

Improving salt marsh digital elevation model accuracy with full-waveform lidar and nonparametric predictive modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogers, Jeffrey N.; Parrish, Christopher E.; Ward, Larry G.; Burdick, David M.

2018-03-01

Salt marsh vegetation tends to increase vertical uncertainty in light detection and ranging (lidar) derived elevation data, often causing the data to become ineffective for analysis of topographic features governing tidal inundation or vegetation zonation. Previous attempts at improving lidar data collected in salt marsh environments range from simply computing and subtracting the global elevation bias to more complex methods such as computing vegetation-specific, constant correction factors. The vegetation specific corrections can be used along with an existing habitat map to apply separate corrections to different areas within a study site. It is hypothesized here that correcting salt marsh lidar data by applying location-specific, point-by-point corrections, which are computed from lidar waveform-derived features, tidal-datum based elevation, distance from shoreline and other lidar digital elevation model based variables, using nonparametric regression will produce better results. The methods were developed and tested using full-waveform lidar and ground truth for three marshes in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Five different model algorithms for nonparametric regression were evaluated, with TreeNet's stochastic gradient boosting algorithm consistently producing better regression and classification results. Additionally, models were constructed to predict the vegetative zone (high marsh and low marsh). The predictive modeling methods used in this study estimated ground elevation with a mean bias of 0.00 m and a standard deviation of 0.07 m (0.07 m root mean square error). These methods appear very promising for correction of salt marsh lidar data and, importantly, do not require an existing habitat map, biomass measurements, or image based remote sensing data such as multi/hyperspectral imagery.

Environmental drivers of spatial patterns of topsoil nitrogen and phosphorus under monsoon conditions in a complex terrain of South Korea

PubMed Central

Choi, Kwanghun; Spohn, Marie; Park, Soo Jin; Huwe, Bernd; Ließ, Mareike

2017-01-01

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in topsoils are critical for plant nutrition. Relatively little is known about the spatial patterns of N and P in the organic layer of mountainous landscapes. Therefore, the spatial distributions of N and P in both the organic layer and the A horizon were analyzed using a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) digital elevation model and vegetation metrics. The objective of the study was to analyze the effect of vegetation and topography on the spatial patterns of N and P in a small watershed covered by forest in South Korea. Soil samples were collected using the conditioned latin hypercube method. LiDAR vegetation metrics, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and terrain parameters were derived as predictors. Spatial explicit predictions of N/P ratios were obtained using a random forest with uncertainty analysis. We tested different strategies of model validation (repeated 2-fold to 20-fold and leave-one-out cross validation). Repeated 10-fold cross validation was selected for model validation due to the comparatively high accuracy and low variance of prediction. Surface curvature was the best predictor of P contents in the organic layer and in the A horizon, while LiDAR vegetation metrics and NDVI were important predictors of N in the organic layer. N/P ratios increased with surface curvature and were higher on the convex upper slope than on the concave lower slope. This was due to P enrichment of the soil on the lower slope and a more even spatial distribution of N. Our digital soil maps showed that the topsoils on the upper slopes contained relatively little P. These findings are critical for understanding N and P dynamics in mountainous ecosystems. PMID:28837590

Drawing on Text Features for Reading Comprehension and Composing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Risko, Victoria J.; Walker-Dalhouse, Doris

2011-01-01

Students read multiple-genre texts such as graphic novels, poetry, brochures, digitized texts with videos, and informational and narrative texts. Features such as overlapping illustrations and implied cause-and-effect relationships can affect students' comprehension. Teaching with these texts and drawing attention to organizational features hold…

Coherent Fragments: The Problem of Mobility and Genred Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swarts, Jason

2006-01-01

Genres embody typified discursive activity that is situated in an ecology of texts, people, and tools. Within these settings, genres help writers compose recognizable information artifacts. Increasingly, however, many professions are becoming mobile, and mobile technologies (e.g., personal digital assistants [PDAs]) are creating problems of…

76 FR 36861 - Special Conditions: Gulfstream Model GVI Airplane; Electronic Systems Security Isolation or...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-23

... incorporate the following novel or unusual design features: Digital systems architecture composed of several connected networks. The proposed architecture and network configuration may be used for, or interfaced with... navigation systems (aircraft control domain), 2. Airline business and administrative support (airline...

75 FR 76647 - Special Conditions: Boeing Model 747-8 Airplanes, Systems and Data Networks Security-Isolation or...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-09

...: Digital systems architecture composed of several connected networks. The proposed network architecture..., communication, and navigation systems (Aircraft Control Domain), 2. Airline business and administrative support... system architectures. Furthermore, 14 CFR regulations and current system safety assessment policy and...

Impacts of a farmers' market incentive programme on fruit and vegetable access, purchase and consumption.

PubMed

Olsho, Lauren Ew; Payne, Gayle Holmes; Walker, Deborah Klein; Baronberg, Sabrina; Jernigan, Jan; Abrami, Alyson

2015-10-01

The present study examines the impact of Health Bucks, a farmers' market incentive programme, on awareness of and access to farmers' markets, and fruit and vegetable purchase and consumption in low-income New York City neighbourhoods. The evaluation used two primary data collection methods: (i) an on-site point-of-purchase survey of farmers' market shoppers; and (ii) a random-digit-dial telephone survey of residents in neighbourhoods where the programme operates. Additionally, we conducted a quasi-experimental analysis examining differential time trends in consumption before and after programme introduction using secondary Community Health Survey (CHS) data. New York City farmers' markets and communities. Farmers' market shoppers (n 2287) completing point-of-purchase surveys in a representative sample of New York City farmers' markets in 2010; residents (n 1025) completing random-digit-dial telephone survey interviews in 2010; and respondents (n 35 606) completing CHS interviews in 2002, 2004, 2008 and 2009. Greater Health Bucks exposure was associated with: (i) greater awareness of farmers' markets; (ii) increased frequency and amount of farmers' market purchases; and (iii) greater likelihood of a self-reported year-over-year increase in fruit and vegetable consumption. However, our CHS analysis did not detect impacts on consumption. While our study provides promising evidence that use of farmers' market incentives is associated with increased awareness and use of farmers' markets, additional research is needed to better understand impacts on fruit and vegetable consumption.

Digital Learning As Enhanced Learning Processing? Cognitive Evidence for New insight of Smart Learning.

PubMed

Di Giacomo, Dina; Ranieri, Jessica; Lacasa, Pilar

2017-01-01

Large use of technology improved quality of life across aging and favoring the development of digital skills. Digital skills can be considered an enhancing to human cognitive activities. New research trend is about the impact of the technology in the elaboration information processing of the children. We wanted to analyze the influence of technology in early age evaluating the impact on cognition. We investigated the performance of a sample composed of n. 191 children in school age distributed in two groups as users: high digital users and low digital users. We measured the verbal and visuoperceptual cognitive performance of children by n. 8 standardized psychological tests and ad hoc self-report questionnaire. Results have evidenced the influence of digital exposition on cognitive development: the cognitive performance is looked enhanced and better developed: high digital users performed better in naming, semantic, visual memory and logical reasoning tasks. Our finding confirms the data present in literature and suggests the strong impact of the technology using not only in the social, educational and quality of life of the people, but also it outlines the functionality and the effect of the digital exposition in early age; increased cognitive abilities of the children tailor digital skilled generation with enhanced cognitive processing toward to smart learning.

WE-G-209-03: PET

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kemp, B.

2016-06-15

Digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR are complicated imaging modalities which are composed of many hardware and software components. These components work together in a highly coordinated chain of events with the intent to produce high quality images. Acquisition, processing and reconstruction of data must occur in a precise way for optimum image quality to be achieved. Any error or unexpected event in the entire process can produce unwanted pixel intensities in the final images which may contribute to visible image artifacts. The diagnostic imaging physicist is uniquely qualified to investigate and contribute to resolution of image artifacts. This coursemore » will teach the participant to identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR, to determine the causes of artifacts, and to make recommendations for how to resolve artifacts. Learning Objectives: Identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Determine causes of various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Describe how to resolve various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR.« less

WE-G-209-02: CT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kofler, J.

2016-06-15

Digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR are complicated imaging modalities which are composed of many hardware and software components. These components work together in a highly coordinated chain of events with the intent to produce high quality images. Acquisition, processing and reconstruction of data must occur in a precise way for optimum image quality to be achieved. Any error or unexpected event in the entire process can produce unwanted pixel intensities in the final images which may contribute to visible image artifacts. The diagnostic imaging physicist is uniquely qualified to investigate and contribute to resolution of image artifacts. This coursemore » will teach the participant to identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR, to determine the causes of artifacts, and to make recommendations for how to resolve artifacts. Learning Objectives: Identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Determine causes of various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Describe how to resolve various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR.« less

WE-G-209-04: MRI

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pooley, R.

2016-06-15

Digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR are complicated imaging modalities which are composed of many hardware and software components. These components work together in a highly coordinated chain of events with the intent to produce high quality images. Acquisition, processing and reconstruction of data must occur in a precise way for optimum image quality to be achieved. Any error or unexpected event in the entire process can produce unwanted pixel intensities in the final images which may contribute to visible image artifacts. The diagnostic imaging physicist is uniquely qualified to investigate and contribute to resolution of image artifacts. This coursemore » will teach the participant to identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR, to determine the causes of artifacts, and to make recommendations for how to resolve artifacts. Learning Objectives: Identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Determine causes of various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Describe how to resolve various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR.« less

Influence of coping with prostate cancer threat on frequency of digital rectal examinations.

PubMed

Kudadjie-Gyamfi, Elizabeth; Consedine, Nathan S; Ungar, Tracey; Magai, Carol

2008-01-01

To determine the role of personality variables in coping with cancer threat in the receipt of digital rectal examinations among men from 7 ethnic subpopulations composing 3 major ethnic groups. Three hundred eight men were assessed on how often they obtained digital rectal exams and their likelihood of coping with a hypothetical cancer diagnosis. There were ethnic disparities in screening frequency that were not accounted for by demographic/background variables. Coping styles that reflect problem solving, use of social support, and avoidance provided unique and additional variance in understanding these disparities. Cancer researchers and educators must account for heterogeneity within typical major ethnic groups, as well as consider the role of personality variables, as they differentially predict outcomes in ethnic subpopulations.

WE-G-209-01: Digital Radiography

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schueler, B.

Digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR are complicated imaging modalities which are composed of many hardware and software components. These components work together in a highly coordinated chain of events with the intent to produce high quality images. Acquisition, processing and reconstruction of data must occur in a precise way for optimum image quality to be achieved. Any error or unexpected event in the entire process can produce unwanted pixel intensities in the final images which may contribute to visible image artifacts. The diagnostic imaging physicist is uniquely qualified to investigate and contribute to resolution of image artifacts. This coursemore » will teach the participant to identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR, to determine the causes of artifacts, and to make recommendations for how to resolve artifacts. Learning Objectives: Identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Determine causes of various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Describe how to resolve various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR.« less

Potential and Limitations of Low-Cost Unmanned Aerial Systems for Monitoring Altitudinal Vegetation Phenology in the Tropics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, T. S. F.; Torres, R. S.; Morellato, P.

2017-12-01

Vegetation phenology is a key component of ecosystem function and biogeochemical cycling, and highly susceptible to climatic change. Phenological knowledge in the tropics is limited by lack of monitoring, traditionally done by laborious direct observation. Ground-based digital cameras can automate daily observations, but also offer limited spatial coverage. Imaging by low-cost Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) combines the fine resolution of ground-based methods with and unprecedented capability for spatial coverage, but challenges remain in producing color-consistent multitemporal images. We evaluated the applicability of multitemporal UAS imaging to monitor phenology in tropical altitudinal grasslands and forests, answering: 1) Can very-high resolution aerial photography from conventional digital cameras be used to reliably monitor vegetative and reproductive phenology? 2) How is UAS monitoring affected by changes in illumination and by sensor physical limitations? We flew imaging missions monthly from Feb-16 to Feb-17, using a UAS equipped with an RGB Canon SX260 camera. Flights were carried between 10am and 4pm, at 120-150m a.g.l., yielding 5-10cm spatial resolution. To compensate illumination changes caused by time of day, season and cloud cover, calibration was attempted using reference targets and empirical models, as well as color space transformations. For vegetative phenological monitoring, multitemporal response was severely affected by changes in illumination conditions, strongly confounding the phenological signal. These variations could not be adequately corrected through calibration due to sensor limitations. For reproductive phenology, the very-high resolution of the acquired imagery allowed discrimination of individual reproductive structures for some species, and its stark colorimetric differences to vegetative structures allowed detection of the reproductive timing on the HSV color space, despite illumination effects. We conclude that reliable vegetative phenology monitoring may exceed the capabilities of consumer cameras, but reproductive phenology can be successfully monitored for species with conspicuous reproductive structures. Further research is being conducted to improve calibration methods and information extraction through machine learning.

Use of UAVs for Remote Measurement of Vegetation Canopy Variables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rango, A.; Laliberte, A.; Herrick, J.; Steele, C.; Bestelmeyer, B.; Chopping, M. J.

2006-12-01

Remote sensing with different sensors has proven useful for measuring vegetation canopy variables at scales ranging from landscapes down to individual plants. For use at landscape scales, such as desert grasslands invaded by shrubs, it is possible to use multi-angle imagery from satellite sensors, such as MISR and CHRIS/Proba, with geometric optical models to retrieve fractional woody plant cover. Vegetation community states can be mapped using visible and near infrared ASTER imagery at 15 m resolution. At finer scales, QuickBird satellite imagery with approximately 60 cm resolution and piloted aircraft photography with 25-80 cm resolution can be used to measure shrubs above a critical size. Tests conducted with the QuickBird data in the Jornada basin of southern New Mexico have shown that 87% of all shrubs greater than 2 m2 were detected whereas only about 29% of all shrubs less than 2 m2 were detected, even at these high resolutions. Because there is an observational gap between satellite/aircraft measurements and ground observations, we have experimented with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) producing digital photography with approximately 5 cm resolution. We were able to detect all shrubs greater than 2 m2, and we were able to map small subshrubs indicative of rangeland deterioration, as well as remnant grass patches, for the first time. None of these could be identified on the 60 cm resolution data. Additionally, we were able to measure canopy gaps, shrub patterns, percent bare soil, and vegetation cover over mixed rangeland vegetation. This approach is directly applicable to rangeland health monitoring, and it provides a quantitative way to assess shrub invasion over time and to detect the depletion or recovery of grass patches. Further, if the UAV images have sufficient overlap, it may be possible to exploit the stereo viewing capabilities to develop a digital elevation model from the orthophotos, with a potential for extracting canopy height. We envision two parallel routes for investigation: one which emphasizes utilization of the most technically advanced passive and active space and aircraft sensors (e.g., LIDAR, radar, Hyperion, ASTER, QuickBird follow-on) for modeling research, and a second which emphasizes minimization of costs and maximization of simplicity for monitoring purposes utilizing inexpensive sensors such as digital cameras on UAVs for arid and semiarid rangelands. The use of UAVs will provide management agencies a way to assess various vegetation canopy variables for a very reasonable cost.

Computer analysis and mapping of gypsy moth levels in Pennsylvania using LANDSAT-1 digital data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, D. L.

1975-01-01

The effectiveness of using LANDSAT-1 multispectral digital data and imagery, supplemented by ground truth and aerial photography, was investigated as a new method of surveying gypsy moth (Porthetria dispar (L.)) (Lepidoptera; Lymantriidae) defoliation, which has greatly increased in Pennsylvania in recent years. Since the acreage and severity of gypsy moth defoliation reaches a peak from mid-June through the first few days of July, the July 8, 1973, LANDSAT-1 scene was chosen for analysis. Results indicate that LANDSAT-1 data can be used to discriminate between defoliated and healthy vegetation in Pennsylvania and that digital processing methods can be used to map the extent and degree of defoliation.

Geospatial Data for Computerisation of Public Administration in the Czech Republic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cada, V.; Mildorf, T.

2011-08-01

The main aim of the eGovernment programme in the Czech Republic is to enhance the efficiency of public administration. The Digital Map of Public Administration (DMVS) should be composed of digital orthophotographs of the Czech Republic, digital and digitised cadastral maps, digital purpose cadastral map (ÚKM) and a technical map of municipality, if available. The DMVS project is a part of computerisation of public administration in the Czech Republic. The project enhances the productivity of government administration and also simplifies the processes between citizens and public administration. The DMVS project, that should be compliant with the INSPIRE (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community) initiative, generates definite demand for geodata on the level of detail of land data model. The user needs that are clearly specified and required are not met due to inconsistencies in terminology, data management and level of detail.

Forensic characterization of camcorded movies: digital cinema vs. celluloid film prints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rolland-Nevière, Xavier; Chupeau, Bertrand; Do"rr, Gwena"l.; Blondé, Laurent

2012-03-01

Digital camcording in the premises of cinema theaters is the main source of pirate copies of newly released movies. To trace such recordings, watermarking systems are exploited in order for each projection to be unique and thus identifiable. The forensic analysis to recover these marks is different for digital and legacy cinemas. To avoid running both detectors, a reliable oracle discriminating between cams originating from analog or digital projections is required. This article details a classification framework relying on three complementary features : the spatial uniformity of the screen illumination, the vertical (in)stability of the projected image, and the luminance artifacts due to the interplay between the display and acquisition devices. The system has been tuned with cams captured in a controlled environment and benchmarked against a medium-sized dataset (61 samples) composed of real-life pirate cams. Reported experimental results demonstrate that such a framework yields over 80% classification accuracy.

Ground-Vegetation Clutter Affects Phyllostomid Bat Assemblage Structure in Lowland Amazonian Forest.

PubMed

Marciente, Rodrigo; Bobrowiec, Paulo Estefano D; Magnusson, William E

2015-01-01

Vegetation clutter is a limiting factor for bats that forage near ground level, and may determine the distribution of species and guilds. However, many studies that evaluated the effects of vegetation clutter on bats have used qualitative descriptions rather than direct measurements of vegetation density. Moreover, few studies have evaluated the effect of vegetation clutter on a regional scale. Here, we evaluate the influence of the physical obstruction of vegetation on phyllostomid-bat assemblages along a 520 km transect in continuous Amazonian forest. We sampled bats using mist nets in eight localities during 80 nights (3840 net-hours) and estimated the ground-vegetation density with digital photographs. The total number of species, number of animalivorous species, total number of frugivorous species, number of understory frugivorous species, and abundance of canopy frugivorous bats were negatively associated with vegetation clutter. The bat assemblages showed a nested structure in relation to degree of clutter, with animalivorous and understory frugivorous bats distributed throughout the vegetation-clutter gradient, while canopy frugivores were restricted to sites with more open vegetation. The species distribution along the gradient of vegetation clutter was not closely associated with wing morphology, but aspect ratio and wing load differed between frugivores and animalivores. Vegetation structure plays an important role in structuring assemblages of the bats at the regional scale by increasing beta diversity between sites. Differences in foraging strategy and diet of the guilds seem to have contributed more to the spatial distribution of bats than the wing characteristics of the species alone.

BPSK Demodulation Using Digital Signal Processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garcia, Thomas R.

1996-01-01

A digital communications signal is a sinusoidal waveform that is modified by a binary (digital) information signal. The sinusoidal waveform is called the carrier. The carrier may be modified in amplitude, frequency, phase, or a combination of these. In this project a binary phase shift keyed (BPSK) signal is the communication signal. In a BPSK signal the phase of the carrier is set to one of two states, 180 degrees apart, by a binary (i.e., 1 or 0) information signal. A digital signal is a sampled version of a "real world" time continuous signal. The digital signal is generated by sampling the continuous signal at discrete points in time. The rate at which the signal is sampled is called the sampling rate (f(s)). The device that performs this operation is called an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter or a digitizer. The digital signal is composed of the sequence of individual values of the sampled BPSK signal. Digital signal processing (DSP) is the modification of the digital signal by mathematical operations. A device that performs this processing is called a digital signal processor. After processing, the digital signal may then be converted back to an analog signal using a digital-to-analog (D/A) converter. The goal of this project is to develop a system that will recover the digital information from a BPSK signal using DSP techniques. The project is broken down into the following steps: (1) Development of the algorithms required to demodulate the BPSK signal; (2) Simulation of the system; and (3) Implementation a BPSK receiver using digital signal processing hardware.

Pure Left Neglect for Arabic Numerals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Priftis, Konstantinos; Albanese, Silvia; Meneghello, Francesca; Pitteri, Marco

2013-01-01

Arabic numerals are diffused and language-free representations of number magnitude. To be effectively processed, the digits composing Arabic numerals must be spatially arranged along a left-to-right axis. We studied one patient (AK) to show that left neglect, after right hemisphere damage, can selectively impair the computation of the spatial…

Multimodal Resemiotization and Authorial Agency in an L2 Writing Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cimasko, Tony; Shin, Dong-shin

2017-01-01

This study examines the composing process and authorial agency of a college ESL writer as she remediated an argumentative essay into a multimodal digital video. Employing principles of sociosemiotic ethnography, and drawing on the concepts of resemiotization and recontextualization, the study investigated multiple types of data, including an…

77 FR 36123 - Special Conditions: Gulfstream Aerospace LP (GALP), Model Gulfstream G280 Airplane; Aircraft...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-18

... architecture and connectivity capabilities of the airplane's computer systems and networks, which may allow... an association, business, labor union, etc.). DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement can be found in... or unusual design features: Digital systems architecture composed of several connected networks. The...

75 FR 2433 - Special Conditions: Boeing Model 747-8/-8F Airplanes, Systems and Data Networks Security...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-15

... design features associated with the architecture and connectivity capabilities of the airplane's computer... novel or unusual design features: digital systems architecture composed of several connected networks. The architecture and network configuration may be used for, or interfaced with, a diverse set of...

76 FR 36863 - Special Conditions: Gulfstream Model GVI Airplane; Electronic Systems Security Protection From...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-23

... airplane. This airplane will have novel or unusual design features associated with the architecture and... incorporate the following novel or unusual design features: Digital systems architecture composed of several connected networks. The proposed architecture and network configuration may be used for, or interfaced with...

Integrated High Resolution Monitoring of Mediterranean vegetation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cesaraccio, Carla; Piga, Alessandra; Ventura, Andrea; Arca, Angelo; Duce, Pierpaolo; Mereu, Simone

2017-04-01

The study of the vegetation features in a complex and highly vulnerable ecosystems, such as Mediterranean maquis, leads to the need of using continuous monitoring systems at high spatial and temporal resolution, for a better interpretation of the mechanisms of phenological and eco-physiological processes. Near-surface remote sensing techniques are used to quantify, at high temporal resolution, and with a certain degree of spatial integration, the seasonal variations of the surface optical and radiometric properties. In recent decades, the design and implementation of global monitoring networks involved the use of non-destructive and/or cheaper approaches such as (i) continuous surface fluxes measurement stations, (ii) phenological observation networks, and (iii) measurement of temporal and spatial variations of the vegetation spectral properties. In this work preliminary results from the ECO-SCALE (Integrated High Resolution Monitoring of Mediterranean vegetation) project are reported. The project was manly aimed to develop an integrated system for environmental monitoring based on digital photography, hyperspectral radiometry , and micrometeorological techniques during three years of experimentation (2013-2016) in a Mediterranean site of Italy (Capo Caccia, Alghero). The main results concerned the analysis of chromatic coordinates indices from digital images, to characterized the phenological patterns for typical shrubland species, determining start and duration of the growing season, and the physiological status in relation to different environmental drought conditions; then the seasonal patterns of canopy phenology, was compared to NEE (Net Ecosystem Exchange) patterns, showing similarities. However, maximum values of NEE and ER (Ecosystem respiration), and short term variation, seemed mainly tuned by inter annual pattern of meteorological variables, in particular of temperature recorded in the months preceding the vegetation green-up. Finally, green signals (gcc, ExG) from digital images was also in according to the spectral signature (NDVI) obtained for single species (in particular for Juniperus phoenicea and Pistacia lentiscus). The integrated system developed during this project can provide continuous and high-resolution data, providing a valuable support for both ecological and environmental studies in particular for the analysis of phenological plants responses to environmental and climate changes, and the validation of eco-physiological models, and supporting research on climate change adaptations. This research was funded by the Regional Administration of Sardinia, RAS, L.R. 7/2007 "Scientific Research and Technological Innovation in Sardinia ".

Discrimination of natural and cultivated vegetation using Thematic Mapper spectral data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Degloria, Stephen D.; Bernstein, Ralph; Dizenzo, Silvano

1986-01-01

The availability of high quality spectral data from the current suite of earth observation satellite systems offers significant improvements in the ability to survey and monitor food and fiber production on both a local and global basis. Current research results indicate that Landsat TM data when used in either digital or analog formats achieve higher land-cover classification accuracies than MSS data using either comparable or improved spectral bands and spatial resolution. A review of these quantitative results is presented for both natural and cultivated vegetation.

A demonstration of wetland vegetation mapping in Florida from computer-processed satellite and aircraft multispectral scanner data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butera, M. K. (Principal Investigator)

1978-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Major vegetative classes identified by the remote sensing technique were cypress swamp, pine, wetland grasses, salt grass, mixed mangrove, black mangrove, Brazilian pepper. Australian pine and melaleuca were not satisfactorily classified from LANDSAT. Aircraft scanners provided better resolution resulting in a classification of finer surface detail. An edge effect, created by the integration of diverse spectral responses within boundary elements of digital data, affected the wetlands classification. Accuracy classification for aircraft was 68% and for LANDSAT was 74%.

Remote sensing applications for range management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haas, R. H.

1981-01-01

The use of satellite information for range management is discussed. The use of infrared photography and color photography for analysis of vegetation cover is described. The methods of interpreting LANDSAT imagery are highlighted and possible applications of such interpretive methods to range management are considered. The concept of using LANDSAT as a sampling frame for renewable natural resource inventories was examined. It is concluded that a blending of LANDSAT vegetation data with soils and digital terrain data, will define a basic sampling unit that is appropriate for range management utilization.

Biomass measurement from LANDSAT: Drought and energy applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maxwell, E. L.

1981-01-01

The theory supporting the use of vegetation indices derived from LANDSAT data for the direct measurement of biomass is reviewed. The use of multispectral data to measure biomass is a natural and viable application since the photosynthetic production of biomass gives vegetation its unique spectral properties. Vegetation indices also perform a normalization function which tends to make them insensitive to atmospheric and soil color variations. Optical and digital LANDSAT products are discussed relative to the use of vegetation indices to monitor drought impact. Based on results obtained in Colorado, operational use of LANDSAT to monitor drought is cost effective, practical and ready for implementation today. The direct measurement of biomass energy resources may also benefit from LANDSAT technology. Measurement of total biomass and annual primary production may be feasible. Identification of that component of biomass resources available for energy use will require other sources of information, however.

Statistical correction of lidar-derived digital elevation models with multispectral airborne imagery in tidal marshes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buffington, Kevin J.; Dugger, Bruce D.; Thorne, Karen M.; Takekawa, John Y.

2016-01-01

Airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) is a valuable tool for collecting large amounts of elevation data across large areas; however, the limited ability to penetrate dense vegetation with lidar hinders its usefulness for measuring tidal marsh platforms. Methods to correct lidar elevation data are available, but a reliable method that requires limited field work and maintains spatial resolution is lacking. We present a novel method, the Lidar Elevation Adjustment with NDVI (LEAN), to correct lidar digital elevation models (DEMs) with vegetation indices from readily available multispectral airborne imagery (NAIP) and RTK-GPS surveys. Using 17 study sites along the Pacific coast of the U.S., we achieved an average root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.072 m, with a 40–75% improvement in accuracy from the lidar bare earth DEM. Results from our method compared favorably with results from three other methods (minimum-bin gridding, mean error correction, and vegetation correction factors), and a power analysis applying our extensive RTK-GPS dataset showed that on average 118 points were necessary to calibrate a site-specific correction model for tidal marshes along the Pacific coast. By using available imagery and with minimal field surveys, we showed that lidar-derived DEMs can be adjusted for greater accuracy while maintaining high (1 m) resolution.

Saltmarsh Boundary Modulates Dispersal of Mangrove Propagules: Implications for Mangrove Migration with Sea-Level Rise

PubMed Central

Peterson, Jennifer M.; Bell, Susan S.

2015-01-01

Few studies have empirically examined the suite of mechanisms that underlie the distributional shifts displayed by organisms in response to changing climatic condition. Mangrove forests are expected to move inland as sea-level rises, encroaching on saltmarsh plants inhabiting higher elevations. Mangrove propagules are transported by tidal waters and propagule dispersal is likely modified upon encountering the mangrove-saltmarsh ecotone, the implications of which are poorly known. Here, using an experimental approach, we record landward and seaward dispersal and subsequent establishment of mangrove propagules that encounter biotic boundaries composed of two types of saltmarsh taxa: succulents and grasses. Our findings revealed that propagules emplaced within saltmarsh vegetation immediately landward of the extant mangrove fringe boundary frequently dispersed in the seaward direction. However, propagules moved seaward less frequently and over shorter distances upon encountering boundaries composed of saltmarsh grasses versus succulents. We uniquely confirmed that the small subset of propagules dispersing landward displayed proportionately higher establishment success than those transported seaward. Although impacts of ecotones on plant dispersal have rarely been investigated in situ, our experimental results indicate that the interplay between tidal transport and physical attributes of saltmarsh vegetation influence boundary permeability to propagules, thereby directing the initial phase of shifting mangrove distributions. The incorporation of tidal inundation information and detailed data on landscape features, such as the structure of saltmarsh vegetation at mangrove boundaries, should improve the accuracy of models that are being developed to forecast mangrove distributional shifts in response to sea-level rise. PMID:25760867

Saltmarsh boundary modulates dispersal of mangrove propagules: implications for mangrove migration with sea-level rise.

PubMed

Peterson, Jennifer M; Bell, Susan S

2015-01-01

Few studies have empirically examined the suite of mechanisms that underlie the distributional shifts displayed by organisms in response to changing climatic condition. Mangrove forests are expected to move inland as sea-level rises, encroaching on saltmarsh plants inhabiting higher elevations. Mangrove propagules are transported by tidal waters and propagule dispersal is likely modified upon encountering the mangrove-saltmarsh ecotone, the implications of which are poorly known. Here, using an experimental approach, we record landward and seaward dispersal and subsequent establishment of mangrove propagules that encounter biotic boundaries composed of two types of saltmarsh taxa: succulents and grasses. Our findings revealed that propagules emplaced within saltmarsh vegetation immediately landward of the extant mangrove fringe boundary frequently dispersed in the seaward direction. However, propagules moved seaward less frequently and over shorter distances upon encountering boundaries composed of saltmarsh grasses versus succulents. We uniquely confirmed that the small subset of propagules dispersing landward displayed proportionately higher establishment success than those transported seaward. Although impacts of ecotones on plant dispersal have rarely been investigated in situ, our experimental results indicate that the interplay between tidal transport and physical attributes of saltmarsh vegetation influence boundary permeability to propagules, thereby directing the initial phase of shifting mangrove distributions. The incorporation of tidal inundation information and detailed data on landscape features, such as the structure of saltmarsh vegetation at mangrove boundaries, should improve the accuracy of models that are being developed to forecast mangrove distributional shifts in response to sea-level rise.

Design and production of the digital optical module of the KM3NeT project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leonora, Emanuele; Giordano, Valentina

2017-03-01

The KM3NeT collaboration is building the ARCA and ORCA neutrino telescopes in the depths of the Mediterranean Sea. They will consist of 3-dimensional arrays of photodetectors, called digital optical modules, suspended in the sea by means of vertical string structures, called detection units. The optical modules are composed of a pressure-resistant 17-inch spherical glass vessel, which contains 31 small photomultiplier tubes and all the associated electronics. The multi- photomultiplier solution represents an innovative design with respect to optical modules of all currently operated neutrino telescopes comprising a single large photomultipliers.

Perimetric Complexity of Binary Digital Images: Notes on Calculation and Relation to Visual Complexity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, Andrew B.

2011-01-01

Perimetric complexity is a measure of the complexity of binary pictures. It is defined as the sum of inside and outside perimeters of the foreground, squared, divided by the foreground area, divided by 4p . Difficulties arise when this definition is applied to digital images composed of binary pixels. In this paper we identify these problems and propose solutions. Perimetric complexity is often used as a measure of visual complexity, in which case it should take into account the limited resolution of the visual system. We propose a measure of visual perimetric complexity that meets this requirement.

Distribution of intertidal eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) with bathymetry in three Pacific Northwest estuaries

EPA Science Inventory

Distributions of native intertidal eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) and non-vegetated substrates in three coastal estuaries of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) were determined using color infrared (CIR) aerial orthophotography during daylight low tides. Comparison of the digital classif...

A tunable digital ishihara plate for pre-school aged children.

PubMed

Gambino, Orazio; Minafo, Ester; Pirrone, Roberto; Ardizzone, Edoardo

2016-08-01

Colors play a fundamental role for children, both in the everyday life and in education. They recognize the surrounding world, and play games making a large use of colors. They learn letters and numbers by means of colors. As a consequence, early diagnosis of color blindness is an crucial to support an individual affected by this visual perception alteration at the initial phase of his/her life. The diagnosis of red-green color deficiencies (protanopia or deuteranopia) is commonly accomplished by means of the Ishihara test, which consists of plates showing dots with different sizes where some of them compose numbers within a gamut of colors while the ones composing the background have different colors. In this paper, a web application written in javascript is presented, that implements a digital Ishihara-like test for pre-school aged children. Instead numbers or letters, It can transform any binary image representing animal shapes, or any other child-friendly shape, into an Ishihara-like image. This digital plate is not static. The operator can increment the dot density to improve the quality of the shape contour and the entire plate can be redrawn with different dot sizes/colors chosen randomly according to the color pattern of the test. Separate controls for brightness and saturation are implemented to calibrate the chromatic aspect of the background and foreground dots.

Study to assess the importance of errors introduced by applying NOAA 6 and NOAA 7 AVHRR data as an estimator of vegetative vigor: Feasibility study of data normalization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duggin, M. J. (Principal Investigator); Piwinski, D.

1982-01-01

The use of NOAA AVHRR data to map and monitor vegetation types and conditions in near real-time can be enhanced by using a portion of each GAC image that is larger than the central 25% now considered. Enlargement of the cloud free image data set can permit development of a series of algorithms for correcting imagery for ground reflectance and for atmospheric scattering anisotropy within certain accuracy limits. Empirical correction algorithms used to normalize digital radiance or VIN data must contain factors for growth stage and for instrument spectral response. While it is not possible to correct for random fluctuations in target radiance, it is possible to estimate the necessary radiance difference between targets in order to provide target discrimination and quantification within predetermined limits of accuracy. A major difficulty lies in the lack of documentation of preprocessing algorithms used on AVHRR digital data.

Inventories of Delaware's coastal vegetation and land-use utilizing digital processing of ERTS-1 imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klemas, V.; Bartlett, D.; Rogers, R.; Reed, L.

1974-01-01

Digital analysis of ERTS-1 imagery was used in an attempt to map and inventory the significant ecological communities of Delaware's coastal zone. Eight vegetation and land use discrimination classes were selected: (1) phragmites communis (Giant Reed grass); (2) spartina alterniflora (Salt marsh cord grass); (3) spartina patens (Salt marsh hay); (4) shallow water and exposed mud; (5) deep water (2 meters); (6) forest; (7) agriculture; and (8) exposed sand and concrete. Canonical analysis showed that classification accuracy was quite good with spartina alterniflora, exposed sand-concrete, and forested land - all discriminated with between 94% and 100% accuracy. The shallow water-mud and deep water categories were classified with accuracies of 88% and 93% respectively. Phragmites communis showed a classification accuracy of 83% with all confusion occurring with spartina patens which may be due to use of mixed stands of these species as training sets. Discrimination of spartina patens was very poor (accuracy 52%).

Ground-based imaging spectrometry of canopy phenology and chemistry in a deciduous forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toomey, M. P.; Friedl, M. A.; Frolking, S. E.; Hilker, T.; O'Keefe, J.; Richardson, A. D.

2013-12-01

Phenology, annual life cycles of plants and animals, is a dynamic ecosystem attribute and an important feedback to climate change. Vegetation phenology is commonly monitored at canopy to continental scales using ground based digital repeat photography and satellite remote sensing, respectively. Existing systems which provide sufficient temporal resolution for phenological monitoring, however, lack the spectral resolution necessary to investigate the coupling of phenology with canopy chemistry (e.g. chlorophyll, nitrogen, lignin-cellulose content). Some researchers have used narrowband (<10 nm resolution) spectrometers at phenology monitoring sites, yielding new insights into seasonal changes in leaf biochemistry. Such instruments integrate the spectral characteristics of the entire canopy, however, masking considerable variability between species and plant functional types. There is an opportunity, then, for exploring the potential of imaging spectrometers to investigate the coupling of canopy phenology and the leaf biochemistry of individual trees. During the growing season of April-October 2013 we deployed an imaging spectrometer with a spectral range of 371-1042 nm and resolution of ~5 nm (Surface Optics Corporation 710; San Diego, CA) on a 35 m tall tower at the Harvard Forest, Massachusetts. The image resolution was ~0.25 megapixels and the field of view encompassed approximately 20 individual tree crowns at a distance of 20-40 m. The instrument was focused on a mixed hardwoods canopy composed of 4 deciduous tree species and one coniferous tree species. Scanning was performed daily with an acquisition frequency of 30 minutes during daylight hours. Derived imagery were used to calculate a suite of published spectral indices used to estimate foliar content of key pigments: cholorophyll, carotenoids and anthocyanins. Additionally, we calculated the photochemical reflectance index (PRI) as well as the position and slope of the red edge as indicators of mid- to late-summer plant stress. Changes in the spectral shape and indices throughout the growing season revealed coupling of leaf biochemistry and phenology, as visually observed in situ. Further, the spectrally rich imagery provided well calibrated reflectance data to simulate vegetation index time series of common spaceborne remote sensing platforms such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Landsat. Comparisons between the simulated time series and in situ phenology observations yielded an enhanced interpretation of vegetation indices for determining phenological transition dates. This study demonstrates an advance in our ability to relate canopy phenology to leaf-level dynamics and demonstrates the role that ground-based imaging spectrometry can play in advancing spaceborne remote sensing of vegetation phenology.

Analysis of The Surface Radiative Budget Using ATLAS Data for San Juan, Puerto Rico

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luvall, Jeffrey C.; Rickman, D. L.; Gonzalez, J.; Comarazamy, Daniel; Picon, Ana

2007-01-01

The additional beating of the air over the city is the result of the replacement of naturally vegetated surfaces with those composed of asphalt, concrete, rooftops and other man-made materials. The temperatures of these artificial surfaces can be 20 to 40 C higher than vegetated surfaces. This produces a dome of elevated air temperatures 5 to 8 C greater over the city, compared to the air temperatures over adjacent rural areas. Urban landscapes are a complex mixture of vegetated and nonvegetated surfaces. It is difficult to take enough temperature measurements over a large city area to characterize the complexity of urban radiant surface temperature variability. The NASA Airborne Thermal and Land Applications Sensor (ATLAS) operates in the visual and IR bands was used in February 2004 to collect data from San Juan, Puerto Rico with the main objective of investigating the Urban Heat Island (UHI) in tropical cities.

Ground-Vegetation Clutter Affects Phyllostomid Bat Assemblage Structure in Lowland Amazonian Forest

PubMed Central

Marciente, Rodrigo; Bobrowiec, Paulo Estefano D.; Magnusson, William E.

2015-01-01

Vegetation clutter is a limiting factor for bats that forage near ground level, and may determine the distribution of species and guilds. However, many studies that evaluated the effects of vegetation clutter on bats have used qualitative descriptions rather than direct measurements of vegetation density. Moreover, few studies have evaluated the effect of vegetation clutter on a regional scale. Here, we evaluate the influence of the physical obstruction of vegetation on phyllostomid-bat assemblages along a 520 km transect in continuous Amazonian forest. We sampled bats using mist nets in eight localities during 80 nights (3840 net-hours) and estimated the ground-vegetation density with digital photographs. The total number of species, number of animalivorous species, total number of frugivorous species, number of understory frugivorous species, and abundance of canopy frugivorous bats were negatively associated with vegetation clutter. The bat assemblages showed a nested structure in relation to degree of clutter, with animalivorous and understory frugivorous bats distributed throughout the vegetation-clutter gradient, while canopy frugivores were restricted to sites with more open vegetation. The species distribution along the gradient of vegetation clutter was not closely associated with wing morphology, but aspect ratio and wing load differed between frugivores and animalivores. Vegetation structure plays an important role in structuring assemblages of the bats at the regional scale by increasing beta diversity between sites. Differences in foraging strategy and diet of the guilds seem to have contributed more to the spatial distribution of bats than the wing characteristics of the species alone. PMID:26066654

Mineral and Vegetation Maps of the Bodie Hills, Sweetwater Mountains, and Wassuk Range, California/Nevada, Generated from ASTER Satellite Data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rockwell, Barnaby W.

2010-01-01

Multispectral remote sensing data acquired by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) were analyzed to identify and map minerals, vegetation groups, and volatiles (water and snow) in support of geologic studies of the Bodie Hills, Sweetwater Mountains, and Wassuk Range, California/Nevada. Digital mineral and vegetation mapping results are presented in both portable document format (PDF) and ERDAS Imagine format (.img). The ERDAS-format files are suitable for integration with other geospatial data in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) such as ArcGIS. The ERDAS files showing occurrence of 1) iron-bearing minerals, vegetation, and water, and 2) clay, sulfate, mica, carbonate, Mg-OH, and hydrous quartz minerals have been attributed according to identified material, so that the material detected in a pixel can be queried with the interactive attribute identification tools of GIS and image processing software packages (for example, the Identify Tool of ArcMap and the Inquire Cursor Tool of ERDAS Imagine). All raster data have been orthorectified to the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection using a projective transform with ground-control points selected from orthorectified Landsat Thematic Mapper data and a digital elevation model from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Elevation Dataset (1/3 arc second, 10 m resolution). Metadata compliant with Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) standards for all ERDAS-format files have been included, and contain important information regarding geographic coordinate systems, attributes, and cross-references. Documentation regarding spectral analysis methodologies employed to make the maps is included in these cross-references.

The Changing California Coast: The Effect of a Variable Water Budget on Coastal Vegetation Succession

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hsu, Wei-Chen; Remar, Alex; McClure, Adam; Williams, Emily; Kannan, Soumya; Steers, Robert; Schmidt, Cindy; Skiles, Joseph W.; Hsu, Wei-Chen

2011-01-01

The land-ocean interface along the central coast of California is one of the most diverse biogeographic regions of the state. This area is composed of a species-rich mosaic of coastal grassland, shrubland, and forest vegetation types. An acceleration of conifer encroachment into shrublands and shrub encroachment into grasslands along the coast has been recently documented. These vegetation changes are believed to be driven primarily by fire suppression and changing grazing patterns. Climatic variables such as precipitation, fog, cloud cover, temperature, slope, and elevation also play an important role in vegetation succession. Our study area is located along the central California coast, which is characterized by a precipitation gradient from the relatively wetter and cooler north to the drier and warmer south. Some studies indicate changing fog patterns along this coast, which may greatly impact vegetation. A decrease in water availability could slow succession processes. The primary objective of this project is to determine if vegetation succession rates are changing for the study area and to identify climate and ecosystem variables which contribute to succession, specifically the transition among grassland, shrubland, and forest. To identify vegetation types and rates of succession, we classified two Landsat TM 5 scenes from 1985 to 2010 with a resulting overall accuracy of 82.4%. Vegetation succession was correlated to changes in maximum and minimum temperatures, precipitation, and elevation for each sub-region of the study area. Fog frequency was then compared between the northern and southern regions of the study area for determining the spatial relation between fog frequency and the percent of vegetation change.

Software-Based Scoring and Sound Design: An Introductory Guide for Music Technology Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walzer, Daniel A.

2016-01-01

This article explores the creative function of virtual instruments, sequencers, loops, and software-based synthesizers to introduce basic scoring and sound design concepts for visual media in an introductory music technology course. Using digital audio workstations with user-focused and configurable options, novice composers can hone a broad range…

Spatial Citizenship Education and Digital Geomedia: Composing Competences for Teacher Education and Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schulze, Uwe; Gryl, Inga; Kanwischer, Detlef

2015-01-01

Based on the idea of Spatial Citizenship, which endeavours to promote individuals' maturity and participation in the geospatial society, we focus on teachers' competence in the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) teaching and learning. By employing methods of qualitative social research, we have determined the dimensions and structures…

Film as Identity Exploration: A Multimodal Analysis of Youth-Produced Films

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halverson, Erica Rosenfeld

2010-01-01

Background/Context: Researchers have begun to document and understand the work youth do as they compose in multiple media including video games, online virtual worlds, participatory fan cultural practices, and in the digital media arts. However, we lack mechanisms for analyzing the products, especially when it comes to understanding the…

Rhythmic Rituals and Emergent Listening: Intra-Activity, Sonic Sounds and Digital Composing with Young Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wargo, Jon M.

2017-01-01

(Re)Entering data from a networked collaborative project exploring how sound operates as a mechanism for attuning towards cultural difference and community literacies, this article examines one primary grade classroom's participation to investigate the rhythmic rituals of 'emergent listening' in early childhood literacy. Thinking with sound…

The App Map: A Tool for Systematic Evaluation of Apps for Early Literacy Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Israelson, Madeleine Heins

2015-01-01

As portable devices become increasingly available in elementary classrooms teachers are expected to use these new technologies to engage students in both traditional print-based literacy learning and digital literacies practices, such as multimodal composing. Teachers face the daunting task of integrating apps into their current research-based…

Composing on the Screen: Student Perceptions of Traditional and Multimodal Composition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker Beard, Jeannie

2012-01-01

When college composition teachers carefully consider the role and function of multimodal composition in their classrooms, they can enhance the teaching of writing and communication, engage and empower students, and better prepare students for the challenges and possibilities of life in our rapidly changing digital age. To meet this teaching…

78 FR 76251 - Special Conditions: Airbus, Model A350-900 Series Airplane; Electronic System Security Protection...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-17

... the comment (or signing the comment for an association, business, labor union, etc.). DOT's complete... design feature: The digital systems architecture for the Airbus Model A350-900 series airplanes is composed of several connected networks. This proposed network architecture is used for a diverse set of...

Geographic information systems and logistic regression for high-resolution malaria risk mapping in a rural settlement of the southern Brazilian Amazon.

PubMed

de Oliveira, Elaine Cristina; dos Santos, Emerson Soares; Zeilhofer, Peter; Souza-Santos, Reinaldo; Atanaka-Santos, Marina

2013-11-15

In Brazil, 99% of the cases of malaria are concentrated in the Amazon region, with high level of transmission. The objectives of the study were to use geographic information systems (GIS) analysis and logistic regression as a tool to identify and analyse the relative likelihood and its socio-environmental determinants of malaria infection in the Vale do Amanhecer rural settlement, Brazil. A GIS database of georeferenced malaria cases, recorded in 2005, and multiple explanatory data layers was built, based on a multispectral Landsat 5 TM image, digital map of the settlement blocks and a SRTM digital elevation model. Satellite imagery was used to map the spatial patterns of land use and cover (LUC) and to derive spectral indices of vegetation density (NDVI) and soil/vegetation humidity (VSHI). An Euclidian distance operator was applied to measure proximity of domiciles to potential mosquito breeding habitats and gold mining areas. The malaria risk model was generated by multiple logistic regression, in which environmental factors were considered as independent variables and the number of cases, binarized by a threshold value was the dependent variable. Out of a total of 336 cases of malaria, 133 positive slides were from inhabitants at Road 08, which corresponds to 37.60% of the notifications. The southern region of the settlement presented 276 cases and a greater number of domiciles in which more than ten cases/home were notified. From these, 102 (30.36%) cases were caused by Plasmodium falciparum and 174 (51.79%) cases by Plasmodium vivax. Malaria risk is the highest in the south of the settlement, associated with proximity to gold mining sites, intense land use, high levels of soil/vegetation humidity and low vegetation density. Mid-resolution, remote sensing data and GIS-derived distance measures can be successfully combined with digital maps of the housing location of (non-) infected inhabitants to predict relative likelihood of disease infection through the analysis by logistic regression. Obtained findings on the relation between malaria cases and environmental factors should be applied in the future for land use planning in rural settlements in the Southern Amazon to minimize risks of disease transmission.

DEVELOPMENT OF LAND COVER AND TERRAIN DATA BASES FOR THE INNOKO NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, ALASKA, USING LANDSAT AND DIGITAL TERRAIN DATA.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Markon, Carl J.; Talbot, Stephen

1986-01-01

Landsat-derived land cover maps and associated elevation, slope, and aspect class maps were produced for the Innoko National Wildlife Refuge (3,850,000 acres; 1,555,095 hectares) in northwestern Alaska. These maps and associated digital data products are being used by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service for wildlife management, research, and comprehensive conservation planning. Portions of two Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) scenes and digital terrain data were used to produce 1:250,000 scale land cover and terrain maps. Prints of summer and winter Landsat MSS scenes were used to manually interpret broad physiographic strata. These strata were transferred to U. S. Geological Survey 1:250,000-scale topographic maps and digitized. Seven major land cover classes and 23 subclasses were identified. The major land cover classes include: forest, scrub, dwarf scrub and related types, herbaceous, scarcely vegetated areas, water, and shadow.

Application of spatial pedotransfer functions to understand soil modulation of vegetation response to climate

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A fundamental knowledge gap in understanding land-atmosphere interactions is accurate, high resolution spatial representation of soil physical and hydraulic properties. We present a novel approach to predict hydraulic soil parameters by combining digital soil mapping techniques with pedotransfer fun...

A climatic and taxonomic comparison between leaf litter and standing vegetation from a Florida swamp woodland

Treesearch

David L. Dilcher; Elizabeth A. Kowalski; Michael C. Wiemann; Luis Felipe Hinojosa; Terry A. Lott

2009-01-01

One method to determine past climate has been the use of leaf morphological characteristics of fossil leaves quantified using modern climate and canopy leaf characteristics. Fossil assemblages are composed of abscised leaves, and climate may be more accurately determined by using leaves from leaf litter instead of the canopy. To better understand whether taphonomic...

AmeriFlux US-Wjs Willard Juniper Savannah

DOE Data Explorer

Litvak, Marcy [University of New Mexico

2016-01-01

This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-Wjs Willard Juniper Savannah. Site Description - The Juniper Savanna site is located in the Southwestern Tablelands in central New Mexico on a private ranch. Its vegetation is composed of Juniperus monosperma and intermittently grazed C4 perennial grasses of which the dominant species is Bouteloua gracilis.

Chapter 5: Fire and nonnative invasive plants in the Northeast bioregion

Treesearch

Alison C. Dibble; Kristin Zouhar; Jane Kapler Smith

2008-01-01

The Northeast bioregion extends from Maine to Maryland and northern Virginia, south along the northwest slope of the Appalachians to Tennessee, and west to the ecotone between prairie and woodland from Minnesota to northeastern Oklahoma. It is composed of a wide variety of landforms and vegetation types. Elevation ranges from sea level along the Atlantic coast, to 243...

Global manipulation of digital images can lead to variation in cytological diagnosis

PubMed Central

Prasad, H; Wanjari, Sangeeta; Parwani, Rajkumar

2011-01-01

Background: With the adoption of a completely electronic workflow by several journals and the advent of telepathology, digital imaging has become an integral part of every scientific research. However, manipulating digital images is very easy, and it can lead to misinterpretations. Aim: To analyse the impact of manipulating digital images on their diagnosis. Design: Digital images were obtained from Papanicolaou-stained smears of dysplastic and normal oral epithelium. They were manipulated using GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) to alter their brightness and contrast and color levels. A Power Point presentation composed of slides of these manipulated images along with the unaltered originals arranged randomly was created. The presentation was shown to five observers individually who rated the images as normal, mild, moderate or severe dysplasia. Weighted κ statistics was used to measure and assess the levels of agreement between observers. Results: Levels of agreement between manipulated images and original images varied greatly among observers. Variation in diagnosis was in the form of overdiagnosis or under-diagnosis, usually by one grade. Conclusion: Global manipulations of digital images of cytological slides can significantly affect their interpretation. Such manipulations should therefore be kept to a minimum, and avoided wherever possible. PMID:21572507

Global manipulation of digital images can lead to variation in cytological diagnosis.

PubMed

Prasad, H; Wanjari, Sangeeta; Parwani, Rajkumar

2011-03-31

With the adoption of a completely electronic workflow by several journals and the advent of telepathology, digital imaging has become an integral part of every scientific research. However, manipulating digital images is very easy, and it can lead to misinterpretations. To analyse the impact of manipulating digital images on their diagnosis. Digital images were obtained from Papanicolaou-stained smears of dysplastic and normal oral epithelium. They were manipulated using GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) to alter their brightness and contrast and color levels. A Power Point presentation composed of slides of these manipulated images along with the unaltered originals arranged randomly was created. The presentation was shown to five observers individually who rated the images as normal, mild, moderate or severe dysplasia. Weighted κ statistics was used to measure and assess the levels of agreement between observers. Levels of agreement between manipulated images and original images varied greatly among observers. Variation in diagnosis was in the form of overdiagnosis or under-diagnosis, usually by one grade. Global manipulations of digital images of cytological slides can significantly affect their interpretation. Such manipulations should therefore be kept to a minimum, and avoided wherever possible.

EPA Office of Water (OW): 12-digit Hydrologic Unit Boundaries of the United States

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) is a complete digital hydrologic unit national boundary layer that is at the Subwatershed (12-digit) level. It is composed of the watershed boundaries delineated by state agencies at the 1:24,000 scale. Please refer to the individual state metadata as the primary reference source. To access state specific metadata, go to the following link to view documentation created by agencies that performed the watershed delineation. This data set is a complete digital hydrologic unit boundary layer to the Subwatershed (12-digit) 6th level. This data set consists of geo-referenced digital data and associated attributes created in accordance with the FGDC Proposal, Version 1.0 - Federal Standards For Delineation of Hydrologic Unit Boundaries 3/01/02. Polygons are attributed with hydrologic unit codes for 4th level sub-basins, 5th level watersheds, 6th level subwatersheds, name, size, downstream hydrologic unit, type of watershed, non-contributing areas and flow modification. Arcs are attributed with the highest hydrologic unit code for each watershed, linesource and a metadata reference file.Please refer to the Metadata contact if you want access to the WBD national data set.

WE-G-209-00: Identifying Image Artifacts, Their Causes, and How to Fix Them

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

Digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR are complicated imaging modalities which are composed of many hardware and software components. These components work together in a highly coordinated chain of events with the intent to produce high quality images. Acquisition, processing and reconstruction of data must occur in a precise way for optimum image quality to be achieved. Any error or unexpected event in the entire process can produce unwanted pixel intensities in the final images which may contribute to visible image artifacts. The diagnostic imaging physicist is uniquely qualified to investigate and contribute to resolution of image artifacts. This coursemore » will teach the participant to identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET, and MR, to determine the causes of artifacts, and to make recommendations for how to resolve artifacts. Learning Objectives: Identify common artifacts found clinically in digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Determine causes of various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR. Describe how to resolve various clinical artifacts from digital radiography, CT, PET and MR.« less

Differentialless geometry of plane curves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latecki, Longin J.; Rosenfeld, Azriel

1997-10-01

We introduce a class of planar arcs and curves, called tame arcs, which is general enough to describe the boundaries of planar real objects. A tame arc can have smooth parts as well as sharp corners; thus a polygonal arc is tame. On the other hand, this class of arcs is restrictive enough to rule out pathological arcs which have infinitely many inflections or which turn infinitely often: a tame arc can have only finitely many inflections, and its total absolute turn must be finite. In order to relate boundary properties of discrete objects obtained by segmenting digital images to the corresponding properties of their continuous originals, the theory of tame arcs is based on concepts that can be directly transferred from the continuous to the discrete domain. A tame arc is composed of a finite number of supported arcs. We define supported digital arcs and motivate their definition by the fact that hey can be obtained by digitizing continuous supported arcs. Every digital arc is tame, since it contains a finite number of points, and therefore it can be decomposed into a finite number of supported digital arcs.

The virtual case: a new method to completely digitize cytological and histological slides.

PubMed

Demichelis, F; Barbareschi, M; Dalla Palma, P; Forti, S

2002-08-01

The purpose of this study was to present a new method for handling histological/cytological cases. Thanks to the introduction of information technology in pathology, including the amenities afforded by robotic microscopes and digital imaging, tissue slides can be represented and evaluated using digital techniques in order to construct virtual cases through completely automated procedures. A virtual case (VC) is composed of a collection of digital images representing a histological/cytological slide at all magnification levels together with all relevant clinical data. In the present study, we describe an automated system to manage robotic microscope and image acquisition for the proper construction of VCs. These can then be viewed on a computer by means of an interface ("user-friendly") that allows one to select the more appropriate fields and to examine them at different magnifications, rapidly going from panoramic views to high resolution and vice versa. In comparison with glass slides, VCs have several advantages arising from their digital nature and can be considered a common platform for a wide range of applications such as teleconsultation, education, research, and quality control and proficiency tests.

Myofibroblast distribution in Dupuytren's cords: correlation with digital contracture.

PubMed

Verjee, Liaquat Suleman; Midwood, Kim; Davidson, Dominique; Essex, David; Sandison, Ann; Nanchahal, Jagdeep

2009-12-01

Dupuytren's tissue has typically been described as being composed of myofibroblast-rich palmar nodules and relatively acellular tendon-like cords. We aimed to determine myofibroblast distribution (alpha-smooth muscle actin [alpha-SMA] positive cells) within Dupuytren's tissue and to correlate histologically defined alpha-SMA-positive nodules with digital contracture and recurrent disease. One hundred and three digital Dupuytren's cords (72 fasciectomy, 31 dermofasciectomy) were stained with anti-alpha-SMA antibody. The presence of alpha-SMA-positive nodules, their surface area, and alpha-SMA-positive cells were quantified throughout excised Dupuytren's tissue. Clinical data on diathesis, flexion deformity, and previous surgeries were collected. Cords were nodular (66%) or non-nodular (34%). Nodular cords contained 1 (55%), 2 (33%), or 3 or more nodules (12%) composed of localized collections of cells. The mean total nodule surface area was 23 mm(2) (range, 1.3-105 mm(2)). Nodules contained the highest number of alpha-SMA-positive cells (mean 97%, 2374 cells/mm(2)) compared to peri-nodular areas (mean 32%, 763 cells/mm(2)), and more distant cord (mean 8%, 495 cells/mm(2)). Non-nodular cords contained 9% to 17% alpha-SMA-positive cells (mean 475-663 cells/mm(2)), with higher numbers distally. There was greater digital contracture in patients with non-nodular cords. Thirty-six of 38 proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint-marked samples had a nodule that co-localized with the PIP joint. Nodule size did not correlate with flexion deformity or with primary or recurrent disease. We found that two thirds of digital cords were nodular. Nodules were hypercellular, the majority being alpha-SMA-positive cells. Nodules varied in size and co-localized with the PIP joint. Cord was relatively cellular throughout; a proportion of these cells were alpha-SMA-positive and cells aligned with collagen fibers. Non-nodular cords correlated with significantly greater digital flexion contracture. We propose that cells in nodular cords contract and deposit extracellular matrix components. The matrix is then remodeled in shortened configuration, and as fixed flexion deformity develops, stress shielding eventually leads to myofibroblast apoptosis, and cord becomes less cellular.

Spectral features based tea garden extraction from digital orthophoto maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamil, Akhtar; Bayram, Bulent; Kucuk, Turgay; Zafer Seker, Dursun

2018-05-01

The advancements in the photogrammetry and remote sensing technologies has made it possible to extract useful tangible information from data which plays a pivotal role in various application such as management and monitoring of forests and agricultural lands etc. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of spectral signatures for extraction of tea gardens from 1 : 5000 scaled digital orthophoto maps obtained from Rize city in Turkey. First, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was derived from the input images to suppress the non-vegetation areas. NDVI values less than zero were discarded and the output images was normalized in the range 0-255. Individual pixels were then mapped into meaningful objects using global region growing technique. The resulting image was filtered and smoothed to reduce the impact of noise. Furthermore, geometrical constraints were applied to remove small objects (less than 500 pixels) followed by morphological opening operator to enhance the results. These objects served as building blocks for further image analysis. Finally, for the classification stage, a range of spectral values were empirically calculated for each band and applied on candidate objects to extract tea gardens. For accuracy assessment, we employed an area based similarity metric by overlapping obtained tea garden boundaries with the manually digitized tea garden boundaries created by experts of photogrammetry. The overall accuracy of the proposed method scored 89 % for tea gardens from 10 sample orthophoto maps. We concluded that exploiting the spectral signatures using object based analysis is an effective technique for extraction of dominant tree species from digital orthophoto maps.

Digital classification of Landsat data for vegetation and land-cover mapping in the Blackfoot River watershed, southeastern Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pettinger, L.R.

1982-01-01

This paper documents the procedures, results, and final products of a digital analysis of Landsat data used to produce a vegetation and landcover map of the Blackfoot River watershed in southeastern Idaho. Resource classes were identified at two levels of detail: generalized Level I classes (for example, forest land and wetland) and detailed Levels II and III classes (for example, conifer forest, aspen, wet meadow, and riparian hardwoods). Training set statistics were derived using a modified clustering approach. Environmental stratification that separated uplands from lowlands improved discrimination between resource classes having similar spectral signatures. Digital classification was performed using a maximum likelihood algorithm. Classification accuracy was determined on a single-pixel basis from a random sample of 25-pixel blocks. These blocks were transferred to small-scale color-infrared aerial photographs, and the image area corresponding to each pixel was interpreted. Classification accuracy, expressed as percent agreement of digital classification and photo-interpretation results, was 83.0:t 2.1 percent (0.95 probability level) for generalized (Level I) classes and 52.2:t 2.8 percent (0.95 probability level) for detailed (Levels II and III) classes. After the classified images were geometrically corrected, two types of maps were produced of Level I and Levels II and III resource classes: color-coded maps at a 1:250,000 scale, and flatbed-plotter overlays at a 1:24,000 scale. The overlays are more useful because of their larger scale, familiar format to users, and compatibility with other types of topographic and thematic maps of the same scale.

Tracking vegetation phenology across diverse North American biomes using PhenoCam imagery

DOE PAGES

Richardson, Andrew D.; Hufkens, Koen; Milliman, Tom; ...

2018-03-13

Vegetation phenology controls the seasonality of many ecosystem processes, as well as numerous biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks. Phenology is also highly sensitive to climate change and variability. Here we present a series of datasets, together consisting of almost 750 years of observations, characterizing vegetation phenology in diverse ecosystems across North America. Our data are derived from conventional, visible-wavelength, automated digital camera imagery collected through the PhenoCam network. For each archived image, we extracted RGB (red, green, blue) colour channel information, with means and other statistics calculated across a region-of-interest (ROI) delineating a specific vegetation type. From the high-frequency (typically, 30 min) imagery,more » we derived time series characterizing vegetation colour, including "canopy greenness", processed to 1- and 3-day intervals. For ecosystems with one or more annual cycles of vegetation activity, we provide estimates, with uncertainties, for the start of the "greenness rising" and end of the "greenness falling" stages. Lastly, the database can be used for phenological model validation and development, evaluation of satellite remote sensing data products, benchmarking earth system models, and studies of climate change impacts on terrestrial ecosystems.« less

Remote sensing analysis of vegetation at the San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona and surrounding area

USGS Publications Warehouse

Norman, Laura M.; Middleton, Barry R.; Wilson, Natalie R.

2018-01-01

Mapping of vegetation types is of great importance to the San Carlos Apache Tribe and their management of forestry and fire fuels. Various remote sensing techniques were applied to classify multitemporal Landsat 8 satellite data, vegetation index, and digital elevation model data. A multitiered unsupervised classification generated over 900 classes that were then recoded to one of the 16 generalized vegetation/land cover classes using the Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project (SWReGAP) map as a guide. A supervised classification was also run using field data collected in the SWReGAP project and our field campaign. Field data were gathered and accuracy assessments were generated to compare outputs. Our hypothesis was that a resulting map would update and potentially improve upon the vegetation/land cover class distributions of the older SWReGAP map over the 24,000  km2 study area. The estimated overall accuracies ranged between 43% and 75%, depending on which method and field dataset were used. The findings demonstrate the complexity of vegetation mapping, the importance of recent, high-quality-field data, and the potential for misleading results when insufficient field data are collected.

[Analysis of vegetation spatial and temporal variations in Qinghai Province based on remote sensing].

PubMed

Wang, Li-wen; Wei, Ya-xing; Niu, Zheng

2008-06-01

1 km MODIS NDVI time series data combining with decision tree classification, supervised classification and unsupervised classification was used to classify land cover type of Qinghai Province into 14 classes. In our classification system, sparse grassland and sparse shrub were emphasized, and their spatial distribution locations were labeled. From digital elevation model (DEM) of Qinghai Province, five elevation belts were achieved, and we utilized geographic information system (GIS) software to analyze vegetation cover variation on different elevation belts. Our research result shows that vegetation cover in Qinghai Province has been improved in recent five years. Vegetation cover area increases from 370047 km2 in 2001 to 374576 km2 in 2006, and vegetation cover rate increases by 0.63%. Among five grade elevation belts, vegetation cover ratio of high mountain belt is the highest (67.92%). The area of middle density grassland in high mountain belt is the largest, of which area is 94 003 km2. Increased area of dense grassland in high mountain belt is the greatest (1280 km2). During five years, the biggest variation is the conversion from sparse grassland to middle density grassland in high mountain belt, of which area is 15931 km2.

Tracking vegetation phenology across diverse North American biomes using PhenoCam imagery

PubMed Central

Richardson, Andrew D.; Hufkens, Koen; Milliman, Tom; Aubrecht, Donald M.; Chen, Min; Gray, Josh M.; Johnston, Miriam R.; Keenan, Trevor F.; Klosterman, Stephen T.; Kosmala, Margaret; Melaas, Eli K.; Friedl, Mark A.; Frolking, Steve

2018-01-01

Vegetation phenology controls the seasonality of many ecosystem processes, as well as numerous biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks. Phenology is also highly sensitive to climate change and variability. Here we present a series of datasets, together consisting of almost 750 years of observations, characterizing vegetation phenology in diverse ecosystems across North America. Our data are derived from conventional, visible-wavelength, automated digital camera imagery collected through the PhenoCam network. For each archived image, we extracted RGB (red, green, blue) colour channel information, with means and other statistics calculated across a region-of-interest (ROI) delineating a specific vegetation type. From the high-frequency (typically, 30 min) imagery, we derived time series characterizing vegetation colour, including “canopy greenness”, processed to 1- and 3-day intervals. For ecosystems with one or more annual cycles of vegetation activity, we provide estimates, with uncertainties, for the start of the “greenness rising” and end of the “greenness falling” stages. The database can be used for phenological model validation and development, evaluation of satellite remote sensing data products, benchmarking earth system models, and studies of climate change impacts on terrestrial ecosystems. PMID:29533393

Tracking vegetation phenology across diverse North American biomes using PhenoCam imagery

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Richardson, Andrew D.; Hufkens, Koen; Milliman, Tom

Vegetation phenology controls the seasonality of many ecosystem processes, as well as numerous biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks. Phenology is also highly sensitive to climate change and variability. Here we present a series of datasets, together consisting of almost 750 years of observations, characterizing vegetation phenology in diverse ecosystems across North America. Our data are derived from conventional, visible-wavelength, automated digital camera imagery collected through the PhenoCam network. For each archived image, we extracted RGB (red, green, blue) colour channel information, with means and other statistics calculated across a region-of-interest (ROI) delineating a specific vegetation type. From the high-frequency (typically, 30 min) imagery,more » we derived time series characterizing vegetation colour, including "canopy greenness", processed to 1- and 3-day intervals. For ecosystems with one or more annual cycles of vegetation activity, we provide estimates, with uncertainties, for the start of the "greenness rising" and end of the "greenness falling" stages. Lastly, the database can be used for phenological model validation and development, evaluation of satellite remote sensing data products, benchmarking earth system models, and studies of climate change impacts on terrestrial ecosystems.« less

Tracking vegetation phenology across diverse North American biomes using PhenoCam imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richardson, Andrew D.; Hufkens, Koen; Milliman, Tom; Aubrecht, Donald M.; Chen, Min; Gray, Josh M.; Johnston, Miriam R.; Keenan, Trevor F.; Klosterman, Stephen T.; Kosmala, Margaret; Melaas, Eli K.; Friedl, Mark A.; Frolking, Steve

2018-03-01

Vegetation phenology controls the seasonality of many ecosystem processes, as well as numerous biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks. Phenology is also highly sensitive to climate change and variability. Here we present a series of datasets, together consisting of almost 750 years of observations, characterizing vegetation phenology in diverse ecosystems across North America. Our data are derived from conventional, visible-wavelength, automated digital camera imagery collected through the PhenoCam network. For each archived image, we extracted RGB (red, green, blue) colour channel information, with means and other statistics calculated across a region-of-interest (ROI) delineating a specific vegetation type. From the high-frequency (typically, 30 min) imagery, we derived time series characterizing vegetation colour, including “canopy greenness”, processed to 1- and 3-day intervals. For ecosystems with one or more annual cycles of vegetation activity, we provide estimates, with uncertainties, for the start of the “greenness rising” and end of the “greenness falling” stages. The database can be used for phenological model validation and development, evaluation of satellite remote sensing data products, benchmarking earth system models, and studies of climate change impacts on terrestrial ecosystems.

Vegetation Fraction Mapping with High Resolution Multispectral Data in the Texas High Plains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oshaughnessy, S. A.; Gowda, P. H.; Basu, S.; Colaizzi, P. D.; Howell, T. A.; Schulthess, U.

2010-12-01

Land surface models use vegetation fraction to more accurately partition latent, sensible and soil heat fluxes from a partially vegetated surface as it affects energy and moisture exchanges between the earth’s surface and atmosphere. In recent years, there is interest to integrate vegetation fraction data into intelligent irrigation scheduling systems to avoid false positive signals to irrigate. Remote sensing can facilitate the collection of vegetation fraction information on individual fields over large areas in a timely and cost-effective manner. In this study, we developed and evaluated a set of vegetation fraction models using least square regression and artificial neural network (ANN) techniques using RapidEye satellite data (6.5 m spatial resolution and on-demand temporal resolution). Four images were acquired during the 2010 summer growing season, covering bare soil to full crop cover conditions, over the USDA-ARS-Conservation and Production Research Laboratory in Bushland, Texas [350 11' N, 1020 06' W; 1,170 m elevation MSL]. Spectral signatures were extracted from 25 ground truth locations with geographic coordinates. Vegetation fraction information was derived from digital photos taken at the time of image acquisition using a supervised classification technique. Comparison of performance statistics indicate that ANN performed slightly better than least square regression models.

Dynamic modeling of vegetation change in arid lands

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robinson, V. B.; Coiner, J. C.; Barringer, T. H.

1982-01-01

A general framework for a digital desertification monitoring system (DDMS) for assessing the worldwide desertification growth rate is presented. The system relies on the development of Landsat derived indicators to identify local processes signalling the growth of arid regions. A study area consisting of the eastern edge of the Niger River delta in Mali was used to characterize three indicators in terms of the covariance of the multispectral scanner (MSS) bands 2 and 4, the correlation of the two bands, and the percent variance expressed by the first eigenvalue. The scenes are imaged multitemporallly in a 400 x 400 pixel array to detect vegetation cover changes. Criteria were defined which characterized the decrease or increase of vegetation. It was determined that the correlation coefficients are the best indicators, and are easily computed.

Stand and landscape level effects of a major outbreak of spruce beetles on forest vegetation in the Copper River Basin, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Allen, J.L.; Wesser, S.; Markon, C.J.; Winterberger, K.C.

2006-01-01

From 1989 to 2003, a widespread outbreak of spruce beetles (Dendroctonus rufipennis) in the Copper River Basin, Alaska, infested over 275,000 ha of forests in the region. During 1997 and 1998, we measured forest vegetation structure and composition on one hundred and thirty-six 20-m ?? 20-m plots to assess both the immediate stand and landscape level effects of the spruce beetle infestation. A photo-interpreted vegetation and infestation map was produced using color-infrared aerial photography at a scale of 1:40,000. We used linear regression to quantify the effects of the outbreak on forest structure and composition. White spruce (Picea glauca) canopy cover and basal area of medium-to-large trees [???15 cm diameter-at-breast height (1.3 m, dbh)] were reduced linearly as the number of trees attacked by spruce beetles increased. Black spruce (Picea mariana) and small diameter white spruce (<15 cm dbh) were infrequently attacked and killed by spruce beetles. This selective attack of mature white spruce reduced structural complexity of stands to earlier stages of succession and caused mixed tree species stands to lose their white spruce and become more homogeneous in overstory composition. Using the resulting regressions, we developed a transition matrix to describe changes in vegetation types under varying levels of spruce beetle infestations, and applied the model to the vegetation map. Prior to the outbreak, our study area was composed primarily of stands of mixed white and black spruce (29% of area) and pure white spruce (25%). However, the selective attack on white spruce caused many of these stands to transition to black spruce dominated stands (73% increase in area) or shrublands (26% increase in area). The post-infestation landscape was thereby composed of more even distributions of shrubland and white, black, and mixed spruce communities (17-22% of study area). Changes in the cover and composition of understory vegetation were less evident in this study. However, stands with the highest mortality due to spruce beetles had the lowest densities of white spruce seedlings suggesting a longer forest regeneration time without an increase in seedling germination, growth, or survival. ?? 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Suppression of vegetation in LANDSAT ETM+ remote sensing images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Le; Porwal, Alok; Holden, Eun-Jung; Dentith, Michael

2010-05-01

Vegetation cover is an impediment to the interpretation of multispectral remote sensing images for geological applications, especially in densely vegetated terrains. In order to enhance the underlying geological information in such terrains, it is desirable to suppress the reflectance component of vegetation. One form of spectral unmixing that has been successfully used for vegetation reflectance suppression in multispectral images is called "forced invariance". It is based on segregating components of the reflectance spectrum that are invariant with respect to a specific spectral index such as the NDVI. The forced invariance method uses algorithms such as software defoliation. However, the outputs of software defoliation are single channel data, which are not amenable to geological interpretations. Crippen and Blom (2001) proposed a new forced invariance algorithm that utilizes band statistics, rather than band ratios. The authors demonstrated the effectiveness of their algorithms on a LANDSAT TM scene from Nevada, USA, especially in open canopy areas in mixed and semi-arid terrains. In this presentation, we report the results of our experimentation with this algorithm on a densely to sparsely vegetated Landsat ETM+ scene. We selected a scene (Path 119, Row 39) acquired on 18th July, 2004. Two study areas located around the city of Hangzhou, eastern China were tested. One of them covers uninhabited hilly terrain characterized by low rugged topography, parts of the hills are densely vegetated; another one covers both inhabited urban areas and uninhabited hilly terrain, which is densely vegetated. Crippen and Blom's algorithm is implemented in the following sequential steps: (1) dark pixel correction; (2) vegetation index calculation; (3) estimation of statistical relationship between vegetation index and digital number (DN) values for each band; (4) calculation of a smooth best-fit curve for the above relationships; and finally, (5) selection of a target average DN value and scaling all pixels at each vegetation index level by an amount that shifts the curve to the target digital number (DN). The main drawback of their algorithm is severe distortions of the DN values of non-vegetated areas, a suggested solution is masking outliers such as cloud, water, etc. We therefore extend this algorithm by masking non-vegetated areas. Our algorithm comprises the following three steps: (1) masking of barren or sparsely vegetated areas using a threshold based on a vegetation index that is calculated after atmosphere correction (dark pixel correction and ACTOR were compared) in order to conserve their original spectral information through the subsequent processing; (2) applying Crippen and Blom's forced invariance algorithm to suppress the spectral response of vegetation only in vegetated areas; and (3) combining the processed vegetated areas with the masked barren or sparsely vegetated areas followed by histogram equalization to eliminate the differences in color-scales between these two types of areas, and enhance the integrated image. The output images of both study areas showed significant improvement over the original images in terms of suppression of vegetation reflectance and enhancement of the underlying geological information. The processed images show clear banding, probably associated with lithological variations in the underlying rock formations. The colors of non-vegetated pixels are distorted in the unmasked results but in the same location the pixels in the masked results show regions of higher contrast. We conclude that the algorithm offers an effective way to enhance geological information in LANDSAT TM/ETM+ images of terrains with significant vegetation cover. It is also suitable to other multispectral satellite data have bands in similar wavelength regions. In addition, an application of this method to hyperspectral data may be possible as long as it can provide the vegetation band ratios.

Utilization of vegetable dumplings waste from industrial production by anaerobic digestion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pilarska, Agnieszka A.; Pilarski, Krzysztof; Ryniecki, Antoni; Tomaszyk, Kamila; Dach, Jacek; Wolna-Maruwka, Agnieszka

2017-01-01

This paper provides the analysis of results of biogas and methane yield for vegetable dumplings waste: dough with fat, vegetable waste, and sludge from the clarifier. Anaerobic digestion of food waste used in the experiments was stable after combining the substrates with a digested pulp composed of maize silage and liquid manure (as inoculum), at suitable ratios. The study was carried out in a laboratory scale using anaerobic batch reactors, at controlled (mesophilic) temperature and pH conditions. The authors present the chemical reactions accompanying biodegradation of the substrates and indicate the chemical compounds which may lead to acidification during the anaerobic digestion. An anaerobic digestion process carried out with the use of a dough-and-fat mixture provided the highest biogas and methane yields. The following yields were obtained in terms of fresh matter: 242.89 m3 Mg-1 for methane and 384.38 m3 Mg-1 for biogas, and in terms of volatile solids: 450.73 m3 Mg-1 for methane and 742.40 m3 Mg-1 for biogas. Vegetables and sludge from the clarifier (as fresh matter) provided much lower yields.

Assessment of MODIS-EVI, MODIS-NDVI and VEGETATION-NDVI composite data using agricultural measurements: an example at corn fields in western Mexico.

PubMed

Chen, Pei-Yu; Fedosejevs, Gunar; Tiscareño-López, Mario; Arnold, Jeffrey G

2006-08-01

Although several types of satellite data provide temporal information of the land use at no cost, digital satellite data applications for agricultural studies are limited compared to applications for forest management. This study assessed the suitability of vegetation indices derived from the TERRA-Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor and SPOT-VEGETATION (VGT) sensor for identifying corn growth in western Mexico. Overall, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) composites from the VGT sensor based on bi-directional compositing method produced vegetation information most closely resembling actual crop conditions. The NDVI composites from the MODIS sensor exhibited saturated signals starting 30 days after planting, but corresponded to green leaf senescence in April. The temporal NDVI composites from the VGT sensor based on the maximum value method had a maximum plateau for 80 days, which masked the important crop transformation from vegetative stage to reproductive stage. The Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) composites from the MODIS sensor reached a maximum plateau 40 days earlier than the occurrence of maximum leaf area index (LAI) and maximum intercepted fraction of photosynthetic active radiation (fPAR) derived from in-situ measurements. The results of this study showed that the 250-m resolution MODIS data did not provide more accurate vegetation information for corn growth description than the 500-m and 1000-m resolution MODIS data.

Plant communities of Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park

USGS Publications Warehouse

Clark, Ronilee A.; Halvorson, William L.; Sawdo, Andell A.; Danielsen, Karen C.

1990-01-01

A survey of the plant communities on Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, was conducted from January through July 1988.  Vegetation data were collected at 296 sites using a releve technique.  The plant communities described include: grassland, coastal marsh, caliche scrub, coastal sage scrub, lupine scrub, baccharis scrub, coastal bluff scrub, coastal dune scrub, mixed chaparral, mixed woodland, torrey pine woodland, closed-cone pine woodland, island oak woodland, riparian woodland, and riparian herbaceous vegetation. The areal extent of each community was mapper on USGS 7.5' topographic maps, and digitized for GIS manipulation.

Dependence of NOAA-AVHRR recorded radiance on scan angle, atmospheric turbidity and unresolved cloud

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Piwinski, D. J.; Schoch, L. B.; Duggin, M. J.; Whitehead, V.; Ryland, E.

1984-01-01

Experimental evidence on the scan angle and sun angle dependence of radiance recorded by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) devices on the NOAA-6 and NOAA-7 satellites is presented. The effects of atmospheric turbidity at various scan angles is shown, and simulations of angular anisotropy and recorded radiance are compared with the recorded digital data from the AVHRR obtained over the Great Plains area of the US. Evidence is presented on the effects of unresolved cloud on the recorded radiance and vegetative indices from uniform, vegetative targets.

A DECADE OF MAPPING SUBMERGED AQUATIC VEGETATION USING COLOR INFRARED AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY: METHODS USED AND LESSONS LEARNED

EPA Science Inventory

Annual color infrared aerial photographs acquired annually between 1997 and 2007 were used to classify distributions of intertidal and shallow subtidal native eelgrass Zostera marina and non-indigenous dwarf eelgrass Z. japonica in lower Yaquina estuary, Oregon. The use of digit...

USING IMAGE PROCESSING METHODS WITH RASTER EDITING TOOLS FOR MAPPING EELGRASS DISTRIBUTIONS IN PACIFIC NORHWEST ESTUARIES

EPA Science Inventory

False-color near-infrared (CIR) aerial photography of seven Oregon estuaries was acquired at extreme low tides and digitally orthorectified with a ground pixel resolution of 25 cm to provide data for intertidal vegetation mapping. Exposed, semi-exposed and some submerged eelgras...

A HYBRID HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGE CLASSIFICATION METHOD FOR MAPPING EELGRASS DISTRIBUTIONS IN YAQUINA BAY ESTUARY, OREGON

EPA Science Inventory

False-color infrared aerial photography of the Yaquina Bay Estuary, Oregon was acquired at extreme low tides and digitally orthorectified with a ground pixel resolution of 20 cm to provide data for intertidal vegetation mapping. Submerged, semi-exposed and exposed eelgrass mead...

SAVEWS Jr. User’s Manual, Version 1.0

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-01

Botany 53: 227-233. Mueller-Dombois, D., and H. Ellenberg. 1974. Aims and methods of vegetation ecology. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Norris...videography. Aquatic Botany 58: 269-287. Sabol, B., R. E. Melton, R. Chamberlain, P. Doering, and K. Haunert. 2002. Evaluation of a digital echo

Digital forestry in the wildland urban interface

Treesearch

Michael C. Wimberly; Yangjian Zhang; John A. Stanturf

2006-01-01

Growing human populations have led to the expansion of the Wildland-Urban interface (WUI) across the southeastern United States. The juxtaposition of buildings, infrastructure, and forests in the WUI creates challenges for natural resource managers. The presence of flammable vegetation, high rates of human-caused ignitions and high building densities combine to...

Digital forestry in the wildland-urban interface

Treesearch

Michael C. Wimberly; Yangjian Zhang; John A. Stanturf

2006-01-01

Growing human populations have led to the expansion of the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) across the southeastern United States. The juxtaposition of buildings, infrastructure. and forests in the WUI creates challenges for natural resource managers. The presence of flammable vegetation. high rates of human-caused ignitions and high building densities combine to...

A multi-characteristic based algorithm for classifying vegetation in a plateau area: Qinghai Lake watershed, northwestern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Weiwei; Gong, Cailan; Hu, Yong; Li, Long; Meng, Peng

2015-10-01

Remote sensing technology has been broadly recognized for its convenience and efficiency in mapping vegetation, particularly in high-altitude and inaccessible areas where there are lack of in-situ observations. In this study, Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images and Chinese environmental mitigation satellite CCD sensor (HJ-1 CCD) images, both of which are at 30m spatial resolution were employed for identifying and monitoring of vegetation types in a area of Western China——Qinghai Lake Watershed(QHLW). A decision classification tree (DCT) algorithm using multi-characteristic including seasonal TM/HJ-1 CCD time series data combined with digital elevation models (DEMs) dataset, and a supervised maximum likelihood classification (MLC) algorithm with single-data TM image were applied vegetation classification. Accuracy of the two algorithms was assessed using field observation data. Based on produced vegetation classification maps, it was found that the DCT using multi-season data and geomorphologic parameters was superior to the MLC algorithm using single-data image, improving the overall accuracy by 11.86% at second class level and significantly reducing the "salt and pepper" noise. The DCT algorithm applied to TM /HJ-1 CCD time series data geomorphologic parameters appeared as a valuable and reliable tool for monitoring vegetation at first class level (5 vegetation classes) and second class level(8 vegetation subclasses). The DCT algorithm using multi-characteristic might provide a theoretical basis and general approach to automatic extraction of vegetation types from remote sensing imagery over plateau areas.

Field Guide to the Plant Community Types of Voyageurs National Park

USGS Publications Warehouse

Faber-Langendoen, Don; Aaseng, Norman; Hop, Kevin; Lew-Smith, Michael

2007-01-01

INTRODUCTION The objective of the U.S. Geological Survey-National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Program is to classify, describe, and map vegetation for most of the park units within the National Park Service (NPS). The program was created in response to the NPS Natural Resources Inventory and Monitoring Guidelines issued in 1992. Products for each park include digital files of the vegetation map and field data, keys and descriptions to the plant communities, reports, metadata, map accuracy verification summaries, and aerial photographs. Interagency teams work in each park and, following standardized mapping and field sampling protocols, develop products and vegetation classification standards that document the various vegetation types found in a given park. The use of a standard national vegetation classification system and mapping protocol facilitate effective resource stewardship by ensuring compatibility and widespread use of the information throughout the NPS as well as by other Federal and state agencies. These vegetation classifications and maps and associated information support a wide variety of resource assessment, park management, and planning needs, and provide a structure for framing and answering critical scientific questions about plant communities and their relation to environmental processes across the landscape. This field guide is intended to make the classification accessible to park visitors and researchers at Voyageurs National Park, allowing them to identify any stand of natural vegetation and showing how the classification can be used in conjunction with the vegetation map (Hop and others, 2001).

Remote sensing assessment of oil lakes and oil-polluted surfaces at the Greater Burgan oil field, Kuwait

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwarteng, Andy Yaw

A heinous catastrophe imposed on Kuwait's desert environment during the 1990 to 1991 Arabian Gulf War was the formation of oil lakes and oil-contaminated surfaces. Presently, the affected areas consist of oil lakes, thick light and disintegrated tarmats, black soil and vegetation. In this study, Landsat TM, Spot, colour aerial photographs and IRS-1D digital image data acquired between 1989 and 1998 were used to monitor the spatial and temporal changes of the oil lakes and polluted surfaces at the Greater Burgan oil field. The use of multisensor datasets provided the opportunity to observe the polluted areas in different wavelengths, look angles and resolutions. The images were digitally enhanced to optimize the visual outlook and improve the information content. The data documented the gradual disappearance of smaller oil lakes and soot/black soil from the surface with time. Even though some of the contaminants were obscured by sand and vegetation and not readily observed on the surface or from satellite images, the harmful chemicals still remain in the soil. Some of the contaminated areas displayed a remarkable ability to support vegetation growth during the higher than average rainfall that occurred between 1992 to 1998. The total area of oil lakes calculated from an IRS-1D panchromatic image acquired on 16 February 1998, using supervised classification applied separately to different parts, was 24.13 km 2.

Effects of soil and space on the woody species composition and vegetation structure of three Cerrado phytophysiognomies in the Cerrado-Amazon transition.

PubMed

Maracahipes-Santos, L; Lenza, E; Santos, J O; Mews, H A; Oliveira, B

2017-11-01

The Cerrado Biome is considered one of the world's biodiversity hotspots because of its rich biodiversity, the high level of endemism and the increasing threat. The Cerrado is composed by a mosaic of different vegetation types, including physiognomies that vary from grasslands (campo limpo) to savannas (typical cerrado or cerrado sensu stricto) and cerrado woodlands (cerradão). However, the factors that determine the composition of the Cerrado's flora and the structure of the physiognomies that compose this biome are still poorly understood. Here, we investigate the influence of the chemical and granulometric properties of the soil and the effect of geographic distance on the occurrence and abundance of woody species in three Cerrado phytophysiognomies - cerrado woodland (cerradão), dense cerrado savanna and typical cerrado savanna - in the Cerrado-Amazon transition. We tested the hypothesis that the edaphic characteristics and geographic space determine the species composition and the structure of the woody vegetation of these three phytophysiognomies. We demonstrate that the dissimilarities in the structure and composition of the three sites were determined more by space (13% of explanation) than edaphic properties (1%), but primarily by the interaction between these two factors (26%). We conclude that, in situations where the chemical and granulometric properties of the soil are relatively homogeneous, as we found in the present study, geographic distance between sites has a greater influence than variation in the substrate's properties on modelling the occurrence and abundance of the woody plant species in the Cerrado.

Redefining Music Technology: A Rough Guide to a Universe of Possibilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Criswell, Chad; Menasche, Emile

2009-01-01

As music making and technology grow more entwined, it is important for teachers to become familiar with available hardware, software, Web apps, yMIDI, sequencing, sampling and other emerging products. If music students in today's digital world wish to make a career out of doing what they love--whether as performers or conductors, composers or…

General Studies Writing (GSW) Digital Communication at Bowling Green State University: To Web 2.0 or Not To Web 2.0?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mauk, Brianna

2017-01-01

First-year composition pedagogy and course communication (especially as implicitly endorsed by institutionally presented means) is often limiting in modes and modalities, which juxtaposes vibrant composing practices in the daily lives of students. Additionally, writing program requirements tend to value primarily alphabetic texts despite…

Aiming at Sustainable Innovation in Teacher Education--From Theory to Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turcsányi-Szabó, Márta

2012-01-01

The paper composes a framework for learning design, using Web 2.0 technologies in teacher training, transferring the advancement in technology to become an affordance in the teaching/learning process, based on Bloom's Extended Digital Taxonomy in order to enhance the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge of teachers. As a case study, it…

Composing "Kid-Friendly" Multimodal Text: When Conversations, Instruction, and Signs Come Together

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shanahan, Lynn E.

2013-01-01

This interpretive case study investigated how a fifth-grade teacher's social practices with visual and linguistic signs positioned her students (10- and 11-year-olds) to take up particular modes as they constructed digital compositions. The context of the study was a suburban public school in the northeastern United States. Analysis was threefold.…

Verbal Recall of Auditory and Visual Signals by Normal and Deficient Reading Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levine, Maureen Julianne

Verbal recall of bisensory memory tasks was compared among 48 9- to 12-year old boys in three groups: normal readers, primary deficit readers, and secondary deficit readers. Auditory and visual stimulus pairs composed of digits, which incorporated variations of intersensory and intrasensory conditions were administered to Ss through a Bell and…

Impact of schoolchildren's involvement in the design process on the effectiveness of healthy food promotion materials.

PubMed

Gustafson, Christopher R; Abbey, Bryce M; Heelan, Kate A

2017-06-01

Marketing techniques may improve children's vegetable consumption. However, student participation in the design of marketing materials may increase the material's salience, while also improving children's commitment and attitudes towards healthy eating. The impact of student-led design of vegetable promotional materials on choice and consumption was investigated using 1614 observations of students' vegetable choice and plate waste in four public elementary schools in Kearney, Nebraska. Data were collected on children's vegetable choice and consumption in four comparison groups: 1) control; 2) students designed materials only; 3) students were exposed to promotional materials only; and 4) students designed materials that were then posted in the lunchroom. Vegetable choice and consumption data were collected through a validated digital photography-based plate-waste method. Multivariate linear regression was used to estimate average treatment effects of the conditions at various time periods. Dependent variables were vegetable choice and consumption, and independent variables included the condition, time period, and interaction terms, as well as controls for gender and grade. Relative to baseline, students in group 4 doubled their vegetable consumption ( p  < 0.001) when materials were posted. Vegetable consumption remained elevated at a follow-up 2-3 months later ( p  < 0.05). Students in group 3 initially increased the quantity of vegetables selected ( p  < 0.05), but did not increase consumption. In the follow-up period, however, students in group 3 increased their vegetable consumption ( p  < 0.01). Involving elementary-aged students in the design of vegetable promotional materials that were posted in the lunchroom increased the amount of vegetables students consumed.

Tracking vegetation phenology across diverse North American biomes using PhenoCam imagery: A new, publicly-available dataset

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richardson, A. D.

2015-12-01

Vegetation phenology controls the seasonality of many ecosystem processes, as well as numerous biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks. Phenology is highly sensitive to climate change and variability, and is thus a key aspect of global change ecology. The goal of the PhenoCam network is to serve as a long-term, continental-scale, phenological observatory. The network uses repeat digital photography—images captured using conventional, visible-wavelength, automated digital cameras—to characterize vegetation phenology in diverse ecosystems across North America and around the world. At present, imagery from over 200 research sites, spanning a wide range of ecoregions, climate zones, and plant functional types, is currently being archived and processed in near-real-time through the PhenoCam project web page (http://phenocam.sr.unh.edu/). Data derived from PhenoCam imagery have been previously used to evaluate satellite phenology products, to constrain and test new phenology models, to understand relationships between canopy phenology and ecosystem processes, and to study the seasonal changes in leaf-level physiology that are associated with changes in leaf color. I will describe a new, publicly-available phenological dataset, derived from over 600 site-years of PhenoCam imagery. For each archived image (ca. 5 million), we extracted RGB (red, green, blue) color channel information, with means and other statistics calculated across a region-of-interest (ROI) delineating a specific vegetation type. From the high-frequency (typically, 30 minute) imagery, we derived time series characterizing vegetation color, including "canopy greenness", processed to 1- and 3-day intervals. For ecosystems with a single annual cycle of vegetation activity, we derived estimates, with uncertainties, for the start, middle, and end of spring and autumn phenological transitions. Given the lack of multi-year, standardized, and geographically distributed phenological data for North America, we anticipate that these datasets will be widely used by researchers in a variety of fields. Shifts in phenology are a particularly tangible example of the biological impacts of climate change, and thus these data may also find use in science education and outreach to the general public.

Using ground observations of a digital camera in the VIS-NIR range for quantifying the phenology of Mediterranean woody species

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weil, Gilad; Lensky, Itamar M.; Levin, Noam

2017-10-01

The spectral reflectance of most plant species is quite similar, and thus the feasibility of identifying most plant species based on single date multispectral data is very low. Seasonal phenological patterns of plant species may enable to face the challenge of using remote sensing for mapping plant species at the individual level. We used a consumer-grade digital camera with near infra-red capabilities in order to extract and quantify vegetation phenological information in four East Mediterranean sites. After illumination corrections and other noise reduction steps, the phenological patterns of 1839 individuals representing 12 common species were analyzed, including evergreen trees, winter deciduous trees, semi-deciduous summer shrubs and annual herbaceous patches. Five vegetation indices were used to describe the phenology: relative green and red (green/red chromatic coordinate), excess green (ExG), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and green-red vegetation index (GRVI). We found significant differences between the phenology of the various species, and defined the main phenological groups using agglomerative hierarchical clustering. Differences between species and sites regarding the start of season (SOS), maximum of season (MOS) and end of season (EOS) were displayed in detail, using ExG values, as this index was found to have the lowest percentage of outliers. An additional visible band spectral index (relative red) was found as useful for characterizing seasonal phenology, and had the lowest correlation with the other four vegetation indices, which are more sensitive to greenness. We used a linear mixed model in order to evaluate the influences of various factors on the phenology, and found that unlike the significant effect of species and individuals on SOS, MOS and EOS, the sites' location did not have a direct significant effect on the timing of phenological events. In conclusion, the relative advantage of the proposed methodology is the exploitation of representative temporal information that is collected with accessible and simple devices, for the subsequent determination of optimal temporal acquisition of images by overhead sensors, for vegetation mapping over larger areas.

Implementation of softcopy photogrammetric workstations at the US Geological Survey

USGS Publications Warehouse

Skalet, C.D.; Lee, G.Y.G.; Ladner, L. J.

1992-01-01

The US Geological Survey has provided the Nation with primary quadrangle maps and map products for the last 50 years. The Survey recently completed initial coverage of the conterminous United States and Hawaii at 1:24 000 scale. In Alaska, complete coverage exists at 1:63 360 scale. Effort is underway to build a National Digital Cartographic Data Base (NDCDB) composed of the digital representation of these and other map series. In addition the Survey plans to meet the demand for more current and complete data through the development and promotion of spatial data standards in cooperation with other Federal, State, local and private organizations. -from Authors

Runoff and erosion in a pinon-juniper woodland: Influence of vegetation patches

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reid, K.D.; Wilcox, B.P.; Breshears, D.D.

1999-12-01

In many semiarid regions, runoff and erosion differ according to vegetation patch type. These differences, although hypothesized to fundamentally affect ecological processes, have been poorly quantified. In a semiarid pinion-juniper woodland [Pinus edulis Engelm. and Juniperus monosperma (Engelm) Sarg.] in northern New Mexico, the authors measured runoff and erosion from the three patch types that compose these woodlands: Canopy patches (those beneath woody plants), vegetated patched in intercanopy areas, and bare patches in intercanopy areas. The bare intercanopy patches exhibited the highest rates, followed by vegetated intercanopy patches and then by canopy patches. Large convective summer storms, though relatively infrequent,more » generated much of the runoff and most of the sediment; prolonged frontal storms were capable of generating considerable runoff but little sediment. A portion of the runoff and most of the sediment generated from bare intercanopy patches was redistributed down-slope, probably to adjacent vegetated intercanopy patches, demonstrating connectivity between these two patch types. Their results indicate that there are significant and important differences in runoff and sediment production from the three patch types; that bare intercanopy patches act as sources of both water and sediment for the vegetated intercanopy patches; and that the transfer of water and sediment at small scales is both frequent enough and substantial enough to be considered ecologically significant.« less

FOCIS: A forest classification and inventory system using LANDSAT and digital terrain data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strahler, A. H.; Franklin, J.; Woodcook, C. E.; Logan, T. L.

1981-01-01

Accurate, cost-effective stratification of forest vegetation and timber inventory is the primary goal of a Forest Classification and Inventory System (FOCIS). Conventional timber stratification using photointerpretation can be time-consuming, costly, and inconsistent from analyst to analyst. FOCIS was designed to overcome these problems by using machine processing techniques to extract and process tonal, textural, and terrain information from registered LANDSAT multispectral and digital terrain data. Comparison of samples from timber strata identified by conventional procedures showed that both have about the same potential to reduce the variance of timber volume estimates over simple random sampling.

[Nutritional information of meals supplied by companies participating in the Workers' Meal Program in São Paulo, Brazil].

PubMed

Geraldo, Ana Paula Gines; Bandoni, Daniel Henrique; Jaime, Patrícia Constante

2008-01-01

To compare the nutritional value of meals provided by companies participating in the Workers' Meal Program in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, to the nutritional recommendations and guidelines established by the Ministry of Health for the Brazilian population. The 72 companies studied were grouped according to economic sector (industrial, services, or commerce), size (micro, small, medium, or large), meal preparation modality (prepared on-site by the company itself, on-site by a hired caterer, or off-site by a hired caterer), and supervision by a dietitian (yes or no). The per capita amount of food was determined based on the lunch, dinner, and supper menus for three days. The nutritional value of the meals was defined by the amount of calories, carbohydrates, protein, total fat, polyunsaturated fat, saturated fat, trans fat, sugars, cholesterol, and fruits and vegetables. Most of the menus were deficient in the number of fruits and vegetables (63.9%) and amount of polyunsaturated fat (83.3%), but high in total fat (47.2%) and cholesterol (62.5%). Group 2, composed of mostly medium and large companies, supervised by a dietician, belonging to the industrial and/or service sectors, and using a hired caterer, on averaged served meals with higher calorie content (P<0.001), higher percentage of polyunsaturated fat (P<0.001), more cholesterol (P=0.015), and more fruits and vegetables (P<0.001) than Group 1, which was composed of micro and small companies from the commercial sector, that prepare the meals themselves on-site, and are not supervised by a dietitian. Regarding the nutrition guidelines set for the Brazilian population, Group 2 meals were better in terms of fruit and vegetable servings (P<0.001). Group 1 meals were better in terms of cholesterol content (P=0.05). More specific action is required targeting company officers and managers in charge of food and nutrition services, especially in companies without dietitian supervision.

A review of vegetated buffers and a meta-analysis of their mitigation efficacy in reducing non-point source pollution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, X.; Liu, X.; Zhang, M.; Dahlgren, R. A.; Eitzel, M.

2009-12-01

Vegetated buffers are a well-studied and widely used agricultural management practice for reducing non-point source pollution. A wealth of literature provides experimental data on their mitigation efficacy. This paper aggregated many of these results and performed a meta-analysis to quantify the relationships between pollutant removal efficacy and buffer width, buffer slope, soil type, and vegetation type. Theoretical models for removal efficacy (Y) vs. buffer width (w) were derived and tested against data from the surveyed literature using statistical analyses. A model of the form Y = K x (1-exp(-b x w) , (0< K <= 100) successfully captured the relationship between buffer width and pollutant removal, where K reflects the maximum removal efficacy of the buffer and b reflects its probability to remove any single particle of pollutant in a unit distance. The estimates of K were 90.9, 93.2, 92.0, and 89.5 for sediment, pesticides, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), respectively. Buffer width alone explains 37, 60, 44 and 35% of the total variance in removal efficacy for sediment, pesticides, N and P, respectively. Buffer slope was linearly associated with sediment removal efficacy either positively (when slope ≤ 10%) or negatively (when slope > 10%). Buffers composed of trees have higher N and P removal efficacy than buffers composed of grasses or mixtures of grasses and trees. Soil drainage type did not show a significant effect on pollutant removal efficacy. Models for all the studied pollutants were statistically significant with P-values < 0.001. Based on our analysis, a 30 m buffer under favorable slope conditions (≈ 10%) removes over 85% of all the studied pollutants. These models predicting optimal buffer width/slope can be instrumental in the design, implementation and modeling of vegetated buffers for treating agricultural runoff.

Spectral entropy as a mean to quantify water stress history for natural vegetation and irrigated agriculture in a water-stressed tropical environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Y.; Johnson, M. S.

2017-12-01

Spectral entropy (Hs) is an index which can be used to measure the structural complexity of time series data. When a time series is made up of one periodic function, the Hs value becomes smaller, while Hs becomes larger when a time series is composed of several periodic functions. We hypothesized that this characteristic of the Hs could be used to quantify the water stress history of vegetation. For the ideal condition for which sufficient water is supplied to an agricultural crop or natural vegetation, there should be a single distinct phenological cycle represented in a vegetation index time series (e.g., NDVI and EVI). However, time series data for a vegetation area that repeatedly experiences water stress may include several fluctuations that can be observed in addition to the predominant phenological cycle. This is because the process of experiencing water stress and recovering from it generates small fluctuations in phenological characteristics. Consequently, the value of Hs increases when vegetation experiences several water shortages. Therefore, the Hs could be used as an indicator for water stress history. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data for a natural area in comparison to a nearby sugarcane area in seasonally-dry western Costa Rica. In this presentation we will illustrate the use of spectral entropy to evaluate the vegetative responses of natural vegetation (dry tropical forest) and sugarcane under three different irrigation techniques (center pivot irrigation, drip irrigation and flood irrigation). Through this comparative analysis, the utility of Hs as an indicator will be tested. Furthermore, crop response to the different irrigation methods will be discussed in terms of Hs, NDVI and yield.

Mapping mine wastes and analyzing areas affected by selenium-rich water runoff in southeast Idaho using AVIRIS imagery and digital elevation data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mars, J.C.; Crowley, J.K.

2003-01-01

Remotely sensed hyperspectral and digital elevation data from southeastern Idaho are combined in a new method to assess mine waste contamination. Waste rock from phosphorite mining in the area contains selenium, cadmium, vanadium, and other metals. Toxic concentrations of selenium have been found in plants and soils near some mine waste dumps. Eighteen mine waste dumps and five vegetation cover types in the southeast Idaho phosphate district were mapped by using Airborne Visible-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) imagery and field data. The interaction of surface water runoff with mine waste was assessed by registering the AVIRIS results to digital elevation data, enabling determinations of (1) mine dump morphologies, (2) catchment watershed areas above each mine dump, (3) flow directions from the dumps, (4) stream gradients, and (5) the extent of downstream wetlands available for selenium absorption. Watersheds with the most severe selenium contamination, such as the South Maybe Canyon watershed, are associated with mine dumps that have large catchment watershed areas, high stream gradients, a paucity of downstream wetlands, and dump forms that tend to obstruct stream flow. Watersheds associated with low concentrations of dissolved selenium, such as Angus Creek, have mine dumps with small catchment watershed areas, low stream gradients, abundant wetlands vegetation, and less obstructing dump morphologies. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

Pixel Color Clustering of Multi-Temporally Acquired Digital Photographs of a Rice Canopy by Luminosity-Normalization and Pseudo-Red-Green-Blue Color Imaging

PubMed Central

Doi, Ryoichi; Arif, Chusnul

2014-01-01

Red-green-blue (RGB) channels of RGB digital photographs were loaded with luminosity-adjusted R, G, and completely white grayscale images, respectively (RGwhtB method), or R, G, and R + G (RGB yellow) grayscale images, respectively (RGrgbyB method), to adjust the brightness of the entire area of multi-temporally acquired color digital photographs of a rice canopy. From the RGwhtB or RGrgbyB pseudocolor image, cyan, magenta, CMYK yellow, black, L*, a*, and b* grayscale images were prepared. Using these grayscale images and R, G, and RGB yellow grayscale images, the luminosity-adjusted pixels of the canopy photographs were statistically clustered. With the RGrgbyB and the RGwhtB methods, seven and five major color clusters were given, respectively. The RGrgbyB method showed clear differences among three rice growth stages, and the vegetative stage was further divided into two substages. The RGwhtB method could not clearly discriminate between the second vegetative and midseason stages. The relative advantages of the RGrgbyB method were attributed to the R, G, B, magenta, yellow, L*, and a* grayscale images that contained richer information to show the colorimetrical differences among objects than those of the RGwhtB method. The comparison of rice canopy colors at different time points was enabled by the pseudocolor imaging method. PMID:25302325

Reflectance of vegetation, soil, and water

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wiegand, C. L. (Principal Investigator)

1974-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. The Kubelka-Munk model, a regression model, and a combination of these models were used to extract plant, soil, and shadow reflectance components of vegetated surfaces. The combination model was superior to the others; it explained 86% of the variation in band 5 reflectance of corn and sorghum, and 90% of the variation in band 6 reflectance of cotton. A fractional shadow term substantially increased the proportion of the digital count sum of squares explained when plant parameters alone explained 85% or less of the variation. Overall recognition of 94 agricultural fields using simultaneously acquired aircraft and spacecraft MSS data was 61.8 and 62.8%, respectively; recognition of vegetable fields larger than 10 acres and taller than 25 cm, rose to 88.9 and 100% for aircraft and spacecraft, respectively. Agriculture and rangeland, were well discriminated for the entire county but level 2 categories of vegetables, citrus, and idle cropland, except for citrus, were not.

Image and in situ data integration to derive sawgrass density for surface flow modelling in the Everglades, Florida, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jones, J.W.

2000-01-01

The US Geological Survey is building models of the Florida Everglades to be used in managing south Florida surface water flows for habitat restoration and maintenance. Because of the low gradients in the Everglades, vegetation structural characteristics are very important and greatly influence surface water flow and distribution. Vegetation density is being evaluated as an index of surface resistance to flow. Digital multispectral videography (DMSV) has been captured over several sites just before field collection of vegetation data. Linear regression has been used to establish a relationship between normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values computed from the DMSV and field-collected biomass and density estimates. Spatial analysis applied to the DMSV data indicates that thematic mapper (TM) resolution is at the limit required to capture land surface heterogeneity. The TM data collected close to the time of the DMSV will be used to derive a regional sawgrass density map.

Image and in situ data integration to derive sawgrass density for surface flow modelling in the Everglades, Florida, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jones, J.W.

2001-01-01

The US Geological Survey is building models of the Florida Everglades to be used in managing south Florida surface water flows for habitat restoration and maintenance. Because of the low gradients in the Everglades, vegetation structural characteristics are very important and greatly influence surface water flow and distribution. Vegetation density is being evaluated as an index of surface resistance to flow. Digital multispectral videography (DMSV) has been captured over several sites just before field collection of vegetation data. Linear regression has been used to establish a relationship between normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values computed from the DMSV and field-collected biomass and density estimates. Spatial analysis applied to the DMSV data indicates that thematic mapper (TM) resolution is at the limit required to capture land surface heterogeneity. The TM data collected close to the time of the DMSV will be used to derive a regional sawgrass density map.

Assessing Preliminary Impact of the North Carolina Community Transformation Grant Project Farmers' Market Initiatives Among Rural Residents.

PubMed

Jilcott Pitts, Stephanie B; McGuirt, Jared T; Wu, Qiang; Rushing, Jill; Uslan, Daniella; Stanley, Karen K; Bullock, Sally L; Ward, Rachel K; Rafferty, Ann P; Ammerman, Alice S

2016-05-01

Using the Social Determinants of Health as the study's theoretical underpinning, the authors examined the impact of the North Carolina Community Transformation Grant Project farmers' market initiatives on changes in awareness and use of farmers' markets, and fruit and vegetable consumption. During the farmers' market season, the researchers conducted a random digit-dial telephone survey among residents in 3 rural North Carolina counties to examine changes in farmers' market awareness, shopping, and fruit and vegetable consumption. They examined change over 1 year using t tests, chi-square tests, and propensity score matching. In 1 county there were increases in farmers' market shopping and fruit and vegetable consumption, and in 1 county there were decreases in farmers' market shopping and fruit and vegetable consumption. The impact of farmers' market initiatives may be affected by county-specific socioeconomic contexts. Copyright © 2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Land cover

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jorgenson, Janet C.; Joria, Peter C.; Douglas, David C.; Douglas, David C.; Reynolds, Patricia E.; Rhode, E.B.

2002-01-01

Documenting the distribution of land-cover types on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain is the foundation for impact assessment and mitigation of potential oil exploration and development. Vegetation maps facilitate wildlife studies by allowing biologists to quantify the availability of important wildlife habitats, investigate the relationships between animal locations and the distribution or juxtaposition of habitat types, and assess or extrapolate habitat characteristics across regional areas.To meet the needs of refuge managers and biologists, satellite imagery was chosen as the most cost-effective method for mapping the large, remote landscape of the 1002 Area.Objectives of our study were the following: 1) evaluate a vegetation classification scheme for use in mapping. 2) determine optimal methods for producing a satellite-based vegetation map that adequately met the needs of the wildlife research and management objectives; 3) produce a digital vegetation map for the Arctic Refuge coastal plain using Lands at-Thematic Mapper(TM) satellite imagery, existing geobotanical classifications, ground data, and aerial photographs, and 4) perform an accuracy assessment of the map.

Effect of tree thinning and skidding trails on hydrological connectivity in two Japanese forest catchments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

López-Vicente, Manuel; Sun, Xinchao; Onda, Yuichi; Kato, Hiroaki; Gomi, Takashi; Hiraoka, Marino

2017-09-01

Land use composition and patterns influence the hydrological response in mountainous and forest catchments. In plantation forest, management operations (FMO) modify the spatial and temporal dynamics of overland flow processes. However, we found a gap in the literature focussed on modelling hydrological connectivity (HC) in plantation forest under different FMO. In this study, we simulated HC in two steep paired forest subcatchments (K2 and K3, 33.2 ha), composed of Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa Endl.) and Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) plantations (59% of the total area) against a tree thinning intensity of 50% at different time. Additionally, construction of new skidding trails and vegetation recovery was simulated on five thinning-based scenarios that covered a 40-month test period (July 2010 - October 2013). As a future scenario, six check-dams located in the main streams were proposed to reduce sediment and radionuclide delivery. An updated version of Borselli's index of runoff and sediment connectivity was run, using the D-infinity flow accumulation algorithm and exploiting three 0.5-m resolution digital elevation models. On the basis of the pre-FMO scenario, HC increased at catchment scale owing to tree thinning and the new skidding trails. This change was more noticeable within the area affected by the FMO, where HC increased by 11.4% and 10.5% in the cypress and cedar plantations in K2 respectively and by 8.8% in the cedar plantation in K3. At hillslope plot and stream scales, the evolution in the values of HC was less evident, except the increment (by 5.4%) observed in the streams at K2 after the FMO. Progressive vegetation recovery after the FMO triggered a slight reduction of connectivity in all compartments of both subcatchments. Forest roads and especially skidding trails presented the highest values of HC, appearing as the most efficient features connecting the different vegetation patches with the stream network. The spatial and temporal evolution of HC over the five past scenarios correlated well with the observed changes in runoff yield, as well as with the available values of rainfall interception and throughfall before, during, and after the FMO. The simulation of the proposed scenario recommends the construction of check-dams as effective landscape features to somewhat reduce HC and thus to decrease the sediment and radionuclide delivery rates from the two subcatchments.

Vegetation Patterns and Degradation Thresholds in the Mulga Landscapes of Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azadi, Samira; Saco, Patricia; Moreno-de las Heras, Mariano; Willgoose, Garry

2017-04-01

Drylands are often characterised by a spatially heterogeneous vegetation cover forming mosaics of patches dense vegetation within bare soil. This 'patterned' or 'patchy' vegetation cover is sensitive to human pressures. Previous work suggests that within these landscapes there is a critical vegetation cover threshold below which the landscape functionality is lost. This threshold behaviour is tightly linked to the overland flow redistribution and an increase in hydrologic connectivity that induces loss of resources (i.e., leakiness). In fact, disturbances (such as wildfire, overgrazing or harvesting activities) can disrupt the spatial structure of vegetation, increase landscape hydrologic connectivity, trigger erosion and produce a substantial loss of water. All these effects affect ecosystem functionality. Here we present the results of exploring the impact of degradation processes induced by vegetation disturbances (mainly grazing) on ecosystem functionality and connectivity in semiarid landscapes with various types of vegetation patterns. The sites are carefully selected in Mulga landscapes bioregion (New South Wales, Queensland) and in sites of Northern Territory in Australia, which display similar vegetation characteristics but with different vegetation patterns and good quality rainfall information. The analysis of vegetation patterns is derived from high resolution remote sensing images (IKONOS, QuickBird, Pleiades). Using MODIS NDVI and local precipitation data, we compute rainfall use efficiency and precipitation marginal response in order to assess the ecosystem functionality. We use vegetation binary maps and digital elevation models to estimate mean Flowlength as an indicator of structural hydrologic connectivity. We compare the trends for several sites with varying vegetation patterns (i.e., banded versus spotted patterns). Our results show that disturbances increase hydrologic connectivity and suggest threshold behaviour that affects landscape functionality. Though this threshold behaviour is found in all sites, the plots in higher rainfall landscapes with banded vegetation patterns show evidence of higher resilience. We will also present some preliminary modelling results that complement this analysis and capture the coevolution of vegetation and landforms (erosion), leading to this type of threshold behaviour.

The interaction between vegetation and channel dynamics based on experimental findings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teske, R.; Van Dijk, W. M.; Van De Lageweg, W.; Kleinhans, M. G.

2012-12-01

Strong feedbacks exist between river channel dynamics, floodplain development and riparian vegetation. Several experimental studies showed how uniformly sown vegetation causes a shift from a braided river to a single-thread and sometimes meandering river. The objective of this study is to test what the effect of fluvially distributed seeds and vegetation settling is on channel pattern change and channel dynamics. The experiments were carried out in a flume of 3 m wide and 10 m long. We tested where the vegetation deposited in a braided and meandering river and how the morphology changed. We used a simple hydrograph of 0.25 hour high flow and 3.75 hour low flow, where alfalfa seeds were added during high flow. The bed sediment consisted of a poorly sorted sediment mixture ranging from fine sand to fine gravel. The evolution was recorded by a high-resolution laser-line scanner and a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera used for channel floodplain segmentation, water depth approximation and vegetation distribution. In an initially braided river, vegetation settled on the higher banks and stabilized the banks. In an initially meandering river, vegetation settled in the inner scrolls, and also on the outer banks when water level exceeded bankfull conditions. In agreement with earlier work, the outer bank was stabilized; erosion rate decreased and bends became sharper. The inner bend vegetation stabilized a part of the point bar and hydraulic resistance of the vegetation steered water in the channel and to the non-vegetated part of the inner bend. As result the meander bend became braided as water flows along the vegetation. Vegetation formed patches that grew over time and reduced channel dynamics. We conclude that self-settling vegetation decreased local bank erosion and that vegetated islands leads to a multi-thread system instead of single-threaded.

Avian responses to late-season grazing in a shrub-willow floodplain

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stanley, T.R.; Knopf, F.L.

2002-01-01

Riparian vegetation in western North America provides important habitat for breeding birds and valuable forage for grazing livestock. Whereas a number of studies have documented the response of riparian vegetation to the removal of cattle, few have experimentally evaluated specific grazing systems. We evaluated the responses of vegetation and breeding birds to two cycles of late-season (August–September) grazing followed by 34 months of rest on the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge, Colorado. We used a before-and-after control-impact (BACI) design, with two control (ungrazed) and two treatment ( grazed) pastures composing the experimental units. Vegetation characteristics and bird densities were quantified on sample plots prior to and following two cycles of the treatment. We found no statistical differences in vegetation change and few differences in bird-density change among pastures. Inspection of means for pastures, however, suggests that changes in shrub vigor and spatial pattern differed among ungrazed and grazed pastures and that changes in population density for three of the nine bird species and three guilds studied differed among pastures. Our results suggest that habitat for grazing-sensitive birds may be restored while still allowing late-season grazing, although the rate at which species are recovered will be slower than if all cattle are removed.

The IASI detection chain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicol, Patrick; Fleury, Joel; Le Naour, Claire; Bernard, Frédéric

2017-11-01

IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer) is an infrared atmospheric sounder. It will provide meteorologist and scientific community with atmospheric spectra. The instrument is composed of a Fourier transform spectrometer and an associated infrared imager. The presentation will describe the spectrometer detection chain architecture, composed by three different detectors cooled in a passive cryo-cooler (so called CBS : Cold Box Subsystem) and associated analog electronics up to digital conversion. It will mainly focus on design choices with regards to environment constraints, implemented technologies, and associated performances. CNES is leading the IASI program in collaboration with EUMETSAT. The instrument Prime is ALCATEL SPACE responsible, notably, of the detection chain architecture. SAGEM SA provides the detector package (so called CAU : Cold Acquisition Unit).

The IASI detection chain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicol, Patrick; Fleury, Joel; Bernard, Frédéric

2004-06-01

IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer) is an infrared atmospheric sounder. It will provide meteorologist and scientific community with atmospheric spectra. The instrument is composed of a Fourier transform spectrometer and an associated infrared imager. The presentation will describe the spectrometer detection chain architecture, composed by three different detectors cooled in a passive cryo-cooler (so called CBS : Cold Box Subsystem) and associated analog electronics up to digital conversion. It will mainly focus on design choices with regards to environment constraints, implemented technologies, and associated performances . CNES is leading the IASI program in collaboration with EUMETSAT. The instrument Prime is ALCATEL SPACE responsible, notably, of the detection chain architecture. SAGEM SA provides the detector package (so called CAU: Cold Acquisition Unit).

Digital Earth Watch And Picture Post Network: Measuring The Environment Through Digital Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schloss, A. L.; Beaudry, J.; Carrera, F.; Pickle, J.

2010-12-01

Digital Earth Watch (DEW) involves individuals, schools, organizations and communities in a systematic monitoring project of their local environment, especially vegetation health. The program offers people the means to join the Picture Post network and to study and analyze their own findings using DEW software. A Picture Post is an easy-to-use and inexpensive platform for repeatedly taking digital photographs as a standardized set of images of the entire 360 ° landscape, which then can be shared over the Internet on the Picture Post website. This simple concept has the potential to create a wealth of information and data on changing environmental conditions, which is important for a society grappling with the effects of environmental change. Picture Post participants study change over time in their local area, compare digital images with NASA satellite imagery and contribute towards improving their own communities. A key message in DEW is that although plants are dynamic and respond continuously to their environment, they do so either on a time-scale that most people don't notice or with a subtlety our senses can't detect. DEW has created simple tools for monitoring vegetation as a means towards understanding the connection between global climate change and local effects. Picture Posts may be added by anyone interested in monitoring a particular location. The value of a Picture Post is in the commitment of participants to take repeated photographs - monthly, weekly, or even daily - to build up a long-term record over many years. DEW is being developed by a collaborative effort led by the University of New Hampshire with the Federation of Earth Science Information Partners, the University of Southern Maine, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. This poster will show examples of picture posts and data that can be collected and will describe our soon-to-be-released “ virtual ” picture post cell phone app. The Picture Post network is new and we invite individuals, schools, informal education centers, groups and communities to join.

Surface Rupture Map of the 2002 M7.9 Denali Fault Earthquake, Alaska: Digital Data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haeussler, Peter J.

2009-01-01

The November 3, 2002, Mw7.9 Denali Fault earthquake produced about 340 km of surface rupture along the Susitna Glacier Thrust Fault and the right-lateral, strike-slip Denali and Totschunda Faults. Digital photogrammetric methods were primarily used to create a 1:500-scale, three-dimensional surface rupture map, and 1:6,000-scale aerial photographs were used for three-dimensional digitization in ESRI's ArcMap GIS software, using Leica's StereoAnalyst plug in. Points were digitized 4.3 m apart, on average, for the entire surface rupture. Earthquake-induced landslides, sackungen, and unruptured Holocene fault scarps on the eastern Denali Fault were also digitized where they lay within the limits of air photo coverage. This digital three-dimensional fault-trace map is superior to traditional maps in terms of relative and absolute accuracy, completeness, and detail and is used as a basis for three-dimensional visualization. Field work complements the air photo observations in locations of dense vegetation, on bedrock, or in areas where the surface trace is weakly developed. Seventeen km of the fault trace, which broke through glacier ice, were not digitized in detail due to time constraints, and air photos missed another 10 km of fault rupture through the upper Black Rapids Glacier, so that was not mapped in detail either.

New vegetation type map of India prepared using satellite remote sensing: Comparison with global vegetation maps and utilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, P. S.; Behera, M. D.; Murthy, M. S. R.; Roy, Arijit; Singh, Sarnam; Kushwaha, S. P. S.; Jha, C. S.; Sudhakar, S.; Joshi, P. K.; Reddy, Ch. Sudhakar; Gupta, Stutee; Pujar, Girish; Dutt, C. B. S.; Srivastava, V. K.; Porwal, M. C.; Tripathi, Poonam; Singh, J. S.; Chitale, Vishwas; Skidmore, A. K.; Rajshekhar, G.; Kushwaha, Deepak; Karnatak, Harish; Saran, Sameer; Giriraj, A.; Padalia, Hitendra; Kale, Manish; Nandy, Subrato; Jeganathan, C.; Singh, C. P.; Biradar, C. M.; Pattanaik, Chiranjibi; Singh, D. K.; Devagiri, G. M.; Talukdar, Gautam; Panigrahy, Rabindra K.; Singh, Harnam; Sharma, J. R.; Haridasan, K.; Trivedi, Shivam; Singh, K. P.; Kannan, L.; Daniel, M.; Misra, M. K.; Niphadkar, Madhura; Nagabhatla, Nidhi; Prasad, Nupoor; Tripathi, O. P.; Prasad, P. Rama Chandra; Dash, Pushpa; Qureshi, Qamer; Tripathi, S. K.; Ramesh, B. R.; Gowda, Balakrishnan; Tomar, Sanjay; Romshoo, Shakil; Giriraj, Shilpa; Ravan, Shirish A.; Behera, Soumit Kumar; Paul, Subrato; Das, Ashesh Kumar; Ranganath, B. K.; Singh, T. P.; Sahu, T. R.; Shankar, Uma; Menon, A. R. R.; Srivastava, Gaurav; Neeti; Sharma, Subrat; Mohapatra, U. B.; Peddi, Ashok; Rashid, Humayun; Salroo, Irfan; Krishna, P. Hari; Hajra, P. K.; Vergheese, A. O.; Matin, Shafique; Chaudhary, Swapnil A.; Ghosh, Sonali; Lakshmi, Udaya; Rawat, Deepshikha; Ambastha, Kalpana; Malik, Akhtar H.; Devi, B. S. S.; Gowda, Balakrishna; Sharma, K. C.; Mukharjee, Prashant; Sharma, Ajay; Davidar, Priya; Raju, R. R. Venkata; Katewa, S. S.; Kant, Shashi; Raju, Vatsavaya S.; Uniyal, B. P.; Debnath, Bijan; Rout, D. K.; Thapa, Rajesh; Joseph, Shijo; Chhetri, Pradeep; Ramachandran, Reshma M.

2015-07-01

A seamless vegetation type map of India (scale 1: 50,000) prepared using medium-resolution IRS LISS-III images is presented. The map was created using an on-screen visual interpretation technique and has an accuracy of 90%, as assessed using 15,565 ground control points. India has hitherto been using potential vegetation/forest type map prepared by Champion and Seth in 1968. We characterized and mapped further the vegetation type distribution in the country in terms of occurrence and distribution, area occupancy, percentage of protected area (PA) covered by each vegetation type, range of elevation, mean annual temperature and precipitation over the past 100 years. A remote sensing-amenable hierarchical classification scheme that accommodates natural and semi-natural systems was conceptualized, and the natural vegetation was classified into forests, scrub/shrub lands and grasslands on the basis of extent of vegetation cover. We discuss the distribution and potential utility of the vegetation type map in a broad range of ecological, climatic and conservation applications from global, national and local perspectives. We used 15,565 ground control points to assess the accuracy of products available globally (i.e., GlobCover, Holdridge's life zone map and potential natural vegetation (PNV) maps). Hence we recommend that the map prepared herein be used widely. This vegetation type map is the most comprehensive one developed for India so far. It was prepared using 23.5 m seasonal satellite remote sensing data, field samples and information relating to the biogeography, climate and soil. The digital map is now available through a web portal (http://bis.iirs.gov.in).

Thermal particle image velocity estimation of fire plume flow

Treesearch

Xiangyang Zhou; Lulu Sun; Shankar Mahalingam; David R. Weise

2003-01-01

For the purpose of studying wildfire spread in living vegetation such as chaparral in California, a thermal particle image velocity (TPIV) algorithm for nonintrusively measuring flame gas velocities through thermal infrared (IR) imagery was developed. By tracing thermal particles in successive digital IR images, the TPIV algorithm can estimate the velocity field in a...

Quantifying early-seral forest composition with remote sensing

Treesearch

Rayma A. Cooley; Peter T. Wolter; Brian R. Sturtevant

2016-01-01

Spatially explicit modeling of recovering forest structure within two years following wildfire disturbance has not been attempted, yet such knowledge is critical for determining successional pathways. We used remote sensing and field data, along with digital climate and terrain data, to model and map early-seral aspen structure and vegetation species richness following...

GPS-aided inertial technology and navigation-based photogrammetry for aerial mapping the San Andreas fault system

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sanchez, Richard D.; Hudnut, Kenneth W.

2004-01-01

Aerial mapping of the San Andreas Fault System can be realized more efficiently and rapidly without ground control and conventional aerotriangulation. This is achieved by the direct geopositioning of the exterior orientation of a digital imaging sensor by use of an integrated Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and an Inertial Navigation System (INS). A crucial issue to this particular type of aerial mapping is the accuracy, scale, consistency, and speed achievable by such a system. To address these questions, an Applanix Digital Sensor System (DSS) was used to examine its potential for near real-time mapping. Large segments of vegetation along the San Andreas and Cucamonga faults near the foothills of the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains were burned to the ground in the California wildfires of October-November 2003. A 175 km corridor through what once was a thickly vegetated and hidden fault surface was chosen for this study. Both faults pose a major hazard to the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area and a near real-time mapping system could provide information vital to a post-disaster response.

Remote sensing of drought and salinity stressed turfgrass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikemura, Yoshiaki

The ability to detect early signs of stress in turfgrass stands using a rapid, inexpensive, and nondestructive method would be a valuable management tool. Studies were conducted to determine if digital image analysis and spectroradiometric readings obtained from drought- and salinity-stressed turfgrasses accurately reflected the varying degrees of stress and correlated strongly with visual ratings, relative water content (RWC) and leaf osmolality, standard methods for measuring stress in plants. Greenhouse drought and salinity experiments were conducted on hybrid bluegrass [Poa arachnifera (Torn.) x pratensis (L.)] cv. Reveille and bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.)] cv. Princess 77. Increasing drought and salinity stress led to decreased RWC, increased leaf osmolality, and decreased visual ratings for both species. Percent green cover and hue values obtained from digital image analysis, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), calculated from spectroradiometric readings, were moderately to highly correlated with visual ratings, RWC, and leaf osmolality. Similarly, in a field validation study conducted on hybrid bluegrass, spectral reflectance ratios were moderately to highly correlated with visual ratings. In addition, percent green cover obtained from digital image analysis was strongly correlated with most of the spectral ratios, particularly the ratio of fluorescence peaks (r = -0.88 to -0.99), modified triangular vegetation index (MTVI) (r = 0.82 to 0.98), and NDVI (r = 0.84 to 0.99), suggesting that spectral reflectance and digital image analysis are equally effective at detecting changes in color brought on by stress. The two methods differed in their ability to distinguish between drought salinity stress. Hue values obtained from digital image analysis responded differently to increasing drought stress than to increasing salinity stress. Whereas the onset of drought stress was reflected by increased hue values followed by a decrease in values as drought stress increased, there was no increase in hue values at the onset of salinity stress. Thus, changes in hue could be a key to distinguish drought and salinity stress. Both digital image analysis and spectroradiometry effectively detected drought and salinity stress and may have applications in turfgrass management as rapid and quantitative methods to determine drought and salinity stress in turf.

Phenological Parameters Estimation Tool

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McKellip, Rodney D.; Ross, Kenton W.; Spruce, Joseph P.; Smoot, James C.; Ryan, Robert E.; Gasser, Gerald E.; Prados, Donald L.; Vaughan, Ronald D.

2010-01-01

The Phenological Parameters Estimation Tool (PPET) is a set of algorithms implemented in MATLAB that estimates key vegetative phenological parameters. For a given year, the PPET software package takes in temporally processed vegetation index data (3D spatio-temporal arrays) generated by the time series product tool (TSPT) and outputs spatial grids (2D arrays) of vegetation phenological parameters. As a precursor to PPET, the TSPT uses quality information for each pixel of each date to remove bad or suspect data, and then interpolates and digitally fills data voids in the time series to produce a continuous, smoothed vegetation index product. During processing, the TSPT displays NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) time series plots and images from the temporally processed pixels. Both the TSPT and PPET currently use moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite multispectral data as a default, but each software package is modifiable and could be used with any high-temporal-rate remote sensing data collection system that is capable of producing vegetation indices. Raw MODIS data from the Aqua and Terra satellites is processed using the TSPT to generate a filtered time series data product. The PPET then uses the TSPT output to generate phenological parameters for desired locations. PPET output data tiles are mosaicked into a Conterminous United States (CONUS) data layer using ERDAS IMAGINE, or equivalent software package. Mosaics of the vegetation phenology data products are then reprojected to the desired map projection using ERDAS IMAGINE

Unsupervised classification of lidar-based vegetation structure metrics at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kranenburg, Christine J.; Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Monica; Nayegandhi, Amar; Brock, John; Woodman, Robert

2012-01-01

Traditional vegetation maps capture the horizontal distribution of various vegetation properties, for example, type, species and age/senescence, across a landscape. Ecologists have long known, however, that many important forest properties, for example, interior microclimate, carbon capacity, biomass and habitat suitability, are also dependent on the vertical arrangement of branches and leaves within tree canopies. The objective of this study was to use a digital elevation model (DEM) along with tree canopy-structure metrics derived from a lidar survey conducted using the Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL) to capture a three-dimensional view of vegetation communities in the Barataria Preserve unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, Louisiana. The EAARL instrument is a raster-scanning, full waveform-resolving, small-footprint, green-wavelength (532-nanometer) lidar system designed to map coastal bathymetry, topography and vegetation structure simultaneously. An unsupervised clustering procedure was then applied to the 3-dimensional-based metrics and DEM to produce a vegetation map based on the vertical structure of the park's vegetation, which includes a flotant marsh, scrub-shrub wetland, bottomland hardwood forest, and baldcypress-tupelo swamp forest. This study was completed in collaboration with the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program's Gulf Coast Network. The methods presented herein are intended to be used as part of a cost-effective monitoring tool to capture change in park resources.

All-digital pulse-expansion-based CMOS digital-to-time converter.

PubMed

Chen, Chun-Chi; Chu, Che-Hsun

2017-02-01

This paper presents a new all-digital CMOS digital-to-time converter (DTC) based on pulse expansion. Pulse expansion is achieved using an all-digital pulse-mixing scheme that can effectively improve the timing resolution and enable the DTC to be concise. Without requiring the Vernier principle or a costly digital-to-analog converter, the DTC comprises a pulse generator for generating a pulse, a pulse-expanding circuit (PEC) for programming timing generation, and a time subtractor for removing the time width of the pulse. The PEC comprises only a delay chain composed of proposed pulse-expanding units and a multiplexer. For accuracy enhancement, a pulse neutralization technique is presented to eliminate undesirable pulse variation. A 4-bit converter was fabricated in a 0.35-μm Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company CMOS process and had a small area of nearly 0.045 mm 2 . Six chips were tested, all of which exhibited an improved resolution (approximately 16 ps) and low integral nonlinearity (less than ±0.4 least significant bit). The power consumption was 0.2 mW when the sample rate was 1M samples/s and the voltage supply was 3.3 V. The proposed DTC not only has favorable cost and power but also achieves an acceptable resolution without requiring an advanced CMOS process. This study is the first to use pulse expansion in digital-to-time conversion.

All-digital pulse-expansion-based CMOS digital-to-time converter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Chun-Chi; Chu, Che-Hsun

2017-02-01

This paper presents a new all-digital CMOS digital-to-time converter (DTC) based on pulse expansion. Pulse expansion is achieved using an all-digital pulse-mixing scheme that can effectively improve the timing resolution and enable the DTC to be concise. Without requiring the Vernier principle or a costly digital-to-analog converter, the DTC comprises a pulse generator for generating a pulse, a pulse-expanding circuit (PEC) for programming timing generation, and a time subtractor for removing the time width of the pulse. The PEC comprises only a delay chain composed of proposed pulse-expanding units and a multiplexer. For accuracy enhancement, a pulse neutralization technique is presented to eliminate undesirable pulse variation. A 4-bit converter was fabricated in a 0.35-μ m Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company CMOS process and had a small area of nearly 0.045 mm2. Six chips were tested, all of which exhibited an improved resolution (approximately 16 ps) and low integral nonlinearity (less than ±0.4 least significant bit). The power consumption was 0.2 mW when the sample rate was 1M samples/s and the voltage supply was 3.3 V. The proposed DTC not only has favorable cost and power but also achieves an acceptable resolution without requiring an advanced CMOS process. This study is the first to use pulse expansion in digital-to-time conversion.

Toward a Revised Assessment Model: Rationales and Strategies for Assessing Students' Technological Authorship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Hertogh, Lori Beth

2014-01-01

I argue in this article that digital composing practices require composition teachers to rethink the way we articulate learning outcomes and conduct classroom assessment. To accomplish this, we must revise the language we use to talk about outcomes and assessment in the context of new media. We also need to better understand how technologies are…

Investigating Digital Native Female Learners' Attitudes towards Paperless Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grigoryan, Tsoghik

2018-01-01

This study is an investigation of paperless language learning in the context of the United Arab Emirates. The purpose of this study was to examine Emirati level 1 English language learners' attitudes towards the iPad use as a means of language learning. It was done through a cross-sectional survey questionnaire, wholly composed of fixed-choice…

3D Printing of Shape Memory Polymers for Flexible Electronic Devices.

PubMed

Zarek, Matt; Layani, Michael; Cooperstein, Ido; Sachyani, Ela; Cohn, Daniel; Magdassi, Shlomo

2016-06-01

The formation of 3D objects composed of shape memory polymers for flexible electronics is described. Layer-by-layer photopolymerization of methacrylated semicrystalline molten macromonomers by a 3D digital light processing printer enables rapid fabrication of complex objects and imparts shape memory functionality for electrical circuits. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Portable flash lamp reflectance analyzer system and method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kalshoven, James Edward (Inventor)

1999-01-01

The system and method allow spectroscopic analysis of vegetation or the like without effects from changing sun and cloud conditions, undesired portions of the area of interest or atmospheric disturbances. The system (1) includes a light source (5) such as a xenon flash lamp, a telescope (7), a spectrometer (9), an analog/digital converter (11), a memory (13), a display (15), and an on-board microprocessor (17) or a port (19) for attachment to a laptop computer. The system is taken to an area of interest in the woods (step 41), the vegetation is illuminated from below (step 43) and data are taken (step 45).

Physics teaching by infrared remote sensing of vegetation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schüttler, Tobias; Maman, Shimrit; Girwidz, Raimund

2018-05-01

Context- and project-based teaching has proven to foster different affective and cognitive aspects of learning. As a versatile and multidisciplinary scientific research area with diverse applications for everyday life, satellite remote sensing is an interesting context for physics education. In this paper we give a brief overview of satellite remote sensing of vegetation and how to obtain your own, individual infrared remote sensing data with affordable converted digital cameras. This novel technique provides the opportunity to conduct individual remote sensing measurement projects with students in their respective environment. The data can be compared to real satellite data and is of sufficient accuracy for educational purposes.

The instrument control unit of SPICA SAFARI: a macro-unit to host all the digital control functionalities of the spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Giorgio, Anna Maria; Biondi, David; Saggin, Bortolino; Shatalina, Irina; Viterbini, Maurizio; Giusi, Giovanni; Liu, Scige J.; Cerulli-Irelli, Paquale; Van Loon, Dennis; Cara, Christophe

2012-09-01

We present the preliminary design of the Instrument Control Unit (ICU) of the SpicA FAR infrared Instrument (SAFARI), an imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) designed to give continuous wavelength coverage in both photometric and spectroscopic modes from around 34 to 210 µm. Due to the stringent requirements in terms of mass and volume, the overall SAFARI warm electronics will be composed by only two main units: Detector Control Unit and ICU. ICU is therefore a macro-unit incorporating the four digital sub-units dedicated to the control of the overall instrument functionalities: the Cooler Control Unit, the Mechanism Control Unit, the Digital processing Unit and the Power Supply Unit. Both the mechanical solution adopted to host the four sub-units and the internal electrical architecture are presented as well as the adopted redundancy approach.

Digital data base of lakes on the North Slope, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Walker, Kim-Marie; York, James; Murphy, Dennis; Sloan, C.E.

1986-01-01

The National Mapping Division and Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey have produced a digital data base of approximately 23,330 lakes on the North Slope of Alaska. The inventoried region consists of the area north of the 69th parallel and is composed of sixteen 1° x 3° quadrangles. The data base includes (1) locations of lake centers in latitude and longitude, (2) a unique number for each lake within a quadrangle, and (3) acreage for water classes (deep, shallow or turbid, and ice) within each lake and lake total. The digital data base is an easily accessible storage and retrieval system that will allow for rapid identification of a particular lake or region of lakes and its characteristics. The data base is designed to accommodate field study data such as lake depth, water quality, volume of water, ice thickness, and other pertinent information.

Encoding Schemes For A Digital Optical Multiplier Using The Modified Signed-Digit Number Representation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lasher, Mark E.; Henderson, Thomas B.; Drake, Barry L.; Bocker, Richard P.

1986-09-01

The modified signed-digit (MSD) number representation offers full parallel, carry-free addition. A MSD adder has been described by the authors. This paper describes how the adder can be used in a tree structure to implement an optical multiply algorithm. Three different optical schemes, involving position, polarization, and intensity encoding, are proposed for realizing the trinary logic system. When configured in the generic multiplier architecture, these schemes yield the combinatorial logic necessary to carry out the multiplication algorithm. The optical systems are essentially three dimensional arrangements composed of modular units. Of course, this modularity is important for design considerations, while the parallelism and noninterfering communication channels of optical systems are important from the standpoint of reduced complexity. The authors have also designed electronic hardware to demonstrate and model the combinatorial logic required to carry out the algorithm. The electronic and proposed optical systems will be compared in terms of complexity and speed.

[Profile, competencies and digital fluency of nurses in the Professional Improvement Program].

PubMed

Tanabe, Lyvia Pini; Kobayashi, Rika Miyahara

2013-08-01

A descriptive exploratory study conducted in the city of São Paulo, which aimed to identify the profile, competencies and digital fluency of nurses in the Professional Improvement Program in handling technology at work. The population, composed by 60 nurses in the program, answered a questionnaire with data about profile, digital fluency and professional competencies. The participants were found to be: 95.0% female, 61.7% between 23 and 25 years old, 75.0% from public schools, 58.3% enrolled in cardiovascular nursing, 98.3% had contact with computing resources during graduation, 100.0% had a computer at home, 86.7% accessed the internet daily, 96.7% used Messenger and 58.3% had an intermediate level of knowledge and skill in computing. Professional competencies required for technology management referred to knowing how to be innovative, creative, and updated to identify and manage software and to use technological resources.

Mineral resources management based on GIS and RS: a case study of the Laozhaiwan Gold Mine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Hao; Hua, Xianghong; Wang, Xinzhou; Ma, Liguang; Yuan, Yanbin

2005-10-01

With the development of digital information technology in mining industry, the concept of DM (Digital Mining) and MGIS (Mining Geographical Information System) are becoming the research focus but not perfect. How to effectively manage the dataset of geological, surveying and mineral products grade is the key point that concerned the sustainable development and standardized management in mining industry. Based on the existing combined GIS and remote sensing technology, we propose a model named DMMIS (Digital Mining Management Information System), which is composed of the database layer, the ActiveX layer and the user interface layer. The system is used in Laozhaiwan Gold Mine, Yunnan Province of China, which is shown to demonstrate the feasibility of the research and development achievement stated in this paper. Finally, some conclusions and constructive advices for future research work are given.

A Low Power Digital Accumulation Technique for Digital-Domain CMOS TDI Image Sensor.

PubMed

Yu, Changwei; Nie, Kaiming; Xu, Jiangtao; Gao, Jing

2016-09-23

In this paper, an accumulation technique suitable for digital domain CMOS time delay integration (TDI) image sensors is proposed to reduce power consumption without degrading the rate of imaging. In terms of the slight variations of quantization codes among different pixel exposures towards the same object, the pixel array is divided into two groups: one is for coarse quantization of high bits only, and the other one is for fine quantization of low bits. Then, the complete quantization codes are composed of both results from the coarse-and-fine quantization. The equivalent operation comparably reduces the total required bit numbers of the quantization. In the 0.18 µm CMOS process, two versions of 16-stage digital domain CMOS TDI image sensor chains based on a 10-bit successive approximate register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC), with and without the proposed technique, are designed. The simulation results show that the average power consumption of slices of the two versions are 6 . 47 × 10 - 8 J/line and 7 . 4 × 10 - 8 J/line, respectively. Meanwhile, the linearity of the two versions are 99.74% and 99.99%, respectively.

Preliminary Guide to the Onsite Identification and Delineation of the Wetlands of the Interior United States.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-05-01

salinity or alkalinity. Salicornia rubra (Glasswort) Salicornia spp. (Pickleweed) Seauvium verrwuoeu (Sea purslane ) 18 is I 4 ’F : #.. Suaeda depreaea (Sea... salinity or alkalinity. The innermost vegetated zone is often composed of halophytes such as sea purslane , pickleweed or glasswort (usually Salicornia...c. Wetlands typically have a major influence on drainage, salinities , flushing characteristics, current, and sedi- mentation patterns. d. Certain

Buffalo Harbor Study. Preliminary Feasibility Report. Volume I. Main Report.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-04-01

to usually narrow strips of riparian vegetation, which is composed of various trees and shrubs of the Salix genus (willow), sumac, aspen, boxelder...reptiles were found. Species included, leopard frogs, snapping turtles, painted turtle, and garter snakes (SUNY Brockport: 1982). (7) Endangered Species...vessel traffic on the Buffalo River causes interrupted truck service. Firms have also cited snow removal as a problem. The harbor area road service

Photogeologic mapping in central southwest Bahia, using LANDSAT-1 multispectral images. [Brazil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dejesusparada, N. (Principal Investigator); Ohara, T.

1981-01-01

The interpretation of LANDSAT multispectral imagery for geologic mapping of central southwest Bahia, Brazil is described. Surface features such as drainage, topography, vegetation and land use are identified. The area is composed of low grade Precambrian rocks covered by Mezozoic and Cenozoic sediments. The principal mineral prospects of economic value are fluorite and calcareous rocks. Gold, calcite, rock crystal, copper, potassium nitrate and alumina were also identified.

Experimental reintroduction of the federally endangered Santa Cruz Island bush mallow (Malacothamnus fasciculatus var. nestioticus)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilken, D.H.; McEachern, K.

2011-01-01

Studies of Malacothamnus fasciculatus var. nesioticus were begun in 1995 to understand its distribution, reproductive biology and ecological requirements. After 100+ years of depredation by sheep, two known populations of fewer than 20 plants each survived in 1995. Molecular studies showed that each of the two populations was composed of 1–3 genets. During our study, two additional populations of similar size were discovered. Plants are self-compatible but require insect visitation to augment pollination. Based on seed set, viable embryos, and germination rates, we found no evidence for inbreeding depression. Bush mallow also reproduces vegetatively by rhizomes, the primary means of establishment and persistence in natural populations, and a key feature for maximizing recovery success. Ex situ observations and trial in situ outplantings suggested that supplemental watering was critical to initial survival. We developed a recovery strategy composed of four plots located at varying elevations and aspects. Each plot was enclosed to exclude feral pigs, which posed a continuing threat. Each plot was planted with twelve rooted plants derived from each of three natural populations. Plants were provided supplemental watering for four months. Survivorship after one year ranged from 46% to 91%. Significant differences in survivorship were observed relative to source of plants. After twelve months some plants were flowering and reproducing vegetatively.

Quantification of soil losses from tourist trails - use of Digital Elevation Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomczyk, Aleksandra

2010-05-01

Tourism impacts in protected mountain areas are one of the main concerns for land managers. Impact to environment is most visible at locations of highly concentrated activities like tourist trails, campsites etc. The main indicators of the tourist trail degradation are: vegetation loss (trampling of vegetation cover), change of vegetation type and composition, widening of the trails, muddiness and soil erosion. The last one is especially significant, since it can cause serious transformation of the land surface. Such undesirable changes cannot be repaired without high-cost management activities, and, in some cases they can made the trails difficult and unsafe to use. Scientific understanding of soil erosion related to human impact can be useful for more effective management of the natural protected areas. The aim of this study was to use of digital elevation models (DEMs) to precisely quantify of soil losses from tourist trails. In the study precise elevation data were gathered in several test fields of 4 by 5 m spatial dimension. Measurements were taken in 13 test fields, located in two protected natural areas in south Poland: Gorce National Park and Popradzki Landscape Park. The measuring places were located on trails characterized by different slope, type of vegetation and type of use. Each test field was established by four special marks, firmly dug into the ground. Elevation data were measured with the electronic total station. Irregular elevation points were surveying with essential elements of surrounding terrain surface being included. Moreover, surveys in fixed profile lines were done. For each test field a set of 30 measurements in control points has been collected and these data provide the base for verification of digital elevation models. Average density of the surveying was 70 points per square meter (1000 - 1500 elevation points per each test fields). Surveys in each test field were carried out in August and September of 2008, June 2009 and August 2009. Based on the gathered elevation data, several digital elevation models with spatial resolution 5 x 5 cm and 1 x 1 cm were generated. Subtraction of the DEMs from subsequent time periods gives the amount of material which was transported within the test fields and shows the spatial distribution of earth-surface changes. Spatial and temporal analysis of transformations of trail surfaces revealed that the changes are not evenly distributed neither in time nor space. In most of the test fields only the small portion of trail were subjected to distinct (more than 1 cm per year) erosion or accumulation. Moreover, degree of changes between June 2009 and August 2009 (3 months) was similar to the degree of changes between August - September 2008 and June 2009 (9 months). Main factors influence patterns of erosion are slope and type of use.

Improvement of the Raman detection system for pesticide residues on/in fruits and vegetables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yan; Peng, Yankun; Zhai, Chen; Chao, Kuanglin; Qin, Jianwei

2017-05-01

Pesticide residue is one of the major challenges to fruits safety, while the traditional detection methods of pesticide residue on fruits and vegetables can't afford the demand of rapid detection in actual production because of timeconsuming. Thus rapid identification and detection methods for pesticide residue are urgently needed at present. While most Raman detection systems in the market are spot detection systems, which limits the range of application. In the study, our lab develops a Raman detection system to achieve area-scan thorough the self-developed spot detection Raman system with a control software and two devices. In the system, the scanning area is composed of many scanning spots, which means every spot needs to be detected and more time will be taken than area-scan Raman system. But lower detection limit will be achieved in this method. And some detection device is needed towards fruits and vegetables in different shape. Two detection devices are developed to detect spherical fruits and leaf vegetables. During the detection, the device will make spherical fruit rotate along its axis of symmetry, and leaf vegetables will be pressed in the test surface smoothly. The detection probe will be set to keep a proper distance to the surface of fruits and vegetables. It should make sure the laser shins on the surface of spherical fruit vertically. And two software are used to detect spherical fruits and leaf vegetables will be integrated to one, which make the operator easier to switch. Accordingly two detection devices for spherical fruits and leaf vegetables will also be portable devices to make it easier to change. In the study, a new way is developed to achieve area-scan result by spot-scan Raman detection system.

Accounting System for Water Use by Vegetation in the Lower Colorado River Valley

USGS Publications Warehouse

Owen-Joyce, Sandra J.

1992-01-01

The Colorado River is the principal source of water in the valley of the Colorado River between Hoover Dam and the international boundary with Mexico (fig. 1). Agricultural, domestic, municipal, industrial, hydroelectric-power genera-tion, and recreation are the primary uses of river water in the valley. Most of the consumptive use of water from the river occurs downstream from Davis Dam, where water is diverted to irrigate crops along the river or is exported to interior regions of California and Arizona. Most of the agricultural areas are on the alluvium of the flood plain; in a few areas, land on the alluvial terraces has been cultivated. River water is consumed mainly by vegetation (crops and phreatophytes) on the flood plain. Crops were grown on 70.3 percent of the vegetated area classified by using 1984 digital image satellite data. Phreatophytes, natural vege-tation that obtain water from the alluvial aquifer, covered the remaining vegetated areas on the uncultivated flood plain. Most of the water used for irrigation is diverted or pumped from the river. In some areas, water is pumped from wells completed in the alluvial aquifer, which is hydraulically connected to the river.

Reflectance of vegetation, soil, and water

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wiegand, C. L.; Gausman, H. W.; Leamer, R. W.; Richardson, A. J.; Gerbermann, A. H. (Principal Investigator)

1974-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Iron deficient and normal grain sorghum plants were sufficiently different spectrally in ERTS-1 band 5 CCT data to detect chlorotic sorghum areas 2.8 acres (1.1 hectares) or larger in size in computer printouts of the MSS data. The ratio of band 5 to band 7 or band 7 minus band 5 relates to vegetation ground cover conditions and helps to select training samples representative of differing vegetation maturity or vigor classes and to estimate ground cover or green vegetation density in the absence of ground information. The four plant parameters; leaf area index, plant population, plant cover, and plant height explained 87 to 93% of the variability in band 6 digital counts and from 59 to 90% of the variation in bands 4 and 5. A ground area 2244 acres in size was classified on a pixel by pixel basis using simultaneously acquired aircraft support and ERTS-1 data. Overall recognition for vegetables, immature crops and mixed shrubs, and bare soil categories was 64.5% for aircraft and 59.6% for spacecraft data, respectively. Overall recognition results on a per field basis were 61.8% for aircraft and 62.8% for ERTS-1 data.

Analyzing remote sensing geobotanical trends in Quetico Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, using digital elevation data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Warner, Timothy A.; Campagna, David J.; Levandowski, Don W.; Cetin, Haluk; Evans, Carla S.

1991-01-01

A 10 x 13-km area in Quetico Provincial Park, Canada has been studied using a digital elevation model to separate different drainage classes and to examine the influence of site factors and lithology on vegetation. Landsat Thematic Mapper data have been classified into six forest classes of varying deciduous-coniferous cover through nPDF, a procedure based on probability density functions. It is shown that forests growing on mafic lithologies are enriched in deciduous species, compared to those growing on granites. Of the forest classes found on mafics, the highest coniferous component was on north facing slopes, and the highest deciduous component on south facing slopes. Granites showed no substantial variation between site classes. The digital elevation derived site data is considered to be an important tool in geobotanical investigations.

Vegetation cover and species richness after recurrent forest fires in the Eastern Mediterranean ecosystem of Mount Carmel, Israel.

PubMed

Tessler, Naama; Wittenberg, Lea; Greenbaum, Noam

2016-12-01

Fire is a common disturbance in Mediterranean ecosystems, and can have a destructive, influential, and even essential, effect on vegetation and wildlife. In recent decades there has been a general increase in the number of fires in the Mediterranean Basin, including in Mount Carmel, Israel. The effects of recurrent forest fires on vegetation cover and species richness were determined in the spring of 2009 and 2010 by field surveys. The results of this study showed that the vegetation cover changes after recurrent forest fires, and can serve as a good indicator of the influence of fire and the resulting ecosystem rehabilitation. The dominant cover in most fire-damaged areas was composed of shrubs and dwarf-shrubs, especially Cistus salviifolius and Calicotome villosa. Tree cover was severely damaged after recurrent fires, and in those areas there was a drastic decrease of the total plant cover. Species richness increased mainly in the first decade after the recurrent fires, and decreased when the forest canopy began to close. Fire recurrence with short intervals (4-6years) between fires may lower the rehabilitated processes of the ecosystem and change its equilibrium. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Note-taking and Handouts in The Digital Age.

PubMed

Stacy, Elizabeth Moore; Cain, Jeff

2015-09-25

Most educators consider note-taking a critical component of formal classroom learning. Advancements in technology such as tablet computers, mobile applications, and recorded lectures are altering classroom dynamics and affecting the way students compose and review class notes. These tools may improve a student's ability to take notes, but they also may hinder learning. In an era of dynamic technology developments, it is important for educators to routinely examine and evaluate influences on formal and informal learning environments. This paper discusses key background literature on student note-taking, identifies recent trends and potential implications of mobile technologies on classroom note-taking and student learning, and discusses future directions for note-taking in the context of digitally enabled lifelong learning.

EVALUATION OF LOW-SUN ILLUMINATED LANDSAT-4 THEMATIC MAPPER DATA FOR MAPPING HYDROTHERMALLY ALTERED ROCKS IN SOUTHERN NEVADA.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Podwysocki, Melvin H.; Power, Marty S.; Salisbury, Jack; Jones, O.D.

1984-01-01

Landsat-4 Thematic Mapper (TM) data of southern Nevada collected under conditions of low-angle solar illumination were digitally processed to identify hydroxyl-bearing minerals commonly associated with hydrothermal alteration in volcanic terrains. Digital masking procedures were used to exclude shadow areas and vegetation and thus to produce a CRC image suitable for testing the new TM bands as a means to map hydrothermally altered rocks. Field examination of a masked CRC image revealed that several different types of altered rocks displayed hues associated with spectral characteristics common to hydroxyl-bearing minerals. Several types of unaltered rocks also displayed similar hues.

Landsat monitoring of desert vegetation growth, 1972-1979 using a plant-shadowing model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Otterman, Joseph; Robinove, C.J.

1982-01-01

Landsat digital data spanning the period 1972-1979 were analyzed to monitor the status of vegetation within and outside an exclosure in the northern Sinai (precipitation 100-150 mm/year). This 6??6 km exclosure was fenced off in the summer of 1974 and subsequently has been free from the anthropogenic pressures (overgrazing, cultivation in small fields, and harvesting of dry plants as firewood) that continued outside the exclosure. The recovery of the ecosystem within the exclosure is monitored applying a previously tested model. The model quantitatively describes the reduction in the reflectivity to zenith due to shadowing effects by mostly vertical plants. The darkening (reduction in the reflectivity) in the exclosure was compared to the status before the fencing-off and to the essentially unchanging bare sands outside the exclosure. The vegetation protrusion parameter s (sum of the products of plant height times diameter for a unit area of the surface), calculated from Landsat digital data for the exclosure, increased from essentially zero in 1972 and 1973 to about 0.18 in 1975 and changed only within narrow limits from 1975 to 1979. The s value of 0.18 indicates that if the clumps of the plants protruding from the surface in the exclosure were laid horizontally on the soil, they would cover 18 percent of the area. This parameter provides a quantitative measure of the condition of the ecosystem, but the relation to the total green and/or brown biomass remains to be determined. ?? 1983.

Using Digital Terrain Modeling to Predict Ecological Types in the Balsam Mountains of Western North Carolina

Treesearch

Richard H. Odom; W. Henry McNab

2000-01-01

Relationships between overstory composition and topographic conditions were studied in high-elevation (>1300 meters) forests in the Balsam Mountains of western North Carolina to determine whether models could be developed to predict the occurrence of number vegetative communities in relation to topographic variables (elevation, landscape position, surface geometry,...

Applied Remote Sensing Program (ARSP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mouat, D. A.; Johnson, J. D.; Foster, K. E.

1977-01-01

Descriptions of projects engaged by the Applied Remote Sensors Program in the state of Arizona are contained in an annual report for the fiscal year 1976-1977. Remote sensing techniques included thermal infrared imagery in analog and digital form and conversion of data into thermograms. Delineation of geologic areas, surveys of vegetation and inventory of resources were also presented.

Pacific Northwest ecoclass codes for seral and potential natural communities.

Treesearch

Frederick C. Hall

1998-01-01

Lists codes for identification of potential natural communities (plant association, habitat types), their seral status, and vegetation structure in and around the Pacific Northwest. Codes are a six-digit alphanumeric system using the first letter of tree species, life-form, seral status, and structure so that most codes can be directly interpreted. Seven appendices...

Microcopying wildland maps for distribution and scanner digitizing

Treesearch

Elliot L Amidon; Joyce E. Dye

1976-01-01

Maps for wildland resource inventory and managament purposes typically show vegetation types, soils, and other areal information. For field work, maps must be large-scale. For safekeeping and compact storage, however, they can be reduced onto film, ready to be enlarged on demand by office viewers. By meeting certain simple requirements, film images are potential input...

Santa Rita Experimental Range digital database: user's guide

Treesearch

Mitchel P. McClaran; Deborah L. Angell; Craig Wissler

2002-01-01

Long-term measurements and repeat photograph collections have been collected in a systematic manner on the approximately 21,000 ha Santa Rita Experimental Range (SRER) since its establishment in 1903. This research facility, located in the Desert Grassland vegetation of southern Arizona, was administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture until 1988, when it was...

Guidelines for the Acquisition of Aerial Photography for Digital Photo-Interpretation of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV)

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-10-01

frame ( yellow symbols). Additional control points (red symbols) can be used if initial points do not provide an adequate orthographic solution ERDC TN...56, 245-252. Young, D. R., D. T. Specht , P. J. Clinton, and H. Lee. 1998. Use of color infrared photography to map dis- tributions of eelgrass and

Volumetric visualization of multiple-return LIDAR data: Using voxels

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stoker, Jason M.

2009-01-01

Elevation data are an important component in the visualization and analysis of geographic information. The creation and display of 3D models representing bare earth, vegetation, and surface structures have become a major focus of light detection and ranging (lidar) remote sensing research in the past few years. Lidar is an active sensor that records the distance, or range, of a laser usually fi red from an airplane, helicopter, or satellite. By converting the millions of 3D lidar returns from a system into bare ground, vegetation, or structural elevation information, extremely accurate, high-resolution elevation models can be derived and produced to visualize and quantify scenes in three dimensions. These data can be used to produce high-resolution bare-earth digital elevation models; quantitative estimates of vegetative features such as canopy height, canopy closure, and biomass; and models of urban areas such as building footprints and 3D city models.

Radiometry with nighttime DMSP images in digital form. [satellite earth observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Croft, T. A.

1981-01-01

The USAF Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft sends images to earth in the form of numbers. It has been common practice to erase the only digital records, the magnetic tapes, for reuse, after films (resembling photographs) have been created from the numbers. While the DMSP images have been widely used, their application in research has been hindered by both the lack of digital data and the lack of an authoritative source of related technical information. The character of the digital form is considered. Each image is essentially a three-dimensional list (X,Y,Z) in which X and Y represent the position coordinates of a pixel and Z is its associated radiance. Only the value of Z is given and the X-Y position must be deduced from adjunct information. Each original scan composed of 1464 pixels represents an area on the earth's surface about 3 km wide and 3000 km long. Strengths and weaknesses of the system with respect to research applications are considered, and concepts for the design of a nocturnal imager are discussed.

Integrating digital information for coastal and marine sciences

USGS Publications Warehouse

Marincioni, Fausto; Lightsom, Frances L.; Riall, Rebecca L.; Linck, Guthrie A.; Aldrich, Thomas C.; Caruso, Michael J.

2004-01-01

A pilot distributed geolibrary, the Marine Realms Information Bank (MRIB), was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geology Program and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, to classify, integrate, and facilitate access to scientific information about oceans, coasts, and lakes. The MRIB is composed of a categorization scheme, a metadata database, and a specialized software backend, capable of drawing together information from remote sources without modifying their original format or content. Twelve facets are used to classify information: location, geologic time, feature type, biota, discipline, research method, hot topics, project, agency, author, content type, and file type. The MRIB approach allows easy and flexible organization of large or growing document collections for which centralized repositories would be impractical. Geographic searching based on the gazetteer and map interface is the centerpiece of the MRIB distributed geolibrary. The MRIB is one of a very few digital libraries that employ georeferencing -- a fundamentally different way to structure information from the traditional author/title/subject/keyword approach employed by most digital libraries. Lessons learned in developing the MRIB will be useful as other digital libraries confront the challenges of georeferencing.

Estimation of color modification in digital images by CFA pattern change.

PubMed

Choi, Chang-Hee; Lee, Hae-Yeoun; Lee, Heung-Kyu

2013-03-10

Extensive studies have been carried out for detecting image forgery such as copy-move, re-sampling, blurring, and contrast enhancement. Although color modification is a common forgery technique, there is no reported forensic method for detecting this type of manipulation. In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm for estimating color modification in images acquired from digital cameras when the images are modified. Most commercial digital cameras are equipped with a color filter array (CFA) for acquiring the color information of each pixel. As a result, the images acquired from such digital cameras include a trace from the CFA pattern. This pattern is composed of the basic red green blue (RGB) colors, and it is changed when color modification is carried out on the image. We designed an advanced intermediate value counting method for measuring the change in the CFA pattern and estimating the extent of color modification. The proposed method is verified experimentally by using 10,366 test images. The results confirmed the ability of the proposed method to estimate color modification with high accuracy. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of Vegetation using the UC Davis Remote Sensing Testbed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falk, M.; Hart, Q. J.; Bowen, K. S.; Ustin, S. L.

2006-12-01

Remote sensing provides information about the dynamics of the terrestrial biosphere with continuous spatial and temporal coverage on many different scales. We present the design and construction of a suite of instrument modules and network infrastructure with size, weight and power constraints suitable for small scale vehicles, anticipating vigorous growth in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and other mobile platforms. Our approach provides the rapid deployment and low cost acquisition of high aerial imagery for applications requiring high spatial resolution and revisits. The testbed supports a wide range of applications, encourages remote sensing solutions in new disciplines and demonstrates the complete range of engineering knowledge required for the successful deployment of remote sensing instruments. The initial testbed is deployed on a Sig Kadet Senior remote controlled plane. It includes an onboard computer with wireless radio, GPS, inertia measurement unit, 3-axis electronic compass and digital cameras. The onboard camera is either a RGB digital camera or a modified digital camera with red and NIR channels. Cameras were calibrated using selective light sources, an integrating spheres and a spectrometer, allowing for the computation of vegetation indices such as the NDVI. Field tests to date have investigated technical challenges in wireless communication bandwidth limits, automated image geolocation, and user interfaces; as well as image applications such as environmental landscape mapping focusing on Sudden Oak Death and invasive species detection, studies on the impact of bird colonies on tree canopies, and precision agriculture.

Mental Calculation Strategies of a Student Attending a Special School for the Intellectually Disabled

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rumiati, Rumi; Wright, Robert J.

2014-01-01

Pat was a 19-year-old attending a Special School for the Intellectually Disabled in Indonesia. She was interviewed by the first author regarding her mental calculation strategies when solving 1- and 2-digit addition and subtraction problems. Results indicate that she was able to see ten as a unit composed of ten ones and was facile in using…

Developing a global mixed-canopy, height-variable vegetation structure dataset for estimating global vegetation albedo and biomass in the NASA Ent Terrestrial Biosphere Model and GISS GCM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montes, C.; Kiang, N. Y.; Yang, W.; Ni-Meister, W.; Schaaf, C.; Aleinov, I. D.; Jonas, J.; Zhao, F. A.; Yao, T.; Wang, Z.; Sun, Q.

2015-12-01

Processes determining biosphere-atmosphere coupling are strongly influenced by vegetation structure. Thus, ecosystem carbon sequestration and evapotranspiration affecting global carbon and water balances will depend upon the spatial extent of vegetation, its vertical structure, and its physiological variability. To represent this globally, Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVMs) coupled to General Circulation Models (GCMs) make use of satellite and/or model-based vegetation classifications often composed by homogeneous communities. This work aims at developing a new Global Vegetation Structure Dataset (GVSD) by incorporating varying vegetation heights for mixed plant communities to be used as input to the Ent Terrestrial Biosphere Model (TBM), the DGVM coupled to the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) GCM. Information sources include the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land cover and plant functional types (PFTs) (Friedl et al., 2010), vegetation height from the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) on board ICESat (Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite) (Simard et al., 2011; Tang et al., 2014) along with the Global Data Sets of Vegetation Leaf Area Index (LAI)3g (Zhu et al. 2013). Further PFT partitioning is performed according to a climate classification utilizing the Climate Research Unit (CRU) and the NOAA Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC) data. Final products are a GVSD consisting of mixed plant communities (e.g. mixed forests, savannas, mixed PFTs) following the Ecosystem Demography model (Moorcroft et al., 2001) approach represented by multi-cohort community patches at the sub-grid level of the GCM, which are ensembles of identical individuals whose differences are represented by PFTs, canopy height, density and vegetation structure sensitivity to allometric parameters. To assess the sensitivity of the GISS GCM to vegetation structure, we produce a range of estimates of Ent TBM biomass and plant densities by varying allometric specifications. Ultimately, this GVSD will serve as a template for community data sets, and be used as boundary conditions to the Ent TBM for prediction of canopy albedo in the Analytical Clumped Two-Stream canopy radiative transfer scheme, biomass, primary productivity, respiration, and GISS GCM climate.

Application of automated multispectral analysis to Delaware's coastal vegetation mapping

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klemas, V. (Principal Investigator); Daiber, D.; Bartlett, D. S.; Crichton, O. W.; Fornes, A. O.

1973-01-01

There are no author-identified significant results in this report. Overlay maps of Delaware's wetlands have been prepared, showing the dominant species or group of species of vegetation present. Five such categories of vegetation were used indicating marshes dominated by: (1) salt marsh cord grass; (2) salt marsh hay and spike grass; (3) reed grass; (4) high tide bush and sea myrtle; and (5) a group of fresh water species found in impounded areas built to attract water fowl. Fifteen such maps cover Delaware's wetlands from the Pennsylvania to the Maryland borders. The mapping technique employed utilizes the General Electric multispectral data processing system. This system is a hybrid analog-digital system designed as an analysis tool to be used by an operator whose own judgment and knowledge of ground truth can be incorporated at any time into the analyzing process. The result is a high speed, cost effective method for producing enhanced photomaps showing a number of spectral classes, each enhanced spectral class being representative of a vegetative species or group of species.

Discrimination of Coastal Vegetation and Biomass Using AIS Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gross, M. F.; Klemas, V.

1985-01-01

The Airborne Imaging Spectrometer (AIS) was flown over a coastal wetlands region near Lewes, Delaware, adjacent to the Delaware Bay on 16 August 1984. Using the AIS data, it was possible to discriminate between four different types of wetland vegetation canopies: (1) trees; (2) broadleaf herbaceous plants (e.g., Acnida cannabina, Hisbiscus moscheutos); (3) the low marsh grass Spartina alterniflora; and (4) the high marsh grasses Distichlis spicata and Spartina patens. The single most useful region of the spectrum was that between 1.40 and 1.90 microns, where slopes of portions of the radiance curve and ratios of radiance at particular wavelengths were significantly different for the four canopy types. The ratio between the highest digital number in the 1.40 to 1.90 microns and .84 to .94 microns regions and a similar ratio between the peaks in radiance in the 1.12 to 1.40 microns and .84 to .94 microns spectral regions were also very effective at discriminating between vegetation types. Differences in radiance values at various wavelengths between samples of the same vegetation type could potentially be used to estimate biomass.

Ecological effects of the Hayman Fire - Part 2: Historical (pre-1860) and current (1860-2002) forest and landscape structure

Treesearch

William H. Romme; Merrill Kaufmann; Thomas T. Veblen; Rosemary Sherriff; Claudia Regan

2003-01-01

The term “landscape structure” refers to the configuration of vegetation and other land features over a large land area (usually an extent of many square kilometers). A landscape can be regarded as a mosaic composed of patches of different kinds -- for example, different forest types, landforms, or human-built structures such as roads. The scientific discipline of...

Detecting biotic and hydrogeochemical processes in large peat basins with Landsat TM imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glaser, Paul H.

1989-01-01

A survey was made of three large peat basins in boreal North America with Landsat TM imagery and field sampling. False-color composites composed of Bands 2, 3, and 4 are particularly effective in discriminating the major vegetation types and the important hydrogeochemical processes in these peatlands. This imagery indicates that the discharge of alkaline groundwater provides one of the most important regional and local controls on peatland development.

A preliminary study of continuous milk coagulation using Cynara cardunculus flower extract and calf rennet immobilized on magnetic particles.

PubMed

Liburdi, Katia; Emiliani Spinelli, Sara; Benucci, Ilaria; Lombardelli, Claudio; Esti, Marco

2018-01-15

The aim of this study was to develop a bioreactor design for continuous milk coagulation using a biocatalyst composed of immobilized animal and vegetable rennet on aminated magnetic particles, which has been proven to be an appropriate carrier for enzyme immobilization. Calf and vegetable (Cynara cardunculus) rennets were covalently immobilized on CLEA® magnetic supports and the immobilization procedure was optimized in batch mode, by evaluating protein loading, caseinolytic activity and the coagulation properties of skim milk powder and cow's milk. Subsequently the optimal temperature of immobilized coagulant was defined and a technically-friendly enzyme bioreactor was developed in order to carry out a continuous milk coagulation process with the aim of producing soft cheese. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Shelter Index and a simple wind speed parameter to characterize vegetation control of sand transport threshold and Flu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gillies, J. A.; Nield, J. M.; Nickling, W. G.; Furtak-Cole, E.

2014-12-01

Wind erosion and dust emissions occur in many dryland environments from a range of surfaces with different types and amounts of vegetation. Understanding how vegetation modulates these processes remains a research challenge. Here we present results from a study that examines the relationship between an index of shelter (SI=distance from a point to the nearest upwind vegetation/vegetation height) and particle threshold expressed as the ratio of wind speed measured at 0.45 times the mean plant height divided by the wind speed at 17 m when saltation commences, and saltation flux. The results are used to evaluate SI as a parameter to characterize the influence of vegetation on local winds and sediment transport conditions. Wind speed, wind direction, saltation activity and point saltation flux were measured at 35 locations in defined test areas (~13,000 m2) in two vegetation communities: mature streets of mesquite covered nebkhas and incipient nebkhas dominated by low mesquite plants. Measurement positions represent the most open areas, and hence those places most susceptible to wind erosion among the vegetation elements. Shelter index was calculated for each measurement position for each 10° wind direction bin using digital elevation models for each site acquired using terrestrial laser scanning. SI can show the susceptibility to wind erosion at different time scales, i.e., event, seasonal, or annual, but in a supply-limited system it can fail to define actual flux amounts due to a lack of knowledge of the distribution of sediment across the surface of interest with respect to the patterns of SI.

Thermal remote sensing approach combined with field spectroscopy for detecting underground structures intended for defence and security purposes in Cyprus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melillos, George; Themistocleous, Kyriacos; Hadjimitsis, Diofantos G.

2018-04-01

The purpose of this paper is to present the results obtained from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) using multispectral with thermal imaging sensors and field spectroscopy campaigns for detecting underground structures. Airborne thermal prospecting is based on the principle that there is a fundamental difference between the thermal characteristics of underground structures and the environment in which they are structure. This study aims to combine the flexibility and low cost of using an airborne drone with the accuracy of the registration of a thermal digital camera. This combination allows the use of thermal prospection for underground structures detection at low altitude with high-resolution information. In addition vegetation indices such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Simple Ratio (SR), were utilized for the development of a vegetation index-based procedure aiming at the detection of underground military structures by using existing vegetation indices or other in-band algorithms. The measurements were taken at the following test areas such as: (a) vegetation area covered with the vegetation (barley), in the presence of an underground military structure (b) vegetation area covered with the vegetation (barley), in the absence of an underground military structure. It is important to highlight that this research is undertaken at the ERATOSTHENES Research Centre which received funding to be transformed to an EXcellence Research Centre for Earth SurveiLlance and Space-Based MonItoring Of the EnviRonment (Excelsior) from the HORIZON 2020 Widespread-04-2017: Teaming Phase 1(Grant agreement no: 763643).

Vegetation classification, mapping, and monitoring at Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota: An application of the U.S. National Vegetation Classification

USGS Publications Warehouse

Faber-Langendoen, D.; Aaseng, N.; Hop, K.; Lew-Smith, M.; Drake, J.

2007-01-01

Question: How can the U.S. National Vegetation Classification (USNVC) serve as an effective tool for classifying and mapping vegetation, and inform assessments and monitoring? Location: Voyageurs National Park, northern Minnesota, U.S.A and environs. The park contains 54 243 ha of terrestrial habitat in the sub-boreal region of North America. Methods: We classified and mapped the natural vegetation using the USNVC, with 'alliance' and 'association' as base units. We compiled 259 classification plots and 1251 accuracy assessment test plots. Both plot and type ordinations were used to analyse vegetation and environmental patterns. Color infrared aerial photography (1:15840 scale) was used for mapping. Polygons were manually drawn, then transferred into digital form. Classification and mapping products are stored in publicly available databases. Past fire and logging events were used to assess distribution of forest types. Results and Discussion: Ordination and cluster analyses confirmed 49 associations and 42 alliances, with three associations ranked as globally vulnerable to extirpation. Ordination provided a useful summary of vegetation and ecological gradients. Overall map accuracy was 82.4%. Pinus banksiana - Picea mariana forests were less frequent in areas unburned since the 1930s. Conclusion: The USNVC provides a consistent ecological tool for summarizing and mapping vegetation. The products provide a baseline for assessing forests and wetlands, including fire management. The standardized classification and map units provide local to continental perspectives on park resources through linkages to state, provincial, and national classifications in the U.S. and Canada, and to NatureServe's Ecological Systems classification. ?? IAVS; Opulus Press.

A demonstration of ERTS-1 analog and digital techniques applied to strip mining in Maryland and West Virginia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, A. T.; Schubert, J.

1974-01-01

The largest contour strip mining operations in western Maryland and West Virginia are located within the Georges Creek and the Upper Potomac Basins. These two coal basins lie within the Georges Creek (Wellersburg) syncline. The disturbed strip mine areas were delineated with the surrounding geological and vegetation features using ERTS-1 data in both analog (imagery) and digital form. The two digital systems used were: (1) the ERTS-Analysis system, a point-by-point digital analysis of spectral signatures based on known spectral values, and (2) the LARS Automatic Data Processing System. The digital techniques being developed will later be incorporated into a data base for land use planning. These two systems aided in efforts to determine the extent and state of strip mining in this region. Aircraft data, ground verification information, and geological field studies also aided in the application of ERTS-1 imagery to perform an integrated analysis that assessed the adverse effects of strip mining. The results indicated that ERTS can both monitor and map the extent of strip mining to determine immediately the acreage affected and indicate where future reclamation and revegetation may be necessary.

The Circumpolar Arctic vegetation map

USGS Publications Warehouse

Walker, Donald A.; Raynolds, Martha K.; Daniels, F.J.A.; Einarsson, E.; Elvebakk, A.; Gould, W.A.; Katenin, A.E.; Kholod, S.S.; Markon, C.J.; Melnikov, E.S.; Moskalenko, N.G.; Talbot, S. S.; Yurtsev, B.A.; Bliss, L.C.; Edlund, S.A.; Zoltai, S.C.; Wilhelm, M.; Bay, C.; Gudjonsson, G.; Ananjeva, G.V.; Drozdov, D.S.; Konchenko, L.A.; Korostelev, Y.V.; Ponomareva, O.E.; Matveyeva, N.V.; Safranova, I.N.; Shelkunova, R.; Polezhaev, A.N.; Johansen, B.E.; Maier, H.A.; Murray, D.F.; Fleming, Michael D.; Trahan, N.G.; Charron, T.M.; Lauritzen, S.M.; Vairin, B.A.

2005-01-01

Question: What are the major vegetation units in the Arctic, what is their composition, and how are they distributed among major bioclimate subzones and countries? Location: The Arctic tundra region, north of the tree line. Methods: A photo-interpretive approach was used to delineate the vegetation onto an Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) base image. Mapping experts within nine Arctic regions prepared draft maps using geographic information technology (ArcInfo) of their portion of the Arctic, and these were later synthesized to make the final map. Area analysis of the map was done according to bioclimate subzones, and country. The integrated mapping procedures resulted in other maps of vegetation, topography, soils, landscapes, lake cover, substrate pH, and above-ground biomass. Results: The final map was published at 1:7 500 000 scale map. Within the Arctic (total area = 7.11 x 106 km 2), about 5.05 ?? 106 km2 is vegetated. The remainder is ice covered. The map legend generally portrays the zonal vegetation within each map polygon. About 26% of the vegetated area is erect shrublands, 18% peaty graminoid tundras, 13% mountain complexes, 12% barrens, 11% mineral graminoid tundras, 11% prostrate-shrub tundras, and 7% wetlands. Canada has by far the most terrain in the High Arctic mostly associated with abundant barren types and prostrate dwarf-shrub tundra, whereas Russia has the largest area in the Low Arctic, predominantly low-shrub tundra. Conclusions: The CAVM is the first vegetation map of an entire global biome at a comparable resolution. The consistent treatment of the vegetation across the circumpolar Arctic, abundant ancillary material, and digital database should promote the application to numerous land-use, and climate-change applications and will make updating the map relatively easy. ?? IAVS; Opulus Press.

Use of thematic mapper imagery to assess water quality, trophic state, and macrophyte distributions in Massachusetts lakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Waldron, Marcus C.; Steeves, Peter A.; Finn, John T.

2001-01-01

During the spring and summer of 1996, 1997, and 1998, measurements of phytoplankton- chlorophyll concentration, Secchi disk transparency, and color were made at 97 Massachusetts lakes within 24 hours of Landsat Thematic Mapper imaging of the lakes in an effort to assess water quality and trophic state. Spatial distributions of floating, emergent, and submerged macrophytes were mapped in 49 of the lakes at least once during the 3-year period. The maps were digitized and used to assign pixels in the thematic mapper images to one of four vegetation cover classes-open water, 1-50 percent floating-and-emergent-vegetation cover, 51-100 percent floating-and-emergent-vegetation cover, and submerged vegetation at any density. The field data were collected by teams of U.S. Geological Survey and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management staff and by 76 volunteers. Side-by-side sampling by U.S. Geological Survey and volunteer field teams resulted in statistically similar chlorophyll determinations, Secchi disk readings, and temperature measurements, but concurrent color determinations were not similar, possibly due to contamination of sample bottles issued to the volunteers.Attempts to develop predictive relations between phytoplankton-chlorophyll concentration, Secchi disk transparency, lake color, dissolved organic carbon, and various combinations of thematic mapper bands 1, 2, 3, and 4 digital numbers were unsuccessful, primarily because of the extremely low concentrations of chlorophyll in the lakes studied, and also because of the highly variable dissolved organic carbon concentrations.Predictive relations were developed between Secchi disk transparency and phytoplankton-chlorophyll concentration, and between color and dissolved organic carbon concentration. Phytoplankton-chlorophyll concentration was inversely correlated with Secchi disk transparency during all three sampling periods. The relations were very similar in 1996 and 1997 and indicated that 62 to 67 percent of the variability in Secchi disk transparency could be explained by the chlorophyll concentration. Analysis of color and dissolved organic carbon concentrations in water samples collected by U.S. Geological Survey field teams in 1996-98 indicated that 91 percent of the variance in color in Massachusetts lakes can be explained by variations in dissolved organic carbon.Areas of open-water, submerged vegetation, and two surface-vegetation-cover classes predicted from Thematic Mapper images acquired in the summer of 1996 closely matched the areas observed in a set of field observations. However, the same analysis applied to a set of data acquired in the summer of 1997 resulted in somewhat less reliable predictions, and an attempt to predict 1996 vegetation-cover areas using the relations developed in the 1997 analysis was unsuccessful.

Predictability of dune activity in real dune fields under unidirectional wind regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barchyn, Thomas E.; Hugenholtz, Chris H.

2015-02-01

We present an analysis of 10 dune fields to test a model-derived hypothesis of dune field activity. The hypothesis suggests that a quantifiable threshold exists for stabilization in unidirectional wind regimes: active dunes have slipface deposition rates that exceed the vegetation deposition tolerance, and stabilizing dunes have the opposite. We quantified aeolian sand flux, slipface geometry, and vegetation deposition tolerance to directly test the hypothesis at four dune fields (Bigstick, White Sands Stable, White Sands Active, and Cape Cod). We indirectly tested the hypothesis at six additional dune fields with limited vegetation data (Hanford, Año Nuevo, Skagen Odde, Salton Sea, Oceano Stable, and Oceano Active, "inverse calculation sites"). We used digital topographic data and estimates of aeolian sand flux to approximate the slipface deposition rates prior to stabilization. Results revealed a distinct, quantifiable, and consistent pattern despite diverse environmental conditions: the modal peak of prestabilization slipface deposition rates was 80% of the vegetation deposition tolerance at stabilized or stabilizing dune fields. Results from inverse calculation sites indicate deposition rates at stabilized sites were near a hypothesized maximum vegetation deposition tolerance (1 m a-1), and active sites had slipface deposition rates much higher. Overall, these results confirm the hypothesis and provide evidence of a globally applicable, simple, and previously unidentified predictor for the dynamics of vegetation cover in dune fields under unidirectional wind regimes.

Digital disaster evaluation and its application to 2015 Ms 8.1 Nepal Earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

WANG, Xiaoqing; LV, Jinxia; DING, Xiang; DOU, Aixia

2016-11-01

The purpose of the article is to probe the technique resolution of disaster information extraction and evaluation from the digital RS images based on the internet environment and aided by the social and geographic information. The solution is composed with such methods that the fast post-disaster assessment system will assess automatically the disaster area and grade, the multi-phase satellite and airborne high resolution digital RS images will provide the basis to extract the disaster areas or spots, assisted by the fast position of potential serious damage risk targets according to the geographic, administrative, population, buildings and other information in the estimated disaster region, the 2D digital map system or 3D digital earth system will provide platforms to interpret cooperatively the damage information in the internet environment, and further to estimate the spatial distribution of damage index or intensity, casualties or economic losses, which are very useful for the decision-making of emergency rescue and disaster relief, resettlement and reconstruction. The spatial seismic damage distribution of 2015 Ms 8.1 Nepal earthquake, as an example of the above solution, is evaluated by using the high resolution digital RS images, auxiliary geographic information and ground survey. The results are compared with the statistical disaster information issued by the ground truth by field surveying, and show good consistency.

Development of a networked four-million-pixel pathological and radiological digital image presentation system and its application to medical conferences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakano, Toshikazu; Furukawa, Isao; Okumura, Akira; Yamaguchi, Takahiro; Fujii, Tetsuro; Ono, Sadayasu; Suzuki, Junji; Matsuya, Shoji; Ishihara, Teruo

2001-08-01

The wide spread of digital technology in the medical field has led to a demand for the high-quality, high-speed, and user-friendly digital image presentation system in the daily medical conferences. To fulfill this demand, we developed a presentation system for radiological and pathological images. It is composed of a super-high-definition (SHD) imaging system, a radiological image database (R-DB), a pathological image database (P-DB), and the network interconnecting these three. The R-DB consists of a 270GB RAID, a database server workstation, and a film digitizer. The P-DB includes an optical microscope, a four-million-pixel digital camera, a 90GB RAID, and a database server workstation. A 100Mbps Ethernet LAN interconnects all the sub-systems. The Web-based system operation software was developed for easy operation. We installed the whole system in NTT East Kanto Hospital to evaluate it in the weekly case conferences. The SHD system could display digital full-color images of 2048 x 2048 pixels on a 28-inch CRT monitor. The doctors evaluated the image quality and size, and found them applicable to the actual medical diagnosis. They also appreciated short image switching time that contributed to smooth presentation. Thus, we confirmed that its characteristics met the requirements.

Update Of The ACR-NEMA Standard Committee

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yen; Best, D. E.; Morse, R. R.; Horii, S. C.; Lehr, J. L.; Lodwick, G. S.; Fuscoe, C.; Nelson, O. L.; Perry, J. R.; Thompson, B. G.; Wessell, W. R.

1988-06-01

In January, 1984, the American College of Radiology (ACR) representing the users of imaging equipment and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) representing the manufacturers of imaging equipment joined forces to create a committee that could solve the compatibility issues surrounding the exchange of digital medical images. This committee, the ACR-NEMA Digital Imaging and Communication Standards Committee was composed of radiologists and experts from industry who addressed the problems involved in interfacing different digital imaging modalities. In just two years, the committee and three of its working groups created an industry standard interface, ACR-NEMA Digital Imaging and Communications Standard, Publication No. 300-1985. The ACR-NEMA interface allows digital medical images and related information to be communicated between different imaging devices, regardless of manufacturer or use of differing image formats. The interface is modeled on the International Standards Organization's Open Systems Interconnection sever-layer reference model. It is believed that the development of the Interface was the first step in the development of standards for Medical Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS). Developing the interface Standard has required intensive technical analysis and examination of the future trends for digital imaging in order to design a model which would not be quickly outmoded. To continue the enhancement and future development of image management systems, various working groups have been created under the direction of the ACR-NEMA Committee.

Global GIS database; digital atlas of Central and South America

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hearn,, Paul P.; Hare, T.; Schruben, P.; Sherrill, D.; LaMar, C.; Tsushima, P.

2000-01-01

This CD-ROM contains a digital atlas of the countries of Central and South America. This atlas is part of a global database compiled from USGS and other data sources at the nominal scale of 1:1 million and is intended to be used as a regional-scale reference and analytical tool by government officials, researchers, the private sector, and the general public. The atlas includes free GIS software or may also be used with ESRI's ArcView software. Customized ArcView tools, specifically designed to make the atlas easier to use, are also included. The atlas contains the following datasets: country political boundaries, digital shaded relief map, elevation, slope, hydrology, locations of cities and towns, airfields, roads, railroads, utility lines, population density, geology, ecological regions, historical seismicity, volcanoes, ore deposits, oil and gas fields, climate data, landcover, vegetation index, and lights at night.

Alaska Interim Land Cover Mapping Program; final report

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fitzpatrick-Lins, Katherine; Doughty, E.F.; Shasby, Mark; Benjamin, Susan

1989-01-01

In 1985, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a research project to develop an interim land cover data base for Alaska as an alternative to the nationwide Land Use and Land Cover Mapping Program. The Alaska Interim Land Cover Mapping Program was subsequently created to develop methods for producing a series of land cover maps that utilized the existing Landsat digital land cover classifications produced by and for the major land management agencies for mapping the vegetation of Alaska. The program was successful in producing digital land cover classifications and statistical summaries using a common statewide classification and in reformatting these data to produce l:250,000-scale quadrangle-based maps directly from the Scitex laser plotter. A Federal and State agency review of these products found considerable user support for the maps. Presently the Geological Survey is committed to digital processing of six to eight quadrangles each year.

Reflectance of vegetation, soil, and water. [effects of measurable plant parameters on multispectral signal variations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wiegand, C. L. (Principal Investigator)

1974-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Reflectance of crop residues, that are important in reducing wind and water erosion, was more often different from bare soil in band 4 than in bands 5, 6, or 7. The plant parameters leaf area index, plant population, plant cover, and plant height explained 95.9 percent of the variation in band 7 (reflective infrared) digital counts for cotton and 78.2 percent of the variation in digital counts for the combined crops sorghum and corn; hence, measurable plant parameters explain most of the signal variation recorded for corpland. Leaf area index and plant population are both highly correlated with crop yields; since plant population can be readily measured (or possibly inferred from seeding rates), it is useful measurement for calibrating ERTS-type MSS digital data in terms of yield.

Algorithms and methodology used in constructing high-resolution terrain databases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Bryan L.; Wilkosz, Aaron

1998-07-01

This paper presents a top-level description of methods used to generate high-resolution 3D IR digital terrain databases using soft photogrammetry. The 3D IR database is derived from aerial photography and is made up of digital ground plane elevation map, vegetation height elevation map, material classification map, object data (tanks, buildings, etc.), and temperature radiance map. Steps required to generate some of these elements are outlined. The use of metric photogrammetry is discussed in the context of elevation map development; and methods employed to generate the material classification maps are given. The developed databases are used by the US Army Aviation and Missile Command to evaluate the performance of various missile systems. A discussion is also presented on database certification which consists of validation, verification, and accreditation procedures followed to certify that the developed databases give a true representation of the area of interest, and are fully compatible with the targeted digital simulators.

Snow survey and vegetation growth in the Swiss Alps

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haefner, H. (Principal Investigator)

1975-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Analog processing of S190A and B color and infrared color transparencies showed that it is possible to evaluate the courses of the temporary snow line and the upper limit of vegetation growth over large areas. By transferring the results from S190A onto a topo-map 1:200,000, an accuracy of + or - 50 m could be achieved. With S190B transferred onto a map 1:100,000, an accuracy of + or - 20 m was reached. Digital processing of S192 multispectral data allowed a separation of snow and clouds by combining the information from channels 9, 15, and 18.

Urban land use of the Sao Paulo metropolitan area by automatic analysis of LANDSAT data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parada, N. D. J. (Principal Investigator); Niero, M.; Foresti, C.

1983-01-01

The separability of urban land use classes in the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo was studied by means of automatic analysis of MSS/LANDSAT digital data. The data were analyzed using the media K and MAXVER classification algorithms. The land use classes obtained were: CBD/vertical growth area, residential area, mixed area, industrial area, embankment area type 1, embankment area type 2, dense vegetation area and sparse vegetation area. The spectral analysis of representative samples of urban land use classes was done using the "Single Cell" analysis option. The classes CBD/vertical growth area, residential area and embankment area type 2 showed better spectral separability when compared to the other classes.

Standardization of whole slide image morphologic assessment with definition of a new application: Digital slide dynamic morphometry.

PubMed

Puppa, Giacomo; Risio, Mauro; Sheahan, Kieran; Vieth, Michael; Zlobec, Inti; Lugli, Alessandro; Pecori, Sara; Wang, Lai Mun; Langner, Cord; Mitomi, Hiroyuki; Nakamura, Takatoshi; Watanabe, Masahiko; Ueno, Hideki; Chasle, Jacques; Senore, Carlo; Conley, Stephen A; Herlin, Paulette; Lauwers, Gregory Y

2011-01-01

In histopathology, the quantitative assessment of various morphologic features is based on methods originally conceived on specific areas observed through the microscope used. Failure to reproduce the same reference field of view using a different microscope will change the score assessed. Visualization of a digital slide on a screen through a dedicated viewer allows selection of the magnification. However, the field of view is rectangular, unlike the circular field of optical microscopy. In addition, the size of the selected area is not evident, and must be calculated. A digital slide morphometric system was conceived to reproduce the various methods published for assessing tumor budding in colorectal cancer. Eighteen international experts in colorectal cancer were invited to participate in a web-based study by assessing tumor budding with five different methods in 100 digital slides. The specific areas to be tested by each method were marked by colored circles. The areas were grouped in a target-like pattern and then saved as an .xml file. When a digital slide was opened, the .xml file was imported in order to perform the measurements. Since the morphometric tool is composed of layers that can be freely moved on top of the digital slide, the technique was named digital slide dynamic morphometry. Twelve investigators completed the task, the majority of them performing the multiple evaluations of each of the cases in less than 12 minutes. Digital slide dynamic morphometry has various potential applications and might be a useful tool for the assessment of histologic parameters originally conceived for optical microscopy that need to be quantified.

Active season microhabitat and vegetation selection by giant gartersnakes associated with a restored marsh in California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Halstead, Brian J.; Valcarcel, Patricia; Wylie, Glenn D.; Coates, Peter S.; Casazza, Michael L.; Rosenberg, Daniel K.

2016-01-01

Studies of habitat selection can reveal important patterns to guide habitat restoration and management for species of conservation concern. Giant gartersnakes Thamnophis gigas are endemic to the Central Valley of California, where >90% of their historical wetland habitat has been converted to agricultural and other uses. Information about the selection of habitats by individual giant gartersnakes would guide habitat restoration by indicating which habitat features and vegetation types are likely to be selected by these rare snakes. We examined activity patterns and selection of microhabitats and vegetation types by adult female giant gartersnakes with radiotelemetry at a site composed of rice agriculture and restored wetlands using a paired case-control study design. Adult female giant gartersnakes were 14.7 (95% credible interval [CRI] = 9.4–23.7) times more likely to be active (foraging, mating, or moving) when located in aquatic habitats than when located in terrestrial habitats. Microhabitats associated with cover—particularly emergent vegetation, terrestrial vegetation, and litter—were positively selected by giant gartersnakes. Individual giant gartersnakes varied greatly in their selection of rice and rock habitats, but varied little in their selection of open water. Tules Schoenoplectus acutus were the most strongly selected vegetation type, and duckweed Lemna spp., water-primrose Ludwigia spp., forbs, and grasses also were positively selected at the levels of availability observed at our study site. Management practices that promote the interface of water with emergent aquatic and herbaceous terrestrial vegetation will likely benefit giant gartersnakes. Given their strong selection of tules, restoration of native tule marshes will likely provide the greatest benefit to these threatened aquatic snakes.

Theoretical Basis for the Surface Spectral Reflectance Relationships Used in the MODIS Aerosol Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaufman, Yoram J.; Gobron, Nadine; Pinty, Bernard; Widlowski, Jean-Luc; Verstraete, Michel M.; Lau, William K. M. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The analysis of data from the MODIS instrument on the Terra platform to derive global distribution of aerosols assumes a set of relationships between the blue, rho (sub blue), the red, rho (sub red), and 2.1 micrometers, rho (sub 2.1), spectral channels. These relations have been established from a series of measurements indicating that rho (sub blue) approximately 0.5 rho (sub red) approximately 0.25 rho (sub 2.1). Here we use a model to describe the transfer of radiation through a vegetation canopy composed of randomly oriented leaves to assess the theoretical foundations for these relationships. The influence of varying fractional vegetation coverage is simulated simply as a linear combination of pure soil and pure vegetation conditions, also known as Independent Pixel Approximation (IPA). Calculations for a wide range of leaf area indices and vegetation fractions show that rho (sub blue) is consistently about 1/4 of rho (sub 2.1) as used by MODIS for the whole range of analyzed cases, except for very dark soils, such as those found in burn scars. For its part, the ratio rho (sub red)/rho (sub 2.1) varies from less than the empirically derived value of 1/2 for dense and dark vegetation (rho (sub 2.1) less than 0.1), to more than 1/2 for bright mixture of soil and vegetation. This is in agreement with measurements over uniform dense vegetation, but not with measurements over mixed dark scenes. In the later case, the discrepancy is probably mitigated by shadows due to uneven canopy and terrain on a large scale. It is concluded that the value of this ratio should ideally be made dependent on the land cover type in the operational processing of MODIS data, especially over dense forests.

Food Access and Perceptions of the Community and Household Food Environment as Correlates of Fruit and Vegetable Intake among Rural Seniors

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Although the importance of fruit and vegetable consumption to health has been well established, few studies have focused on access to fruits and vegetables in rural areas; even fewer examined the relationship between food access and fruit and vegetable consumption among seniors. Methods To examine the spatial challenges to good nutrition faced by seniors who reside in rural areas and how spatial access influences fruit and vegetable intake. A cross-sectional analysis using data from the 2006 Brazos Valley Health Assessment (mailsurvey) for 582 rural seniors (60-90 years), who were recruited by random digit dialing; food store data from the 2006-2007 Brazos Valley Food Environment Project that used ground-truthed methods to identify, geocode, and inventory fruit and vegetables in all food stores. Results Few of the BVHA seniors consumed the recommended intakes of fruits or vegetables; women consumed more servings of fruit (1.49 ± 0.05 vs. 1.29 ± 0.07, p = 0.02), similar servings of vegetables (2.18 ± 0.04 vs. 2.09 ± 0.07, p = 0.28), and more combined fruit and vegetables (3.67 ± 0.08 vs. 3.38 ± 0.12, p = 0.04) than men. The median distances to fresh fruit and vegetables were 5.5 miles and 6.4 miles, respectively. When canned and frozen fruit and vegetables were included in the measurement of overall fruit or vegetables, the median distance for a good selection of fruit or vegetables decreased to 3.4 miles for overall fruit and 3.2 miles for overall vegetables. Almost 14% reported that food supplies did not last and there was not enough money to buy more. Our analyses revealed that objective and perceived measures of food store access - increased distance to the nearest supermarket, food store with a good variety of fresh and processed fruit, or food store with a good variety of fresh and processed vegetables - were associated with decreased daily consumption of fruit, vegetables, and combined fruit and vegetables, after controlling for the influence of individual characteristics and perceptions of community and home food resources. Conclusions Findings suggest that interventions designed to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among rural seniors should consider strategies to ameliorate differential access to healthy food due to food store distance. PMID:20525208

Food access and perceptions of the community and household food environment as correlates of fruit and vegetable intake among rural seniors.

PubMed

Sharkey, Joseph R; Johnson, Cassandra M; Dean, Wesley R

2010-06-02

Although the importance of fruit and vegetable consumption to health has been well established, few studies have focused on access to fruits and vegetables in rural areas; even fewer examined the relationship between food access and fruit and vegetable consumption among seniors. To examine the spatial challenges to good nutrition faced by seniors who reside in rural areas and how spatial access influences fruit and vegetable intake. A cross-sectional analysis using data from the 2006 Brazos Valley Health Assessment (mailsurvey) for 582 rural seniors (60-90 years), who were recruited by random digit dialing; food store data from the 2006-2007 Brazos Valley Food Environment Project that used ground-truthed methods to identify, geocode, and inventory fruit and vegetables in all food stores. Few of the BVHA seniors consumed the recommended intakes of fruits or vegetables; women consumed more servings of fruit (1.49 +/- 0.05 vs. 1.29 +/- 0.07, p = 0.02), similar servings of vegetables (2.18 +/- 0.04 vs. 2.09 +/- 0.07, p = 0.28), and more combined fruit and vegetables (3.67 +/- 0.08 vs. 3.38 +/- 0.12, p = 0.04) than men. The median distances to fresh fruit and vegetables were 5.5 miles and 6.4 miles, respectively. When canned and frozen fruit and vegetables were included in the measurement of overall fruit or vegetables, the median distance for a good selection of fruit or vegetables decreased to 3.4 miles for overall fruit and 3.2 miles for overall vegetables. Almost 14% reported that food supplies did not last and there was not enough money to buy more. Our analyses revealed that objective and perceived measures of food store access--increased distance to the nearest supermarket, food store with a good variety of fresh and processed fruit, or food store with a good variety of fresh and processed vegetables--were associated with decreased daily consumption of fruit, vegetables, and combined fruit and vegetables, after controlling for the influence of individual characteristics and perceptions of community and home food resources. Findings suggest that interventions designed to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among rural seniors should consider strategies to ameliorate differential access to healthy food due to food store distance.

Definition of spatial patterns of bark beetle Ips typographus (L.) outbreak spreading in Tatra Mountains (Central Europe), using GIS

Treesearch

Rastislav Jakus; Wojciech Grodzki; Marek Jezik; Marcin Jachym

2003-01-01

The spread of bark beetle outbreaks in the Tatra Mountains was explored by using both terrestrial and remote sensing techniques. Both approaches have proven to be useful for studying spatial patterns of bark beetle population dynamics. The terrestrial methods were applied on existing forestry databases. Vegetation change analysis (image differentiation), digital...

Thematic and positional accuracy assessment of digital remotely sensed data

Treesearch

Russell G. Congalton

2007-01-01

Accuracy assessment or validation has become a standard component of any land cover or vegetation map derived from remotely sensed data. Knowing the accuracy of the map is vital to any decisionmaking performed using that map. The process of assessing the map accuracy is time consuming and expensive. It is very important that the procedure be well thought out and...

NGEE Arctic Tram: Photographs over Low- and High-Centered Polygon Vegetation Communities, Barrow, Alaska, 2014-2017

DOE Data Explorer

J. Bryan Curtis; Margaret Torn

2017-10-05

This dataset provides a digital image of each measurement position stop for every run of the Tram. There are 137 stops per run and there were sometimes multiple runs per day. This first version provides 12,714 images (*.jpg) collected over 28 days in 2015. Images for the other years will be added.

The comparative evaluation of ERTS-1 imagery for resource inventory in land use planning. [Oregon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simonson, G. H. (Principal Investigator); Paine, D. P.; Lawrence, R. D.; Pyott, W. T.; Herzog, J. H.; Murray, R. J.; Norgren, J. A.; Cornwell, J. A.; Rogers, R. A.

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Multidiscipline team interpretation and mapping of resources for Crook County is nearly complete on 1:250,000 scale enlargements of ERTS-1 imagery. Maps of geology, landforms, soils and vegetation-land use are being interpreted to show limitations, suitabilities and geologic hazards for land use planning. Mapping of lineaments and structures from ERTS-1 imagery has shown a number of features not previously mapped in Oregon. A timber inventory of Ochoco National Forest has been made. Inventory of forest clear-cutting practices has been successfully demonstrated with ERTS-1 color composites. Soil tonal differences in fallow fields shown on ERTS-1 correspond with major soil boundaries in loess-mantled terrain. A digital classification system used for discriminating natural vegetation and geologic materials classes has been successful in separation of most major classes around Newberry Cauldera, Mt. Washington and Big Summit Prairie. Computer routines are available for correction of scanner data variations; and for matching scales and coordinates between digital and photographic imagery. Methods of Diazo film color printing of computer classifications and elevation-slope perspective plots with computer are being developed.

Algorithms used in the Airborne Lidar Processing System (ALPS)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nagle, David B.; Wright, C. Wayne

2016-05-23

The Airborne Lidar Processing System (ALPS) analyzes Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL) data—digitized laser-return waveforms, position, and attitude data—to derive point clouds of target surfaces. A full-waveform airborne lidar system, the EAARL seamlessly and simultaneously collects mixed environment data, including submerged, sub-aerial bare earth, and vegetation-covered topographies.ALPS uses three waveform target-detection algorithms to determine target positions within a given waveform: centroid analysis, leading edge detection, and bottom detection using water-column backscatter modeling. The centroid analysis algorithm detects opaque hard surfaces. The leading edge algorithm detects topography beneath vegetation and shallow, submerged topography. The bottom detection algorithm uses water-column backscatter modeling for deeper submerged topography in turbid water.The report describes slant range calculations and explains how ALPS uses laser range and orientation measurements to project measurement points into the Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system. Parameters used for coordinate transformations in ALPS are described, as are Interactive Data Language-based methods for gridding EAARL point cloud data to derive digital elevation models. Noise reduction in point clouds through use of a random consensus filter is explained, and detailed pseudocode, mathematical equations, and Yorick source code accompany the report.

Feasibility study for locating archaeological village sites by satellite remote sensing techniques. [multispectral photography of Alaska

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cook, J. P. (Principal Investigator); Stringer, W. J.

1974-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. The objective is to determine the feasibility of detecting large Alaskan archaeological sites by satellite remote sensing techniques and mapping such sites. The approach used is to develop digital multispectral signatures of dominant surface features including vegetation, exposed soils and rock, hydrological patterns and known archaeological sites. ERTS-1 scenes are then printed out digitally in a map-like array with a letter reflecting the most appropriate classification representing each pixel. Preliminary signatures were developed and tested. It was determined that there was a need to tighten up the archaeological site signature by developing accurate signatures for all naturally-occurring vegetation and surface conditions in the vicinity of the test area. These second generation signatures have been tested by means of computer printouts and classified tape displays on the University of Alaska CDU-200 and by comparison with aerial photography. It has been concluded that the archaeological signatures now in use are as good as can be developed. Plans are to print out signatures for the entire test area and locate on topographic maps the likely locations of archaeological sites within the test area.

Design and Evaluation of a Training Protocol for a Photographic Method of Visual Estimation of Fruit and Vegetable Intake among Kindergarten Through Second-Grade Students.

PubMed

Masis, Natalie; McCaffrey, Jennifer; Johnson, Susan L; Chapman-Novakofski, Karen

2017-04-01

To design a replicable training protocol for visual estimation of fruit and vegetable (FV) intake of kindergarten through second-grade students through digital photography of lunch trays that results in reliable data for FV served and consumed. Protocol development through literature and researcher input was followed by 3 laboratory-based trainings of 3 trainees. Lunchroom data collection sessions were done at 2 elementary schools for kindergarten through second-graders. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used. By training 3, ICC was substantial for amount of FV served and consumed (0.86 and 0.95, respectively; P < .05). The ICC was moderate for percentage of fruits consumed (0.67; P = .06). In-school estimates for ICCs were all significant for amounts served at school 1 and percentage of FV consumed at both schools. The protocol resulted in reliable estimation of combined FV served and consumed using digital photography. The ability to estimate FV intake accurately will benefit intervention development and evaluation. Copyright © 2017 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A new approach to monitoring spatial distribution and dynamics of wetlands and associated flows of Australian Great Artesian Basin springs using QuickBird satellite imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, Davina C.; Lewis, Megan M.

2011-09-01

SummaryThis study develops an expedient digital mapping technique using Very High Resolution satellite imagery to monitor the temporal response of permanent wetland vegetation to changes in spring flow rates from the Australian Great Artesian Basin at Dalhousie Springs Complex, South Australia. Three epochs of QuickBird satellite multispectral imagery acquired between 2006 and 2010 were analysed using the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). A regression of 2009 NDVI values against vegetation cover from field botanical survey plots provided a relationship of increasing NDVI with increased vegetation cover ( R2 = 0.86; p < 0.001). On the basis of this relationship a vegetation threshold was determined (NDVI ⩾ 0.35), which discriminated perennial and ephemeral wetland vegetation from surrounding dryland vegetation in the imagery. The extent of wetlands for the entire Dalhousie Springs Complex mapped from the imagery increased from 607 ha in December 2006 to 913 ha in May 2009 and 1285 ha in May 2010. Comparison of the three NDVI images showed considerable localised change in wetland vegetation greenness, distribution and extent in response to fires, alien vegetation removal, rainfall and fluctuations in spring flow. A strong direct relationship ( R2 = 0.99; p < 0.001) was exhibited between spring flow rate and the area of associated wetland vegetation for eight individual springs. This relationship strongly infers that wetland area is an indicator of spring flow and can be used for monitoring purposes. This method has the potential to determine the sensitivity of spring wetland vegetation extent and distribution to associated changes in spring flow rates due to land management and aquifer extractions. Furthermore, this approach is timely and provides reliable and repeatable monitoring, particularly needed given the projected increased demand for groundwater extractions from the GAB for mining operations.

Vegetation classification and distribution mapping report Mesa Verde National Park

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thomas, Kathryn A.; McTeague, Monica L.; Ogden, Lindsay; Floyd, M. Lisa; Schulz, Keith; Friesen, Beverly A.; Fancher, Tammy; Waltermire, Robert G.; Cully, Anne

2009-01-01

The classification and distribution mapping of the vegetation of Mesa Verde National Park (MEVE) and surrounding environment was achieved through a multi-agency effort between 2004 and 2007. The National Park Service’s Southern Colorado Plateau Network facilitated the team that conducted the work, which comprised the U.S. Geological Survey’s Southwest Biological Science Center, Fort Collins Research Center, and Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center; Northern Arizona University; Prescott College; and NatureServe. The project team described 47 plant communities for MEVE, 34 of which were described from quantitative classification based on f eld-relevé data collected in 1993 and 2004. The team derived 13 additional plant communities from field observations during the photointerpretation phase of the project. The National Vegetation Classification Standard served as a framework for classifying these plant communities to the alliance and association level. Eleven of the 47 plant communities were classified as “park specials;” that is, plant communities with insufficient data to describe them as new alliances or associations. The project team also developed a spatial vegetation map database representing MEVE, with three different map-class schemas: base, group, and management map classes. The base map classes represent the fi nest level of spatial detail. Initial polygons were developed using Definiens Professional (at the time of our use, this software was called eCognition), assisted by interpretation of 1:12,000 true-color digital orthophoto quarter quadrangles (DOQQs). These polygons (base map classes) were labeled using manual photo interpretation of the DOQQs and 1:12,000 true-color aerial photography. Field visits verified interpretation concepts. The vegetation map database includes 46 base map classes, which consist of associations, alliances, and park specials classified with quantitative analysis, additional associations and park specials noted during photointerpretation, and non-vegetated land cover, such as infrastructure, land use, and geological land cover. The base map classes consist of 5,007 polygons in the project area. A field-based accuracy assessment of the base map classes showed overall accuracy to be 43.5%. Seven map classes comprise 89.1% of the park vegetated land cover. The group map classes represent aggregations of the base map classes, approximating the group level of the National Vegetation Classification Standard, version 2 (Federal Geographic Data Committee 2007), and reflecting physiognomy and floristics. Terrestrial ecological systems, as described by NatureServe (Comer et al. 2003), were used as the fi rst approximation of the group level. The project team identified 14 group map classes for this project. The overall accuracy of the group map classes was determined using the same accuracy assessment data as for the base map classes. The overall accuracy of the group representation of vegetation was 80.3%. In consultation with park staff , the team developed management map classes, consisting of park-defined groupings of base map classes intended to represent a balance between maintaining required accuracy and providing a focus on vegetation of particular interest or import to park managers. The 23 management map classes had an overall accuracy of 73.3%. While the main products of this project are the vegetation classification and the vegetation map database, a number of ancillary digital geographic information system and database products were also produced that can be used independently or to augment the main products. These products include shapefiles of the locations of field-collected data and relational databases of field-collected data.

Secure smart grid communications and information integration based on digital watermarking in wireless sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Xin; Zhang, Ling; Wu, Yang; Luo, Youlong; Zhang, Xiaoxing

2017-02-01

As more and more wireless sensor nodes and networks are employed to acquire and transmit the state information of power equipment in smart grid, we are in urgent need of some viable security solutions to ensure secure smart grid communications. Conventional information security solutions, such as encryption/decryption, digital signature and so forth, are not applicable to wireless sensor networks in smart grid any longer, where bulk messages need to be exchanged continuously. The reason is that these cryptographic solutions will account for a large portion of the extremely limited resources on sensor nodes. In this article, a security solution based on digital watermarking is adopted to achieve the secure communications for wireless sensor networks in smart grid by data and entity authentications at a low cost of operation. Our solution consists of a secure framework of digital watermarking, and two digital watermarking algorithms based on alternating electric current and time window, respectively. Both watermarking algorithms are composed of watermark generation, embedding and detection. The simulation experiments are provided to verify the correctness and practicability of our watermarking algorithms. Additionally, a new cloud-based architecture for the information integration of smart grid is proposed on the basis of our security solutions.

Optical frequency comb profilometry using a single-pixel camera composed of digital micromirror devices.

PubMed

Pham, Quang Duc; Hayasaki, Yoshio

2015-01-01

We demonstrate an optical frequency comb profilometer with a single-pixel camera to measure the position and profile of an object's surface that exceeds far beyond light wavelength without 2π phase ambiguity. The present configuration of the single-pixel camera can perform the profilometry with an axial resolution of 3.4 μm at 1 GHz operation corresponding to a wavelength of 30 cm. Therefore, the axial dynamic range was increased to 0.87×10⁵. It was found from the experiments and computer simulations that the improvement was derived from higher modulation contrast of digital micromirror devices. The frame rate was also increased to 20 Hz.

Note-taking and Handouts in The Digital Age

PubMed Central

Stacy, Elizabeth Moore

2015-01-01

Most educators consider note-taking a critical component of formal classroom learning. Advancements in technology such as tablet computers, mobile applications, and recorded lectures are altering classroom dynamics and affecting the way students compose and review class notes. These tools may improve a student’s ability to take notes, but they also may hinder learning. In an era of dynamic technology developments, it is important for educators to routinely examine and evaluate influences on formal and informal learning environments. This paper discusses key background literature on student note-taking, identifies recent trends and potential implications of mobile technologies on classroom note-taking and student learning, and discusses future directions for note-taking in the context of digitally enabled lifelong learning. PMID:27168620

Towards Automation in Landcover Mapping from LiDAR Data in Alpine Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorninger, Peter; Briese, Christian; Nothegger, Clemens; Klauser, Armin

2010-05-01

Digital terrain models derived from airborne LiDAR (often referred to as airborne laser scanning) are commonly used for various applications in geomorphology. The ongoing development in sensor technology makes flight campaigns with some 10 points per square meter economically feasible for large areas. Simultaneously, the achievable accuracy of the originally acquired points as well as those of the derived products increases due to improved measurement techniques. Additionally, full-waveform (FWF) laser scanning systems record the time-dependent strength of the backscattered signal. This allows for the determination of numerous points (i.e. echoes) for one emitted laser beam hitting multiple targets within its footprint. Practically, about five echoes may be determined from the digitized signal form. Furthermore, additional attributes can be determined for each echo. These are, for example, a reflectivity measure (amplitude), the widening of the echo (echo width), or the sequence of the echoes of a single shot. By considering the polar measurement range and atmospheric conditions, a physical calibration of such measurements is possible. The application of FWF information to increase the accuracy and the reliability of digital terrain models especially in areas with dense vegetation was shown by Doneus & Briese (2006). However, these additional attributes are rarely used for object or landcover classification. This is still the domain of automated image interpretation (e.g. Zebedin et al., 2006). Nevertheless, image interpretation has well known deficiencies in areas with vegetation or if shadows occur. Therefore, we tested a hybrid approach which uses conventional first echo / last echo (FE/LE) airborne laser scanning data (first and last pulse) and an RGB-orthophoto. The testing site is located in an alpine area in Tyrol, Austria. For the classification, topographic models, a slope map, a local roughness measure and a penetration ratio were determined from the laser scanning data. Additionally, a vegetation index was derived from the orthophoto. Using a supervised classification approach based on well known testing sites, the following classes could be determined: forest, dwarf-pines, grass land, debris, and bare rock. After a generalization step, we compared the results to two existing topographic landcover maps showing high correlation. However, the method showed several shortcomings in shadowed areas in the orthophoto. Furthermore, a separation of debris and bare rock was only possibly by a slope threshold. To overcome these problems, we investigated another testing site, situated in the alpine region of Lower Austria, Austria. The data was acquired by a Riegl LMS-Q560 FWF laser scanner. In this case we did not use an orthophoto. Instead we considered additional parameters derived from the FWF data. These were a distance corrected amplitude and the pulse width, and, especially in regions with high vegetation, multiple echoes were available. Furthermore, we derived highly robust local tangential planes for each point (Nothegger & Dorninger, 2008). Due to those tangential planes being computed in three-dimensions, the computation of the slope angles, especially in steep regions, becomes more reliable. Additionally, quality parameters provided by the plane estimation were considered for the classification. For example, the local roughness measure indicates vegetation. So it could be demonstrated that point based classification of LiDAR data allows for landcover classification in alpine areas. To achieve reliable results from FE/LE laser scanning data, the integration of image data was necessary. However, this introduced typical shortcomings of geomorphological interpretation in vegetation and shadowed areas. The use of FWF laser scanning allows overcoming these shortcomings and increasing the automation of reliable landcover mapping including the characteristics of alpine geomorphic features. References: C. Nothegger, P. Dorninger: "3D Filtering of High-Resolution Terrestrial Laser Scanner Point Clouds for Cultural Heritage Documentation"; Photogrammetrie, Fernerkundung, Geoinformation, 1 (2009), 53 - 63. M. Doneus, C. Briese: "Digital Terrain Modelling For Archaeological Interpretation Within Forested Areas Using Full-Waveform Laserscanning", The 7Th International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Vast (2006) L. Zebedin, A. Klaus, B. Gruber-Geymayer, K. Karner: "Towards 3D map generation from digital aerial images", ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing, Vol. 60, 413-427 (2006).

Land cover mapping of the National Park Service northwest Alaska management area using Landsat multispectral and thematic mapper satellite data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Markon, C.J.; Wesser, Sara

1998-01-01

A land cover map of the National Park Service northwest Alaska management area was produced using digitally processed Landsat data. These and other environmental data were incorporated into a geographic information system to provide baseline information about the nature and extent of resources present in this northwest Alaskan environment.This report details the methodology, depicts vegetation profiles of the surrounding landscape, and describes the different vegetation types mapped. Portions of nine Landsat satellite (multispectral scanner and thematic mapper) scenes were used to produce a land cover map of the Cape Krusenstern National Monument and Noatak National Preserve and to update an existing land cover map of Kobuk Valley National Park Valley National Park. A Bayesian multivariate classifier was applied to the multispectral data sets, followed by the application of ancillary data (elevation, slope, aspect, soils, watersheds, and geology) to enhance the spectral separation of classes into more meaningful vegetation types. The resulting land cover map contains six major land cover categories (forest, shrub, herbaceous, sparse/barren, water, other) and 19 subclasses encompassing 7 million hectares. General narratives of the distribution of the subclasses throughout the project area are given along with vegetation profiles showing common relationships between topographic gradients and vegetation communities.

Comparative Analysis of InSAR Digital Surface Models for Test Area Bucharest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dana, Iulia; Poncos, Valentin; Teleaga, Delia

2010-03-01

This paper presents the results of the interferometric processing of ERS Tandem, ENVISAT and TerraSAR- X for digital surface model (DSM) generation. The selected test site is Bucharest (Romania), a built-up area characterized by the usual urban complex pattern: mixture of buildings with different height levels, paved roads, vegetation, and water bodies. First, the DSMs were generated following the standard interferometric processing chain. Then, the accuracy of the DSMs was analyzed against the SPOT HRS model (30 m resolution at the equator). A DSM derived by optical stereoscopic processing of SPOT 5 HRG data and also the SRTM (3 arc seconds resolution at the equator) DSM have been included in the comparative analysis.

An evaluation of acquired data as a tool for management of wildlife habitat in Alaska

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vantries, B. J. (Principal Investigator)

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Density sliced and digitized imagery of the Kuskokwin/Yukon Delta were analyzed. Color coded images of the isodensity displays were compared with existing vegetation maps of the ERTS-1 frames for the Yukon/Kuskokwin area. A high degree of positive correlation was found to exist between the ERTS-1 image and the conventionally prepared maps. Hydrologic phenomena were also analyzed. Digitization on South Dakota State Remote Sensing Center's SADE system provide some discrimination among several large lakes in the subject area. However, interpretation must await ground observations and depth measurements. An attempt will be made to classify large water bodies by depth classes.

Temporal Management of the Writing Process: Effects of Genre and Organizing Constraints in Grades 5, 7, and 9

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beauvais, Lucie; Favart, Monik; Passerault, Jean-Michel; Beauvais, Caroline

2014-01-01

We investigated changes across grades in the cognitive demands associated with the organizing subprocess of writing. A total of 85 fifth (age M = 10.8), 88 seventh (age M = 12.9), and 79 ninth (age M = 14.6) graders composed either a procedural text or an expository description on a digital tablet, on the basis of a "scrambled ideas"…

Evaluation and comparison of ERTS measurements of major crops and soil associations for selected sites in the central United States

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baumgardner, M. F. (Principal Investigator)

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. The most significant result was the use of the temporal overlay technique where the computer was used to overlay ERTS-1 data from three different dates (9 Oct., 14 Nov., 2 Dec.). The registration of MSS digital data from different dates was estimated to be accurate within one half resolution element. The temporal overlay capability provides a significant advance in machine-processing of MSS data. It is no longer essential to go through the tedious exercise of locating ground observation sites on the digital data from each ERTS-1 overpass. Once the address of a ground observation site has been located on a digital tape from any ERTS-1 overpass, the overlay technique can be used to locate the same address on a digital tape of MSS data from any other ERTS-1 pass over the same area. The temporal overlay technique also adds a valuable dimension for identifying and mapping changes in vegetation, water, and other dynamic surface features.

The GLAS Standard Data Products Specification-Level 1, Version 9

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Jeffrey E.

2013-01-01

The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) is the primary instrument for the ICESat (Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite) laser altimetry mission. ICESat was the benchmark Earth Observing System (EOS) mission for measuring ice sheet mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, as well as land topography and vegetation characteristics. From 2003 to 2009, the ICESat mission provided multi-year elevation data needed to determine ice sheet mass balance as well as cloud property information, especially for stratospheric clouds common over polar areas. It also provided topography and vegetation data around the globe, in addition to the polar-specific coverage over the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.This document defines the Level-1 GLAS standard data products. This document addresses the data flow, interfaces, record and data formats associated with the GLAS Level 1 standard data products. GLAS Level 1 standard data products are composed of Level 1A and Level 1B data products. The term standard data products refers to those EOS instrument data that are routinely generated for public distribution. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSDIC) distribute these products. Each data product has a unique Product Identification code assigned by the Senior Project Scientist. GLAS Level 1A and Level 1B Data Products are composed from those Level 0 data that have been reformatted or transformed to corrected and calibrated data in physical units at the full instrument rate and resolution.

Interspecific hybridization, polyploidization, and backcross of Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra with B. rapa var. purpurea morphologically recapitulate the evolution of Brassica vegetables

PubMed Central

Zhang, Xiaohui; Liu, Tongjin; Li, Xixiang; Duan, Mengmeng; Wang, Jinglei; Qiu, Yang; Wang, Haiping; Song, Jiangping; Shen, Di

2016-01-01

Brassica oleracea and B. rapa are two important vegetable crops. Both are composed of dozens of subspecies encompassing hundreds of varieties and cultivars. Synthetic B. napus with these two plants has been used extensively as a research model for the investigation of allopolyploid evolution. However, the mechanism underlying the explosive evolution of hundreds of varieties of B. oleracea and B. rapa within a short period is poorly understood. In the present study, interspecific hybridization between B. oleracea var. alboglabra and B. rapa var. purpurea was performed. The backcross progeny displayed extensive morphological variation, including some individuals that phenocopied subspecies other than their progenitors. Numerous interesting novel phenotypes and mutants were identified among the backcross progeny. The chromosomal recombination between the A and C genomes and the chromosomal asymmetric segregation were revealed using Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) markers. These findings provide direct evidence in support of the hypothesis that interspecific hybridization and backcrossing have played roles in the evolution of the vast variety of vegetables among these species and suggest that combination of interspecific hybridization and backcrossing may facilitate the development of new mutants and novel phenotypes for both basic research and the breeding of new vegetable crops. PMID:26727246

Interspecific hybridization, polyploidization, and backcross of Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra with B. rapa var. purpurea morphologically recapitulate the evolution of Brassica vegetables.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiaohui; Liu, Tongjin; Li, Xixiang; Duan, Mengmeng; Wang, Jinglei; Qiu, Yang; Wang, Haiping; Song, Jiangping; Shen, Di

2016-01-04

Brassica oleracea and B. rapa are two important vegetable crops. Both are composed of dozens of subspecies encompassing hundreds of varieties and cultivars. Synthetic B. napus with these two plants has been used extensively as a research model for the investigation of allopolyploid evolution. However, the mechanism underlying the explosive evolution of hundreds of varieties of B. oleracea and B. rapa within a short period is poorly understood. In the present study, interspecific hybridization between B. oleracea var. alboglabra and B. rapa var. purpurea was performed. The backcross progeny displayed extensive morphological variation, including some individuals that phenocopied subspecies other than their progenitors. Numerous interesting novel phenotypes and mutants were identified among the backcross progeny. The chromosomal recombination between the A and C genomes and the chromosomal asymmetric segregation were revealed using Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) markers. These findings provide direct evidence in support of the hypothesis that interspecific hybridization and backcrossing have played roles in the evolution of the vast variety of vegetables among these species and suggest that combination of interspecific hybridization and backcrossing may facilitate the development of new mutants and novel phenotypes for both basic research and the breeding of new vegetable crops.

The Use of ATLAS Data to Quantify Surface Radiative Budgets in Four US Cities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luvall, Jeffrey; Gonzalez, Jorge; Rickman, Douglas; Quattrochi, Dale; Schiller, Steve; Comarazamy, Daniel; Estes, Maury

2011-01-01

The additional heating of the air over the city is the result of the replacement of naturally vegetated surfaces with those composed of asphalt, concrete, rooftops and other manmade materials. The temperatures of these artificial surfaces can be 20 to 40 C higher than vegetated surfaces. This produces a dome of elevated air temperatures 5 to 8 C greater over the city, compared to the air temperatures over adjacent rural areas. This effect is called the "urban heat island". Urban landscapes are a complex mixture of vegetated and non-vegetated surfaces. It is difficult to take enough temperature measurements over a large city area to. The use of remotely sensed data from airborne scanners is ideal to characterize the complexity of urban albedo and radiant surface temperatures. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Airborne Thermal and Land Applications Sensor (ATLAS) operates in the visual and IR bands was used to collect data from Salt Lake City, UT, Sacramento, CA, Baton Rouge, LA. And San Juan, Puerto Rico with the main objective of investigating the Urban Heat Island (UHI). In this presentation we will examine the techniques of analyzing remotely sensed data for measuring the effect of various urban surfaces on their contribution to the urban heat island effect.

Evaluation of NDVI to assess avian abundance and richness along the upper San Pedro River

USGS Publications Warehouse

McFarland, T.M.; van Riper, Charles; Johnson, G.E.

2012-01-01

Remote-sensing models have become increasingly popular for identifying, characterizing, monitoring, and predicting avian habitat but have largely focused on single bird species. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) has been shown to positively correlate with avian abundance and richness and has been successfully applied to southwestern riparian systems which are uniquely composed of narrow bands of vegetation in an otherwise dry landscape. Desert riparian ecosystems are important breeding and stopover sites for many bird species but have been degraded due to altered hydrology and land management practices. Here we investigated the use of NDVI, coupled with vegetation, to model the avian community structure along the San Pedro River, Arizona. We also investigated how vegetation and physical features measured locally compared to those data that can be gathered through remote-sensing. We found that NDVI has statistically significant relationships with both avian abundance and species richness, although is better applied at the individual species level. However, the amount of variation explained by even our best models was quite low, suggesting that NDVI habitat models may not presently be an accurate tool for extensive modeling of avian communities. We suggest additional studies in other watersheds to increase our understanding of these bird/NDVI relationships.

A program to compute three-dimensional subsonic unsteady aerodynamic characteristics using the doublet lattice method, L216 (DUBFLEX). Volume 2: Supplemental system design and maintenance document

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harrison, B. A.; Richard, M.

1979-01-01

The information necessary for execution of the digital computer program L216 on the CDC 6600 is described. L216 characteristics are based on the doublet lattice method. Arbitrary aerodynamic configurations may be represented with combinations of nonplanar lifting surfaces composed of finite constant pressure panel elements, and axially summetric slender bodies composed of constant pressure line elements. Program input consists of configuration geometry, aerodynamic parameters, and modal data; output includes element geometry, pressure difference distributions, integrated aerodynamic coefficients, stability derivatives, generalized aerodynamic forces, and aerodynamic influence coefficient matrices. Optionally, modal data may be input on magnetic field (tape or disk), and certain geometric and aerodynamic output may be saved for subsequent use.

Use of Portable Digital Devices to Analyze Autonomic Stress Response in Psychology Objective Structured Clinical Examination.

PubMed

Beltrán-Velasco, Ana Isabel; Bellido-Esteban, Alberto; Ruisoto-Palomera, Pablo; Clemente-Suárez, Vicente Javier

2018-01-12

The aim of the present study was to explore changes in the autonomic stress response of Psychology students in a Psychology Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and their relationship with OSCE performance. Variables of autonomic modulation by the analysis of heart rate variability in temporal, frequency and non-linear domains, subjective perception of distress strait and academic performance were measured before and after the two different evaluations that composed the OSCE. A psychology objective structured clinical examination composed by two different evaluation scenarios produced a large anxiety anticipatory response, a habituation response in the first of the evaluation scenarios and a in the entire evaluation, and a no habituation response in the second evaluation scenario. Autonomic modulation parameters do not correlate with academic performance of students.

Tundra landform and vegetation productivity trend maps for the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lara, Mark J.; Nitze, Ingmar; Grosse, Guido; McGuire, A. David

2018-04-01

Arctic tundra landscapes are composed of a complex mosaic of patterned ground features, varying in soil moisture, vegetation composition, and surface hydrology over small spatial scales (10-100 m). The importance of microtopography and associated geomorphic landforms in influencing ecosystem structure and function is well founded, however, spatial data products describing local to regional scale distribution of patterned ground or polygonal tundra geomorphology are largely unavailable. Thus, our understanding of local impacts on regional scale processes (e.g., carbon dynamics) may be limited. We produced two key spatiotemporal datasets spanning the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska (~60,000 km2) to evaluate climate-geomorphological controls on arctic tundra productivity change, using (1) a novel 30 m classification of polygonal tundra geomorphology and (2) decadal-trends in surface greenness using the Landsat archive (1999-2014). These datasets can be easily integrated and adapted in an array of local to regional applications such as (1) upscaling plot-level measurements (e.g., carbon/energy fluxes), (2) mapping of soils, vegetation, or permafrost, and/or (3) initializing ecosystem biogeochemistry, hydrology, and/or habitat modeling.

Tundra landform and vegetation productivity trend maps for the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska.

PubMed

Lara, Mark J; Nitze, Ingmar; Grosse, Guido; McGuire, A David

2018-04-10

Arctic tundra landscapes are composed of a complex mosaic of patterned ground features, varying in soil moisture, vegetation composition, and surface hydrology over small spatial scales (10-100 m). The importance of microtopography and associated geomorphic landforms in influencing ecosystem structure and function is well founded, however, spatial data products describing local to regional scale distribution of patterned ground or polygonal tundra geomorphology are largely unavailable. Thus, our understanding of local impacts on regional scale processes (e.g., carbon dynamics) may be limited. We produced two key spatiotemporal datasets spanning the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska (~60,000 km 2 ) to evaluate climate-geomorphological controls on arctic tundra productivity change, using (1) a novel 30 m classification of polygonal tundra geomorphology and (2) decadal-trends in surface greenness using the Landsat archive (1999-2014). These datasets can be easily integrated and adapted in an array of local to regional applications such as (1) upscaling plot-level measurements (e.g., carbon/energy fluxes), (2) mapping of soils, vegetation, or permafrost, and/or (3) initializing ecosystem biogeochemistry, hydrology, and/or habitat modeling.

Effects of Image Compression on Automatic Count of Immunohistochemically Stained Nuclei in Digital Images

PubMed Central

López, Carlos; Lejeune, Marylène; Escrivà, Patricia; Bosch, Ramón; Salvadó, Maria Teresa; Pons, Lluis E.; Baucells, Jordi; Cugat, Xavier; Álvaro, Tomás; Jaén, Joaquín

2008-01-01

This study investigates the effects of digital image compression on automatic quantification of immunohistochemical nuclear markers. We examined 188 images with a previously validated computer-assisted analysis system. A first group was composed of 47 images captured in TIFF format, and other three contained the same images converted from TIFF to JPEG format with 3×, 23× and 46× compression. Counts of TIFF format images were compared with the other three groups. Overall, differences in the count of the images increased with the percentage of compression. Low-complexity images (≤100 cells/field, without clusters or with small-area clusters) had small differences (<5 cells/field in 95–100% of cases) and high-complexity images showed substantial differences (<35–50 cells/field in 95–100% of cases). Compression does not compromise the accuracy of immunohistochemical nuclear marker counts obtained by computer-assisted analysis systems for digital images with low complexity and could be an efficient method for storing these images. PMID:18755997

Review of USGS Open-file Report 95-525 ("Cartographic and digital standard for geologic map information") and plans for development of Federal draft standards for geologic map information

USGS Publications Warehouse

Soller, David R.

1996-01-01

This report summarizes a technical review of USGS Open-File Report 95-525, 'Cartographic and Digital Standard for Geologic Map Information' and OFR 95-526 (diskettes containing digital representations of the standard symbols). If you are considering the purchase or use of those documents, you should read this report first. For some purposes, OFR 95-525 (the printed document) will prove to be an excellent resource. However, technical review identified significant problems with the two documents that will be addressed by various Federal and State committees composed of geologists and cartographers, as noted below. Therefore, the 2-year review period noted in OFR 95-525 is no longer applicable. Until those problems are resolved and formal standards are issued, you may consult the following World-Wide Web (WWW) site which contains information about development of geologic map standards: URL: http://ncgmp.usgs.gov/ngmdbproject/home.html

Coincidence ion imaging with a fast frame camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Suk Kyoung; Cudry, Fadia; Lin, Yun Fei; Lingenfelter, Steven; Winney, Alexander H.; Fan, Lin; Li, Wen

2014-12-01

A new time- and position-sensitive particle detection system based on a fast frame CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductors) camera is developed for coincidence ion imaging. The system is composed of four major components: a conventional microchannel plate/phosphor screen ion imager, a fast frame CMOS camera, a single anode photomultiplier tube (PMT), and a high-speed digitizer. The system collects the positional information of ions from a fast frame camera through real-time centroiding while the arrival times are obtained from the timing signal of a PMT processed by a high-speed digitizer. Multi-hit capability is achieved by correlating the intensity of ion spots on each camera frame with the peak heights on the corresponding time-of-flight spectrum of a PMT. Efficient computer algorithms are developed to process camera frames and digitizer traces in real-time at 1 kHz laser repetition rate. We demonstrate the capability of this system by detecting a momentum-matched co-fragments pair (methyl and iodine cations) produced from strong field dissociative double ionization of methyl iodide.

Direct drive digital servo press with high parallel control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murata, Chikara; Yabe, Jun; Endou, Junichi; Hasegawa, Kiyoshi

2013-12-01

Direct drive digital servo press has been developed as the university-industry joint research and development since 1998. On the basis of this result, 4-axes direct drive digital servo press has been developed and in the market on April of 2002. This servo press is composed of 1 slide supported by 4 ball screws and each axis has linearscale measuring the position of each axis with high accuracy less than μm order level. Each axis is controlled independently by servo motor and feedback system. This system can keep high level parallelism and high accuracy even with high eccentric load. Furthermore the 'full stroke full power' is obtained by using ball screws. Using these features, new various types of press forming and stamping have been obtained by development and production. The new stamping and forming methods are introduced and 'manufacturing' need strategy of press forming with high added value and also the future direction of press forming are also introduced.

Holographic zoom system based on spatial light modulator and liquid device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Di; Li, Lei; Liu, Su-Juan; Wang, Qiong-Hua

2018-02-01

In this paper, two holographic zoom systems are proposed based on the programmability of spatial light modulator (SLM) and zoom characteristics of liquid lens. An active optical zoom system is proposed in which the zoom module is composed of a liquid lens and an SLM. By controlling the focal lengths of the liquid lens and the encoded digital lens on the SLM, we can change the magnification of an image without mechanical moving parts and keep the output plane stationary. Then a color holographic zoom system based on a liquid lens is proposed. The system processes the color separation of the original object for red, green, and blue components and generated three holograms respectively. A new hologram with specific reconstructed distance can be generated by combing the hologram of the digital lens with the hologram of the image. By controlling the focal lengths of the liquid lens and the encoded digital lens on the SLM, we can change the magnification of the reconstructed image.

Digital modelling of landscape and soil in a mountainous region: A neuro-fuzzy approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viloria, Jesús A.; Viloria-Botello, Alvaro; Pineda, María Corina; Valera, Angel

2016-01-01

Research on genetic relationships between soil and landforms has largely improved soil mapping. Recent technological advances have created innovative methods for modelling the spatial soil variation from digital elevation models (DEMs) and remote sensors. This generates new opportunities for the application of geomorphology to soil mapping. This study applied a method based on artificial neural networks and fuzzy clustering to recognize digital classes of land surfaces in a mountainous area in north-central Venezuela. The spatial variation of the fuzzy memberships exposed the areas where each class predominates, while the class centres helped to recognize the topographic attributes and vegetation cover of each class. The obtained classes of terrain revealed the structure of the land surface, which showed regional differences in climate, vegetation, and topography and landscape stability. The land-surface classes were subdivided on the basis of the geological substratum to produce landscape classes that additionally considered the influence of soil parent material. These classes were used as a framework for soil sampling. A redundancy analysis confirmed that changes of landscape classes explained the variation in soil properties (p = 0.01), and a Kruskal-Wallis test showed significant differences (p = 0.01) in clay, hydraulic conductivity, soil organic carbon, base saturation, and exchangeable Ca and Mg between classes. Thus, the produced landscape classes correspond to three-dimensional bodies that differ in soil conditions. Some changes of land-surface classes coincide with abrupt boundaries in the landscape, such as ridges and thalwegs. However, as the model is continuous, it disclosed the remaining variation between those boundaries.

The Affective Slider: A Digital Self-Assessment Scale for the Measurement of Human Emotions

PubMed Central

Betella, Alberto; Verschure, Paul F. M. J.

2016-01-01

Self-assessment methods are broadly employed in emotion research for the collection of subjective affective ratings. The Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM), a pictorial scale developed in the eighties for the measurement of pleasure, arousal, and dominance, is still among the most popular self-reporting tools, despite having been conceived upon design principles which are today obsolete. By leveraging on state-of-the-art user interfaces and metacommunicative pictorial representations, we developed the Affective Slider (AS), a digital self-reporting tool composed of two slider controls for the quick assessment of pleasure and arousal. To empirically validate the AS, we conducted a systematic comparison between AS and SAM in a task involving the emotional assessment of a series of images taken from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), a database composed of pictures representing a wide range of semantic categories often used as a benchmark in psychological studies. Our results show that the AS is equivalent to SAM in the self-assessment of pleasure and arousal, with two added advantages: the AS does not require written instructions and it can be easily reproduced in latest-generation digital devices, including smartphones and tablets. Moreover, we compared new and normative IAPS ratings and found a general drop in reported arousal of pictorial stimuli. Not only do our results demonstrate that legacy scales for the self-report of affect can be replaced with new measurement tools developed in accordance to modern design principles, but also that standardized sets of stimuli which are widely adopted in research on human emotion are not as effective as they were in the past due to a general desensitization towards highly arousing content. PMID:26849361

Weaves as an Interconnection Fabric for ASIM's and Nanosatellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gorlick, Michael M.

1995-01-01

Many of the micromachines under consideration require computer support, indeed, one of the appeals of this technology is the ability to intermix mechanical, optical, analog, and digital devices on the same substrate. The amount of computer power is rarely an issue, the sticking point is the complexity of the software required to make effective use of these devices. Micromachines are the nano-technologist's equivalent of 'golden screws'. In other words, they will be piece parts in larger assemblages. For example, a nano-satellite may be composed of stacked silicon wafers where each wafer contains hundreds to thousands of micromachines, digital controllers, general purpose computers, memories, and high-speed bus interconnects. Comparatively few of these devices will be custom designed, most will be stock parts selected from libraries and catalogs. The novelty will lie in the interconnections. For example, a digital accelerometer may be a component part in an adaptive suspension, a monitoring element embedded in the wrapper of a package, or a portion of the smart skin of a launch vehicle. In each case, this device must inter-operate with other devices and probes for the purposes of command, control, and communication. We propose a software technology called 'weaves' that will permit large collections of micromachines and their attendant computers to freely intercommunicate while preserving modularity, transparency, and flexibility. Weaves are composed of networks of communicating software components. The network, and the components comprising it, may be changed even while the software, and the devices it controls, are executing. This unusual degree of software plasticity permits micromachines to dynamically adapt the software to changing conditions and allows system engineers to rapidly and inexpensively develop special purpose software by assembling stock software components in custom configurations.

Comparison of estimates of evapotranspiration and consumptive use in Palo Verde Valley, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Raymond, Lee H.; Owen-Joyce, Sandra J.

1987-01-01

Estimates of evapotranspiration and consumptive use by vegetation in Palo Verde Valley, California, were compared for calendar years 1981 to 1984. Vegetation types were classified, and the areas covered by each type were computed from Landsat satellite digital-image analysis. Evapotranspiration was calculated by multiplying the area of each vegetation type by a corresponding water use rate adjusted for year-to-year variations in climate. The vegetation classification slightly underestimates the total vegetated area when compared to crop reports, because not all multiple cropping could be identified. The accuracy of evapotranspiration calculated from vegetation classification depends primarily on the correct classification of alfalfa and cotton because alfalfa and cotton have larger acreages and use more water/acre than the other crops in the valley. Consumptive use was calculated using a water budget for each of the 4 years. Estimates of evapotranspiration and consumptive use by vegetation, respectively, were: (1) 439,400 and 483,500 acre-ft in 1981, (2) 430,700 and 452,700 acre-ft in 1982, (3) 402,000 and 364,400 acre-ft in 1983, and (4) 406,700 and 373,800 acre-ft in 1984. Evapotranspiration estimates were lower than consumptive use estimates in 1981 and 1982 and higher in 1983 and 1984. Both estimates were lower in 1983 and 1984 than in 1981 and 1982. Yearly differences in estimates correspond most closely to significant changes in stage of the lower Colorado River caused by flood control releases in 1983 and 1984 and to changes in cropping practices. (Author 's abstract)

Classification of Liss IV Imagery Using Decision Tree Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verma, Amit Kumar; Garg, P. K.; Prasad, K. S. Hari; Dadhwal, V. K.

2016-06-01

Image classification is a compulsory step in any remote sensing research. Classification uses the spectral information represented by the digital numbers in one or more spectral bands and attempts to classify each individual pixel based on this spectral information. Crop classification is the main concern of remote sensing applications for developing sustainable agriculture system. Vegetation indices computed from satellite images gives a good indication of the presence of vegetation. It is an indicator that describes the greenness, density and health of vegetation. Texture is also an important characteristics which is used to identifying objects or region of interest is an image. This paper illustrate the use of decision tree method to classify the land in to crop land and non-crop land and to classify different crops. In this paper we evaluate the possibility of crop classification using an integrated approach methods based on texture property with different vegetation indices for single date LISS IV sensor 5.8 meter high spatial resolution data. Eleven vegetation indices (NDVI, DVI, GEMI, GNDVI, MSAVI2, NDWI, NG, NR, NNIR, OSAVI and VI green) has been generated using green, red and NIR band and then image is classified using decision tree method. The other approach is used integration of texture feature (mean, variance, kurtosis and skewness) with these vegetation indices. A comparison has been done between these two methods. The results indicate that inclusion of textural feature with vegetation indices can be effectively implemented to produce classifiedmaps with 8.33% higher accuracy for Indian satellite IRS-P6, LISS IV sensor images.

Effect of Organic Dust Exposure on Pulmonary Functions in Workers of Vegetable Market with Special Reference to its Microbial Content.

PubMed

Goel, Arun; Omar, Balram Ji; Kathrotia, Rajesh; Patil, Prashant M; Mittal, Sunita

2018-01-01

Wholesale vegetable market is a rich source of generation of organic dust as loads of fruits and vegetables are loaded and unloaded here daily. Thus, regular workers are exposed to this organic dust for a considerable period of time depending on their work schedule. This study was planned to determine the microbial status of organic dust and to explore its association with pulmonary functions in the workers of wholesale vegetable market in Rishikesh. It was a cross-sectional exploratory/observational study. Thirty-five apparently healthy adult males were selected from vegetable market having no history of any chronic illness. Smokers and alcoholic were excluded from the study. The same number of age- and sex-matched controls with the same exclusion criteria were recruited from workers not working in the vegetable market and also not exposed to any other kinds of organic dust. Microbial culture of air in the vegetable market was done. It was compared with the microbial status of air in the working place of controls. Pulmonary functions of all the workers were performed with the help of digital spirometer (Helios 401). Bacterial and fungal concentration was found to be significantly higher in the air of vegetable market as compared to air in the workplace of controls (such as coagulase-negative staphylococci >25 colony-forming unit (CFU) at incubation temperature vs. 10-12 CFU at incubation temperature, significant growth of Mucor , Aspergillus niger , and Candida nonalbicans in vegetable market as compared to workplace of controls). Pulmonary function parameters (percentage forced expiratory volume in 1 st s (FEV 1 ), percentage predicted forced expiratory flow in mid-half of expiration, and FEV 1 ) of workers exposed to organic dust in vegetable market were also significantly lower ( P < 0.05). Exposure of organic dust is associated with compromised pulmonary functions and there is a need of formulation of safety guidelines.

New Airborne LiDAR Survey of the Hayward Fault, Northern California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brocher, T. M.; Prentice, C. S.; Phillips, D. A.; Bevis, M.; Shrestha, R. L.

2007-12-01

We present a digital elevation model (DEM) constructed from newly acquired high-resolution LIght Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) data along the Hayward Fault in Northern California. The data were acquired by the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM) in the spring of 2007 in conjunction with a larger regional airborne LIDAR survey of the major crustal faults in northern California coordinated by UNAVCO and funded by the National Science Foundation as part of GeoEarthScope. A consortium composed of the U. S. Geological Survey, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, and the City of Berkeley separately funded the LIDAR acquisition along the Hayward Fault. Airborne LIDAR data were collected within a 106-km long by 1-km wide swath encompassing the Hayward Fault that extended from San Pablo Bay on the north to the southern end of its restraining stepover with the Calaveras Fault on the south. The Hayward Fault is among the most urbanized faults in the nation. With its most recent major rupture in 1868, it is well within the time window for its next large earthquake, making it an excellent candidate for a "before the earthquake" DEM image. After the next large Hayward Fault event, this DEM can be compared to a post-earthquake LIDAR DEM to provide a means for a detailed analysis of fault slip. In order to minimize location errors, temporary GPS ground control stations were deployed by Ohio State University, UNAVCO, and student volunteers from local universities to augment the available continuous GPS arrays operated in the study area by the Bay Area Regional Deformation (BARD) Network and the Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO). The vegetation cover varies along the fault zone: most of the vegetation is non-native species. Photographs from the 1860s show very little tall vegetation along the fault zone. A number of interesting geomorphic features are associated with the Hayward Fault, even in urbanized areas. Sag ponds and push up ridges can easily be followed along the fault zone, as well as more subtle features. Landslides along the western flanks of the East Bay Hills were also imaged. We expect that these new LIDAR images will allow us to detect subtle geomorphic features associated with active faulting that may reveal previously undetected active strands or better delineate active strands in areas of pervasive landsliding (as well as better mapping of the landslides themselves). We also anticipate that they will aid in land use planning and identification of new paleoseismic sites. The LIDAR data are freely available at www.earthscope.org.

Unsupervised Change Detection for Geological and Ecological Monitoring via Remote Sensing: Application on a Volcanic Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falco, N.; Pedersen, G. B. M.; Vilmunandardóttir, O. K.; Belart, J. M. M. C.; Sigurmundsson, F. S.; Benediktsson, J. A.

2016-12-01

The project "Environmental Mapping and Monitoring of Iceland by Remote Sensing (EMMIRS)" aims at providing fast and reliable mapping and monitoring techniques on a big spatial scale with a high temporal resolution of the Icelandic landscape. Such mapping and monitoring will be crucial to both mitigate and understand the scale of processes and their often complex interlinked feedback mechanisms.In the EMMIRS project, the Hekla volcano area is one of the main sites under study, where the volcanic eruptions, extreme weather and human activities had an extensive impact on the landscape degradation. The development of innovative remote sensing approaches to compute earth observation variables as automatically as possible is one of the main tasks of the EMMIRS project. Furthermore, a temporal remote sensing archive is created and composed by images acquired by different sensors (Landsat, RapidEye, ASTER and SPOT5). Moreover, historical aerial stereo photos allowed decadal reconstruction of the landscape by reconstruction of digital elevation models. Here, we propose a novel architecture for automatic unsupervised change detection analysis able to ingest multi-source data in order to detect landscape changes in the Hekla area. The change detection analysis is based on multi-scale analysis, which allows the identification of changes at different level of abstraction, from pixel-level to region-level. For this purpose, operators defined in mathematical morphology framework are implemented to model the contextual information, represented by the neighbour system of a pixel, allowing the identification of changes related to both geometrical and spectral domains. Automatic radiometric normalization strategy is also implemented as pre-processing step, aiming at minimizing the effect of different acquisition conditions. The proposed architecture is tested on multi-temporal data sets acquired over different time periods coinciding with the last three eruptions (1980-1981, 1991, 2000) occurred on Hekla volcano. The results reveal emplacement of new lava flows and the initial vegetation succession, providing insightful information on the evolving of vegetation in such environment. Shadow and snow patch changes are resolved in post-processing by exploiting the available spectral information.

[Digital acoustic burglar alarm system using infrared radio remote control].

PubMed

Wang, Song-De; Zhao, Yan; Yao, Li-Ping; Zhang, Shuan-Ji

2009-03-01

Using butt emission infrared sensors, radio receiving and sending modules, double function integrated circuit with code and code translation, LED etc, a digital acoustic burglar alarm system using infrared radio to realize remote control was designed. It uses infrared ray invisible to eyes, composing area of radio distance. Once people and objects shelter the infrared ray, a testing signal will be output by the tester, and the sender will be triggered to work. The radio coding signal that sender sent is received by the receiver, then processed by a serial circuit. The control signal is output to trigger the sounder to give out an alarm signal, and the operator will be cued to notice this variation. At the same time, the digital display will be lighted and the alarm place will be watched. Digital coding technology is used, and a number of sub alarm circuits can joint the main receiver, so a lot of places can be monitored. The whole system features a module structure, with the property of easy alignment, stable operation, debug free and so on. The system offers an alarm range reaching 1 000 meters in all directions, and can be widely used in family, shop, storehouse, orchard and so on.

Accuracy of a high-resolution lidar terrain model under a conifer forest canopy

Treesearch

S.E. Reutebuch; R.J. McGaughey; H.-E. Andersen; W.W. Carson

2003-01-01

Airborne laser scanning systems can provide terrain elevation data for open areas with a vertical accuracy of 15 cm. In this study, a high-resolution digital terrain model (DTM) was produced from high-density lidar data. Vegetation in the 500-ha mountainous study area varied from bare ground to dense 70-year-old conifer forest. Conventional ground survey methods were...

Presettlement Forests of the Black Swamp Area, Cache River,Woodruff County, Arkansas, from Notes of the First Land Survey

Treesearch

Thomas L. Foti

2001-01-01

Relationships between forest vegetation and soil were reconstructed from field notes of the 1846 Public Land Survey (PLS) along a portion of the Cache River including Black Swamp. Locations of corners were digitized long with species,diameter,and distance from section or quarter-section corners. Trees were grouped for analysis according to occurrence on groups of...

Application of LANDSAT-2 to the management of Delaware's marine and wetland resources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klemas, V. (Principal Investigator); Bartlett, D.; Philpot, W.; Davis, G.

1976-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Digital multispectral classification techniques can be used to discriminate coastal land use and vegetation with 87% to 94% categorization accuracy. Wetlands plant species, representing more detail than U.S.G.S. classification system level 2 categories can be discriminated using LANDSAT data with 85% to 88% accuracy at scales up to 1:24,000.

Syracuse urban forest master plan: guiding the city's forest resource into the 21st century

Treesearch

David J. Nowak; Paul R. O' Connor; [Compilers

2001-01-01

The Syracuse Urban Forest Master Plan is one of the most comprehensive urban forest assessments ever developed for a city. This report combines a high-resolution digital urban cover map with field vegetation sampling data from all land uses, a 100-percent street-tree inventory, a survey of city residents regarding desirable and undesirable tree characteristics and...

For multidisciplinary research on the application of remote sensing to water resources problems. [including crop yield, watershed soils, and vegetation mapping in Wisconsin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kiefer, R. W. (Principal Investigator)

1979-01-01

Research on the application of remote sensing to problems of water resources was concentrated on sediments and associated nonpoint source pollutants in lakes. Further transfer of the technology of remote sensing and the refinement of equipment and programs for thermal scanning and the digital analysis of images were also addressed.

Canopy damage to conifer plantations within a large mixed-severity wildfire varies with stand age

Treesearch

Jonathan R. Thompson; Thomas A. Spies; Keith A. Olsen

2011-01-01

The 2002 Biscuit Fire burned at mixed-severities encompassing over 200,000 ha of publicly owned forestland, including more than 8300 ha of conifer plantations. We used pre- and post-fire digital aerial photography to examine how the level of canopy damage varied within these plantations in relation to topography, weather, vegetation-cover, and management history, with...

A GIS tool to analyze forest road sediment production and stream impacts

Treesearch

Ajay Prasad; David G. Tarboton; Charles H. Luce; Thomas A. Black

2005-01-01

A set of GIS tools to analyze the impacts of forest roads on streams considering sediment production, mass wasting risk, and fish passage barriers, has been developed. Sediment production for each road segment is calculated from slope, length, road surface condition and road-side drain vegetation gathered by a GPS inventory and by overlaying the road path on a Digital...

Introduction of A New Toolbox for Processing Digital Images From Multiple Camera Networks: FMIPROT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melih Tanis, Cemal; Nadir Arslan, Ali

2017-04-01

Webcam networks intended for scientific monitoring of ecosystems is providing digital images and other environmental data for various studies. Also, other types of camera networks can also be used for scientific purposes, e.g. usage of traffic webcams for phenological studies, camera networks for ski tracks and avalanche monitoring over mountains for hydrological studies. To efficiently harness the potential of these camera networks, easy to use software which can obtain and handle images from different networks having different protocols and standards is necessary. For the analyses of the images from webcam networks, numerous software packages are freely available. These software packages have different strong features not only for analyzing but also post processing digital images. But specifically for the ease of use, applicability and scalability, a different set of features could be added. Thus, a more customized approach would be of high value, not only for analyzing images of comprehensive camera networks, but also considering the possibility to create operational data extraction and processing with an easy to use toolbox. At this paper, we introduce a new toolbox, entitled; Finnish Meteorological Institute Image PROcessing Tool (FMIPROT) which a customized approach is followed. FMIPROT has currently following features: • straightforward installation, • no software dependencies that require as extra installations, • communication with multiple camera networks, • automatic downloading and handling images, • user friendly and simple user interface, • data filtering, • visualizing results on customizable plots, • plugins; allows users to add their own algorithms. Current image analyses in FMIPROT include "Color Fraction Extraction" and "Vegetation Indices". The analysis of color fraction extraction is calculating the fractions of the colors in a region of interest, for red, green and blue colors along with brightness and luminance parameters. The analysis of vegetation indices is a collection of indices used in vegetation phenology and includes "Green Fraction" (green chromatic coordinate), "Green-Red Vegetation Index" and "Green Excess Index". "Snow cover fraction" analysis which detects snow covered pixels in the images and georeference them on a geospatial plane to calculate the snow cover fraction is being implemented at the moment. FMIPROT is being developed during the EU Life+ MONIMET project. Altogether we mounted 28 cameras at 14 different sites in Finland as MONIMET camera network. In this paper, we will present details of FMIPROT and analysis results from MONIMET camera network. We will also discuss on future planned developments of FMIPROT.

Three approaches to the classification of inland wetlands. [Dismal Swamp, Tennessee, and Florida

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gammon, P. T.; Malone, D.; Brooks, P. D.; Carter, V.

1977-01-01

In the Dismal Swamp project, seasonal, color-infrared aerial photographs and LANDSAT digital data were interpreted for a detailed analysis of the vegetative communities in a large, highly altered wetland. In Western Tennessee, seasonal high altitude color-infrared aerial photographs provided the hydrologic and vegetative information needed to map inland wetlands, using a classification system developed for the Tennessee Valley Region. In Florida, color-infrared aerial photographs were analyzed to produce wetland maps using three existing classification systems to evaluate the information content and mappability of each system. The methods used in each of the three projects can be extended or modified for use in the mapping of inland wetlands in other parts of the United States.

The FAO/NASA/NLR Artemis system - An integrated concept for environmental monitoring by satellite in support of food/feed security and desert locust surveillance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hielkema, J. U.; Howard, J. A.; Tucker, C. J.; Van Ingen Schenau, H. A.

1987-01-01

The African real time environmental monitoring using imaging satellites (Artemis) system, which should monitor precipitation and vegetation conditions on a continental scale, is presented. The hardware and software characteristics of the system are illustrated and the Artemis databases are outlined. Plans for the system include the use of hourly digital Meteosat data and daily NOAA/AVHRR data to study environmental conditions. Planned mapping activities include monthly rainfall anomaly maps, normalized difference vegetation index maps for ten day and monthly periods with a spatial resolution of 7.6 km, ten day crop/rangeland moisture availability maps, and desert locust potential breeding activity factor maps for a plague prevention program.

Pattern of NDVI-based vegetation greening along an altitudinal gradient in the eastern Himalayas and its response to global warming.

PubMed

Li, Haidong; Jiang, Jiang; Chen, Bin; Li, Yingkui; Xu, Yuyue; Shen, Weishou

2016-03-01

The eastern Himalayas, especially the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon Nature Reserve (YNR), is a global hotspot of biodiversity because of a wide variety of climatic conditions and elevations ranging from 500 to > 7000 m above sea level (a.s.l.). The mountain ecosystems at different elevations are vulnerable to climate change; however, there has been little research into the patterns of vegetation greening and their response to global warming. The objective of this paper is to examine the pattern of vegetation greening in different altitudinal zones in the YNR and its relationship with vegetation types and climatic factors. Specifically, the inter-annual change of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and its variation along altitudinal gradient between 1999 and 2013 was investigated using SPOT-VGT NDVI data and ASTER global digital elevation model (GDEM) data. We found that annual NDVI increased by 17.58% in the YNR from 1999 to 2013, especially in regions dominated by broad-leaved and coniferous forests at lower elevations. The vegetation greening rate decreased significantly as elevation increased, with a threshold elevation of approximately 3000 m. Rising temperature played a dominant role in driving the increase in NDVI, while precipitation has no statistical relationship with changes in NDVI in this region. This study provides useful information to develop an integrated management and conservation plan for climate change adaptation and promote biodiversity conservation in the YNR.

Mapping the montane cloud forest of Taiwan using 12 year MODIS-derived ground fog frequency data.

PubMed

Schulz, Hans Martin; Li, Ching-Feng; Thies, Boris; Chang, Shih-Chieh; Bendix, Jörg

2017-01-01

Up until now montane cloud forest (MCF) in Taiwan has only been mapped for selected areas of vegetation plots. This paper presents the first comprehensive map of MCF distribution for the entire island. For its creation, a Random Forest model was trained with vegetation plots from the National Vegetation Database of Taiwan that were classified as "MCF" or "non-MCF". This model predicted the distribution of MCF from a raster data set of parameters derived from a digital elevation model (DEM), Landsat channels and texture measures derived from them as well as ground fog frequency data derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. While the DEM parameters and Landsat data predicted much of the cloud forest's location, local deviations in the altitudinal distribution of MCF linked to the monsoonal influence as well as the Massenerhebung effect (causing MCF in atypically low altitudes) were only captured once fog frequency data was included. Therefore, our study suggests that ground fog data are most useful for accurately mapping MCF.

Using lidar data to analyse sinkhole characteristics relevant for understory vegetation under forest cover-case study of a high karst area in the dinaric mountains.

PubMed

Kobal, Milan; Bertoncelj, Irena; Pirotti, Francesco; Dakskobler, Igor; Kutnar, Lado

2015-01-01

In this article, we investigate the potential for detection and characterization of sinkholes under dense forest cover by using airborne laser scanning data. Laser pulse returns from the ground provide important data for the estimation of digital elevation model (DEM), which can be used for further processing. The main objectives of this study were to map and determine the geomorphometric characteristics of a large number of sinkholes and to investigate the correlations between geomorphology and vegetation in areas with such characteristics. The selected study area has very low anthropogenic influences and is particularly suitable for studying undisturbed karst sinkholes. The information extracted from this study regarding the shapes and depths of sinkholes show significant directionality for both orientation of sinkholes and their distribution over the area. Furthermore, significant differences in vegetation diversity and composition occur inside and outside the sinkholes, which indicates their presence has important ecological impacts.

Using Lidar Data to Analyse Sinkhole Characteristics Relevant for Understory Vegetation under Forest Cover—Case Study of a High Karst Area in the Dinaric Mountains

PubMed Central

Kobal, Milan; Bertoncelj, Irena; Pirotti, Francesco; Dakskobler, Igor; Kutnar, Lado

2015-01-01

In this article, we investigate the potential for detection and characterization of sinkholes under dense forest cover by using airborne laser scanning data. Laser pulse returns from the ground provide important data for the estimation of digital elevation model (DEM), which can be used for further processing. The main objectives of this study were to map and determine the geomorphometric characteristics of a large number of sinkholes and to investigate the correlations between geomorphology and vegetation in areas with such characteristics. The selected study area has very low anthropogenic influences and is particularly suitable for studying undisturbed karst sinkholes. The information extracted from this study regarding the shapes and depths of sinkholes show significant directionality for both orientation of sinkholes and their distribution over the area. Furthermore, significant differences in vegetation diversity and composition occur inside and outside the sinkholes, which indicates their presence has important ecological impacts. PMID:25793871

Handwritten mathematical symbols dataset.

PubMed

Chajri, Yassine; Bouikhalene, Belaid

2016-06-01

Due to the technological advances in recent years, paper scientific documents are used less and less. Thus, the trend in the scientific community to use digital documents has increased considerably. Among these documents, there are scientific documents and more specifically mathematics documents. In this context, we present our own dataset of handwritten mathematical symbols composed of 10,379 images. This dataset gathers Arabic characters, Latin characters, Arabic numerals, Latin numerals, arithmetic operators, set-symbols, comparison symbols, delimiters, etc.

Multi-scale Visualization of Remote Sensing and Topographic Data of the Amazon Rain Forest for Environmental Monitoring of the Petroleum Industry.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fonseca, L.; Miranda, F. P.; Beisl, C. H.; Souza-Fonseca, J.

2002-12-01

PETROBRAS (the Brazilian national oil company) built a pipeline to transport crude oil from the Urucu River region to a terminal in the vicinities of Coari, a city located in the right margin of the Solimoes River. The oil is then shipped by tankers to another terminal in Manaus, capital city of the Amazonas state. At the city of Coari, changes in water level between dry and wet seasons reach up to 14 meters. This strong seasonal character of the Amazonian climate gives rise to four distinct scenarios in the annual hydrological cycle: low water, high water, receding water, and rising water. These scenarios constitute the main reference for the definition of oil spill response planning in the region, since flooded forests and flooded vegetation are the most sensitive fluvial environments to oil spills. This study focuses on improving information about oil spill environmental sensitivity in Western Amazon by using 3D visualization techniques to help the analysis and interpretation of remote sensing and digital topographic data, as follows: (a) 1995 low flood and 1996 high flood JERS-1 SAR mosaics, band LHH, 100m pixel; (b) 2000 low flood and 2001 high flood RADARSAT-1 W1 images, band CHH, 30m pixel; (c) 2002 high flood airborne SAR images from the SIVAM project (System for Surveillance of the Amazon), band LHH, 3m pixel and band XHH, 6m pixel; (d) GTOPO30 digital elevation model, 30' resolution; (e) Digital elevation model derived from topographic information acquired during seismic surveys, 25m resolution; (f) panoramic views obtained from low altitude helicopter flights. The methodology applied includes image processing, cartographic conversion and generation of value-added product using 3D visualization. A semivariogram textural classification was applied to the SAR images in order to identify areas of flooded forest and flooded vegetation. The digital elevation models were color shaded to highlight subtle topographic features. Both datasets were then converted to the same cartographic projection and inserted into the Fledermaus 3D visualization environment. 3D visualization proved to be an important aid in understanding the spatial distribution pattern of the environmentally sensitive vegetation cover. The dynamics of the hydrological cycle was depicted in a basin-wide scale, revealing new geomorphic information relevant to assess the environmental risk of oil spills. Results demonstrate that pipelines constitute an environmentally saver option for oil transportation in the region when compared to fluvial tanker routes.

Small unmanned aerial vehicles (micro-UAVs, drones) in plant ecology.

PubMed

Cruzan, Mitchell B; Weinstein, Ben G; Grasty, Monica R; Kohrn, Brendan F; Hendrickson, Elizabeth C; Arredondo, Tina M; Thompson, Pamela G

2016-09-01

Low-elevation surveys with small aerial drones (micro-unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs]) may be used for a wide variety of applications in plant ecology, including mapping vegetation over small- to medium-sized regions. We provide an overview of methods and procedures for conducting surveys and illustrate some of these applications. Aerial images were obtained by flying a small drone along transects over the area of interest. Images were used to create a composite image (orthomosaic) and a digital surface model (DSM). Vegetation classification was conducted manually and using an automated routine. Coverage of an individual species was estimated from aerial images. We created a vegetation map for the entire region from the orthomosaic and DSM, and mapped the density of one species. Comparison of our manual and automated habitat classification confirmed that our mapping methods were accurate. A species with high contrast to the background matrix allowed adequate estimate of its coverage. The example surveys demonstrate that small aerial drones are capable of gathering large amounts of information on the distribution of vegetation and individual species with minimal impact to sensitive habitats. Low-elevation aerial surveys have potential for a wide range of applications in plant ecology.

Analgzing long-term changes in vegetation with geographic information system and remotely sensed data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iverson, Louis R.; Risser, Paul G.

Geographic information systems and remote sensing techniques are powerful tools in the analysis of long-term changes in vegetation and land use, especially because spatial information from two or more time intervals can be compared more readily than by manual methods. A primary restriction is the paucity of data that has been digitized from earlier periods. The Illinois State Geographic Information System has a number of automated data sets containing land-use information, including original land survey plat maps that show the boundaries of forests, prairies, and wetlands as they existed prior to European colonization in the early 1800s. More recent data include the United States Forest Service inventories of 1948, 1962, and 1985; the United States Geological Survey Land Use Data Analysis; National High Altitude Program photographs of vegetation; and Landsat MSS and TM information. These data can be used to compare vegetation patterns and changes in land use over time and to suggest factors that may have caused or influenced these variations. Profound changes have occurred in the Illinois landscape since European settlement, primarily because of conversion to agricultural use; in certain parts of the state, however, urbanization has been the major factor contributing to changes.

CLICK: The new USGS center for LIDAR information coordination and knowledge

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stoker, Jason M.; Greenlee, Susan K.; Gesch, Dean B.; Menig, Jordan C.

2006-01-01

Elevation data is rapidly becoming an important tool for the visualization and analysis of geographic information. The creation and display of three-dimensional models representing bare earth, vegetation, and structures have become major requirements for geographic research in the past few years. Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) has been increasingly accepted as an effective and accurate technology for acquiring high-resolution elevation data for bare earth, vegetation, and structures. Lidar is an active remote sensing system that records the distance, or range, of a laser fi red from an airborne or space borne platform such as an airplane, helicopter or satellite to objects or features on the Earth’s surface. By converting lidar data into bare ground topography and vegetation or structural morphologic information, extremely accurate, high-resolution elevation models can be derived to visualize and quantitatively represent scenes in three dimensions. In addition to high-resolution digital elevation models (Evans et al., 2001), other lidar-derived products include quantitative estimates of vegetative features such as canopy height, canopy closure, and biomass (Lefsky et al., 2002), and models of urban areas such as building footprints and three-dimensional city models (Maas, 2001).

NDVI, scale invariance and the modifiable areal unit problem: An assessment of vegetation in the Adelaide Parklands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nouri, Hamideh; Anderson, Sharolyn; Sutton, Paul; Beecham, Simon; Nagler, Pamela L.; Jarchow, Christopher J.; Roberts, Dar A.

2017-01-01

This research addresses the question as to whether or not the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is scale invariant (i.e. constant over spatial aggregation) for pure pixels of urban vegetation. It has been long recognized that there are issues related to the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP) pertaining to indices such as NDVI and images at varying spatial resolutions. These issues are relevant to using NDVI values in spatial analyses. We compare two different methods of calculation of a mean NDVI: 1) using pixel values of NDVI within feature/object boundaries and 2) first calculating the mean red and mean near-infrared across all feature pixels and then calculating NDVI. We explore the nature and magnitude of these differences for images taken from two sensors, a 1.24 m resolution WorldView-3 and a 0.1 m resolution digital aerial image. We apply these methods over an urban park located in the Adelaide Parklands of South Australia. We demonstrate that the MAUP is not an issue for calculation of NDVI within a sensor for pure urban vegetation pixels. This may prove useful for future rule-based monitoring of the ecosystem functioning of green infrastructure.

Digital Earth Watch And Picture Post Network: Measuring The Environment Through Digital Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schloss, A. L.; Beaudry, J.; Pickle, J.; Carrera, F.

2012-12-01

Digital Earth Watch (DEW) involves individuals, schools, organizations and communities in a systematic monitoring project of their local environment, especially vegetation health. The program offers people the means to join the Picture Post network and to study and analyze their own findings using DEW software. A Picture Post is an easy-to-use and inexpensive platform for repeatedly taking digital photographs as a standardized set of images of the entire 360° landscape, which then can be shared over the Internet on the Picture Post website. This simple concept has the potential to create a wealth of information and data on changing environmental conditions, which is important for a society grappling with the effects of environmental change. Picture Posts may be added by anyone interested in monitoring a particular location. The value of a Picture Post is in the commitment of participants to take repeated photographs - monthly, weekly, or even daily - to build up a long-term record over many years. This poster will show examples of Picture Post pictures being used for monitoring and research applications, and a DEW mobile app for capturing repeat digital photographs at a virtual post. We invite individuals, schools, informal education centers, groups and communities to join.; A new post and its website. ; Creating a virtual post using the mobile app.

Double-crested Cormorant Management Plan to Reduce Predation of Juvenile Salmonids in the Columbia River Estuary

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-01

Table ES-3): TABLE ES-3. Affected Environment. Affect ed Resource Summary Vegetation A mix of native a nd non-native plant species is fou nd on t...from British Columbia to California and east to the Continental Divide. Although the western population of double-crested cormorants composes a small ...no person shall be subject to a penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control

Archeological Investigations in Cochiti Reservoir, New Mexico. Volume 2. Excavation and Analysis 1975 Season.

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-01-01

groups who used this ratio should be considered. them to process wild seeds and other vegeta material. The trough metate has been considered a specialized...transition and as an indi- was composed entirely of jar formswith wide oriface. cation of the importance assumed by wild vegetal ma- not as difficult to...For example. Ovis/Capra meat is con- faunal resource utilization from the excavated site loca- sidered most edible when the animal is young. Meat

Frequency domain laser velocimeter signal processor: A new signal processing scheme

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meyers, James F.; Clemmons, James I., Jr.

1987-01-01

A new scheme for processing signals from laser velocimeter systems is described. The technique utilizes the capabilities of advanced digital electronics to yield a smart instrument that is able to configure itself, based on the characteristics of the input signals, for optimum measurement accuracy. The signal processor is composed of a high-speed 2-bit transient recorder for signal capture and a combination of adaptive digital filters with energy and/or zero crossing detection signal processing. The system is designed to accept signals with frequencies up to 100 MHz with standard deviations up to 20 percent of the average signal frequency. Results from comparative simulation studies indicate measurement accuracies 2.5 times better than with a high-speed burst counter, from signals with as few as 150 photons per burst.

Design of a fault tolerant airborne digital computer. Volume 2: Computational requirements and technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ratner, R. S.; Shapiro, E. B.; Zeidler, H. M.; Wahlstrom, S. E.; Clark, C. B.; Goldberg, J.

1973-01-01

This final report summarizes the work on the design of a fault tolerant digital computer for aircraft. Volume 2 is composed of two parts. Part 1 is concerned with the computational requirements associated with an advanced commercial aircraft. Part 2 reviews the technology that will be available for the implementation of the computer in the 1975-1985 period. With regard to the computation task 26 computations have been categorized according to computational load, memory requirements, criticality, permitted down-time, and the need to save data in order to effect a roll-back. The technology part stresses the impact of large scale integration (LSI) on the realization of logic and memory. Also considered was module interconnection possibilities so as to minimize fault propagation.

Ultra-fast analog-to-digital converter based on a nonlinear triplexer and an optical coder with a photonic crystal structure.

PubMed

Mehdizadeh, Farhad; Soroosh, Mohammad; Alipour-Banaei, Hamed; Farshidi, Ebrahim

2017-03-01

In this paper, we propose what we believe is a novel all-optical analog-to-digital converter (ADC) based on photonic crystals. The proposed structure is composed of a nonlinear triplexer and an optical coder. The nonlinear triplexer is for creating discrete levels in the continuous optical input signal, and the optical coder is for generating a 2-bit standard binary code out of the discrete levels coming from the nonlinear triplexer. Controlling the resonant mode of the resonant rings through optical intensity is the main objective and working mechanism of the proposed structure. The maximum delay time obtained for the proposed structure was about 5 ps and the total footprint is about 1520  μm².

Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rickman, Douglas

2008-01-01

Remote sensing is measuring something without touching it. Most methods measure a portion of the electro-magnetic spectrum using energy reflected from or emitted by a material. Moving the instrument away makes it easier to see more at one time. Airplanes are good but satellites are much better. Many things can not be easily measured on the scale of an individual person. Example - measuring all the vegetation growing at one time in even the smallest country. A satellite can see things over large areas repeatedly and in a consistent way. Data from the detector is reported as digital values for a grid that covers some portion of the Earth. Because it is digital and consistent a computer can extract information or enhance the data for a specific purpose.

The Use of Multi-Source Satellite and Geospatial Data to Study the Effect of Urbanization of Primary Productivity in the United States

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Imhoff, M. L.; Tucker, C. J.; Lawrence, W. T.; Stutzer, D.; Rusin, Robert

2000-01-01

Data from two different satellites, a digital land cover map, and digital census data were analyzed and combined in a geographic information system to study the effect of urbanization on photosynthetic vegetation productivity in the United States. Results show that urbanization can have a measurable but variable impact on the primary productivity of the land surface. Annual productivity can be reduced by as much as 20 days in some areas, but in resource limited regions, photosynthetic production can be enhanced by human activity. Overall, urban development reduces the productivity of the land surface and those areas with the highest productivity are directly in the path of urban sprawl.

Characterization of marine debris in North Carolina salt marshes.

PubMed

Viehman, Shay; Vander Pluym, Jenny L; Schellinger, Jennifer

2011-12-01

Marine debris composition, density, abundance, and accumulation were evaluated in salt marshes in Carteret County, North Carolina seasonally between 2007 and 2009. We assessed relationships between human use patterns and debris type. Wave effects on marine debris density were examined using a GIS-based forecasting tool. We assessed the influence of site wave exposure, period, and height on debris quantity. Presence and abundance of debris were related to wave exposure, vegetation type and proximity of the strata to human population and human use patterns. Plastic pieces accounted for the majority of all debris. Small debris (0-5 cm) was primarily composed of foam pieces and was frequently affiliated with natural wrack. Large debris (>100 cm) was encountered in all marsh habitat types surveyed and was primarily composed of anthropogenic wood and derelict fishing gear. Marsh cleanup efforts should be targeted to specific habitat types or debris types to minimize further damage to sensitive habitats. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

[Wetlands dominated by palms (Arecaceae), emphasis in those in the New World].

PubMed

Myers, Ronald L

2013-09-01

It is well known that most forests in humid tropical lowlands are species rich, and the popular view is that most species are represented by only a few individuals. Despite this common understanding of high richness and low species dominance, within humid tropical regions there are extensive forested ecosystems composed by only few species. These nearly monospecific forests usually occupy poorly drained soils and, except for the mangroves, are quite understudied. In this paper, I review the literature and my own field notes on more than three years studying the structure of palm swamps in Caribbean Costa Rica and Florida to describe some of the major vegetation associations in wetlands dominated by palm species in the Neotropical Region, although I also include some information about similar systems in the Old World Tropics. I mention the most abundant species that compose those palm dominated swamps and -whenever possible- describe forest structure, known distribution, and uses.

Combining high fidelity simulations and real data for improved small-footprint waveform lidar assessment of vegetation structure (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Aardt, J. A.; Wu, J.; Asner, G. P.

2010-12-01

Our understanding of vegetation complexity and biodiversity, from a remote sensing perspective, has evolved from 2D species diversity to also include 3D vegetation structural diversity. Attempts at using image-based approaches for structural assessment have met with reasonable success, but 3D remote sensing technologies, such as radar and light detection and ranging (lidar), are arguably more adept at sensing vegetation structure. While radar-derived structure metrics tend to break down at high biomass levels, novel waveform lidar systems present us with new opportunities for detailed and scalable structural characterization of vegetation. These sensors digitize the entire backscattered energy profile at high spatial and vertical resolutions and often at off-nadir angles. Research teams at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and Carnegie Institution for Science have been using airborne data from the Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO) to assess vegetation structure and variation in savanna ecosystems in and around the Kruger National Park, South Africa. It quickly became evident that (i) pre-processing of small-footprint waveform data is a critical step prior to testing scientific hypotheses, (ii) a number of assumptions of how vegetation structure is expressed in these 3D signals need to be evaluated, and very importantly (iii) we need to re-evaluate our linkages between coarse in-field measurements, e.g., volume, biomass, leaf area index (LAI), and metrics derived from waveform lidar. Research has progressed to the stage where we have evaluated various pre-processing steps, e.g., convolution via the Wiener filter, Richardson-Lucy, and non-negative least squares algorithms, and the coupling of waveform voxels to tree structure in a simulation environment. This was done in the MODTRAN-based Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing Image Generation (DIRSIG) simulation environment, developed at RIT. We generated "truth" cross-section datasets of detailed virtual trees in this environment and evaluated inversion approaches to tree structure estimation. Various outgoing pulse widths, tree structures, and a noise component were included as part of the simulation effort. Results, for example, have shown that the Richardson-Lucy algorithm outperforms other approaches in terms of retrieval of known structural information, that our assumption regarding the position of the ground surface needs re-evaluation, and has shed light on herbaceous biomass and waveform interactions and the impact of outgoing pulse width on assessments. These efforts have gone a long way in providing a solid foundation for analysis and interpretation of actual waveform data from the savanna study area. We expect that newfound knowledge with respect to waveform-target interactions from these simulations will also aid efforts to reconstruct 3D trees from real data and better describe associated structural diversity. Results will be presented at the conference.

Beyond habitat structure: Landscape heterogeneity explains the monito del monte (Dromiciops gliroides) occurrence and behavior at habitats dominated by exotic trees.

PubMed

Salazar, Daniela A; Fontúrbel, Francisco E

2016-09-01

Habitat structure determines species occurrence and behavior. However, human activities are altering natural habitat structure, potentially hampering native species due to the loss of nesting cavities, shelter or movement pathways. The South American temperate rainforest is experiencing an accelerated loss and degradation, compromising the persistence of many native species, and particularly of the monito del monte (Dromiciops gliroides Thomas, 1894), an arboreal marsupial that plays a key role as seed disperser. Aiming to compare 2 contrasting habitats (a native forest and a transformed habitat composed of abandoned Eucalyptus plantations and native understory vegetation), we assessed D. gliroides' occurrence using camera traps and measured several structural features (e.g. shrub and bamboo cover, deadwood presence, moss abundance) at 100 camera locations. Complementarily, we used radio telemetry to assess its spatial ecology, aiming to depict a more complete scenario. Moss abundance was the only significant variable explaining D. gliroides occurrence between habitats, and no structural variable explained its occurrence at the transformed habitat. There were no differences in home range, core area or inter-individual overlapping. In the transformed habitats, tracked individuals used native and Eucalyptus-associated vegetation types according to their abundance. Diurnal locations (and, hence, nesting sites) were located exclusively in native vegetation. The landscape heterogeneity resulting from the vicinity of native and Eucalyptus-associated vegetation likely explains D. gliroides occurrence better than the habitat structure itself, as it may be use Eucalyptus-associated vegetation for feeding purposes but depend on native vegetation for nesting. © 2016 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Adaptive detection of missed text areas in OCR outputs: application to the automatic assessment of OCR quality in mass digitization projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ben Salah, Ahmed; Ragot, Nicolas; Paquet, Thierry

2013-01-01

The French National Library (BnF*) has launched many mass digitization projects in order to give access to its collection. The indexation of digital documents on Gallica (digital library of the BnF) is done through their textual content obtained thanks to service providers that use Optical Character Recognition softwares (OCR). OCR softwares have become increasingly complex systems composed of several subsystems dedicated to the analysis and the recognition of the elements in a page. However, the reliability of these systems is always an issue at stake. Indeed, in some cases, we can find errors in OCR outputs that occur because of an accumulation of several errors at different levels in the OCR process. One of the frequent errors in OCR outputs is the missed text components. The presence of such errors may lead to severe defects in digital libraries. In this paper, we investigate the detection of missed text components to control the OCR results from the collections of the French National Library. Our verification approach uses local information inside the pages based on Radon transform descriptors and Local Binary Patterns descriptors (LBP) coupled with OCR results to control their consistency. The experimental results show that our method detects 84.15% of the missed textual components, by comparing the OCR ALTO files outputs (produced by the service providers) to the images of the document.

Digital data sets that describe aquifer characteristics of the alluvial and terrace deposits along the North Canadian River from Oklahoma City to Eufaula Lake in east-central Oklahoma

USGS Publications Warehouse

Adams, G.P.; Runkle, Donna; Rea, Alan; Becker, C.J.

1997-01-01

ARC/INFO export and nonproprietary format files This diskette contains digitized aquifer boundaries and maps of of hydraulic conductivity, recharge, and ground-water level elevation contours for the alluvial and terrace deposits along the North Canadian River from Oklahoma City to Eufaula Lake in east-central Oklahoma. Ground water in 710 square miles of Quaternary-age alluvial and terrace deposits along the North Canadian River is an important source of water for irrigation, industrial, municipal, stock, and domestic supplies. The aquifer, composed of alluvial and terrace deposits, consists of sand, silt, clay, and gravel. The aquifer is underlain and in hydraulic connection with the upper zone of the Permian-age Garber-Wellington aquifer and the Pennsylvanian-age Ada-Vamoosa aquifer. Most of the lines in the four digital data sets were digitized from a published ground-water modeling report but portions of the aquifer boundary data set was extracted from published digital geologic data sets. Ground-water flow models are numerical representations that simplify and aggregate natural systems. Models are not unique; different combinations of aquifer characteristics may produce similar results. Therefore, values of hydraulic conductivity and recharge used in the model and presented in this data set are not precise, but are within a reasonable range when compared to independently collected data.

A look-up-table digital predistortion technique for high-voltage power amplifiers in ultrasonic applications.

PubMed

Gao, Zheng; Gui, Ping

2012-07-01

In this paper, we present a digital predistortion technique to improve the linearity and power efficiency of a high-voltage class-AB power amplifier (PA) for ultrasound transmitters. The system is composed of a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) in which the digital predistortion (DPD) algorithm is implemented. The DPD algorithm updates the error, which is the difference between the ideal signal and the attenuated distorted output signal, in the look-up table (LUT) memory during each cycle of a sinusoidal signal using the least-mean-square (LMS) algorithm. On the next signal cycle, the error data are used to equalize the signal with negative harmonic components to cancel the amplifier's nonlinear response. The algorithm also includes a linear interpolation method applied to the windowed sinusoidal signals for the B-mode and Doppler modes. The measurement test bench uses an arbitrary function generator as the DAC to generate the input signal, an oscilloscope as the ADC to capture the output waveform, and software to implement the DPD algorithm. The measurement results show that the proposed system is able to reduce the second-order harmonic distortion (HD2) by 20 dB and the third-order harmonic distortion (HD3) by 14.5 dB, while at the same time improving the power efficiency by 18%.

Land-cover mapping of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and Coyote Springs, Piute-Eldorado Valley, and Mormon Mesa Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, Clark County, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, J. LaRue; Damar, Nancy A.; Charlet, David A.; Westenburg, Craig L.

2014-01-01

DigitalGlobe’s QuickBird satellite high-resolution multispectral imagery was classified by using Visual Learning Systems’ Feature Analyst feature extraction software to produce land-cover data sets for the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and the Coyote Springs, Piute-Eldorado Valley, and Mormon Mesa Areas of Critical Environmental Concern in Clark County, Nevada. Over 1,000 vegetation field samples were collected at the stand level. The field samples were classified to the National Vegetation Classification Standard, Version 2 hierarchy at the alliance level and above. Feature extraction models were developed for vegetation on the basis of the spectral and spatial characteristics of selected field samples by using the Feature Analyst hierarchical learning process. Individual model results were merged to create one data set for the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and one for each of the Areas of Critical Environmental Concern. Field sample points and photographs were used to validate and update the data set after model results were merged. Non-vegetation data layers, such as roads and disturbed areas, were delineated from the imagery and added to the final data sets. The resulting land-cover data sets are significantly more detailed than previously were available, both in resolution and in vegetation classes.

Global response of the growing season to soil moisture and topography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guevara, M.; Arroyo, C.; Warner, D. L.; Equihua, J.; Lule, A. V.; Schwartz, A.; Taufer, M.; Vargas, R.

2017-12-01

Soil moisture has a direct influence in plant productivity. Plant productivity and its greenness can be inferred by remote sensing with higher spatial detail than soil moisture. The objective was to improve the coarse scale of currently available satellite soil moisture estimates and identify areas of strong coupling between the interannual variability soil moisture and the maximum greenness vegetation fraction (MGVF) at the global scale. We modeled, cross-validated and downscaled remotely sensed soil moisture using machine learning and digital terrain analysis across 23 years (1991-2013) of available data. Improving the accuracy (0.69-0.87 % of cross-validated explained variance) and the spatial detail (from 27 to 15km) of satellite soil moisture, we filled temporal gaps of information across vegetated areas where satellite soil moisture does not work properly. We found that 7.57% of global vegetated area shows strong correlation with our downscaled product (R2>0.5, Fig. 1). We found a dominant positive response of vegetation greenness to topography-based soil moisture across water limited environments, however, the tropics and temperate environments of higher latitudes showed a sparse negative response. We conclude that topography can be used to effectively improve the spatial detail of globally available remotely sensed soil moisture, which is convenient to generate unbiased comparisons with global vegetation dynamics, and better inform land and crop modeling efforts.

A New Comprehensive Lightning Instrumentation System for Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mata, Carlos T.; Rakov, Vladimir A.; Mata, Angel G.; Bonilla Tatiana; Navedo, Emmanuel; Snyder, Gary P.

2010-01-01

A new comprehensive lightning instrumentation system has been designed for Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. This new instrumentation system includes the synchronized recording of six high-speed video cameras, currents through the nine downconductors of the new lightning protection system, four B-dot, 3-axis measurement stations, and five D-dot stations composed of two antennas each. The instrumentation system is composed of centralized transient recorders and digitizers that located close to the sensors in the field. The sensors and transient recorders communicate via optical fiber. The transient recorders are triggered by the B-dot sensors, the E-dot sensors, or the current through the downlead conductors. The high-speed cameras are triggered by the transient recorders when the latter perceives a qualified trigger.

Landsat mapping of rocks associated with copper mineralization, northern Bahia State, Brazil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stone, T. A.; Birnie, R. W.; Zantop, H.

1983-01-01

This project has applied Landsat digital data to a study of the geology of a mineralized zone in northern Bahia State, Brazil. The study accomplished two tasks: (1) production of a 1:100,000 geologic map of approximately 3300 sq km and (2) development of a two tiered geobotanical index that exploits increased vegetation density and decreased soil brightness on the mafic rock units.

An evaluation of space acquired data as a tool for wildlife management in Alaska

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vantries, B. J. (Principal Investigator)

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Interpretation of ERTS-1 imagery by color-coded densitometric displays and digital processes data verified that with adequate quadrat in situ sampling ERTS-1 data could be extrapolated to describe accurately the vegetative characteristics of analogous sites, and that surface acres of water for waterfowl production were obtainable for ponds a minimum of 5 acres in size.

ERTS-1 data applied to strip mining

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, A. T.; Schubert, J.

1976-01-01

Two coal basins within the western region of the Potomac River Basin contain the largest strip-mining operations in western Maryland and West Virginia. The disturbed strip-mine areas were delineated along with the surrounding geological and vegetation features by using ERTS-1 data in both analog and digital form. The two digital systems employed were (1) the ERTS analysis system, a point-by-point digital analysis of spectral signatures based on known spectral values and (2) the LARS automatic data processing system. These two systems aided in efforts to determine the extent and state of strip mining in this region. Aircraft data, ground-verification information, and geological field studies also aided in the application of ERTS-1 imagery to perform an integrated analysis that assessed the adverse effects of strip mining. The results indicated that ERTS can both monitor and map the extent of strip mining to determine immediately the acreage affected and to indicate where future reclamation and revegetation may be necessary.

Mapping minerals, amorphous materials, environmental materials, vegetation, water, ice and snow, and other materials: The USGS tricorder algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, Roger N.; Swayze, Gregg A.

1995-01-01

One of the challenges of Imaging Spectroscopy is the identification, mapping and abundance determination of materials, whether mineral, vegetable, or liquid, given enough spectral range, spectral resolution, signal to noise, and spatial resolution. Many materials show diagnostic absorption features in the visual and near infrared region (0.4 to 2.5 micrometers) of the spectrum. This region is covered by the modern imaging spectrometers such as AVIRIS. The challenge is to identify the materials from absorption bands in their spectra, and determine what specific analyses must be done to derive particular parameters of interest, ranging from simply identifying its presence to deriving its abundance, or determining specific chemistry of the material. Recently, a new analysis algorithm was developed that uses a digital spectral library of known materials and a fast, modified-least-squares method of determining if a single spectral feature for a given material is present. Clark et al. made another advance in the mapping algorithm: simultaneously mapping multiple minerals using multiple spectral features. This was done by a modified-least-squares fit of spectral features, from data in a digital spectral library, to corresponding spectral features in the image data. This version has now been superseded by a more comprehensive spectral analysis system called Tricorder.

Exploitation of Digital Surface Models Generated from WORLDVIEW-2 Data for SAR Simulation Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ilehag, R.; Auer, S.; d'Angelo, P.

2017-05-01

GeoRaySAR, an automated SAR simulator developed at DLR, identifies buildings in high resolution SAR data by utilizing geometric knowledge extracted from digital surface models (DSMs). Hitherto, the simulator has utilized DSMs generated from LiDAR data from airborne sensors with pre-filtered vegetation. Discarding the need for pre-optimized model input, DSMs generated from high resolution optical data (acquired with WorldView-2) are used for the extraction of building-related SAR image parts in this work. An automatic preprocessing of the DSMs has been developed for separating buildings from elevated vegetation (trees, bushes) and reducing the noise level. Based on that, automated simulations are triggered considering the properties of real SAR images. Locations in three cities, Munich, London and Istanbul, were chosen as study areas to determine advantages and limitations related to WorldView-2 DSMs as input for GeoRaySAR. Beyond, the impact of the quality of the DSM in terms of building extraction is evaluated as well as evaluation of building DSM, a DSM only containing buildings. The results indicate that building extents can be detected with DSMs from optical satellite data with various success, dependent on the quality of the DSM as well as on the SAR imaging perspective.

The use of a GIS Red-Amber-Green (RAG) system to define search priorities for burials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Somma, Roberta; Silvestro, Massimiliano; Cascio, Maria; Dawson, Lorna; Donnelly, Laurance; Harrison, Mark; McKinley, Jennifer; Ruffell, Alastair

2016-04-01

The aim of this research is to promote among the Italian police, magistrates, and geologists, the applications of a Geographical Information System (GIS)-based RAG system for use in ground searches for burials. To date the RAG system has not been used and documented in Italy and would potentially be useful for searches related to clandestine burial sites. This technique, was originally documented by the British Army in the 1st World War. The RAG method is based on the construction of theme maps. RAG maps can facilitate the deployment of appropriate search assets (such as geophysics, probe or search dogs) and therefore applied to ground searches for the potential location of homicide graves or other buried objects (including weapons, explosives, etc.). RAG maps also may assist in the management of resources such as the deployment of search personnel, search teams and dogs. A GIS RAG (Red-Amber-Green) system related to a search for a homicide grave was applied to a test site in Italy, simulating the concealment of a victim in the area of Alì. This is an area of hill in Sicily, characterized by Palaeozoic phyllites. It was assumed during this test that information was provided by an observer who saw a suspect carrying tools on his land during daylight hours. A desktop study of the rural area was first implemented. Data was collated from previous geological, geomorphological, hydrogeological, geophysical and land use surveys. All these data were stored and independently analysed in a GIS using ArcGIS software. For the development of the GIS-based RAG map a digital elevation model (DEM) including a digital surface model (DTS) and digital terrain model (DTM) types were used. These were integrated with data from soil surveys to provide a preliminary assessment of "diggability" - including the possible thickness of loose superficial deposits and soils. Data were stored in different layers within the GIS. These included the delineation of the search area with consideration of access/exit points, diggability (easy: red, difficult: green), ground slope (<27°: red, >27°: green), vegetation type (easy access: red, difficult access: green), geomorphology (stable area: red, unstable area: green), anthropogenic structures (not present: red, present: green), visibility of the site from a potential eyewitnesses perspective (not visible: red, visible: green). Overlaying these layers, using the ArcGIS tools, enabled the RAG map to be composed with red showing the high priority search areas, amber the intermediate priority search areas and green the low priority search areas. The GIS-based RAG map of the simulated test-site allowed the original extent of the search area of 39.315m2, to be significantly reduced to 7.45% (2.930m2: extension red area) by desktop study and to 2.93% (1.152m2) with a further reconnaissance site visit. During subsequent field training conducted by forensic geology students at Messina University, the grave was found after 2 hours of searching, both using the RAG map and a soil probe and observing topographic disturbances. A subsidence of some centimeters and an anomalous growth of vegetation was found on the superficial surface of the grave (75cm deep).