Diurnal patterns of wheat spectral reflectances and their importance in the assessment of canopy parameters from remotely sensed observations. [Phoenix, Arizona

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinter, P. J.; Jackson, R. D.; Idso, S. B.; Reginato, R. J. (Principal Investigator)

1982-01-01

Spectral reflectances of Produra wheat were measured at 13 different times of the day at Phoenix, Arizona, during April 1979 using a nadir-oriented hand-held 4-band radiometer which had bandpass characteristics similar to those on LANDSAT satellites. Different Sun altitude and azimuth angles caused significant diurnal changes in radiant return in both visible and near-IR regions of the spectrum and in several vegetation indices derived from them. The magnitude of these changes were related to different canopy architecture, percent cover and green leaf area conditions. Spectral measurements taken at each time period were well correlated with green leaf area index but the nature of the relationship changed significantly with time of day. Thus, a significant bias in the estimation of the green leaf area index from remotely sensed spectral data could occur if sun angles are not properly accounted for.

Development of new index for forest fire risk using satellite images in Indonesia through the direct spectral measurements of soil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashimoto, A.; Akita, M.; Takahashi, Y.; Suzuki, H.; Hasegawa, Y.; Ogino, Y.; Naruse, N.; Takahashi, Y.

2016-12-01

In recent years, the smoke caused by the forest fires in Indonesia has become a serious problem. Most of the land in Indonesia is covered with peat moss, which occurs the expanding of fires due to the burning itself. Thus, the surface soil water, reflecting the amount of precipitation in the area, can become the indication of the risk of fires. This study aims to develop a new index reflecting the risk of forest fires in Indonesia using satellite remote sensing through the direct spectral measurements of peat moss soil.We have prepared the peat moss in 7 steps of soil water content measured at an accuracy of ±15 percent (Field pro, WD-3). We obtained spectra between 400nm and 1050nm (Source: halogen lamp, spectroscope: self-made space time, spectral analysis kit) from the peat moss.The obtained spectra show the difference from the previous spectral measurement for the soil in various water content. There are the features, especially, in the wavelength range of ultraviolet (400-450nm) and infrared (530-800nm) as shown in the figure; the more the soil water increases, the lower the reflectance becomes. We have developed a new index using the New deep blue band (433 453nm and NIR band 845 885nm of Landsat 8. The resulting satellite images calculated by our original index appears to reflect the risk of forest fires rather than well-known indices such as Normalized Difference Water Index and Normalized difference Soil Index.In conclusion, we have created a new index that highly reflects to the degree of soil water of a peat soil in Indonesia.

Development of spectral indices for roofing material condition status detection using field spectroscopy and WorldView-3 data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samsudin, Sarah Hanim; Shafri, Helmi Z. M.; Hamedianfar, Alireza

2016-04-01

Status observations of roofing material degradation are constantly evolving due to urban feature heterogeneities. Although advanced classification techniques have been introduced to improve within-class impervious surface classifications, these techniques involve complex processing and high computation times. This study integrates field spectroscopy and satellite multispectral remote sensing data to generate degradation status maps of concrete and metal roofing materials. Field spectroscopy data were used as bases for selecting suitable bands for spectral index development because of the limited number of multispectral bands. Mapping methods for roof degradation status were established for metal and concrete roofing materials by developing the normalized difference concrete condition index (NDCCI) and the normalized difference metal condition index (NDMCI). Results indicate that the accuracies achieved using the spectral indices are higher than those obtained using supervised pixel-based classification. The NDCCI generated an accuracy of 84.44%, whereas the support vector machine (SVM) approach yielded an accuracy of 73.06%. The NDMCI obtained an accuracy of 94.17% compared with 62.5% for the SVM approach. These findings support the suitability of the developed spectral index methods for determining roof degradation statuses from satellite observations in heterogeneous urban environments.

Off-Nadir Hyperspectral Sensing for Estimation of Vertical Profile of Leaf Chlorophyll Content within Wheat Canopies.

PubMed

Kong, Weiping; Huang, Wenjiang; Casa, Raffaele; Zhou, Xianfeng; Ye, Huichun; Dong, Yingying

2017-11-23

Monitoring the vertical profile of leaf chlorophyll (Chl) content within winter wheat canopies is of significant importance for revealing the real nutritional status of the crop. Information on the vertical profile of Chl content is not accessible to nadir-viewing remote or proximal sensing. Off-nadir or multi-angle sensing would provide effective means to detect leaf Chl content in different vertical layers. However, adequate information on the selection of sensitive spectral bands and spectral index formulas for vertical leaf Chl content estimation is not yet available. In this study, all possible two-band and three-band combinations over spectral bands in normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)-, simple ratio (SR)- and chlorophyll index (CI)-like types of indices at different viewing angles were calculated and assessed for their capability of estimating leaf Chl for three vertical layers of wheat canopies. The vertical profiles of Chl showed top-down declining trends and the patterns of band combinations sensitive to leaf Chl content varied among different vertical layers. Results indicated that the combinations of green band (520 nm) with NIR bands were efficient in estimating upper leaf Chl content, whereas the red edge (695 nm) paired with NIR bands were dominant in quantifying leaf Chl in the lower layers. Correlations between published spectral indices and all NDVI-, SR- and CI-like types of indices and vertical distribution of Chl content showed that reflectance measured from 50°, 30° and 20° backscattering viewing angles were the most promising to obtain information on leaf Chl in the upper-, middle-, and bottom-layer, respectively. Three types of optimized spectral indices improved the accuracy for vertical leaf Chl content estimation. The optimized three-band CI-like index performed the best in the estimation of vertical distribution of leaf Chl content, with R² of 0.84-0.69, and RMSE of 5.37-5.56 µg/cm² from the top to the bottom layers, while the optimized SR-like index was recommended for the bottom Chl estimation due to its simple and universal form. We suggest that it is necessary to take into account the penetration characteristic of the light inside the canopy for different Chl absorption regions of the spectrum and the formula used to derive spectral index when estimating the vertical profile of leaf Chl content using off-nadir hyperspectral data.

Measurement of refractive index of hemoglobin in the visible/NIR spectral range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazareva, Ekaterina N.; Tuchin, Valery V.

2018-03-01

This study is focused on the measurements of the refractive index of hemoglobin solutions in the visible/near-infrared (NIR) spectral range at room temperature for characteristic laser wavelengths: 480, 486, 546, 589, 644, 656, 680, 930, 1100, 1300, and 1550 nm. Measurements were performed using the multiwavelength Abbe refractometer. Aqua hemoglobin solutions of different concentrations obtained from human whole blood were investigated. The specific increment of refractive index on hemoglobin concentration and the Sellmeier coefficients were calculated.

Comparative analysis of data quality and applications in vegetation of HJ-1A CCD images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Hongwei; Tian, Qingjiu; Huang, Yan; Wang, Yan

2014-05-01

To study the data quality and to find the differences in vegetation monitoring applications, the same region at Chuzhou Lai 'an, the data of HJ-1A CCD1 on the April 1st, 2012 and the data of HJ-1A CCD2 on the March 31, 2012 have being comparative analysis by the method of objective quality (image)assessment which selecting over five spectral image evaluation parameters: radiation precision (mean, variance, inclination, steepness), information entropy, signal-to-noise ratio, sharpness, contrast, and normalized differential vegetation index. The results show that there is little differences between the HJ-1A CCD1 and CCD2 by objective evaluation of data quality except radiation precision conform to their design theory, so the conclusion is that the difference of them without considering on the usual unless continuation;and Combination of field observation data Lai'an spectral data and GPS data (each point),selecting the normalized difference vegetation index as CCD1, CCD2 in vegetation monitoring application on the evaluation of the differences, and the specific process is based on GPS data is divided into nine small plots of spectral data ,and image data of nine one-to-one correspondence plots, and their normalized difference vegetation index values were calculated ,and measured spectra data resampling HJ-1A CCD1, CCD2 spectral response function calculated NDVI, and the results show that there is little differences between the HJ-1A CCD1 and CCD2 by objective evaluation of data quality, and, the differences of wheat `s reflection and normalized vegetation index is mainly due to calibration coefficients of CCD1 and CCD2, the differences of the solar elevation angle when obtaining the image and atmospheric conditions, so it has to consider the performance indicators as well as access conditions of CCD1 and CCD2, and to be take the normalization techniques for processing for the comparison analysis in the use of HJ-1A CCD Data to surface dynamic changes; Finally, in order to study the response of the spectral response function proposed spectral response function of impact factor, and in view of the spectral response function measured spectral data resampling only HJ-1A CCD spectral response function, calculated according to the formula of the equivalent reflectivity quantitative spectral response function, and spectral normalization of proposed theoretical Technical Support. The Objective evaluation of its application of HJ-1A CCD1, and CCD2 data quality differences research has important implications for broader application to further promote China-made remote sensing satellite data, future research also needs calibration coefficient, the solar elevation angle atmospheric conditions and its image scanning angle be taken into account, and to make the corresponding normalized its impact quantitative research has important significance for the timing changes in the application of the ecological environment in China.

Distinguishing between extra natural inflation and natural inflation after BICEP2

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

Kohri, Kazunori; Lim, C.S.; Lin, Chia-Min, E-mail: kohri@post.kek.jp, E-mail: lim@lab.twcu.ac.jp, E-mail: lin@chuo-u.ac.jp

2014-08-01

In this paper, we carefully calculated the tensor-to-scalar ratio, the running spectral index, and the running of running spectrum for (extra) natural inflation in order to compare with recent BICEP2 data, PLANCK satellite data and future 21 cm data. We discovered that the prediction for running spectral index and the running of running spectrum in natural inflation is different from that in the case of extra natural inflation. Near future observation for the running spectral index can only provide marginal accuracy which may not allow us distinguishing between extra natural inflation from natural inflation clearly unless the experimental accuracy canmore » be further improved.« less

Neural networks using broadband spectral discriminators reduces illumination required for broccoli identification in weedy fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hahn, Federico

1996-03-01

Statistical discriminative analysis and neural networks were used to prove that crop/weed/soil discrimination by optical reflectance was feasible. The wavelengths selected as inputs on those neural networks were ten nanometers width, reducing the total collected radiation for the sensor. Spectral data collected from several farms having different weed populations were introduced to discriminant analysis. The best discriminant wavelengths were used to build a wavelength histogram which selected the three best spectral broadbands for broccoli/weed/soil discrimination. The broadbands were analyzed using a new single broadband discriminator index named the discriminative integration index, DII, and the DII values obtained were used to train a neural network. This paper introduces the index concept, its results and its use for minimizing artificial lightning requirements with broadband spectral measurements for broccoli/weed/soil discrimination.

Study on Remote Sensing Image Characteristics of Ecological Land: Case Study of Original Ecological Land in the Yellow River Delta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, G. Q.

2018-04-01

Takes the Yellow River Delta as an example, this paper studies the characteristics of remote sensing imagery with dominant ecological functional land use types, compares the advantages and disadvantages of different image in interpreting ecological land use, and uses research results to analyse the changing trend of ecological land in the study area in the past 30 years. The main methods include multi-period, different sensor images and different seasonal spectral curves, vegetation index, GIS and data analysis methods. The results show that the main ecological land in the Yellow River Delta included coastal beaches, saline-alkaline lands, and water bodies. These lands have relatively distinct spectral and texture features. The spectral features along the beach show characteristics of absorption in the green band and reflection in the red band. This feature is less affected by the acquisition year, season, and sensor type. Saline-alkali land due to the influence of some saline-alkaline-tolerant plants such as alkali tent, Tamarix and other vegetation, the spectral characteristics have a certain seasonal changes, winter and spring NDVI index is less than the summer and autumn vegetation index. The spectral characteristics of a water body generally decrease rapidly with increasing wavelength, and the reflectance in the red band increases with increasing sediment concentration. In conclusion, according to the spectral characteristics and image texture features of the ecological land in the Yellow River Delta, the accuracy of image interpretation of such ecological land can be improved.

The Spectral Signatures Of BH Versus NS Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seifina, E.; Titarchuk, L.

2011-09-01

We present a comparative analysis of spectral properties of Black Hole (BH) and Neutron Star (NS) X-ray binaries during transition events observed with BeppoSAX and RXTE satellites. In particular, we investigated the behavior of Comptonized component of X-ray spectra when object evolves from the low to high spectral states. The basic models to fit X-ray spectra of these objects are upscattering models (so called BMC and COMPTB models) which are the first principal models. These models taking into account both dynamical and thermal Comptonization and allow to study separate contributions of thermal component and Comptonization component (bulk and thermal effect of Comptonization processes). Specifically, we tested quite a few observations of BHs (GRS 1915+105 and SS 433) and NSs (4U 1728-34 and GX 3+1) applying BMC and COMPTB models. In this way it was found a crucial difference in behavior of photon index vs mass accretion rate (mdot) for BHs and NSs. Namely, we revealed the stability of the photon index around typical value of Gamma=2 versus mdot (or electron temperature) during spectral evolution of NS sources. This stability effect was previously suggested for a number of other neutron binaries (see Farinelli and Titarchuk, 2011). This intrinsic property of NS is fundamentally different from that in BH binary sources for which the index demonstrates monotonic growth with mass accretion rate followed by its saturation at high values of mdot. These index-mass accretion rate behavior during X-ray spectral transition events can be considered as signatures, which allow to differ NS from BH.

Low-loss multilayered metamaterial exhibiting a negative index of refraction at visible wavelengths.

PubMed

García-Meca, Carlos; Hurtado, Juan; Martí, Javier; Martínez, Alejandro; Dickson, Wayne; Zayats, Anatoly V

2011-02-11

We experimentally demonstrate a low-loss multilayered metamaterial exhibiting a double-negative refractive index in the visible spectral range. To this end, we exploit a second-order magnetic resonance of the so-called fishnet structure. The low-loss nature of the employed magnetic resonance, together with the effect of the interacting adjacent layers, results in a figure of merit as high as 3.34. A wide spectral range of negative index is achieved, covering the wavelength region between 620 and 806 nm with only two different designs.

Measurement of refractive index of hemoglobin in the visible/NIR spectral range.

PubMed

Lazareva, Ekaterina N; Tuchin, Valery V

2018-03-01

This study is focused on the measurements of the refractive index of hemoglobin solutions in the visible/near-infrared (NIR) spectral range at room temperature for characteristic laser wavelengths: 480, 486, 546, 589, 644, 656, 680, 930, 1100, 1300, and 1550 nm. Measurements were performed using the multiwavelength Abbe refractometer. Aqua hemoglobin solutions of different concentrations obtained from human whole blood were investigated. The specific increment of refractive index on hemoglobin concentration and the Sellmeier coefficients were calculated. (2018) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

Fusion of multi-spectral and panchromatic images based on 2D-PWVD and SSIM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Dongjie; Liu, Yi; Hou, Ruonan; Xue, Bindang

2016-03-01

A combined method using 2D pseudo Wigner-Ville distribution (2D-PWVD) and structural similarity(SSIM) index is proposed for fusion of low resolution multi-spectral (MS) image and high resolution panchromatic (PAN) image. First, the intensity component of multi-spectral image is extracted with generalized IHS transform. Then, the spectrum diagrams of the intensity components of multi-spectral image and panchromatic image are obtained with 2D-PWVD. Different fusion rules are designed for different frequency information of the spectrum diagrams. SSIM index is used to evaluate the high frequency information of the spectrum diagrams for assigning the weights in the fusion processing adaptively. After the new spectrum diagram is achieved according to the fusion rule, the final fusion image can be obtained by inverse 2D-PWVD and inverse GIHS transform. Experimental results show that, the proposed method can obtain high quality fusion images.

Off-Nadir Hyperspectral Sensing for Estimation of Vertical Profile of Leaf Chlorophyll Content within Wheat Canopies

PubMed Central

Huang, Wenjiang; Zhou, Xianfeng; Ye, Huichun; Dong, Yingying

2017-01-01

Monitoring the vertical profile of leaf chlorophyll (Chl) content within winter wheat canopies is of significant importance for revealing the real nutritional status of the crop. Information on the vertical profile of Chl content is not accessible to nadir-viewing remote or proximal sensing. Off-nadir or multi-angle sensing would provide effective means to detect leaf Chl content in different vertical layers. However, adequate information on the selection of sensitive spectral bands and spectral index formulas for vertical leaf Chl content estimation is not yet available. In this study, all possible two-band and three-band combinations over spectral bands in normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)-, simple ratio (SR)- and chlorophyll index (CI)-like types of indices at different viewing angles were calculated and assessed for their capability of estimating leaf Chl for three vertical layers of wheat canopies. The vertical profiles of Chl showed top-down declining trends and the patterns of band combinations sensitive to leaf Chl content varied among different vertical layers. Results indicated that the combinations of green band (520 nm) with NIR bands were efficient in estimating upper leaf Chl content, whereas the red edge (695 nm) paired with NIR bands were dominant in quantifying leaf Chl in the lower layers. Correlations between published spectral indices and all NDVI-, SR- and CI-like types of indices and vertical distribution of Chl content showed that reflectance measured from 50°, 30° and 20° backscattering viewing angles were the most promising to obtain information on leaf Chl in the upper-, middle-, and bottom-layer, respectively. Three types of optimized spectral indices improved the accuracy for vertical leaf Chl content estimation. The optimized three-band CI-like index performed the best in the estimation of vertical distribution of leaf Chl content, with R2 of 0.84–0.69, and RMSE of 5.37–5.56 µg/cm2 from the top to the bottom layers, while the optimized SR-like index was recommended for the bottom Chl estimation due to its simple and universal form. We suggest that it is necessary to take into account the penetration characteristic of the light inside the canopy for different Chl absorption regions of the spectrum and the formula used to derive spectral index when estimating the vertical profile of leaf Chl content using off-nadir hyperspectral data. PMID:29168757

Evaluation of forest fire on Madeira Island using Sentinel-2A MSI imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Navarro, Gabriel; Caballero, Isabel; Silva, Gustavo; Parra, Pedro-Cecilio; Vázquez, Águeda; Caldeira, Rui

2017-06-01

A forest fire started on August 8th, 2016 in several places on Madeira Island causing damage and casualties. As of August 10th the local media had reported the death of three people, over 200 people injured, over 950 habitants evacuated, and 50 houses damaged. This study presents the preliminary results of the assessment of several spectral indices to evaluate the burn severity of Madeira fires during August 2016. These spectral indices were calculated using the new European satellite Sentinel-2A launched in June 2015. The study confirmed the advantages of several spectral indices such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (GNDVI), Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVIreXn) using red-edge spectral bands to assess the post-fire conditions. Results showed high correlation between NDVI, GNDVI, NBR and NDVIre1n spectral indices and the analysis performed by Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMSR175), considered as the reference truth. Regarding the red-edge spectral indices, the NDVIre1n (using band B5, 705 nm) presented better results compared with B6 (740 nm) and B7 (783 nm) bands. These preliminary results allow us to assume that Sentinel-2 will be a valuable tool for post-fire monitoring. In the future, the two twin Sentinel-2 satellites will offer global coverage of the Madeira Archipelago every five days, therefore allowing the simultaneous study of the evolution of the burnt area and reforestation information with high spatial (up to 10 m) and temporal resolution (5 days).

The Effect of Molecular Contamination on the Emissivity Spectral Index in Orion A

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coudé, Simon; Bastien, Pierre; Drabek, Emily; Johnstone, Doug; Hatchell, Jennifer

2013-07-01

The emissivity spectral index is a critical component in the study of the physical properties of dust grains in cold and optically thin interstellar star forming regions. Since submillimeter astronomy is an ideal tool to measure the thermal emission of those dust grains, it can be used to characterize this important parameter. We present the SCUBA-2 shared risks observations at 450 μm and 850 μm of the Orion A molecular cloud obtained at the James-Clerk-Maxwell telescope. Previous studies showed that molecular emission lines can also contribute significantly to the measured fluxes in those continuum bands. We use HARP 12CO 3-2 maps to evaluate the total molecular line contamination in the SCUBA-2 maps and its effect on the determination of the spectral index in highly contaminated areas. With the corrected fluxes, we have obtained new spectral index maps for different regions of the well-known integral-shaped filament. This work is part of an ongoing effort to characterize the properties of star forming regions in the Gould belt with the new instruments available at the JCMT.

Establishing the spectral turnover of blazar PKS 2155-304 as an outcome of radiative losses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jagan, Sitha K.; Sahayanathan, S.; Misra, R.; Ravikumar, C. D.; Jeena, K.

2018-07-01

The broad-band optical/UV and X-ray spectra of blazars have been often modelled as synchrotron component arising from a broken power-law distribution of electrons. A broken power-law distribution is expected, since the high-energy electrons undergo radiative losses effectively. The change in the energy index should then be ≈1 and corresponds to a spectral index difference of 0.5. However, one of the long outstanding problems has been that the observed index change is significantly different. On the other hand, recent high-quality observations of blazars suggest that their local spectra may not be a power law, instead have a slight curvature and often represented by a log-parabola model. Using XMM-Newtonobservations spanning over 12 yr for the BL Lac PKS 2155-304, we show that the optical/UV and X-ray spectra can be well represented by a broken log-parabola model. Further, we show that such a spectrum can indicate the energy dependence of the electron escape time-scale from the main acceleration zone. This novel approach, besides addressing the observed difference in the photon spectral indices, also tries to explain the spectral turn over in far-UV/soft X-rays as a result of the radiative losses.

Establishing the spectral turnover of blazar PKS 2155-304 as an outcome of radiative losses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jagan, Sitha K.; Sahayanathan, S.; Misra, R.; Ravikumar, C. D.; Jeena, K.

2018-06-01

The broad-band optical/UV and X-ray spectra of blazars have been often modelled as synchrotron component arising from a broken power-law distribution of electrons. A broken power-law distribution is expected, since the high energy electrons undergo radiative losses effectively. The change in the energy index should then be ≈1 and corresponds to a spectral index difference of 0.5. However, one of the long outstanding problems has been that the observed index change is significantly different. On the other hand, recent high quality observations of blazars suggest that their local spectra may not be a power-law, instead have a slight curvature and often represented by a log parabola model. Using XMM-Newton observations spanning over 12 years for the BL Lac PKS 2155-304, we show that the optical/UV and X-ray spectra can be well represented by a broken log parabola model. Further, we show that such a spectrum can indicate the energy dependence of the electron escape time-scale from the main acceleration zone. This novel approach, besides addressing the observed difference in the photon spectral indices, also tries to explain the spectral turn over in far-UV/soft X-rays as a result of the radiative losses.

Integrating multiple vegetation indices via an artificial neural network model for estimating the leaf chlorophyll content of Spartina alterniflora under interspecies competition.

PubMed

Liu, Pudong; Shi, Runhe; Zhang, Chao; Zeng, Yuyan; Wang, Jiapeng; Tao, Zhu; Gao, Wei

2017-10-31

The invasive species Spartina alterniflora and native species Phragmites australis display a significant co-occurrence zonation pattern and this co-exist region exerts most competitive situations between these two species, competing for the limited space, directly influencing the co-exist distribution in the future. However, these two species have different growth ratios in this area, which increase the difficulty to detect the distribution situation directly by remote sensing. As chlorophyll content is a key indicator of plant growth and physiological status, the objective of this study was to reduce the effect of interspecies competition when estimating Cab content; we evaluated 79 published representative indices to determine the optimal indices for estimating the chlorophyll a and b (Cab) content. After performing a sensitivity analysis for all 79 spectral indices, five spectral indices were selected and integrated using an artificial neural network (ANN) to estimate the Cab content of different competition ratios: the Gitelson ratio green index, the transformed chlorophyll absorption ratio index/optimized soil-adjusted vegetation index, the modified normalized difference vegetation index, the chlorophyll fluorescence index, and the Vogelmann chlorophyll index. The ANN method yielded better results (R 2  = 0.7110 and RMSE = 8.3829 μg cm -2 ) on average than the best single spectral index (R 2  = 0.6319 and RMSE = 9.3535 μg cm -2 ), representing an increase of 10.78% in R 2 and a decrease of 10.38% in RMSE. Our results indicated that integrating multiple vegetation indices with an ANN can alleviate the impact of interspecies competition and achieve higher estimation accuracy than the traditional approach using a single index.

Statistical properties of Fermi GBM GRBs' spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rácz, István I.; Balázs, Lajos G.; Horvath, Istvan; Tóth, L. Viktor; Bagoly, Zsolt

2018-03-01

Statistical studies of gamma-ray burst (GRB) spectra may result in important information on the physics of GRBs. The Fermi GBM catalogue contains GRB parameters (peak energy, spectral indices, and intensity) estimated fitting the gamma-ray spectral energy distribution of the total emission (fluence, flnc), and during the time of the peak flux (pflx). Using contingency tables, we studied the relationship of the models best-fitting pflx and flnc time intervals. Our analysis revealed an ordering of the spectra into a power law - Comptonized - smoothly broken power law - Band series. This result was further supported by a correspondence analysis of the pflx and flnc spectra categorical variables. We performed a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) to find a relationship between categorical (spectral) and model independent physical data. LDA resulted in highly significant physical differences among the spectral types, that is more pronounced in the case of the pflx spectra, than for the flnc spectra. We interpreted this difference as caused by the temporal variation of the spectrum during the outburst. This spectral variability is confirmed by the differences in the low-energy spectral index and peak energy, between the pflx and flnc spectra. We found that the synchrotron radiation is significant in GBM spectra. The mean low-energy spectral index is close to the canonical value of α = -2/3 during the peak flux. However, α is ˜ -0.9 for the spectra of the fluences. We interpret this difference as showing that the effect of cooling is important only for the fluence spectra.

Standard deviation index for stimulated Brillouin scattering suppression with different homogeneities.

PubMed

Ran, Yang; Su, Rongtao; Ma, Pengfei; Wang, Xiaolin; Zhou, Pu; Si, Lei

2016-05-10

We present a new quantitative index of standard deviation to measure the homogeneity of spectral lines in a fiber amplifier system so as to find the relation between the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) threshold and the homogeneity of the corresponding spectral lines. A theoretical model is built and a simulation framework has been established to estimate the SBS threshold when input spectra with different homogeneities are set. In our experiment, by setting the phase modulation voltage to a constant value and the modulation frequency to different values, spectral lines with different homogeneities can be obtained. The experimental results show that the SBS threshold increases negatively with the standard deviation of the modulated spectrum, which is in good agreement with the theoretical results. When the phase modulation voltage is confined to 10 V and the modulation frequency is set to 80 MHz, the standard deviation of the modulated spectrum equals 0.0051, which is the lowest value in our experiment. Thus, at this time, the highest SBS threshold has been achieved. This standard deviation can be a good quantitative index in evaluating the power scaling potential in a fiber amplifier system, which is also a design guideline in suppressing the SBS to a better degree.

Evaluation of spatial, radiometric and spectral Thematic Mapper performance for coastal studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klemas, V. (Principal Investigator)

1984-01-01

The effect different wetland plant canopies have upon observed reflectance in Thematic Mapper bands is examined. The three major vegetation canopy types (broadleaf, gramineous and leafless) produce unique spectral responses for a similar quantity of live biomass. Biomass estimates computed from spectral data were most similar to biomass estimates determined from harvest data when models developed for a specific canopy were used. Precise determination of regression coefficients for each canopy type and modeling changes in the coefficients with various combinations of canopy types are being tested. The multispectral band scanner vegetation index estimates are very similar to the vegetation index estimates.

Millimetre spectral indices of transition disks and their relation to the cavity radius

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinilla, P.; Benisty, M.; Birnstiel, T.; Ricci, L.; Isella, A.; Natta, A.; Dullemond, C. P.; Quiroga-Nuñez, L. H.; Henning, T.; Testi, L.

2014-04-01

Context. Transition disks are protoplanetary disks with inner depleted dust cavities that are excellent candidates for investigating the dust evolution when there is a pressure bump. A pressure bump at the outer edge of the cavity allows dust grains from the outer regions to stop their rapid inward migration towards the star and to efficiently grow to millimetre sizes. Dynamical interactions with planet(s) have been one of the most exciting theories to explain the clearing of the inner disk. Aims: We look for evidence of millimetre dust particles in transition disks by measuring their spectral index αmm with new and available photometric data. We investigate the influence of the size of the dust depleted cavity on the disk integrated millimetre spectral index. Methods: We present the 3-mm (100 GHz) photometric observations carried out with the Plateau de Bure Interferometer of four transition disks: LkHα 330, UX Tau A, LRLL 31, and LRLL 67. We used the available values of their fluxes at 345 GHz to calculate their spectral index, as well as the spectral index for a sample of twenty transition disks. We compared the observations with two kinds of models. In the first set of models, we considered coagulation and fragmentation of dust in a disk in which a cavity is formed by a massive planet located at different positions. The second set of models assumes disks with truncated inner parts at different radii and with power-law dust-size distributions, where the maximum size of grains is calculated considering turbulence as the source of destructive collisions. Results: We show that the integrated spectral index is higher for transition disks (TD) than for regular protoplanetary disks (PD) with mean values of bar{αmmTD} = 2.70 ± 0.13 and bar{αmmPD} = 2.20 ± 0.07 respectively. For transition disks, the probability that the measured spectral index is positively correlated with the cavity radius is 95%. High angular resolution imaging of transition disks is needed to distinguish between the dust trapping scenario and the truncated disk case. The final PdBI data used in the paper are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/564/A51

Effect of water content and organic carbon on remote sensing of crop residue cover

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serbin, G.; Hunt, E. R., Jr.; Daughtry, C. S. T.; McCarty, G. W.; Brown, D. J.; Doraiswamy, P. C.

2009-04-01

Crop residue cover is an important indicator of tillage method. Remote sensing of crop residue cover is an attractive and efficient method when compared with traditional ground-based methods, e.g., the line-point transect or windshield survey. A number of spectral indices have been devised for residue cover estimation. Of these, the most effective are those in the shortwave infrared portion of the spectrum, situated between 1950 and 2500 nm. These indices include the hyperspectral Cellulose Absorption Index (CAI), and advanced multispectral indices, i.e., the Lignin-Cellulose Absorption (LCA) index and the Shortwave Infrared Normalized Difference Residue Index (SINDRI), which were devised for the NASA Terra Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) sensor. Spectra of numerous soils from U.S. Corn Belt (Indiana and Iowa) were acquired under wetness conditions varying from saturation to oven-dry conditions. The behavior of soil reflectance with water content was also dependent on the soil organic carbon content (SOC) of the soils, and the location of the spectral bands relative to significant water absorptions. High-SOC soils showed the least change in spectral index values with increase in soil water content. Low-SOC soils, on the other hand, showed measurable difference. For CAI, low-SOC soils show an initial decrease in index value followed by an increase, due to the way that water content affects CAI spectral bands. Crop residue CAI values decrease with water content. For LCA, water content increases decrease crop residue index values and increase them for soils, resulting in decreased contrast. SINDRI is also affected by SOC and water content. As such, spatial information on the distribution of surface soil water content and SOC, when used in a geographic information system (GIS), will improve the accuracy of remotely-sensed crop residue cover estimates.

Effects of nitrogen nutrition on the growth, yield and reflectance characteristics of corn canopies. [Purdue Agronomy Farm, Indiana

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauer, M. E. (Principal Investigator); Walburg, G.; Daughtry, C. S. T.

1981-01-01

Spectral and agronomic measurements were collected from corn (Zea mays L.) canopies under four nitrogen treatment levels (0, 67, 134, and 202 kg/ha) on 11 dates during 1978 and 12 dates during 1979. Data were analyzed to determine the relationship between the spectral responses of canopies and their argonomic characteristics as well as the spectral separability of the four treatments. Red reflectance was increased, while the near infrared reflectance was decreased for canopies under nitrogen deprivation. Spectral differences between treatments were seen throughout each growing season. The near infrared/red reflectance ratio increased spectral treatment differences over those shown by single band reflectance measures. Of the spectral variables examined, the near infrared/red reflectance ratio most effectively separated the treatments. Differences in spectral response between treatments were attributed to varying soil cover, leaf area index, and leaf pigmentation values, all of which changed with N treatment.

Spectrally resolved white light interferometry to measure material dispersion over a wide spectral band in a single acquisition.

PubMed

Arosa, Yago; Lago, Elena López; Varela, Luis Miguel; de la Fuente, Raúl

2016-07-25

In this paper we apply spectrally resolved white light interferometry to measure refractive and group index over a wide spectral band from 400 to 1000 nm. The output of a Michelson interferometer is spectrally decomposed by a homemade prism spectrometer with a high resolution camera. The group index is determined directly from the phase extracted from the spectral interferogram while the refractive index is estimated once its value at a given wavelength is known.

Application of the Envelope Difference Index to Spectrally Sparse Speech

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Souza, Pamela; Hoover, Eric; Gallun, Frederick

2012-01-01

Purpose: Amplitude compression is a common hearing aid processing strategy that can improve speech audibility and loudness comfort but also has the potential to alter important cues carried by the speech envelope. In previous work, a measure of envelope change, the Envelope Difference Index (EDI; Fortune, Woodruff, & Preves, 1994), was moderately…

Analysis of dynamic thresholds for the normalized difference water index

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ji, Lei; Zhang, Li; Wylie, Bruce K.

2009-01-01

The normalized difference water index (NDWI) has been successfully used to delineate surface water features. However, two major problems have been often encountered: (a) NDWIs calculated from different band combinations [visible, nearinfrared, or shortwave-infrared (SWIR)] can generate different results, and (b) NDWI thresholds vary depending on the proportions of subpixel water/non-water components. We need to evaluate all the NDWIS for determining the best performing index and to establish appropriate thresholds for clearly identifying water features. We used the spectral data obtained from a spectral library to simulate the satellite sensors Landsat ETM+, SPOT-5, ASTER, and MODIS, and calculated the simulated NDWI in different forms. We found that the NDWI calculated from (green - swm)/(green + SWIR), where SWIR is the shorter wavelength region (1.2 to 1.8 ??m), has the most stable threshold. We recommend this NDWI be employed for mapping water, but adjustment of the threshold based on actual situations is necessary. ?? 2009 American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing.

Beyond CCT: The spectral index system as a tool for the objective, quantitative characterization of lamps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galadí-Enríquez, D.

2018-02-01

Correlated color temperature (CCT) is a semi-quantitative system that roughly describes the spectra of lamps. This parameter gives the temperature (measured in kelvins) of the black body that would show the hue more similar to that of the light emitted by the lamp. Modern lamps for indoor and outdoor lighting display many spectral energy distributions, most of them extremely different to those of black bodies, what makes CCT to be far from a perfect descriptor from the physical point of view. The spectral index system presented in this work provides an accurate, objective, quantitative procedure to characterize the spectral properties of lamps, with just a few numbers. The system is an adaptation to lighting technology of the classical procedures of multi-band astronomical photometry with wide and intermediate-band filters. We describe the basic concepts and we apply the system to a representative set of lamps of many kinds. The results lead to interesting, sometimes surprising conclusions. The spectral index system is extremely easy to implement from the spectral data that are routinely measured at laboratories. Thus, including this kind of computations in the standard protocols for the certification of lamps will be really straightforward, and will enrich the technical description of lighting devices.

THE INFLUENCE OF DISSIPATION RANGE POWER SPECTRA AND PLASMA-WAVE POLARIZATION ON COSMIC-RAY SCATTERING MEAN FREE PATH

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

Schlickeiser, R.; Lazar, M.; Vukcevic, M., E-mail: rsch@tp4.rub.d, E-mail: mlazar@tp4.ruhr-uni-bochum.d, E-mail: vuk.mira@gmail.co

2010-08-20

The influence of the polarization state and the dissipation range spectral steepening of slab plasma waves on the scattering mean free path of single-charged cosmic-ray particles is investigated in a turbulence model, where the crucial scattering of cosmic-ray particles with small pitch-angle cosines is caused by resonant cyclotron interactions with slab plasma waves. Analytical expressions for the mean free path of protons, antiprotons, negatrons, and positrons are derived for the case of constant frequency-independent magnetic helicity values {sigma} and different values of the dissipation range spectral index k for characteristic interplanetary and interstellar plasma conditions. The positron mean free pathmore » is not affected by the dissipation range spectral index k as these particles can only cyclotron-resonate for rigidity values larger than R {sub 0} = m{sub p}c = 938 MV. Proton and antiproton mean free paths are only slightly affected by the dissipation range spectral index k at small rigidities R < R {sub 0}. The negatron mean free path is severely affected by the dissipation range spectral index k at rigidities smaller than R {sub 0}. At high rigidities R >> R {sub 0}, all particle species approach the same power-law dependence {proportional_to}R {sup 2-s} determined by the inertial range spectral index s = 5/3. The magnetic helicity value {sigma} affects the value of the mean free path. At all rigidities, the ratio of the antiproton to proton mean free paths equals the constant (1 + {sigma})/(1 - {sigma}), which also agrees with the ratio of the negatron to the proton and positron mean free paths at relativistic rigidities. At relativistic rigidities the positron and proton mean free paths agree, as do the negatron and antiproton mean free paths.« less

Evaluating the potential of vegetation indices for winter wheat LAI estimation under different fertilization and water conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Qiaoyun; Huang, Wenjiang; Dash, Jadunandan; Song, Xiaoyu; Huang, Linsheng; Zhao, Jinling; Wang, Renhong

2015-12-01

Leaf area index (LAI) is an important indicator for monitoring crop growth conditions and forecasting grain yield. Many algorithms have been developed for remote estimation of the leaf area index of vegetation, such as using spectral vegetation indices, inversion of radiative transfer models, and supervised learning techniques. Spectral vegetation indices, mathematical combination of reflectance bands, are widely used for LAI estimation due to their computational simplicity and their applications ranged from the leaf scale to the entire globe. However, in many cases, their applicability is limited to specific vegetation types or local conditions due to species specific nature of the relationship used to transfer the vegetation indices to LAI. The overall objective of this study is to investigate the most suitable vegetation index for estimating winter wheat LAI under eight different types of fertilizer and irrigation conditions. Regression models were used to estimate LAI using hyperspectral reflectance data from the Pushbroom Hyperspectral Imager (PHI) and in-situ measurements. Our results showed that, among six vegetation indices investigated, the modified soil-adjusted vegetation index (MSAVI) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) exhibited strong and significant relationships with LAI, and thus were sensitive across different nitrogen and water treatments. The modified triangular vegetation index (MTVI2) confirmed its potential on crop LAI estimation, although second to MSAVI and NDVI in our study. The enhanced vegetation index (EVI) showed moderate performance. However, the ratio vegetation index (RVI) and the modified simple ratio index (MSR) predicted the least accurate estimations of LAI, exposing the simple band ratio index's weakness under different treatment conditions. The results support the use of vegetation indices for a quick and effective LAI mapping procedure that is suitable for winter wheat under different management practices.

Haze detection by using modified normalized difference haze index in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei province

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Xinlei; Yao, Fengmei; Zhang, Jiahua; Waqar, Mirza Muhammad; Zha, Yong; He, Junliang

2016-04-01

This paper presents the development of index to detect haze from moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer remote sensing data. Detection of haze over a large area has always been a problem. This study focuses on Beijing, Tianjin, and Shijiazhuang cities in China. These cities have suffered the worst hazy weather in recent years. The spectral influence of haze on surface features was determined through analysis of the spectral variations of surface covers between hazy and haze-free days. A spectral index known as modified normalized difference haze index (m-NDHI) is developed that can be used to monitor haze distribution and intensity. Correlation analysis of the derived m-NDHI and previously developed NDHI with in situ PM2.5 (particulate matter with diameter <2.5 μm) data reveals that m-NDHI over water bodies has a coefficient of 0.7096, 0.5864, and 0.4857 and NDHI has coefficient of 0.5625, 0.5321, and 0.4618 with PM2.5 for Beijing, Tianjin, and Shijiazhuang, respectively, in winter. Moreover, the correlation of m-NDHI with PM2.5 is 0.4097, 0.8092, and 0.5546 during the spring, summer, and autumn, respectively, in Beijing. This developed index can be a much easier and more effective method to detect haze in large scales from remotely sensing data and characterize the situation of urban atmospheric pollution.

A new analysis of heart rate variability in the assessment of fetal parasympathetic activity: An experimental study in a fetal sheep model.

PubMed

Garabedian, C; Champion, C; Servan-Schreiber, E; Butruille, L; Aubry, E; Sharma, D; Logier, R; Deruelle, P; Storme, L; Houfflin-Debarge, V; De Jonckheere, J

2017-01-01

Analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) is a recognized tool in the assessment of autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity. Indeed, both time and spectral analysis techniques enable us to obtain indexes that are related to the way the ANS regulates the heart rate. However, these techniques are limited in terms of the lack of thresholds of the numerical indexes, which is primarily due to high inter-subject variability. We proposed a new fetal HRV analysis method related to the parasympathetic activity of the ANS. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of our method compared to commonly used HRV analysis, with regard to i) the ability to detect changes in ANS activity and ii) inter-subject variability. This study was performed in seven sheep fetuses. In order to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of our index in evaluating parasympathetic activity, we directly administered 2.5 mg intravenous atropine, to inhibit parasympathetic tone, and 5 mg propranolol to block sympathetic activity. Our index, as well as time analysis (root mean square of the successive differences; RMSSD) and spectral analysis (high frequency (HF) and low frequency (LF) spectral components obtained via fast Fourier transform), were measured before and after injection. Inter-subject variability was estimated by the coefficient of variance (%CV). In order to evaluate the ability of HRV parameters to detect fetal parasympathetic decrease, we also estimated the effect size for each HRV parameter before and after injections. As expected, our index, the HF spectral component, and the RMSSD were reduced after the atropine injection. Moreover, our index presented a higher effect size. The %CV was far lower for our index than for RMSSD, HF, and LF. Although LF decreased after propranolol administration, fetal stress index, RMSSD, and HF were not significantly different, confirming the fact that those indexes are specific to the parasympathetic nervous system. In conclusion, our method appeared to be effective in detecting parasympathetic inhibition. Moreover, inter-subject variability was much lower, and effect size higher, with our method compared to other HRV analysis methods.

Electron and positron fluxes in primary cosmic rays measured with the alpha magnetic spectrometer on the international space station.

PubMed

Aguilar, M; Aisa, D; Alvino, A; Ambrosi, G; Andeen, K; Arruda, L; Attig, N; Azzarello, P; Bachlechner, A; Barao, F; Barrau, A; Barrin, L; Bartoloni, A; Basara, L; Battarbee, M; Battiston, R; Bazo, J; Becker, U; Behlmann, M; Beischer, B; Berdugo, J; Bertucci, B; Bigongiari, G; Bindi, V; Bizzaglia, S; Bizzarri, M; Boella, G; de Boer, W; Bollweg, K; Bonnivard, V; Borgia, B; Borsini, S; Boschini, M J; Bourquin, M; Burger, J; Cadoux, F; Cai, X D; Capell, M; Caroff, S; Casaus, J; Cascioli, V; Castellini, G; Cernuda, I; Cervelli, F; Chae, M J; Chang, Y H; Chen, A I; Chen, H; Cheng, G M; Chen, H S; Cheng, L; Chikanian, A; Chou, H Y; Choumilov, E; Choutko, V; Chung, C H; Clark, C; Clavero, R; Coignet, G; Consolandi, C; Contin, A; Corti, C; Coste, B; Cui, Z; Dai, M; Delgado, C; Della Torre, S; Demirköz, M B; Derome, L; Di Falco, S; Di Masso, L; Dimiccoli, F; Díaz, C; von Doetinchem, P; Du, W J; Duranti, M; D'Urso, D; Eline, A; Eppling, F J; Eronen, T; Fan, Y Y; Farnesini, L; Feng, J; Fiandrini, E; Fiasson, A; Finch, E; Fisher, P; Galaktionov, Y; Gallucci, G; García, B; García-López, R; Gast, H; Gebauer, I; Gervasi, M; Ghelfi, A; Gillard, W; Giovacchini, F; Goglov, P; Gong, J; Goy, C; Grabski, V; Grandi, D; Graziani, M; Guandalini, C; Guerri, I; Guo, K H; Habiby, M; Haino, S; Han, K C; He, Z H; Heil, M; Hoffman, J; Hsieh, T H; Huang, Z C; Huh, C; Incagli, M; Ionica, M; Jang, W Y; Jinchi, H; Kanishev, K; Kim, G N; Kim, K S; Kirn, Th; Kossakowski, R; Kounina, O; Kounine, A; Koutsenko, V; Krafczyk, M S; Kunz, S; La Vacca, G; Laudi, E; Laurenti, G; Lazzizzera, I; Lebedev, A; Lee, H T; Lee, S C; Leluc, C; Li, H L; Li, J Q; Li, Q; Li, Q; Li, T X; Li, W; Li, Y; Li, Z H; Li, Z Y; Lim, S; Lin, C H; Lipari, P; Lippert, T; Liu, D; Liu, H; Lomtadze, T; Lu, M J; Lu, Y S; Luebelsmeyer, K; Luo, F; Luo, J Z; Lv, S S; Majka, R; Malinin, A; Mañá, C; Marín, J; Martin, T; Martínez, G; Masi, N; Maurin, D; Menchaca-Rocha, A; Meng, Q; Mo, D C; Morescalchi, L; Mott, P; Müller, M; Ni, J Q; Nikonov, N; Nozzoli, F; Nunes, P; Obermeier, A; Oliva, A; Orcinha, M; Palmonari, F; Palomares, C; Paniccia, M; Papi, A; Pedreschi, E; Pensotti, S; Pereira, R; Pilo, F; Piluso, A; Pizzolotto, C; Plyaskin, V; Pohl, M; Poireau, V; Postaci, E; Putze, A; Quadrani, L; Qi, X M; Rancoita, P G; Rapin, D; Ricol, J S; Rodríguez, I; Rosier-Lees, S; Rozhkov, A; Rozza, D; Sagdeev, R; Sandweiss, J; Saouter, P; Sbarra, C; Schael, S; Schmidt, S M; Schuckardt, D; Schulz von Dratzig, A; Schwering, G; Scolieri, G; Seo, E S; Shan, B S; Shan, Y H; Shi, J Y; Shi, X Y; Shi, Y M; Siedenburg, T; Son, D; Spada, F; Spinella, F; Sun, W; Sun, W H; Tacconi, M; Tang, C P; Tang, X W; Tang, Z C; Tao, L; Tescaro, D; Ting, Samuel C C; Ting, S M; Tomassetti, N; Torsti, J; Türkoğlu, C; Urban, T; Vagelli, V; Valente, E; Vannini, C; Valtonen, E; Vaurynovich, S; Vecchi, M; Velasco, M; Vialle, J P; Wang, L Q; Wang, Q L; Wang, R S; Wang, X; Wang, Z X; Weng, Z L; Whitman, K; Wienkenhöver, J; Wu, H; Xia, X; Xie, M; Xie, S; Xiong, R Q; Xin, G M; Xu, N S; Xu, W; Yan, Q; Yang, J; Yang, M; Ye, Q H; Yi, H; Yu, Y J; Yu, Z Q; Zeissler, S; Zhang, J H; Zhang, M T; Zhang, X B; Zhang, Z; Zheng, Z M; Zhuang, H L; Zhukov, V; Zichichi, A; Zimmermann, N; Zuccon, P; Zurbach, C

2014-09-19

Precision measurements by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station of the primary cosmic-ray electron flux in the range 0.5 to 700 GeV and the positron flux in the range 0.5 to 500 GeV are presented. The electron flux and the positron flux each require a description beyond a single power-law spectrum. Both the electron flux and the positron flux change their behavior at ∼30  GeV but the fluxes are significantly different in their magnitude and energy dependence. Between 20 and 200 GeV the positron spectral index is significantly harder than the electron spectral index. The determination of the differing behavior of the spectral indices versus energy is a new observation and provides important information on the origins of cosmic-ray electrons and positrons.

Electron and Positron Fluxes in Primary Cosmic Rays Measured with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aguilar, M.; Aisa, D.; Alvino, A.; Ambrosi, G.; Andeen, K.; Arruda, L.; Attig, N.; Azzarello, P.; Bachlechner, A.; Barao, F.; Barrau, A.; Barrin, L.; Bartoloni, A.; Basara, L.; Battarbee, M.; Battiston, R.; Bazo, J.; Becker, U.; Behlmann, M.; Beischer, B.; Berdugo, J.; Bertucci, B.; Bigongiari, G.; Bindi, V.; Bizzaglia, S.; Bizzarri, M.; Boella, G.; de Boer, W.; Bollweg, K.; Bonnivard, V.; Borgia, B.; Borsini, S.; Boschini, M. J.; Bourquin, M.; Burger, J.; Cadoux, F.; Cai, X. D.; Capell, M.; Caroff, S.; Casaus, J.; Cascioli, V.; Castellini, G.; Cernuda, I.; Cervelli, F.; Chae, M. J.; Chang, Y. H.; Chen, A. I.; Chen, H.; Cheng, G. M.; Chen, H. S.; Cheng, L.; Chikanian, A.; Chou, H. Y.; Choumilov, E.; Choutko, V.; Chung, C. H.; Clark, C.; Clavero, R.; Coignet, G.; Consolandi, C.; Contin, A.; Corti, C.; Coste, B.; Cui, Z.; Dai, M.; Delgado, C.; Della Torre, S.; Demirköz, M. B.; Derome, L.; Di Falco, S.; Di Masso, L.; Dimiccoli, F.; Díaz, C.; von Doetinchem, P.; Du, W. J.; Duranti, M.; D'Urso, D.; Eline, A.; Eppling, F. J.; Eronen, T.; Fan, Y. Y.; Farnesini, L.; Feng, J.; Fiandrini, E.; Fiasson, A.; Finch, E.; Fisher, P.; Galaktionov, Y.; Gallucci, G.; García, B.; García-López, R.; Gast, H.; Gebauer, I.; Gervasi, M.; Ghelfi, A.; Gillard, W.; Giovacchini, F.; Goglov, P.; Gong, J.; Goy, C.; Grabski, V.; Grandi, D.; Graziani, M.; Guandalini, C.; Guerri, I.; Guo, K. H.; Habiby, M.; Haino, S.; Han, K. C.; He, Z. H.; Heil, M.; Hoffman, J.; Hsieh, T. H.; Huang, Z. C.; Huh, C.; Incagli, M.; Ionica, M.; Jang, W. Y.; Jinchi, H.; Kanishev, K.; Kim, G. N.; Kim, K. S.; Kirn, Th.; Kossakowski, R.; Kounina, O.; Kounine, A.; Koutsenko, V.; Krafczyk, M. S.; Kunz, S.; La Vacca, G.; Laudi, E.; Laurenti, G.; Lazzizzera, I.; Lebedev, A.; Lee, H. T.; Lee, S. C.; Leluc, C.; Li, H. L.; Li, J. Q.; Li, Q.; Li, Q.; Li, T. X.; Li, W.; Li, Y.; Li, Z. H.; Li, Z. Y.; Lim, S.; Lin, C. H.; Lipari, P.; Lippert, T.; Liu, D.; Liu, H.; Lomtadze, T.; Lu, M. J.; Lu, Y. S.; Luebelsmeyer, K.; Luo, F.; Luo, J. Z.; Lv, S. S.; Majka, R.; Malinin, A.; Mañá, C.; Marín, J.; Martin, T.; Martínez, G.; Masi, N.; Maurin, D.; Menchaca-Rocha, A.; Meng, Q.; Mo, D. C.; Morescalchi, L.; Mott, P.; Müller, M.; Ni, J. Q.; Nikonov, N.; Nozzoli, F.; Nunes, P.; Obermeier, A.; Oliva, A.; Orcinha, M.; Palmonari, F.; Palomares, C.; Paniccia, M.; Papi, A.; Pedreschi, E.; Pensotti, S.; Pereira, R.; Pilo, F.; Piluso, A.; Pizzolotto, C.; Plyaskin, V.; Pohl, M.; Poireau, V.; Postaci, E.; Putze, A.; Quadrani, L.; Qi, X. M.; Rancoita, P. G.; Rapin, D.; Ricol, J. S.; Rodríguez, I.; Rosier-Lees, S.; Rozhkov, A.; Rozza, D.; Sagdeev, R.; Sandweiss, J.; Saouter, P.; Sbarra, C.; Schael, S.; Schmidt, S. M.; Schuckardt, D.; von Dratzig, A. Schulz; Schwering, G.; Scolieri, G.; Seo, E. S.; Shan, B. S.; Shan, Y. H.; Shi, J. Y.; Shi, X. Y.; Shi, Y. M.; Siedenburg, T.; Son, D.; Spada, F.; Spinella, F.; Sun, W.; Sun, W. H.; Tacconi, M.; Tang, C. P.; Tang, X. W.; Tang, Z. C.; Tao, L.; Tescaro, D.; Ting, Samuel C. C.; Ting, S. M.; Tomassetti, N.; Torsti, J.; Türkoǧlu, C.; Urban, T.; Vagelli, V.; Valente, E.; Vannini, C.; Valtonen, E.; Vaurynovich, S.; Vecchi, M.; Velasco, M.; Vialle, J. P.; Wang, L. Q.; Wang, Q. L.; Wang, R. S.; Wang, X.; Wang, Z. X.; Weng, Z. L.; Whitman, K.; Wienkenhöver, J.; Wu, H.; Xia, X.; Xie, M.; Xie, S.; Xiong, R. Q.; Xin, G. M.; Xu, N. S.; Xu, W.; Yan, Q.; Yang, J.; Yang, M.; Ye, Q. H.; Yi, H.; Yu, Y. J.; Yu, Z. Q.; Zeissler, S.; Zhang, J. H.; Zhang, M. T.; Zhang, X. B.; Zhang, Z.; Zheng, Z. M.; Zhuang, H. L.; Zhukov, V.; Zichichi, A.; Zimmermann, N.; Zuccon, P.; Zurbach, C.; AMS Collaboration

2014-09-01

Precision measurements by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station of the primary cosmic-ray electron flux in the range 0.5 to 700 GeV and the positron flux in the range 0.5 to 500 GeV are presented. The electron flux and the positron flux each require a description beyond a single power-law spectrum. Both the electron flux and the positron flux change their behavior at ˜30 GeV but the fluxes are significantly different in their magnitude and energy dependence. Between 20 and 200 GeV the positron spectral index is significantly harder than the electron spectral index. The determination of the differing behavior of the spectral indices versus energy is a new observation and provides important information on the origins of cosmic-ray electrons and positrons.

[Cross comparison of ASTER and Landsat ETM+ multispectral measurements for NDVI and SAVI vegetation indices].

PubMed

Xu, Han-qiu; Zhang, Tie-jun

2011-07-01

The present paper investigates the quantitative relationship between the NDVI and SAVI vegetation indices of Landsat and ASTER sensors based on three tandem image pairs. The study examines how well ASTER sensor vegetation observations replicate ETM+ vegetation observations, and more importantly, the difference in the vegetation observations between the two sensors. The DN values of the three image pairs were first converted to at-sensor reflectance to reduce radiometric differences between two sensors, images. The NDVI and SAVI vegetation indices of the two sensors were then calculated using the converted reflectance. The quantitative relationship was revealed through regression analysis on the scatter plots of the vegetation index values of the two sensors. The models for the conversion between the two sensors, vegetation indices were also obtained from the regression. The results show that the difference does exist between the two sensors, vegetation indices though they have a very strong positive linear relationship. The study found that the red and near infrared measurements differ between the two sensors, with ASTER generally producing higher reflectance in the red band and lower reflectance in the near infrared band than the ETM+ sensor. This results in the ASTER sensor producing lower spectral vegetation index measurements, for the same target, than ETM+. The relative spectral response function differences in the red and near infrared bands between the two sensors are believed to be the main factor contributing to their differences in vegetation index measurements, because the red and near infrared relative spectral response features of the ASTER sensor overlap the vegetation "red edge" spectral region. The obtained conversion models have high accuracy with a RMSE less than 0.04 for both sensors' inter-conversion between corresponding vegetation indices.

Modified vegetation indices for Ganoderma disease detection in oil palm from field spectroradiometer data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shafri, Helmi Z. M.; Anuar, M. Izzuddin; Saripan, M. Iqbal

2009-10-01

High resolution field spectroradiometers are important for spectral analysis and mobile inspection of vegetation disease. The biggest challenges in using this technology for automated vegetation disease detection are in spectral signatures pre-processing, band selection and generating reflectance indices to improve the ability of hyperspectral data for early detection of disease. In this paper, new indices for oil palm Ganoderma disease detection were generated using band ratio and different band combination techniques. Unsupervised clustering method was used to cluster the values of each class resultant from each index. The wellness of band combinations was assessed by using Optimum Index Factor (OIF) while cluster validation was executed using Average Silhouette Width (ASW). 11 modified reflectance indices were generated in this study and the indices were ranked according to the values of their ASW. These modified indices were also compared to several existing and new indices. The results showed that the combination of spectral values at 610.5nm and 738nm was the best for clustering the three classes of infection levels in the determination of the best spectral index for early detection of Ganoderma disease.

Configuration and specifications of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for early site specific weed management.

PubMed

Torres-Sánchez, Jorge; López-Granados, Francisca; De Castro, Ana Isabel; Peña-Barragán, José Manuel

2013-01-01

A new aerial platform has risen recently for image acquisition, the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). This article describes the technical specifications and configuration of a UAV used to capture remote images for early season site- specific weed management (ESSWM). Image spatial and spectral properties required for weed seedling discrimination were also evaluated. Two different sensors, a still visible camera and a six-band multispectral camera, and three flight altitudes (30, 60 and 100 m) were tested over a naturally infested sunflower field. The main phases of the UAV workflow were the following: 1) mission planning, 2) UAV flight and image acquisition, and 3) image pre-processing. Three different aspects were needed to plan the route: flight area, camera specifications and UAV tasks. The pre-processing phase included the correct alignment of the six bands of the multispectral imagery and the orthorectification and mosaicking of the individual images captured in each flight. The image pixel size, area covered by each image and flight timing were very sensitive to flight altitude. At a lower altitude, the UAV captured images of finer spatial resolution, although the number of images needed to cover the whole field may be a limiting factor due to the energy required for a greater flight length and computational requirements for the further mosaicking process. Spectral differences between weeds, crop and bare soil were significant in the vegetation indices studied (Excess Green Index, Normalised Green-Red Difference Index and Normalised Difference Vegetation Index), mainly at a 30 m altitude. However, greater spectral separability was obtained between vegetation and bare soil with the index NDVI. These results suggest that an agreement among spectral and spatial resolutions is needed to optimise the flight mission according to every agronomical objective as affected by the size of the smaller object to be discriminated (weed plants or weed patches).

Configuration and Specifications of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for Early Site Specific Weed Management

PubMed Central

Torres-Sánchez, Jorge; López-Granados, Francisca; De Castro, Ana Isabel; Peña-Barragán, José Manuel

2013-01-01

A new aerial platform has risen recently for image acquisition, the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). This article describes the technical specifications and configuration of a UAV used to capture remote images for early season site- specific weed management (ESSWM). Image spatial and spectral properties required for weed seedling discrimination were also evaluated. Two different sensors, a still visible camera and a six-band multispectral camera, and three flight altitudes (30, 60 and 100 m) were tested over a naturally infested sunflower field. The main phases of the UAV workflow were the following: 1) mission planning, 2) UAV flight and image acquisition, and 3) image pre-processing. Three different aspects were needed to plan the route: flight area, camera specifications and UAV tasks. The pre-processing phase included the correct alignment of the six bands of the multispectral imagery and the orthorectification and mosaicking of the individual images captured in each flight. The image pixel size, area covered by each image and flight timing were very sensitive to flight altitude. At a lower altitude, the UAV captured images of finer spatial resolution, although the number of images needed to cover the whole field may be a limiting factor due to the energy required for a greater flight length and computational requirements for the further mosaicking process. Spectral differences between weeds, crop and bare soil were significant in the vegetation indices studied (Excess Green Index, Normalised Green-Red Difference Index and Normalised Difference Vegetation Index), mainly at a 30 m altitude. However, greater spectral separability was obtained between vegetation and bare soil with the index NDVI. These results suggest that an agreement among spectral and spatial resolutions is needed to optimise the flight mission according to every agronomical objective as affected by the size of the smaller object to be discriminated (weed plants or weed patches). PMID:23483997

A Sensitivity Analysis of NDWI and SRWI to Different types of Vegetation Moisture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chai, Linna; Chen, Zhizhong

2017-04-01

There are many definitions of vegetation moisture, such as fuel moisture content (FMC), gravimetric water content (GWC), relative water content (RWC), leaf water content (LWC), canopy water content (CWC) and vegetation water content (VWC). They were introduced because of different applications. For example, FMC is with superiority in monitoring wildfire potential, and GWC responses well to determine whether the plant is in health. RWC is suitable for estimating vegetation water stress. LWC and CWC are often used in optical remote sensing and are always related to equivalent water thickness (EWT). For VWC, the main application is for improving retrievals of soil moisture content from microwave sensors. For optical remote sensing technique, the absorption features of liquid water in plant leaves are readily detectable by spectroscopy. Spectral reflectance at 970nm, 1200nm, 1450nm, 1930nm and 2500nm are the basis of numerous remote-sensing indices that could be used in estimating vegetation moisture. Foregoing studies have introduced different spectral indices based on these bands to retrieve vegetation moisture. These spectral indices often fall into two categories, one is Normalized Different Water Index (NDWI), and the other is Simple Ratio Water Index (SRWI). NDWIs take the form of normalized difference spectral index, while SRWIs are in the form of ratio type. They were calculated from different combinations of spectral channels. Since the sensitivities to vegetation moisture of reflectance at different spectral channel are distinguished from each other, the capabilities of these NDWIs and SRWIs in estimating different types of vegetation moisture will be distinguished from one to one. In this work, based on in-situ measurements collected in the north China plain from wheat and corn (Fig. 1), a sensitivity analysis of NDWI and SRWI to different types of vegetation moisture, such as VWC, FMC and GWC, was carried out. They were calculated from different combinations of spectral channels of MODIS and Landsat-8 OLI. Result shows that: 1) NDWI and SRWI are more sensitive to VWC than to FMC and GWC; 2) SRWI and NDWI calculated from reflectances of green band at about 550nm and shortwave infrared band at about 1240nm often yielded relatively higher correlation coefficients with VWC; 3) For a fixed two-band combination, SRWI shows a slight superiority to NDWI. PIC Fig.1 The north China plain and the experimental area with corn and winter wheat sample locations A detailed description to this study work will be demonstrated in the fullpaper.

Combining ground-based measurements and satellite-based spectral vegetation indices to track biomass accumulation in post-fire chaparral

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uyeda, K. A.; Stow, D. A.; Roberts, D. A.; Riggan, P. J.

2015-12-01

Multi-temporal satellite imagery can provide valuable information on patterns of vegetation growth over large spatial extents and long time periods, but corresponding ground-referenced biomass information is often difficult to acquire, especially at an annual scale. In this study, I test the relationship between annual biomass estimated using shrub growth rings and metrics of seasonal growth derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) spectral vegetation indices (SVIs) for a small area of southern California chaparral to evaluate the potential for mapping biomass at larger spatial extents. The site had most recently burned in 2002, and annual biomass accumulation measurements were available from years 5 - 11 post-fire. I tested metrics of seasonal growth using six SVIs (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, Enhanced Vegetation Index, Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index, Normalized Difference Water Index, Normalized Difference Infrared Index 6, and Vegetation Atmospherically Resistant Index). While additional research would be required to determine which of these metrics and SVIs are most promising over larger spatial extents, several of the seasonal growth metrics/ SVI combinations have a very strong relationship with annual biomass, and all SVIs have a strong relationship with annual biomass for at least one of the seasonal growth metrics.

Leaf area index retrieval using Hyperion EO-1 data-based vegetation indices in Himalayan forest system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Dharmendra; Singh, Sarnam

2016-04-01

Present Study is being taken to retrieve Leaf Area Indexn(LAI) in Himalayan forest system using vegetation indices developed from Hyperion EO-1 hyperspectral data. Hemispherical photograph were captured in the month of March and April, 2012 at 40 locations, covering moist tropical Sal forest, subtropical Bauhinia and pine forest and temperate Oak forest and analysed using an open source GLA software. LAI in the study region was ranging in between 0.076 m2/m2 to 6.00 m2/m2. These LAI values were used to develop spectral models with the FLAASH corrected Hyperion measurements.Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was used taking spectral reflectance values of all the possible combinations of 170 atmospherically corrected channels. The R2 was ranging from lowest 0.0 to highest 0.837 for the band combinations of spectral region 640 nm and 670 nm. The spectral model obtained was, spectral reflectance (y) = 0.02x LAI(x) - 0.0407.

[Bare Soil Moisture Inversion Model Based on Visible-Shortwave Infrared Reflectance].

PubMed

Zheng, Xiao-po; Sun, Yue-jun; Qin, Qi-ming; Ren, Hua-zhong; Gao, Zhong-ling; Wu, Ling; Meng, Qing-ye; Wang, Jin-liang; Wang, Jian-hua

2015-08-01

Soil is the loose solum of land surface that can support plants. It consists of minerals, organics, atmosphere, moisture, microbes, et al. Among its complex compositions, soil moisture varies greatly. Therefore, the fast and accurate inversion of soil moisture by using remote sensing is very crucial. In order to reduce the influence of soil type on the retrieval of soil moisture, this paper proposed a normalized spectral slope and absorption index named NSSAI to estimate soil moisture. The modeling of the new index contains several key steps: Firstly, soil samples with different moisture level were artificially prepared, and soil reflectance spectra was consequently measured using spectroradiometer produced by ASD Company. Secondly, the moisture absorption spectral feature located at shortwave wavelengths and the spectral slope of visible wavelengths were calculated after analyzing the regular spectral feature change patterns of different soil at different moisture conditions. Then advantages of the two features at reducing soil types' effects was synthesized to build the NSSAI. Thirdly, a linear relationship between NSSAI and soil moisture was established. The result showed that NSSAI worked better (correlation coefficient is 0.93) than most of other traditional methods in soil moisture extraction. It can weaken the influences caused by soil types at different moisture levels and improve the bare soil moisture inversion accuracy.

Spectral Optical Readout of Rectangular–Miniature Hollow Glass Tubing for Refractive Index Sensing

PubMed Central

Rigamonti, Giulia; Bello, Valentina

2018-01-01

For answering the growing demand of innovative micro-fluidic devices able to measure the refractive index of samples in extremely low volumes, this paper presents an overview of the performances of a micro-opto-fluidic sensing platform that employs rectangular, miniature hollow glass tubings. The operating principle is described by showing the analytical model of the tubing, obtained as superposition of different optical cavities, and the optical readout method based on spectral reflectivity detection. We have analyzed, in particular, the theoretical and experimental optical features of rectangular tubings with asymmetrical geometry, thus with channel depth larger than the thickness of the glass walls, though all of them in the range of a few tens of micrometers. The origins of the complex line-shape of the spectral response in reflection, due to the different cavities formed by the tubing flat walls and channel, have been investigated using a Fourier transform analysis. The implemented instrumental configuration, based on standard telecom fiberoptic components and a semiconductor broadband optical source emitting in the near infrared wavelength region centered at 1.55 µm, has allowed acquisition of reflectivity spectra for experimental verification of the expected theoretical behavior. We have achieved detection of refractive index variations related to the change of concentration of glucose-water solutions flowing through the tubing by monitoring the spectral shift of the optical resonances. PMID:29462907

Spectral Optical Readout of Rectangular-Miniature Hollow Glass Tubing for Refractive Index Sensing.

PubMed

Rigamonti, Giulia; Bello, Valentina; Merlo, Sabina

2018-02-16

For answering the growing demand of innovative micro-fluidic devices able to measure the refractive index of samples in extremely low volumes, this paper presents an overview of the performances of a micro-opto-fluidic sensing platform that employs rectangular, miniature hollow glass tubings. The operating principle is described by showing the analytical model of the tubing, obtained as superposition of different optical cavities, and the optical readout method based on spectral reflectivity detection. We have analyzed, in particular, the theoretical and experimental optical features of rectangular tubings with asymmetrical geometry, thus with channel depth larger than the thickness of the glass walls, though all of them in the range of a few tens of micrometers. The origins of the complex line-shape of the spectral response in reflection, due to the different cavities formed by the tubing flat walls and channel, have been investigated using a Fourier transform analysis. The implemented instrumental configuration, based on standard telecom fiberoptic components and a semiconductor broadband optical source emitting in the near infrared wavelength region centered at 1.55 µm, has allowed acquisition of reflectivity spectra for experimental verification of the expected theoretical behavior. We have achieved detection of refractive index variations related to the change of concentration of glucose-water solutions flowing through the tubing by monitoring the spectral shift of the optical resonances.

Detecting post-fire burn severity and vegetation recovery using multitemporal remote sensing spectral indices and field-collected composite burn index data in a ponderosa pine forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chen, Xuexia; Vogelmann, James E.; Rollins, Matt; Ohlen, Donald; Key, Carl H.; Yang, Limin; Huang, Chengquan; Shi, Hua

2011-01-01

It is challenging to detect burn severity and vegetation recovery because of the relatively long time period required to capture the ecosystem characteristics. Multitemporal remote sensing data can providemultitemporal observations before, during and after a wildfire, and can improve the change detection accuracy. The goal of this study is to examine the correlations between multitemporal spectral indices and field-observed burn severity, and to provide a practical method to estimate burn severity and vegetation recovery. The study site is the Jasper Fire area in the Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota, that burned during August and September 2000. Six multitemporal Landsat images acquired from 2000 (pre-fire), 2001 (post-fire), 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007 were used to assess burn severity. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), enhanced vegetation index (EVI), normalized burn ratio (NBR), integrated forest index (IFI) and the differences of these indices between the pre-fire and post-fire years were computed and analysed with 66 field-based composite burn index (CBI) plots collected in 2002. Results showed that differences of NDVI and differences of EVI between the pre-fire year and the first two years post-fire were highly correlated with the CBI scores. The correlations were low beyond the second year post-fire. Differences of NBR had good correlation with CBI scores in all study years. Differences of IFI had low correlation with CBI in the first year post-fire and had good correlation in later years. A CBI map of the burnt area was produced using regression tree models and the multitemporal images. The dynamics of four spectral indices from 2000 to 2007 indicated that both NBR and IFI are valuable for monitoring long-term vegetation recovery. The high burn severity areas had a much slower recovery than the moderate and low burn areas.

Complex Refractive Index of Ammonium Nitrate in the 2-20 micron Spectral Range

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jarzembski, Maurice A.; Norman, Mark L.; Fuller, Kirk A.; Srivastava, Vandana; Cutten, Dean R.

2002-01-01

Using high resolution Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) absorbance/transmittance spectral data for ammonium sulfate (AMS), calcium carbonate (CAC) and ammonium nitrate (AMN), comparisons were made with previously published complex refractive indices data for AMS and CAC to infer experimental parameters to determine the imaginary refractive index for AMN in the infrared wavelength range from 2 to 20 microns. Kramers-Kronig mathematical relations were applied to calculate the real refractive index for the three compositions. Excellent agreement for AMS and CAC with the published values was found, validating the complex refractive indices obtained for AMN. Backscatter calculations using a lognormal size distribution for AMS, AMN, and CAC aerosols were performed to show differences in their backscattered spectra.

Numerical simulation of inertial alfven waves to study localized structures and spectral index in auroral region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jatav, Bheem Singh

2018-06-01

In the present paper, the numerical simulation of Inertial Alfven wave (IAW) in low-β plasma applicable to the auroral region at 1700 km was studied. It leads to the formation of localized structures when the nonlinearity arises due to ponderomotive effect and Joule heating. The effect of perturbation and magnitude of pump IAW, formed the localized structures of magnetic field, has been studied. The formed localized structures at different times and average spectral index scaling of power spectrum have been observed. Results obtained from simulation reveal that spectrum steepens with power law index ˜ -3.5 for shorter wavelength. These localized structures could be a source of particle acceleration and heating by pump IAW in low- β plasma.

Mapping swamp timothy (Cripsis schenoides) seed productivity using spectral values and vegetation indices in managed wetlands

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

Rahilly, P.J.A.; Li, D.; Guo, Q.

2010-01-15

This work examines the potential to predict the seed productivity of a key wetland plant species using spectral reflectance values and spectral vegetation indices. Specifically, the seed productivity of swamp timothy (Cripsis schenoides) was investigated in two wetland ponds, managed for waterfowl habitat, in California's San Joaquin Valley. Spectral reflectance values were obtained and associated spectral vegetation indices (SVI) calculated from two sets of high resolution aerial images (May 11, 2006 and June 9, 2006) and were compared to the collected vegetation data. Vegetation data were collected and analyzed from 156 plots for total aboveground biomass, total aboveground swamp timothymore » biomass, and total swamp timothy seed biomass. The SVI investigated included the Simple Ratio (SR), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), Transformed Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (TSAVI), Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (MSAVI), and Global Environment Monitoring Index (GEMI). We evaluated the correlation of the various SVI with in situ vegetation measurements for linear, quadratic, exponential and power functions. In all cases, the June image provided better predictive capacity relative to May, a result that underscores the importance of timing imagery to coincide with more favorable vegetation maturity. The north pond with the June image using SR and the exponential function (R{sup 2}=0.603) proved to be the best predictor of swamp timothy seed productivity. The June image for the south pond was less predictive, with TSAVI and the exponential function providing the best correlation (R{sup 2}=0.448). This result was attributed to insufficient vegetal cover in the south pond (or a higher percentage of bare soil) due to poor drainage conditions which resulted in a delay in swamp timothy germination. The results of this work suggest that spectral reflectance can be used to estimate seed productivity in managed seasonal wetlands.« less

Galactic cold cores. VI. Dust opacity spectral index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juvela, M.; Demyk, K.; Doi, Y.; Hughes, A.; Lefèvre, C.; Marshall, D. J.; Meny, C.; Montillaud, J.; Pagani, L.; Paradis, D.; Ristorcelli, I.; Malinen, J.; Montier, L. A.; Paladini, R.; Pelkonen, V.-M.; Rivera-Ingraham, A.

2015-12-01

Context. The Galactic Cold Cores project has carried out Herschel photometric observations of 116 fields where the Planck survey has found signs of cold dust emission. The fields contain sources in different environments and different phases of star formation. Previous studies have revealed variations in their dust submillimetre opacity. Aims: The aim is to measure the value of dust opacity spectral index and to understand its variations spatially and with respect to other parameters, such as temperature, column density, and Galactic location. Methods: The dust opacity spectral index β and the dust colour temperature T are derived using Herschel and Planck data. The relation between β and T is examined for the whole sample and inside individual fields. Results: Based on IRAS and Planck data, the fields are characterised by a median colour temperature of 16.1 K and a median opacity spectral index of β = 1.84. The values are not correlated with Galactic longitude. We observe a clear T-β anti-correlation. In Herschel observations, constrained at lower resolution by Planck data, the variations follow the column density structure and βFIR can rise to ~2.2 in individual clumps. The highest values are found in starless clumps. The Planck 217 GHz band shows a systematic excess that is not restricted to cold clumps and is thus consistent with a general flattening of the dust emission spectrum at millimetre wavelengths. When fitted separately below and above 700 μm, the median spectral index values are βFIR ~ 1.91 and β(mm) ~ 1.66. Conclusions: The spectral index changes as a function of column density and wavelength. The comparison of different data sets and the examination of possible error sources show that our results are robust. However, β variations are partly masked by temperature gradients and the changes in the intrinsic grain properties may be even greater. Planck http://www.esa.int/Planck is a project of the European Space Agency - ESA - with instruments provided by two scientific consortia funded by ESA member states (in particular the lead countries: France and Italy) with contributions from NASA (USA), and telescope reflectors provided in a collaboration between ESA and a scientific consortium led and funded by Denmark.Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA.Table 3 is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/584/A94Appendices are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

Generating Vegetation Leaf Area Index Earth System Data Record from Multiple Sensors. Part 1; Theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ganguly, Sangram; Schull, Mitchell A.; Samanta, Arindam; Shabanov, Nikolay V.; Milesi, Cristina; Nemani, Ramakrishna R.; Knyazikhin, Yuri; Myneni, Ranga B.

2008-01-01

The generation of multi-decade long Earth System Data Records (ESDRs) of Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation absorbed by vegetation (FPAR) from remote sensing measurements of multiple sensors is key to monitoring long-term changes in vegetation due to natural and anthropogenic influences. Challenges in developing such ESDRs include problems in remote sensing science (modeling of variability in global vegetation, scaling, atmospheric correction) and sensor hardware (differences in spatial resolution, spectral bands, calibration, and information content). In this paper, we develop a physically based approach for deriving LAI and FPAR products from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data that are of comparable quality to the Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LAI and FPAR products, thus realizing the objective of producing a long (multi-decadal) time series of these products. The approach is based on the radiative transfer theory of canopy spectral invariants which facilitates parameterization of the canopy spectral bidirectional reflectance factor (BRF). The methodology permits decoupling of the structural and radiometric components and obeys the energy conservation law. The approach is applicable to any optical sensor, however, it requires selection of sensor-specific values of configurable parameters, namely, the single scattering albedo and data uncertainty. According to the theory of spectral invariants, the single scattering albedo is a function of the spatial scale, and thus, accounts for the variation in BRF with sensor spatial resolution. Likewise, the single scattering albedo accounts for the variation in spectral BRF with sensor bandwidths. The second adjustable parameter is data uncertainty, which accounts for varying information content of the remote sensing measurements, i.e., Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI, low information content), vs. spectral BRF (higher information content). Implementation of this approach indicates good consistency in LAI values retrieved from NDVI (AVHRRmode) and spectral BRF (MODIS-mode). Specific details of the implementation and evaluation of the derived products are detailed in the second part of this two-paper series.

Development of a high spectral resolution surface albedo product for the ARM Southern Great Plains central facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McFarlane, S. A.; Gaustad, K. L.; Mlawer, E. J.; Long, C. N.; Delamere, J.

2011-09-01

We present a method for identifying dominant surface type and estimating high spectral resolution surface albedo at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) facility at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in Oklahoma for use in radiative transfer calculations. Given a set of 6-channel narrowband visible and near-infrared irradiance measurements from upward and downward looking multi-filter radiometers (MFRs), four different surface types (snow-covered, green vegetation, partial vegetation, non-vegetated) can be identified. A normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is used to distinguish between vegetated and non-vegetated surfaces, and a scaled NDVI index is used to estimate the percentage of green vegetation in partially vegetated surfaces. Based on libraries of spectral albedo measurements, a piecewise continuous function is developed to estimate the high spectral resolution surface albedo for each surface type given the MFR albedo values as input. For partially vegetated surfaces, the albedo is estimated as a linear combination of the green vegetation and non-vegetated surface albedo values. The estimated albedo values are evaluated through comparison to high spectral resolution albedo measurements taken during several Intensive Observational Periods (IOPs) and through comparison of the integrated spectral albedo values to observed broadband albedo measurements. The estimated spectral albedo values agree well with observations for the visible wavelengths constrained by the MFR measurements, but have larger biases and variability at longer wavelengths. Additional MFR channels at 1100 nm and/or 1600 nm would help constrain the high resolution spectral albedo in the near infrared region.

Development of a high spectral resolution surface albedo product for the ARM Southern Great Plains central facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McFarlane, S. A.; Gaustad, K. L.; Mlawer, E. J.; Long, C. N.; Delamere, J.

2011-05-01

We present a method for identifying dominant surface type and estimating high spectral resolution surface albedo at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) facility at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in Oklahoma for use in radiative transfer calculations. Given a set of 6-channel narrowband visible and near-infrared irradiance measurements from upward and downward looking multi-filter radiometers (MFRs), four different surface types (snow-covered, green vegetation, partial vegetation, non-vegetated) can be identified. A normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is used to distinguish between vegetated and non-vegetated surfaces, and a scaled NDVI index is used to estimate the percentage of green vegetation in partially vegetated surfaces. Based on libraries of spectral albedo measurements, a piecewise continuous function is developed to estimate the high spectral resolution surface albedo for each surface type given the MFR albedo values as input. For partially vegetated surfaces, the albedo is estimated as a linear combination of the green vegetation and non-vegetated surface albedo values. The estimated albedo values are evaluated through comparison to high spectral resolution albedo measurements taken during several Intensive Observational Periods (IOPs) and through comparison of the integrated spectral albedo values to observed broadband albedo measurements. The estimated spectral albedo values agree well with observations for the visible wavelengths constrained by the MFR measurements, but have larger biases and variability at longer wavelengths. Additional MFR channels at 1100 nm and/or 1600 nm would help constrain the high resolution spectral albedo in the near infrared region.

MS-QI: A Modulation Spectrum-Based ECG Quality Index for Telehealth Applications.

PubMed

Tobon V, Diana P; Falk, Tiago H; Maier, Martin

2016-08-01

As telehealth applications emerge, the need for accurate and reliable biosignal quality indices has increased. One typical modality used in remote patient monitoring is the electrocardiogram (ECG), which is inherently susceptible to several different noise sources, including environmental (e.g., powerline interference), experimental (e.g., movement artifacts), and physiological (e.g., muscle and breathing artifacts). Accurate measurement of ECG quality can allow for automated decision support systems to make intelligent decisions about patient conditions. This is particularly true for in-home monitoring applications, where the patient is mobile and the ECG signal can be severely corrupted by movement artifacts. In this paper, we propose an innovative ECG quality index based on the so-called modulation spectral signal representation. The representation quantifies the rate of change of ECG spectral components, which are shown to be different from the rate of change of typical ECG noise sources. The proposed modulation spectral-based quality index, MS-QI, was tested on 1) synthetic ECG signals corrupted by varying levels of noise, 2) single-lead recorded data using the Hexoskin garment during three activity levels (sitting, walking, running), 3) 12-lead recorded data using conventional ECG machines (Computing in Cardiology 2011 dataset), and 4) two-lead ambulatory ECG recorded from arrhythmia patients (MIT-BIH Arrhythmia Database). Experimental results showed the proposed index outperforming two conventional benchmark quality measures, particularly in the scenarios involving recorded data in real-world environments.

Assessment of seasonal features based on Landsat time series for tree crown cover mapping in Burkina Faso

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jinxiu; Heiskanen, Janne; Aynekuly, Ermias; Pellikka, Petri

2016-04-01

Tree crown cover (CC) is an important vegetation attribute for land cover characterization, and for mapping and monitoring forest cover. Free data from Landsat and Sentinel-2 allow construction of fine resolution satellite image time series and extraction of seasonal features for predicting vegetation attributes. In the savannas, surface reflectance vary distinctively according to the rainy and dry seasons, and seasonal features are useful information for CC mapping. However, it is unclear if it is better to use spectral bands or vegetation indices (VI) for computation of seasonal features, and how feasible different VI are for CC prediction in the savanna woodlands and agroforestry parklands of West Africa. In this study, the objective was to compare seasonal features based on spectral bands and VI for CC mapping in southern Burkina Faso. A total of 35 Landsat images from November 2013 to October 2014 were processed. Seasonal features were computed using a harmonic model with three parameters (mean, amplitude and phase), and spectral bands, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), green normalized difference vegetation index (GNDVI), normalized difference water index (NDWI), tasseled cap (TC) indices (brightness, greenness, wetness) as input data. The seasonal features were employed to predict field estimated CC (n = 160) using Random Forest algorithm. The most accurate results were achieved when using seasonal features based on TC indices (R2: 0.65; RMSE: 10.7%) and spectral bands (R2: 0.64; RMSE: 10.8%). GNDVI performed better than NDVI or NDWI, and NDWI resulted in the poorest results (R2: 0.56; RMSE: 11.9%). The results indicate that spectral features should be carefully selected for CC prediction as shown by relatively poor performance of commonly used NDVI. The seasonal features based on three TC indices and all the spectral bands provided superior accuracy in comparison to single VI. The method presented in this study provides a feasible method to map CC based on seasonal features with possibility to integrate medium resolution satellite observation from several sensors (e.g. Landsat and Sentinel-2) in the future.

Negative running of the spectral index, hemispherical asymmetry and the consistency of Planck with large r

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

McDonald, John, E-mail: j.mcdonald@lancaster.ac.uk

Planck favours a negative running of the spectral index, with the likelihood being dominated by low multipoles l ∼< 50 and no preference for running at higher l. A negative spectral index is also necessary for the 2- Planck upper bound on the tensor-to-scalar ratio r to be consistent with values significantly larger than 0.1. Planck has also observed a hemispherical asymmetry of the CMB power spectrum, again mostly at low multipoles. Here we consider whether the physics responsible for the hemispherical asymmetry could also account for the negative running of the spectral index and the consistency of Planck with a largemore » value of r. A negative running of the spectral index can be generated if the hemispherical asymmetry is due to a scale- and space-dependent modulation which suppresses the CMB power spectrum at low multipoles. We show that the observed hemispherical asymmetry at low l can be generated while satisfying constraints on the asymmetry at higher l and generating a negative spectral index of the right magnitude to account for the Planck observation and to allow Planck to be consistent with a large value of r.« less

Ambiguity in running spectral index with an extra light field during inflation

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

Kohri, Kazunori; Matsuda, Tomohiro, E-mail: kohri@post.kek.jp, E-mail: matsuda@sit.ac.jp

At the beginning of inflation there could be extra dynamical scalar fields that will soon disappear (become static) before the end of inflation. In the light of multi-field inflation, those extra degrees of freedom may alter the time-dependence of the original spectrum of the curvature perturbation. It is possible to remove such fields introducing extra number of e-foldings prior to 0N{sub e}∼ 6, however such extra e-foldings may make the trans-Planckian problem worse due to the Lyth bound. We show that such extra scalar fields can change the running of the spectral index to give correction of ± 0.01 without adding significantmore » contribution to the spectral index. The corrections to the spectral index (and the amplitude) could be important in considering global behavior of the corrected spectrum, although they can be neglected in the estimation of the spectrum and its spectral index at the pivot scale. The ambiguity in the running of the spectral index, which could be due to such fields, can be used to nullify tension between BICEP2 and Planck experiments.« less

Temporal dynamics of spectral bioindicators evidence biological and ecological differences among functional types in a cork oak open woodland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cerasoli, Sofia; Costa e Silva, Filipe; Silva, João M. N.

2016-06-01

The application of spectral vegetation indices for the purpose of vegetation monitoring and modeling increased largely in recent years. Nonetheless, the interpretation of biophysical properties of vegetation through their spectral signature is still a challenging task. This is particularly true in Mediterranean oak forest characterized by a high spatial and temporal heterogeneity. In this study, the temporal dynamics of vegetation indices expected to be related with green biomass and photosynthetic efficiency were compared for the canopy of trees, the herbaceous layer, and two shrub species: cistus ( Cistus salviifolius) and ulex ( Ulex airensis). coexisting in a cork oak woodland. All indices were calculated from in situ measurements with a FieldSpec3 spectroradiometer (ASD Inc., Boulder, USA). Large differences emerged in the temporal trends and in the correlation between climate and vegetation indices. The relationship between spectral indices and temperature, radiation, and vapor pressure deficit for cork oak was opposite to that observed for the herbaceous layer and cistus. No correlation was observed between rainfall and vegetation indices in cork oak and ulex, but in the herbaceous layer and in the cistus, significant correlations were found. The analysis of spectral vegetation indices with fraction of absorbed PAR (fPAR) and quantum yield of chlorophyll fluorescence ( ΔF/ Fm') evidenced strongest relationships with the indices Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) and Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI)512, respectively. Our results, while confirms the ability of spectral vegetation indices to represent temporal dynamics of biophysical properties of vegetation, evidence the importance to consider ecosystem composition for a correct ecological interpretation of results when the spatial resolution of observations includes different plant functional types.

Temporal dynamics of spectral bioindicators evidence biological and ecological differences among functional types in a cork oak open woodland.

PubMed

Cerasoli, Sofia; Costa E Silva, Filipe; Silva, João M N

2016-06-01

The application of spectral vegetation indices for the purpose of vegetation monitoring and modeling increased largely in recent years. Nonetheless, the interpretation of biophysical properties of vegetation through their spectral signature is still a challenging task. This is particularly true in Mediterranean oak forest characterized by a high spatial and temporal heterogeneity. In this study, the temporal dynamics of vegetation indices expected to be related with green biomass and photosynthetic efficiency were compared for the canopy of trees, the herbaceous layer, and two shrub species: cistus (Cistus salviifolius) and ulex (Ulex airensis). coexisting in a cork oak woodland. All indices were calculated from in situ measurements with a FieldSpec3 spectroradiometer (ASD Inc., Boulder, USA). Large differences emerged in the temporal trends and in the correlation between climate and vegetation indices. The relationship between spectral indices and temperature, radiation, and vapor pressure deficit for cork oak was opposite to that observed for the herbaceous layer and cistus. No correlation was observed between rainfall and vegetation indices in cork oak and ulex, but in the herbaceous layer and in the cistus, significant correlations were found. The analysis of spectral vegetation indices with fraction of absorbed PAR (fPAR) and quantum yield of chlorophyll fluorescence (ΔF/Fm') evidenced strongest relationships with the indices Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) and Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI)512, respectively. Our results, while confirms the ability of spectral vegetation indices to represent temporal dynamics of biophysical properties of vegetation, evidence the importance to consider ecosystem composition for a correct ecological interpretation of results when the spatial resolution of observations includes different plant functional types.

Determining index of refraction from polarimetric hyperspectral radiance measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Jacob A.; Gross, Kevin C.

2015-09-01

Polarimetric hyperspectral imaging (P-HSI) combines two of the most common remote sensing modalities. This work leverages the combination of these techniques to improve material classification. Classifying and identifying materials requires parameters which are invariant to changing viewing conditions, and most often a material's reflectivity or emissivity is used. Measuring these most often requires assumptions be made about the material and atmospheric conditions. Combining both polarimetric and hyperspectral imaging, we propose a method to remotely estimate the index of refraction of a material. In general, this is an underdetermined problem because both the real and imaginary components of index of refraction are unknown at every spectral point. By modeling the spectral variation of the index of refraction using a few parameters, however, the problem can be made overdetermined. A number of different functions can be used to describe this spectral variation, and some are discussed here. Reducing the number of spectral parameters to fit allows us to add parameters which estimate atmospheric downwelling radiance and transmittance. Additionally, the object temperature is added as a fit parameter. The set of these parameters that best replicate the measured data is then found using a bounded Nelder-Mead simplex search algorithm. Other search algorithms are also examined and discussed. Results show that this technique has promise but also some limitations, which are the subject of ongoing work.

An Analysis of Individual Differences in Recognizing Monosyllabic Words Under the Speech Intelligibility Index Framework

PubMed Central

Shen, Yi; Kern, Allison B.

2018-01-01

Individual differences in the recognition of monosyllabic words, either in isolation (NU6 test) or in sentence context (SPIN test), were investigated under the theoretical framework of the speech intelligibility index (SII). An adaptive psychophysical procedure, namely the quick-band-importance-function procedure, was developed to enable the fitting of the SII model to individual listeners. Using this procedure, the band importance function (i.e., the relative weights of speech information across the spectrum) and the link function relating the SII to recognition scores can be simultaneously estimated while requiring only 200 to 300 trials of testing. Octave-frequency band importance functions and link functions were estimated separately for NU6 and SPIN materials from 30 normal-hearing listeners who were naïve to speech recognition experiments. For each type of speech material, considerable individual differences in the spectral weights were observed in some but not all frequency regions. At frequencies where the greatest intersubject variability was found, the spectral weights were correlated between the two speech materials, suggesting that the variability in spectral weights reflected listener-originated factors. PMID:29532711

The X-Ray Structure and Spectrum of the Pulsar Wind Nebula Surrounding PSR B1853+01 in W44

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petre, R.; Kuntz, K. D.; Shelton, R. L.; White, Nicholas E. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

We present the result of a Chandra ACIS observation of the pulsar PSR B1853+01 and its associated pulsar wind nebula (PWN), embedded within the supernova remnant W44. A hard band ACIS map cleanly distinguishes the PWN from the thermal emission of W44. The nebula is extended in the north-south direction, with an extent about half that of the radio emission. Morphological differences between the X-ray and radio images are apparent. Spectral fitting reveals a clear difference in spectral index between the hard emission from PSR B1853+01 (Gamma approx. 1.4) and the extended nebula (Gamma approx. 2.2). The more accurate values for the X-ray flux and spectral index are used refine estimates for PWN parameters, including magnetic field strength, the average Lorentz factor gamma of the particles in the wind, the magnetization parameter sigma, and the ratio k of electrons to other particles.

Bayesian estimation of seasonal course of canopy leaf area index from hyperspectral satellite data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varvia, Petri; Rautiainen, Miina; Seppänen, Aku

2018-03-01

In this paper, Bayesian inversion of a physically-based forest reflectance model is investigated to estimate of boreal forest canopy leaf area index (LAI) from EO-1 Hyperion hyperspectral data. The data consist of multiple forest stands with different species compositions and structures, imaged in three phases of the growing season. The Bayesian estimates of canopy LAI are compared to reference estimates based on a spectral vegetation index. The forest reflectance model contains also other unknown variables in addition to LAI, for example leaf single scattering albedo and understory reflectance. In the Bayesian approach, these variables are estimated simultaneously with LAI. The feasibility and seasonal variation of these estimates is also examined. Credible intervals for the estimates are also calculated and evaluated. The results show that the Bayesian inversion approach is significantly better than using a comparable spectral vegetation index regression.

Assessing corn water stress using spectral reflectance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mefford, Brenna S.

Multiple remote sensing techniques have been developed to identify crop water stress, but some methods may be difficult for farmers to apply. Unlike most techniques, shortwave vegetation indices can be calculated using satellite, aerial, or ground imagery from the green (525-600 nm), red (625-700 nm), and near infrared (750-900 nm) spectral bands. If vegetation indices can be used to monitor crop water stress, growers could use this information as a quick low-cost guideline for irrigation management, thus helping save water by preventing over irrigating. This study occurred in the 2013 growing season near Greeley, CO, where pressurized drip irrigation was used to irrigate twelve corn ( Zea mays L.) treatments of varying water deficit. Multispectral data was collected and four different vegetation indices were evaluated: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Optimized Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (OSAVI), Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (GNDVI), and the Wide Dynamic Range Vegetation Index (WDRVI). The four vegetation indices were compared to corn water stress as indicated by the stress coefficient (Ks) and water deficit in the root zone, calculated by using a water balance that monitors crop evapotranspiration (ET), irrigation events, precipitation events, and deep percolation. ET for the water balance was calculated using two different methods for comparison purposes: (1) calculation of the stress coefficient (Ks) using FAO-56 standard procedures; (2) use of canopy temperature ratio (Tc ratio) of a stressed crop to a non-stressed crop to calculate Ks. It was found that obtaining Ks from Tc ratio is a viable option, and requires less data to obtain than Ks from FAO-56. In order to compare the indices to Ks, vegetation ratios were developed in the process of normalization. Vegetation ratios are defined as the non-stressed vegetation index divided by the stressed vegetation index. Results showed that vegetation ratios were sensitive to water stress as indicated by good R2 values (Nratio = 0.53, G ratio=0.46, Oratio=0.49) and low RMSE values (Nratio = 0.076, Gratio=0.062, Oratio=0.076) when compared to Ks. Therefore it can be concluded that corn spectral reflectance is sensitive to water stress. In order to use spectral reflectance to manage crop water stress an irrigation trigger point of 0.93 for the vegetation ratios was determined. These results were validated using data collected by a MSR5 multispectral sensor in an adjacent field (SWIIM Field). The results from the second field proved better than in the main field giving higher R 2 values (Nratio = 0.66, Gratio = 0.63, Oratio = 0.66), and lower RMSE values (Nratio = 0.043, Gratio = 0.036, Oratio = 0.043) between Ks and the vegetation indices. SWIIM field further validated the results that spectral reflectance can be used to monitor corn water stress.

The XMM deep survey in the CDF-S. X. X-ray variability of bright sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falocco, S.; Paolillo, M.; Comastri, A.; Carrera, F. J.; Ranalli, P.; Iwasawa, K.; Georgantopoulos, I.; Vignali, C.; Gilli, R.

2017-12-01

Aims: We aim to study the variability properties of bright hard X-ray selected active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the redshift range between 0.3 and 1.6 detected in the Chandra Deep Field South (XMM-CDFS) by a long ( 3 Ms) XMM observation. Methods: Taking advantage of the good count statistics in the XMM CDFS, we search for flux and spectral variability using the hardness ratio (HR) techniques. We also investigate the spectral variability of different spectral components (photon index of the power law, column density of the local absorber, and reflection intensity). The spectra were merged in six epochs (defined as adjacent observations) and in high and low flux states to understand whether the flux transitions are accompanied by spectral changes. Results: The flux variability is significant in all the sources investigated. The HRs in general are not as variable as the fluxes, in line with previous results on deep fields. Only one source displays a variable HR, anti-correlated with the flux (source 337). The spectral analysis in the available epochs confirms the steeper when brighter trend consistent with Comptonisation models only in this source at 99% confidence level. Finding this trend in one out of seven unabsorbed sources is consistent, within the statistical limits, with the 15% of unabsorbed AGN in previous deep surveys. No significant variability in the column densities, nor in the Compton reflection component, has been detected across the epochs considered. The high and low states display in general different normalisations but consistent spectral properties. Conclusions: X-ray flux fluctuations are ubiquitous in AGN, though in some cases the data quality does not allow for their detection. In general, the significant flux variations are not associated with spectral variability: photon index and column densities are not significantly variable in nine out of the ten AGN over long timescales (from three to six and a half years). Photon index variability is found only in one source (which is steeper when brighter) out of seven unabsorbed AGN. The percentage of spectrally variable objects is consistent, within the limited statistics of sources studied here, with previous deep samples.

Red edge spectral measurements from sugar maple leaves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vogelmann, J. E.; Rock, B. N.; Moss, D. M.

1993-01-01

Many sugar maple stands in the northeastern United States experienced extensive insect damage during the 1988 growing season. Chlorophyll data and high spectral resolution spectrometer laboratory reflectance data were acquired for multiple collections of single detached sugar maple leaves variously affected by the insect over the 1988 growing season. Reflectance data indicated consistent and diagnostic differences in the red edge portion (680-750 nm) of the spectrum among the various samples and populations of leaves. These included differences in the red edge inflection point (REIP), a ratio of reflectance at 740-720 nm (RE3/RE2), and a ratio of first derivative values at 715-705 nm (D715/D705). All three red edge parameters were highly correlated with variation in total chlorophyll content. Other spectral measures, including the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the Simple Vegetation Index Ratio (VI), also varied among populations and over the growing season, but did not correlate well with total chlorophyll content. Leaf stacking studies on light and dark backgrounds indicated REIP, RE3/RE2 and D715/D705 to be much less influenced by differences in green leaf biomass and background condition than either NDVI or VI.

Remote sensing of crop parameters with a polarized, frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalshoven, James E., Jr.; Tierney, Michael R., Jr.; Daughtry, Craig S. T.; McMurtrey, James E., III

1995-05-01

Polarized laser remote-sensing measurements that correlate the yield, the normalized difference vegetation index, and the leaf area index with the depolarized backscattered radiation from corn plots grown with eight different nitrogen fertilization dosages are presented. A polarized Nd:YAG laser emitting at 1064 and 532 nm is used. Depolarization increased significantly with increasing fertilization at the infrared wavelength, and there was a decrease in the depolarization at the green wavelength. The depolarization spectral difference index, defined as the absolute difference in the depolarization at the two wavelengths, is introduced as a parameter that is an indicator of the condition of the internal leaf structure.

The Effect of Systematics on Polarized Spectral Indices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wehus, I. K.; Fuskeland, U.; Eriksen, H. K.

2013-02-01

We study four particularly bright polarized compact objects (Tau A, Vir A, 3C 273, and For A) in the 7 year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) sky maps, with the goal of understanding potential systematics involved in the estimation of foreground spectral indices. First, we estimate the spectral index, the polarization angle, the polarization fraction, and the apparent size and shape of these objects when smoothed to a nominal resolution of 1° FWHM. Second, we compute the spectral index as a function of polarization orientation, α. Because these objects are approximately point sources with constant polarization angle, this function should be constant in the absence of systematics. However, for the K and Ka band WMAP data we find strong index variations for all four sources. For Tau A, we find a spectral index of β = -2.59 ± 0.03 for α = 30°, and β = -2.03 ± 0.01 for α = 50°. On the other hand, the spectral index between the Ka and Q bands is found to be stable. A simple elliptical Gaussian toy model with parameters matching those observed in Tau A reproduces the observed signal, and shows that the spectral index is particularly sensitive to the detector polarization angle. Based on these findings, we first conclude that estimation of spectral indices with the WMAP K band polarization data at 1° scales is not robust. Second, we note that these issues may be of concern for ground-based and sub-orbital experiments that use the WMAP polarization measurements of Tau A for calibration of gain and polarization angles.

Non-Destructive Evaluation of the Leaf Nitrogen Concentration by In-Field Visible/Near-Infrared Spectroscopy in Pear Orchards.

PubMed

Wang, Jie; Shen, Changwei; Liu, Na; Jin, Xin; Fan, Xueshan; Dong, Caixia; Xu, Yangchun

2017-03-08

Non-destructive and timely determination of leaf nitrogen (N) concentration is urgently needed for N management in pear orchards. A two-year field experiment was conducted in a commercial pear orchard with five N application rates: 0 (N0), 165 (N1), 330 (N2), 660 (N3), and 990 (N4) kg·N·ha -1 . The mid-portion leaves on the year's shoot were selected for the spectral measurement first and then N concentration determination in the laboratory at 50 and 80 days after full bloom (DAB). Three methods of in-field spectral measurement (25° bare fibre under solar conditions, black background attached to plant probe, and white background attached to plant probe) were compared. We also investigated the modelling performances of four chemometric techniques (principal components regression, PCR; partial least squares regression, PLSR; stepwise multiple linear regression, SMLR; and back propagation neural network, BPNN) and three vegetation indices (difference spectral index, normalized difference spectral index, and ratio spectral index). Due to the low correlation of reflectance obtained by the 25° field of view method, all of the modelling was performed on two spectral datasets-both acquired by a plant probe. Results showed that the best modelling and prediction accuracy were found in the model established by PLSR and spectra measured with a black background. The randomly-separated subsets of calibration ( n = 1000) and validation ( n = 420) of this model resulted in high R² values of 0.86 and 0.85, respectively, as well as a low mean relative error (<6%). Furthermore, a higher coefficient of determination between the leaf N concentration and fruit yield was found at 50 DAB samplings in both 2015 (R² = 0.77) and 2014 (R² = 0.59). Thus, the leaf N concentration was suggested to be determined at 50 DAB by visible/near-infrared spectroscopy and the threshold should be 24-27 g/kg.

Elastic and Inelastic Light Scattering by Microdroplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huckaby, James Longinus

A technique for simultaneously determining microdroplet radius, refractive index and its dispersion is developed and demonstrated for three droplet compounds. Based on the accurate determination of the spectral positions of a set of scattered field optical resonances, the technique is shown to provide size and refractive index values to within a relative error of 5 times 10^{-5}, while also providing the refractive index as a function of wavenumber. A method for unambiguously distinguishing droplet growth by the formation of a layer from homogeneous growth is presented and demonstrated. This method employs the precise determination of the spectral positions of optical resonances associated with the transverse magnetic (TM) and transverse electric (TE) scattered fields from a sphere. The method relies upon the observation that the formation of a coating having a different refractive index than the core droplet results in substantially different spectral shifts of the scattered TE and TM resonances. This method was applied to examine absorption and coating events. Droplet size changes of as small as 3.0 nm due to the absorption of vapor were induced and measured. Coatings of perfluorinated polyether on polyphenol ether droplets were generated and shown to produce peak shifts consistent with theory. The observation of a large number of internal field resonances of the droplet with the incident wavenumber in the Raman spectra of microdroplets is reported. An argument based on the observed density of these internal resonances is made for the observation of all internal field resonances through the techniques described.

Study on the SPR responses of various DNA probe concentrations by parallel scan spectral SPR imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Suihua; Liu, Le; Lu, Weiping; Zhang, Yaou; He, Yonghong; Guo, Jihua

2008-12-01

SPR sensors have become a high sensitive and label free method for characterizing and quantifying chemical and biochemical interactions. However, the relations between the SPR refractive index response and the property (such as concentrations) of biochemical probes are still lacking. In this paper, an experimental study on the SPR responses of varies concentrations of Legionella pneumophila mip DNA probes is presented. We developed a novel two-dimensional SPR sensing technique-parallel scan spectral SPR imaging-to detect an array of mip gene probes. This technique offers quantitative refractive index information with a high sensing throughput. By detecting mip DNA probes with different concentrations, we obtained the relations between the SPR refractive index response and the concentrations of mip DNA probes. These results are valuable for design and developing SPR based mip gene biochips.

Frequency modulation and compression of optical pulses in an optical fibre with a travelling refractive-index wave

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

Zolotovskii, I O; Lapin, V A; Sementsov, D I

2016-01-31

We have studied the conditions for spectral broadening, frequency modulation and compression (both temporal and spectral) of Gaussian pulses propagating in a fibre with a travelling refractive-index wave. Analytical expressions have been derived for the dependences of pulse duration, chirp and spectral width on the distance travelled through the fibre, parameters of the fibre and radiation launched into it. Based on the numerical analysis we have studied the behaviour of these characteristics by changing the coefficient of the refractive-index modulation and other parameters of the travelling refractive-index wave. (nonlinear optical phenomena)

Spectral analysis of amazon canopy phenology during the dry season using a tower hyperspectral camera and modis observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Moura, Yhasmin Mendes; Galvão, Lênio Soares; Hilker, Thomas; Wu, Jin; Saleska, Scott; do Amaral, Cibele Hummel; Nelson, Bruce Walker; Lopes, Aline Pontes; Wiedeman, Kenia K.; Prohaska, Neill; de Oliveira, Raimundo Cosme; Machado, Carolyne Bueno; Aragão, Luiz E. O. C.

2017-09-01

The association between spectral reflectance and canopy processes remains challenging for quantifying large-scale canopy phenological cycles in tropical forests. In this study, we used a tower-mounted hyperspectral camera in an eastern Amazon forest to assess how canopy spectral signals of three species are linked with phenological processes in the 2012 dry season. We explored different approaches to disentangle the spectral components of canopy phenology processes and analyze their variations over time using 17 images acquired by the camera. The methods included linear spectral mixture analysis (SMA); principal component analysis (PCA); continuum removal (CR); and first-order derivative analysis. In addition, three vegetation indices potentially sensitive to leaf flushing, leaf loss and leaf area index (LAI) were calculated: the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the entitled Green-Red Normalized Difference (GRND) index. We inspected also the consistency of the camera observations using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and available phenological data on new leaf production and LAI of young, mature and old leaves simulated by a leaf demography-ontogeny model. The results showed a diversity of phenological responses during the 2012 dry season with related changes in canopy structure and greenness values. Because of the differences in timing and intensity of leaf flushing and leaf shedding, Erisma uncinatum, Manilkara huberi and Chamaecrista xinguensis presented different green vegetation (GV) and non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV) SMA fractions; distinct PCA scores; changes in depth, width and area of the 681-nm chlorophyll absorption band; and variations over time in the EVI, GRND and NDVI. At the end of dry season, GV increased for Erisma uncinatum, while NPV increased for Chamaecrista xinguensis. For Manilkara huberi, the NPV first increased in the beginning of August and then decreased toward September with new foliage. Variations in red-edge position were not statistically significant between the species and across dates at the 95% confidence level. The camera data were affected by view-illumination effects, which reduced the SMA shade fraction over time. When MODIS data were corrected for these effects using the Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction Algorithm (MAIAC), we observed an EVI increase toward September that closely tracked the modeled LAI of mature leaves (3-5 months). Compared to the EVI, the GRND was a better indicator of leaf flushing because the modeled production of new leaves peaked in August and then declined in September following the GRND closely. While the EVI was more related to changes in mature leaf area, the GRND was more associated with new leaf flushing.

Geostatistical estimation of signal-to-noise ratios for spectral vegetation indices

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ji, Lei; Zhang, Li; Rover, Jennifer R.; Wylie, Bruce K.; Chen, Xuexia

2014-01-01

In the past 40 years, many spectral vegetation indices have been developed to quantify vegetation biophysical parameters. An ideal vegetation index should contain the maximum level of signal related to specific biophysical characteristics and the minimum level of noise such as background soil influences and atmospheric effects. However, accurate quantification of signal and noise in a vegetation index remains a challenge, because it requires a large number of field measurements or laboratory experiments. In this study, we applied a geostatistical method to estimate signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) for spectral vegetation indices. Based on the sample semivariogram of vegetation index images, we used the standardized noise to quantify the noise component of vegetation indices. In a case study in the grasslands and shrublands of the western United States, we demonstrated the geostatistical method for evaluating S/N for a series of soil-adjusted vegetation indices derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor. The soil-adjusted vegetation indices were found to have higher S/N values than the traditional normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and simple ratio (SR) in the sparsely vegetated areas. This study shows that the proposed geostatistical analysis can constitute an efficient technique for estimating signal and noise components in vegetation indices.

Predicting Photosynthetic Fluxes from Spectral Reflectance of Leaves and Canopies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gamon, John A.

1997-01-01

The central hypothesis of this study has been that photosynthetic efficiency and capacity can be predicted from 'physiological reflectance indices' derived from spectral reflectance of leaves and canopies. I have approached this topic with a combination of laboratory and field experiments, and have also explored the potential of deriving a meaningful physiological index from imaging spectrometry (e.g. AVIRIS). A few highlights are presented below. The main emphasis has been on the 'Photochemical Reflectance Index' (PRI), derived from reflectance at 531 nm and 570 nm. Unlike most 'conventional' vegetation indices (e.g. NDVI), PRI changes rapidly both with illumination and physiological state, because it detects the interconversion of xanthophyll cycle pigments, which serve as photoregulatory pigments and control energy distribution for the photosynthetic system. This approach has differed dramatically from most remote sensing in that it has emphasized temporal variation in narrow-band spectral signatures, instead of spatial patterns of broadband indices. Our primary conclusion has been that PRI works well as an index of photosynthetic light-use efficiency at the leaf scale, much in the same way as the fluorescence index DeltaF/Fm. However, unlike DeltaF/Fm which must be measured at close scales, PRI can be sampled at a range of spatial scales, presenting the possibility of monitoring photosynthetic fluxes remotely.

Graded-index whispering gallery mode resonators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Savchenkov, Anatoliy (Inventor); Maleki, Lutfollah (Inventor); Ilchenko, Vladimir (Inventor); Matsko, Andrey B. (Inventor)

2005-01-01

Whispering gallery mode optical resonators which have spatially-graded refractive indices. In one implementation, the refractive index spatially increases with a distance from an exterior surface of such a resonator towards an interior of the resonator to produce substantially equal spectral separations for different whispering gallery modes. An optical coupler may be used with such a resonator to provide proper optical coupling.

Evaluating the species energy relationship with the newest measures of ecosystem energy: NDVI versus MODIS primary production

Treesearch

Linda B. Phillips; Andrew J. Hansen; Curtis H. Flather

2008-01-01

Ecosystem energy has been shown to be a strong correlate with biological diversity at continental scales. Early efforts to characterize this association used the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to represent ecosystem energy. While this spectral vegetation index covaries with measures of ecosystem energy such as net primary production, the covariation is...

Refractive index measurement of imidazolium based ionic liquids in the Vis-NIR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arosa, Yago; Rodríguez Fernández, Carlos Damián; López Lago, Elena; Amigo, Alfredo; Varela, Luis Miguel; Cabeza, Oscar; de la Fuente, Raúl

2017-11-01

In this paper spectrally resolved white light interferometry is applied for measuring the refractive index of different ionic liquids over a wide spectral band from 400 to 1000 nm. The measuring device is compound by a Michelson interferometer whose output is analyzed by means of two spectrometers. The first one is a homemade prism spectrometer which provides the interferogram produced by the sample over a wide continuum spectrum. The second one is a commercial diffraction grating spectrometer used to make high precision measurements of the displacement between the Michelson mirrors by interferometry. Both instruments combined allow the retrieval of the refractive index of the sample over a wide visible-near infrared continuum spectrum with deviations on the fourth decimal. A group of 14 different ionic liquids based on the 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium cation have been studied through this technique. The measured refractive index of the ionic liquids is used to calculate their electronic polarizability. This makes possible to gain insight into the microscopic behavior of the compounds. To give a better picture, the liquids have been classified in four groups and their refractive indices and polarizabilities are compared in order to find correlations between these magnitudes and the structure of the liquids.

Reducing the spectral index in supernatural inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Chia-Min; Cheung, Kingman

2009-04-01

Supernatural inflation is an attractive model based on just a flat direction with soft supersymmetry breaking mass terms in the framework of supersymmetry. The beauty of the model is that it needs no fine-tuning. However, the prediction of the spectral index is ns≳1, in contrast to experimental data. In this paper, we discuss supernatural inflation with the spectral index reduced to ns=0.96 without any fine-tuning, considering the general feature that a flat direction is lifted by a nonrenormalizable term with an A-term.

Remote sensing technologies applied to the irrigation water management on a golf course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pedras, Celestina; Lança, Rui; Martins, Fernando; Soares, Cristina; Guerrero, Carlos; Paixão, Helena

2015-04-01

An adequate irrigation water management in a golf course is a complex task that depends upon climate (multiple microclimates) and land cover (where crops differ in morphology, physiology, plant density, sensitivity to water stress, etc.). These factors change both in time and space on a landscape. A direct measurement provides localized values of the evapotranspiration and climate conditions. Therefore this is not a practical or economical methodology for large-scale use due to spatial and temporal variability of vegetation, soils, and irrigation management strategies. Remote sensing technology combines large scale with ground measurement of vegetation indexes. These indexes are mathematical combinations of different spectral bands mostly in the visible and near infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. They represent the measures of vegetation activity that vary not only with the seasonal variability of green foliage, but also across space, thus they are suitable for detecting spatial landscape variability. The spectral vegetation indexes may enhance irrigation management through the information contained in spectral reflectance data. This study was carried out on the 18th fairway of the Royal Golf Course, Vale do Lobo, Portugal, and it aims to establish the relationship between direct measurements and vegetation indexes. For that it is required (1) to characterize the soil and climatic conditions, (2) to assessment of the irrigation system, (3) to estimate the evapotranspiration (4) and to calculate the vegetation indices. The vegetation indices were determined with basis on spectral bands red, green and blue, RGB, and near Infrared, NIR, obtained from the analysis of images acquired from a unpiloted aerial vehicle, UAV, platform. The measurements of reference evapotranspiration (ETo) were obtained from two meteorological stations located in the study area. The landscape evapotranspiration, ETL, was determined in the fairway with multiple microclimates and managed stress. The ETL was obtained thru the use of mobile reference ET stations and also by the development of the surface renewal (SR) measurement technique. The sprinkler irrigation system installed was evaluated according to the methodology described by ASAE. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI, and Visible atmospherically Resistant Index, VARI, are confronted with the direct localized measurements. The NDVI is the most used indicator to assess the vigor status of the vegetation. However, this index depends of the use of NIR bands which demands quite expensive sensors. The use vegetation indexes obtained by sensors that collect data in the visible wavelength, such as VARI is less expensive and allow the vegetative vigor evaluation with a similar rigor. The information of vegetation indices is crossed with edafoclimatic data obtained in situ, in order to improve the irrigation water management based on aerial imagery.

Evaluating the capabilities of vegetation spectral indices on chlorophyll content estimation at Sentinel-2 spectral resolutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Qi; Jiao, Quanjun; Dai, Huayang

2018-03-01

Chlorophyll is an important pigment in green plants for photosynthesis and obtaining the energy for growth and development. The rapid, nondestructive and accurate estimation of chlorophyll content is significant for understanding the crops growth, monitoring the disease and insect, and assessing the yield of crops. Sentinel-2 equipped with the Multi-Spectral Instrument (MSI), which will provide images with high spatial, spectral and temporal resolution. It covers the VNIR/SWIR spectral region in 13 bands and incorporates two new spectral bands in the red-edge region and a spatial resolution of 20nm, which can be used to derive vegetation indices using red-edge bands. In this paper, we will focus on assessing the potential of vegetation spectral indices for retrieving chlorophyll content from Sentinel-2 at different angles. Subsequently, we used in-situ spectral data and Sentinel-2 data to test the relationship between VIs and chlorophyll content. The REP, MTCI, CIred-edge, CIgreen, Macc01, TCARI/OSAVI [705,750], NDRE1 and NDRE2 were calculated. NDRE2 index displays a strongly similar result for hyperspectral and simulated Sentinel-2 spectral bands (R2 =0.53, R2 =0.51, for hyperspectral and Sentinel-2, respectively). At different observation angles, NDRE2 has the smallest difference in performance (R2 = 0.51, R2 =0.64, at 0° and 15° , respectively).

Deriving leaf mass per area (LMA) from foliar reflectance across a variety of plant species using continuous wavelet analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Tao; Rivard, Benoit; Sánchez-Azofeifa, Arturo G.; Féret, Jean-Baptiste; Jacquemoud, Stéphane; Ustin, Susan L.

2014-01-01

Leaf mass per area (LMA), the ratio of leaf dry mass to leaf area, is a trait of central importance to the understanding of plant light capture and carbon gain. It can be estimated from leaf reflectance spectroscopy in the infrared region, by making use of information about the absorption features of dry matter. This study reports on the application of continuous wavelet analysis (CWA) to the estimation of LMA across a wide range of plant species. We compiled a large database of leaf reflectance spectra acquired within the framework of three independent measurement campaigns (ANGERS, LOPEX and PANAMA) and generated a simulated database using the PROSPECT leaf optical properties model. CWA was applied to the measured and simulated databases to extract wavelet features that correlate with LMA. These features were assessed in terms of predictive capability and robustness while transferring predictive models from the simulated database to the measured database. The assessment was also conducted with two existing spectral indices, namely the Normalized Dry Matter Index (NDMI) and the Normalized Difference index for LMA (NDLMA). Five common wavelet features were determined from the two databases, which showed significant correlations with LMA (R2: 0.51-0.82, p < 0.0001). The best robustness (R2 = 0.74, RMSE = 18.97 g/m2 and Bias = 0.12 g/m2) was obtained using a combination of two low-scale features (1639 nm, scale 4) and (2133 nm, scale 5), the first being predominantly important. The transferability of the wavelet-based predictive model to the whole measured database was either better than or comparable to those based on spectral indices. Additionally, only the wavelet-based model showed consistent predictive capabilities among the three measured data sets. In comparison, the models based on spectral indices were sensitive to site-specific data sets. Integrating the NDLMA spectral index and the two robust wavelet features improved the LMA prediction. One of the bands used by this spectral index, 1368 nm, was located in a strong atmospheric water absorption region and replacing it with the next available band (1340 nm) led to lower predictive accuracies. However, the two wavelet features were not affected by data quality in the atmospheric absorption regions and therefore showed potential for canopy-level investigations. The wavelet approach provides a different perspective into spectral responses to LMA variation than the traditional spectral indices and holds greater promise for implementation with airborne or spaceborne imaging spectroscopy data for mapping canopy foliar dry biomass.

Identification of a Spectrally and Thermophysically Unique Region in Northern Amazonis Planitia, Mars: Surface Analysis using TES and THEMIS Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogers, D.; Christensen, P. R.

2002-12-01

An intermediate-albedo (0.23-0.24) region located in northeastern Amazonis Planitia (approximately 900 km2 in area, centered at 40§N, 150§W) has been discovered to have a unique combination of certain spectral and thermophysical properties. The range of thermal inertia values for this region is 40-150 J/m2Ks1/2. On Mars, these values are usually indicative of a thick deposit of very fine-grained material (<63 microns) [1]. However, unlike typical dust deposits on Mars, this region exhibits moderate spectral contrast, with surface emissivity values ranging from 0.94-0.97 near 1030 cm-1. These emissivity values are uncharacteristic of fine-grained material [e.g., 2]. The modal mineralogy obtained by linear deconvolution of selected emissivity spectra from at least four different orbits over this region is not different than that reported for the Acidalia Planitia andesitic surface [3], within the mineral abundance detection limit estimated for TES [4]. However, the atmospherically-corrected surface spectral shape is distinct from the surface spectra common to Acidalia Planitia [3], Syrtis Major [3, 4], Sinus Meridiani [5] and Nili Fossae [6]. A spectral index was developed that describes the shape of a concave-down portion of the surface spectrum near 900 cm-1. A global 4 pixel-per-degree map of this index shows that the spectral character is unique to this region on Mars. MOC and THEMIS visible images available for this area show a uniform geomorphology consisting of parallel sinuous features trending NW-SE. Finally, THEMIS IR images show a sharp temperature contact that corresponds with the boundary of this area in the spectral index map. There are likely to be other explanations for reconciling the low thermal inertia with high spectral feature depth, however a favored hypothesis for this anomalous surface is that it is composed of a consolidated but highly porous material. This and other interpretations for this region will be discussed. References: [1] Kieffer et al. 1977, JGR, 82, 4249-4291; [2] Moersch and Christensen, 1995, JGR, 100, 7465-7477; [3] Bandfield et al. 2000, Science, 287, 1626-1630; [4] Christensen et al. 2000, JGR, 105, 9609-9621; [5] Christensen et al. 2000, JGR, 105, 9623-9642; [6] Hamilton et al. 2001, LPSC XXXII Abstracts, abstract 2184

Skin condition measurement by using multispectral imaging system (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Geunho; Kim, Sungchul; Kim, Jae Gwan

2017-02-01

There are a number of commercially available low level light therapy (LLLT) devices in a market, and face whitening or wrinkle reduction is one of targets in LLLT. The facial improvement could be known simply by visual observation of face, but it cannot provide either quantitative data or recognize a subtle change. Clinical diagnostic instruments such as mexameter can provide a quantitative data, but it costs too high for home users. Therefore, we designed a low cost multi-spectral imaging device by adding additional LEDs (470nm, 640nm, white LED, 905nm) to a commercial USB microscope which has two LEDs (395nm, 940nm) as light sources. Among various LLLT skin treatments, we focused on getting melanin and wrinkle information. For melanin index measurements, multi-spectral images of nevus were acquired and melanin index values from color image (conventional method) and from multi-spectral images were compared. The results showed that multi-spectral analysis of melanin index can visualize nevus with a different depth and concentration. A cross section of wrinkle on skin resembles a wedge which can be a source of high frequency components when the skin image is Fourier transformed into a spatial frequency domain map. In that case, the entropy value of the spatial frequency map can represent the frequency distribution which is related with the amount and thickness of wrinkle. Entropy values from multi-spectral images can potentially separate the percentage of thin and shallow wrinkle from thick and deep wrinkle. From the results, we found that this low cost multi-spectral imaging system could be beneficial for home users of LLLT by providing the treatment efficacy in a quantitative way.

TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL ANALYSES OF SPECTRAL INDICES OF NONTHERMAL EMISSIONS DERIVED FROM HARD X-RAYS AND MICROWAVES

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

Asai, Ayumi; Kiyohara, Junko; Takasaki, Hiroyuki

2013-02-15

We studied electron spectral indices of nonthermal emissions seen in hard X-rays (HXRs) and microwaves. We analyzed 12 flares observed by the Hard X-Ray Telescope aboard Yohkoh, Nobeyama Radio Polarimeters, and the Nobeyama Radioheliograph (NoRH), and compared the spectral indices derived from total fluxes of HXRs and microwaves. Except for four events, which have very soft HXR spectra suffering from the thermal component, these flares show a gap {Delta}{delta} between the electron spectral indices derived from HXRs {delta} {sub X} and those from microwaves {delta}{sub {mu}} ({Delta}{delta} = {delta} {sub X} - {delta}{sub {mu}}) of about 1.6. Furthermore, from themore » start to the peak times of the HXR bursts, the time profiles of the HXR spectral index {delta} {sub X} evolve synchronously with those of the microwave spectral index {delta}{sub {mu}}, keeping the constant gap. We also examined the spatially resolved distribution of the microwave spectral index by using NoRH data. The microwave spectral index {delta}{sub {mu}} tends to be larger, which means a softer spectrum, at HXR footpoint sources with stronger magnetic field than that at the loop tops. These results suggest that the electron spectra are bent at around several hundreds of keV, and become harder at the higher energy range that contributes the microwave gyrosynchrotron emission.« less

[Estimation of optimum normalized difference spectral index for nitrogen accumulation in wheat leaf based on reduced precise sampling method].

PubMed

Yao, Xia; Liu, Xiao-jun; Wang, Wei; Tian, Yong-chao; Cao, Wei-xing; Zhu, Yan

2010-12-01

Four independent field experiments with 6 wheat varieties and 5 nitrogen application levels were conducted, and time-course measurements were taken on the canopy hyperspectral reflectance and leaf N accumulation per unit soil area (LNA, g N x m(-2)). By adopting reduced precise sampling method, all possible normalized difference spectral indices [NDSI(i,j)] within the spectral range of 350-2500 nm were constructed, and the relationships of LNA to the NDSI(i,j) were quantified, aimed to explore the new sensitive spectral bands and key index from precise analysis of ground-based hyperspectral information, and to develop prediction models for wheat LNA. The results showed that the sensitive spectral bands for LNA were located in visible light and near infrared regions, especially at 860 nm and 720 nm for wheat LNA. The monitoring model based on the NDSI(860,720) was formulated as LNA = 26.34 x [NDSI(860,720)](1.887), with R2 = 0.900 and SE = 1.327. The fitness test of the derived equations with independent datasets showed that for wheat LNA, the model gave the estimation accuracy of 0.823 and the RMSE of 0.991 g N x m(-2), indicating a good fitness between the measured and estimated LNA. The present normalized hyperspectral parameter of NDSI(860,720) and its derived regression model could be reliably used for the estimation of winter wheat LNA.

Determining density of maize canopy. 3: Temporal considerations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stoner, E. R.; Baumgardner, M. F.; Anuta, P. E.; Cipra, J. E.

1972-01-01

Multispectral scanner data were collected in two flights over ground cover plots at an altitude of 305 m. Eight ground reflectance panels in close proximity to the ground cover plots were used to normalize the scanner data obtained on different dates. Separate prediction equations were obtained for both flight dates for all eleven reflective wavelength bands of the multispectral scanner. Ratios of normalized scanner data were related to leaf area index over time. Normalized scanner data were used to plot relative reflectance versus wavelength for the ground cover plots. Spectral response curves were similar to those for bare soil and green vegetation as determined by laboratory measurements. The spectral response curves from the normalized scanner data indicated that reflectance in the 0.72 to 1.3 micron wavelength range increased as leaf area index increased. A decrease in reflectance was observed in the 0.65 micron chlorophyll absorption band as leaf area index increased.

Broadband omnidirectional antireflection coating based on subwavelength surface Mie resonators

PubMed Central

Spinelli, P.; Verschuuren, M.A.; Polman, A.

2012-01-01

Reflection is a natural phenomenon that occurs when light passes the interface between materials with different refractive index. In many applications, such as solar cells or photodetectors, reflection is an unwanted loss process. Many ways to reduce reflection from a substrate have been investigated so far, including dielectric interference coatings, surface texturing, adiabatic index matching and scattering from plasmonic nanoparticles. Here we present an entirely new concept that suppresses the reflection of light from a silicon surface over a broad spectral range. A two-dimensional periodic array of subwavelength silicon nanocylinders designed to possess strongly substrate-coupled Mie resonances yields almost zero total reflectance over the entire spectral range from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared. This new antireflection concept relies on the strong forward scattering that occurs when a scattering structure is placed in close proximity to a high-index substrate with a high optical density of states. PMID:22353722

Quantifying seasonal dynamics of canopy structure and function using inexpensive narrowband spectral radiometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vierling, L. A.; Garrity, S. R.; Campbell, G.; Coops, N. C.; Eitel, J.; Gamon, J. A.; Hilker, T.; Krofcheck, D. J.; Litvak, M. E.; Naupari, J. A.; Richardson, A. D.; Sonnentag, O.; van Leeuwen, M.

2011-12-01

Increasing the spatial and temporal density of automated environmental sensing networks is necessary to quantify shifts in plant structure (e.g., leaf area index) and function (e.g., photosynthesis). Improving detection sensitivity can facilitate a mechanistic understanding by better linking plant processes to environmental change. Spectral radiometer measurements can be highly useful for tracking plant structure and function from diurnal to seasonal time scales and calibrating and validating satellite- and aircraft-based spectral measurements. However, dense ground networks of such instruments are challenging to establish due to the cost and complexity of automated instrument deployment. We therefore developed simple to operate, lightweight and inexpensive narrowband (~10nm bandwidth) spectral instruments capable of continuously measuring four to six discrete bands that have proven capacity to describe key physiological processes and structural features of plant canopies. These bands are centered at 530, 570, 675, 800, 880, and 970 nm to enable calculation of the physiological reflectance index (PRI), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), green NDVI (gNDVI), and water band index (WBI) collected above and within vegetation canopies. To date, measurements have been collected above grassland, semi-arid shrub steppe, piñon-juniper woodland, dense conifer forest, mixed deciduous-conifer forest, and cropland canopies, with additional measurements collected along vertical transects through a temperate conifer rainforest. Findings from this work indicate not only that key shifts in plant phenology, physiology, and structure can be captured using such instruments, but that the temporally dense nature of the measurements can help to disentangle heretofore unreported complexities of simultaneous phenological and structural change on canopy reflectance.

Estimation of inflation parameters for Perturbed Power Law model using recent CMB measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukherjee, Suvodip; Das, Santanu; Joy, Minu; Souradeep, Tarun

2015-01-01

Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is an important probe for understanding the inflationary era of the Universe. We consider the Perturbed Power Law (PPL) model of inflation which is a soft deviation from Power Law (PL) inflationary model. This model captures the effect of higher order derivative of Hubble parameter during inflation, which in turn leads to a non-zero effective mass meff for the inflaton field. The higher order derivatives of Hubble parameter at leading order sources constant difference in the spectral index for scalar and tensor perturbation going beyond PL model of inflation. PPL model have two observable independent parameters, namely spectral index for tensor perturbation νt and change in spectral index for scalar perturbation νst to explain the observed features in the scalar and tensor power spectrum of perturbation. From the recent measurements of CMB power spectra by WMAP, Planck and BICEP-2 for temperature and polarization, we estimate the feasibility of PPL model with standard ΛCDM model. Although BICEP-2 claimed a detection of r=0.2, estimates of dust contamination provided by Planck have left open the possibility that only upper bound on r will be expected in a joint analysis. As a result we consider different upper bounds on the value of r and show that PPL model can explain a lower value of tensor to scalar ratio (r<0.1 or r<0.01) for a scalar spectral index of ns=0.96 by having a non-zero value of effective mass of the inflaton field m2eff/H2. The analysis with WP + Planck likelihood shows a non-zero detection of m2eff/H2 with 5.7 σ and 8.1 σ respectively for r<0.1 and r<0.01. Whereas, with BICEP-2 likelihood m2eff/H2 = -0.0237 ± 0.0135 which is consistent with zero.

Comprehensive Analysis of RXTE Data from Cyg X-1. Spectral Index-Quasi-Periodic Oscillation Frequency-Luminosity Correlations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaposhnikov, Nickolai; Titarchuk, Lev

2006-01-01

We present timing and spectral analysis of approx. 2.2 Ms of Rossi X-ray Time Explorer (RXTE) archival data from Cyg X-1. Using the generic Comptonization model we reveal that the spectrum of Cyg X-1 consists of three components: a thermal seed photon spectrum, a Comptonized part of the seed photon spectrum and the iron line. We find a strong correlation between 0.1-20 Hz frequencies of quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs) and the spectral power-law index. Presence of two spectral phases (states) are clearly seen in the data when the spectral indices saturate at low and high values of QPO frequencies. This saturation effect was discovered earlier in a number of black hole candidate (BHC) sources and now we strongly confirm this phenomenon in Cyg X-1. In the soft state this index- QPO frequency correlation shows a saturation of the photon index Gamma approx. 2.1 at high values of the low frequency upsilon(sub L). The saturation level of Gamma approx. 2.1 is the lowest value found yet in BHCs. The bolometric luminosity does not show clear correlation with the index. We also show that Fe K(sub alpha) emission line strength (equivalent width, EW) correlates with the QPO frequency. EW increases from 200 eV in the low/hard state to 1.5 keV in the high/soft state. The revealed observational correlations allow us to propose a scenario for the spectral transition and iron line formation which occur in BHC sources. We also present the spectral state (the power-law index) evolution for eight years of Cyg X-1 observations by RXTE.

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.

Reducing the spectral index in supernatural inflation

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

Lin, C.-M.; Cheung, Kingman; Division of Quantum Phases and Devices, School of Physics, Konkuk University, Seoul 143-701

2009-04-15

Supernatural inflation is an attractive model based on just a flat direction with soft supersymmetry breaking mass terms in the framework of supersymmetry. The beauty of the model is that it needs no fine-tuning. However, the prediction of the spectral index is n{sub s} > or approx. 1, in contrast to experimental data. In this paper, we discuss supernatural inflation with the spectral index reduced to n{sub s}=0.96 without any fine-tuning, considering the general feature that a flat direction is lifted by a nonrenormalizable term with an A-term.

Galactic cosmic ray spectral index: the case of Forbush decreases of March 2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Livada, M.; Mavromichalaki, H.; Plainaki, C.

2018-01-01

During the burst of solar activity in March 2012, close to the maximum of solar cycle 24, a number of X-class and M-class flares and halo CMEs with velocity up to 2684 km/s were recorded. During a relatively short period (7-21 March 2012) two Forbush decreases were registered in the ground-level neutron monitor data. In this work, after a short description of the solar and geomagnetic background of these Forbush decreases, we deduce the cosmic ray density and anisotropy variations based on the daily cosmic ray data of the neutron monitor network (http://www.nmdb.eu; http://cosray.phys.uoa.gr). Applying to our data two different coupling functions methods, the spectral index of these Forbush decreases was calculated following the technique of Wawrzynczak and Alania (Adv. Space Res. 45:622-631, 2010). We pointed out that the estimated values of the spectral index γ of these events are almost similar for both cases following the fluctuation of the Forbush decrease. The study and the calculation of the cosmic ray spectrum during such cosmic ray events are very important for Space Weather applications.

Particle acceleration during magnetic reconnection in a low-beta pair plasma

DOE PAGES

Guo, Fan; Li, Hui; Daughton, William; ...

2016-04-29

Plasma energization through magnetic reconnection in the magnetically dominated regime featured by low plasma beta (β=8πnkT0/B 2 <<1) and/or high magnetization (σ=B 2/(4πnmc 2)>>1) is important in a series of astrophysical systems such as solar flares, pulsar wind nebula, and relativistic jets from black holes. In this paper, we review the recent progress on kinetic simulations of this process and further discuss plasma dynamics and particle acceleration in a low-β reconnection layer that consists of electron–positron pairs. We also examine the effect of different initial thermal temperatures on the resulting particle energy spectra. While earlier papers have concluded that themore » spectral index is smaller for higher σ, our simulations show that the spectral index approaches p = 1 for sufficiently low plasma β, even if σ~1. Since this predicted spectral index in the idealized limit is harder than most observations, it is important to consider effects that can lead to a softer spectrum such as open boundary simulations. Here, we also remark that the effects of three-dimensional reconnection physics and turbulence on reconnection need to be addressed in the future.« less

Particle acceleration during magnetic reconnection in a low-beta pair plasma

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

Guo, Fan; Li, Hui; Daughton, William

Plasma energization through magnetic reconnection in the magnetically dominated regime featured by low plasma beta (β=8πnkT0/B 2 <<1) and/or high magnetization (σ=B 2/(4πnmc 2)>>1) is important in a series of astrophysical systems such as solar flares, pulsar wind nebula, and relativistic jets from black holes. In this paper, we review the recent progress on kinetic simulations of this process and further discuss plasma dynamics and particle acceleration in a low-β reconnection layer that consists of electron–positron pairs. We also examine the effect of different initial thermal temperatures on the resulting particle energy spectra. While earlier papers have concluded that themore » spectral index is smaller for higher σ, our simulations show that the spectral index approaches p = 1 for sufficiently low plasma β, even if σ~1. Since this predicted spectral index in the idealized limit is harder than most observations, it is important to consider effects that can lead to a softer spectrum such as open boundary simulations. Here, we also remark that the effects of three-dimensional reconnection physics and turbulence on reconnection need to be addressed in the future.« less

On the possibility of detecting local refractive index changes in optically transparent objects by means of a point nanoantenna attached to a fibre microaxicon

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

Kulchin, Yu N; Vitrik, O B; Kuchmizhak, A A

2014-10-31

It is shown theoretically that the use of the spectral registration of the dipole local plasmon resonance (DLPR) displacement in a single spherical gold nanoantenna, placed near the surface of a homogeneous dielectric medium, allows the mapping of extremely small variations (to 5 × 10{sup -4}) of the refractive index (RI) of this medium. Using the quasi-static approximation, we have developed an analytic model that allows evaluation of the spectral displacement of the nanoantenna DLPR depending on the variation in the medium refractive index. The point probe based on a fibre microaxicon with a gold spherical nanoantenna attached to itsmore » top is proposed that allows practical implementation of the developed RI scanning method. Numerical calculations of the probe characteristics using the time-domain finite-difference method are presented, and it is shown that for the case of a gold spherical nanoantenna of small size, comparable with the skin layer thickness in gold, the relative spectral shift value is in good agreement with the results obtained by using the developed analytic model. (laser applications and other topics in quantum electronics)« less

Terahertz imaging applied to cancer diagnosis.

PubMed

Brun, M-A; Formanek, F; Yasuda, A; Sekine, M; Ando, N; Eishii, Y

2010-08-21

We report on terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy imaging of 10 microm thick histological sections. The sections are prepared according to standard pathological procedures and deposited on a quartz window for measurements in reflection geometry. Simultaneous acquisition of visible images enables registration of THz images and thus the use of digital pathology tools to investigate the links between the underlying cellular structure and specific THz information. An analytic model taking into account the polarization of the THz beam, its incidence angle, the beam shift between the reference and sample pulses as well as multiple reflections within the sample is employed to determine the frequency-dependent complex refractive index. Spectral images are produced through segmentation of the extracted refractive index data using clustering methods. Comparisons of visible and THz images demonstrate spectral differences not only between tumor and healthy tissues but also within tumors. Further visualization using principal component analysis suggests different mechanisms as to the origin of image contrast.

A Multi-Index Approach to Delineate Surface Water Bodies in the Pastoral Regions of Mali Using ASTER Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alemu, H.; Velpuri, N.; Senay, G. B.; Angerer, J.

2011-12-01

Information on the location and availability of water resources is a day-to-day challenge for pastoralists in the Sahelian region of Mali. They move seasonally along their migration corridors in search for water and forage. Satellite data can be used to map the spatial and temporal dynamics of these water resources. In this work, ASTER imagery is selected for its high (15 m) spatial resolution and suitable spectral bands for water body identification. Our research indicates that as most of the waterholes of interest in the study area are very shallow and heavily sediment-laden, using only one of those commonly used water identification indices such as the Simple Band Ratio (SBR), or the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) alone does not help in effectively characterizing all the surface water bodies in the region. As a result, we used four different spectral indices to identify surface water features: (i) Simple Band Ratio (SBR), (ii) Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), (iii) Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI), and (iv) the Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD) to identify and delineate surface water bodies using 91 ASTER images. Initial results indicate that the SBR method identified 17 waterholes while the NDWI 18, the MNDWI 36, and the MAD method identified 28 waterholes. However, by combining the results from the four aforementioned spectral indices following a multi-index approach, 89 waterholes that were previously unidentified by a single approach alone were identified. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that the SBR and the NDWI methods identify relatively clearer waterholes better (29% of the waterholes), whereas MNDWI and MAD proved to be good indices for identifying sediment-laden waterholes. Identifying the location and spatial distribution of surface water bodies is the first step towards monitoring their seasonal dynamics using a hydrologic modeling system, similar to an existing setup for east Africa (http://watermon.tamu.edu/). Seasonal trends in relative surface water levels are one of the most important inputs in the livestock early warning system (LEWS) along with forage and livestock market prices.

SNR radio spectral index distribution and its correlation with polarization. a case study: the Lupus Loop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borka Jovanović, V.; Jovanović, P.; Borka, D.

2017-04-01

We use radio-continuum all-sky surveys at 1420 and 408 MHz with the aim to investigate properties of the Galactic radio source Lupus Loop. The survey data at 1435 MHz, with the linear polarization of the southern sky, are also used. We calculate properties of this supernova remnant: the brightness temperature, surface brightness and radio spectral index. To determine its borders and to calculate its properties, we use the method we have developed. The non-thermal nature of its radiation is confirmed. The distribution of spectral index over its area is also given. A significant correlation between the radio spectral index distribution and the corresponding polarized intensity distribution inside the loop borders is found, indicating that the polarization maps could provide us information about the distribution of the interstellar medium, and thus could represent one additional way to search for new Galactic loops.

Intra-QT spectral coherence as a possible noninvasive marker of sustained ventricular tachycardia.

PubMed

Piccirillo, Gianfranco; Moscucci, Federica; Persi, Alessandro; Di Barba, Daniele; Pappadà, Maria Antonella; Rossi, Pietro; Quaglione, Raffaele; Nguyen, Bich Lien; Barillà, Francesco; Casenghi, Matteo; Magrì, Damiano

2014-01-01

Sudden cardiac death is the main cause of mortality in patients affected by chronic heart failure (CHF) and with history of myocardial infarction. No study yet investigated the intra-QT phase spectral coherence as a possible tool in stratifying the arrhythmic susceptibility in patients at risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). We, therefore, assessed possible difference in spectral coherence between the ECG segment extending from the q wave to the T wave peak (QTp) and the one from T wave peak to the T wave end (Te) between patients with and without Holter ECG-documented sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT). None of the QT variability indexes as well as most of the coherences and RR power spectral variables significantly differed between the two groups except for the QTp-Te spectral coherence. The latter was significantly lower in patients with sustained VT than in those without (0.508 ± 0.150 versus 0.607 ± 0.150, P < 0.05). Although the responsible mechanism remains conjectural, the QTp-Te spectral coherence holds promise as a noninvasive marker predicting malignant ventricular arrhythmias.

Intra-QT Spectral Coherence as a Possible Noninvasive Marker of Sustained Ventricular Tachycardia

PubMed Central

Piccirillo, Gianfranco; Moscucci, Federica; Di Barba, Daniele; Pappadà, Maria Antonella; Rossi, Pietro; Quaglione, Raffaele; Barillà, Francesco; Magrì, Damiano

2014-01-01

Sudden cardiac death is the main cause of mortality in patients affected by chronic heart failure (CHF) and with history of myocardial infarction. No study yet investigated the intra-QT phase spectral coherence as a possible tool in stratifying the arrhythmic susceptibility in patients at risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). We, therefore, assessed possible difference in spectral coherence between the ECG segment extending from the q wave to the T wave peak (QTp) and the one from T wave peak to the T wave end (T e) between patients with and without Holter ECG-documented sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT). None of the QT variability indexes as well as most of the coherences and RR power spectral variables significantly differed between the two groups except for the QTp-T e spectral coherence. The latter was significantly lower in patients with sustained VT than in those without (0.508 ± 0.150 versus 0.607 ± 0.150, P < 0.05). Although the responsible mechanism remains conjectural, the QTp-T e spectral coherence holds promise as a noninvasive marker predicting malignant ventricular arrhythmias. PMID:25133170

Analysis of ASTER data for mapping bauxite rich pockets within high altitude lateritic bauxite, Jharkhand, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guha, Arindam; Singh, Vivek Kr.; Parveen, Reshma; Kumar, K. Vinod; Jeyaseelan, A. T.; Dhanamjaya Rao, E. N.

2013-04-01

Bauxite deposits of Jharkhand in India are resulted from the lateritization process and therefore are often associated with the laterites. In the present study, ASTER (Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) image is processed to delineate bauxite rich pockets within the laterites. In this regard, spectral signatures of lateritic bauxite samples are analyzed in the laboratory with reference to the spectral features of gibbsite (main mineral constituent of bauxite) and goethite (main mineral constituent of laterite) in VNIR-SWIR (visible-near infrared and short wave infrared) electromagnetic domain. The analysis of spectral signatures of lateritic bauxite samples helps in understanding the differences in the spectral features of bauxites and laterites. Based on these differences; ASTER data based relative band depth and simple ratio images are derived for spatial mapping of the bauxites developed within the lateritic province. In order to integrate the complementary information of different index image, an index based principal component (IPC) image is derived to incorporate the correlative information of these indices to delineate bauxite rich pockets. The occurrences of bauxite rich pockets derived from density sliced IPC image are further delimited by the topographic controls as it has been observed that the major bauxite occurrences of the area are controlled by slope and altitude. In addition to above, IPC image is draped over the digital elevation model (DEM) to illustrate how bauxite rich pockets are distributed with reference to the topographic variability of the terrain. Bauxite rich pockets delineated in the IPC image are also validated based on the known mine occurrences and existing geological map of the bauxite. It is also conceptually validated based on the spectral similarity of the bauxite pixels delineated in the IPC image with the ASTER convolved laboratory spectra of bauxite samples.

The He-3/He-4 ratios for solar energetic particle events during the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Jiasheng; Guzik, T. Gregory; Wefel, John P.

1995-01-01

Helium data measured by the University of Chicago instrument, ONR-604, are employed to determine the ratio of He-3 to He-4 for solar energetic particle (SEP) events over an energy range 50-110 MeV/nucleon during the 1990/1991 Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite mission. The Sun in this period is extremely active. A total of 29 separate SEP events have been identified; among them 16 major events have been analyzed to obtain He-3/He-4 ratios, with a mass resolution of 0.10 amu. Thirteen events have a He-3/He-4 ratio larger than 0.005, one order of magnitude greater than the solar coronal value. The He-3/He-4 ratio at energies of 50-110 MeV/nucleon is independent of the size of the SEP event, for the moderately large flares analyzed here. The helium energy spectra are represented by power laws. During the 1991 June flare period, different large-particle injections associated with different solar flares, but occurring from the same active region, have a similar average spectral index and a similar He-3/He-4 ratio. The spectral index of He-4 varies from event to event, i.e., from as small as 1.5 to as large as 7.5. A correlation is found between the inferred spectral index from gamma-ray measurements and our measured spectral indices for the 1991 June 11 and June 15 events, suggesting that the high-energy SEPs may come from the same acceleration event as the particles that interact at the Sun and produce the gamma rays. The implications of these results for particle acceleration and propagation at the flare site and in the solar corona are discussed.

Prediction of wound healing after minor amputations of the diabetic foot.

PubMed

Caruana, Luana; Formosa, Cynthia; Cassar, Kevin

2015-08-01

To identify any significant differences in physiological test results between healing and non healing amputation sites. A single center prospective non-experimental study design was conducted on fifty subjects living with type 2 diabetes and requiring a forefoot or toe amputation. Subjects underwent non-invasive physiological testing preoperatively. These included assessment of pedal pulses, preoperative arterial spectral waveforms at the ankle, absolute toe pressures, toe-brachial pressure index and ankle-brachial pressure index. After 6 weeks, patients were examined to assess whether the amputation site was completely healed, was healing, had developed complications, or did not heal. There was no significant difference in ABPI between the healed/healing and the non-healing groups. Mean TBI (p=0.031) and toe pressure readings (p=0.014) were significantly higher in the healed/healing group compared to the non healing group. A significant difference was also found in ankle spectral waveforms between the two groups (p=0.028). TBIs, toe pressures and spectral waveforms at the ankle are better predictors of likelihood of healing and non-healing after minor amputation than ABPIs. ABPI alone is a poor indicator of the likelihood of healing of minor amputations and should not be relied on to determine need for revascularization procedures before minor amputation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Full-subcarriers Polar-OFDM for optical spectrum-efficient transmission exploiting Polarization Multiplexing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Lei; Liu, Yejun; Zhou, Yufang; Wei, Xuetao; Liu, Yuying

2018-07-01

The exponential growth of the demand for broadband services has imposed great challenges on the design of spectrum-efficient optical transmission system in Passive Optical Network (PON). Recently, an innovative Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) scheme, called Polar-OFDM (P-OFDM), has emerged as a promising solution to boost the spectral efficiency of optical transmission in PON. However, the traditional P-OFDM does not yet perform best in spectral efficiency as it only uses half of the total subcarriers. In this paper, we verify a promising complementation between Polarization Multiplexing (POLMUX) and P-OFDM aiming at higher spectral efficiency. We then propose the full-subcarriers P-OFDM by loading data on the even-indexed subcarriers of X polarization and the odd-indexed subcarriers of Y polarization, respectively. Thus, all of the subcarriers will be utilized for effective data transmission, which can double the spectral efficiency. More importantly, because the subcarriers are interlaced on different polarizations, the cross-polarization interference can be significantly mitigated, which enables the independent channel estimation and equalization at the receiver to recover the data carried on each polarization. Our evaluation results demonstrate that the proposed system realizes the double spectral efficiency of the traditional P-OFDM with reasonable Bit Error Rate (BER) performance loss.

A novel model for examining recovery of phonation after vocal nerve damage.

PubMed

Bhama, Prabhat K; Hillel, Allen D; Merati, Albert L; Perkel, David J

2011-05-01

Recurrent laryngeal nerve injury remains a dominant clinical issue in laryngology. To date, no animal model of laryngeal reinnervation has offered an outcome measure that can reflect the degree of recovery based on vocal function. We present an avian model system for studying recovery of learned vocalizations after nerve injury. Prospective animal study. Digital recordings of bird song were made from 11 adult male zebra finches; nine birds underwent bilateral crushing of the nerve supplying the vocal organ, and two birds underwent sham surgery. Songs from all the birds were then recorded regularly and analyzed based on temporal and spectral characteristics using computer software. Indices were calculated to indicate the degree of similarity between preoperative and postoperative song. Nerve crush caused audible differences in song quality and significant drops (P<0.05) in measured spectral and, to a lesser degree, temporal indices. Spectral indices recovered significantly (mean=43.0%; standard deviation [SD]=40.7; P<0.02), and there was an insignificant trend toward recovery of temporal index (mean=28.0%; SD=41.4; P=0.0771). In five of the nine (56%) birds, there was a greater than 50% recovery of spectral indices within a 4-week period. Two birds exhibited substantially less recovery of spectral indices and two birds had a persistent decline in spectral indices. Recovery of temporal index was highly variable as well, ranging from persistent further declines of 45.1% to recovery of 87%. Neither sham bird exhibited significant (P>0.05) differences in song after nerve crush. The songbird model system allows functional analysis of learned vocalization after surgical damage to vocal nerves. Copyright © 2011 The Voice Foundation. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Research on remote sensing identification of rural abandoned homesteads using multiparameter characteristics method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Saiping; Zhao, Qianjun; Yin, Kai; Cui, Bei; Zhang, Xiupeng

2016-10-01

Hollow village is a special phenomenon in the process of urbanization in China, which causes the waste of land resources. Therefore, it's imminent to carry out the hollow village recognition and renovation. However, there are few researches on the remote sensing identification of hollow village. In this context, in order to recognize the abandoned homesteads by remote sensing technique, the experiment was carried out as follows. Firstly, Gram-Schmidt transform method was utilized to complete the image fusion between multi-spectral images and panchromatic image of WorldView-2. Then the fusion images were made edge enhanced by high pass filtering. The multi-resolution segmentation and spectral difference segmentation were carried out to obtain the image objects. Secondly, spectral characteristic parameters were calculated, such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), the normalized difference water index (NDWI), the normalized difference Soil index (NDSI) etc. The shape feature parameters were extracted, such as Area, Length/Width Ratio and Rectangular Fit etc.. Thirdly, the SEaTH algorithm was used to determine the thresholds and optimize the feature space. Furthermore, the threshold classification method and the random forest classifier were combined, and the appropriate amount of samples were selected to train the classifier in order to determine the important feature parameters and the best classifier parameters involved in classification. Finally, the classification results was verified by computing the confusion matrix. The classification results were continuous and the phenomenon of salt and pepper using pixel classification was avoided effectively. In addition, the results showed that the extracted Abandoned Homesteads were in complete shapes, which could be distinguished from those confusing classes such as Homestead in Use and Roads.

Spectral analysis of amazon canopy phenology during the dry season using a tower hyperspectral camera and modis observations

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

de Moura, Yhasmin Mendes; Galvão, Lênio Soares; Hilker, Thomas

The association between spectral reflectance and canopy processes remains challenging for quantifying large-scale canopy phenological cycles in tropical forests. In this paper, we used a tower-mounted hyperspectral camera in an eastern Amazon forest to assess how canopy spectral signals of three species are linked with phenological processes in the 2012 dry season. We explored different approaches to disentangle the spectral components of canopy phenology processes and analyze their variations over time using 17 images acquired by the camera. The methods included linear spectral mixture analysis (SMA); principal component analysis (PCA); continuum removal (CR); and first-order derivative analysis. In addition, threemore » vegetation indices potentially sensitive to leaf flushing, leaf loss and leaf area index (LAI) were calculated: the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the entitled Green-Red Normalized Difference (GRND) index. We inspected also the consistency of the camera observations using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and available phenological data on new leaf production and LAI of young, mature and old leaves simulated by a leaf demography-ontogeny model. The results showed a diversity of phenological responses during the 2012 dry season with related changes in canopy structure and greenness values. Because of the differences in timing and intensity of leaf flushing and leaf shedding, Erisma uncinatum, Manilkara huberi and Chamaecrista xinguensis presented different green vegetation (GV) and non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV) SMA fractions; distinct PCA scores; changes in depth, width and area of the 681-nm chlorophyll absorption band; and variations over time in the EVI, GRND and NDVI. At the end of dry season, GV increased for Erisma uncinatum, while NPV increased for Chamaecrista xinguensis. For Manilkara huberi, the NPV first increased in the beginning of August and then decreased toward September with new foliage. Variations in red-edge position were not statistically significant between the species and across dates at the 95% confidence level. The camera data were affected by view-illumination effects, which reduced the SMA shade fraction over time. When MODIS data were corrected for these effects using the Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction Algorithm (MAIAC), we observed an EVI increase toward September that closely tracked the modeled LAI of mature leaves (3–5 months). Compared to the EVI, the GRND was a better indicator of leaf flushing because the modeled production of new leaves peaked in August and then declined in September following the GRND closely. Finally, while the EVI was more related to changes in mature leaf area, the GRND was more associated with new leaf flushing.« less

Spectral analysis of amazon canopy phenology during the dry season using a tower hyperspectral camera and modis observations

DOE PAGES

de Moura, Yhasmin Mendes; Galvão, Lênio Soares; Hilker, Thomas; ...

2017-09-01

The association between spectral reflectance and canopy processes remains challenging for quantifying large-scale canopy phenological cycles in tropical forests. In this paper, we used a tower-mounted hyperspectral camera in an eastern Amazon forest to assess how canopy spectral signals of three species are linked with phenological processes in the 2012 dry season. We explored different approaches to disentangle the spectral components of canopy phenology processes and analyze their variations over time using 17 images acquired by the camera. The methods included linear spectral mixture analysis (SMA); principal component analysis (PCA); continuum removal (CR); and first-order derivative analysis. In addition, threemore » vegetation indices potentially sensitive to leaf flushing, leaf loss and leaf area index (LAI) were calculated: the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the entitled Green-Red Normalized Difference (GRND) index. We inspected also the consistency of the camera observations using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and available phenological data on new leaf production and LAI of young, mature and old leaves simulated by a leaf demography-ontogeny model. The results showed a diversity of phenological responses during the 2012 dry season with related changes in canopy structure and greenness values. Because of the differences in timing and intensity of leaf flushing and leaf shedding, Erisma uncinatum, Manilkara huberi and Chamaecrista xinguensis presented different green vegetation (GV) and non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV) SMA fractions; distinct PCA scores; changes in depth, width and area of the 681-nm chlorophyll absorption band; and variations over time in the EVI, GRND and NDVI. At the end of dry season, GV increased for Erisma uncinatum, while NPV increased for Chamaecrista xinguensis. For Manilkara huberi, the NPV first increased in the beginning of August and then decreased toward September with new foliage. Variations in red-edge position were not statistically significant between the species and across dates at the 95% confidence level. The camera data were affected by view-illumination effects, which reduced the SMA shade fraction over time. When MODIS data were corrected for these effects using the Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction Algorithm (MAIAC), we observed an EVI increase toward September that closely tracked the modeled LAI of mature leaves (3–5 months). Compared to the EVI, the GRND was a better indicator of leaf flushing because the modeled production of new leaves peaked in August and then declined in September following the GRND closely. Finally, while the EVI was more related to changes in mature leaf area, the GRND was more associated with new leaf flushing.« less

Spectral Properties, Generation Order Parameters, and Luminosities for Spin-powered X-Ray Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wei; Zhao, Yongheng

2004-02-01

We show the spectral properties of 15 spin-powered X-ray pulsars, and the correlation between the average power-law photon index and spin-down rate. Generation order parameters (GOPs) based on polar cap models are introduced to characterize the X-ray pulsars. We calculate three definitions of generation order parameters arising from the different effects of magnetic and electric fields on photon absorption during cascade processes, and study the relations between the GOPs and spectral properties of X-ray pulsars. There exists a possible correlation between the photon index and GOP in our pulsar sample. Furthermore, we present a method stemming from the concept of GOPs to estimate the nonthermal X-ray luminosity for spin-powered pulsars. Then X-ray luminosity is calculated in the context of our polar cap accelerator model, which is consistent with most observed X-ray pulsar data. The ratio between the X-ray luminosity estimated by our method and the pulsar's spin-down power is consistent with the LX~10-3Lsd feature.

[Local Regression Algorithm Based on Net Analyte Signal and Its Application in Near Infrared Spectral Analysis].

PubMed

Zhang, Hong-guang; Lu, Jian-gang

2016-02-01

Abstract To overcome the problems of significant difference among samples and nonlinearity between the property and spectra of samples in spectral quantitative analysis, a local regression algorithm is proposed in this paper. In this algorithm, net signal analysis method(NAS) was firstly used to obtain the net analyte signal of the calibration samples and unknown samples, then the Euclidean distance between net analyte signal of the sample and net analyte signal of calibration samples was calculated and utilized as similarity index. According to the defined similarity index, the local calibration sets were individually selected for each unknown sample. Finally, a local PLS regression model was built on each local calibration sets for each unknown sample. The proposed method was applied to a set of near infrared spectra of meat samples. The results demonstrate that the prediction precision and model complexity of the proposed method are superior to global PLS regression method and conventional local regression algorithm based on spectral Euclidean distance.

A spectral water index based on visual bands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basaeed, Essa; Bhaskar, Harish; Al-Mualla, Mohammed

2013-10-01

Land-water segmentation is an important preprocessing step in a number of remote sensing applications such as target detection, environmental monitoring, and map updating. A Normalized Optical Water Index (NOWI) is proposed to accurately discriminate between land and water regions in multi-spectral satellite imagery data from DubaiSat-1. NOWI exploits the spectral characteristics of water content (using visible bands) and uses a non-linear normalization procedure that renders strong emphasize on small changes in lower brightness values whilst guaranteeing that the segmentation process remains image-independent. The NOWI representation is validated through systematic experiments, evaluated using robust metrics, and compared against various supervised classification algorithms. Analysis has indicated that NOWI has the advantages that it: a) is a pixel-based method that requires no global knowledge of the scene under investigation, b) can be easily implemented in parallel processing, c) is image-independent and requires no training, d) works in different environmental conditions, e) provides high accuracy and efficiency, and f) works directly on the input image without any form of pre-processing.

Hand-held radiometer red and photographic infrared spectral measurements of agricultural crops

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tucker, C. J.; Fan, C. J.; Elgin, J. H., Jr.; Mcmurtrey, J. E., III

1978-01-01

Red and photographic infrared radiance data, collected under a variety of conditions at weekly intervals throughout the growing season using a hand-held radiometer, were used to monitor crop growth and development. The vegetation index transformation was used to effectively compensate for the different irradiational conditions encountered during the study period. These data, plotted against time, compared the different crops measured by comparing their green leaf biomass dynamics. This approach, based entirely upon spectral inputs, closely monitors crop growth and development and indicates the promise of ground-based hand-held radiometer measurements of crops.

Built-up land mapping capabilities of the ASTER and Landsat ETM+ sensors in coastal areas of southeastern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Hanqiu; Huang, Shaolin; Zhang, Tiejun

2013-10-01

Worldwide urbanization has accelerated expansion of urban built-up lands and resulted in substantial negative impacts on the global environments. Precisely measuring the urban sprawl is becoming an increasing need. Among the satellite-based earth observation systems, the Landsat and ASTER data are most suitable for mesoscale measurements of urban changes. Nevertheless, to date the difference in the capability of mapping built-up land between the two sensors is not clear. Therefore, this study compared the performances of the Landsat-7 ETM+ and ASTER sensors for built-up land mapping in the coastal areas of southeastern China. The comparison was implemented on three date-coincident image pairs and achieved by using three approaches, including per-band-based, index-based, and classification-based comparisons. The index used is the Index-based Built-up Index (IBI), while the classification algorithm employed is the Support Vector Machine (SVM). Results show that in the study areas, ETM+ and ASTER have an overall similar performance in built-up land mapping but also differ in several aspects. The IBI values determined from ASTER were consistently higher than from ETM+ by up to 45.54% according to percentage difference. The ASTER also estimates more built-up land area than ETM+ by 5.9-6.3% estimated with the IBI-based approach or 3.9-6.1% with the SVM classification. The differences in the spectral response functions and spatial resolution between relative spectral bands of the two sensors are attributed to these different performances.

Soybean varieties discrimination using non-imaging hyperspectral sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

da Silva Junior, Carlos Antonio; Nanni, Marcos Rafael; Shakir, Muhammad; Teodoro, Paulo Eduardo; de Oliveira-Júnior, José Francisco; Cezar, Everson; de Gois, Givanildo; Lima, Mendelson; Wojciechowski, Julio Cesar; Shiratsuchi, Luciano Shozo

2018-03-01

Infrared region of electromagnetic spectrum has remarkable applications in crop studies. Infrared along with Red band has been used to develop certain vegetation indices. These indices like NDVI, EVI provide important information on any crop physiological stages. The main objective of this research was to discriminate 4 different soybean varieties (BMX Potência, NA5909, FT Campo Mourão and Don Mario) using non-imaging hyperspectral sensor. The study was conducted in four agricultural areas in the municipality of Deodápolis (MS), Brazil. For spectral analysis, 2400 field samples were taken from soybean leaves by means of FieldSpec 3 JR spectroradiometer in the range from 350 to 2500 nm. The data were evaluated through multivariate analysis with the whole set of spectral curves isolated by blue, green, red and near infrared wavelengths along with the addition of vegetation indices like (Enhanced Vegetation Index - EVI, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index - NDVI, Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index - GNDVI, Soil-adjusted Vegetation Index - SAVI, Transformed Vegetation Index - TVI and Optimized Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index - OSAVI). A number of the analysis performed where, discriminant (60 and 80% of the data), simulated discriminant (40 and 20% of data), principal component (PC) and cluster analysis (CA). Discriminant and simulated discriminant analyze presented satisfactory results, with average global hit rates of 99.28 and 98.77%, respectively. The results obtained by PC and CA revealed considerable associations between the evaluated variables and the varieties, which indicated that each variety has a variable that discriminates it more effectively in relation to the others. There was great variation in the sample size (number of leaves) for estimating the mean of variables. However, it was possible to observe that 200 leaves allow to obtain a maximum error of 2% in relation to the mean.

Retrieving the complex refractive index of atmospheric aerosols from ratios of solar spectral extinction measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fymat, A. L.; Mease, K. D.

1978-01-01

The technique proposed by Fymat (1976) for retrieving the complex refractive index of atmospheric aerosols using narrowband spectral transmission ratios, taken within an overall narrow spectral interval, is investigated in the case of modelled polydispersions of rural, maritime-continental, maritime-sea spray and meteoric dust aerosols. It is confirmed that for not too broad size distributions most of the information comes from a narrow size range of 'active' aerosols so that, under these circumstances, the refractive index components can indeed be retrieved essentially independently of the size distribution. For 0.1% accurate data in three colors, the technique can provide the real and imaginary components of the index respectively within 0.07% and 0.3% accuracy.

Rapid assessment of lamp spectrum to quantify ecological effects of light at night.

PubMed

Longcore, Travis; Rodríguez, Airam; Witherington, Blair; Penniman, Jay F; Herf, Lorna; Herf, Michael

2018-06-12

For many decades, the spectral composition of lighting was determined by the type of lamp, which also influenced potential effects of outdoor lights on species and ecosystems. Light-emitting diode (LED) lamps have dramatically increased the range of spectral profiles of light that is economically viable for outdoor lighting. Because of the array of choices, it is necessary to develop methods to predict the effects of different spectral profiles without conducting field studies, especially because older lighting systems are being replaced rapidly. We describe an approach to predict responses of exemplar organisms and groups to lamps of different spectral output by calculating an index based on action spectra from behavioral or visual characteristics of organisms and lamp spectral irradiance. We calculate relative response indices for a range of lamp types and light sources and develop an index that identifies lamps that minimize predicted effects as measured by ecological, physiological, and astronomical indices. Using these assessment metrics, filtered yellow-green and amber LEDs are predicted to have lower effects on wildlife than high pressure sodium lamps, while blue-rich lighting (e.g., K ≥ 2200) would have greater effects. The approach can be updated with new information about behavioral or visual responses of organisms and used to test new lighting products based on spectrum. Together with control of intensity, direction, and duration, the approach can be used to predict and then minimize the adverse effects of lighting and can be tailored to individual species or taxonomic groups. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Optical Sensing of Ecosystem Carbon Fluxes Combining Spectral Reflectance Indices with Solar Induced Fluorescence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huemmrich, K. F.; Middleton, E.; Corp, L. A.; Campbell, P. K.; Kustas, W. P.

2014-12-01

Optical sampling of spectral reflectance and solar induced fluorescence provide information on the physiological status of vegetation that can be used to infer stress responses and estimates of production. Multiple repeated observations are required to observe the effects of changing environmental conditions on vegetation. This study examines the use of optical signals to determine inputs to a light use efficiency (LUE) model describing productivity of a cornfield where repeated observations of carbon flux, spectral reflectance and fluorescence were collected. Data were collected at the Optimizing Production Inputs for Economic and Environmental Enhancement (OPE3) fields (39.03°N, 76.85°W) at USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. Agricultural Research Service researchers measured CO2 fluxes using eddy covariance methods throughout the growing season. Optical measurements were made from the nearby tower supporting the NASA FUSION sensors. The sensor system consists of two dual channel, upward and downward looking, spectrometers used to simultaneously collect high spectral resolution measurements of reflected and fluoresced light from vegetation canopies. Estimates of chlorophyll fluorescence, combined with measures of vegetation pigment content and the Photosynthetic Reflectance Index (PRI) derived from the spectral reflectance are compared with CO2 fluxes over diurnal periods for multiple days. PRI detects changes in Xanthophyll cycle pigments using reflectance at 531 nm compared to a reference band at 570 nm. The relationships among the different optical measurements indicate that they are providing different types of information on the vegetation and that combinations of these measurements provide improved retrievals of CO2 fluxes than any index alone.

Optical Sensing of Ecosystem Carbon Fluxes Combining Spectral Reflectance Indices with Solar Induced Fluorescence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huemmrich, K. F.; Corp, L.; Campbell, P. K.; Cook, B. D.; Middleton, E.; Cheng, Y.; Zhang, Q.; Russ, A.; Kustas, W. P.

2013-12-01

Optical sampling of spectral reflectance and solar induced fluorescence provide information on the physiological status of vegetation that can be used to infer stress responses and estimates of production. Multiple repeated observations can observe the effects of changing environmental conditions on vegetation. This study examines the use of optical signals to determine inputs to a light use efficiency (LUE) model describing productivity of a cornfield where repeated observations of carbon flux, spectral reflectance and fluorescence were collected. Data were collected at the Optimizing Production Inputs for Economic and Environmental Enhancement (OPE3) fields (39.03°N, 76.85°W) at USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. Agricultural Research Service researchers measured CO2 fluxes using eddy covariance methods throughout the growing season. Optical measurements were made from the nearby tower supporting the NASA FUSION sensors. This sensor system consists of two dual channel, upward and downward looking, spectrometers used to simultaneously collect high spectral resolution measurements of reflected and fluoresced light from vegetation canopies. Estimates of chlorophyll fluorescence, combined with measures of vegetation pigment content and the Photosynthetic Reflectance Index (PRI) derived from the spectral reflectance are compared with CO2 fluxes over diurnal periods for multiple days. PRI detects changes in Xanthophyll cycle pigments using reflectance at 531 nm compared to a reference band at 570 nm. The relationships among the different optical measurements indicate that they are providing different types of information on the vegetation and that combinations of these measurements provide improved retrievals of CO2 fluxes than any index alone.

Refractive index sensing with Fano resonances in silicon oligomers

PubMed Central

Chong, Katie E.; Orton, Henry W.; Decker, Manuel; Miroshnichenko, Andrey E.; Brener, Igal; Kivshar, Yuri S.

2017-01-01

We demonstrate experimentally refractive index sensing with localized Fano resonances in silicon oligomers, consisting of six disks surrounding a central one of slightly different diameter. Owing to the low absorption and narrow Fano-resonant spectral features appearing as a result of the interference of the modes of the outer and the central disks, we demonstrate refractive index sensitivity of more than 150 nm RIU−1 with a figure of merit of 3.8. This article is part of the themed issue ‘New horizons for nanophotonics’. PMID:28220001

Practical Approach for Hyperspectral Image Processing in Python

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Annala, L.; Eskelinen, M. A.; Hämäläinen, J.; Riihinen, A.; Pölönen, I.

2018-04-01

Python is a very popular programming language among data scientists around the world. Python can also be used in hyperspectral data analysis. There are some toolboxes designed for spectral imaging, such as Spectral Python and HyperSpy, but there is a need for analysis pipeline, which is easy to use and agile for different solutions. We propose a Python pipeline which is built on packages xarray, Holoviews and scikit-learn. We have developed some of own tools, MaskAccessor, VisualisorAccessor and a spectral index library. They also fulfill our goal of easy and agile data processing. In this paper we will present our processing pipeline and demonstrate it in practice.

A method based on IHS cylindrical transform model for quality assessment of image fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Xiaokun; Jia, Yonghong

2005-10-01

Image fusion technique has been widely applied to remote sensing image analysis and processing, and methods for quality assessment of image fusion in remote sensing have also become the research issues at home and abroad. Traditional assessment methods combine calculation of quantitative indexes and visual interpretation to compare fused images quantificationally and qualitatively. However, in the existing assessment methods, there are two defects: on one hand, most imdexes lack the theoretic support to compare different fusion methods. On the hand, there is not a uniform preference for most of the quantitative assessment indexes when they are applied to estimate the fusion effects. That is, the spatial resolution and spectral feature could not be analyzed synchronously by these indexes and there is not a general method to unify the spatial and spectral feature assessment. So in this paper, on the basis of the approximate general model of four traditional fusion methods, including Intensity Hue Saturation(IHS) triangle transform fusion, High Pass Filter(HPF) fusion, Principal Component Analysis(PCA) fusion, Wavelet Transform(WT) fusion, a correlation coefficient assessment method based on IHS cylindrical transform is proposed. By experiments, this method can not only get the evaluation results of spatial and spectral features on the basis of uniform preference, but also can acquire the comparison between fusion image sources and fused images, and acquire differences among fusion methods. Compared with the traditional assessment methods, the new methods is more intuitionistic, and in accord with subjective estimation.

Highly Sensitive Refractive Index Sensors with Plasmonic Nanoantennas-Utilization of Optimal Spectral Detuning of Fano Resonances.

PubMed

Mesch, Martin; Weiss, Thomas; Schäferling, Martin; Hentschel, Mario; Hegde, Ravi S; Giessen, Harald

2018-05-25

We analyze and optimize the performance of coupled plasmonic nanoantennas for refractive index sensing. The investigated structure supports a sub- and super-radiant mode that originates from the weak coupling of a dipolar and quadrupolar mode, resulting in a Fano-type spectral line shape. In our study, we vary the near-field coupling of the two modes and particularly examine the influence of the spectral detuning between them on the sensing performance. Surprisingly, the case of matched resonance frequencies does not provide the best sensor. Instead, we find that the right amount of coupling strength and spectral detuning allows for achieving the ideal combination of narrow line width and sufficient excitation strength of the subradiant mode, and therefore results in optimized sensor performance. Our findings are confirmed by experimental results and first-order perturbation theory. The latter is based on the resonant state expansion and provides direct access to resonance frequency shifts and line width changes as well as the excitation strength of the modes. Based on these parameters, we define a figure of merit that can be easily calculated for different sensing geometries and agrees well with the numerical and experimental results.

Refractive-index measurements in freezing sea-ice and sodium chloride brines.

PubMed

Maykut, G A; Light, B

1995-02-20

Sea ice contains numerous pockets of brine and precipitated salts whose size and number distributions change dramatically with temperature. Theoretical treatment of scattering produced by these inclusions requires information on refractive-index differences among the brine, salts, and surrounding ice. Lacking specific data on refractive-index variations in the brine, we carried out laboratory measurements in freezing-equilibrium solutions between -2 and -32 °C. Index values at 589 nm increased from 1.341 to 1.397 over this temperature range, corresponding to salinities of 35 and 240 parts per thousand (ppt). Spectral data were also taken at 50-nm intervals between 400 and 700 nm in nonequilibrium solutions with salinities ranging up to 300 ppt. Spectral gradients increased slightly with salinity but showed no measurable dependence on temperature between +12 and -16 °C. The Lorentz-Lorenz equation, combined with data on density, molar refractivities, and brine composition, yielded temperature-dependent index predictions in excellent agreement with the experimental data. Similar index and density measurements in freezing sodium chloride brines yielded values nearly identical to those in the sea-ice brines. The absence of mirabilite crystals in sodium chloride ice, however, will cause it to have higher transmissivity and lower reflectivity than sea ice above -22 °C.

All-Sky Observational Evidence for An Inverse Correlation Between Dust Temperature and Emissivity Spectral Index

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liang, Z.; Fixsen, D. J.; Gold, B.

2012-01-01

We show that a one-component variable-emissivity-spectral-index model (the free- model) provides more physically motivated estimates of dust temperature at the Galactic polar caps than one- or two-component fixed-emissivity-spectral-index models (fixed- models) for interstellar dust thermal emission at far-infrared and millimeter wavelengths. For the comparison we have fit all-sky one-component dust models with fixed or variable emissivity spectral index to a new and improved version of the 210-channel dust spectra from the COBE-FIRAS, the 100-240 micrometer maps from the COBE-DIRBE and the 94 GHz dust map from the WMAP. The best model, the free-alpha model, is well constrained by data at 60-3000 GHz over 86 per cent of the total sky area. It predicts dust temperature (T(sub dust)) to be 13.7-22.7 (plus or minus 1.3) K, the emissivity spectral index (alpha) to be 1.2-3.1 (plus or minus 0.3) and the optical depth (tau) to range 0.6-46 x 10(exp -5) with a 23 per cent uncertainty. Using these estimates, we present all-sky evidence for an inverse correlation between the emissivity spectral index and dust temperature, which fits the relation alpha = 1/(delta + omega (raised dot) T(sub dust) with delta = -.0.510 plus or minus 0.011 and omega = 0.059 plus or minus 0.001. This best model will be useful to cosmic microwave background experiments for removing foreground dust contamination and it can serve as an all-sky extended-frequency reference for future higher resolution dust models.

The spectral changes of deforestation in the Brazilian tropical savanna.

PubMed

Trancoso, Ralph; Sano, Edson E; Meneses, Paulo R

2015-01-01

The Cerrado is a biome in Brazil that is experiencing the most rapid loss in natural vegetation. The objective of this study was to analyze the changes in the spectral response in the red, near infrared (NIR), middle infrared (MIR), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) when native vegetation in the Cerrado is deforested. The test sites were regions of the Cerrado located in the states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, and Mato Grosso. For each region, a pair of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) scenes from 2008 (before deforestation) and 2009 (after deforestation) was compared. A set of 1,380 samples of deforested polygons and an equal number of samples of native vegetation have their spectral properties statistically analyzed. The accuracy of deforestation detections was also evaluated using high spatial resolution imagery. Results showed that the spectral data of deforested areas and their corresponding native vegetation were statistically different. The red band showed the highest difference between the reflectance data from deforested areas and native vegetation, while the NIR band showed the lowest difference. A consistent pattern of spectral change when native vegetation in the Cerrado is deforested was identified regardless of the location in the biome. The overall accuracy of deforestation detections was 97.75%. Considering both the marked pattern of spectral changes and the high deforestation detection accuracy, this study suggests that deforestation in Cerrado can be accurately monitored, but a strong seasonal and spatial variability of spectral changes might be expected.

Implementing and validating of pan-sharpening algorithms in open-source software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pesántez-Cobos, Paúl; Cánovas-García, Fulgencio; Alonso-Sarría, Francisco

2017-10-01

Several approaches have been used in remote sensing to integrate images with different spectral and spatial resolutions in order to obtain fused enhanced images. The objective of this research is three-fold. To implement in R three image fusion techniques (High Pass Filter, Principal Component Analysis and Gram-Schmidt); to apply these techniques to merging multispectral and panchromatic images from five different images with different spatial resolutions; finally, to evaluate the results using the universal image quality index (Q index) and the ERGAS index. As regards qualitative analysis, Landsat-7 and Landsat-8 show greater colour distortion with the three pansharpening methods, although the results for the other images were better. Q index revealed that HPF fusion performs better for the QuickBird, IKONOS and Landsat-7 images, followed by GS fusion; whereas in the case of Landsat-8 and Natmur-08 images, the results were more even. Regarding the ERGAS spatial index, the ACP algorithm performed better for the QuickBird, IKONOS, Landsat-7 and Natmur-08 images, followed closely by the GS algorithm. Only for the Landsat-8 image did, the GS fusion present the best result. In the evaluation of spectral components, HPF results tended to be better and ACP results worse, the opposite was the case with the spatial components. Better quantitative results are obtained in Landsat-7 and Landsat-8 images with the three fusion methods than with the QuickBird, IKONOS and Natmur-08 images. This contrasts with the qualitative evaluation reflecting the importance of splitting the two evaluation approaches (qualitative and quantitative). Significant disagreement may arise when different methodologies are used to asses the quality of an image fusion. Moreover, it is not possible to designate, a priori, a given algorithm as the best, not only because of the different characteristics of the sensors, but also because of the different atmospherics conditions or peculiarities of the different study areas, among other reasons.

Turbulence in the solar wind: what controls the slope of the energy spectrum?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verdini, Andrea; Grappin, Roland

2016-04-01

The spectrum of solar wind fluctuations is well described by a power law with an average spectral index -5/3 for periods between a few hours and a few minutes. However, the spectral index varies with stream speed and with the correlation of velocity and magnetic field fluctuations (Alfvénicity): the spectrum is softer in fast and Alfvénic streams. Roughly, this variation can be understood in term of the turbulent age of fluctuations at a given scale: the faster is the wind or the stronger is the correlation than the younger is the turbulence. Since the coronal spectrum is supposed to be rather flat (at least in the fast solar wind), smaller spectral indices correspond to less evolved spectra. According to this interpretation, one would expect spectral slope to change with distance as the turbulence ages, while observations report fairly stable spectral slopes. In order to quantify the effect of wind speed and Alfvénicity on the spectral slope, we ran a series of numerical simulations of MHD turbulence in the framework of the Expanding Box Model (EBM). In EBM we can vary the expansion rate and the initial correlation of fluctuations so as to investigate the existence of a threshold value for each parameter or for a combination of the two that could explain the observed variation and stability of the spectral index. We present preliminary results that indicate that the expansion rate does control the spectral index of energy when the Alfvénicity is high.

[HRV-Spectral analysis of Pain, by 3D Evaluation and by Balance Index in the Pain Rehabilitation Field].

PubMed

Goto, Yukio

2015-07-01

Pain signaling is achieved by electrical impulses in the body; however, some electrical abnormalities can cause pain in the body without generating any visible symptoms. This phenomenon is sensed by the brain and a signal that may affect cardiac rhythms is immediately transmitted to the heart. To evaluate heart rate variability (HRV), the balance correction between an increase and decrease of heart rate was recorded in real time. Using a special method for spectral-analysis of the HRV, techniques for analyzing the essence of pain were developed, namely, the 'Balance index' and the '3D spectrum evaluation method'. Using these techniques, an alpha wave-like factor or a beta wave-like reaction can be obtained, and the nature and strength of pain can be displayed as spectral zones, as in a rainbow. The balance reaction can be shown by analyzing data in the frequency band using a 1/f-like spectral-analysis method. Additionally, emotional reactions can be detected using a 'Balance index' that can demonstrate imbalance responding to the pain. The mental state of the subject can also be inferred because this technique is adapted from the 1/f fluctuation theory related to the best balanced 1/f-sound wave in nature that comforts the human mind, similar to music (artificial sound wave). In this study, the variety and intensity of pain were determined from the frequency band resulting from the 1/f-spectral analysis of HRV fluctuation. These techniques could explain several situations related to medication or anesthesia and can be helpful in preventative treatment and/or explaining the differences in the effectiveness of various techniques for the rehabilitation of chronic pain.

Black Hole Mass Determination In the X-Ray Binary 4U 1630-47: Scaling of Spectral and Variability Characteristics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seifina, Elena; Titarchuk, Lev; Shaposhnikov, Nikolai

2014-01-01

We present the results of a comprehensive investigation on the evolution of spectral and timing properties of the Galactic black hole candidate 4U 1630-47 during its spectral transitions. In particular, we show how a scaling of the correlation of the photon index of the Comptonized spectral component gamma with low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs), ?(sub L), and mass accretion rate, M, can be applied to the black hole mass and the inclination angle estimates.We analyze the transition episodes observed with the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer and BeppoSAX satellites.We find that the broadband X-ray energy spectra of 4U 1630-47 during all spectral states can be modeled by a combination of a thermal component, a Comptonized component, and a red-skewed iron-line component. We also establish that gamma monotonically increases during transition from the low-hard state to the high-soft state and then saturates for high mass accretion rates. The index saturation levels vary for different transition episodes. Correlations of gamma versus ?(sub L) also show saturation at gamma (is) approximately 3. Gamma -M and gamma -?(sub L) correlations with their index saturation revealed in 4U 1630-47 are similar to those established in a number of other black hole candidates and can be considered as an observational evidence for the presence of a black hole in these sources. The scaling technique, which relies on XTE J1550-564, GRO 1655-40, and H1743-322 as reference sources, allows us to evaluate a black hole mass in 4U 1630-47 yielding M(sub BH) (is) approximately 10 +/- 0.1 solar masses and to constrain the inclination angle of i (is) approximately less than 70 deg.

Evaluating the effect of remote sensing image spatial resolution on soil exchangeable potassium prediction models in smallholder farm settings.

PubMed

Xu, Yiming; Smith, Scot E; Grunwald, Sabine; Abd-Elrahman, Amr; Wani, Suhas P

2017-09-15

Major end users of Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) such as policy makers and agricultural extension workers are faced with choosing the appropriate remote sensing data. The objective of this research is to analyze the spatial resolution effects of different remote sensing images on soil prediction models in two smallholder farms in Southern India called Kothapally (Telangana State), and Masuti (Karnataka State), and provide empirical guidelines to choose the appropriate remote sensing images in DSM. Bayesian kriging (BK) was utilized to characterize the spatial pattern of exchangeable potassium (K ex ) in the topsoil (0-15 cm) at different spatial resolutions by incorporating spectral indices from Landsat 8 (30 m), RapidEye (5 m), and WorldView-2/GeoEye-1/Pleiades-1A images (2 m). Some spectral indices such as band reflectances, band ratios, Crust Index and Atmospherically Resistant Vegetation Index from multiple images showed relatively strong correlations with soil K ex in two study areas. The research also suggested that fine spatial resolution WorldView-2/GeoEye-1/Pleiades-1A-based and RapidEye-based soil prediction models would not necessarily have higher prediction performance than coarse spatial resolution Landsat 8-based soil prediction models. The end users of DSM in smallholder farm settings need select the appropriate spectral indices and consider different factors such as the spatial resolution, band width, spectral resolution, temporal frequency, cost, and processing time of different remote sensing images. Overall, remote sensing-based Digital Soil Mapping has potential to be promoted to smallholder farm settings all over the world and help smallholder farmers implement sustainable and field-specific soil nutrient management scheme. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On syntheses of the X-ray background with power-law sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dezotti, G.; Boldt, E. A.; Cavaliere, A.; Danese, L.; Franceschini, A.; Marshall, F. E.; Swank, J. H.; Szymkowiak, A. E.

1981-01-01

The conditions under which the combined emission from power law sources can mimic the X-ray background (XRB) spectrum in the 3-50 keV range are considered in view of HEAO 1 A-2 experiment measurements, and it is confirmed that a good fit may be obtained. The required spectral properties of the component sources differ, however, from those observed for local active galactic nuclei. Constraints are deduced for both the low luminosity extension and evolution of such local objects, and it is shown that any other class of sources contributing to the X-ray background must be characterized by an energy spectral index lower than about 0.4, which is the mean index of the XRB, and exhibit sleeper spectra at higher energies.

On syntheses of the X-ray background with power-law sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Zotti, G.; Boldt, E. A.; Cavaliere, A.; Danese, L.; Franceschini, A.; Marshall, F. E.; Swank, J. H.; Szymkowiak, A. E.

1981-08-01

The conditions under which the combined emission from power law sources can mimic the X-ray background (XRB) spectrum in the 3-50 keV range are considered in view of HEAO 1 A-2 experiment measurements, and it is confirmed that a good fit may be obtained. The required spectral properties of the component sources differ, however, from those observed for local active galactic nuclei. Constraints are deduced for both the low luminosity extension and evolution of such local objects, and it is shown that any other class of sources contributing to the X-ray background must be characterized by an energy spectral index lower than about 0.4, which is the mean index of the XRB, and exhibit sleeper spectra at higher energies.

Comparison and Intercalibration of Vegetation Indices from Different Sensors for Monitoring Above-Ground Plant Nitrogen Uptake in Winter Wheat

PubMed Central

Yao, Xinfeng; Yao, Xia; Jia, Wenqing; Tian, Yongchao; Ni, Jun; Cao, Weixing; Zhu, Yan

2013-01-01

Various sensors have been used to obtain the canopy spectral reflectance for monitoring above-ground plant nitrogen (N) uptake in winter wheat. Comparison and intercalibration of spectral reflectance and vegetation indices derived from different sensors are important for multi-sensor data fusion and utilization. In this study, the spectral reflectance and its derived vegetation indices from three ground-based sensors (ASD Field Spec Pro spectrometer, CropScan MSR 16 and GreenSeeker RT 100) in six winter wheat field experiments were compared. Then, the best sensor (ASD) and its normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI (807, 736)) for estimating above-ground plant N uptake were determined (R2 of 0.885 and RMSE of 1.440 g·N·m−2 for model calibration). In order to better utilize the spectral reflectance from the three sensors, intercalibration models for vegetation indices based on different sensors were developed. The results indicated that the vegetation indices from different sensors could be intercalibrated, which should promote application of data fusion and make monitoring of above-ground plant N uptake more precise and accurate. PMID:23462622

Temperature dependence of the pressure broadening of spectral lines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roston, G. D.; Helmi, M. S.

2012-12-01

The aim of this work is to obtain a formula relating the pressure broadening coefficient of the spectral line β with the temperature T, when the difference potential ΔV(R) between the upper and lower states of the emitting atom is represented by (Lennard - Jones) potential, The obtained formula is a power index law of β on T. This formula is applied for calculating β for different interactions of Ar, Ne, TI, Hg, Cd and Zn with the inert gases (Xe, Kr, Ar, Ne and He) at different temperatures. The results of these calculations are in good agreement with the corresponding values obtained before numerically. The obtained formula is considered very important in astrophysical problems.

Extinction spectra of suspensions of microspheres: determination of the spectral refractive index and particle size distribution with nanometer accuracy.

PubMed

Gienger, Jonas; Bär, Markus; Neukammer, Jörg

2018-01-10

A method is presented to infer simultaneously the wavelength-dependent real refractive index (RI) of the material of microspheres and their size distribution from extinction measurements of particle suspensions. To derive the averaged spectral optical extinction cross section of the microspheres from such ensemble measurements, we determined the particle concentration by flow cytometry to an accuracy of typically 2% and adjusted the particle concentration to ensure that perturbations due to multiple scattering are negligible. For analysis of the extinction spectra, we employ Mie theory, a series-expansion representation of the refractive index and nonlinear numerical optimization. In contrast to other approaches, our method offers the advantage to simultaneously determine size, size distribution, and spectral refractive index of ensembles of microparticles including uncertainty estimation.

Effect of substrate baking temperature on zinc sulfide and germanium thin films optical parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Fang; Gao, Jiaobo; Yang, Chongmin; Zhang, Jianfu; Liu, Yongqiang; Liu, Qinglong; Wang, Songlin; Mi, Gaoyuan; Wang, Huina

2016-10-01

ZnS and Ge are very normal optical thin film materials in Infrared wave. Studying the influence of different substrate baking temperature to refractive index and actual deposition rates is very important to promote optical thin film quality. In the same vacuum level, monitoring thickness and evaporation rate, we use hot evaporation to deposit ZnS thin film materials and use ion-assisted electron beam to deposit Ge thin film materials with different baking temperature. We measure the spectral transmittance with the spectrophotometer and calculate the actual deposition rates and the refractive index in different temperature. With the higher and higher temperature in a particular range, ZnS and Ge refractive index become higher and actual deposition rates become smaller. The refractive index of Ge film material change with baking temperature is more sensitive than ZnS. However, ZnS film actual deposition rates change with baking temperature is more sensitive than Ge.

Tunable angle-independent refractive index sensor based on Fano resonance in integrated metal and graphene nanoribbons

PubMed Central

Pan, Meiyan; Liang, Zhaoxing; Wang, Yu; Chen, Yihang

2016-01-01

We propose a novel mechanism to construct a tunable and ultracompact refractive index sensor by using the Fano resonance in metal-graphene hybrid nanostructure. Plasmon modes in graphene nanoribbons and waveguide resonance modes in the slits of metal strip array coexist in this system. Strong interference between the two different modes occurs when they are spectrally overlapped, resulting in a Fano-type asymmetrically spectral lineshape which can be used for detecting the variations of ambient refractive index. The proposed sensor has a relatively high figure of merit (FOM) over 20 and its sensing performance shows a good tolerance to roughness. In addition to the wide range measurement enabled by the electrical tuning of graphene plasmon modes, such ultracompact system also provides an angle-independent operation and therefore, it can efficiently work for the detection of gas, liquid, or solids. Such optical nanostructure may also be applied to diverse fields such as temperature/pressure metering, medical detection, and mechanical precision measurement. PMID:27439964

Tunable angle-independent refractive index sensor based on Fano resonance in integrated metal and graphene nanoribbons.

PubMed

Pan, Meiyan; Liang, Zhaoxing; Wang, Yu; Chen, Yihang

2016-07-21

We propose a novel mechanism to construct a tunable and ultracompact refractive index sensor by using the Fano resonance in metal-graphene hybrid nanostructure. Plasmon modes in graphene nanoribbons and waveguide resonance modes in the slits of metal strip array coexist in this system. Strong interference between the two different modes occurs when they are spectrally overlapped, resulting in a Fano-type asymmetrically spectral lineshape which can be used for detecting the variations of ambient refractive index. The proposed sensor has a relatively high figure of merit (FOM) over 20 and its sensing performance shows a good tolerance to roughness. In addition to the wide range measurement enabled by the electrical tuning of graphene plasmon modes, such ultracompact system also provides an angle-independent operation and therefore, it can efficiently work for the detection of gas, liquid, or solids. Such optical nanostructure may also be applied to diverse fields such as temperature/pressure metering, medical detection, and mechanical precision measurement.

Empirical calibration of the near-infrared Ca ii triplet - I. The stellar library and index definition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cenarro, A. J.; Cardiel, N.; Gorgas, J.; Peletier, R. F.; Vazdekis, A.; Prada, F.

2001-09-01

A new stellar library at the near-IR spectral region developed for the empirical calibration of the Caii triplet and stellar population synthesis modelling is presented. The library covers the range λλ8348-9020 at 1.5-Å (FWHM) spectral resolution, and consists of 706 stars spanning a wide range in atmospheric parameters. We have defined a new set of near-IR indices, CaT*, CaT and PaT, which mostly overcome the limitations of previous definitions, the former being specially suited for the measurement of the Caii triplet strength corrected for the contamination from Paschen lines. We also present a comparative study of the new and the previous Ca indices, as well as the corresponding transformations between the different systems. A thorough analysis of the sources of index errors and the procedure to calculate them is given. Finally, index and error measurements for the whole stellar library are provided together with the final spectra.

Detection of Two TeV Shell-type Remnants at GeV Energies with FERMI LAT: HESS J1731-347 and SN 1006

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Condon, B.; Lemoine-Goumard, M.; Acero, F.; Katagiri, H.

2017-12-01

We report the first high-significance GeV γ-ray detections of supernova remnants HESS J1731‑347 and SN 1006, both of which have been previously detected by imaging atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes above 1 TeV. Using 8 years of Fermi-LAT Pass 8 data at energies between 1 GeV and 2 TeV, we detect emission at the position of HESS J1731‑347 with a significance of ∼ 5σ and a spectral index of {{Γ }}=1.66+/- {0.16}{stat}+/- {0.12}{syst}. The hardness of the index and the good connection with the TeV spectrum of HESS J1731‑347 support an association between the two sources. We also confirm the detection of SN 1006 at ∼ 6σ with a spectral index of {{Γ }}=1.79+/- {0.17}{stat}+/- {0.27}{syst}. The northeast (NE) and southwest (SW) limbs of SN 1006 were also fit separately, resulting in the detection of the NE region ({{Γ }}=1.47+/- {0.26}{stat}) and the non-detection of the SW region. The significance of different spectral components for the two limbs is 3.6σ , providing first indications of an asymmetry in the GeV γ-ray emission.

Optimizing UV Index determination from broadband irradiances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tereszchuk, Keith A.; Rochon, Yves J.; McLinden, Chris A.; Vaillancourt, Paul A.

2018-03-01

A study was undertaken to improve upon the prognosticative capability of Environment and Climate Change Canada's (ECCC) UV Index forecast model. An aspect of that work, and the topic of this communication, was to investigate the use of the four UV broadband surface irradiance fields generated by ECCC's Global Environmental Multiscale (GEM) numerical prediction model to determine the UV Index. The basis of the investigation involves the creation of a suite of routines which employ high-spectral-resolution radiative transfer code developed to calculate UV Index fields from GEM forecasts. These routines employ a modified version of the Cloud-J v7.4 radiative transfer model, which integrates GEM output to produce high-spectral-resolution surface irradiance fields. The output generated using the high-resolution radiative transfer code served to verify and calibrate GEM broadband surface irradiances under clear-sky conditions and their use in providing the UV Index. A subsequent comparison of irradiances and UV Index under cloudy conditions was also performed. Linear correlation agreement of surface irradiances from the two models for each of the two higher UV bands covering 310.70-330.0 and 330.03-400.00 nm is typically greater than 95 % for clear-sky conditions with associated root-mean-square relative errors of 6.4 and 4.0 %. However, underestimations of clear-sky GEM irradiances were found on the order of ˜ 30-50 % for the 294.12-310.70 nm band and by a factor of ˜ 30 for the 280.11-294.12 nm band. This underestimation can be significant for UV Index determination but would not impact weather forecasting. Corresponding empirical adjustments were applied to the broadband irradiances now giving a correlation coefficient of unity. From these, a least-squares fitting was derived for the calculation of the UV Index. The resultant differences in UV indices from the high-spectral-resolution irradiances and the resultant GEM broadband irradiances are typically within 0.2-0.3 with a root-mean-square relative error in the scatter of ˜ 6.6 % for clear-sky conditions. Similar results are reproduced under cloudy conditions with light to moderate clouds, with a relative error comparable to the clear-sky counterpart; under strong attenuation due to clouds, a substantial increase in the root-mean-square relative error of up to 35 % is observed due to differing cloud radiative transfer models.

Field Measured Spectral Albedo-Four Years of Data from the Western U.S. Prairie

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michalsky, Joseph J.; Hodges, Gary B.

2013-01-01

This paper presents an initial look at four years of spectral measurements used to calculate albedo for the Colorado prairie just east of the Rocky Mountain range foothills. Some issues associated with calculating broadband albedo from thermopile sensors are discussed demonstrating that uncorrected instrument issues have led to incorrect conclusions. Normalized Difference Vegetative Index (NDVI) is defined for the spectral instruments in this study and used to demonstrate the dramatic changes that can be monitored with this very sensitive product. Examples of albedo wavelength and solar-zenith angle dependence for different stages of vegetative growth and senescence are presented. The spectral albedo of fresh snow and its spectral and solar-zenith angle dependence are discussed and contrasted with other studies of these dependencies. We conclude that fresh snow is consistent with a Lambertian reflector over the solar incidence angles measured; this is contrary to most snow albedo results. Even a slope of a degree or two in the viewed surface can explain the asymmetry in the morning and afternoon albedos for snow and vegetation. Plans for extending these spectral measurements for albedo to longer wavelengths and to additional sites are described.

Different techniques of multispectral data analysis for vegetation fraction retrieval

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kancheva, Rumiana; Georgiev, Georgi

2012-07-01

Vegetation monitoring is one of the most important applications of remote sensing technologies. In respect to farmlands, the assessment of crop condition constitutes the basis of growth, development, and yield processes monitoring. Plant condition is defined by a set of biometric variables, such as density, height, biomass amount, leaf area index, and etc. The canopy cover fraction is closely related to these variables, and is state-indicative of the growth process. At the same time it is a defining factor of the soil-vegetation system spectral signatures. That is why spectral mixtures decomposition is a primary objective in remotely sensed data processing and interpretation, specifically in agricultural applications. The actual usefulness of the applied methods depends on their prediction reliability. The goal of this paper is to present and compare different techniques for quantitative endmember extraction from soil-crop patterns reflectance. These techniques include: linear spectral unmixing, two-dimensional spectra analysis, spectral ratio analysis (vegetation indices), spectral derivative analysis (red edge position), colorimetric analysis (tristimulus values sum, chromaticity coordinates and dominant wavelength). The objective is to reveal their potential, accuracy and robustness for plant fraction estimation from multispectral data. Regression relationships have been established between crop canopy cover and various spectral estimators.

Estimation of Soil Moisture Content from the Spectral Reflectance of Bare Soils in the 0.4–2.5 μm Domain

PubMed Central

Fabre, Sophie; Briottet, Xavier; Lesaignoux, Audrey

2015-01-01

This work aims to compare the performance of new methods to estimate the Soil Moisture Content (SMC) of bare soils from their spectral signatures in the reflective domain (0.4–2.5 μm) in comparison with widely used spectral indices like Normalized Soil Moisture Index (NSMI) and Water Index SOIL (WISOIL). Indeed, these reference spectral indices use wavelengths located in the water vapour absorption bands and their performance are thus very sensitive to the quality of the atmospheric compensation. To reduce these limitations, two new spectral indices are proposed which wavelengths are defined using the determination matrix tool by taking into account the atmospheric transmission: Normalized Index of Nswir domain for Smc estimatiOn from Linear correlation (NINSOL) and Normalized Index of Nswir domain for Smc estimatiOn from Non linear correlation (NINSON). These spectral indices are completed by two new methods based on the global shape of the soil spectral signatures. These methods are the Inverse Soil semi-Empirical Reflectance model (ISER), using the inversion of an existing empirical soil model simulating the soil spectral reflectance according to soil moisture content for a given soil class, and the convex envelope model, linking the area between the envelope and the spectral signature to the SMC. All these methods are compared using a reference database built with 32 soil samples and composed of 190 spectral signatures with five or six soil moisture contents. Half of the database is used for the calibration stage and the remaining to evaluate the performance of the SMC estimation methods. The results show that the four new methods lead to similar or better performance than the one obtained by the reference indices. The RMSE is ranging from 3.8% to 6.2% and the coefficient of determination R2 varies between 0.74 and 0.91 with the best performance obtained with the ISER model. In a second step, simulated spectral radiances at the sensor level are used to analyse the sensitivity of these methods to the sensor spectral resolution and the water vapour content knowledge. The spectral signatures of the database are then used to simulate the signal at the top of atmosphere with a radiative transfer model and to compute the integrated incident signal representing the spectral radiance measurements of the HYMAP airborne hyperspectral instrument. The sensor radiances are then corrected from the atmosphere by an atmospheric compensation tool to retrieve the surface reflectances. The SMC estimation methods are then applied on the retrieve spectral reflectances. The adaptation of the spectral index wavelengths to the HyMap sensor spectral bands and the application of the convex envelope and ISER models to boarder spectral bands lead to an error on the SMC estimation. The best performance is then obtained with the ISER model (RMSE of 2.9% and R2 of 0.96) while the four other methods lead to quite similar RMSE (from 6.4% to 7.8%) and R2 (between 0.79 and 0.83) values. In the atmosphere compensation processing, an error on the water vapour content is introduced. The most robust methods to water vapour content variations are WISOIL, NINSON, NINSOL and ISER model. The convex envelope model and NSMI index require an accurate estimation of the water vapour content in the atmosphere. PMID:25648710

Atmospheric parameters, spectral indexes and their relation to CPV spectral performance

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

Núñez, Rubén, E-mail: ruben.nunez@ies-def.upm.es; Antón, Ignacio, E-mail: ruben.nunez@ies-def.upm.es; Askins, Steve, E-mail: ruben.nunez@ies-def.upm.es

2014-09-26

Air Mass and atmosphere components (basically aerosol (AOD) and precipitable water (PW)) define the absorption of the sunlight that arrive to Earth. Radiative models such as SMARTS or MODTRAN use these parameters to generate an equivalent spectrum. However, complex and expensive instruments (as AERONET network devices) are needed to obtain AOD and PW. On the other hand, the use of isotype cells is a convenient way to characterize spectrally a place for CPV considering that they provide the photocurrent of the different internal subcells individually. Crossing data from AERONET station and a Tri-band Spectroheliometer, a model that correlates Spectral Mismatchmore » Ratios and atmospheric parameters is proposed. Considering the amount of stations of AERONET network, this model may be used to estimate the spectral influence on energy performance of CPV systems close to all the stations worldwide.« less

Correlated adiabatic and isocurvature cosmic microwave background fluctuations in the wake of the results from the wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe.

PubMed

Väliviita, Jussi; Muhonen, Vesa

2003-09-26

In general correlated models, in addition to the usual adiabatic component with a spectral index n(ad1) there is another adiabatic component with a spectral index n(ad2) generated by entropy perturbation during inflation. We extend the analysis of a correlated mixture of adiabatic and isocurvature cosmic microwave background fluctuations of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) group, who set the two adiabatic spectral indices equal. Allowing n(ad1) and n(ad2) to vary independently we find that the WMAP data favor models where the two adiabatic components have opposite spectral tilts. Using the WMAP data only, the 2sigma upper bound for the isocurvature fraction f(iso) of the initial power spectrum at k(0)=0.05 Mpc(-1) increases somewhat, e.g., from 0.76 of n(ad2)=n(ad1) models to 0.84 with a prior n(iso)<1.84 for the isocurvature spectral index.

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.

A new tower-based hyperspectral system for the estimation of CO2 fluxes and biophysical parameters in a subalpine grassland ecosystem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vescovo, L.; Gianelle, D.; Marcolla, B.; Zaldei, A.; Sakowska, K.

2013-12-01

Linking optical remote sensing with carbon fluxes and biophysical parameters is critical to exploit spatial and temporal extensive information useful for validating model simulations at different scales. Proximal sensing is fundamental to quantify and understand the seasonal dynamics of ecosystems and to upscale the observations carried out at the ground level. In this study, we present the results from an ongoing research project at the FLUXNET eddy covariance site of Monte Bondone (Italy). The site is located at 1550 m a.s.l. on a mountain plateau in the Italian Alps (Viote del Monte Bondone). The area is managed as an extensively-managed meadow, cut once a year, and dominated by Nardus stricta and Festuca nigrescens. The climate of this area is sub-continental (warm and wet summer), with precipitation peaks in spring and autumn. A new hyperspectral system (WhiteRef Box, developed by Fondazione Edmund Mach in collaboration with the Institute of Biometeorology, CNR, Italy) based on the ASD FieldSpec spectrometer (spectral range 350-2500 nm, resolution ~3 nm at 700 nm) was designed to acquire continuous radiometric measurements. The system was installed on the eddy covariance tower at a height of 6 m, with a field of view of 25°. To obtain reflectance values, white panel radiance spectra and canopy radiance spectra were collected every 5 minutes between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. (solar time) during the growing season of 2013. In addition, measurements of biophysical parameters such as above-ground biomass, fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fAPAR), Plant Area Index, Canopy Chlorophyll Content, Canopy Water Content and Green Herbage Ratio were performed at weekly intervals within the spectrometer footprint (~5 m2). In this work, we present some preliminary results regarding the potential of spectral vegetation indices - based on VNIR and SWIR spectral bands- for capturing seasonal trends of CO2 fluxes as well as vegetation biophysical parameters dynamics. Spectral vegetation indices sensitive to chlorophyll content (such as Meris Terrestrial ChIorophyll Index, Vogelmann Indices) showed a good linear correlation with fAPAR, daily Gross Primary Production and chlorophyll content (R2> 0.8 for all the three variables). The SWIR-based Vegetation Indices (e.g. Normalised Difference Infrared Index, Moisture Stress Index) confirmed their ability to estimate Canopy Water Content. Most of the analyzed indices showed to be linearly related with Green Herbage Ratio (explaining more than 80% of variance). The Near Infrared Difference Index (Vescovo et al., 2012) confirmed his potential in predicting canopy structural parameters such as Plant Area Index and biomass (R2> 0.90).

Using Reflectance Measurements to Determine Ecosystem Light Use Efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huemmrich, K. F.; Middleton, E. M.; Hall, F. G.; Knox, R. G.; Walter-Shea, E.; Verma, S. B.

2006-05-01

Understanding the dynamics of the global carbon cycle requires an accurate determination of the spatial and temporal distribution of photosynthetic CO2 uptake by terrestrial vegetation. Remote sensing observations may provide the spatially extensive observations required for this type of analysis. A light use efficiency model is one approach to modeling carbon fluxes driven by remotely sensed inputs. Photosynthetic down-regulation has been associated with changes in the apparent spectral reflectance of leaves and these responses may permit the estimation of ecosystem photosynthetic light use efficiency (LUE). At a prairie site in Oklahoma, CO2 flux measurements from an eddy covariance system along with biophysical data were collected through 1998 and 1999. During the growing seasons hyperspectral reflectance measurements were collected in nearby plots at multiple times in a day at approximately monthly intervals. LUE is calculated as the ratio of carbon uptake by the ecosystem and the fraction of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) absorbed by green leaves. The LUE values are compared with reflectance indexes examining how relationships vary over hours, months, and years. For this system a number of different reflectance indexes have been found to correlate with LUE; including the Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI) and the Structure Independent Pigment Index (SIPI); as well as spectral first derivatives at 460, 550, and 615nm; and second derivatives at 510 and 620nm. This methodology provides a nondestructive, repeatable, direct comparison between ecosystem carbon fluxes and spectral reflectance at scales relevant to remote sensing.

Hyperspectral Image Classification for Land Cover Based on an Improved Interval Type-II Fuzzy C-Means Approach

PubMed Central

Li, Zhao-Liang

2018-01-01

Few studies have examined hyperspectral remote-sensing image classification with type-II fuzzy sets. This paper addresses image classification based on a hyperspectral remote-sensing technique using an improved interval type-II fuzzy c-means (IT2FCM*) approach. In this study, in contrast to other traditional fuzzy c-means-based approaches, the IT2FCM* algorithm considers the ranking of interval numbers and the spectral uncertainty. The classification results based on a hyperspectral dataset using the FCM, IT2FCM, and the proposed improved IT2FCM* algorithms show that the IT2FCM* method plays the best performance according to the clustering accuracy. In this paper, in order to validate and demonstrate the separability of the IT2FCM*, four type-I fuzzy validity indexes are employed, and a comparative analysis of these fuzzy validity indexes also applied in FCM and IT2FCM methods are made. These four indexes are also applied into different spatial and spectral resolution datasets to analyze the effects of spectral and spatial scaling factors on the separability of FCM, IT2FCM, and IT2FCM* methods. The results of these validity indexes from the hyperspectral datasets show that the improved IT2FCM* algorithm have the best values among these three algorithms in general. The results demonstrate that the IT2FCM* exhibits good performance in hyperspectral remote-sensing image classification because of its ability to handle hyperspectral uncertainty. PMID:29373548

Estimation of inflation parameters for Perturbed Power Law model using recent CMB measurements

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

Mukherjee, Suvodip; Das, Santanu; Souradeep, Tarun

2015-01-01

Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is an important probe for understanding the inflationary era of the Universe. We consider the Perturbed Power Law (PPL) model of inflation which is a soft deviation from Power Law (PL) inflationary model. This model captures the effect of higher order derivative of Hubble parameter during inflation, which in turn leads to a non-zero effective mass m{sub eff} for the inflaton field. The higher order derivatives of Hubble parameter at leading order sources constant difference in the spectral index for scalar and tensor perturbation going beyond PL model of inflation. PPL model have two observable independentmore » parameters, namely spectral index for tensor perturbation ν{sub t} and change in spectral index for scalar perturbation ν{sub st} to explain the observed features in the scalar and tensor power spectrum of perturbation. From the recent measurements of CMB power spectra by WMAP, Planck and BICEP-2 for temperature and polarization, we estimate the feasibility of PPL model with standard ΛCDM model. Although BICEP-2 claimed a detection of r=0.2, estimates of dust contamination provided by Planck have left open the possibility that only upper bound on r will be expected in a joint analysis. As a result we consider different upper bounds on the value of r and show that PPL model can explain a lower value of tensor to scalar ratio (r<0.1 or r<0.01) for a scalar spectral index of n{sub s}=0.96 by having a non-zero value of effective mass of the inflaton field m{sup 2}{sub eff}/H{sup 2}. The analysis with WP + Planck likelihood shows a non-zero detection of m{sup 2}{sub eff}/H{sup 2} with 5.7 σ and 8.1 σ respectively for r<0.1 and r<0.01. Whereas, with BICEP-2 likelihood m{sup 2}{sub eff}/H{sup 2} = −0.0237 ± 0.0135 which is consistent with zero.« less

Applications of statistical and atomic physics to the spectral line broadening and stock markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volodko, Dmitriy

The purpose of this investigation is the application of time correlation function methodology on the theoretical research of the shift of hydrogen and hydrogen-like spectral lines due to electrons and ions interaction with the spectral line emitters-dipole ionic-electronic shift (DIES) and the describing a behavior of stock-market in terms of a simple physical model simulation which obeys Levy statistical distribution---the same as that of the real stock-market index. Using Generalized Theory of Stark broadening of electrons in plasma we discovered a new source of the shift of hydrogen and hydrogen-like spectral lines that we called a dipole ionic-electronic shift (DIES). This shift results from the indirect coupling of electron and ion microfields in plasmas which is facilitated by the radiating atom/ion. We have shown that the DIES, unlike all previously known shifts, is highly nonlinear and has a different sign for different ranges of plasma parameters. The most favorable conditions for observing the DIES correspond to plasmas of high densities, but of relatively low temperature. For the Balmer-alpha line of hydrogen with the most favorable observational conditions Ne > 1018 cm-3, T < 2 eV, the DIES has been already confirmed experimentally. Based on the study of the time correlations and of the probability distribution of fluctuations in the stock market, we developed a relatively simple physical model, which simulates the Dow Jones Industrials index and makes short-term (a couple of days) predictions of its trend.

Super-resolution algorithm based on sparse representation and wavelet preprocessing for remote sensing imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Ruizhi; Gu, Lingjia; Fu, Haoyang; Sun, Chenglin

2017-04-01

An effective super-resolution (SR) algorithm is proposed for actual spectral remote sensing images based on sparse representation and wavelet preprocessing. The proposed SR algorithm mainly consists of dictionary training and image reconstruction. Wavelet preprocessing is used to establish four subbands, i.e., low frequency, horizontal, vertical, and diagonal high frequency, for an input image. As compared to the traditional approaches involving the direct training of image patches, the proposed approach focuses on the training of features derived from these four subbands. The proposed algorithm is verified using different spectral remote sensing images, e.g., moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) images with different bands, and the latest Chinese Jilin-1 satellite images with high spatial resolution. According to the visual experimental results obtained from the MODIS remote sensing data, the SR images using the proposed SR algorithm are superior to those using a conventional bicubic interpolation algorithm or traditional SR algorithms without preprocessing. Fusion algorithms, e.g., standard intensity-hue-saturation, principal component analysis, wavelet transform, and the proposed SR algorithms are utilized to merge the multispectral and panchromatic images acquired by the Jilin-1 satellite. The effectiveness of the proposed SR algorithm is assessed by parameters such as peak signal-to-noise ratio, structural similarity index, correlation coefficient, root-mean-square error, relative dimensionless global error in synthesis, relative average spectral error, spectral angle mapper, and the quality index Q4, and its performance is better than that of the standard image fusion algorithms.

Utilizing a Tower Based System for Optical Sensing of Ecosystem Carbon Fluxes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huemmrich, K. F.; Corp, L. A.; Middleton, E.; Campbell, P. K. E.; Landis, D.; Kustas, W. P.

2015-12-01

Optical sampling of spectral reflectance and solar induced fluorescence provide information on the physiological status of vegetation that can be used to infer stress responses and estimates of production. Multiple repeated observations are required to observe the effects of changing environmental conditions on vegetation. This study examines the use of optical signals to determine inputs to a light use efficiency (LUE) model describing productivity of a cornfield where repeated observations of carbon flux, spectral reflectance and fluorescence were collected. Data were collected at the Optimizing Production Inputs for Economic and Environmental Enhancement (OPE3) fields (39.03°N, 76.85°W) at USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. Agricultural Research Service researchers measured CO2 fluxes using eddy covariance methods throughout the growing season. Optical measurements were made from the nearby tower supporting the NASA FUSION sensors. The sensor system consists of two dual channel, upward and downward looking, spectrometers used to simultaneously collect high spectral resolution measurements of reflected and fluoresced light from vegetation canopies at multiple view angles. Estimates of chlorophyll fluorescence, combined with measures of vegetation pigment content and the Photosynthetic Reflectance Index (PRI) derived from the spectral reflectance are compared with CO2 fluxes over diurnal periods for multiple days. The relationships among the different optical measurements indicate that they are providing different types of information on the vegetation and that combinations of these measurements provide improved retrievals of CO2 fluxes than any index alone

Performance evaluation of object based greenhouse detection from Sentinel-2 MSI and Landsat 8 OLI data: A case study from Almería (Spain)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novelli, Antonio; Aguilar, Manuel A.; Nemmaoui, Abderrahim; Aguilar, Fernando J.; Tarantino, Eufemia

2016-10-01

This paper shows the first comparison between data from Sentinel-2 (S2) Multi Spectral Instrument (MSI) and Landsat 8 (L8) Operational Land Imager (OLI) headed up to greenhouse detection. Two closely related in time scenes, one for each sensor, were classified by using Object Based Image Analysis and Random Forest (RF). The RF input consisted of several object-based features computed from spectral bands and including mean values, spectral indices and textural features. S2 and L8 data comparisons were also extended using a common segmentation dataset extracted form VHR World-View 2 (WV2) imagery to test differences only due to their specific spectral contribution. The best band combinations to perform segmentation were found through a modified version of the Euclidian Distance 2 index. Four different RF classifications schemes were considered achieving 89.1%, 91.3%, 90.9% and 93.4% as the best overall accuracies respectively, evaluated over the whole study area.

Spectral bidirectional and hemispherical reflectance characteristics of selected sites in the Streletskaya steppe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eck, Thomas F.; Deering, Donald W.

1992-01-01

Measurements of plant canopy bidirectional reflectance made by the PARABOLA (portable apparatus for rapid acquisition of bidirectional observations of the land and atmosphere) instrument in three spectral bands are analyzed for steppe grassland sites of differing productivity levels. The variation of spectral reflectance and the normalized difference vegetation index in the solar principal plane is presented. Comparisons are made with PARABOLA measurements from selected first ISLSCP field experiment (FIFE) grassland sites in the Konza prairie, Kansas. The Streletskaya steppe sites showed no strong hot spot reflectance, while this effect was present in some FIFE sites but absent in others. The hot spot effect seems to be dependent on canopy geometry and background reflectance characteristics of these sites. Spectral hemispherical reflectance was computed from the angular integration of the bidirectional measurements for the steppe sites. Total shortwave albedo was estimated from these hemispherical reflectance measurements and compared to albedo measured by pyranometers. The albedo estimates from PARABOLA were found to be approximately 12-17 percent higher than the pyranometer measurements.

Visible and infrared polarization ratio spectroreflectometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Batten, C. E. (Inventor)

1980-01-01

The instrument assists in determining the refractive index and absorption index, at different spectral frequencies, of a solid sample by illuminating the sample at various angles in incidence and measuring the corresponding reflected intensities at various spectral frequencies and polarization angles. The ratio of the intensity of the reflected light for parallel polarized light to that for perpendicular polarized light at two different angles of incidence can be used to determine the optical constants of the sample. The invention involves an apparatus for facilitating the utilization of a wide variety of angles of incidence. The light source and polarizing element are positioned on an outer platform; the sample is positioned on an inner platform. The two platforms rotate about a common axis and cooperate in their rotation such that the sample is rotated one degree for every two degrees of rotation of the light source. This maintains the impingement of the reflected light upon the detector for any angle of incidence without moving or adjusting the detector which allows a continuous change in the angle of incidence.

Spectral Indices of Faint Radio Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gim, Hansung B.; Hales, Christopher A.; Momjian, Emmanuel; Yun, Min Su

2015-01-01

The significant improvement in bandwidth and the resultant sensitivity offered by the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) allows us to explore the faint radio source population. Through the study of the radio continuum we can explore the spectral indices of these radio sources. Robust radio spectral indices are needed for accurate k-corrections, for example in the study of the radio - far-infrared (FIR) correlation. We present an analysis of measuring spectral indices using two different approaches. In the first, we use the standard wideband imaging algorithm in the data reduction package CASA. In the second, we use a traditional approach of imaging narrower bandwidths to derive the spectral indices. For these, we simulated data to match the observing parameter space of the CHILES Con Pol survey (Hales et al. 2014). We investigate the accuracy and precision of spectral index measurements as a function of signal-to noise, and explore the requirements to reliably probe possible evolution of the radio-FIR correlation in CHILES Con Pol.

Quantitative Doppler Analysis Using Conventional Color Flow Imaging Acquisitions.

PubMed

Karabiyik, Yucel; Ekroll, Ingvild Kinn; Eik-Nes, Sturla H; Lovstakken, Lasse

2018-05-01

Interleaved acquisitions used in conventional triplex mode result in a tradeoff between the frame rate and the quality of velocity estimates. On the other hand, workflow becomes inefficient when the user has to switch between different modes, and measurement variability is increased. This paper investigates the use of power spectral Capon estimator in quantitative Doppler analysis using data acquired with conventional color flow imaging (CFI) schemes. To preserve the number of samples used for velocity estimation, only spatial averaging was utilized, and clutter rejection was performed after spectral estimation. The resulting velocity spectra were evaluated in terms of spectral width using a recently proposed spectral envelope estimator. The spectral envelopes were also used for Doppler index calculations using in vivo and string phantom acquisitions. In vivo results demonstrated that the Capon estimator can provide spectral estimates with sufficient quality for quantitative analysis using packet-based CFI acquisitions. The calculated Doppler indices were similar to the values calculated using spectrograms estimated on a commercial ultrasound scanner.

Dispersion-free pulse propagation in a negative-index material.

PubMed

D'Aguanno, Giuseppe; Akozbek, Neset; Mattiucci, Nadia; Scalora, Michael; Bloemer, Mark J; Zheltikov, Aleksei M

2005-08-01

The possibility of controlling the spectral position of the zero group-velocity dispersion point of a negative-index material can be exploited by varying the ratio between the electric and the magnetic plasma frequency to obtain dispersion-free propagation in spectral regions otherwise inaccessible using conventional positive-index materials. Our predictions are confirmed by pulse propagation simulations where all the orders of the complex dispersion of the material are taken into account.

Acousto-optic tunable filter chromatic aberration analysis and reduction with auto-focus system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yaoli; Chen, Yuanyuan

2018-07-01

An acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) displays optical band broadening and sidelobes as a result of the coupling between the acoustic wave and optical waves of different wavelengths. These features were analysed by wave-vector phase matching between the optical and acoustic waves. A crossed-line test board was imaged by an AOTF multi-spectral imaging system, showing image blurring in the direction of diffraction and image sharpness in the orthogonal direction produced by the greater bandwidth and sidelobes in the former direction. Applying the secondary-imaging principle and considering the wavelength-dependent refractive index, focal length varies over the broad wavelength range. An automatic focusing method is therefore proposed for use in AOTF multi-spectral imaging systems. A new method for image-sharpness evaluation, based on improved Structure Similarity Index Measurement (SSIM), is also proposed, based on the characteristics of the AOTF imaging system. Compared with the traditional gradient operator, as same as it, the new evaluation function realized the evaluation between different image quality, thus could achieve the automatic focusing for different multispectral images.

The Effect of Spatial and Spectral Resolution in Determining NDVI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boelman, N. T.

2003-12-01

We explore the impact that varying spatial and spectral resolutions of several sensors (a field portable spectroradiometer, Landsat, MODIS and AVHRR) has in determining the average Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) at Imnavait Creek, a small arctic tundra watershed located on the north slope of Alaska. We found that at the field-of-views (FOVs) of less than 20 m2 that were sampled, the average NDVI value for this watershed is 0.65, compared to 0.77 at FOVs equal to and greater than 20 m2. In addition, we found that at FOVs less than 20 m2, the average NDVI value calculated according to each of Landsat, MODIS and AVHRR band definitions (controlled by spectral resolution) was similar. However, at FOVs equal to and greater than 20 m2, the average NDVI value calculated according to AVHRR's broad-band definitions was significantly and consistently higher than that from both Landsat and MODIS's narrow-band NDVI values. We speculate that these differences in NDVI exist because high leaf-area-index vegetation communities associated with watertracks are commonly spaced between 10 and 20 m apart in arctic tundra landscapes and are often only included when spectral sampling is conducted at FOVs greater than tens of square meters. These results suggest that both spatial resolution alone and its interaction with spectral resolution have to be considered when interpreting commonly used global-scale NDVI datasets. This is because traditionally, the fundamental relationships established between NDVI and ecosystem parameters, such as CO2 fluxes, aboveground biomass and net primary productivity, have been established at scales less than 20 m2. Other ecosystems, such as landscapes with isolated tree islands in boreal forest-tundra ecotones, may exhibit similar scaling patterns that need to be considered when interpreting global-scale NDVI datasets.

Optical Sensing of Ecosystem Carbon Fluxes from Tower-mounted Spectrometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huemmrich, K. F.; Corp, L. A.; Middleton, E.; Cook, B.; Campbell, P. K. E.; Zhang, Q.; Hom, M.; Russ, A.; Kustas, W. P.

2016-12-01

Optical sampling of spectral reflectance and solar induced fluorescence provide information on the physiological status of vegetation that can be used to infer stress responses and estimates of production. To fully understand these measurements requires descriptions of temporal and bidirectional variability. The NASA FUSION tower-mounted system consists of two dual channel, upward and downward looking, spectrometers used to simultaneously collect high spectral resolution measurements of reflected and fluoresced light from vegetation canopies at multiple view angles. This comprehensive tower measurement dataset can provide insights into interpretation of satellite or aircraft observations. Data were collected in the Optimizing Production Inputs for Economic and Environmental Enhancement (OPE3) cornfields (39.03°N, 76.85°W) at USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in conjunction with CO2 eddy covariance fluxes throughout the growing season. Estimates of chlorophyll fluorescence, combined with measures of vegetation pigment content and the Photosynthetic Reflectance Index (PRI) derived from the spectral reflectance are compared with CO2 fluxes over diurnal periods for multiple days. We find significant bidirectional effects. The relationships among the different optical measurements indicate that they are providing different types of information on the vegetation and that combinations of these measurements provide improved retrievals of CO2 fluxes than any index alone.

Testing the Potential of Vegetation Indices for Land Use/cover Classification Using High Resolution Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karakacan Kuzucu, A.; Bektas Balcik, F.

2017-11-01

Accurate and reliable land use/land cover (LULC) information obtained by remote sensing technology is necessary in many applications such as environmental monitoring, agricultural management, urban planning, hydrological applications, soil management, vegetation condition study and suitability analysis. But this information still remains a challenge especially in heterogeneous landscapes covering urban and rural areas due to spectrally similar LULC features. In parallel with technological developments, supplementary data such as satellite-derived spectral indices have begun to be used as additional bands in classification to produce data with high accuracy. The aim of this research is to test the potential of spectral vegetation indices combination with supervised classification methods and to extract reliable LULC information from SPOT 7 multispectral imagery. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Ratio Vegetation Index (RATIO), the Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) were the three vegetation indices used in this study. The classical maximum likelihood classifier (MLC) and support vector machine (SVM) algorithm were applied to classify SPOT 7 image. Catalca is selected region located in the north west of the Istanbul in Turkey, which has complex landscape covering artificial surface, forest and natural area, agricultural field, quarry/mining area, pasture/scrubland and water body. Accuracy assessment of all classified images was performed through overall accuracy and kappa coefficient. The results indicated that the incorporation of these three different vegetation indices decrease the classification accuracy for the MLC and SVM classification. In addition, the maximum likelihood classification slightly outperformed the support vector machine classification approach in both overall accuracy and kappa statistics.

Running of the spectral index in deformed matter bounce scenarios with Hubble-rate-dependent dark energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arab, M.; Khodam-Mohammadi, A.

2018-03-01

As a deformed matter bounce scenario with a dark energy component, we propose a deformed one with running vacuum model (RVM) in which the dark energy density ρ _{Λ } is written as a power series of H^2 and \\dot{H} with a constant equation of state parameter, same as the cosmological constant, w=-1. Our results in analytical and numerical point of views show that in some cases same as Λ CDM bounce scenario, although the spectral index may achieve a good consistency with observations, a positive value of running of spectral index (α _s) is obtained which is not compatible with inflationary paradigm where it predicts a small negative value for α _s. However, by extending the power series up to H^4, ρ _{Λ }=n_0+n_2 H^2+n_4 H^4, and estimating a set of consistent parameters, we obtain the spectral index n_s, a small negative value of running α _s and tensor to scalar ratio r, which these reveal a degeneracy between deformed matter bounce scenario with RVM-DE and inflationary cosmology.

Extended output phasor representation of multi-spectral fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy

PubMed Central

Campos-Delgado, Daniel U.; Navarro, O. Gutiérrez; Arce-Santana, E. R.; Jo, Javier A.

2015-01-01

In this paper, we investigate novel low-dimensional and model-free representations for multi-spectral fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (m-FLIM) data. We depart from the classical definition of the phasor in the complex plane to propose the extended output phasor (EOP) and extended phasor (EP) for multi-spectral information. The frequency domain properties of the EOP and EP are analytically studied based on a multiexponential model for the impulse response of the imaged tissue. For practical implementations, the EOP is more appealing since there is no need to perform deconvolution of the instrument response from the measured m-FLIM data, as in the case of EP. Our synthetic and experimental evaluations with m-FLIM datasets of human coronary atherosclerotic plaques show that low frequency indexes have to be employed for a distinctive representation of the EOP and EP, and to reduce noise distortion. The tissue classification of the m-FLIM datasets by EOP and EP also improves with low frequency indexes, and does not present significant differences by using either phasor. PMID:26114031

A spectral approach for the quantitative description of cardiac collagen network from nonlinear optical imaging.

PubMed

Masè, Michela; Cristoforetti, Alessandro; Avogaro, Laura; Tessarolo, Francesco; Piccoli, Federico; Caola, Iole; Pederzolli, Carlo; Graffigna, Angelo; Ravelli, Flavia

2015-01-01

The assessment of collagen structure in cardiac pathology, such as atrial fibrillation (AF), is essential for a complete understanding of the disease. This paper introduces a novel methodology for the quantitative description of collagen network properties, based on the combination of nonlinear optical microscopy with a spectral approach of image processing and analysis. Second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy was applied to atrial tissue samples from cardiac surgery patients, providing label-free, selective visualization of the collagen structure. The spectral analysis framework, based on 2D-FFT, was applied to the SHG images, yielding a multiparametric description of collagen fiber orientation (angle and anisotropy indexes) and texture scale (dominant wavelength and peak dispersion indexes). The proof-of-concept application of the methodology showed the capability of our approach to detect and quantify differences in the structural properties of the collagen network in AF versus sinus rhythm patients. These results suggest the potential of our approach in the assessment of collagen properties in cardiac pathologies related to a fibrotic structural component.

Characterization of a digital camera as an absolute tristimulus colorimeter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez-Verdu, Francisco; Pujol, Jaume; Vilaseca, Meritxell; Capilla, Pascual

2003-01-01

An algorithm is proposed for the spectral and colorimetric characterization of digital still cameras (DSC) which allows to use them as tele-colorimeters with CIE-XYZ color output, in cd/m2. The spectral characterization consists of the calculation of the color-matching functions from the previously measured spectral sensitivities. The colorimetric characterization consists of transforming the RGB digital data into absolute tristimulus values CIE-XYZ (in cd/m2) under variable and unknown spectroradiometric conditions. Thus, at the first stage, a gray balance has been applied over the RGB digital data to convert them into RGB relative colorimetric values. At a second stage, an algorithm of luminance adaptation vs. lens aperture has been inserted in the basic colorimetric profile. Capturing the ColorChecker chart under different light sources, the DSC color analysis accuracy indexes, both in a raw state and with the corrections from a linear model of color correction, have been evaluated using the Pointer'86 color reproduction index with the unrelated Hunt'91 color appearance model. The results indicate that our digital image capture device, in raw performance, lightens and desaturates the colors.

Spectral Density of Laser Beam Scintillation in Wind Turbulence. Part 1; Theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balakrishnan, A. V.

1997-01-01

The temporal spectral density of the log-amplitude scintillation of a laser beam wave due to a spatially dependent vector-valued crosswind (deterministic as well as random) is evaluated. The path weighting functions for normalized spectral moments are derived, and offer a potential new technique for estimating the wind velocity profile. The Tatarskii-Klyatskin stochastic propagation equation for the Markov turbulence model is used with the solution approximated by the Rytov method. The Taylor 'frozen-in' hypothesis is assumed for the dependence of the refractive index on the wind velocity, and the Kolmogorov spectral density is used for the refractive index field.

The spectral response of Buxus sempervirens to different types of environmental stress - A laboratory experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Jong, Steven M.; Addink, Elisabeth A.; Hoogenboom, Priscilla; Nijland, Wiebe

2012-11-01

The European Mediterranean regions are expected to encounter drier summer conditions and warmer temperatures for the winter of +2 °C and of +5 °C for the summer in the next six decennia. As a result the natural vegetation will face harsher conditions due to lower water availability, longer summer droughts and higher temperatures resulting in plant stress conditions. To monitor vegetation conditions like stress and leaf area index dynamics in our study area in Mediterranean France we use earth observation techniques like imaging spectroscopy. To assist image analysis interpretation we carried out a laboratory experiment to investigate the spectral and visible response of Buxus sempervirens, a common Mediterranean species, to five different types of stress: drought, drought-and-heat, light deprivation, total saturation and chlorine poisoning. For 52 days plants were subjected to stress. We collected data on the visible and spectral signs, and calculated thirteen vegetation indices. The plant's response time to different stress types varied from 10 to 32 days. Spectroscopic techniques revealed plant stress up to 15 days earlier than visual inspection. Visible signs of stress of the plants included curling and shrinking of the leaves, de-colouring of the leaves, leaves becoming breakable, opening up of the plant's canopy and sagging of the branches. Spectral signs of stress occurred first in the water absorption bands at 1450 and 1940 nm, followed by reduced absorption in the visible wavelengths, and next by reduced reflectance in near infrared. Light deprivation did not result in any stress signs, while drought, drought and heat and chlorine poisoning resulted in significant stress. The spectral response did not show differences for different stress types. Analysis of the vegetation indices identified the Carter-2 (R695/R760), the Red-Green Index (R690/R550) and the Vogelman-2 (R734 - R747)/(R715 + R726) as the best performing ones to identify stress. The lab experiment shows that spectroscopic techniques are useful to detect stress status of plants and in an earlier stage than visible signs of stress become apparent, but that spectroscopy does not reveal the type of plant stress.

Can tree species diversity be assessed with Landsat data in a temperate forest?

PubMed

Arekhi, Maliheh; Yılmaz, Osman Yalçın; Yılmaz, Hatice; Akyüz, Yaşar Feyza

2017-10-28

The diversity of forest trees as an indicator of ecosystem health can be assessed using the spectral characteristics of plant communities through remote sensing data. The objectives of this study were to investigate alpha and beta tree diversity using Landsat data for six dates in the Gönen dam watershed of Turkey. We used richness and the Shannon and Simpson diversity indices to calculate tree alpha diversity. We also represented the relationship between beta diversity and remotely sensed data using species composition similarity and spectral distance similarity of sampling plots via quantile regression. A total of 99 sampling units, each 20 m × 20 m, were selected using geographically stratified random sampling method. Within each plot, the tree species were identified, and all of the trees with a diameter at breast height (dbh) larger than 7 cm were measured. Presence/absence and abundance data (tree species number and tree species basal area) of tree species were used to determine the relationship between richness and the Shannon and Simpson diversity indices, which were computed with ground field data, and spectral variables derived (2 × 2 pixels and 3 × 3 pixels) from Landsat 8 OLI data. The Shannon-Weiner index had the highest correlation. For all six dates, NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) was the spectral variable most strongly correlated with the Shannon index and the tree diversity variables. The Ratio of green to red (VI) was the spectral variable least correlated with the tree diversity variables and the Shannon basal area. In both beta diversity curves, the slope of the OLS regression was low, while in the upper quantile, it was approximately twice the lower quantiles. The Jaccard index is closed to one with little difference in both two beta diversity approaches. This result is due to increasing the similarity between the sampling plots when they are located close to each other. The intercept differences between two investigated beta diversity were strongly related to the development stage of a number of sampling plots in the tree species basal area method. To obtain beta diversity, the tree basal area method indicates better result than the tree species number method at representing similarity of regions which are located close together. In conclusion, NDVI is helpful for estimating the alpha diversity of trees over large areas when the vegetation is at the maximum growing season. Beta diversity could be obtained with the spectral heterogeneity of Landsat data. Future tree diversity studies using remote sensing data should select data sets when vegetation is at the maximum growing season. Also, forest tree diversity investigations can be identified by using higher-resolution remote sensing data such as ESA Sentinel 2 data which is freely available since June 2015.

Steep Decay Phase Shaped by the Curvature Effect. II. Spectral Evolution

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

Lin, Da-Bin; Mu, Hui-Jun; Lu, Rui-Jing

We derive a simple analytical formula to describe the evolution of spectral index β in the steep decay phase shaped by the curvature effect with the assumption that the spectral parameters and Lorentz factor of the jet shell are the same for different latitudes. Here, the value of β is estimated in the 0.3−10 keV energy band. For a spherical thin shell with a cutoff power-law (CPL) intrinsic radiation spectrum, the spectral evolution can be read as a linear function of observer time. For the situation with the Band function intrinsic radiation spectrum, the spectral evolution may be complex. Ifmore » the observed break energy of the radiation spectrum is larger than 10 keV, the spectral evolution is the same as that shaped by jet shells with a CPL spectrum. If the observed break energy is less than 0.3 keV, the value of β would be a constant. For others, the spectral evolution can be approximated as a logarithmal function of the observer time in general.« less

Spatiotemporal Built-up Land Density Mapping Using Various Spectral Indices in Landsat-7 ETM+ and Landsat-8 OLI/TIRS (Case Study: Surakarta City)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Risky, Yanuar S.; Aulia, Yogi H.; Widayani, Prima

2017-12-01

Spectral indices variations support for rapid and accurate extracting information such as built-up density. However, the exact determination of spectral waves for built-up density extraction is lacking. This study explains and compares the capabilities of 5 variations of spectral indices in spatiotemporal built-up density mapping using Landsat-7 ETM+ and Landsat-8 OLI/TIRS in Surakarta City on 2002 and 2015. The spectral indices variations used are 3 mid-infrared (MIR) based indices such as the Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI), Urban Index (UI) and Built-up and 2 visible based indices such as VrNIR-BI (visible red) and VgNIR-BI (visible green). Linear regression statistics between ground value samples from Google Earth image in 2002 and 2015 and spectral indices for determining built-up land density. Ground value used amounted to 27 samples for model and 7 samples for accuracy test. The classification of built-up density mapping is divided into 9 classes: unclassified, 0-12.5%, 12.5-25%, 25-37.5%, 37.5-50%, 50-62.5%, 62.5-75%, 75-87.5% and 87.5-100 %. Accuracy of built-up land density mapping in 2002 and 2015 using VrNIR-BI (81,823% and 73.235%), VgNIR-BI (78.934% and 69.028%), NDBI (34.870% and 74.365%), UI (43.273% and 64.398%) and Built-up (59.755% and 72.664%). Based all spectral indices, Surakarta City on 2000-2015 has increased of built-up land density. VgNIR-BI has better capabilities for built-up land density mapping on Landsat-7 ETM + and Landsat-8 OLI/TIRS.

Does the Blazar Gamma-ray Spectrum Harden with Increasing Flux? - Analysis of Nine Years of EGRET Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nandikotkur, Giridhar; Jahoda, Keith M.; Hartman, R. C.; Mukherjee, R.; Sreekumar, P.; Boettcher, M.

2007-01-01

The Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) discovered gamma-ray emission from more than 67 blazars during its nine-year lifetime. We conducted an exhaustive search of the EGRET archives and selected all the blazars that were observed multiple times and were bright enough to enable a spectral analysis using standard powerlaw models. The sample consists of 18 flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs), 6 low-frequency-peaked BL Lacs (LBLs) and 2 high-frequency-peaked BL Lacs (HBLs). We do not detect any clear pattern in'the variation of spectral index with flux. Some of the blazars do not show any statistical evidence for spectral variability. The spectrum hardens with increasing flux in a few cases. There is also evidence for a flux-hardness anticorrelation at lo\\v fluxes in five blazars. The well observed blazars (3C 279,3C 273, PKS 0528-i-134, PKS 1622-297, PKS 0208- 512) do not show any overall trend in the long-term spectral dependence on flux, but the sample shows a mixture of hard and soft states. We observed spectral hysteresis at weekly timescales in all the three FSRQs for which data from flares lasting for 3 approx. 4 weeks were available. All three sources show a counterclockwise rotation despite the widely different flux profiles. Hysteresis in the spectral index vs. flux space has never been observed in FSRQs in gamma-rays at weekly timescales. itre analyze the observed spectral behavior in the context of various inverse-Compton mechanisms believed to be responsible for emission in the EGRET energy range. Our analysis uses the EGRET skymaps that were regenerated to include the changes in performance during the mission.

Comparative Analysis of Normalised Difference Spectral Indices Derived from MODIS for Detecting Surface Water in Flooded Rice Cropping Systems

PubMed Central

Boschetti, Mirco; Nutini, Francesco; Manfron, Giacinto; Brivio, Pietro Alessandro; Nelson, Andrew

2014-01-01

Identifying managed flooding in paddy fields is commonly used in remote sensing to detect rice. Such flooding, followed by rapid vegetation growth, is a reliable indicator to discriminate rice. Spectral indices (SIs) are often used to perform this task. However, little work has been done on determining which spectral combination in the form of Normalised Difference Spectral Indices (NDSIs) is most appropriate for surface water detection or which thresholds are most robust to separate water from other surfaces in operational contexts. To address this, we conducted analyses on satellite and field spectral data from an agronomic experiment as well as on real farming situations with different soil and plant conditions. Firstly, we review and select NDSIs proposed in the literature, including a new combination of visible and shortwave infrared bands. Secondly, we analyse spectroradiometric field data and satellite data to evaluate mixed pixel effects. Thirdly, we analyse MODIS data and Landsat data at four sites in Europe and Asia to assess NDSI performance in real-world conditions. Finally, we test the performance of the NDSIs on MODIS temporal profiles in the four sites. We also compared the NDSIs against a combined index previously used for agronomic flood detection. Analyses suggest that NDSIs using MODIS bands 4 and 7, 1 and 7, 4 and 6 or 1 and 6 perform best. A common threshold for each NDSI across all sites was more appropriate than locally adaptive thresholds. In general, NDSIs that use band 7 have a negligible increase in Commission Error over those that use band 6 but are more sensitive to water presence in mixed land cover conditions typical of moderate spatial resolution analyses. The best performing NDSI is comparable to the combined index but with less variability in performance across sites, suggesting a more succinct and robust flood detection method. PMID:24586381

Measurement of wavelength-dependent extinction to distinguish between absorbing and nonabsorbing aerosol particulates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Portscht, R.

1977-01-01

Measurements of spectral transmission factors in smoky optical transmission paths reveal a difference between wavelength exponents of the extinction cross section of high absorption capacity and those of low absorption capacity. A theoretical explanation of this behavior is presented. In certain cases, it is possible to obtain data on the absorption index of aerosol particles in the optical path by measuring the spectral decadic extinction coefficient at, at least, two wavelengths. In this manner it is possible, for instance, to distinguish smoke containing soot from water vapor.

NGC 4051: Black hole mass and photon index-mass accretion rate correlation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seifina, Elena; Chekhtman, Alexandre; Titarchuk, Lev

2018-05-01

We present a discovery of the correlation between the X-ray spectral (photon) index and mass accretion rate observed in an active galactic nucleus, NGC 4051. We analyzed spectral transition episodes observed in NGC 4051 using XMM-Newton, Suzaku and RXTE. We applied a scaling technique for a black hole (BH) mass evaluation which uses a correlation between the photon index and normalization of the seed (disk) component, which is proportional to a mass accretion rate. We developed an analytical model that shows the spectral (photon) index of the BH emergent spectrum undergoes an evolution from lower to higher values depending on a mass accretion rate in the accretion disk. We considered Cygnus X-1 and GRO J1550-564 as reference sources for which distances, inclination angles and the BH masses are evaluated by dynamical measurements. Application of the scaling technique for the photon index-mass accretion rate correlation provides an estimate of the black hole mass in NGC 4051 to be more than 6 × 105 solar masses.

Spectral scaling laws of solar wind fluctuations at 1 AU: Part 2

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

Podesta, John J.

2013-06-13

In-situ measurements of solar wind fluctuations at 1 AU show that the reduced energy spectrum, equal to the sum of the reduced kinetic plus magnetic energy spectra, is characterized by a power-law scaling k{sup -{alpha}} in the inertial range with an average spectral exponent {alpha} Asymptotically-Equal-To 3/2, a result confirmed by independent analyses using data from different spacecraft. Magnetic field and electron density spectra at kinetic scales {rho}{sup -1}{sub i} < k < {rho}{sup -1}{sub e} both have a spectral index of approximately 2.7. These and other recent observations of spectral scaling laws in the solar wind using single spacecraftmore » measurements are briefly reviewed. The first part of this review, Part 1, is contained in a separate paper in these proceedings.« less

Comparison of Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2A reflectance and normalized difference vegetation index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, H.; Roy, D. P.; Yan, L.; Li, Z.; Huang, H.

2017-12-01

The moderate spatial resolution satellite data from the polar-orbiting Landsat-8 (launched 2013) and Sentinel-2A (launched 2015) sensors provide 10 m to 30 m multi-spectral global coverage with a better than 5-day revisit. Although a national laboratory traceable cross-calibration comparison of the Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and the Sentinel-2A MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) was undertaken pre-launch, there are a number of other sensor differences, notably due to spectral, spatial and angular differences. To examine these in a comprehensive way, Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2A data for approximately 20° × 10° of southern Africa acquired in the summer (January to March) and winter (July to September) of 2016 were compared. Only Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2A observations acquired within one-day apart were considered. The sensor data were registered and then each orbit projected into 30 m fixed global Web Enabled Landsat Data (GWELD) tiles defined in the MODIS sinusoidal equal area projection. Only corresponding sensor observations of each 30 m tile pixel that were flagged as cloud and snow-free, unsaturated, and that had no significant change in their one day separation, were compared. Both the Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2A data were atmospherically corrected using the Landsat Surface Reflectance Code (LaSRC) and were also corrected to nadir BRDF adjusted reflectance (NBAR). Top of atmosphere and surface reflectance for the spectrally corresponding visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared OLI and MSI bands, and derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), were compared and their differences quantified using regression analyses. The resulting statistical transformations may be used to improve the consistency between the Landsat-8 OLI and Sentinel-2A MSI data. The importance and sensitivity of the results to correct filtering, atmospheric correction and adjustment to NBAR is demonstrated.

TEMPO Specific Photochemical Reflectance Index for Monitoring Crop Productivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wulamu, A.; Fishman, J.; Maimaitiyiming, M.

2016-12-01

Chlorophyll fluorescence and Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI) are two key indicators of plant functional status used for early stress detection. With its less than one nanometer hyperspectral resolution and hourly revisit capabilities, NASA's Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) sensor provides new opportunities for monitoring regional food security. Chlorophyll fluorescence can be retrieved by TEMPO using Oxygen B (O2-B) absorption region at 687 nm. The Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI) is calculated from spectral reflectance at 531 and 570. However, TEMPO spectral range covers from 290 mm - 490 nm and 540 nm -740 nm, does not provide the 531 nm measurement band for PRI. It is imperative to develop alternate wavelengths within the TEMPO spectral range for these early stress indicators so that regional crop health can be observed by TEMPO with unparalleled spectral and temporal resolutions to address food security. Combining field and airborne remote sensing experiments and radiative transfer simulations, this work proposes a TEMPO specific PRI and demonstrates that TEMPO offers a new set of high-resolution spectral data for crop monitoring.

Assessing soybean leaf area and leaf biomass by spectral measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holben, B. N.; Tucker, C. J.; Fan, C. J.

1979-01-01

Red and photographic infrared spectral radiances were correlated with soybean total leaf area index, green leaf area index, chlorotic leaf area index, green leaf biomass, chlorotic leaf biomass, and total biomass. The most significant correlations were found to exist between the IR/red radiance ratio data and green leaf area index and/or green leaf biomass (r squared equals 0.85 and 0.86, respectively). These findings demonstrate that remote sensing data can supply information basic to soybean canopy growth, development, and status by nondestructive determination of the green leaf area or green leaf biomass.

The dependence of the soft X ray spectral slope with radio property, luminosity, and redshift, for a large sample of AGN from the Einstein IPC data base

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brunner, H.; Worrall, D. M.; Wilkes, Belinda J.; Elvis, Martin

1989-01-01

The dependence of the soft X-ray spectral slope on radio, optical and X-ray properties, and on redshift are reported for a large sample of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). The sample includes 317 optically and radio-selected AGN from a preliminary version of the Einstein Imaging Proportional Counter (IPC) quasar and AGN data base. The main results are: the difference in X-ray slope between radio-loud and radio-quiet AGN were confirmed for an independent and much larger sample of sources; a difference in X-ray slope between flat and steep radio spectrum AGN is observed only in high luminosity sub-sample; in flat radio spectrum AGNs there is an indication for a dependence of the X-ray spectral index on X-ray luminosity redshift and alpha sub 0x.

Running of scalar spectral index in multi-field inflation

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

Gong, Jinn-Ouk, E-mail: jinn-ouk.gong@apctp.org

We compute the running of the scalar spectral index in general multi-field slow-roll inflation. By incorporating explicit momentum dependence at the moment of horizon crossing, we can find the running straightforwardly. At the same time, we can distinguish the contributions from the quasi de Sitter background and the super-horizon evolution of the field fluctuations.

Addendum: 1420 and 408 MHz Continuum Observations of the IC 443/G189.6+3.3 Region[Astron. J. 127, 2277 (2004)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leahy, D. A.

2004-09-01

A previous spectral index study that noted the region of flat spectral index in the southern part of IC 443 is that of Green (1986). The same region was first noted as a hard X-ray source by Keohane et al. (1997).

Vulnerable land ecosystems classification using spatial context and spectral indices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibarrola-Ulzurrun, Edurne; Gonzalo-Martín, Consuelo; Marcello, Javier

2017-10-01

Natural habitats are exposed to growing pressure due to intensification of land use and tourism development. Thus, obtaining information on the vegetation is necessary for conservation and management projects. In this context, remote sensing is an important tool for monitoring and managing habitats, being classification a crucial stage. The majority of image classifications techniques are based upon the pixel-based approach. An alternative is the object-based (OBIA) approach, in which a previous segmentation step merges image pixels to create objects that are then classified. Besides, improved results may be gained by incorporating additional spatial information and specific spectral indices into the classification process. The main goal of this work was to implement and assess object-based classification techniques on very-high resolution imagery incorporating spectral indices and contextual spatial information in the classification models. The study area was Teide National Park in Canary Islands (Spain) using Worldview-2 orthoready imagery. In the classification model, two common indices were selected Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Optimized Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (OSAVI), as well as two specific Worldview-2 sensor indices, Worldview Vegetation Index and Worldview Soil Index. To include the contextual information, Grey Level Co-occurrence Matrices (GLCM) were used. The classification was performed training a Support Vector Machine with sufficient and representative number of vegetation samples (Spartocytisus supranubius, Pterocephalus lasiospermus, Descurainia bourgaeana and Pinus canariensis) as well as urban, road and bare soil classes. Confusion Matrices were computed to evaluate the results from each classification model obtaining the highest overall accuracy (90.07%) combining both Worldview indices with the GLCM-dissimilarity.

Analysis of hyperspectral field radiometric data for monitoring nitrogen concentration in rice crops

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stroppiana, D.; Boschetti, M.; Confalonieri, R.; Bocchi, S.; Brivio, P. A.

2005-10-01

Monitoring crop conditions and assessing nutrition requirements is fundamental for implementing sustainable agriculture. Rational nitrogen fertilization is of particular importance in rice crops in order to guarantee high production levels while minimising the impact on the environment. In fact, the typical flooded condition of rice fields can be a significant source of greenhouse gasses. Information on plant nitrogen concentration can be used, coupled with information about the phenological stage, to plan strategies for a rational and spatially differentiated fertilization schedule. A field experiment was carried out in a rice field Northern Italy, in order to evaluate the potential of field radiometric measurements for the prediction of rice nitrogen concentration. The results indicate that rice reflectance is influenced by nitrogen supply at certain wavelengths although N concentration cannot be accurately predicted based on the reflectance measured at a given wavelength. Regression analysis highlighted that the visible region of the spectrum is most sensitive to plant nitrogen concentration when reflectance measures are combined into a spectral index. An automated procedure allowed the analysis of all the possible combinations into a Normalized Difference Index (NDI) of the narrow spectral bands derived by spectral resampling of field measurements. The derived index appeared to be least influenced by plant biomass and Leaf Area Index (LAI) providing a useful approach to detect rice nutritional status. The validation of the regressive model showed that the model is able to predict rice N concentration (R2=0.55 [p<0.01] RRMSE=29.4; modelling efficiency close to the optimum value).

Association of spectral development patterns with development stages of corn

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crist, E. P. (Principal Investigator)

1982-01-01

Association is made between the development stages of corn as defined by Hanway and the temporal-spectral development pattern of corn in a transformed data space derived from Landsat-MSS band reflectance values, using field-collected reflectance and associated data. Results indicate that the spectral vegetation index used (a reflectance equivalent of Tasseled Cap Greenness) reaches a maximum well before the stage at which corn is expected to achieve its peak leaf area index. Possible physiological and canopy geometry related causes for this and other results are presented.

Evaluating Hyperspectral Vegetation Indices for Leaf Area Index Estimation of Oryza sativa L. at Diverse Phenological Stages

PubMed Central

Din, Mairaj; Zheng, Wen; Rashid, Muhammad; Wang, Shanqin; Shi, Zhihua

2017-01-01

Hyperspectral reflectance derived vegetation indices (VIs) are used for non-destructive leaf area index (LAI) monitoring for precise and efficient N nutrition management. This study tested the hypothesis that there is potential for using various hyperspectral VIs for estimating LAI at different growth stages of rice under varying N rates. Hyperspectral reflectance and crop canopy LAI measurements were carried out over 2 years (2015 and 2016) in Meichuan, Hubei, China. Different N fertilization, 0, 45, 82, 127, 165, 210, 247, and 292 kg ha-1, were applied to generate various scales of VIs and LAI values. Regression models were used to perform quantitative analyses between spectral VIs and LAI measured under different phenological stages. In addition, the coefficient of determination and RMSE were employed to evaluate these models. Among the nine VIs, the ratio vegetation index, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), modified soil-adjusted vegetation index (MSAVI), modified triangular vegetation index (MTVI2) and exhibited strong and significant relationships with the LAI estimation at different phenological stages. The enhanced vegetation index performed moderately. However, the green normalized vegetation index and blue normalized vegetation index confirmed that there is potential for crop LAI estimation at early phenological stages; the soil-adjusted vegetation index and optimized soil-adjusted vegetation index were more related to the soil optical properties, which were predicted to be the least accurate for LAI estimation. The noise equivalent accounted for the sensitivity of the VIs and MSAVI, MTVI2, and NDVI for the LAI estimation at phenological stages. The results note that LAI at different crop phenological stages has a significant influence on the potential of hyperspectral derived VIs under different N management practices. PMID:28588596

GX 3+1: The Stability of Spectral Index as a Function of Mass Accretion Rate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seifana, Elena; Titarchuk, Lev

2012-01-01

We present an analysis of the spectral and timing properties observed in X-rays from neutron star (NS) binary GX 3+1 (4U 1744-26) during long-term transitions between the faint and bright phases superimposed on short-term transitions between lower banana (LB) and upper banana (UB) branches in terms of its color-color diagram, We analyze all observations of this source obtained with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer and BeppoSAX satellites, We find that the X-ray broadband energy spectra during these spectral transitions can be adequately reproduced by a composition of a low-temperature blackbody component, a Comptonized component (COMPTB), and Gaussian component We argue that the electron temperature kTe of the Compton cloud monotonically increases from 2.3 keY to 4.5 keY, when GX 3+1 makes a transition from UB to LB. We also detect an evolution of noise components (a very low frequency noise and a high-frequency noise) during these LB-UB transitions. Using a disk seed photon normalization of COMPTB, which is proportional to the mass accretion rate, we find that the photon power-law index Gamma is almost constant (Gamma = 2.00 +/- 0.02) when mass accretion rate changes by factor four. In addition, we find that the emergent spectrum is dominated by the strong Comptonized component We interpret this quasi-stability of the index Gamma and a particular form of the spectrum in the framework of a model in which the energy release in the transition layer located between the accretion disk and NS surface dominates that in the disk. Moreover, this index stability effect now established for GX 3+ I was previously found in the atoll source 4U 1728-34 and suggested for a number of other low-mass X-ray NS binaries. This intrinsic behavior of NSs, in particular for atoll sources, is fundamentally different from that seen in black hole binary sources where the index monotonically increases during spectral transition from the low state to the high state and then finally saturates at high values of mass accretion rate.

GX 3+1: The Stability of Spectral Index as a Function of Mass Accretion Rate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seifina, Elena; Titarchuk, Lev

2012-03-01

We present an analysis of the spectral and timing properties observed in X-rays from neutron star (NS) binary GX 3+1 (4U 1744-26) during long-term transitions between the faint and bright phases superimposed on short-term transitions between lower banana (LB) and upper banana (UB) branches in terms of its color-color diagram. We analyze all observations of this source obtained with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer and Beppo SAX satellites. We find that the X-ray broadband energy spectra during these spectral transitions can be adequately reproduced by a composition of a low-temperature blackbody component, a Comptonized component (COMPTB), and a Gaussian component. We argue that the electron temperature kTe of the Compton cloud monotonically increases from 2.3 keV to 4.5 keV, when GX 3+1 makes a transition from UB to LB. We also detect an evolution of noise components (a very low frequency noise and a high-frequency noise) during these LB-UB transitions. Using a disk seed photon normalization of COMPTB, which is proportional to the mass accretion rate, we find that the photon power-law index Γ is almost constant (Γ = 2.00 ± 0.02) when mass accretion rate changes by a factor of four. In addition, we find that the emergent spectrum is dominated by the strong Comptonized component. We interpret this quasi-stability of the index Γ and a particular form of the spectrum in the framework of a model in which the energy release in the transition layer located between the accretion disk and NS surface dominates that in the disk. Moreover, this index stability effect now established for GX 3+1 was previously found in the atoll source 4U 1728-34 and suggested for a number of other low-mass X-ray NS binaries (see Farinelli & Titarchuk). This intrinsic behavior of NSs, in particular for atoll sources, is fundamentally different from that seen in black hole binary sources where the index monotonically increases during spectral transition from the low state to the high state and then finally saturates at high values of mass accretion rate.

Assessment of leaf carotenoids content with a new carotenoid index: Development and validation on experimental and model data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Xianfeng; Huang, Wenjiang; Kong, Weiping; Ye, Huichun; Dong, Yingying; Casa, Raffaele

2017-05-01

Leaf carotenoids content (LCar) is an important indicator of plant physiological status. Accurate estimation of LCar provides valuable insight into early detection of stress in vegetation. With spectroscopy techniques, a semi-empirical approach based on spectral indices was extensively used for carotenoids content estimation. However, established spectral indices for carotenoids that generally rely on limited measured data, might lack predictive accuracy for carotenoids estimation in various species and at different growth stages. In this study, we propose a new carotenoid index (CARI) for LCar assessment based on a large synthetic dataset simulated from the leaf radiative transfer model PROSPECT-5, and evaluate its capability with both simulated data from PROSPECT-5 and 4SAIL and extensive experimental datasets: the ANGERS dataset and experimental data acquired in field experiments in China in 2004. Results show that CARI was the index most linearly correlated with carotenoids content at the leaf level using a synthetic dataset (R2 = 0.943, RMSE = 1.196 μg/cm2), compared with published spectral indices. Cross-validation results with CARI using ANGERS data achieved quite an accurate estimation (R2 = 0.545, RMSE = 3.413 μg/cm2), though the RBRI performed as the best index (R2 = 0.727, RMSE = 2.640 μg/cm2). CARI also showed good accuracy (R2 = 0.639, RMSE = 1.520 μg/cm2) for LCar assessment with leaf level field survey data, though PRI performed better (R2 = 0.710, RMSE = 1.369 μg/cm2). Whereas RBRI, PRI and other assessed spectral indices showed a good performance for a given dataset, overall their estimation accuracy was not consistent across all datasets used in this study. Conversely CARI was more robust showing good results in all datasets. Further assessment of LCar with simulated and measured canopy reflectance data indicated that CARI might not be very sensitive to LCar changes at low leaf area index (LAI) value, and in these conditions soil moisture influenced the LCar retrieval accuracy.

[Measurement and analysis on complex refraction indices of pear pollen in infrared band].

PubMed

Li, Le; Hu, Yi-hua; Gu, You-lin; Chen, Wei; Zhao, Yi-zheng; Chen, Shan-jing

2015-01-01

Pollen is an important part of bioaerosols, and its complex refractive index is a crucial parameter for study on optical characteristics and detection, identification of bioaerosols. The reflection spectra of pear pollen within the 2. 5 - 15µm waveband were measured by squash method. Based on the measured data, the complex refractive index of pear pollen within the wave-band of 2. 5 to 15 µm was calculated by using Kramers-Kroning (K-K) relation, and calculation deviation about incident angle and different reflectivities at high and low frequencies.were analyzed. The results indicate that 18 degrees angle of incidence and different reflectivities at high and low frequencies have little effect on the results, and it is practicable to calculate the complex refractive index of pollen based on its reflection spectral data. The data of complex refractive index of pollen have some reference value for optical characteristics of pollen, detection and identification of bioaerosols.

Biodiversity Sampling Using a Global Acoustic Approach: Contrasting Sites with Microendemics in New Caledonia

PubMed Central

Gasc, Amandine; Sueur, Jérôme; Pavoine, Sandrine; Pellens, Roseli; Grandcolas, Philippe

2013-01-01

New Caledonia is a Pacific island with a unique biodiversity showing an extreme microendemism. Many species distributions observed on this island are extremely restricted, localized to mountains or rivers making biodiversity evaluation and conservation a difficult task. A rapid biodiversity assessment method based on acoustics was recently proposed. This method could help to document the unique spatial structure observed in New Caledonia. Here, this method was applied in an attempt to reveal differences among three mountain sites (Mandjélia, Koghis and Aoupinié) with similar ecological features and species richness level, but with high beta diversity according to different microendemic assemblages. In each site, several local acoustic communities were sampled with audio recorders. An automatic acoustic sampling was run on these three sites for a period of 82 successive days. Acoustic properties of animal communities were analysed without any species identification. A frequency spectral complexity index (NP) was used as an estimate of the level of acoustic activity and a frequency spectral dissimilarity index (Df) assessed acoustic differences between pairs of recordings. As expected, the index NP did not reveal significant differences in the acoustic activity level between the three sites. However, the acoustic variability estimated by the index Df, could first be explained by changes in the acoustic communities along the 24-hour cycle and second by acoustic dissimilarities between the three sites. The results support the hypothesis that global acoustic analyses can detect acoustic differences between sites with similar species richness and similar ecological context, but with different species assemblages. This study also demonstrates that global acoustic methods applied at broad spatial and temporal scales could help to assess local biodiversity in the challenging context of microendemism. The method could be deployed over large areas, and could help to compare different sites and determine conservation priorities. PMID:23734245

Biodiversity sampling using a global acoustic approach: contrasting sites with microendemics in New Caledonia.

PubMed

Gasc, Amandine; Sueur, Jérôme; Pavoine, Sandrine; Pellens, Roseli; Grandcolas, Philippe

2013-01-01

New Caledonia is a Pacific island with a unique biodiversity showing an extreme microendemism. Many species distributions observed on this island are extremely restricted, localized to mountains or rivers making biodiversity evaluation and conservation a difficult task. A rapid biodiversity assessment method based on acoustics was recently proposed. This method could help to document the unique spatial structure observed in New Caledonia. Here, this method was applied in an attempt to reveal differences among three mountain sites (Mandjélia, Koghis and Aoupinié) with similar ecological features and species richness level, but with high beta diversity according to different microendemic assemblages. In each site, several local acoustic communities were sampled with audio recorders. An automatic acoustic sampling was run on these three sites for a period of 82 successive days. Acoustic properties of animal communities were analysed without any species identification. A frequency spectral complexity index (NP) was used as an estimate of the level of acoustic activity and a frequency spectral dissimilarity index (Df ) assessed acoustic differences between pairs of recordings. As expected, the index NP did not reveal significant differences in the acoustic activity level between the three sites. However, the acoustic variability estimated by the index Df , could first be explained by changes in the acoustic communities along the 24-hour cycle and second by acoustic dissimilarities between the three sites. The results support the hypothesis that global acoustic analyses can detect acoustic differences between sites with similar species richness and similar ecological context, but with different species assemblages. This study also demonstrates that global acoustic methods applied at broad spatial and temporal scales could help to assess local biodiversity in the challenging context of microendemism. The method could be deployed over large areas, and could help to compare different sites and determine conservation priorities.

Spectral collocation method with a flexible angular discretization scheme for radiative transfer in multi-layer graded index medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Linyang; Qi, Hong; Sun, Jianping; Ren, Yatao; Ruan, Liming

2017-05-01

The spectral collocation method (SCM) is employed to solve the radiative transfer in multi-layer semitransparent medium with graded index. A new flexible angular discretization scheme is employed to discretize the solid angle domain freely to overcome the limit of the number of discrete radiative direction when adopting traditional SN discrete ordinate scheme. Three radial basis function interpolation approaches, named as multi-quadric (MQ), inverse multi-quadric (IMQ) and inverse quadratic (IQ) interpolation, are employed to couple the radiative intensity at the interface between two adjacent layers and numerical experiments show that MQ interpolation has the highest accuracy and best stability. Variable radiative transfer problems in double-layer semitransparent media with different thermophysical properties are investigated and the influence of these thermophysical properties on the radiative transfer procedure in double-layer semitransparent media is also analyzed. All the simulated results show that the present SCM with the new angular discretization scheme can predict the radiative transfer in multi-layer semitransparent medium with graded index efficiently and accurately.

A radio spectral index map and catalogue at 147-1400 MHz covering 80 per cent of the sky

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Gasperin, F.; Intema, H. T.; Frail, D. A.

2018-03-01

The radio spectral index is a powerful probe for classifying cosmic radio sources and understanding the origin of the radio emission. Combining data at 147 MHz and 1.4 GHz from the TIFR GMRT Sky Survey (TGSS) and the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS), we produced a large-area radio spectral index map of ˜80 per cent of the sky (Dec. > - 40 deg), as well as a radio spectral index catalogue containing 1396 515 sources, of which 503 647 are not upper or lower limits. Almost every TGSS source has a detected counterpart, while this is true only for 36 per cent of NVSS sources. We released both the map and the catalogue to the astronomical community. The catalogue is analysed to discover systematic behaviours in the cosmic radio population. We find a differential spectral behaviour between faint and bright sources as well as between compact and extended sources. These trends are explained in terms of radio galaxy evolution. We also confirm earlier reports of an excess of steep-spectrum sources along the galactic plane. This corresponds to 86 compact and steep-spectrum source in excess compared to expectations. The properties of this excess are consistent with normal non-recycled pulsars, which may have been missed by pulsation searches due to larger than average scattering along the line of sight.

Estimates of leaf area index from spectral reflectance of wheat under different cultural practices and solar angle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asrar, G.; Kanemasu, E. T.; Yoshida, M.

1985-01-01

The influence of management practices and solar illumination angle on the leaf area index (LAI) was estimated from measurements of wheat canopy reflectance evaluated by two methods, a regression formula and an indirect technique. The date of planting and the time of irrigation in relation to the stage of plant growth were found to have significant effects on the development of leaves in spring wheat. A reduction in soil moisture adversely affected both the duration and magnitude of the maximum LAI for late planting dates. In general, water stress during vegetative stages resulted in a reduction in maximum LAI, while water stress during the reproductive period shortened the duration of green LAI in spring wheat. Canopy geometry and solar angle also affected the spectral properties of the canopies, and hence the estimated LAI. Increase in solar zenith angles resulted in a general increase in estimated LAI obtained from both methods.

Remote sensing of species diversity using Landsat 8 spectral variables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madonsela, Sabelo; Cho, Moses Azong; Ramoelo, Abel; Mutanga, Onisimo

2017-11-01

The application of remote sensing in biodiversity estimation has largely relied on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The NDVI exploits spectral information from red and near infrared bands of Landsat images and it does not consider canopy background conditions hence it is affected by soil brightness which lowers its sensitivity to vegetation. As such NDVI may be insufficient in explaining tree species diversity. Meanwhile, the Landsat program also collects essential spectral information in the shortwave infrared (SWIR) region which is related to plant properties. The study was intended to: (i) explore the utility of spectral information across Landsat-8 spectrum using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and estimate alpha diversity (α-diversity) in the savannah woodland in southern Africa, and (ii) define the species diversity index (Shannon (H‧), Simpson (D2) and species richness (S) - defined as number of species in a community) that best relates to spectral variability on the Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager dataset. We designed 90 m × 90 m field plots (n = 71) and identified all trees with a diameter at breast height (DbH) above 10 cm. H‧, D2 and S were used to quantify tree species diversity within each plot and the corresponding spectral information on all Landsat-8 bands were extracted from each field plot. A stepwise linear regression was applied to determine the relationship between species diversity indices (H‧, D2 and S) and Principal Components (PCs), vegetation indices and Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) texture layers with calibration (n = 46) and test (n = 23) datasets. The results of regression analysis showed that the Simple Ratio Index derivative had a higher relationship with H‧, D2 and S (r2= 0.36; r2= 0.41; r2= 0.24 respectively) compared to NDVI, EVI, SAVI or their derivatives. Moreover the Landsat-8 derived PCs also had a higher relationship with H‧ and D2 (r2 of 0.36 and 0.35 respectively) than the frequently used NDVI, and this was attributed to the utilization of the entire spectral content of Landsat-8 data. Our results indicate that: (i) the measurement scales of vegetation indices impact their sensitivity to vegetation characteristics and their ability to explain tree species diversity; (ii) principal components enhance the utility of Landsat-8 spectral data for estimating tree species diversity and (iii) species diversity indices that consider both species richness and abundance (H‧ and D2) relates better with Landsat-8 spectral variables.

Spectral estimates of solar radiation intercepted by corn canopies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauer, M. E. (Principal Investigator); Daughtry, C. S. T.; Gallo, K. P.

1982-01-01

Reflectance factor data were acquired with a Landsat band radiometer throughout two growing seasons for corn (Zea mays L.) canopies differing in planting dates, populations, and soil types. Agronomic data collected included leaf area index (LAI), biomass, development stage, and final grain yields. The spectral variable, greenness, was associated with 78 percent of the variation in LAI over all treatments. Single observations of LAI or greenness have limited value in predicting corn yields. The proportions of solar radiation intercepted (SRI) by these canopies were estimated using either measured LAI or greenness. Both SRI estimates, when accumulated over the growing season, accounted for approximately 65 percent of the variation in yields. Models which simulated the daily effects of weather and intercepted solar radiation on growth had the highest correlations to grain yields. This concept of estimating intercepted solar radiation using spectral data represents a viable approach for merging spectral and meteorological data for crop yield models.

Black hole mass determination in the X-ray binary 4U 1630-47: Scaling of spectral and variability characteristics

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

Seifina, Elena; Titarchuk, Lev; Shaposhnikov, Nikolai, E-mail: seif@sai.msu.ru, E-mail: titarchuk@fe.infn.it, E-mail: lev@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov, E-mail: nikolai.v.shaposhnikov@nasa.gov

2014-07-01

We present the results of a comprehensive investigation on the evolution of spectral and timing properties of the Galactic black hole candidate 4U 1630-47 during its spectral transitions. In particular, we show how a scaling of the correlation of the photon index of the Comptonized spectral component Γ with low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs), ν {sub L}, and mass accretion rate, M-dot , can be applied to the black hole mass and the inclination angle estimates. We analyze the transition episodes observed with the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer and BeppoSAX satellites. We find that the broadband X-ray energy spectra of 4Umore » 1630-47 during all spectral states can be modeled by a combination of a thermal component, a Comptonized component, and a red-skewed iron-line component. We also establish that Γ monotonically increases during transition from the low-hard state to the high-soft state and then saturates for high mass accretion rates. The index saturation levels vary for different transition episodes. Correlations of Γ versus ν {sub L} also show saturation at Γ ∼ 3. Γ-- M-dot and Γ-ν {sub L} correlations with their index saturation revealed in 4U 1630-47 are similar to those established in a number of other black hole candidates and can be considered as an observational evidence for the presence of a black hole in these sources. The scaling technique, which relies on XTE J1550-564, GRO 1655-40, and H1743-322 as reference sources, allows us to evaluate a black hole mass in 4U 1630-47 yielding M {sub BH} ∼ 10 ± 0.1 solar masses and to constrain the inclination angle of i ≲ 70°.« less

Plastic optical fibre sensor for quality control in food industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novo, C.; Bilro, L.; Ferreira, R.; Alberto, N.; Antunes, P.; Leitão, C.; Nogueira, R.; Pinto, J. L.

2013-05-01

The present work addresses the need for new devices felt in the context of quality control, especially in the food industry. Due to the spectral dependence of the attenuation coefficient, a novel dual-parameter sensor for colour and refractive index was developed and tested. The sensor employs plastic optical fibres to measure the transmitted optical power in three measurement cells each with a different incident wavelength. The performance of the sensor was tested using several dyes at different concentrations and aqueous solutions of glycerine and ethanol. Results show that this technique allows the monitoring of refractive index and colour without cross-sensitivity.

Study on the spectral characteristics of the damaged rice under brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Xiuju; Cheng, Qian

2010-11-01

The spectra of healthy leaves and leaves damaged by the rice brown planthopper (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens) were measured using a Spectroradiometer with spectral range of 350-1050 nm and resolution of 3 nm. The data was analyzed using the method of red edge methods. In the range of 430-530 nm and 560-730cnm, the band depth and slope were calculated. The damage degrees of rice plants caused by the BPH nymphae with different numbers were measured well by the spectral reflectance. The spectral characteristics of damaged rice under brown Planthopper, Nilaparvata lugenswere analyzed, and the reflectance was significantly negatively correlated with the number of BPHs. The red edge slope and edge area of the reflectance also significance correlated with the number of nymphae. The estimation models were constructed to estimate the BPHs using the spectral reflectance at the wavelengths of 550 nm and 760 nm and the red edge index. The results showed that accuracy of the estimation models were 66-81% and the spectral reflectance at R755 was efficient for estimating the number of BPHs.

Detection of wine grape nutrient levels using visible and near infrared 1nm spectral resolution remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Grant; van Aardt, Jan; Bajorski, Peter; Vanden Heuvel, Justine

2016-05-01

The grape industry relies on regular crop assessment to aid in the day-to-day and seasonal management of their crop. More specifically, there are six key nutrients of interest to viticulturists in the growing of wine grapes, namely nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, zinc and boron. Traditional methods of determining the levels of these nutrients are through collection and chemical analysis of petiole samples from the grape vines themselves. We collected ground-level observations of the spectra of the grape vines, using a hyperspectral spectrometer (0.4-2.5um), at the same time that petioles samples were harvested. We then interpolated the data into a consistent 1 nm spectral resolution before comparing it to the nutrient data collected. This nutrient data came from both the industry standard petiole analysis, as well as an additional leaf-level analysis. The data were collected for two different grape cultivars, both during bloom and veraison periods to provide variability, while also considering the impact of temporal/seasonal change. A narrow-band NDI (Normalized Difference Index) approach, as well as a simple ratio index, was used to determine the correlation of the reflectance data to the nutrient data. This analysis was limited to the silicon photodiode range to increase the utility of our approach for wavelength-specific cameras (via spectral filters) in a low cost drone platform. The NDI generated correlation coefficients were as high as 0.80 and 0.88 for bloom and veraison, respectively. The ratio index produced correlation coefficient results that are the same at two decimal places with 0.80 and 0.88. These results bode well for eventual non-destructive, accurate and precise assessment of vineyard nutrient status.

The Synchrotron Shock Model Confronts a "Line of Death" in the BATSE Gamma-Ray Burst Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Preece, Robert D.; Briggs, Michael S.; Mallozzi, Robert S.; Pendleton, Geoffrey N.; Paciesas, W. S.; Band, David L.

1998-01-01

The synchrotron shock model (SSM) for gamma-ray burst emission makes a testable prediction: that the observed low-energy power-law photon number spectral index cannot exceed -2/3 (where the photon model is defined with a positive index: $dN/dE \\propto E{alpha}$). We have collected time-resolved spectral fit parameters for over 100 bright bursts observed by the Burst And Transient Source Experiment on board the {\\it Compton Gamma Ray Observatory}. Using this database, we find 23 bursts in which the spectral index limit of the SSM is violated, We discuss elements of the analysis methodology that affect the robustness of this result, as well as some of the escape hatches left for the SSM by theory.

Uncertainty budgets for liquid waveguide CDOM absorption measurements.

PubMed

Lefering, Ina; Röttgers, Rüdiger; Utschig, Christian; McKee, David

2017-08-01

Long path length liquid waveguide capillary cell (LWCC) systems using simple spectrometers to determine the spectral absorption by colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) have previously been shown to have better measurement sensitivity compared to high-end spectrophotometers using 10 cm cuvettes. Information on the magnitude of measurement uncertainties for LWCC systems, however, has remained scarce. Cross-comparison of three different LWCC systems with three different path lengths (50, 100, and 250 cm) and two different cladding materials enabled quantification of measurement precision and accuracy, revealing strong wavelength dependency in both parameters. Stable pumping of the sample through the capillary cell was found to improve measurement precision over measurements made with the sample kept stationary. Results from the 50 and 100 cm LWCC systems, with higher refractive index cladding, showed systematic artifacts including small but unphysical negative offsets and high-frequency spectral perturbations due to limited performance of the salinity correction. In comparison, the newer 250 cm LWCC with lower refractive index cladding returned small positive offsets that may be physically correct. After null correction of measurements at 700 nm, overall agreement of CDOM absorption data at 440 nm was found to be within 5% root mean square percentage error.

Spectral considerations for modeling yield of canola

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Conspicuous yellow flowers that are present in a Brassica oilseed crop such as canola require careful consideration when selecting a spectral index for yield estimation. This study evaluated spectral indices for multispectral sensors that correlate with the seed yield of Brassica oilseed crops. A ...

Relationships between leaf chlorophyll content and spectral reflectance and algorithms for non-destructive chlorophyll assessment in higher plant leaves.

PubMed

Gitelson, Anatoly A; Gritz, Yuri; Merzlyak, Mark N

2003-03-01

Leaf chlorophyll content provides valuable information about physiological status of plants. Reflectance measurement makes it possible to quickly and non-destructively assess, in situ, the chlorophyll content in leaves. Our objective was to investigate the spectral behavior of the relationship between reflectance and chlorophyll content and to develop a technique for non-destructive chlorophyll estimation in leaves with a wide range of pigment content and composition using reflectance in a few broad spectral bands. Spectral reflectance of maple, chestnut, wild vine and beech leaves in a wide range of pigment content and composition was investigated. It was shown that reciprocal reflectance (R lambda)-1 in the spectral range lambda from 520 to 550 nm and 695 to 705 nm related closely to the total chlorophyll content in leaves of all species. Subtraction of near infra-red reciprocal reflectance, (RNIR)-1, from (R lambda)-1 made index [(R lambda)(-1)-(RNIR)-1] linearly proportional to the total chlorophyll content in spectral ranges lambda from 525 to 555 nm and from 695 to 725 nm with coefficient of determination r2 > 0.94. To adjust for differences in leaf structure, the product of the latter index and NIR reflectance [(R lambda)(-1)-(RNIR)-1]*(RNIR) was used; this further increased the accuracy of the chlorophyll estimation in the range lambda from 520 to 585 nm and from 695 to 740 nm. Two independent data sets were used to validate the developed algorithms. The root mean square error of the chlorophyll prediction did not exceed 50 mumol/m2 in leaves with total chlorophyll ranged from 1 to 830 mumol/m2.

Spectral State Evolution of 4U 1820-30: the Stability of the Spectral Index of Comptonization Tail

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Titarchuk, Lev G.; Seifina, Elena; Frontera, Filippo

2013-01-01

We analyze the X-ray spectra and their timing properties of the compact Xray binary 4U 1820-30. We establish spectral transitions in this source seen with BeppoSAX and the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). During the RXTE observations (1996 - 2009), the source were approximately approximately 75% of its time in the soft state making the lower banana and upper banana transitions combined with long-term low-high state transitions. We reveal that all of the X-ray spectra of 4U 1820-30 are fit by a composition of a thermal (blackbody) component, a Comptonization component (COMPTB) and a Gaussian-line component. Thus using this spectral analysis we find that the photon power-law index Gamma of the Comptonization component is almost unchangeable (Gamma approximately 2) while the electron temperature kTe changes from 2.9 to 21 keV during these spectral events. We also establish that for these spectral events the normalization of COMPTB component (which is proportional to mass accretion rate ?M) increases by factor 8 when kTe decreases from 21 keV to 2.9 keV. Before this index stability effect was also found analyzing X-ray data for Z-source GX 340+0 and for atolls, 4U 1728-34, GX 3+1. Thus, we can suggest that this spectral stability property is a spectral signature of an accreting neutron star source. On the other hand in a black hole binary G monotonically increases with ?Mand ultimately its value saturates at large ?M.

Spectrally monitoring the response of the biocrust moss Syntrichia caninervis to altered precipitation regimes

DOE PAGES

Young, Kristina E.; Reed, Sasha C.

2017-02-06

Climate change is expected to impact drylands worldwide by increasing temperatures and changing precipitation patterns. These effects have known feedbacks to the functional roles of dryland biological soil crust communities (biocrusts), which are expected to undergo significant climate-induced changes in community structure and function. Nevertheless, our ability to monitor the status and physiology of biocrusts with remote sensing is limited due to the heterogeneous nature of dryland landscapes and the desiccation tolerance of biocrusts, which leaves them frequently photosynthetically inactive and difficult to assess. To address this critical limitation, we subjected a dominant biocrust species Syntrichia caninervis to climate-induced stressmore » in the form of small, frequent watering events, and spectrally monitored the dry mosses’ progression towards mortality. We found points of spectral sensitivity responding to experimentally-induced stress in desiccated mosses, indicating that spectral imaging is an effective tool to monitor photosynthetically inactive biocrusts. Comparing the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Simple Ratio (SR), and the Normalized Pigment Chlorophyll Index (NPCI), we found NDVI minimally effective at capturing stress in precipitation-stressed dry mosses, while the SR and NPCI were highly effective. Lastly, our results suggest the strong potential for utilizing spectroscopy and chlorophyll-derived indices to monitor biocrust ecophysiological status, even when biocrusts are dry, with important implications for improving our understanding of dryland functioning.« less

Spectrally monitoring the response of the biocrust moss Syntrichia caninervis to altered precipitation regimes

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

Young, Kristina E.; Reed, Sasha C.

Climate change is expected to impact drylands worldwide by increasing temperatures and changing precipitation patterns. These effects have known feedbacks to the functional roles of dryland biological soil crust communities (biocrusts), which are expected to undergo significant climate-induced changes in community structure and function. Nevertheless, our ability to monitor the status and physiology of biocrusts with remote sensing is limited due to the heterogeneous nature of dryland landscapes and the desiccation tolerance of biocrusts, which leaves them frequently photosynthetically inactive and difficult to assess. To address this critical limitation, we subjected a dominant biocrust species Syntrichia caninervis to climate-induced stressmore » in the form of small, frequent watering events, and spectrally monitored the dry mosses’ progression towards mortality. We found points of spectral sensitivity responding to experimentally-induced stress in desiccated mosses, indicating that spectral imaging is an effective tool to monitor photosynthetically inactive biocrusts. Comparing the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Simple Ratio (SR), and the Normalized Pigment Chlorophyll Index (NPCI), we found NDVI minimally effective at capturing stress in precipitation-stressed dry mosses, while the SR and NPCI were highly effective. Lastly, our results suggest the strong potential for utilizing spectroscopy and chlorophyll-derived indices to monitor biocrust ecophysiological status, even when biocrusts are dry, with important implications for improving our understanding of dryland functioning.« less

Spectrally monitoring the response of the biocrust moss Syntrichia caninervis to altered precipitation regimes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Young, Kristina E.; Reed, Sasha C.

2017-01-01

Climate change is expected to impact drylands worldwide by increasing temperatures and changing precipitation patterns. These effects have known feedbacks to the functional roles of dryland biological soil crust communities (biocrusts), which are expected to undergo significant climate-induced changes in community structure and function. Nevertheless, our ability to monitor the status and physiology of biocrusts with remote sensing is limited due to the heterogeneous nature of dryland landscapes and the desiccation tolerance of biocrusts, which leaves them frequently photosynthetically inactive and difficult to assess. To address this critical limitation, we subjected a dominant biocrust species Syntrichia caninervis to climate-induced stress in the form of small, frequent watering events, and spectrally monitored the dry mosses’ progression towards mortality. We found points of spectral sensitivity responding to experimentally-induced stress in desiccated mosses, indicating that spectral imaging is an effective tool to monitor photosynthetically inactive biocrusts. Comparing the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Simple Ratio (SR), and the Normalized Pigment Chlorophyll Index (NPCI), we found NDVI minimally effective at capturing stress in precipitation-stressed dry mosses, while the SR and NPCI were highly effective. Our results suggest the strong potential for utilizing spectroscopy and chlorophyll-derived indices to monitor biocrust ecophysiological status, even when biocrusts are dry, with important implications for improving our understanding of dryland functioning.

Spectral dynamics of square pulses in passively mode-locked fiber lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Semaan, Georges; Komarov, Andrey; Niang, Alioune; Salhi, Mohamed; Sanchez, François

2018-02-01

We investigate experimentally and numerically the spectral dynamics of square pulses generated in passively mode-locked fiber lasers under the dissipative soliton resonance. The features of the transition from the single-peak spectral profile to the doublet spectrum with increasing pump power are studied. The used master equation takes into account the gain saturation, the quadratic frequency dispersion of the gain and the refractive index, and the cubic-quintic nonlinearity of the losses and refractive index. Experimental data are obtained for an Er:Yb-doped fiber ring laser. The theoretical and experimental results are in good agreement with each other.

Modified Optimization Water Index (mowi) for LANDSAT-8 Oli/tirs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moradi, M.; Sahebi, M.; Shokri, M.

2017-09-01

Water is one of the most important resources that essential need for human life. Due to population growth and increasing need of human to water, proper management of water resources will be one of the serious challenges of next decades. Remote sensing data is the best way to the management of water resources due time and cost effectiveness over a greater range of temporal and spatial scales. Between many kinds of satellite data, from SAR to optic or from high resolution to low resolution, Landsat imagery is more interesting data for water detection and management of earth surface water. Landsat8 OLI/TIRS is the newest version of Landsat satellite series. In this paper, we investigated the full spectral potential of Landsat8 for water detection. It is developed many kinds of methods for this purpose that index based methods have some advantages than other methods. Pervious indices just use a limited number of spectral band. In this paper, Modified Optimization Water Index (MOWI) defined by consideration of a linear combination of bands that each coefficient of bands calculated by particle swarm algorithm. The result shows that modified optimization water index (MOWI) has a proper performance on different condition like cloud, cloud shadow and mountain shadow.

Blue light hazard optimization for white light-emitting diode sources with high luminous efficacy of radiation and high color rendering index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jingjing; Guo, Weihong; Xie, Bin; Yu, Xingjian; Luo, Xiaobing; Zhang, Tao; Yu, Zhihua; Wang, Hong; Jin, Xing

2017-09-01

Blue light hazard of white light-emitting diodes (LED) is a hidden risk for human's photobiological safety. Recent spectral optimization methods focus on maximizing luminous efficacy and improving color performances of LEDs, but few of them take blue hazard into account. Therefore, for healthy lighting, it's urgent to propose a spectral optimization method for white LED source to exhibit low blue light hazard, high luminous efficacy of radiation (LER) and high color performances. In this study, a genetic algorithm with penalty functions was proposed for realizing white spectra with low blue hazard, maximal LER and high color rendering index (CRI) values. By simulations, white spectra from LEDs with low blue hazard, high LER (≥297 lm/W) and high CRI (≥90) were achieved at different correlated color temperatures (CCTs) from 2013 K to 7845 K. Thus, the spectral optimization method can be used for guiding the fabrication of LED sources in line with photobiological safety. It is also found that the maximum permissible exposure duration of the optimized spectra increases by 14.9% than that of bichromatic phosphor-converted LEDs with equal CCT.

High Frequency Radio Observations of the Reactivated Magnetar PSR J1622-4950

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pearlman, Aaron B.; Majid, Walid A.; Prince, Thomas A.; Horiuchi, Shinji; Kocz, Jonathon; Lazio, T. J. W.; Naudet, Charles J.

2017-07-01

Radio emission from the magnetar PSR J1622-4950 was recently reported to have resumed (Camilo et al., ATel #10346). We have carried out Target of Opportunity (ToO) radio observations of PSR J1622-4950 at S-band (2.3 GHz) and X-band (8.4 GHz) using the 70-m diameter Deep Space Network (DSN) radio dish (DSS-43) in Canberra, Australia. We report on our single polarization mode observations of PSR J1622-4950 spanning 5 hours on 23 May 2017 starting at 16:03:32 UTC. Pulsations were detected at a period of 4.327308(1) s. We measure a mean flux density of 3.8(8)/0.41(8) mJy at S/X-band, from which we derive a spectral index of -1.7(2). We note that PSR J1622-4950's spectral behavior is now consistent with the majority of pulsars, which have a mean spectral index of -1.8(2) (Maron et al. (2000)). The result by Maron et al. (2000) is used here because they included more high frequency pulsar spectra than other studies to characterize the underlying spectral index distribution over a wide frequency range. The mean flux density at S-band has now increased by an order of magnitude compared to previous flux density measurements by Scholz et al. (2017) during the magnetar's quiescent state. Furthermore, the spectral index has steepened compared to a nearly flat spectral index from flux density measurements between 1.4 and 24 GHz prior to the disappearance of the radio emission (Levin et al. (2010); Keith et al. (2011); Levin et al. (2012); Anderson et al. (2012); Scholz et al. (2017)). We are continuing to monitor changes in PSR J1622-4950's radio spectrum at both S-band and X-band. We thank the DSN (Deep Space Network) and Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC) teams for scheduling these observations.

Diagnosis of skin cancer using image processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guerra-Rosas, Esperanza; Álvarez-Borrego, Josué; Coronel-Beltrán, Ángel

2014-10-01

In this papera methodology for classifying skin cancerin images of dermatologie spots based on spectral analysis using the K-law Fourier non-lineartechnique is presented. The image is segmented and binarized to build the function that contains the interest area. The image is divided into their respective RGB channels to obtain the spectral properties of each channel. The green channel contains more information and therefore this channel is always chosen. This information is point to point multiplied by a binary mask and to this result a Fourier transform is applied written in nonlinear form. If the real part of this spectrum is positive, the spectral density takeunit values, otherwise are zero. Finally the ratio of the sum of the unit values of the spectral density with the sum of values of the binary mask are calculated. This ratio is called spectral index. When the value calculated is in the spectral index range three types of cancer can be detected. Values found out of this range are benign injure.

Semiconductor-metal graded-index composite thin films for infrared applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lamb, James L.; Nagendra, C. L.

1994-01-01

Theoretical/experimental studies have been carried out on germanium:silver (Ge:Ag) graded-index composite thin films which demonstrate that graded coatings, consisting of varied concentrations of Ag with respect to the Ge film thickness, exhibit different optical properties ranging from selective infrared (IR) reflectance to broadband IR absorptance. The graded coatings have been produced by dc magnetron cosputtering of Ge and Ag and the spectral properties are found to be stable against temperature. The coatings have been applied to an infrared tunnel sensor (micro-Golay cell) to improve the device performance.

Foliar anthocyanin content - Sensitivity of vegetation indices using green reflectance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vina, A.; Gitelson, A. A.

2009-12-01

The amount and composition of photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic foliar pigments varies primarily as a function of species, developmental and phenological stages, and environmental stresses. Information on the absolute and relative amounts of these pigments thus provides insights onto the physiological conditions of plants and their responses to stress, and has the potential to be used for evaluating plant species composition and diversity across broad geographic regions. Anthocyanins in particular, are non-photosynthetic pigments associated with the resistance of plants to environmental stresses (e.g., drought, low soil nutrients, high radiation, herbivores, and pathogens). As they absorb radiation primarily in the green region of the electromagnetic spectrum (around 540-560 nm), broad-band vegetation indices that use this region in their formulation will respond to their presence. We evaluated the sensitivity of three vegetation indices using reflectance in the green spectral region (the green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, gNDVI, the green Chlorophyll Index, CIg, and the Visible Atmospherically Resistant Vegetation Index, VARI) to foliar anthocyanins in five different species. For comparison purposes the widely used Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI was also evaluated. Among the four indices tested, the VARI, which uses only spectral bands in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum, was found to be inversely and linearly related to the relative amount of foliar anthocyanins. While this result was obtained at leaf level, it opens new possibilities for analyzing anthocyanin content across multiple scales, by means of currently operational aircraft- and spacecraft-mounted broad-band sensor systems. Further studies that evaluate the sensitivity of the VARI to the relative content of anthocyanins across space (e.g., at canopy and regional scales) and time, and its relationship with plant biodiversity and vegetation stresses, are needed.

Assessment of ASTER data for forest inventory in Canary Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alonso-Benito, Alfonso; Arbelo, Manuel; Hernandez-Leal, Pedro A.; González-Calvo, Alejandro; Labrador Garcia, Mauricio

To understand and evaluate the forest structural attributes, forest inventories are conducted, which are costly and lengthy in time. Since the last 10-15 years there has been examining the possibility of using remote sensing data, to save costs and cheapen the process. One of the aims of SATELMAC, a project PCT-MAC 2007-2013 co-financing with FEDER funds, is to automate the forest inventory in Canary Islands using satellite images. In this study, Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data were used to estimate forest structure of the endemic vegetal specie, Pinus canariensis, located on the island of Tenerife (Spain). The forest structural attributes analyzed have been volume, basal area, stem per hectare and tree height. ASTER is an imaging instrument flying on Terra, a satellite launched in December 1999 as part of NASA's Earth Observing System. ASTER data were used because it have relatively high spatial resolution in the three visible and near-infrared bands (15 m) and in the six spectral bands (30 m) in the shortwave-IR region. To identify the vegetation index that is most suitable to use, about specific forest structural attributes in our study area, we assess the ability of different spectral indices: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, Transformed Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index, Modified Soil adjusted Vegetation Index, Perpendicular Vegetation Index and Reduced Simple Ratio. The information provided by the ASTER data has been supplemented by the Third National Forest Inventory (III NFI) and field data. The results are analyzed statistically in order to see the degree of correlation (R2) and the mean square error (RMSE) of the values studied.

Assessing the Relationship Between Spectral Vegetation Indices and Shrub Cover in the Jornada Basin, New Mexico

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duncan, Jeff; Stow, D.; Franklin, J.; Hope, A.

1993-01-01

We assessed the statistical relations between Spectral Vegetation Indices (SVI's) derived from SPOT multi-spectral data and semi-arid shrub cover at the Jornada LTER site in New Mexico. Despite a limited range of shrub cover in the sample the analyses resulted in r(sup 2) values as high as 0 central dot 77. Greenness SVI's (e.g., Simple Ratio, NDVI, SAVI, PVI and an orthogonal Greenness index) were shown to be more sensitive to shrub type and phenology than brightness SVis (e.g., green, red and near-infrared reflectances and a Brightness index). The results varied substantially with small-scale changes in plot size (60m by 60m to 100m by 100m) as a consequence of landscape heterogeneity. The results also indicated the potential for the spectral differentiation of shrub types, and shrubs from grass, using multi-temporal, multi-spectral analysis.

Contribution of strong discontinuities to the power spectrum of the solar wind.

PubMed

Borovsky, Joseph E

2010-09-10

Eight and a half years of magnetic field measurements (2(22) samples) from the ACE spacecraft in the solar wind at 1 A.U. are analyzed. Strong (large-rotation-angle) discontinuities in the solar wind are collected and measured. An artificial time series is created that preserves the timing and amplitudes of the discontinuities. The power spectral density of the discontinuity series is calculated and compared with the power spectral density of the solar-wind magnetic field. The strong discontinuities produce a power-law spectrum in the "inertial subrange" with a spectral index near the Kolmogorov -5/3 index. The discontinuity spectrum contains about half of the power of the full solar-wind magnetic field over this "inertial subrange." Warnings are issued about the significant contribution of discontinuities to the spectrum of the solar wind, complicating interpretation of spectral power and spectral indices.

METALLICITY AND TEMPERATURE INDICATORS IN M DWARF K-BAND SPECTRA: TESTING NEW AND UPDATED CALIBRATIONS WITH OBSERVATIONS OF 133 SOLAR NEIGHBORHOOD M DWARFS

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

Rojas-Ayala, Barbara; Covey, Kevin R.; Lloyd, James P.

2012-04-01

We present K-band spectra for 133 nearby (d < 33 ps) M dwarfs, including 18 M dwarfs with reliable metallicity estimates (as inferred from an FGK type companion), 11 M dwarf planet hosts, more than 2/3 of the M dwarfs in the northern 8 pc sample, and several M dwarfs from the LSPM catalog. From these spectra, we measure equivalent widths of the Ca and Na lines, and a spectral index quantifying the absorption due to H{sub 2}O opacity (the H{sub 2}O-K2 index). Using empirical spectral type standards and synthetic models, we calibrate the H{sub 2}O-K2 index as an indicatormore » of an M dwarf's spectral type and effective temperature. We also present a revised relationship that estimates the [Fe/H] and [M/H] metallicities of M dwarfs from their Na I, Ca I, and H{sub 2}O-K2 measurements. Comparisons to model atmosphere provide a qualitative validation of our approach, but also reveal an overall offset between the atomic line strengths predicted by models as compared to actual observations. Our metallicity estimates also reproduce expected correlations with Galactic space motions and H{alpha} emission line strengths, and return statistically identical metallicities for M dwarfs within a common multiple system. Finally, we find systematic residuals between our H{sub 2}O-based spectral types and those derived from optical spectral features with previously known sensitivity to stellar metallicity, such as TiO, and identify the CaH1 index as a promising optical index for diagnosing the metallicities of near-solar M dwarfs.« less

Spectral Index Properties of millijansky Radio Sources in ATLAS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Randall, Kate; Hopkins, A. M.; Norris, R. P.; Zinn, P.; Middelberg, E.; Mao, M. Y.; Sharp, R. G.

2012-01-01

At the faintest radio flux densities (S1.4GHz < 10 milliJansky (mJy)), the spectral index properties of radio sources are not well constrained. The bright radio source population (S1.4GHz > 10 mJy) is well studied and is predominantly comprised of AGN. At fainter flux densities, particularly into the microJansky regime, star-forming galaxies begin to dominate the radio source population. Understanding these faint radio source populations is essential for understanding galaxy evolution, and the link between AGN and star formation. Conflicting results have recently arisen regarding whether there is a flattening of the average spectral index between a low radio frequency (325 or 610 MHz) and 1.4 GHz at these faint flux densities. To explore this issue, we have investigated the spectral index properties of a new catalogue of 843 MHz radio sources in the ELAIS-S1 (the European Large Area ISO Survey - South 1 Region) field. Our results support previous work showing a tendency towards flatter radio spectra at fainter flux densities. This catalogue is cross-matched to the Australia Telescope Large Area Survey (ATLAS), the widest deep radio survey to date at 1.4 GHz, with complementary 2.3 GHz, optical and infrared Spitzer Wide-area Infra-Red Extragalactic data. The variation of spectral index properties have been explored as a function of redshift, luminosity and flux density. [These new measurements have been used to identify a population of faint Compact Steep Spectrum sources, thought to be one of the earliest stages of the AGN life-cycle. Exploring this population will aid us in understanding the evolution of AGN as a whole.

47 new T dwarfs from the UKIDSS Large Area Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burningham, Ben; Pinfield, D. J.; Lucas, P. W.; Leggett, S. K.; Deacon, N. R.; Tamura, M.; Tinney, C. G.; Lodieu, N.; Zhang, Z. H.; Huelamo, N.; Jones, H. R. A.; Murray, D. N.; Mortlock, D. J.; Patel, M.; Barrado Y Navascués, D.; Zapatero Osorio, M. R.; Ishii, M.; Kuzuhara, M.; Smart, R. L.

2010-08-01

We report the discovery of 47 new T dwarfs in the Fourth Data Release (DR4) from the Large Area Survey (LAS) of the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) Infrared Deep Sky Survey with spectral types ranging from T0 to T8.5. These bring the total sample of LAS T dwarfs to 80 as of DR4. In assigning spectral types to our objects we have identified eight new spectrally peculiar objects, and divide seven of them into two classes. H2O-H-early have a H2O-H index that differs with the H2O-J index by at least two subtypes. CH4-J-early have a CH4-J index that disagrees with the H20-J index by at least two subtypes. We have ruled out binarity as a sole explanation for both types of peculiarity, and suggest that they may represent hitherto unrecognized tracers of composition and/or gravity. Clear trends in z'(AB) - J and Y - J are apparent for our sample, consistent with weakening absorption in the red wing of the KI line at 0.77μm with decreasing effective temperature. We have used our sample to estimate space densities for T6-T9 dwarfs. By comparing our sample to Monte Carlo simulations of field T dwarfs for various mass functions of the form ψ(M) ~M-αpc-3M-1solar, we have placed weak constraints on the form of the field mass function. Our analysis suggests that the substellar mass function is declining at lower masses, with negative values of α preferred. This is at odds with results for young clusters that have been generally found to have α > 0.

Observations of velocity shear driven plasma turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kintner, P. M., Jr.

1976-01-01

Electrostatic and magnetic turbulence observations from HAWKEYE-1 during the low altitude portion of its elliptical orbit over the Southern Hemisphere are presented. The magnetic turbulence is confined near the auroral zone and is similar to that seen at higher altitudes by HEOS-2 in the polar cusp. The electrostatic turbulence is composed of a background component with a power spectral index of 1.89 + or - .26 and an intense component with a power spectral index of 2.80 + or - .34. The intense electrostatic turbulence and the magnetic turbulence correlate with velocity shears in the convective plasma flow. Since velocity shear instabilities are most unstable to wave vectors perpendicular to the magnetic field, the shear correlated turbulence is anticipated to be two dimensional in character and to have a power spectral index of 3 which agrees with that observed in the intense electrostatic turbulence.

Highly sensitive index of sympathetic activity based on time-frequency spectral analysis of electrodermal activity.

PubMed

Posada-Quintero, Hugo F; Florian, John P; Orjuela-Cañón, Álvaro D; Chon, Ki H

2016-09-01

Time-domain indices of electrodermal activity (EDA) have been used as a marker of sympathetic tone. However, they often show high variation between subjects and low consistency, which has precluded their general use as a marker of sympathetic tone. To examine whether power spectral density analysis of EDA can provide more consistent results, we recently performed a variety of sympathetic tone-evoking experiments (43). We found significant increase in the spectral power in the frequency range of 0.045 to 0.25 Hz when sympathetic tone-evoking stimuli were induced. The sympathetic tone assessed by the power spectral density of EDA was found to have lower variation and more sensitivity for certain, but not all, stimuli compared with the time-domain analysis of EDA. We surmise that this lack of sensitivity in certain sympathetic tone-inducing conditions with time-invariant spectral analysis of EDA may lie in its inability to characterize time-varying dynamics of the sympathetic tone. To overcome the disadvantages of time-domain and time-invariant power spectral indices of EDA, we developed a highly sensitive index of sympathetic tone, based on time-frequency analysis of EDA signals. Its efficacy was tested using experiments designed to elicit sympathetic dynamics. Twelve subjects underwent four tests known to elicit sympathetic tone arousal: cold pressor, tilt table, stand test, and the Stroop task. We hypothesize that a more sensitive measure of sympathetic control can be developed using time-varying spectral analysis. Variable frequency complex demodulation, a recently developed technique for time-frequency analysis, was used to obtain spectral amplitudes associated with EDA. We found that the time-varying spectral frequency band 0.08-0.24 Hz was most responsive to stimulation. Spectral power for frequencies higher than 0.24 Hz were determined to be not related to the sympathetic dynamics because they comprised less than 5% of the total power. The mean value of time-varying spectral amplitudes in the frequency band 0.08-0.24 Hz were used as the index of sympathetic tone, termed TVSymp. TVSymp was found to be overall the most sensitive to the stimuli, as evidenced by a low coefficient of variation (0.54), and higher consistency (intra-class correlation, 0.96) and sensitivity (Youden's index > 0.75), area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (>0.8, accuracy > 0.88) compared with time-domain and time-invariant spectral indices, including heart rate variability. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

Measurement of the refractive index of hemoglobin solutions for a continuous spectral region

PubMed Central

Wang, Jin; Deng, Zhichao; Wang, Xiaowan; Ye, Qing; Zhou, Wenyuan; Mei, Jianchun; Zhang, Chunping; Tian, Jianguo

2015-01-01

Determination of the refractive index of hemoglobin solutions over a wide wavelength range remains challenging. A famous detour approach is the Kramers-Kronig (KK) analysis which can resolve the real part of complex refractive index from the imaginary part. However, KK analysis is limited by the contradiction between the requirement of semi-infinite frequency range and limited measured range. In this paper, based on the Multi-curve fitting method (MFM), continuous refractive index dispersion (CRID) of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin solutions are measured using a homemade symmetrical arm-linked apparatus in the continuous wavelength range with spectral resolution of about 0.259nm. A novel method to obtain the CRID is proposed. PMID:26203379

Spectral feature characterization methods for blood stain detection in crime scene backgrounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jie; Mathew, Jobin J.; Dube, Roger R.; Messinger, David W.

2016-05-01

Blood stains are one of the most important types of evidence for forensic investigation. They contain valuable DNA information, and the pattern of the stains can suggest specifics about the nature of the violence that transpired at the scene. Blood spectral signatures containing unique reflectance or absorption features are important both for forensic on-site investigation and laboratory testing. They can be used for target detection and identification applied to crime scene hyperspectral imagery, and also be utilized to analyze the spectral variation of blood on various backgrounds. Non-blood stains often mislead the detection and can generate false alarms at a real crime scene, especially for dark and red backgrounds. This paper measured the reflectance of liquid blood and 9 kinds of non-blood samples in the range of 350 nm - 2500 nm in various crime scene backgrounds, such as pure samples contained in petri dish with various thicknesses, mixed samples with different colors and materials of fabrics, and mixed samples with wood, all of which are examined to provide sub-visual evidence for detecting and recognizing blood from non-blood samples in a realistic crime scene. The spectral difference between blood and non-blood samples are examined and spectral features such as "peaks" and "depths" of reflectance are selected. Two blood stain detection methods are proposed in this paper. The first method uses index to denote the ratio of "depth" minus "peak" over"depth" add"peak" within a wavelength range of the reflectance spectrum. The second method uses relative band depth of the selected wavelength ranges of the reflectance spectrum. Results show that the index method is able to discriminate blood from non-blood samples in most tested crime scene backgrounds, but is not able to detect it from black felt. Whereas the relative band depth method is able to discriminate blood from non-blood samples on all of the tested background material types and colors.

Remote estimation of canopy nitrogen content in winter wheat using airborne hyperspectral reflectance measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Xianfeng; Huang, Wenjiang; Kong, Weiping; Ye, Huichun; Luo, Juhua; Chen, Pengfei

2016-11-01

Timely and accurate assessment of canopy nitrogen content (CNC) provides valuable insight into rapid and real-time nitrogen status monitoring in crops. A semi-empirical approach based on spectral index was extensively used for nitrogen content estimation. However, in many cases, due to specific vegetation types or local conditions, the applicability and robustness of established spectral indices for nitrogen retrieval were limited. The objective of this study was to investigate the optimal spectral index for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) CNC estimation using Pushbroom Hyperspectral Imager (PHI) airborne hyperspectral data. Data collected from two different field experiments that were conducted during the major growth stages of winter wheat in 2002 and 2003 were used. Our results showed that a significant linear relationship existed between nitrogen and chlorophyll content at the canopy level, and it was not affected by cultivars, growing conditions and nutritional status of winter wheat. Nevertheless, it varied with growth stages. Periods around heading stage mainly worsened the relationship and CNC estimation, and CNC assessment for growth stages before and after heading could improve CNC retrieval accuracy to some extent. CNC assessment with PHI airborne hyperspectra suggested that spectral indices based on red-edge band including narrowband and broadband CIred-edge, NDVI-like and ND705 showed convincing results in CNC retrieval. NDVI-like and ND705 were sensitive to detect CNC changes less than 5 g/m2, narrowband and broadband CIred-edge were sensitive to a wide range of CNC variations. Further evaluation of CNC retrieval using field measured hyperspectra indicated that NDVI-like was robust and exhibited the highest accuracy in CNC assessment, and spectral indices (CIred-edge and CIgreen) that established on narrow or broad bands showed no obvious difference in CNC assessment. Overall, our study suggested that NDVI-like was the optimal indicator for winter wheat CNC retrieval.

Simultaneous measurements of absorption spectrum and refractive index in a microfluidic system.

PubMed

Helseth, Lars Egil

2012-02-13

The characterization of dyes in various solvents requires determination of the absorption spectrum of the dye as well as the refractive index of the solvent. Typically, the refractive index of the solvent and the absorption spectrum of the solute are measured using separate experimental setups where significant liquid volumes are required. In this work the first optical measurement system that is able to do simultaneous measurements of the refractive index of the solvent and the spectral properties of the solute in a microscopic volume is presented. The laser dye Rhodamine 6G in glycerol is investigated, and the refractive index of the solution is monitored using the interference pattern of the light scattered off the channel, while its spectral properties is found by monitoring reflected light from the channel.

A comparison of spectral mixture analysis an NDVI for ascertaining ecological variables

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wessman, Carol A.; Bateson, C. Ann; Curtiss, Brian; Benning, Tracy L.

1993-01-01

In this study, we compare the performance of spectral mixture analysis to the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in detecting change in a grassland across topographically-induced nutrient gradients and different management schemes. The Konza Prairie Research Natural Area, Kansas, is a relatively homogeneous tallgrass prairie in which change in vegetation productivity occurs with respect to topographic positions in each watershed. The area is the site of long-term studies of the influence of fire and grazing on tallgrass production and was the site of the First ISLSCP (International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project) Field Experiment (FIFE) from 1987 to 1989. Vegetation indices such as NDVI are commonly used with imagery collected in few (less than 10) spectral bands. However, the use of only two bands (e.g. NDVI) does not adequately account for the complex of signals making up most surface reflectance. Influences from background spectral variation and spatial heterogeneity may confound the direct relationship with biological or biophysical variables. High dimensional multispectral data allows for the application position of techniques such as derivative analysis and spectral curve fitting, thereby increasing the probability of successfully modeling the reflectance from mixed surfaces. The higher number of bands permits unmixing of a greater number of surface components, separating the vegetation signal for further analyses relevant to biological variables.

Assessing the biophysical naturalness of grassland in eastern North Dakota with hyperspectral imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Qiang

Over the past two decades, non-native species within grassland communities have quickly developed due to human migration and commerce. Invasive species like Smooth Brome grass (Bromus inermis) and Kentucky Blue Grass (Poa pratensis), seriously threaten conservation of native grasslands. This study aims to discriminate between native grasslands and planted hayfields and conservation areas dominated by introduced grasses using hyperspectral imagery. Hyperspectral imageries from the Hyperion sensor on EO-1 were acquired in late spring and late summer on 2009 and 2010. Field spectra for widely distributed species as well as smooth brome grass and Kentucky blue grass were collected from the study sites throughout the growing season. Imagery was processed with an unmixing algorithm to estimate fractional cover of green and dry vegetation and bare soil. As the spectrum is significantly different through growing season, spectral libraries for the most common species are then built for both the early growing season and late growing season. After testing multiple methods, the Adaptive Coherence Estimator (ACE) was used for spectral matching analysis between the imagery and spectral libraries. Due in part to spectral similarity among key species, the results of spectral matching analysis were not definitive. Additional indexes, "Level of Dominance" and "Band variance", were calculated to measure the predominance of spectral signatures in any area. A Texture co-occurrence analysis was also performed on both "Level of Dominance" and "Band variance" indexes to extract spatial characteristics. The results suggest that compared with disturbed area, native prairie tend to have generally lower "Level of Dominance" and "Band variance" as well as lower spatial dissimilarity. A final decision tree model was created to predict presence of native or introduced grassland. The model was more effective for identification of Mixed Native Grassland than for grassland dominated by a single species. The discrimination of native and introduced grassland was limited by the similarity of spectral signatures between forb-dominated native grasslands and brome-grass stands. However, saline native grasslands were distinguishable from brome grass.

Use of LANDSAT imagery for soil survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dejesusparada, N. (Principal Investigator); Filho, M. V.; Higa, N. T.; Celsodecarvalho, V.

1977-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. The MSS channels 6 and 7 were considered the best to study the relative tonality of different spectral responses of soils, while channels 5 and 7 were best for natural vegetation, drainage patterns, and land use. Frequency ratio was the recommended index for use when analyzing a drainage pattern quantitatively.

Biomass and health based forest cover delineation using spectral un-mixing

Treesearch

Mohan Tiruveedhula; Joseph Fan; Ravi R. Sadasivuni; Surya S. Durbha; David L. Evans

2009-01-01

Remote sensing is a well-suited source of information on various forest characteristics such as forest cover type, leaf area, biomass, and health. The use of appropriate layers helps to quantify the variables of interest. For example, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and greenness help explain variability in biomass as well as health of forests....

Multi range spectral feature fitting for hyperspectral imagery in extracting oilseed rape planting area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Zhuokun; Huang, Jingfeng; Wang, Fumin

2013-12-01

Spectral feature fitting (SFF) is a commonly used strategy for hyperspectral imagery analysis to discriminate ground targets. Compared to other image analysis techniques, SFF does not secure higher accuracy in extracting image information in all circumstances. Multi range spectral feature fitting (MRSFF) from ENVI software allows user to focus on those interesting spectral features to yield better performance. Thus spectral wavelength ranges and their corresponding weights must be determined. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the performance of MRSFF in oilseed rape planting area extraction. A practical method for defining the weighted values, the variance coefficient weight method, was proposed to set up criterion. Oilseed rape field canopy spectra from the whole growth stage were collected prior to investigating its phenological varieties; oilseed rape endmember spectra were extracted from the Hyperion image as identifying samples to be used in analyzing the oilseed rape field. Wavelength range divisions were determined by the difference between field-measured spectra and image spectra, and image spectral variance coefficient weights for each wavelength range were calculated corresponding to field-measured spectra from the closest date. By using MRSFF, wavelength ranges were classified to characterize the target's spectral features without compromising spectral profile's entirety. The analysis was substantially successful in extracting oilseed rape planting areas (RMSE ≤ 0.06), and the RMSE histogram indicated a superior result compared to a conventional SFF. Accuracy assessment was based on the mapping result compared with spectral angle mapping (SAM) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The MRSFF yielded a robust, convincible result and, therefore, may further the use of hyperspectral imagery in precision agriculture.

Trophic classification of selected Colorado lakes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blackwell, R. J.; Boland, D. H. P.

1979-01-01

Multispectral scanner data, acquired over several Colorado lakes using LANDSAT-1 and aircraft, were used in conjunction with contact-sensed water quality data to determine the feasibility of assessing lacustrine trophic levels. A trophic state index was developed using contact-sensed data for several trophic indicators. Relationships between the digitally processed multispectral scanner data, several trophic indicators, and the trophic index were examined using a supervised multispectral classification technique and regression techniques. Statistically significant correlations exist between spectral bands, several of the trophic indicators and the trophic state index. Color-coded photomaps were generated which depict the spectral aspects of trophic state.

Effective spectral index properties for Fermi blazars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, JiangHe; Fan, JunHui; Liu, Yi; Zhang, YueLian; Tuo, ManXian; Nie, JianJun; Yuan, YuHai

2018-05-01

Blazars are a special subclass of active galactic nuclei with extreme observation properties. This subclass can be divided into two further subclasses of flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) and BL Lacertae objects (BL Lacs) according to their emission line features. To compare the spectral properties of FSRQs and BL Lacs, the 1.4 GHz radio, optical R-band, 1 keV X-ray, and 1 GeV γ-ray flux densities for 1108 Fermi blazars are calculated to discuss the properties of the six effective spectral indices of radio to optical ( α RO), radio to X-ray ( α RX), radio to γ ray ( α Rγ), optical to X-ray ( α OX), optical to γ ray ( α Oγ), and X-ray to γ ray ( α Xγ). The main results are as follows: For the averaged effective spectral indices, \\overline {{α _{OX}}} > \\overline {{α _{Oγ }}} > \\overline {{α _{Xγ }}} > \\overline {{α _{Rγ }}} > \\overline {{α _{RX}}} > \\overline {{α _{RO}}} for samples of whole blazars and BL Lacs; \\overline {{α _{Xγ }}} ≈ \\overline {{α _{Rγ }}} ≈ \\overline {{α _{RX}}} for FSRQs and low-frequency-peaked BL Lacs (LBLs); and \\overline {{α _{OX}}} ≈ \\overline {{α _{Oγ }}} ≈ \\overline {{α _{Xγ }}} for high-synchrotron-frequency-peaked BL Lacs (HBLs). The distributions of the effective spectral indices involving optical emission ( α RO, α OX, and α Oγ) for LBLs are different from those for FSRQs, but if the effective spectral index does not involve optical emission ( α RX, α Rγ, and α Xγ), the distributions for LBLs and FSRQs almost come from the same parent population. X-ray emissions from blazars include both synchrotron and inverse Compton (IC) components; the IC component for FSRQs and LBLs accounts for a larger proportion than that for HBLs; and the radiation mechanism for LBLs is similar to that for FSRQs, but the radiation mechanism for HBLs is different from that for both FSRQs and LBLs in X-ray bands. The tendency of α Rγ decreasing from LBLs to HBLs suggests that the synchrotron self-Compton model explains the main process for highly energetic γ rays in BL Lacs.

Four-dimensional Doppler ultrasound measurements in carotid bifurcation models: effect of concentric versus eccentric stenosis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poepping, Tamie L.; Rankin, Richard N.; Holdsworth, David W.

2001-05-01

A unique in-vitro system has been developed that incorporates both realistic phantoms and flow. The anthropomorphic carotid phantoms are fabricated in agar with stenosis severity of 30% or 70% (by NASCET standards) and one of two geometric configurations- concentric or eccentric. The phantoms are perfused with a flow waveform that simulates normal common carotid flow. Pulsed Doppler ultrasound data are acquired at a 1 mm grid spacing throughout the lumen of the carotid bifurcation. To obtain a half-lumen volume, symmetric about the mid plane, requires a 13 hour acquisition over 3238 interrogation sites, producing 5.6 Gbytes of data. The spectral analysis produces estimates of parameters such as the peak velocity, mean velocity, spectral-broadening index, and turbulence intensity. Color-encoded or grayscale-encoded maps of these spectral parameters show distinctly different flow patterns resulting from stenoses of equal severity but different eccentricity. The most noticeable differences are seen in the volumes of the recirculation zones and the paths of the high-velocity jets. Elevated levels of turbulence intensity are also seen distal to the stenosis in the 70%-stenosed models.

Twin-Core Fiber-Based Mach Zehnder Interferometer for Simultaneous Measurement of Strain and Temperature

PubMed Central

Kowal, Dominik; Urbanczyk, Waclaw; Mergo, Pawel

2018-01-01

In this paper we present an all-fiber interferometric sensor for the simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature. It is composed of a specially fabricated twin-core fiber spliced between two pieces of a single-mode fiber. Due to the refractive index difference between the two cores in a twin-core fiber, a differential interference pattern is produced at the sensor output. The phase response of the interferometer to strain and temperature is measured in the 850–1250 nm spectral range, showing zero sensitivity to strain at 1000 nm. Due to the significant difference in sensitivities to both parameters, our interferometer is suitable for two-parameter sensing. The simultaneous response of the interferometer to strain and temperature was studied using the two-wavelength interrogation method and a novel approach based on the spectral fitting of the differential phase response. As the latter technique uses all the gathered spectral information, it is more reliable and yields the results with better accuracy. PMID:29558386

Quantitative monitoring of sucrose, reducing sugar and total sugar dynamics for phenotyping of water-deficit stress tolerance in rice through spectroscopy and chemometrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Bappa; Sahoo, Rabi N.; Pargal, Sourabh; Krishna, Gopal; Verma, Rakesh; Chinnusamy, Viswanathan; Sehgal, Vinay K.; Gupta, Vinod K.; Dash, Sushanta K.; Swain, Padmini

2018-03-01

In the present investigation, the changes in sucrose, reducing and total sugar content due to water-deficit stress in rice leaves were modeled using visible, near infrared (VNIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) spectroscopy. The objectives of the study were to identify the best vegetation indices and suitable multivariate technique based on precise analysis of hyperspectral data (350 to 2500 nm) and sucrose, reducing sugar and total sugar content measured at different stress levels from 16 different rice genotypes. Spectral data analysis was done to identify suitable spectral indices and models for sucrose estimation. Novel spectral indices in near infrared (NIR) range viz. ratio spectral index (RSI) and normalised difference spectral indices (NDSI) sensitive to sucrose, reducing sugar and total sugar content were identified which were subsequently calibrated and validated. The RSI and NDSI models had R2 values of 0.65, 0.71 and 0.67; RPD values of 1.68, 1.95 and 1.66 for sucrose, reducing sugar and total sugar, respectively for validation dataset. Different multivariate spectral models such as artificial neural network (ANN), multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), multiple linear regression (MLR), partial least square regression (PLSR), random forest regression (RFR) and support vector machine regression (SVMR) were also evaluated. The best performing multivariate models for sucrose, reducing sugars and total sugars were found to be, MARS, ANN and MARS, respectively with respect to RPD values of 2.08, 2.44, and 1.93. Results indicated that VNIR and SWIR spectroscopy combined with multivariate calibration can be used as a reliable alternative to conventional methods for measurement of sucrose, reducing sugars and total sugars of rice under water-deficit stress as this technique is fast, economic, and noninvasive.

SPECTRAL STATE EVOLUTION OF 4U 1820-30: THE STABILITY OF THE SPECTRAL INDEX OF THE COMPTONIZATION TAIL

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

Titarchuk, Lev; Frontera, Filippo; Seifina, Elena, E-mail: titarchuk@fe.infn.it, E-mail: lev@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov, E-mail: frontera@fe.infn.it, E-mail: seif@sai.msu.ru

We analyze the X-ray spectra and their timing properties of the compact X-ray binary 4U 1820-30. We establish spectral transitions in this source seen with BeppoSAX and the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). During the RXTE observations (1996-2009), the source was in the soft state approximately {approx}75% of the time making the lower banana and upper banana transitions combined with long-term low-high state transitions. We reveal that all of the X-ray spectra of 4U 1820-30 are fit by a combination of a thermal (Blackbody) component, a Comptonization component (COMPTB), and a Gaussian-line component. Thus, using this spectral analysis, we findmore » that the photon power-law index {Gamma} of the Comptonization component is almost unchangeable ({Gamma} {approx} 2), while the electron temperature kT{sub e} changes from 2.9 to 21 keV during these spectral events. We also establish that for these spectral events the normalization of the COMPTB component (which is proportional to the mass accretion rate M-dot ) increases by a factor of eight when kT{sub e} decreases from 21 keV to 2.9 keV. Previously, this index stability effect was also found analyzing X-ray data for the Z-source GX 340+0 and for the atolls 4U 1728-34 and GX 3+1. Thus, we can suggest that this spectral stability property is a spectral signature of an accreting neutron star source. On the other hand, in a black hole binary {Gamma} monotonically increases with M-dot and ultimately its value saturates at large M-dot .« less

Evaluating the Effects of Fire on Semi-Arid Savanna Ecosystem Productivity Using Integrated Spectral and Gas Exchange Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raub, H. D.; Jimenez, J. R.; Gallery, R. E.; Sutter, L., Jr.; Barron-Gafford, G.; Smith, W. K.

2017-12-01

Drylands account for 40% of the land surface and have been identified as increasingly important in driving interannual variability of the land carbon sink. Yet, understanding of dryland seasonal ecosystem productivity dynamics - termed Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) - is limited due to complex interactions between vegetation health, seasonal drought dynamics, a paucity of long-term measurements across these under-studied regions, and unanticipated disturbances from varying fire regimes. For instance, fire disturbance has been found to either greatly reduce post-fire GPP through vegetation mortality or enhance post-fire GPP though increased resource availability (e.g., water, light, nutrients, etc.). Here, we explore post-fire ecosystem recovery by evaluating seasonal GPP dynamics for two Ameriflux eddy covariance flux tower sites within the Santa Rita Experimental Range of southeastern Arizona: 1) the US-SRG savanna site dominated by a mix of grass and woody mesquite vegetation that was burned in May 2017, and 2) the US-SRM savanna site dominated by similar vegetation but unburned for the full measurement record. For each site, we collected leaf-level spectral and gas exchange measurements, as well as leaf-level chemistry and soil chemistry to characterize differences in nutrient availability and microbial activity throughout the 2017 growing season. From spectral data, we derived and evaluated multiple common vegetation metrics, including normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), photochemical reflectivity index (PRI), near-infrared reflectance (NIRv), and MERIS terrestrial chlorophyll index (MTCI). Early results suggest rates of photosynthesis were enhanced at the burned site, with productivity increasing immediately following the onset of monsoonal precipitation; whereas initial photosynthesis at the unburned site remained relatively low following first monsoonal rains. MTCI values for burned vegetation appear to track higher levels of leaf-level nitrogen content upon monsoonal onset, but requires further validation by leaf-level chemistry. This work suggests that the integration of spectral, gas exchange, and soil measurements could be a powerful framework toward advancing our understanding of fire-ecosystem productivity feedbacks across spatiotemporal scales.

Scintillation index and performance analysis of wireless optical links over non-Kolmogorov weak turbulence based on generalized atmospheric spectral model.

PubMed

Cang, Ji; Liu, Xu

2011-09-26

Based on the generalized spectral model for non-Kolmogorov atmospheric turbulence, analytic expressions of the scintillation index (SI) are derived for plane, spherical optical waves and a partially coherent Gaussian beam propagating through non-Kolmogorov turbulence horizontally in the weak fluctuation regime. The new expressions relate the SI to the finite turbulence inner and outer scales, spatial coherence of the source and spectral power-law and then used to analyze the effects of atmospheric condition and link length on the performance of wireless optical communication links. © 2011 Optical Society of America

Estimation of photonic band gap in the hollow core cylindrical multilayer structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chourasia, Ritesh Kumar; Singh, Vivek

2018-04-01

The propagation characteristic of two hollow core cylindrical multilayer structures having high and low refractive index contrast of cladding regions have been studied and compared at two design wavelengths i.e. 1550 nm and 632.8 nm. With the help of transfer matrix method a relation between the incoming light wave and outgoing light wave has been developed using the boundary matching technique. In high refractive index contrast, small numbers of layers are sufficient to provide perfect band gap in both design wavelengths. The spectral position and width of band gap is highly depending on the optical path of incident light in all considered cases. For sensing application, the sensitivity of waveguide can be obtained either by monitoring the width of photonic band gap or by monitoring the spectral shift of photonic band gap. Change in the width of photonic band gap with the core refractive index is larger in high refractive index contrast of cladding materials. However, in the case of monitoring the spectral shift of band gap, the obtained sensitivity is large for low refractive index contrast of cladding materials and further it increases with increase of design wavelength.

Refraction index sensor based on phase resonances in a subwavelength structure with double period.

PubMed

Skigin, Diana C; Lester, Marcelo

2016-10-01

In this paper, we numerically demonstrate a refraction index sensor based on phase resonance excitation in a subwavelength-slit structure with a double period. The sensor consists of a metal layer with subwavelength slots arranged in a bi-periodic form, separated from a high refraction index medium. Between the metallic structure and the incident medium, a dielectric waveguide is formed whose refraction index is going to be determined. Variations in the refraction index of the waveguide are detected as shifts in the peaks of transmitted intensity originated by resonant modes supported by the compound metallic structure. At normal incidence, the spectral position of these resonant peaks exhibits a linear or a quadratic dependence with the refraction index, which permits us to obtain the unknown refraction index value with a high precision for a wide range of wavelengths. Since the operating principle of the sensor is due to the morphological resonances of the slits' structure, this device can be scaled to operate in different wavelength ranges while keeping similar characteristics.

Grain growth in Class I protostar Per-emb-50: a dust continuum analysis with NOEMA & SMA .

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agurto-Gangas, C.; Pineda, J. E.; Testi, L.; Caselli, P.; Szucs, L.; Tazzari, M.; Dunham, M.; Stephens, I. W.; Miotello, A.

A good understanding of when dust grains grow from sub-micrometer to millimeter sizes occurs is crucial for models of planet formation. This provides the first step towards the production of pebbles and planetesimals in protoplanetary disks. Thanks to detailed studies of the spectral index in Class II disks, it is well established that Class II objects have already dust grains of millimetres sizes, however, it is not clear when in the star formation process this grain growth occurs. Here, we present interferometric data from NOEMA at 3 mm and SMA at 1.3 mm of the Class I protostar, Per-emb-50, to determine the flux density spectral index at mm-wavelengths of the unresolved disk and the surrounding envelope. We find a spectral index in the unresolved disk 30% smaller than the envelope, alpha env=2.18, comparable to values obtained toward Class 0 sources.

Primordial black holes from inflaton and spectator field perturbations in a matter-dominated era

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carr, Bernard; Tenkanen, Tommi; Vaskonen, Ville

2017-09-01

We study production of primordial black holes (PBHs) during an early matter-dominated phase. As a source of perturbations, we consider either an inflaton field with a running spectral index or a spectator field that has a blue spectrum and thus provides a significant contribution to PBH production at small scales. First, we identify the region of the parameter space where a significant fraction of the observed dark matter can be produced, taking into account all current PBH constraints. Then, we present constraints on the amplitude and spectral index of the spectator field as a function of the reheating temperature. We also derive constraints on the running of the inflaton spectral index, d n /d ln k ≲0.001 , which are comparable to those from the Planck satellite for a scenario where the spectator field is absent.

GX 3+1: THE STABILITY OF SPECTRAL INDEX AS A FUNCTION OF MASS ACCRETION RATE

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

Seifina, Elena; Titarchuk, Lev, E-mail: seif@sai.msu.ru, E-mail: titarchuk@fe.infn.it, E-mail: lev@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov

2012-03-10

We present an analysis of the spectral and timing properties observed in X-rays from neutron star (NS) binary GX 3+1 (4U 1744-26) during long-term transitions between the faint and bright phases superimposed on short-term transitions between lower banana (LB) and upper banana (UB) branches in terms of its color-color diagram. We analyze all observations of this source obtained with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer and Beppo SAX satellites. We find that the X-ray broadband energy spectra during these spectral transitions can be adequately reproduced by a composition of a low-temperature blackbody component, a Comptonized component (COMPTB), and a Gaussian component.more » We argue that the electron temperature kT{sub e} of the Compton cloud monotonically increases from 2.3 keV to 4.5 keV, when GX 3+1 makes a transition from UB to LB. We also detect an evolution of noise components (a very low frequency noise and a high-frequency noise) during these LB-UB transitions. Using a disk seed photon normalization of COMPTB, which is proportional to the mass accretion rate, we find that the photon power-law index {Gamma} is almost constant ({Gamma} = 2.00 {+-} 0.02) when mass accretion rate changes by a factor of four. In addition, we find that the emergent spectrum is dominated by the strong Comptonized component. We interpret this quasi-stability of the index {Gamma} and a particular form of the spectrum in the framework of a model in which the energy release in the transition layer located between the accretion disk and NS surface dominates that in the disk. Moreover, this index stability effect now established for GX 3+1 was previously found in the atoll source 4U 1728-34 and suggested for a number of other low-mass X-ray NS binaries (see Farinelli and Titarchuk). This intrinsic behavior of NSs, in particular for atoll sources, is fundamentally different from that seen in black hole binary sources where the index monotonically increases during spectral transition from the low state to the high state and then finally saturates at high values of mass accretion rate.« less

A synthetic method of solar spectrum based on LED

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ji-qiang; Su, Shi; Zhang, Guo-yu; Zhang, Jian

2017-10-01

A synthetic method of solar spectrum which based on the spectral characteristics of the solar spectrum and LED, and the principle of arbitrary spectral synthesis was studied by using 14 kinds of LED with different central wavelengths.The LED and solar spectrum data were selected by Origin Software firstly, then calculated the total number of LED for each center band by the transformation relation between brightness and illumination and Least Squares Curve Fit in Matlab.Finally, the spectrum curve of AM1.5 standard solar spectrum was obtained. The results met the technical indexes of the solar spectrum matching with ±20% and the solar constant with >0.5.

UAV remote sening for precision agriculture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vigneau, Nathalie; Chéron, Corentin; Mainfroy, Florent; Faroux, Romain

2014-05-01

Airinov offers to farmers, scientists and experimenters (plant breeders, etc.) its technical skills about UAVs, cartography and agronomic remote sensing. The UAV is a 2-m-wingspan flying wing. It can carry away either a RGB camera or a multispectral sensor, which records reflectance in 4 spectral bands. The spectral characteristics of the sensor are modular. Each spectral band is comprised between 400 and 850 nm and the FWHM (Full Width at Half Maximum) is between 10 and 40 nm. The spatial resolution varies according to sensor, flying height and user needs from 15cm/px for multispectral sensor at 150m to 1.5cm/px for RGB camera at 50m. The flight is totally automatic thanks to on-board autopilot, IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) and GPS. Data processing (unvignetting, mosaicking, correction in reflectance) leads to agronomic variables as LAI (Leaf Area Index) or chlorophyll content for barley, wheat, rape and maize as well as vegetation indices as NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index). Using these data, Airinov can product advices for farmers as nitrogen preconisation for rape. For scientists, Airinov offers trial plot monitoring by micro-plots vectorisation and numerical data exctraction micro-plot by micro-plot. This can lead to kinetic curve for LAI or NDVI to compare cover establishment for different genotypes for example. Airinov's system is a new way to monitor plots with a lot of data (biophysical or biochemical parameters) at high rate, high spatial resolution and high precision.

Remote sensing imagery classification using multi-objective gravitational search algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Aizhu; Sun, Genyun; Wang, Zhenjie

2016-10-01

Simultaneous optimization of different validity measures can capture different data characteristics of remote sensing imagery (RSI) and thereby achieving high quality classification results. In this paper, two conflicting cluster validity indices, the Xie-Beni (XB) index and the fuzzy C-means (FCM) (Jm) measure, are integrated with a diversity-enhanced and memory-based multi-objective gravitational search algorithm (DMMOGSA) to present a novel multi-objective optimization based RSI classification method. In this method, the Gabor filter method is firstly implemented to extract texture features of RSI. Then, the texture features are syncretized with the spectral features to construct the spatial-spectral feature space/set of the RSI. Afterwards, cluster of the spectral-spatial feature set is carried out on the basis of the proposed method. To be specific, cluster centers are randomly generated initially. After that, the cluster centers are updated and optimized adaptively by employing the DMMOGSA. Accordingly, a set of non-dominated cluster centers are obtained. Therefore, numbers of image classification results of RSI are produced and users can pick up the most promising one according to their problem requirements. To quantitatively and qualitatively validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, the proposed classification method was applied to classifier two aerial high-resolution remote sensing imageries. The obtained classification results are compared with that produced by two single cluster validity index based and two state-of-the-art multi-objective optimization algorithms based classification results. Comparison results show that the proposed method can achieve more accurate RSI classification.

New Spectral Index for Detecting Wheat Yellow Rust Using Sentinel-2 Multispectral Imagery

PubMed Central

Zheng, Qiong; Huang, Wenjiang; Cui, Ximin; Liu, Linyi

2018-01-01

Yellow rust is one of the most destructive diseases for winter wheat and has led to a significant decrease in winter wheat quality and yield. Identifying and monitoring yellow rust is of great importance for guiding agricultural production over large areas. Compared with traditional crop disease discrimination methods, remote sensing technology has proven to be a useful tool for accomplishing such a task at large scale. This study explores the potential of the Sentinel-2 Multispectral Instrument (MSI), a newly launched satellite with refined spatial resolution and three red-edge bands, for discriminating between yellow rust infection severities (i.e., healthy, slight, and severe) in winter wheat. The corresponding simulative multispectral bands for the Sentinel-2 sensor were calculated by the sensor’s relative spectral response (RSR) function based on the in situ hyperspectral data acquired at the canopy level. Three Sentinel-2 spectral bands, including B4 (Red), B5 (Re1), and B7 (Re3), were found to be sensitive bands using the random forest (RF) method. A new multispectral index, the Red Edge Disease Stress Index (REDSI), which consists of these sensitive bands, was proposed to detect yellow rust infection at different severity levels. The overall identification accuracy for REDSI was 84.1% and the kappa coefficient was 0.76. Moreover, REDSI performed better than other commonly used disease spectral indexes for yellow rust discrimination at the canopy scale. The optimal threshold method was adopted for mapping yellow rust infection at regional scales based on realistic Sentinel-2 multispectral image data to further assess REDSI’s ability for yellow rust detection. The overall accuracy was 85.2% and kappa coefficient was 0.67, which was found through validation against a set of field survey data. This study suggests that the Sentinel-2 MSI has the potential for yellow rust discrimination, and the newly proposed REDSI has great robustness and generalized ability for yellow rust detection at canopy and regional scales. Furthermore, our results suggest that the above remote sensing technology can be used to provide scientific guidance for monitoring and precise management of crop diseases and pests. PMID:29543736

New Spectral Index for Detecting Wheat Yellow Rust Using Sentinel-2 Multispectral Imagery.

PubMed

Zheng, Qiong; Huang, Wenjiang; Cui, Ximin; Shi, Yue; Liu, Linyi

2018-03-15

Yellow rust is one of the most destructive diseases for winter wheat and has led to a significant decrease in winter wheat quality and yield. Identifying and monitoring yellow rust is of great importance for guiding agricultural production over large areas. Compared with traditional crop disease discrimination methods, remote sensing technology has proven to be a useful tool for accomplishing such a task at large scale. This study explores the potential of the Sentinel-2 Multispectral Instrument (MSI), a newly launched satellite with refined spatial resolution and three red-edge bands, for discriminating between yellow rust infection severities (i.e., healthy, slight, and severe) in winter wheat. The corresponding simulative multispectral bands for the Sentinel-2 sensor were calculated by the sensor's relative spectral response (RSR) function based on the in situ hyperspectral data acquired at the canopy level. Three Sentinel-2 spectral bands, including B4 (Red), B5 (Re1), and B7 (Re3), were found to be sensitive bands using the random forest (RF) method. A new multispectral index, the Red Edge Disease Stress Index (REDSI), which consists of these sensitive bands, was proposed to detect yellow rust infection at different severity levels. The overall identification accuracy for REDSI was 84.1% and the kappa coefficient was 0.76. Moreover, REDSI performed better than other commonly used disease spectral indexes for yellow rust discrimination at the canopy scale. The optimal threshold method was adopted for mapping yellow rust infection at regional scales based on realistic Sentinel-2 multispectral image data to further assess REDSI's ability for yellow rust detection. The overall accuracy was 85.2% and kappa coefficient was 0.67, which was found through validation against a set of field survey data. This study suggests that the Sentinel-2 MSI has the potential for yellow rust discrimination, and the newly proposed REDSI has great robustness and generalized ability for yellow rust detection at canopy and regional scales. Furthermore, our results suggest that the above remote sensing technology can be used to provide scientific guidance for monitoring and precise management of crop diseases and pests.

Uncertainty evaluation of thickness and warp of a silicon wafer measured by a spectrally resolved interferometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Praba Drijarkara, Agustinus; Gergiso Gebrie, Tadesse; Lee, Jae Yong; Kang, Chu-Shik

2018-06-01

Evaluation of uncertainty of thickness and gravity-compensated warp of a silicon wafer measured by a spectrally resolved interferometer is presented. The evaluation is performed in a rigorous manner, by analysing the propagation of uncertainty from the input quantities through all the steps of measurement functions, in accordance with the ISO Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement. In the evaluation, correlation between input quantities as well as uncertainty attributed to thermal effect, which were not included in earlier publications, are taken into account. The temperature dependence of the group refractive index of silicon was found to be nonlinear and varies widely within a wafer and also between different wafers. The uncertainty evaluation described here can be applied to other spectral interferometry applications based on similar principles.

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.

The Nasa earth resources spectral information system: A data compilation, first supplement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leeman, V.

1972-01-01

The NASA Earth Resources Spectral Information System and the information contained therein are described. It is intended to be used as a supplement to the NASA Earth Resources Spectral Information System: A Data Compilation, N72-28366. This supplement includes approximately 500 rock and mineral, 100 soil, and 30 vegetation bidirectional and directional reflectance, transmittance, emittance, and degree-of-polarization curves in the optical region from 0.2 to 22.0 microns. The data have been categorized by subject and each curve plotted on a single graph. For some rocks and minerals, all curves of the same type, differing only in particle size, have been plotted on one grid as a composite plot. Each graph, composite or single, is fully titled to indicate curve source and is indexed by subject to facilitate user retrieval.

Aerosol Retrieval from Multiangle Multispectral Photopolarimetric Measurements: Importance of Spectral Range and Angular Resolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, L.; Hasekamp, O.; Van Diedenhoven, B.; Cairns, B.

2015-01-01

We investigated the importance of spectral range and angular resolution for aerosol retrieval from multiangle photopolarimetric measurements over land. For this purpose, we use an extensive set of simulated measurements for different spectral ranges and angular resolutions and subsets of real measurements of the airborne Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) carried out during the PODEX and SEAC4RS campaigns over the continental USA. Aerosol retrievals performed from RSP measurements show good agreement with ground-based AERONET measurements for aerosol optical depth (AOD), single scattering albedo (SSA) and refractive index. Furthermore, we found that inclusion of shortwave infrared bands (1590 and/or 2250 nm) significantly improves the retrieval of AOD, SSA and coarse mode microphysical properties. However, accuracies of the retrieved aerosol properties do not improve significantly when more than five viewing angles are used in the retrieval.

Spectropolarimetric Observations of Solar Noise Storms at Low Frequencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mugundhan, V.; Ramesh, R.; Kathiravan, C.; Gireesh, G. V. S.; Hegde, Aathira

2018-03-01

A new high-resolution radio spectropolarimeter instrument operating in the frequency range of 15 - 85 MHz has recently been commissioned at the Radio Astronomy Field Station of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics at Gauribidanur, 100 km north of Bangalore, India. We describe the design and construction of this instrument. We present observations of a solar radio noise storm associated with Active Region (AR) 12567 in the frequency range of {≈} 15 - 85 MHz during 18 and 19 July 2016, observed using this instrument in the meridian-transit mode. This is the first report that we are aware of in which both the burst and continuum properties are derived simultaneously. Spectral indices and degree of polarization of both the continuum radiation and bursts are estimated. It is found that i) Type I storm bursts have a spectral index of {≈} {+}3.5, ii) the spectral index of the background continuum is ≈+2.9, iii) the transition frequency between Type I and Type III storms occurs at ≈55 MHz, iv) Type III bursts have an average spectral index of ≈-2.7, v) the spectral index of the Type III continuum is ≈-1.6, and vi) the degree of circular polarization of all Type I (Type III) bursts is ≈90% (30%). The results obtained here indicate that the continuum emission is due to bursts occurring in rapid succession. We find that the derived parameters for Type I bursts are consistent with suprathermal electron acceleration theory and those of Type III favor fundamental plasma emission.

Dynamics of spectral bio-indicators and their correlations with light use efficiency using directional observations at a Douglas-fir forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Yen-Ben; Middleton, Elizabeth M.; Hilker, Thomas; Coops, Nicholas C.; Black, T. Andrew; Krishnan, Praveena

2009-09-01

The carbon science community must rely on satellite remote sensing to obtain global estimates of photosynthetic activity, typically expressed as net primary production (NPP), gross primary production (GPP) or light use efficiency (LUE). The photochemical reflectance index (PRI), calculated as a normalized difference reflectance index using a physiologically active green band (~531 nm) and another physiologically insensitive green reference band (~570 nm), denoted as PRI(570), has been confirmed in many studies as being strongly related to LUE. Here, we examined the potential of utilizing PRI(570) observations under different illumination conditions for canopy LUE estimation of a forest. In order to evaluate this, directional hyperspectral reflectance measurements were collected continuously throughout the daytime periods using an automated spectroradiometer in conjunction with tower-based eddy covariance fluxes and environmental measurements at a coastal conifer forest in British Columbia, Canada throughout the 2006 growing season. A parameter calculated as the PRI(570) difference (dPRI(570)) between shaded versus sunlit canopy foliage sectors showed a strong correlation to tower-based LUE. The seasonal pattern for this correlation produced a dramatic change from high negative (r ~ -0.80) values in the springtime and early fall to high positive values (r ~ 0.80) during the summer months, which could represent the seasonality of physiological characteristics and environmental factors. Although the PRI(570) successfully tracked canopy LUE, one or both of its green bands (~531 and 570 nm) used to calculate the PRI are unavailable on most existing and planned near-term satellites. Therefore, we examined the potential to use 24 other spectral indexes for LUE monitoring that might be correlated to PRI, and thereby a substitute for it. We also continued our previous investigations into the influence of illumination conditions on the observed PRI(570) and other indexes. Among the 24 indexes examined, three PRI indexes using different reference bands (488, 551 and 705 nm) showed high correlations to the traditional PRI(570), especially PRI(551) and PRI(705). This indicates three additional PRI variations for LUE monitoring if the traditional reference band at 570 nm is not available but the 531 nm band is available. Five other indexes also yielded high correlations to PRI(570): Dmax and DM705, two indexes calculated from derivative reflectance spectra; a simple ratio of reflectance values at 685 nm and 655 nm (SR685_655); and a double-peak optical index (DPI). The diurnal and seasonal dynamics of these eight indexes and PRI(570) were explored. All of these indexes except DPI expressed linear dependence on available sunlight and more strongly expressed diurnal dynamics in April than in August during summer drought. The differences for shaded versus sunlit canopy foliage sectors were also calculated for the eight indexes, and their correlations to canopy LUE across the season were examined. The performances were similar for the most successful and seasonally stable indexes: dPRI(551), dPRI(705) and dPRI(570). The other five indexes showed good correlation to LUE in some but not all the months, and the months with high correlations varied among them.

Prediction of meat spectral patterns based on optical properties and concentrations of the major constituents.

PubMed

ElMasry, Gamal; Nakauchi, Shigeki

2016-03-01

A simulation method for approximating spectral signatures of minced meat samples was developed depending on concentrations and optical properties of the major chemical constituents. Minced beef samples of different compositions scanned on a near-infrared spectroscopy and on a hyperspectral imaging system were examined. Chemical composition determined heuristically and optical properties collected from authenticated references were simulated to approximate samples' spectral signatures. In short-wave infrared range, the resulting spectrum equals the sum of the absorption of three individual absorbers, that is, water, protein, and fat. By assuming homogeneous distributions of the main chromophores in the mince samples, the obtained absorption spectra are found to be a linear combination of the absorption spectra of the major chromophores present in the sample. Results revealed that developed models were good enough to derive spectral signatures of minced meat samples with a reasonable level of robustness of a high agreement index value more than 0.90 and ratio of performance to deviation more than 1.4.

Utilization of combined remote sensing techniques to detect environmental variables influencing malaria vector densities in rural West Africa

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Introduction The use of remote sensing has found its way into the field of epidemiology within the last decades. With the increased sensor resolution of recent and future satellites new possibilities emerge for high resolution risk modeling and risk mapping. Methods A SPOT 5 satellite image, taken during the rainy season 2009 was used for calculating indices by combining the image's spectral bands. Besides the widely used Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) other indices were tested for significant correlation against field observations. Multiple steps, including the detection of surface water, its breeding appropriateness for Anopheles and modeling of vector imagines abundance, were performed. Data collection on larvae, adult vectors and geographic parameters in the field, was amended by using remote sensing techniques to gather data on altitude (Digital Elevation Model = DEM), precipitation (Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission = TRMM), land surface temperatures (LST). Results The DEM derived altitude as well as indices calculations combining the satellite's spectral bands (NDTI = Normalized Difference Turbidity Index, NDWI Mac Feeters = Normalized Difference Water Index) turned out to be reliable indicators for surface water in the local geographic setting. While Anopheles larvae abundance in habitats is driven by multiple, interconnected factors - amongst which the NDVI - and precipitation events, the presence of vector imagines was found to be correlated negatively to remotely sensed LST and positively to the cumulated amount of rainfall in the preceding 15 days and to the Normalized Difference Pond Index (NDPI) within the 500 m buffer zone around capture points. Conclusions Remotely sensed geographical and meteorological factors, including precipitations, temperature, as well as vegetation, humidity and land cover indicators could be used as explanatory variables for surface water presence, larval development and imagines densities. This modeling approach based on remotely sensed information is potentially useful for counter measures that are putting on at the environmental side, namely vector larvae control via larviciding and water body reforming. PMID:22443452

Utilization of combined remote sensing techniques to detect environmental variables influencing malaria vector densities in rural West Africa.

PubMed

Dambach, Peter; Machault, Vanessa; Lacaux, Jean-Pierre; Vignolles, Cécile; Sié, Ali; Sauerborn, Rainer

2012-03-23

The use of remote sensing has found its way into the field of epidemiology within the last decades. With the increased sensor resolution of recent and future satellites new possibilities emerge for high resolution risk modeling and risk mapping. A SPOT 5 satellite image, taken during the rainy season 2009 was used for calculating indices by combining the image's spectral bands. Besides the widely used Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) other indices were tested for significant correlation against field observations. Multiple steps, including the detection of surface water, its breeding appropriateness for Anopheles and modeling of vector imagines abundance, were performed. Data collection on larvae, adult vectors and geographic parameters in the field, was amended by using remote sensing techniques to gather data on altitude (Digital Elevation Model = DEM), precipitation (Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission = TRMM), land surface temperatures (LST). The DEM derived altitude as well as indices calculations combining the satellite's spectral bands (NDTI = Normalized Difference Turbidity Index, NDWI Mac Feeters = Normalized Difference Water Index) turned out to be reliable indicators for surface water in the local geographic setting. While Anopheles larvae abundance in habitats is driven by multiple, interconnected factors - amongst which the NDVI - and precipitation events, the presence of vector imagines was found to be correlated negatively to remotely sensed LST and positively to the cumulated amount of rainfall in the preceding 15 days and to the Normalized Difference Pond Index (NDPI) within the 500 m buffer zone around capture points. Remotely sensed geographical and meteorological factors, including precipitations, temperature, as well as vegetation, humidity and land cover indicators could be used as explanatory variables for surface water presence, larval development and imagines densities. This modeling approach based on remotely sensed information is potentially useful for counter measures that are putting on at the environmental side, namely vector larvae control via larviciding and water body reforming. © 2012 Dambach et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Pansharpening on the Narrow Vnir and SWIR Spectral Bands of SENTINEL-2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaiopoulos, A. D.; Karantzalos, K.

2016-06-01

In this paper results from the evaluation of several state-of-the-art pansharpening techniques are presented for the VNIR and SWIR bands of Sentinel-2. A procedure for the pansharpening is also proposed which aims at respecting the closest spectral similarities between the higher and lower resolution bands. The evaluation included 21 different fusion algorithms and three evaluation frameworks based both on standard quantitative image similarity indexes and qualitative evaluation from remote sensing experts. The overall analysis of the evaluation results indicated that remote sensing experts disagreed with the outcomes and method ranking from the quantitative assessment. The employed image quality similarity indexes and quantitative evaluation framework based on both high and reduced resolution data from the literature didn't manage to highlight/evaluate mainly the spatial information that was injected to the lower resolution images. Regarding the SWIR bands none of the methods managed to deliver significantly better results than a standard bicubic interpolation on the original low resolution bands.

Three causes of variation in the photochemical reflectance index (PRI) in evergreen conifers.

PubMed

Wong, Christopher Y S; Gamon, John A

2015-04-01

The photochemical reflectance index (PRI) reflects diurnal xanthophyll cycle activity and is also influenced by seasonally changing carotenoid : Chl pigment ratios. Both changing pigment pools and xanthophyll cycle activity contribute to photoprotection in evergreen conifers exposed to boreal winters, but they operate over different timescales, and their relative contribution to the PRI signal has often been unclear. To clarify these responses and their contribution to the PRI signal, leaf PRI, pigment composition, temperature and irradiance were monitored over 2 yr for two evergreen conifers (Pinus contorta and Pinus ponderosa) in a boreal climate. PRI was affected by three distinct processes operating over different timescales and exhibiting contrasting spectral responses. Over the 2 yr study period, the greatest change in PRI resulted from seasonally changing carotenoid : Chl pigment ratios, followed by a previously unreported shifting leaf albedo during periods of deep cold. Remarkably, the smallest change was attributable to the xanthophyll cycle. To properly distinguish these three effects, interpretation of PRI must consider temporal context, physiological responses to evolving environmental conditions, and spectral response. Consideration of the separate mechanisms affecting PRI over different timescales could greatly improve efforts to monitor changing photosynthetic activity using optical remote sensing. © 2014 The Authors New Phytologist © 2014 New Phytologist Trust.

FIBER AND INTEGRATED OPTICS: New method for determination of the parameters of a channel waveguide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galechyan, M. G.; Dianov, Evgenii M.; Lyndin, N. M.; Sychugov, V. A.; Tishchenko, A. V.; Usievich, B. A.

1992-02-01

A new method for the determination of the parameters of channel integrated optical waveguides is proposed. This method is based on measuring the spectral transmission of a system comprising the investigated waveguide and single-mode fiber waveguides, which are brought into contact with the channel waveguide. The results are reported of an investigation of two channel waveguides formed in glass by a variety of methods and characterized by different refractive index profiles. The proposed method is found to be suitable for determination of the parameters of the refractive index profile of the investigated channel waveguides.

Continuum sources from the THOR survey between 1 and 2 GHz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bihr, S.; Johnston, K. G.; Beuther, H.; Anderson, L. D.; Ott, J.; Rugel, M.; Bigiel, F.; Brunthaler, A.; Glover, S. C. O.; Henning, T.; Heyer, M. H.; Klessen, R. S.; Linz, H.; Longmore, S. N.; McClure-Griffiths, N. M.; Menten, K. M.; Plume, R.; Schierhuber, T.; Shanahan, R.; Stil, J. M.; Urquhart, J. S.; Walsh, A. J.

2016-04-01

We carried out a large program with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA): "THOR: The H I, OH, Recombination line survey of the Milky Way". We observed a significant portion (~100 deg2) of the Galactic plane in the first quadrant of the Milky Way in the 21 cm H I line, 4 OH transitions, 19 radio recombination lines, and continuum from 1 to 2 GHz. In this paper we present a catalog of the continuum sources in the first half of the survey (l = 14.0-37.9° and l = 47.1-51.2°, | b | ≤ 1.1°) at a spatial resolution of 10-25″, depending on the frequency and sky position with a spatially varying noise level of ~0.3-1 mJy beam-1. The catalog contains ~4400 sources. Around 1200 of these are spatially resolved, and ~1000 are possible artifacts, given their low signal-to-noise ratios. Since the spatial distribution of the unresolved objects is evenly distributed and not confined to the Galactic plane, most of them are extragalactic. Thanks to the broad bandwidth of the observations from 1 to 2 GHz, we are able to determine a reliable spectral index for ~1800 sources. The spectral index distribution reveals a double-peaked profile with maxima at spectral indices of α ≈ -1 and α ≈ 0, corresponding to steep declining and flat spectra, respectively. This allows us to distinguish between thermal and non-thermal emission, which can be used to determine the nature of each source. We examine the spectral index of ~300 known H II regions, for which we find thermal emission with spectral indices around α ≈ 0. In contrast, supernova remnants (SNR) show non-thermal emission with α ≈ -0.5 and extragalactic objects generally have a steeper spectral index of α ≈ -1. Using the spectral index information of the THOR survey, we investigate potential SNR candidates. We classify the radiation of four SNR candidates as non-thermal, and for the first time, we provide strong evidence for the SNR origin of these candidates. Full Table C.1 is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/588/A97

Use of near infrared/red radiance ratios for estimating vegetation biomass and physiological status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tucker, C. J.

1977-01-01

The application of photographic infrared/red (ir/red) reflectance or radiance ratios for the estimation of vegetation biomass and physiological status were investigated by analyzing in situ spectral reflectance data from experimental grass plots. Canopy biological samples were taken for total wet biomass, total dry biomass, leaf water content, dry green biomass, dry brown biomass, and total chlorophyll content at each sampling date. Integrated red and photographic infrared radiances were regressed against the various canopy or plot variables to determine the relative significance between the red, photographic infrared, and the ir/red ratio and the canopy variables. The ir/red ratio is sensitive to the photosynthetically active or green biomass, the rate of primary production, and actually measures the interaction between the green biomass and the rate of primary production within a given species type. The ir/red ratio resulted in improved regression significance over the red or the ir/radiances taken separately. Only slight differences were found between ir/red ratio, the ir-red difference, the vegetation index, and the transformed vegetation index. The asymptotic spectral radiance properties of the ir, red, ir/red ratio, and the various transformations were evaluated.

Unveiling slim accretion disc in AGN through X-ray and Infrared observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castelló-Mor, Núria; Kaspi, Shai; Netzer, Hagai; Du, Pu; Hu, Chen; Ho, Luis C.; Bai, Jin-Ming; Bian, Wei-Hao; Yuan, Ye-Fei; Wang, Jian-Min

2017-05-01

In this work, which is a continuation of Castelló-Mor et al., we present new X-ray and infrared (IR) data for a sample of active galactic nuclei (AGN) covering a wide range in Eddington ratio over a small luminosity range. In particular, we rigorously explore the dependence of the optical-to-X-ray spectral index αOX and the IR-to-optical spectral index on the dimensionless accretion rate, \\dot{M} = \\dot{m}/η, where \\dot{m} = LAGN/LEdd and η is the mass-to-radiation conversion efficiency, in low- and high-accretion rate sources. We find that the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the faster accreting sources is surprisingly similar to those from the comparison sample of sources with lower accretion rate. In particular: (I) The optical-to-UV AGN SED of slow and fast accreting AGN can be fitted with thin accretion disc (AD) models. (II) The value of αOX is very similar in slow and fast accreting systems up to a dimensionless accretion rate \\dot{M}c ˜ 10. We only find a correlation between αOX and \\dot{M} for sources with \\dot{M} > \\dot{M}c. In such cases, the faster accreting sources appear to have systematically larger αOX values. (III) We also find that the torus in the faster accreting systems seems to be less efficient in reprocessing the primary AGN radiation having lower IR-to-optical spectral slopes. These findings, failing to recover the predicted differences between the SEDs of slim and thin ADs within the observed spectral window, suggest that additional physical processes or very special geometry act to reduce the extreme-UV radiation in fast accreting AGN. This may be related to photon trapping, strong winds and perhaps other yet unknown physical processes.

Chemical Sensing Sensitivity of Long-Period Grating Sensor Enhanced by Colloidal Gold Nanoparticles

PubMed Central

Tang, Jaw-Luen; Wang, Jien-Neng

2008-01-01

A simple and effective method is proposed to improve spectral sensitivity and detection limit of long period gratings for refractive index or chemical sensing, where the grating surface is modified by a monolayer of colloidal gold nanoparticles. The transmission spectra and optical properties of gold nanospheres vary with the different refractive index of the environment near the surface of gold nanospheres. The sensor response of gold colloids increases linearly with solvents of increasing refractive index. The results for the measurement of sucrose and sodium chloride solutions are reported, which show that this type of sensor can provide a limiting resolution of ∼10-3 to ∼10-4 for refractive indices in the range of 1.34 to 1.39 and a noticeable increase in detection limit of refractive index to external medium. PMID:27879701

High resolution group refractive index measurement by broadband supercontinuum interferometry and wavelet-transform analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reolon, David; Jacquot, Maxime; Verrier, Isabelle; Brun, Gérald; Veillas, Colette

2006-12-01

In this paper we propose group refractive index measurement with a spectral interferometric set-up using a broadband supercontinuum generated in an air-silica Microstructured Optical Fibre (MOF) pumped with a picosecond pulsed microchip laser. This source authorizes high fringes visibility for dispersion measurements by Spectroscopic Analysis of White Light Interferograms (SAWLI). Phase calculation is assumed by a wavelet transform procedure combined with a curve fit of the recorded channelled spectrum intensity. This approach provides high resolution and absolute group refractive index measurements along one line of the sample by recording a single 2D spectral interferogram without mechanical scanning.

Soil erosion modeled with USLE, GIS, and remote sensing: a case study of Ikkour watershed in Middle Atlas (Morocco)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Jazouli, Aafaf; Barakat, Ahmed; Ghafiri, Abdessamad; El Moutaki, Saida; Ettaqy, Abderrahim; Khellouk, Rida

2017-12-01

The Ikkour watershed located in the Middle Atlas Mountain (Morocco) has been a subject of serious soil erosion problems. This study aimed to assess the soil erosion susceptibility in this mountainous watershed using Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and spectral indices integrated with Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. The USLE model required the integration of thematic factors' maps which are rainfall aggressiveness, length and steepness of the slope, vegetation cover, soil erodibility, and erosion control practices. These factors were calculated using remote sensing data and GIS. The USLE-based assessment showed that the estimated total annual potential soil loss was about 70.66 ton ha-1 year-1. This soil loss is favored by the steep slopes and degraded vegetation cover. The spectral index method, offering a qualitative evaluation of water erosion, showed different degrees of soil degradation in the study watershed according to FI, BI, CI, and NDVI. The results of this study displayed an agreement between the USLE model and spectral index approach, and indicated that the predicted soil erosion rate can be due to the most rugged land topography and an increase in agricultural areas. Indeed, these results can further assist the decision makers in implementation of suitable conservation program to reduce soil erosion.

Vehicle Engine Classification Using Spectral Tone-Pitch Vibration Indexing and Neural Network*

PubMed Central

Wei, Jie; Vongsy, Karmon; Mendoza-Schrock, Olga; Liu, Chi-Him

2015-01-01

As a non-invasive and remote sensor, the Laser Doppler Vibrometer (LDV) has found a broad spectrum of applications in various areas such as civil engineering, biomedical engineering, and even security and restoration within art museums. LDV is an ideal sensor to detect threats earlier and provide better protection to society, which is of utmost importance to military and law enforcement institutions. However, the use of LDV in situational surveillance, in particular vehicle classification, is still in its infancy due to the lack of systematic investigations on its behavioral properties. In this work, as a result of the pilot project initiated by Air Force Research Laboratory, the innate features of LDV data from many vehicles are examined, beginning with an investigation of feature differences compared to human speech signals. A spectral tone-pitch vibration indexing scheme is developed to capture the engine’s periodic vibrations and the associated fundamental frequencies over the vehicles’ surface. A two-layer feed-forward neural network with 20 intermediate neurons is employed to classify vehicles’ engines based on their spectral tone-pitch indices. The classification results using the proposed approach over the complete LDV dataset collected by the project are exceedingly encouraging; consistently higher than 96% accuracies are attained for all four types of engines collected from this project. PMID:26788417

Circular polarization beam splitter that uses frustrated total internal reflection by an embedded symmetric achiral multilayer coating.

PubMed

Azzam, R M A; De, A

2003-03-01

A symmetric achiral trilayer structure, which consists of a high-index center layer sandwiched between two identical low-index films and embedded in a high-index prism, is designed to produce equal and opposite quarter-wave retardation in reflection and transmission and equal throughput for the p and s polarization at oblique incidence. Such a device splits a beam of incident linearly polarized light into two orthogonally circularly polarized components of equal power that travel in different directions. A visible (633-nm) design that operates at a 60 degree angle of incidence and an infrared (10.6-microm) 45 degree cube design are presented. The spectral and angular sensitivities of the device are also considered.

D-shaped fiber grating refractive index sensor induced by an ultrashort pulse laser.

PubMed

Liao, Changrui; Wang, Qiao; Xu, Lei; Liu, Shen; He, Jun; Zhao, Jing; Li, Zhengyong; Wang, Yiping

2016-03-01

The fabrication of fiber Bragg gratings was here demonstrated using ultrashort pulse laser point-by-point inscription. This is a very convenient means of creating fiber Bragg gratings with different grating periods and works by changing the translation speed of the fiber. The laser energy was first optimized in order to improve the spectral properties of the fiber gratings. Then, fiber Bragg gratings were formed into D-shaped fibers for use as refractive index sensors. A nonlinear relationship was observed between the Bragg wavelength and liquid refractive index, and a sensitivity of ∼30  nm/RIU was observed at 1.450. This shows that D-shaped fiber Bragg gratings might be used to develop promising biochemical sensors.

Photon pair generation with tailored frequency correlations in graded-index multimode fibers.

PubMed

Pourbeyram, Hamed; Mafi, Arash

2018-05-01

We study theoretically the generation of photon pairs with controlled spectral correlations via the four-wave mixing process in graded-index multimode optical fibers (GIMFs). We show that the quantum correlations of the generated photons in GIMFs can be preserved over a wide spectral range for a tunable pump source. Therefore, GIMFs can be utilized as quantum-state-preserving tunable sources of photons. In particular, we have shown that it is possible to generate factorable two-photon states, which allow for heralding of pure-state single photons without the need for narrowband spectral post filtering. We also elaborate on the possibility of simultaneously generating correlated and uncorrelated photon pairs in the same optical fiber.

The NASA earth resources spectral information system: A data compilation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leeman, V.; Earing, D.; Vincent, R. K.; Ladd, S.

1971-01-01

The NASA Earth Resources Spectral Information System and the information contained therein are described. It contains an ordered, indexed compilation of natural targets in the optical region from 0.3 to 45.0 microns. The data compilation includes approximately 100 rock and mineral, 2600 vegetation, 1000 soil, and 60 water spectral reflectance, transmittance, and emittance curves. Most of the data have been categorized by subject, and the curves in those subject areas have been plotted on a single graph. Those categories with too few curves and miscellaneous categories have been plotted as single-curve graphs. Each graph, composite of single, is fully titled to indicate curve source and is indexed by subject to facilitate user retrieval.

A new approach for fast indexing of hyperspectral image data for knowledge retrieval and mining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clowers, Robert; Dua, Sumeet

2005-11-01

Multispectral sensors produce images with a few relatively broad wavelength bands. Hyperspectral remote sensors, on the other hand, collect image data simultaneously in dozens or hundreds of narrow and adjacent spectral bands. These measurements make it possible to derive a continuous spectrum for each image cell, generating an image cube across multiple spectral components. Hyperspectral imaging has sound applications in a variety of areas such as mineral exploration, hazardous waste remediation, mapping habitat, invasive vegetation, eco system monitoring, hazardous gas detection, mineral detection, soil degradation, and climate change. This image has a strong potential for transforming the imaging paradigms associated with several design and manufacturing processes. In this paper, we describe a novel approach for fast indexing of multi-dimensional hyperspectral image data, especially for data mining applications. The index exploits the spectral and spatial relationships embedded in these image sets. The index will be employed for knowledge retrieval applications that require fast information interpretation approaches. The index can also be deployed in real-time mission-critical domains, as it is shown to exhibit speed with high degrees of dimensionality associated with the data. The strength of this index in terms of degree of false dismissals and false alarms will also be demonstrated. The paper will highlight some common applications of this imaging computational paradigm and will conclude with directions for future improvement and investigation.

Comparability of Red/Near-Infrared Reflectance and NDVI Based on the Spectral Response Function between MODIS and 30 Other Satellite Sensors Using Rice Canopy Spectra

PubMed Central

Huang, Weijiao; Huang, Jingfeng; Wang, Xiuzhen; Wang, Fumin; Shi, Jingjing

2013-01-01

Long-term monitoring of regional and global environment changes often depends on the combined use of multi-source sensor data. The most widely used vegetation index is the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), which is a function of the red and near-infrared (NIR) spectral bands. The reflectance and NDVI data sets derived from different satellite sensor systems will not be directly comparable due to different spectral response functions (SRF), which has been recognized as one of the most important sources of uncertainty in the multi-sensor data analysis. This study quantified the influence of SRFs on the red and NIR reflectances and NDVI derived from 31 Earth observation satellite sensors. For this purpose, spectroradiometric measurements were performed for paddy rice grown under varied nitrogen levels and at different growth stages. The rice canopy reflectances were convoluted with the spectral response functions of various satellite instruments to simulate sensor-specific reflectances in the red and NIR channels. NDVI values were then calculated using the simulated red and NIR reflectances. The results showed that as compared to the Terra MODIS, the mean relative percentage difference (RPD) ranged from −12.67% to 36.30% for the red reflectance, −8.52% to −0.23% for the NIR reflectance, and −9.32% to 3.10% for the NDVI. The mean absolute percentage difference (APD) compared to the Terra MODIS ranged from 1.28% to 36.30% for the red reflectance, 0.84% to 8.71% for the NIR reflectance, and 0.59% to 9.32% for the NDVI. The lowest APD between MODIS and the other 30 satellite sensors was observed for Landsat5 TM for the red reflectance, CBERS02B CCD for the NIR reflectance and Landsat4 TM for the NDVI. In addition, the largest APD between MODIS and the other 30 satellite sensors was observed for IKONOS for the red reflectance, AVHRR1 onboard NOAA8 for the NIR reflectance and IKONOS for the NDVI. The results also indicated that AVHRRs onboard NOAA7-17 showed higher differences than did the other sensors with respect to MODIS. A series of optimum models were presented for remote sensing data assimilation between MODIS and other sensors. PMID:24287529

Comparability of red/near-infrared reflectance and NDVI based on the spectral response function between MODIS and 30 other satellite sensors using rice canopy spectra.

PubMed

Huang, Weijiao; Huang, Jingfeng; Wang, Xiuzhen; Wang, Fumin; Shi, Jingjing

2013-11-26

Long-term monitoring of regional and global environment changes often depends on the combined use of multi-source sensor data. The most widely used vegetation index is the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), which is a function of the red and near-infrared (NIR) spectral bands. The reflectance and NDVI data sets derived from different satellite sensor systems will not be directly comparable due to different spectral response functions (SRF), which has been recognized as one of the most important sources of uncertainty in the multi-sensor data analysis. This study quantified the influence of SRFs on the red and NIR reflectances and NDVI derived from 31 Earth observation satellite sensors. For this purpose, spectroradiometric measurements were performed for paddy rice grown under varied nitrogen levels and at different growth stages. The rice canopy reflectances were convoluted with the spectral response functions of various satellite instruments to simulate sensor-specific reflectances in the red and NIR channels. NDVI values were then calculated using the simulated red and NIR reflectances. The results showed that as compared to the Terra MODIS, the mean relative percentage difference (RPD) ranged from -12.67% to 36.30% for the red reflectance, -8.52% to -0.23% for the NIR reflectance, and -9.32% to 3.10% for the NDVI. The mean absolute percentage difference (APD) compared to the Terra MODIS ranged from 1.28% to 36.30% for the red reflectance, 0.84% to 8.71% for the NIR reflectance, and 0.59% to 9.32% for the NDVI. The lowest APD between MODIS and the other 30 satellite sensors was observed for Landsat5 TM for the red reflectance, CBERS02B CCD for the NIR reflectance and Landsat4 TM for the NDVI. In addition, the largest APD between MODIS and the other 30 satellite sensors was observed for IKONOS for the red reflectance, AVHRR1 onboard NOAA8 for the NIR reflectance and IKONOS for the NDVI. The results also indicated that AVHRRs onboard NOAA7-17 showed higher differences than did the other sensors with respect to MODIS. A series of optimum models were presented for remote sensing data assimilation between MODIS and other sensors.

Estimation of carotenoid content at the canopy scale using the carotenoid triangle ratio index from in situ and simulated hyperspectral data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kong, Weiping; Huang, Wenjiang; Zhou, Xianfeng; Song, Xiaoyu; Casa, Raffaele

2016-04-01

Precise estimation of carotenoids (Car) content in plants, from remotely sensed data, is challenging due to their small proportion in the overall total pigment content and to the overlapping of spectral absorption features with chlorophyll (Chl) in the blue region of the spectrum. The use of narrow band vegetation indices (VIs) obtained from hyperspectral data has been considered an effective way to estimate Car content. However, VIs have proved to lack sensitivity to low or high Car content in a number of studies. In this study, the carotenoid triangle ratio index (CTRI), derived from the existing modified triangular vegetation index and a single band reflectance at 531 nm, was proposed and employed to estimate Car canopy content. We tested the potential of three categories of hyperspectral indices earlier proposed for Car, Chl, Car/Chl ratio estimation, and the new CTRI index, for Car canopy content assessment in winter wheat and corn. Spectral reflectance representing plant canopies were simulated using the PROSPECT and SAIL radiative transfer model, with the aim of analyzing saturation effects of these indices, as well as Chl effects on the relationship between spectral indices and Car content. The result showed that the majority of the spectral indices tested, saturated with the increase of Car canopy content above 28 to 64 μg/cm2. Conversely, the CTRI index was more robust and was linearly and highly sensitive to Car content in winter wheat and corn datasets, with coefficients of determination of 0.92 and 0.75, respectively. The corresponding root mean square error of prediction were 6.01 and 9.70 μg/cm2, respectively. Furthermore, the CTRI index did not show a saturation effect and was not greatly influenced by changes of Chl values, outperforming all the other indices tested. Estimation of Car canopy content using the CTRI index provides an insight into diagnosing plant physiological status and environmental stress.

Physiological Assessment of Water Stress in Potato Using Spectral Information

PubMed Central

Romero, Angela P.; Alarcón, Andrés; Valbuena, Raúl I.; Galeano, Carlos H.

2017-01-01

Water stress in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) causes considerable losses in yield, and therefore, potato is often considered to be a drought sensitive crop. Identification of water deficit tolerant potato genotypes is an adaptation strategy to mitigate the climatic changes that are occurring in the Cundiboyacense region in Colombia. Previous studies have evaluated potato plants under water stress conditions using physiological analyses. However, these methodologies require considerable amounts of time and plant material to perform these measurements. This study evaluated and compared the physiological and spectral traits between two genotypes, Diacol Capiro and Perla Negra under two drought levels (10 and 15 days without irrigation from flowering). Reflectance information was used to calculate indexes which were associated with the physiological behavior in plants. The results showed that spectral information was correlated (ρ < 0.0001) with physiological variables such as foliar area (FA), total water content (H2Ot), relative growth rate of potato tubers (RGTtub), leaf area ratio (LAR), and foliar area index (AFI). In general, there was a higher concentration of chlorophyll under drought treatments. In addition, Perla Negra under water deficit treatments did not show significant differences in its physiological variables. Therefore, it could be considered a drought tolerant genotype because its physiological performance was not affected under water stress conditions. However, yield was affected in both genotypes after being subject to 15 days of drought. The results suggested that reflectance indexes are a useful and affordable approach for potato phenotyping to select parent and segregant populations in breeding programs. PMID:28979277

Resurrecting the Power-law, Intermediate, and Logamediate Inflations in the DBI Scenario with Constant Sound Speed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amani, Roonak; Rezazadeh, Kazem; Abdolmaleki, Asrin; Karami, Kayoomars

2018-02-01

We investigate the power-law, intermediate, and logamediate inflationary models in the framework of DBI non-canonical scalar field with constant sound speed. In the DBI setting, we first represent the power spectrum of both scalar density and tensor gravitational perturbations. Then, we derive different inflationary observables including the scalar spectral index n s , the running of the scalar spectral index {{dn}}s/d{ln}k, and the tensor-to-scalar ratio r. We show that the 95% CL constraint of the Planck 2015 T + E data on the non-Gaussianity parameter {f}{NL}{DBI} leads to the sound speed bound {c}s≥slant 0.087 in the DBI inflation. Moreover, our results imply that, although the predictions of the power-law, intermediate, and logamediate inflations in the standard canonical framework (c s = 1) are not consistent with the Planck 2015 data, in the DBI scenario with constant sound speed {c}s< 1, the result of the r-{n}s diagram for these models can lie inside the 68% CL region favored by Planck 2015 TT,TE,EE+lowP data. We also specify the parameter space of the power-law, intermediate, and logamediate inflations for which our models are compatible with the 68% or 95% CL regions of the Planck 2015 TT,TE,EE+lowP data. Using the allowed ranges of the parameter space of the intermediate and logamediate inflationary models, we estimate the running of the scalar spectral index and find that it is compatible with the 95% CL constraint from the Planck 2015 TT,TE,EE+lowP data.

Spectral Feature Analysis for Quantitative Estimation of Cyanobacteria Chlorophyll-A

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Yi; Ye, Zhanglin; Zhang, Yugan; Yu, Jie

2016-06-01

In recent years, lake eutrophication caused a large of Cyanobacteria bloom which not only brought serious ecological disaster but also restricted the sustainable development of regional economy in our country. Chlorophyll-a is a very important environmental factor to monitor water quality, especially for lake eutrophication. Remote sensed technique has been widely utilized in estimating the concentration of chlorophyll-a by different kind of vegetation indices and monitoring its distribution in lakes, rivers or along coastline. For each vegetation index, its quantitative estimation accuracy for different satellite data might change since there might be a discrepancy of spectral resolution and channel center between different satellites. The purpose this paper is to analyze the spectral feature of chlorophyll-a with hyperspectral data (totally 651 bands) and use the result to choose the optimal band combination for different satellites. The analysis method developed here in this study could be useful to recognize and monitor cyanobacteria bloom automatically and accrately. In our experiment, the reflectance (from 350nm to 1000nm) of wild cyanobacteria in different consistency (from 0 to 1362.11ug/L) and the corresponding chlorophyll-a concentration were measured simultaneously. Two kinds of hyperspectral vegetation indices were applied in this study: simple ratio (SR) and narrow band normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), both of which consists of any two bands in the entire 651 narrow bands. Then multivariate statistical analysis was used to construct the linear, power and exponential models. After analyzing the correlation between chlorophyll-a and single band reflectance, SR, NDVI respetively, the optimal spectral index for quantitative estimation of cyanobacteria chlorophyll-a, as well corresponding central wavelength and band width were extracted. Results show that: Under the condition of water disturbance, SR and NDVI are both suitable for quantitative estimation of chlorophyll-a, and more effective than the traditional single band model; the best regression models for SR, NDVI with chlorophyll-a are linear and power, respectively. Under the condition without water disturbance, the single band model works the best. For the SR index, there are two optimal band combinations, which is comprised of infrared (700nm-900nm) and blue-green range (450nm-550nm), infrared and red range (600nm-650nm) respectively, with band width between 45nm to 125nm. For NDVI, the optimal band combination includes the range from 750nm to 900nm and 700nm to 750nm, with band width less than 30nm. For single band model, band center located between 733nm-935nm, and its width mustn't exceed the interval where band center located in. This study proved , as for SR or NDVI, the centers and widths are crucial factors for quantitative estimating chlorophyll-a. As for remote sensor, proper spectrum channel could not only improve the accuracy of recognizing cyanobacteria bloom, but reduce the redundancy of hyperspectral data. Those results will provide better reference for designing the suitable spectrum channel of customized sensors for cyanobacteria bloom monitoring at a low altitude. In other words, this study is also the basic research for developing the real-time remote sensing monitoring system with high time and high spatial resolution.

On the relationship between thermal emissivity and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index for natural surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Van De Griend, A. A.; Owe, M.

1993-01-01

The spatial variation of both the thermal emissivity (8-14 microns) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was measured for a series of natural surfaces within a savanna environment in Botswana. The measurements were performed with an emissivity-box and with a combined red and near-IR radiometer, with spectral bands corresponding to NOAA/AVHRR. It was found that thermal emissivity was highly correlated with NDVI after logarithmic transformation, with a correlation coefficient of R = 0.94. This empirical relationship is of potential use for energy balance studies using thermal IR remote sensing. The relationship was used in combination with AVHRR (GAC), AVHRR (LAC), and Landsat (TM) data to demonstrate and compare the spatial variability of various spatial scales.

Near-infrared and gamma-ray monitoring of TANAMI gamma-ray bright sources

DOE PAGES

Nesci, R.; Tosti, G.; Pursimo, T.; ...

2013-06-18

Context. We present that spectral energy distribution and its variability are basic tools for understanding the physical processes operating in active galactic nuclei (AGN). Aims. In this paper we report the results of a one-year near-infrared (NIR) and optical monitoring of a sample of 22 AGN known to be gamma-ray emitters, aimed at discovering correlations between optical and gamma-ray emission. Methods. We observed our objects with the Rapid Eye Mount (REM) telescope in J,H,K, and R bands nearly twice every month during their visibility window and derived light curves and spectral indexes. We also analyzed the gamma-ray data from themore » Fermi gamma-ray Space Telescope, making weekly averages. Results. Six sources were never detected during our monitoring, proving to be fainter than their historical Two micron all sky survey (2MASS) level. All of the sixteen detected sources showed marked flux density variability, while the spectral indexes remained unchanged within our sensitivity limits. Steeper sources showed, on average, a larger variability. From the NIR light curves we also computed a variability speed index for each detected source. Only one source (PKS 0208-512) underwent an NIR flare during our monitoring. Half of the sources showed a regular flux density trend on a one-year time scale, but do not show any other peculiar characteristic. The broadband spectral index α ro appears to be a good proxy of the NIR spectral index only for BL Lac objects. No clear correlation between NIR and gamma-ray data is evident in our data, save for PKS 0537-441, PKS 0521-360, PKS 2155-304, and PKS 1424-418. In conclusion, the gamma-ray/NIR flux ratio showed a large spread, QSO being generally gamma-louder than BL Lac, with a marked correlation with the estimated peak frequency (ν peak) of the synchrotron emission.« less

Information content in spectral dependencies of optical unit volume parameters under action of He-Ne laser on blood

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khairullina, Alphiya Y.; Oleinik, Tatiana V.

1995-01-01

Our previous works concerned with the development of methods for studying blood and action of low-intensity laser radiation on blood and erythrocyte suspensions had shown the light- scattering methods gave a large body of information on a medium studied due to the methodological relationship between irradiation processes and techniques for investigations. Detail analysis of spectral diffuse reflectivities and transmissivities of optically thick blood layers, spectral absorptivities calculated on this basis over 600 - 900 nm, by using different approximations, for a pathological state owing to hypoxia testifies to the optical significance of not only hemoglobin derivatives but also products of hemoglobin decomposition. Laser action on blood is specific and related to an initial state of blood absorption due to different composition of chromoproteids. This work gives the interpretation of spectral observations. Analysis of spectral dependencies of the exinction coefficient e, mean cosine m of phase function, and parameter Q equals (epsilon) (1-(mu) )H/(lambda) (H - hematocrit) testifies to decreasing the relative index of refraction of erythrocytes and to morphological changes during laser action under pathology owing to hypoxia. The possibility to obtain physical and chemical information on the state of blood under laser action in vivo is shown to be based on the method proposed by us for calculating multilayered structures modeling human organs and on the technical implementation of this method.

[The new method monitoring crop water content based on NIR-Red spectrum feature space].

PubMed

Cheng, Xiao-juan; Xu, Xin-gang; Chen, Tian-en; Yang, Gui-jun; Li, Zhen-hai

2014-06-01

Moisture content is an important index of crop water stress condition, timely and effective monitoring of crop water content is of great significance for evaluating crop water deficit balance and guiding agriculture irrigation. The present paper was trying to build a new crop water index for winter wheat vegetation water content based on NIR-Red spectral space. Firstly, canopy spectrums of winter wheat with narrow-band were resampled according to relative spectral response function of HJ-CCD and ZY-3. Then, a new index (PWI) was set up to estimate vegetation water content of winter wheat by improveing PDI (perpendicular drought index) and PVI (perpendicular vegetation index) based on NIR-Red spectral feature space. The results showed that the relationship between PWI and VWC (vegetation water content) was stable based on simulation of wide-band multispectral data HJ-CCD and ZY-3 with R2 being 0.684 and 0.683, respectively. And then VWC was estimated by using PWI with the R2 and RMSE being 0.764 and 0.764, 3.837% and 3.840%, respectively. The results indicated that PWI has certain feasibility to estimate crop water content. At the same time, it provides a new method for monitoring crop water content using remote sensing data HJ-CCD and ZY-3.

Spectral Behavior of Weakly Compressible Aero-Optical Distortions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mathews, Edwin; Wang, Kan; Wang, Meng; Jumper, Eric

2016-11-01

In classical theories of optical distortions by atmospheric turbulence, an appropriate and key assumption is that index-of-refraction variations are dominated by fluctuations in temperature and the effects of turbulent pressure fluctuations are negligible. This assumption is, however, not generally valid for aero-optical distortions caused by turbulent flow over an optical aperture, where both temperature and pressures fluctuations may contribute significantly to the index-of-refraction fluctuations. A general expression for weak fluctuations in refractive index is derived using the ideal gas law and Gladstone-Dale relation and applied to describe the spectral behavior of aero-optical distortions. Large-eddy simulations of weakly compressible, temporally evolving shear layers are then used to verify the theoretical results. Computational results support theoretical findings and confirm that if the log slope of the 1-D density spectrum in the inertial range is -mρ , the optical phase distortion spectral slope is given by - (mρ + 1) . The value of mρ is then shown to be dependent on the ratio of shear-layer free-stream densities and bounded by the spectral slopes of temperature and pressure fluctuations. Supported by HEL-JTO through AFOSR Grant FA9550-13-1-0001 and Blue Waters Graduate Fellowship Program.

Spectral solution of the inverse Mie problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romanov, Andrey V.; Konokhova, Anastasiya I.; Yastrebova, Ekaterina S.; Gilev, Konstantin V.; Strokotov, Dmitry I.; Chernyshev, Andrei V.; Maltsev, Valeri P.; Yurkin, Maxim A.

2017-10-01

We developed a fast method to determine size and refractive index of homogeneous spheres from the power Fourier spectrum of their light-scattering patterns (LSPs), measured with the scanning flow cytometer. Specifically, we used two spectral parameters: the location of the non-zero peak and zero-frequency amplitude, and numerically inverted the map from the space of particle characteristics (size and refractive index) to the space of spectral parameters. The latter parameters can be reliably resolved only for particle size parameter greater than 11, and the inversion is unique only in the limited range of refractive index with upper limit between 1.1 and 1.25 (relative to the medium) depending on the size parameter and particular definition of uniqueness. The developed method was tested on two experimental samples, milk fat globules and spherized red blood cells, and resulted in accuracy not worse than the reference method based on the least-square fit of the LSP with the Mie theory. Moreover, for particles with significant deviation from the spherical shape the spectral method was much closer to the Mie-fit result than the estimated uncertainty of the latter. The spectral method also showed adequate results for synthetic LSPs of spheroids with aspect ratios up to 1.4. Overall, we present a general framework, which can be used to construct an inverse algorithm for any other experimental signals.

STATCONT: A statistical continuum level determination method for line-rich sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sánchez-Monge, Á.; Schilke, P.; Ginsburg, A.; Cesaroni, R.; Schmiedeke, A.

2018-01-01

STATCONT is a python-based tool designed to determine the continuum emission level in spectral data, in particular for sources with a line-rich spectrum. The tool inspects the intensity distribution of a given spectrum and automatically determines the continuum level by using different statistical approaches. The different methods included in STATCONT are tested against synthetic data. We conclude that the sigma-clipping algorithm provides the most accurate continuum level determination, together with information on the uncertainty in its determination. This uncertainty can be used to correct the final continuum emission level, resulting in the here called `corrected sigma-clipping method' or c-SCM. The c-SCM has been tested against more than 750 different synthetic spectra reproducing typical conditions found towards astronomical sources. The continuum level is determined with a discrepancy of less than 1% in 50% of the cases, and less than 5% in 90% of the cases, provided at least 10% of the channels are line free. The main products of STATCONT are the continuum emission level, together with a conservative value of its uncertainty, and datacubes containing only spectral line emission, i.e., continuum-subtracted datacubes. STATCONT also includes the option to estimate the spectral index, when different files covering different frequency ranges are provided.

[Research on developping the spectral dataset for Dunhuang typical colors based on color constancy].

PubMed

Liu, Qiang; Wan, Xiao-Xia; Liu, Zhen; Li, Chan; Liang, Jin-Xing

2013-11-01

The present paper aims at developping a method to reasonably set up the typical spectral color dataset for different kinds of Chinese cultural heritage in color rendering process. The world famous wall paintings dating from more than 1700 years ago in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes was taken as typical case in this research. In order to maintain the color constancy during the color rendering workflow of Dunhuang culture relics, a chromatic adaptation based method for developping the spectral dataset of typical colors for those wall paintings was proposed from the view point of human vision perception ability. Under the help and guidance of researchers in the art-research institution and protection-research institution of Dunhuang Academy and according to the existing research achievement of Dunhuang Research in the past years, 48 typical known Dunhuang pigments were chosen and 240 representative color samples were made with reflective spectral ranging from 360 to 750 nm was acquired by a spectrometer. In order to find the typical colors of the above mentioned color samples, the original dataset was devided into several subgroups by clustering analysis. The grouping number, together with the most typical samples for each subgroup which made up the firstly built typical color dataset, was determined by wilcoxon signed rank test according to the color inconstancy index comprehensively calculated under 6 typical illuminating conditions. Considering the completeness of gamut of Dunhuang wall paintings, 8 complementary colors was determined and finally the typical spectral color dataset was built up which contains 100 representative spectral colors. The analytical calculating results show that the median color inconstancy index of the built dataset in 99% confidence level by wilcoxon signed rank test was 3.28 and the 100 colors are distributing in the whole gamut uniformly, which ensures that this dataset can provide reasonable reference for choosing the color with highest color constancy during the color rendering process of Dunhuang cultural heritage.

Preliminary comparison between real-time in-vivo spectral and transverse oscillation velocity estimates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pedersen, Mads Møller; Pihl, Michael Johannes; Haugaard, Per; Hansen, Jens Munk; Lindskov Hansen, Kristoffer; Bachmann Nielsen, Michael; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

2011-03-01

Spectral velocity estimation is considered the gold standard in medical ultrasound. Peak systole (PS), end diastole (ED), and resistive index (RI) are used clinically. Angle correction is performed using a flow angle set manually. With Transverse Oscillation (TO) velocity estimates the flow angle, peak systole (PSTO), end diastole (EDTO), and resistive index (RITO) are estimated. This study investigates if these clinical parameters are estimated equally good using spectral and TO data. The right common carotid arteries of three healthy volunteers were scanned longitudinally. Average TO flow angles and std were calculated { 52+/-18 ; 55+/-23 ; 60+/-16 }°. Spectral angles { 52 ; 56 ; 52 }° were obtained from the B-mode images. Obtained values are: PSTO { 76+/-15 ; 89+/-28 ; 77+/-7 } cm/s, spectral PS { 77 ; 110 ; 76 } cm/s, EDTO { 10+/-3 ; 14+/-8 ; 15+/-3 } cm/s, spectral ED { 18 ; 13 ; 20 } cm/s, RITO { 0.87+/-0.05 ; 0.79+/-0.21 ; 0.79+/-0.06 }, and spectral RI { 0.77 ; 0.88 ; 0.73 }. Vector angles are within +/-two std of the spectral angle. TO velocity estimates are within +/-three std of the spectral estimates. RITO are within +/-two std of the spectral estimates. Preliminary data indicates that the TO and spectral velocity estimates are equally good. With TO there is no manual angle setting and no flow angle limitation. TO velocity estimation can also automatically handle situations where the angle varies over the cardiac cycle. More detailed temporal and spatial vector estimates with diagnostic potential are available with the TO velocity estimation.

Measurement of the cosmic-ray iron spectrum between 60 and 200 GeV per nucleon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Esposito, Joseph A.; Streitmatter, Robert E.; Balasubrahmanyan, V. K.; Ormes, Jonathan F.

1990-01-01

A measurement of the spectral index of Galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) iron has been made using a high-energy gas Cerenkov spectrometer. The spectral index of GCR iron is found to be 2.56 + or - 0.11 in the energy range 57-200 GeV/ nucleon. This result indicates that the source spectrum of GCR iron is similar to that of other primary GCR nuclei and is consistent with the simplest models of GCR propagation.

Leaf aging of Amazonian canopy trees as revealed by spectral and physiochemical measurements.

PubMed

Chavana-Bryant, Cecilia; Malhi, Yadvinder; Wu, Jin; Asner, Gregory P; Anastasiou, Athanasios; Enquist, Brian J; Cosio Caravasi, Eric G; Doughty, Christopher E; Saleska, Scott R; Martin, Roberta E; Gerard, France F

2017-05-01

Leaf aging is a fundamental driver of changes in leaf traits, thereby regulating ecosystem processes and remotely sensed canopy dynamics. We explore leaf reflectance as a tool to monitor leaf age and develop a spectra-based partial least squares regression (PLSR) model to predict age using data from a phenological study of 1099 leaves from 12 lowland Amazonian canopy trees in southern Peru. Results demonstrated monotonic decreases in leaf water (LWC) and phosphorus (P mass ) contents and an increase in leaf mass per unit area (LMA) with age across trees; leaf nitrogen (N mass ) and carbon (C mass ) contents showed monotonic but tree-specific age responses. We observed large age-related variation in leaf spectra across trees. A spectra-based model was more accurate in predicting leaf age (R 2  = 0.86; percent root mean square error (%RMSE) = 33) compared with trait-based models using single (R 2  = 0.07-0.73; %RMSE = 7-38) and multiple (R 2  = 0.76; %RMSE = 28) predictors. Spectra- and trait-based models established a physiochemical basis for the spectral age model. Vegetation indices (VIs) including the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), enhanced vegetation index 2 (EVI2), normalized difference water index (NDWI) and photosynthetic reflectance index (PRI) were all age-dependent. This study highlights the importance of leaf age as a mediator of leaf traits, provides evidence of age-related leaf reflectance changes that have important impacts on VIs used to monitor canopy dynamics and productivity and proposes a new approach to predicting and monitoring leaf age with important implications for remote sensing. © 2016 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2016 New Phytologist Trust.

Scale-dependent Normalized Amplitude and Weak Spectral Anisotropy of Magnetic Field Fluctuations in the Solar Wind Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xin; Tu, Chuanyi; Marsch, Eckart; He, Jiansen; Wang, Linghua

2016-01-01

Turbulence in the solar wind was recently reported to be anisotropic, with the average power spectral index close to -2 when sampling parallel to the local mean magnetic field B0 and close to -5/3 when sampling perpendicular to the local B0. This result was widely considered to be observational evidence for the critical balance theory (CBT), which is derived by making the assumption that the turbulence strength is close to one. However, this basic assumption has not yet been checked carefully with observational data. Here we present for the first time the scale-dependent magnetic-field fluctuation amplitude, which is normalized by the local B0 and evaluated for both parallel and perpendicular sampling directions, using two 30-day intervals of Ulysses data. From our results, the turbulence strength is evaluated as much less than one at small scales in the parallel direction. An even stricter criterion is imposed when selecting the wavelet coefficients for a given sampling direction, so that the time stationarity of the local B0 is better ensured during the local sampling interval. The spectral index for the parallel direction is then found to be -1.75, whereas the spectral index in the perpendicular direction remains close to -1.65. These two new results, namely that the value of the turbulence strength is much less than one in the parallel direction and that the angle dependence of the spectral index is weak, cannot be explained by existing turbulence theories, like CBT, and thus will require new theoretical considerations and promote further observations of solar-wind turbulence.

Faraday rotation fluctutation spectra observed during solar occultation of the Helios spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Andreev, V.; Efimov, A. I.; Samoznaev, L.; Bird, M. K.

1995-01-01

Faraday rotation (FR) measurements using linearly polarized radio signals from the two Helios spacecraft were carried out during the period from 1975 to 1984. This paper presents the results of a spectral analysis of the Helios S-band FR fluctuations observed at heliocentric distances from 2.6 to 15 solar radii during the superior conjunctions 1975-1983. The mean intensity of the FR fluctuations does not exceed the noise level for solar offsets greater than ca. 15 solar radii. The rms FR fluctuation amplitude increases rapidly as the radio ray path approaches the Sun, varying according to a power law (exponent: 2.85 +/- 0.15) at solar distances 4-12 solar radii. At distances inside 4 solar radii the increase is even steeper (exponent: 5.6 +/- 0.2). The equivalent two-dimensional FR fluctuation spectrum is well modeled by a single power-law over the frequency range from 5 to 50 mHz. For heliocentric distances larger than 4 solar radii the spectral index varies between 1.1 and 1.6 with a mean value of 1.4 +/- 0.2, corresponding to a 3-D spectral index p = 2.4. FR fluctuations thus display a somwhat lower spectral index compared with phase and amplitude fluctuations. Surprisingly high values of the spectral index were found for measurements inside 4 solar radii (p = 2.9 +/- 0.2). This may arise from the increasingly dominant effect of the magnetic field on radio wave propagation at small solar offsets. Finally, a quasiperiodic component, believed to be associated with Alfven waves, was discovered in some (but not all!) fluctuation spectra observed simultaneously at two ground stations. Characteristic periods and bulk velocities of this component were 240 +/- 30 sec and 300 +/- 60 km/s, respectively.

Optical spectral signatures of liquids by means of fiber optic technology for product and quality parameter identification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mignani, A. G.; Ciaccheri, L.; Mencaglia, A. A.; Diaz-Herrera, N.; Garcia-Allende, P. B.; Ottevaere, H.; Thienpont, H.; Attilio, C.; Cimato, A.; Francalanci, S.; Paccagnini, A.; Pavone, F. S.

2009-01-01

Absorption spectroscopy in the wide 200-1700 nm spectral range is carried out by means of optical fiber instrumentation to achieve a digital mapping of liquids for the prediction of important quality parameters. Extra virgin olive oils from Italy and lubricant oils from turbines with different degrees of degradation were considered as "case studies". The spectral data were processed by means of multivariate analysis so as to obtain a correlation to quality parameters. In practice, the wide range absorption spectra were considered as an optical signature of the liquids from which to extract product quality information. The optical signatures of extra virgin olive oils were used to predict the content of the most important fatty acids. The optical signatures of lubricant oils were used to predict the concentration of the most important parameters for indicating the oil's degree of degradation, such as TAN, JOAP anti-wear index, and water content.

Comparison of NDVI fields obtained from different remote sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Escribano Rodriguez, Juan; Alonso, Carmelo; Tarquis, Ana Maria; Benito, Rosa Maria; Hernandez Díaz-Ambrona, Carlos

2013-04-01

Satellite image data have become an important source of information for monitoring vegetation and mapping land cover at several scales. Beside this, the distribution and phenology of vegetation is largely associated with climate, terrain characteristics and human activity. Various vegetation indices have been developed for qualitative and quantitative assessment of vegetation using remote spectral measurements. In particular, sensors with spectral bands in the red (RED) and near-infrared (NIR) lend themselves well to vegetation monitoring and based on them [(NIR - RED) / (NIR + RED)] Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) has been widespread used. Given that the characteristics of spectral bands in RED and NIR vary distinctly from sensor to sensor, NDVI values based on data from different instruments will not be directly comparable. The spatial resolution also varies significantly between sensors, as well as within a given scene in the case of wide-angle and oblique sensors. As a result, NDVI values will vary according to combinations of the heterogeneity and scale of terrestrial surfaces and pixel footprint sizes. Therefore, the question arises as to the impact of differences in spectral and spatial resolutions on vegetation indices like the NDVI and their interpretation as a drought index. During 2012 three locations (at Salamanca, Granada and Córdoba) were selected and a periodic pasture monitoring and botanic composition were achieved. Daily precipitation, temperature and monthly soil water content were measurement as well as fresh and dry pasture weight. At the same time, remote sensing images were capture by DEIMOS-1 and MODIS of the chosen places. DEIMOS-1 is based on the concept Microsat-100 from Surrey. It is conceived for obtaining Earth images with a good enough resolution to study the terrestrial vegetation cover (20x20 m), although with a great range of visual field (600 km) in order to obtain those images with high temporal resolution and at a reduced cost. By contranst, MODIS images present a much lower spatial resolution (500x500 m). The aim of this study is to establish a comparison between two different sensors in their NDVI values at different spatial resolutions. Acknowledgements. This work was partially supported by ENESA under project P10 0220C-823. Funding provided by Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN) through project no. MTM2009-14621 and i-MATH No. CSD2006-00032 is greatly appreciated.

Fabrication of optical filters using multilayered porous silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaber, Noha; Khalil, Diaa; Shaarawi, Amr

2011-02-01

In this work we describe a method for fabricating optical filters using multilayered porous silicon 1D photonic structure. An electrochemical cell is constructed to control the porosity of variable layers in p-type Si wafers. Porous silicon multilayered structures are formed of λ/4 (or multiples) thin films that construct optical interference filters. By changing the anodizing current density of the cell during fabrication, different porosities can be obtained as the optical refractive index is a direct function of the layer porosity. To determine the morphology, the wavelength dependent refractive index n and absorption coefficient α, first, porous silicon free standing mono-layers have been fabricated at different conditions and characterized in the near infrared region (from 1000 to 2500nm). Large difference in refractive index (between 1.6 and 2.6) is obtained. Subsequently, multilayer structures have been fabricated and tested. Their spectral response has been measured and it shows good agreement with numerical simulations. A technique based on inserting etching breaks is adopted to ensure the depth homogeneity. The effect of differing etching/break times on the reproducibility of the filters is studied.

SIGN SINGULARITY AND FLARES IN SOLAR ACTIVE REGION NOAA 11158

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

Sorriso-Valvo, L.; De Vita, G.; Kazachenko, M. D.

Solar Active Region NOAA 11158 has hosted a number of strong flares, including one X2.2 event. The complexity of current density and current helicity are studied through cancellation analysis of their sign-singular measure, which features power-law scaling. Spectral analysis is also performed, revealing the presence of two separate scaling ranges with different spectral index. The time evolution of parameters is discussed. Sudden changes of the cancellation exponents at the time of large flares and the presence of correlation with Extreme-Ultra-Violet and X-ray flux suggest that eruption of large flares can be linked to the small-scale properties of the current structures.

Influence of hypobaric hypoxia on bispectral index and spectral entropy in volunteers.

PubMed

Ikeda, T; Yamada, S; Imada, T; Matsuda, H; Kazama, T

2009-08-01

Hypoxia has been shown to change electroencephalogram parameters including frequency and amplitude, and may thus change bispectral index (BIS) and spectral entropy values. If hypoxia per se changes BIS and spectral entropy values, BIS and spectral entropy values may not correctly reflect the depth of anaesthesia during hypoxia. The aim of this study was to examine the changes in BIS and spectral entropy values during hypobaric hypoxia in volunteers. The study was conducted in a high-altitude chamber with 11 volunteers. After the subjects breathed 100% oxygen for 15 min at the ground level, the simulated altitude increased gradually to the 7620 m (25,000 ft) level while the subjects continued to breathe oxygen. Then, the subjects discontinued to breath oxygen and breathed room air at the 7620 m level for up to 5 min until they requested to stop hypoxic exposure. Oxygen saturation (SpO2), heart rate, 95% spectral edge frequency (SEF), BIS, response entropy (RE), and state entropy (SE) of spectral entropy were recorded throughout the study period. Of the 11 subjects, seven subjects who underwent hypoxic exposure for 4 min were analysed. SpO2 decreased to 69% at the 7620 m level without oxygen. However, SEF, BIS, RE, and SE before and during hypoxic exposure were almost identical. These data suggest that hypoxia of oxygen saturation around 70% does not have a strong effect on BIS and spectral entropy.

Determination of the refractive index of microparticles by utilizing light dispersion properties of the particle and an immersion liquid.

PubMed

Niskanen, I; Räty, J; Peiponen, K E

2013-10-15

The knowledge of the refractive index of a particle is important in sensing and imaging applications, e.g., in biology, medicine and process industry. The refractive index of tiny solid particles such as microsize particles can be determined by the so-called liquid immersion technique. This study deals with three different types of interrogation methods to get the refractive index of a particle in a liquid matrix. These methods utilize thermo-optical properties and wavelength-dependent refractive index of the particle and the immersion liquids, as well as, the classical method using a set of in advance prepared set of immersion liquids with different refractive indices. The emphasis is on a method to get especially the wavelength-dependent refractive index of microparticles and exploiting different wavelength-dependences of immersion liquid and a solid particle because identification of a particle is more reliable if the refractive index of the particle is known at several wavelengths. In this study glycerol-water mixtures served as immersion liquids to obtain the refractive index of CaF2 at several discrete wavelengths in the spectral range 200-500 nm. The idea is to find the maximum value of light transmission of suspension by scanning the wavelength of a commercial spectrophotometer. The light dispersion-based method is suggested as a relatively easy, economic and fast method to determine the refractive index of a particle by a spectrophotometer at several wavelengths of light. The accuracy of the detection of the refractive index is suggested to be better than ± 0.005 refractive index units. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Study on the Relationship between Disaster and Spectral Intensity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeh, Yeong-Tein; Kao, Ching-Yun

2010-05-01

Nowadays, the structural environment is becoming so complicated that an index, which can better assess earthquake damage than the originally defined intensity scale and PGA, is needed. Housner [1] suggested that spectral intensity (SI) can be a risk index of an earthquake. After Housner some earthquake engineers keep on exploring different period range of SI and its application [2-5]. The study of Matsumura [4] shows that SI is a better measure of earthquake intensity for a wide range of frequencies with a good correlation with damage than peak ground acceleration (adequate to structures with shorter natural period) and peak ground velocity (adequate to structures with longer natural period). Recently, Jean [6] investigated earthquake intensity attenuation law and site effect of strong ground motion using earthquake records in Taiwan area. Their results show that SI is a better earthquake damage index than PGA. This study enhanced the SI concept proposed by Jean [6]. The spectral intensity was separated into three periods, short period (acceleration controlled period), medium period (velocity controlled period), and long period (displacement controlled period). The average spectral intensity of short period, medium period, and long period can be an earthquake damage index of low-rise buildings, buildings of medium height, and high-rise buildings. Since average value of a certain data is meaningful when the data has a small variance, the start and end points of the three periods are calculated by statistical method so that the data at each period has minimum variance. Finally, the relationship between disaster and spectral intensity of 1999 Taiwan Chi-Chi earthquake was investigated in this study. [1] Housner, G. W. (1952). "Spectrum intensity of strong-motion earthquakes," in Proc. Sym. Earthq. Blast Eeff. on Stru., EERI, U.C.L.A.. [2] Hidalgo.P. and R. W.Clough (1974). "Earthquake simulator study of a reinforced concrete frame," Report UCB/EERC-74/13, EERC, University of California, Berkeley. [3] Kappos, A. J (1991). "Analytical prediction of the collpase earthquake for R. C. buildings: suggested methodology," Earthq. Eng. Stru. Dyn., 20, 2, pp. 167-176. [4] Matsumura, K. (1992). "On the intensity measure of strong motions related to structural failures," in Proceeding of 10 WCEE, 1, pp. 375-380. [5] Martinez-Rueda, J. E (1998). "Scaling procedure for natural accelerograms based on a system of spectrum intensity scales," Earthq. Spec., 14, 1,. [6] Jean, W. Y., Y. W. Chang, K. L. Wen, and C. H. Loh (2006). "Early estimation of seismic hazard for strong earthquakes in Taiwan," Natural Hazards, vol. 37, pp. 39-53.

Synchrotron Spectral Curvature from 22 MHZ to 23 GHZ

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kogut, Alan J.

2012-01-01

We combine surveys of the radio sky at frequencies 22 MHz to 1.4 GHz with data from the ARCADE-2 instrument at frequencies 3 GHz to 10 GHz to characterize the frequency spectrum of diffuse synchrotron emission in the Galaxy. The radio spectrum steepens with frequency from 22 MHz to 10 GHz. The projected spectral index at 23 GHz derived from the low-frequency data agrees well with independent measurements using only data at frequencies 23 GHz and above. Comparing the spectral index at 23 GHz to the value from previously published analyses allows extension of the model to higher frequencies. The combined data are consistent with a power-law index beta = -2.64 +/-= 0.03 at 0.31 GHz, steepening by an amount of Delta-beta = 0.07 every octave in frequency. Comparison of the radio data to models including the cosmic-ray energy spectrum suggests that any break in the synchrotron spectrum must occur at frequencies above 23 GHz.

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

Kulchin, Yurii N; Vitrik, O B; Gurbatov, S O

The phase of light propagating through a bent optical fibre is shown to depend on the refractive index of the medium surrounding the fibre cladding when there is resonance coupling between the guided core mode and cladding modes. This shifts the spectral maxima in the bent fibre-optic Fabry - Perot interferometer. The highest phase and spectral sensitivities achieved with this interferometer configuration are 0.71 and 0.077, respectively, and enable changes in the refractive index of the ambient medium down to 5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -6} to be detected. This makes the proposed approach potentially attractive for producing highly stable, precision refractivemore » index sensors capable of solving a wide range of liquid refractometry problems.« less

An adaptive band selection method for dimension reduction of hyper-spectral remote sensing image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Zhijie; Yu, Hui; Wang, Chen-sheng

2014-11-01

Hyper-spectral remote sensing data can be acquired by imaging the same area with multiple wavelengths, and it normally consists of hundreds of band-images. Hyper-spectral images can not only provide spatial information but also high resolution spectral information, and it has been widely used in environment monitoring, mineral investigation and military reconnaissance. However, because of the corresponding large data volume, it is very difficult to transmit and store Hyper-spectral images. Hyper-spectral image dimensional reduction technique is desired to resolve this problem. Because of the High relation and high redundancy of the hyper-spectral bands, it is very feasible that applying the dimensional reduction method to compress the data volume. This paper proposed a novel band selection-based dimension reduction method which can adaptively select the bands which contain more information and details. The proposed method is based on the principal component analysis (PCA), and then computes the index corresponding to every band. The indexes obtained are then ranked in order of magnitude from large to small. Based on the threshold, system can adaptively and reasonably select the bands. The proposed method can overcome the shortcomings induced by transform-based dimension reduction method and prevent the original spectral information from being lost. The performance of the proposed method has been validated by implementing several experiments. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can reduce the dimensions of hyper-spectral image with little information loss by adaptively selecting the band images.

Plasmonic Waveguide Coupled Ring Cavity for a Non-Resonant Type Refractive Index Sensor.

PubMed

Kwon, Soon-Hong

2017-11-03

Sensitive refractive index sensors with small footprints have been studied to allow the integration of a large number of sensors into a tiny chip for bio/chemical applications. In particular, resonant-type index sensors based on various micro/nanocavities, which use a resonant wavelength dependence on the refractive index of the analyte, have been developed. However, the spectral linewidth of the resonance, which becomes the resolution limit, is considerably large in plasmonic cavities due to the large absorption loss of metals. Therefore, there is demand for a new type of plasmonic refractive index sensor that is not limited by the linewidth of the cavity. We propose a new type of plasmonic index sensors consisting of a channel waveguide and a ring cavity. Two emissions from the ring cavity in both directions of the waveguide couple with a reflection phase difference depending on the length of a closed right arm with a reflecting boundary. Therefore, the output power dramatically and sensitively changes as a function of the refractive index of the analyte filling the waveguide.

Plasmonic Waveguide Coupled Ring Cavity for a Non-Resonant Type Refractive Index Sensor

PubMed Central

Kwon, Soon-Hong

2017-01-01

Sensitive refractive index sensors with small footprints have been studied to allow the integration of a large number of sensors into a tiny chip for bio/chemical applications. In particular, resonant-type index sensors based on various micro/nanocavities, which use a resonant wavelength dependence on the refractive index of the analyte, have been developed. However, the spectral linewidth of the resonance, which becomes the resolution limit, is considerably large in plasmonic cavities due to the large absorption loss of metals. Therefore, there is demand for a new type of plasmonic refractive index sensor that is not limited by the linewidth of the cavity. We propose a new type of plasmonic index sensors consisting of a channel waveguide and a ring cavity. Two emissions from the ring cavity in both directions of the waveguide couple with a reflection phase difference depending on the length of a closed right arm with a reflecting boundary. Therefore, the output power dramatically and sensitively changes as a function of the refractive index of the analyte filling the waveguide. PMID:29099740

X-Ray Spectral Variability Signatures of Flares in BL Lac Objects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boettcher, Markus; Chiang, James; White, Nicholas E. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

We are presenting a detailed parameter study of the time-dependent electron injection and kinematics and the self-consistent radiation transport in jets of intermediate and low-frequency peaked BL Lac objects. Using a time-dependent, combined synchrotron-self-Compton and external-Compton jet model, we study the influence of variations of several essential model parameters, such as the electron injection compactness, the relative contribution of synchrotron to external soft photons to the soft photon compactness, the electron- injection spectral index, and the details of the time profiles of the electron injection episodes giving rise to flaring activity. In the analysis of our results, we focus on the expected X-ray spectral variability signatures in a region of parameter space particularly well suited to reproduce the broadband spectral energy distributions of intermediate and low-frequency peaked BL Lac objects. We demonstrate that SSC- and external-Compton dominated models for the gamma-ray emission from blazars are producing significantly different signatures in the X-ray variability, in particular in the soft X-ray light curves and the spectral hysteresis at soft X-ray energies, which can be used as a powerful diagnostic to unveil the nature of the high-energy emission from BL Lac objects.

Generalized statistical mechanics of cosmic rays: Application to positron-electron spectral indices.

PubMed

Yalcin, G Cigdem; Beck, Christian

2018-01-29

Cosmic ray energy spectra exhibit power law distributions over many orders of magnitude that are very well described by the predictions of q-generalized statistical mechanics, based on a q-generalized Hagedorn theory for transverse momentum spectra and hard QCD scattering processes. QCD at largest center of mass energies predicts the entropic index to be [Formula: see text]. Here we show that the escort duality of the nonextensive thermodynamic formalism predicts an energy split of effective temperature given by Δ [Formula: see text] MeV, where T H is the Hagedorn temperature. We carefully analyse the measured data of the AMS-02 collaboration and provide evidence that the predicted temperature split is indeed observed, leading to a different energy dependence of the e + and e - spectral indices. We also observe a distinguished energy scale E *  ≈ 50 GeV where the e + and e - spectral indices differ the most. Linear combinations of the escort and non-escort q-generalized canonical distributions yield excellent agreement with the measured AMS-02 data in the entire energy range.

Comparison of North and South American biomes from AVHRR observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goward, Samuel N.; Dye, Dennis; Kerber, Arlene; Kalb, Virginia

1987-01-01

Previous analysis of the North American continent with AVHRR-derived vegetation index measurements showed a strong relation between known patterns of vegetation seasonality, productivity and the spectral vegetation index measurements. This study extends that analysis to South America to evaluate the degree to which these findings extend to tropical regions. The results show that the spectral vegetation index measurements provide a general indicator of vegetation activity across the major biomes of the Western Hemisphere of the earth, including tropical regions. The satellite-observed patterns are strongly related to the known climatology of the continents and may offer a means to improve understanding of global bioclimatology. For example, South America is shown to have a longer growing season with much earlier spring green-up than North America. The time integral of the measurements, computed from 12 composited monthly values, produces a value that is related to published net primary productivity data. However, limited net primary production data does not allow complete evaluation of satellite-observed contrasts between North and South American biomes. These results suggest that satellite-derived spectral vegetation index measurements are of great potential value in improving knowledge of the earth's biosphere.

Angle-resolved spectral Fabry-Pérot interferometer for single-shot measurement of refractive index dispersion over a broadband spectrum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, J. T.; Ji, F.; Xia, H. J.; Liu, Z. J.; Zhang, T. D.; Yang, L.

2018-01-01

An angle-resolved spectral Fabry-Pérot interferometer is reported for fast and accurate measurement of the refractive index dispersion of optical materials with parallel plate shape. The light sheet from the wavelength tunable laser is incident on the parallel plate with converging angles. The transmitted interference light for each angle is dispersed and captured by a 2D sensor, in which the rows and the columns are used to simultaneously record the intensities as a function of wavelength and incident angle, respectively. The interferogram, named angle-resolved spectral intensity distribution, is analyzed by fitting the phase information instead of finding the fringe peak locations that present periodic ambiguity. The refractive index dispersion and the physical thickness can be then retrieved from a single-shot interferogram within 18 s. Experimental results of an optical substrate standard indicate that the accuracy of the refractive index dispersion is less than 2.5  ×  10-5 and the relative uncertainty of the thickness is 6  ×  10-5 mm (3σ) due to the high stability and the single-shot measurement of the proposed system.

Characterization and modelling of the spatially- and spectrally-varying point-spread function in hyperspectral imaging systems for computational correction of axial optical aberrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Špiclin, Žiga; Bürmen, Miran; Pernuš, Franjo; Likar, Boštjan

2012-03-01

Spatial resolution of hyperspectral imaging systems can vary significantly due to axial optical aberrations that originate from wavelength-induced index-of-refraction variations of the imaging optics. For systems that have a broad spectral range, the spatial resolution will vary significantly both with respect to the acquisition wavelength and with respect to the spatial position within each spectral image. Variations of the spatial resolution can be effectively characterized as part of the calibration procedure by a local image-based estimation of the pointspread function (PSF) of the hyperspectral imaging system. The estimated PSF can then be used in the image deconvolution methods to improve the spatial resolution of the spectral images. We estimated the PSFs from the spectral images of a line grid geometric caliber. From individual line segments of the line grid, the PSF was obtained by a non-parametric estimation procedure that used an orthogonal series representation of the PSF. By using the non-parametric estimation procedure, the PSFs were estimated at different spatial positions and at different wavelengths. The variations of the spatial resolution were characterized by the radius and the fullwidth half-maximum of each PSF and by the modulation transfer function, computed from images of USAF1951 resolution target. The estimation and characterization of the PSFs and the image deconvolution based spatial resolution enhancement were tested on images obtained by a hyperspectral imaging system with an acousto-optic tunable filter in the visible spectral range. The results demonstrate that the spatial resolution of the acquired spectral images can be significantly improved using the estimated PSFs and image deconvolution methods.

Comparison of spectral entropy and BIS VISTA™ monitor during general anesthesia for cardiac surgery.

PubMed

Musialowicz, Tadeusz; Lahtinen, Pasi; Pitkänen, Otto; Kurola, Jouni; Parviainen, Ilkka

2011-04-01

We compared the primary metrics of the Spectral entropy M-ENTROPY™ module and BIS VISTA™ monitor-i.e., bispectral index (BIS), state entropy (SE), and response entropy (RE) in terms of agreement and correlation during general anesthesia for cardiac surgery. We also evaluated responsiveness of electroencephalogram (EEG)-based and hemodynamic parameters to surgical noxious stimulation, skin incision, and sternotomy, hypothesizing that RE would be a better responsiveness predictor. BIS and entropy sensors were applied before anesthesia induction in 32 patients having elective cardiac surgery. Total intravenous anesthesia was standardized and guided by the BIS index with neuromuscular blockade tested with train-of-four monitoring. Parameters included SE, RE, BIS, forehead electromyography (EMG), and hemodynamic variables. Time points for analyzing BIS, entropy, and hemodynamic values were 1 min before and after: anesthesia induction, intubation, skin incision, sternotomy, cannulation of the aorta, cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), cross-clamping the aorta, de-clamping the aorta, and end of CPB; also after starting the re-warming phase and at 10, 20, 30, and 40 min following. The mean difference between BIS and SE (Bland-Altman) was 2.14 (+16/- 11; 95% CI 1.59-2.67), and between BIS and RE it was 0.02 (+14/- 14; 95% CI 0.01-0.06). BIS and SE (r(2) = 0.66; P = 0.001) and BIS and RE (r(2) = 0.7; P = 0.001) were closely correlated (Pearson's). EEG parameters, EMG values, and systolic blood pressure significantly increased after skin incision, and sternotomy. The effect of surgical stimulation (Cohen's d) was highest for RE after skin incision (-0.71; P = 0.0001) and sternotomy (-0.94; P = 0.0001). Agreement was poor between the BIS index measured by BIS VISTA™ and SE values at critical anesthesia time points in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. RE was a good predictor of arousal after surgical stimulation regardless of the surgical level of muscle relaxation. Index differences most likely resulted from different algorithms for calculating consciousness level.

Senegalese land surface change analysis and biophysical parameter estimation using NOAA AVHRR spectral data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vukovich, Fred M.; Toll, David L.; Kennard, Ruth L.

1989-01-01

Surface biophysical estimates were derived from analysis of NOAA Advanced Very High Spectral Resolution (AVHRR) spectral data of the Senegalese area of west Africa. The parameters derived were of solar albedo, spectral visible and near-infrared band reflectance, spectral vegetative index, and ground temperature. Wet and dry linked AVHRR scenes from 1981 through 1985 in Senegal were analyzed for a semi-wet southerly site near Tambacounda and a predominantly dry northerly site near Podor. Related problems were studied to convert satellite derived radiance to biophysical estimates of the land surface. Problems studied were associated with sensor miscalibration, atmospheric and aerosol spatial variability, surface anisotropy of reflected radiation, narrow satellite band reflectance to broad solar band conversion, and ground emissivity correction. The middle-infrared reflectance was approximated with a visible AVHRR reflectance for improving solar albedo estimates. In addition, the spectral composition of solar irradiance (direct and diffuse radiation) between major spectral regions (i.e., ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, and middle-infrared) was found to be insensitive to changes in the clear sky atmospheric optical depth in the narrow band to solar band conversion procedure. Solar albedo derived estimates for both sites were not found to change markedly with significant antecedent precipitation events or correspondingly from increases in green leaf vegetation density. The bright soil/substrate contributed to a high albedo for the dry related scenes, whereas the high internal leaf reflectance in green vegetation canopies in the near-infrared contributed to high solar albedo for the wet related scenes. The relationship between solar albedo and ground temperature was poor, indicating the solar albedo has little control of the ground temperature. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the derived visible reflectance were more sensitive to antecedent rainfall amounts and green vegetation changes than were near-infrared changes. The information in the NDVI related to green leaf density changes primarily was from the visible reflectance. The contribution of the near-infrared reflectance to explaining green vegetation is largely reduced when there is a bright substrate.

Canopy reflectance modelling of semiarid vegetation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Franklin, Janet

1994-01-01

Three different types of remote sensing algorithms for estimating vegetation amount and other land surface biophysical parameters were tested for semiarid environments. These included statistical linear models, the Li-Strahler geometric-optical canopy model, and linear spectral mixture analysis. The two study areas were the National Science Foundation's Jornada Long Term Ecological Research site near Las Cruces, NM, in the northern Chihuahuan desert, and the HAPEX-Sahel site near Niamey, Niger, in West Africa, comprising semiarid rangeland and subtropical crop land. The statistical approach (simple and multiple regression) resulted in high correlations between SPOT satellite spectral reflectance and shrub and grass cover, although these correlations varied with the spatial scale of aggregation of the measurements. The Li-Strahler model produced estimated of shrub size and density for both study sites with large standard errors. In the Jornada, the estimates were accurate enough to be useful for characterizing structural differences among three shrub strata. In Niger, the range of shrub cover and size in short-fallow shrublands is so low that the necessity of spatially distributed estimation of shrub size and density is questionable. Spectral mixture analysis of multiscale, multitemporal, multispectral radiometer data and imagery for Niger showed a positive relationship between fractions of spectral endmembers and surface parameters of interest including soil cover, vegetation cover, and leaf area index.

Rapid spectral and flux time variations in a solar burst observed at various dm-mm wavelengths and at hard X-rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zodivaz, A. M.; Kaufmann, P.; Correia, E.; Costa, J. E. R.; Takakura, T.; Cliver, E. W.; Tapping, K. F.

1986-01-01

A solar burst was observed with high sensitivity and time resolution at cm-mm wavelengths by two different radio observatories (Itapetinga and Algonquin), with high spectral time resolution at dm-mm wavelengths by patrol instruments (Sagamore Hill), and at hard X-rays (HXM Hinotori). At the onset of the major burst time structure there was a rapid rise in the spectral turnover frequency (from 5 to 15 GHz), in about 10s, coincident to a reduction of the spectral index in the optically thin part of the spectrum. The burst maxima were not time coincident at the optically thin radio frequencies and at the different hard X-ray energy ranges. The profiles at higher radio frequencies exhibited better time coincidence to the high energy X-rays. The hardest X-ray spectrum (-3) coincided with peak radio emission at the higher frequency (44 GHz). The event appeared to be built up by a first major injection of softer particles followed by other injections of harder particles. Ultrafast time structures were identified as superimposed on the burst emission at the cm-mm high sensitivity data at X-rays, with predominant repetition rates ranging from 2.0 to 3.5 Hz.

[Influence of Spectral Pre-Processing on PLS Quantitative Model of Detecting Cu in Navel Orange by LIBS].

PubMed

Li, Wen-bing; Yao, Lin-tao; Liu, Mu-hua; Huang, Lin; Yao, Ming-yin; Chen, Tian-bing; He, Xiu-wen; Yang, Ping; Hu, Hui-qin; Nie, Jiang-hui

2015-05-01

Cu in navel orange was detected rapidly by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) combined with partial least squares (PLS) for quantitative analysis, then the effect on the detection accuracy of the model with different spectral data ptetreatment methods was explored. Spectral data for the 52 Gannan navel orange samples were pretreated by different data smoothing, mean centralized and standard normal variable transform. Then 319~338 nm wavelength section containing characteristic spectral lines of Cu was selected to build PLS models, the main evaluation indexes of models such as regression coefficient (r), root mean square error of cross validation (RMSECV) and the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) were compared and analyzed. Three indicators of PLS model after 13 points smoothing and processing of the mean center were found reaching 0. 992 8, 3. 43 and 3. 4 respectively, the average relative error of prediction model is only 5. 55%, and in one word, the quality of calibration and prediction of this model are the best results. The results show that selecting the appropriate data pre-processing method, the prediction accuracy of PLS quantitative model of fruits and vegetables detected by LIBS can be improved effectively, providing a new method for fast and accurate detection of fruits and vegetables by LIBS.

Retrieval of the thickness and refractive index dispersion of parallel plate from a single interferogram recorded in both spectral and angular domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Jingtao; Lu, Rongsheng

2018-04-01

The principle of retrieving the thickness and refractive index dispersion of a parallel glass plate is reported based on single interferogram recording and phase analysis. With the parallel plate illuminated by a convergent light sheet, the transmitted light interfering in both spectral and angular domains is recorded. The phase recovered from the single interferogram by Fourier analysis is used to retrieve the thickness and refractive index dispersion without periodic ambiguity. Experimental results of an optical substrate standard show that the accuracy of refractive index dispersion is less than 2.5 × 10-5 and the relative uncertainty of thickness is 6 × 10-5 (3σ). This method is confirmed to be robust against the intensity noises, indicating the capability of stable and accurate measurement.

Solution to the indexing problem of frequency domain simulation experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitra, Mousumi; Park, Stephen K.

1991-01-01

A frequency domain simulation experiment is one in which selected system parameters are oscillated sinusoidally to induce oscillations in one or more system statistics of interest. A spectral (Fourier) analysis of these induced oscillations is then performed. To perform this spectral analysis, all oscillation frequencies must be referenced to a common, independent variable - an oscillation index. In a discrete-event simulation, the global simulation clock is the most natural choice for the oscillation index. However, past efforts to reference all frequencies to the simulation clock generally yielded unsatisfactory results. The reason for these unsatisfactory results is explained in this paper and a new methodology which uses the simulation clock as the oscillation index is presented. Techniques for implementing this new methodology are demonstrated by performing a frequency domain simulation experiment for a network of queues.

On the Immersion Liquid Evaporation Method Based on the Dynamic Sweep of Magnitude of the Refractive Index of a Binary Liquid Mixture: A Case Study on Determining Mineral Particle Light Dispersion.

PubMed

Niskanen, Ilpo; Räty, Jukka; Peiponen, Kai-Erik

2017-07-01

This is a feasibility study of a modified immersion liquid technique for determining the refractive index of micro-sized particles. The practical challenge of the traditional liquid immersion method is to find or produce a suitable host liquid whose refractive index equals that of a solid particle. Usually, the immersion liquid method uses a set of immersion liquids with different refractive indices or continuously mixes two liquids with different refractive indices, e.g., using a pumping system. Here, the phenomenon of liquid evaporation has been utilized in defining the time-dependent refractive index variation of the host liquid. From the spectral transmittance data measured during the evaporation process, the refractive index of a solid particle in the host liquid can be determined as a function of the wavelength. The method was tested using calcium fluoride (CaF 2 ) particles with an immersion liquid mixed from diethyl ether and diffusion pump fluid. The dispersion data obtained were consistent with the literature values thus indicating the proper functioning of the proposed procedure.

Tunable metamaterial-induced transparency with gate-controlled on-chip graphene metasurface.

PubMed

Chen, Zan Hui; Tao, Jin; Gu, Jia Hua; Li, Jian; Hu, Di; Tan, Qi Long; Zhang, Fengchun; Huang, Xu Guang

2016-12-12

We propose and numerically investigate a gate-controlled on-chip graphene metasurface consisting of a monolayer graphene sheet and silicon photonic crystal-like substrate, to achieve an electrically-tunable induced transparency. The operation mechanism of the induced transparency of the on-chip graphene metasurface is analyzed. The tunable optical properties with different gate-voltages and polarizations have been discussed. Additionally, the spectral feature of the on-chip graphene metasurface as a function of the refractive index of the local environment is also investigated. The result shows that the on-chip graphene metasurface as a refractive index sensor can achieve an overall figure of merit of 8.89 in infrared wavelength range. Our study suggests that the proposed structure is potentially attractive as optoelectronic modulators and refractive index sensors.

Variability of daily UV index in Jokioinen, Finland, in 1995-2015

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heikkilä, A.; Uusitalo, K.; Kärhä, P.; Vaskuri, A.; Lakkala, K.; Koskela, T.

2017-02-01

UV Index is a measure for UV radiation harmful for the human skin, developed and used to promote the sun awareness and protection of people. Monitoring programs conducted around the world have produced a number of long-term time series of UV irradiance. One of the longest time series of solar spectral UV irradiance in Europe has been obtained from the continuous measurements of Brewer #107 spectrophotometer in Jokioinen (lat. 60°44'N, lon. 23°30'E), Finland, over the years 1995-2015. We have used descriptive statistics and estimates of cumulative distribution functions, quantiles and probability density functions in the analysis of the time series of daily UV Index maxima. Seasonal differences in the estimated distributions and in the trends of the estimated quantiles are found.

Ambience-sensitive optical refraction in ferroelectric nanofilms of NaNbO3.

PubMed

Tyunina, Marina; Chvostova, Dagmar; Pacherova, Oliva; Kocourek, Tomas; Jelinek, Miroslav; Jastrabik, Lubomir; Dejneka, Alexander

2014-08-01

Optical index of refraction n is studied by spectroscopic ellipsometry in epitaxial nanofilms of NaNbO 3 with thickness ∼10 nm grown on different single-crystal substrates. The index n in the transparency spectral range ( n  ≈ 2.1 - 2.2) exhibits a strong sensitivity to atmospheric-pressure gas ambience. The index n in air exceeds that in an oxygen ambience by δn  ≈ 0.05 - 0.2. The thermo-optical behaviour n ( T ) indicates ferroelectric state in the nanofilms. The ambience-sensitive optical refraction is discussed in terms of fundamental connection between refraction and ferroelectric polarization in perovskites, screening of depolarizing field on surfaces of the nanofilms, and thermodynamically stable surface reconstructions of NaNbO 3 .

Evaluating the utility of mid-infrared spectral subspaces for predicting soil properties.

PubMed

Sila, Andrew M; Shepherd, Keith D; Pokhariyal, Ganesh P

2016-04-15

We propose four methods for finding local subspaces in large spectral libraries. The proposed four methods include (a) cosine angle spectral matching; (b) hit quality index spectral matching; (c) self-organizing maps and (d) archetypal analysis methods. Then evaluate prediction accuracies for global and subspaces calibration models. These methods were tested on a mid-infrared spectral library containing 1907 soil samples collected from 19 different countries under the Africa Soil Information Service project. Calibration models for pH, Mehlich-3 Ca, Mehlich-3 Al, total carbon and clay soil properties were developed for the whole library and for the subspace. Root mean square error of prediction was used to evaluate predictive performance of subspace and global models. The root mean square error of prediction was computed using a one-third-holdout validation set. Effect of pretreating spectra with different methods was tested for 1st and 2nd derivative Savitzky-Golay algorithm, multiplicative scatter correction, standard normal variate and standard normal variate followed by detrending methods. In summary, the results show that global models outperformed the subspace models. We, therefore, conclude that global models are more accurate than the local models except in few cases. For instance, sand and clay root mean square error values from local models from archetypal analysis method were 50% poorer than the global models except for subspace models obtained using multiplicative scatter corrected spectra with which were 12% better. However, the subspace approach provides novel methods for discovering data pattern that may exist in large spectral libraries.

Implication of relationship between natural impacts and land use/land cover (LULC) changes of urban area in Mongolia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gantumur, Byambakhuu; Wu, Falin; Zhao, Yan; Vandansambuu, Battsengel; Dalaibaatar, Enkhjargal; Itiritiphan, Fareda; Shaimurat, Dauryenbyek

2017-10-01

Urban growth can profoundly alter the urban landscape structure, ecosystem processes, and local climates. Timely and accurate information on the status and trends of urban ecosystems is critical to develop strategies for sustainable development and to improve the urban residential environment and living quality. Ulaanbaatar city was urbanized very rapidly caused by herders and farmers, many of them migrating from rural places, have played a big role in this urban expansion (sprawl). Today, 1.3 million residents for about 40% of total population are living in the Ulaanbaatar region. Those human activities influenced stronger to green environments. Therefore, the aim of this study is determined to change detection of land use/land cover (LULC) and estimating their areas for the trend of future by remote sensing and statistical methods. The implications of analysis were provided by change detection methods of LULC, remote sensing spectral indices including normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference water index (NDWI) and normalized difference built-up index (NDBI). In addition, it can relate to urban heat island (UHI) provided by Land surface temperature (LST) with local climate issues. Statistical methods for image processing used to define relations between those spectral indices and change detection images and regression analysis for time series trend in future. Remote sensing data are used by Landsat (TM/ETM+/OLI) satellite images over the period between 1990 and 2016 by 5 years. The advantages of this study are very useful remote sensing approaches with statistical analysis and important to detecting changes of LULC. The experimental results show that the LULC changes can image on the present and after few years and determined relations between impacts of environmental conditions.

SPECTRAL ANALYSIS OF FERMI -LAT BLAZARS ABOVE 50 GEV

DOE PAGES

Domínguez, Alberto; Ajello, Marco

2015-11-04

We present an analysis of the intrinsic (unattenuated by the extragalactic background light, EBL) power-law spectral indices of 128 extragalactic sources detected up to z ~ 2 with the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) at very high energies (VHEs, E ≥50 GeV). The median of the intrinsic index distribution is 2.20 (versus 2.54 for the observed distribution). We also analyze the observed spectral breaks (i.e., the difference between the VHE and high energy, HE, 100 MeV ≤ E ≤ 300 GeV, spectral indices). The Fermi-LAT has now provided a large sample of sources detected both at VHE and HE with comparablemore » exposure that allows us to test models of extragalactic γ-ray photon propagation. We find that our data are compatible with simulations that include intrinsic blazar curvature and EBL attenuation. There is also no evidence of evolution with redshift of the physics that drives the photon emission in high-frequency synchrotron peak (HSP) blazars. This makes HSP blazars excellent probes of the EBL.« less

Detection of the power lines in UAV remote sensed images using spectral-spatial methods.

PubMed

Bhola, Rishav; Krishna, Nandigam Hari; Ramesh, K N; Senthilnath, J; Anand, Gautham

2018-01-15

In this paper, detection of the power lines on images acquired by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based remote sensing is carried out using spectral-spatial methods. Spectral clustering was performed using Kmeans and Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm to classify the pixels into the power lines and non-power lines. The spectral clustering methods used in this study are parametric in nature, to automate the number of clusters Davies-Bouldin index (DBI) is used. The UAV remote sensed image is clustered into the number of clusters determined by DBI. The k clustered image is merged into 2 clusters (power lines and non-power lines). Further, spatial segmentation was performed using morphological and geometric operations, to eliminate the non-power line regions. In this study, UAV images acquired at different altitudes and angles were analyzed to validate the robustness of the proposed method. It was observed that the EM with spatial segmentation (EM-Seg) performed better than the Kmeans with spatial segmentation (Kmeans-Seg) on most of the UAV images. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Temporal Stability of the NDVI-LAI Relationship in a Napa Valley Vineyard

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, L. F.

2003-01-01

Remotely sensed normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values, derived from high-resolution satellite images, were compared with ground measurements of vineyard leaf area index (LAI) periodically during the 2001 growing season. The two variables were strongly related at six ground calibration sites on each of four occasions (r squared = 0.91 to 0.98). Linear regression equations relating the two variables did not significantly differ by observation date, and a single equation accounted for 92 percent of the variance in the combined dataset. Temporal stability of the relationship opens the possibility of transforming NDVI maps to LAI in the absence of repeated ground calibration fieldwork. In order to take advantage of this circumstance, however, steps should be taken to assure temporal consistency in spectral data values comprising the NDVI.

Diagnostic Accuracy of B-mode USG and Doppler Scan for Ovarian Lesions

PubMed Central

Agarwal, Vinish Kumar

2016-01-01

Introduction Ultrasonography (USG) is considered as the primary imaging modality for confirmation of ovarian mass and to differentiate them in to benign or malignant. Aim The present study was conducted with the aim to evaluate accuracy of B- mode USG and Doppler scan (Colour Doppler + Spectral Doppler) for ovarian lesions. Materials and Methods The patients included in the study were from those referred with either palpable adnexal mass or incidentally detected adnexal masses. Total 250 women were evaluated by USG, Doppler scan. Only fifty patients who had true ovarian mass intraoperatively and on histopathology were included in study, rest masses were excluded. Study parameters were morphological indexing on B- Mode USG, flow study, vessel arrangement, and vessel morphology and vessel location in Colour Doppler and resistive index and pulsatility index in spectral Doppler. Results Total 50 women were included in present study. Out of these 46% were pre-menopausal while 54% were menopaused women, 66.7% of post-menopausal women had malignant ovarian masses compared to 8.7% of premenopausal. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of B-Mode USG for ovarian masses were 94.44%, 48.15%, 54.84% and 92.86% respectively, with p-value = 0.007, while sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of Doppler scan were 85%, 90%, 85% and 90% respectively, with p-value = 0.0001. Conclusion USG and its different techniques are accepted as the primary imaging modality for early stage diagnosis of an ovarian malignancy. Statistical analysis suggests that Doppler Scan (Colour + Spectral) was more accurate (88%) than B-Mode USG (67%), but author is in view that both of these modalities should be used in conjunction to screen the ovarian lesions. PMID:27790544

An investigation of spectral change as influenced by irrigation and evapotranspiration volume estimation in western Nebraska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Seevers, P.M.; Sadowski, F.C.; Lauer, D.T.

1990-01-01

Retrospective satellite image data were evaluated for their ability to demonstrate the influence of center-pivot irrigation development in western Nebraska on spectral change and climate-related factors for the region. Periodic images of an albedo index and a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were generated from calibrated Landsat multispectral scanner (MSS) data and used to monitor spectral changes associated with irrigation development from 1972 through 1986. The albedo index was not useful for monitoring irrigation development. For the NDVI, it was found that proportions of counties in irrigated agriculture, as discriminated by a threshold, were more highly correlated with reported ground estimates of irrigated agriculture than were county mean greenness values. A similar result was achieved when using coarse resolution Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) image data for estimating irrigated agriculture. The NDVI images were used to evaluate a procedure for making areal estimates of actual evapotranspiration (ET) volumes. Estimates of ET volumes for test counties, using reported ground acreages and corresponding standard crop coefficients, were correlated with the estimates of ET volume using crop coefficients scaled to NDVI values and pixel counts of crop areas. These county estimates were made under the assumption that soil water availability was unlimited. For nonirrigated vegetation, this may result in over-estimation of ET volumes. Ground information regarding crop types and acreages are required to derive the NDVI scaling factor. Potential ET, estimated with the Jensen-Haise model, is common to both methods. These results, achieved with both MSS and AVHRR data, show promise for providing climatologically important land surface information for regional and global climate models. ?? 1990 Kluwer Academic Publishers.

The Galactic Centre Mini-Spiral with CARMA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kunneriath, D.; Eckart, A.; Vogel, S. N.; Teuben, P.; Muzic, K.; Schodel. R.; Garcia-Marin, M.; Moultaka, J.; Staguhn, J.; Straubmeier, C.;

Precision Measurement of the Proton Flux in Primary Cosmic Rays from Rigidity 1 GV to 1.8 TV with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aguilar, M.; Aisa, D.; Alpat, B.; Alvino, A.; Ambrosi, G.; Andeen, K.; Arruda, L.; Attig, N.; Azzarello, P.; Bachlechner, A.; Barao, F.; Barrau, A.; Barrin, L.; Bartoloni, A.; Basara, L.; Battarbee, M.; Battiston, R.; Bazo, J.; Becker, U.; Behlmann, M.; Beischer, B.; Berdugo, J.; Bertucci, B.; Bigongiari, G.; Bindi, V.; Bizzaglia, S.; Bizzarri, M.; Boella, G.; de Boer, W.; Bollweg, K.; Bonnivard, V.; Borgia, B.; Borsini, S.; Boschini, M. J.; Bourquin, M.; Burger, J.; Cadoux, F.; Cai, X. D.; Capell, M.; Caroff, S.; Casaus, J.; Cascioli, V.; Castellini, G.; Cernuda, I.; Cerreta, D.; Cervelli, F.; Chae, M. J.; Chang, Y. H.; Chen, A. I.; Chen, H.; Cheng, G. M.; Chen, H. S.; Cheng, L.; Chou, H. Y.; Choumilov, E.; Choutko, V.; Chung, C. H.; Clark, C.; Clavero, R.; Coignet, G.; Consolandi, C.; Contin, A.; Corti, C.; Gil, E. Cortina; Coste, B.; Creus, W.; Crispoltoni, M.; Cui, Z.; Dai, Y. M.; Delgado, C.; Della Torre, S.; Demirköz, M. B.; Derome, L.; Di Falco, S.; Di Masso, L.; Dimiccoli, F.; Díaz, C.; von Doetinchem, P.; Donnini, F.; Du, W. J.; Duranti, M.; D'Urso, D.; Eline, A.; Eppling, F. J.; Eronen, T.; Fan, Y. Y.; Farnesini, L.; Feng, J.; Fiandrini, E.; Fiasson, A.; Finch, E.; Fisher, P.; Galaktionov, Y.; Gallucci, G.; García, B.; García-López, R.; Gargiulo, C.; Gast, H.; Gebauer, I.; Gervasi, M.; Ghelfi, A.; Gillard, W.; Giovacchini, F.; Goglov, P.; Gong, J.; Goy, C.; Grabski, V.; Grandi, D.; Graziani, M.; Guandalini, C.; Guerri, I.; Guo, K. H.; Haas, D.; Habiby, M.; Haino, S.; Han, K. C.; He, Z. H.; Heil, M.; Hoffman, J.; Hsieh, T. H.; Huang, Z. C.; Huh, C.; Incagli, M.; Ionica, M.; Jang, W. Y.; Jinchi, H.; Kanishev, K.; Kim, G. N.; Kim, K. S.; Kirn, Th.; Kossakowski, R.; Kounina, O.; Kounine, A.; Koutsenko, V.; Krafczyk, M. S.; La Vacca, G.; Laudi, E.; Laurenti, G.; Lazzizzera, I.; Lebedev, A.; Lee, H. T.; Lee, S. C.; Leluc, C.; Levi, G.; Li, H. L.; Li, J. Q.; Li, Q.; Li, Q.; Li, T. X.; Li, W.; Li, Y.; Li, Z. H.; Li, Z. Y.; Lim, S.; Lin, C. H.; Lipari, P.; Lippert, T.; Liu, D.; Liu, H.; Lolli, M.; Lomtadze, T.; Lu, M. J.; Lu, S. Q.; Lu, Y. S.; Luebelsmeyer, K.; Luo, J. Z.; Lv, S. S.; Majka, R.; Mañá, C.; Marín, J.; Martin, T.; Martínez, G.; Masi, N.; Maurin, D.; Menchaca-Rocha, A.; Meng, Q.; Mo, D. C.; Morescalchi, L.; Mott, P.; Müller, M.; Ni, J. Q.; Nikonov, N.; Nozzoli, F.; Nunes, P.; Obermeier, A.; Oliva, A.; Orcinha, M.; Palmonari, F.; Palomares, C.; Paniccia, M.; Papi, A.; Pauluzzi, M.; Pedreschi, E.; Pensotti, S.; Pereira, R.; Picot-Clemente, N.; Pilo, F.; Piluso, A.; Pizzolotto, C.; Plyaskin, V.; Pohl, M.; Poireau, V.; Postaci, E.; Putze, A.; Quadrani, L.; Qi, X. M.; Qin, X.; Qu, Z. Y.; Räihä, T.; Rancoita, P. G.; Rapin, D.; Ricol, J. S.; Rodríguez, I.; Rosier-Lees, S.; Rozhkov, A.; Rozza, D.; Sagdeev, R.; Sandweiss, J.; Saouter, P.; Sbarra, C.; Schael, S.; Schmidt, S. M.; von Dratzig, A. Schulz; Schwering, G.; Scolieri, G.; Seo, E. S.; Shan, B. S.; Shan, Y. H.; Shi, J. Y.; Shi, X. Y.; Shi, Y. M.; Siedenburg, T.; Son, D.; Spada, F.; Spinella, F.; Sun, W.; Sun, W. H.; Tacconi, M.; Tang, C. P.; Tang, X. W.; Tang, Z. C.; Tao, L.; Tescaro, D.; Ting, Samuel C. C.; Ting, S. M.; Tomassetti, N.; Torsti, J.; Türkoǧlu, C.; Urban, T.; Vagelli, V.; Valente, E.; Vannini, C.; Valtonen, E.; Vaurynovich, S.; Vecchi, M.; Velasco, M.; Vialle, J. P.; Vitale, V.; Vitillo, S.; Wang, L. Q.; Wang, N. H.; Wang, Q. L.; Wang, R. S.; Wang, X.; Wang, Z. X.; Weng, Z. L.; Whitman, K.; Wienkenhöver, J.; Wu, H.; Wu, X.; Xia, X.; Xie, M.; Xie, S.; Xiong, R. Q.; Xin, G. M.; Xu, N. S.; Xu, W.; Yan, Q.; Yang, J.; Yang, M.; Ye, Q. H.; Yi, H.; Yu, Y. J.; Yu, Z. Q.; Zeissler, S.; Zhang, J. H.; Zhang, M. T.; Zhang, X. B.; Zhang, Z.; Zheng, Z. M.; Zhuang, H. L.; Zhukov, V.; Zichichi, A.; Zimmermann, N.; Zuccon, P.; Zurbach, C.; AMS Collaboration

2015-05-01

A precise measurement of the proton flux in primary cosmic rays with rigidity (momentum/charge) from 1 GV to 1.8 TV is presented based on 300 million events. Knowledge of the rigidity dependence of the proton flux is important in understanding the origin, acceleration, and propagation of cosmic rays. We present the detailed variation with rigidity of the flux spectral index for the first time. The spectral index progressively hardens at high rigidities.

Spectral properties of bright Fermi-detected blazars in the gamma-ray band

DOE PAGES

Abdo, A. A.

2010-01-28

We investigated the gamma-ray energy spectra of bright blazars of the LAT Bright AGN Sample (LBAS) using Fermi-LAT data. Spectral properties (hardness, curvature, and variability) established using a data set accumulated over 6 months of operation are presented and discussed for different blazar classes and subclasses: flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs), low-synchrotron peaked BLLacs (LSP-BLLacs), intermediate-synchrotron peaked BLLacs (ISP-BLLacs), and high-synchrotron peaked BLLacs (HSP-BLLacs). Furthermore, the distribution of photon index (Γ, obtained from a power-law fit above 100 MeV) is found to correlate strongly with blazar subclass. The change in spectral index from that averaged over the 6 months observingmore » period is < 0.2-0.3 when the flux varies by about an order of magnitude, with a tendency toward harder spectra when the flux is brighter for FSRQs and LSP-BLLacs. A strong departure from a single power-law spectrum appears to be a common feature for FSRQs. Finally, we present this feature for some high-luminosity LSP-BLLacs, and a small number of ISP-BLLacs. It is absent in all LBAS HSP-BLLacs. For 3C 454.3 and AO 0235+164, the two brightest FSRQ source and LSP-BLLac source, respectively, a broken power law (BPL) gives the most acceptable of power law, BPL, and curved forms. The consequences of these findings are discussed.« less

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

Rodi, J.; Jourdain, E.; Roques, J. P., E-mail: jrodi@irap.omp.eu

The low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) neutron star (NS) GS 1826–238 was discovered by Ginga in 1988 September. Due to the presence of quasi-periodicity in the type I X-ray burst rate, the source has been a frequent target of X-ray observations for almost 30 years. Though the bursts were too soft to be detected by INTEGRAL/SPI, the persistent emission from GS 1826–238 was detected over 150 keV during the ∼10 years of observations. Spectral analysis found a significant high-energy excess above a Comptonization model that is well fit by a power law, indicating an additional spectral component. Most previously reported spectramore » with hard tails in LMXB NS have had an electron temperature of a few keV and a hard tail dominating above ∼50 keV with an index of Γ ∼ 2–3. GS 1826–238 was found to have a markedly different spectrum with kT{sub e} ∼ 20 keV and a hard tail dominating above ∼150 keV with an index of Γ ∼ 1.8, more similar to black hole X-ray binaries. We report on our search for long-term spectral variability over the 25–370 keV energy range and on a comparison of the GS 1826–238 average spectrum to the spectra of other LMXB NSs with hard tails.« less

Vegetation classification and soil moisture calculation using land surface temperature (LST) and vegetation index (VI)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Liangyun; Zhang, Bing; Xu, Genxing; Zheng, Lanfen; Tong, Qingxi

2002-03-01

In this paper, the temperature-missivity separating (TES) method and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) are introduced, and the hyperspectral image data are analyzed using land surface temperature (LST) and NDVI channels which are acquired by Operative Module Imaging Spectral (OMIS) in Beijing Precision Agriculture Demonstration Base in Xiaotangshan town, Beijing in 26 Apr, 2001. Firstly, the 6 kinds of ground targets, which are winter wheat in booting stage and jointing stage, bare soil, water in ponds, sullage in dry ponds, aquatic grass, are well classified using LST and NDVI channels. Secondly, the triangle-like scatter-plot is built and analyzed using LST and NDVI channels, which is convenient to extract the information of vegetation growth and soil's moisture. Compared with the scatter-plot built by red and near-infrared bands, the spectral distance between different classes are larger, and the samples in the same class are more convergent. Finally, we design a logarithm VIT model to extract the surface soil water content (SWC) using LST and NDVI channel, which works well, and the coefficient of determination, R2, between the measured surface SWC and the estimated is 0.634. The mapping of surface SWC in the wheat area are calculated and illustrated, which is important for scientific irrigation and precise agriculture.

Scattering and Absorption Properties of Biomaterials for Dental Restorative Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernandez-Oliveras, A.; Rubiño, M.; Pérez, M. M.

2013-08-01

The physical understanding of the optical properties of dental biomaterials is mandatory for their final success in restorative applications.Light propagation in biological media is characterized by the absorption coefficient, the scattering coefficient, the scattering phase function,the refractive index, and the surface conditions (roughness). We have employed the inverse adding-doubling (IAD) method to combine transmittance and reflectance measurements performed using an integrating-sphere setup with the results of the previous scattering-anisotropygoniometric measurements. This has led to the determination of the absorption and the scattering coefficients. The aim was to optically characterize two different dental-resin composites (nanocomposite and hybrid) and one type of zirconia ceramic, and comparatively study them. The experimental procedure was conducted under repeatability conditions of measurement in order to determine the uncertainty associated to the optical properties of the biomaterials. Spectral variations of the refraction index and the scattering anisotropy factor were also considered. The whole experimental procedure fulfilled all the necessary requirements to provide optical-property values with lower associated uncertainties. The effective transport coefficient presented a similar spectral behavior for the two composites but completely different for the zirconia ceramic. The results demonstrated that the scattering anisotropy exerted a clearly distinct impact on the optical properties of the zirconia ceramic compared with those of the dental-resin composites.

Photodegradation of methylene blue with PVA/PVP blend under UV light irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zidan, H. M.; El-Ghamaz, N. A.; Abdelghany, A. M.; Waly, A. L.

2018-06-01

Homogenous films of PVA/PVP blend (1:1) doped with different levels of methylene blue dye (MB) were prepared using the casting technique. The absorption spectra of doped PVA/PVP blend showed two absorption peaks due to the chromophor groups of MB while the pure PVA/PVP blend does not. The UV irradiation causes photodegradation of MB dye. The recovery of photodegraded MB is observed after keeping the sample 3 h in atmospheric air. The value of the optical energy gap (Eg) decreases with increasing the doping levels with MB. The spectral distribution of absorption index (k) and refractive index (n) are determined from the reflection and transmission spectra in the spectral range 200-2500 nm. The dependence of both n and k on wavelength of the incident light and the wt% content of MB in PVA/PVP blend is discussed. A normal dispersion observed at wavelength λ > 370 nm for pure PVA/PVP blend and λ > 800 nm for MB doped samples. The obtained results suggest the possible use of the studied system in many applications.

Spatially inhomogeneous acceleration of electrons in solar flares

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stackhouse, Duncan J.; Kontar, Eduard P.

2018-04-01

The imaging spectroscopy capabilities of the Reuven Ramaty high energy solar spectroscopic imager (RHESSI) enable the examination of the accelerated electron distribution throughout a solar flare region. In particular, it has been revealed that the energisation of these particles takes place over a region of finite size, sometimes resolved by RHESSI observations. In this paper, we present, for the first time, a spatially distributed acceleration model and investigate the role of inhomogeneous acceleration on the observed X-ray emission properties. We have modelled transport explicitly examining scatter-free and diffusive transport within the acceleration region and compare with the analytic leaky-box solution. The results show the importance of including this spatial variation when modelling electron acceleration in solar flares. The presence of an inhomogeneous, extended acceleration region produces a spectral index that is, in most cases, different from the simple leaky-box prediction. In particular, it results in a generally softer spectral index than predicted by the leaky-box solution, for both scatter-free and diffusive transport, and thus should be taken into account when modelling stochastic acceleration in solar flares.

[Influence of geomagnetic storms on the balance of autonomic regulatory mechanisms].

PubMed

Chichinadze, G; Tvildiani, L; Kvachadze, I; Tarkhan-Mouravi, I

2005-09-01

The investigation aimed to evaluate autonomic regulatory mechanisms in practically healthy persons during the geomagnetically quiet periods and during geomagnetic storms. The examinations were conducted among the volunteer young men (n=64) 18-22 years of age. The autonomic function was studied on the basis of the heart rate variability. The geomagnetically quiet periods were considered when the value of the K-index was no more then 2 and a geomagnetic storm was considered when the value of the index was 5 and more. It is ascertained that in the both cases the basic statistical indices of the heart rate were identical. The analysis of R-R intervals spectral power gave the possibility to sort the persons examined into the three different groups. The data obtained allowed to suggest that geomagnetic storms influence human organisms through the vagus centers by means of their excitation. This phenomenon may be considered as a self-regulatory physiologic mechanism of the adaptive character. The analysis of the spectral power of R-R intervals may be considered as a sensitive method for the detection of the magnitolabile persons.

A radio characterization of Galactic compact bubbles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ingallinera, A.; Trigilio, C.; Umana, G.; Leto, P.; Noriega-Crespo, A.; Flagey, N.; Paladini, R.; Agliozzo, C.; Buemi, C. S.

2014-02-01

We report the radio observations of a subsample of the 428 Galactic compact bubbles discovered at 24 μm with the MIPSGAL survey. Pervasive through the entire Galactic plane, these objects are thought to be different kinds of evolved stars. The very large majority of the bubbles (˜70 per cent) are however not yet classified. We conducted radio observations with the Expanded Very Large Array at 6 and 20 cm in order to obtain the spectral index of 55 bubbles. We found that at least 70 per cent of the 31 bubbles for which we were effectively able to compute the spectral index (or its lower limit) are likely to be thermal emitters. We were also able to resolve some bubbles, obtaining that the size of the radio nebula is usually similar to the IR size, although our low resolution (with respect to IR images) did not allow further morphological studies. Comparisons between radio flux densities and IR archive data from Spitzer and IRAS suggest that at least three unclassified bubbles can be treated as planetary nebula candidates.

High sensitivity refractive index sensor based on a tapered small core single-mode fiber structure.

PubMed

Liu, Dejun; Mallik, Arun Kumar; Yuan, Jinhui; Yu, Chongxiu; Farrell, Gerald; Semenova, Yuliya; Wu, Qiang

2015-09-01

A high sensitivity refractive index (RI) sensor based on a tapered small core single-mode fiber (SCSMF) structure sandwiched between two traditional single-mode fibers (SMF28) is reported. The microheater brushing technique was employed to fabricate the tapered fiber structures with different waist diameters of 12.5, 15.0, and 18.8 μm. Experiments demonstrate that the fiber sensor with a waist diameter of 12.5 μm offers the best sensitivity of 19212.5  nm/RIU (RI unit) in the RI range of 1.4304 to 1.4320. All sensors fabricated in this Letter show good linearity in terms of the spectral wavelength shift versus changes in RI. Furthermore, the sensor with the best sensitivity to RI was also used to measure relative humidity (RH) without any coating materials applied to the fiber surface. Experimental results show that the spectral wavelength shift changes exponentially as the RH varies from 60% to 95%. A maximum sensitivity of 18.3 nm per relative humidity unit (RHU) was achieved in the RH range of 90.4% to 94.5% RH.

Development of remote sensing techniques for assessment of salinity induced plant stresses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stong, Matthew Harold

Salinity has been shown to reduce vegetative growth, crop quality, and yield in agricultural crops. Remote sensing is capable of providing data about large areas. This project was designed to induce salinity stress in a crop, pak choi, and thereafter monitor the response of the crop as expressed by its spectral reflectances. The project was conducted in the National Taiwan University Phytotron, and spectral data was collected using a GER 2600. Yield and soil salinity (ECe) were also measured. After three seasons of data were collected, wavelengths sensitive to salinity were selected. These wavelengths, which are within the spectral response of biochemicals produced by plants as a response to soil salinity, were used to create two indices, the Salinity Stress Index (SSI) and the Normalized Salinity Stress Index (NSSI). After creating the indices tests were conducted to determine the efficacy of these indices in detecting salinity and drought stresses as compared to existing indices (SRVI and NDVI). This project induced salinity and drought stress in a crop, pak choi, and thereafter monitored the response of the crop as expressed by its spectral reflectances. The SSI and NSSI correlated well to both ECe and marketable yield. Additionally the SSI and NSSI were found to provide statistical differences between salinity stressed treatments and the control treatment. Drought stress was not detected well by any of the indices reviewed although the SSI and NSSI indices tended to increase with drought stress and decrease with salinity stress. As a final test, specific ion toxicities of sodium and chloride were tested against the developed indices (SSI and NSSI) and existing indices (NDVI, SRVI, and NDWI). There were no differences in SSI and NSSI responses to specific ion concentration in the high salinity treatments. These results indicated that the SSI and NSSI are not sensitive to the specific ion concentration in irrigation water. However, the SSI and NSSI were higher for the sodium water than the choride water in the low salinity treatments. It is likely that this difference was caused by the fact that the high SAR water decreased infiltration and caused water stress.

Micro-structured optical fiber sensor for simultaneous measurement of temperature and refractive index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Ying-gang; Liu, Xin; Ma, Cheng-ju; Zhou, Yu-min

2018-03-01

Through using micro-machining method for optical fiber sensor, a kind of miniature, compact and composite structural all-fiber sensor is presented. Based on manufacturing two micro-holes with certain distance in ordinary single-mode fiber Bragg grating (FBG) by excimer laser processing technique, we fabricate a dual Fabry-Perot-FBG (FP-FBG) composite fiber interferometric sensor, which can be used in simultaneous measurement for liquid's refractive index (RI) and temperature change. Due to every micro-hole and the dual micro-holes in fiber acting as different Fabry-Perot (FP) cavities, this kind of sensor has not only different RI sensitivities but also different temperature sensitivities, which are corresponding to the wavelength shifts of the fine interference fringes and spectral envelope, respectively. The experimental results show that the spectral wavelength shift keep better linear response for temperature and RI change, so that we can select the higher temperature and RI sensitivities as well as the analyzed sensitivities of FBG to utilize them for constituting a sensitivity coefficients matrix. Finally, the variations of liquid's temperature and RI are detected effectively, and the resolutions can reach to 0.1 °C and 1.0 ×10-5 RIU. These characteristics are what other single-type sensors don't have, so that this kind of all-fiber dual FP-FBG composite fiber interferometric sensor can be used in extremely tiny liquid environment for measuring different physical quantities simultaneously.

The noncommutative index theorem and the periodic table for disordered topological insulators and superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katsura, Hosho; Koma, Tohru

2018-03-01

We study a wide class of topological free-fermion systems on a hypercubic lattice in spatial dimensions d ≥ 1. When the Fermi level lies in a spectral gap or a mobility gap, the topological properties, e.g., the integral quantization of the topological invariant, are protected by certain symmetries of the Hamiltonian against disorder. This generic feature is characterized by a generalized index theorem which is a noncommutative analog of the Atiyah-Singer index theorem. The noncommutative index defined in terms of a pair of projections gives a precise formula for the topological invariant in each symmetry class in any dimension (d ≥ 1). Under the assumption on the nonvanishing spectral or mobility gap, we prove that the index formula reproduces Bott periodicity and all of the possible values of topological invariants in the classification table of topological insulators and superconductors. We also prove that the indices are robust against perturbations that do not break the symmetry of the unperturbed Hamiltonian.

Solar and Climate Variation Relationships Analyzed from Chile Tree Ring Width Time Series (1587 - 1994 A.D.)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rigozo, Nr; Nordemann, Djr; Faria, Hh; Echer, E.; Vieira, Lea; Prestes, A.

This work presents a study of the relations between solar and climate variations during the last four centuries by spectral analysis of tree ring index and sunspot number time series. Trees used for this study were Pilgerodendron cupressoides from Glaciar Pio XI, in Chile. The spectral analysis of tree ring index shows that 11, 22 and 80 year periodicities of the solar cycle were present in this tree ring data with 0.95 confidence level. This result suggests a solar modulation of climate variations, as recorded by the tree ring growth. Short-term variations, between 2 - 7 years, are also present in tree ring data. Therefore spectral analysis clearly shows that both, solar and climate factors, are recorded in the tree ring data.

Discovery of Photon Index Saturation in the Black Hole Binary GRS 1915+105

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Titarchuk, Lev; Seifina, Elena

2009-01-01

We present a study of the correlations between spectral, timing properties and mass accretion rate observed in X-rays from the Galactic Black Hole (BH) binary GRS 1915+105 during the transition between hard and soft states. We analyze all transition episodes from this source observed with Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), coordinated with Ryle Radio Telescope (RT) observations. We show that broad-band energy spectra of GRS 1915+105 during all these spectral states can be adequately presented by two Bulk Motion Comptonization (BMC) components: a hard component (BMC1, photon index Gamma(sub 1) = 1.7 -- 3.0) with turnover at high energies and soft thermal component (BMC2, Gamma(sub 2) = 2.7 -- 4.2) with characteristic color temperature < or = 1 keV, and the red-skewed iron line (LAOR) component. We also present observable correlations between the index and the normalization of the disk "seed" component. The use of "seed" disk normalization, which is presumably proportional to mass accretion rate in the disk, is crucial to establish the index saturation effect during the transition to the soft state. We discovered the photon index saturation of the soft and hard spectral components at values of < or approximately equal 4.2 and 3 respectively. We present a physical model which explains the index-seed photon normalization correlations. We argue that the index saturation effect of the hard component (BMC1) is due to the soft photon Comptonization in the converging inflow close to 1311 and that of soft component is due to matter accumulation in the transition layer when mass accretion rate increases. Furthermore we demonstrate a strong correlation between equivalent width of the iron line and radio flux in GRS 1915+105. In addition to our spectral model components we also find a strong feature of "blackbody-like" bump which color temperature is about 4.5 keV in eight observations of the intermediate and soft states. We discuss a possible origin of this "blackbody-like" emission.

On the Estimate of Frequency Break and Spectral Index at Ion Scales for Interplanetary Magnetic Field Fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Telloni, D.; Bruno, R.; Trenchi, L.

2014-12-01

We exploited radial alignments between MESSENGER and WIND spacecraft to study: 1) the radial dependence of the spectral break located at the border between fluid and kinetic regimes; 2) the dependence, if any, of the spectral slope, around the frequency break, on the type of wind, either fast or slow.We found that this spectral break moves to lower and lower frequencies as heliocentric distance increases, following a power-law dependence. Moreover, we found evidence that a cyclotron-resonant dissipation mechanism must participate into the spectral energy cascade together with other possible kinetic noncyclotron-resonant mechanisms.On the other hand, the spectral slope shows a large variability between -3.75 and -1.75 with an average value around -2.8 and a robust tendency for this parameter to be steeper within the trailing edge of high speed streams and to be flatter within the subsequent slower wind, following a gradual transition between these two states. The value of the spectral index seems to depend firmly on the power associated to the fluctuations within the inertial range, higher the power steeper the slope. Research partially supported by the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, contract ASI/INAF I/013/12/0 and by the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 313038/STORM

Application of stochastic particle swarm optimization algorithm to determine the graded refractive index distribution in participating media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Lin-Yang; Qi, Hong; Ren, Ya-Tao; Ruan, Li-Ming

2016-11-01

Inverse estimation of the refractive index distribution in one-dimensional participating media with graded refractive index (GRI) is investigated. The forward radiative transfer problem is solved by the Chebyshev collocation spectral method. The stochastic particle swarm optimization (SPSO) algorithm is employed to retrieve three kinds of GRI distribution, i.e. the linear, sinusoidal and quadratic GRI distribution. The retrieval accuracy of GRI distribution with different wall emissivity, optical thickness, absorption coefficients and scattering coefficients are discussed thoroughly. To improve the retrieval accuracy of quadratic GRI distribution, a double-layer model is proposed to supply more measurement information. The influence of measurement errors upon the precision of estimated results is also investigated. Considering the GRI distribution is unknown beforehand in practice, a quadratic function is employed to retrieve the linear GRI by SPSO algorithm. All the results show that the SPSO algorithm is applicable to retrieve different GRI distributions in participating media accurately even with noisy data.

Radio core dominance of Fermi blazars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pei, Zhi-Yuan; Fan, Jun-Hui; Liu, Yi; Yuan, Yi-Hai; Cai, Wei; Xiao, Hu-Bing; Lin, Chao; Yang, Jiang-He

2016-07-01

During the first 4 years of mission, Fermi/LAT detected 1444 blazars (3FGL) (Ackermann et al. in Astrophys. J. 810:14, 2015). Fermi/LAT observations of blazars indicate that Fermi blazars are luminous and strongly variable with variability time scales, for some cases, as short as hours. Those observations suggest a strong beaming effect in Fermi/LAT blazars. In the present work, we will investigate the beaming effect in Fermi/LAT blazars using a core-dominance parameter, R = S_{core}/ S_{ext.}, where S_{core} is the core emission, while S_{ext.} is the extended emission. We compiled 1335 blazars with available core-dominance parameter, out of which 169 blazars have γ-ray emission (from 3FGL). We compared the core-dominance parameters, log R, between the 169 Fermi-detected blazars (FDBs) and the rest non-Fermi-detected blazars (non-FDBs), and we found that the averaged values are < log Rrangle = 0.99±0.87 for FDBs and < log Rrangle = -0.62±1.15 for the non-FDBs. A K-S test shows that the probability for the two distributions of FDBs and non-FDBs to come from the same parent distribution is near zero (P =9.12×10^{-52}). Secondly, we also investigated the variability index (V.I.) in the γ-ray band for FDBs, and we found V.I.=(0.12 ±0.07) log R+(2.25±0.10), suggesting that a source with larger log R has larger V.I. value. Thirdly, we compared the mean values of radio spectral index for FDBs and non-FDBs, and we obtained < α_{radio}rangle =0.06±0.35 for FDBs and < α_{radio}rangle =0.57±0.46 for non-FDBs. If γ-rays are composed of two components like radio emission (core and extended components), then we can expect a correlation between log R and the γ-ray spectral index. When we used the radio core-dominance parameter, log R, to investigate the relationship, we found that the spectral index for the core component is α_{γ}|_{core} = 1.11 (a photon spectral index of α_{γ}^{ph}|_{core} = 2.11) and that for the extended component is α_{γ}|_{ext.} = 0.70 (a photon spectral index of α_{γ}^{ph}|_{ext.} = 1.70). Some discussions are also presented.

Estimating Cosmic-Ray Spectral Parameters from Simulated Detector Responses with Detector Design Implications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howell, L. W.

2001-01-01

A simple power law model consisting of a single spectral index (alpha-1) is believed to be an adequate description of the galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) proton flux at energies below 10(exp 13) eV, with a transition at knee energy (E(sub k)) to a steeper spectral index alpha-2 > alpha-1 above E(sub k). The maximum likelihood procedure is developed for estimating these three spectral parameters of the broken power law energy spectrum from simulated detector responses. These estimates and their surrounding statistical uncertainty are being used to derive the requirements in energy resolution, calorimeter size, and energy response of a proposed sampling calorimeter for the Advanced Cosmic-ray Composition Experiment for the Space Station (ACCESS). This study thereby permits instrument developers to make important trade studies in design parameters as a function of the science objectives, which is particularly important for space-based detectors where physical parameters, such as dimension and weight, impose rigorous practical limits to the design envelope.

Interplanetary Magnetic Field Power Spectrum Variations: A VHO Enabled Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szabo, A.; Koval, A.; Merka, J.; Narock, T. W.

2010-12-01

The newly reprocessed high time resolution (11/22 vectors/sec) Wind mission interplanetary magnetic field data and the solar wind key parameter search capability of the Virtual Heliospheric Observatory (VHO) affords an opportunity to study magnetic field power spectral density variations as a function of solar wind conditions. In the reprocessed Wind Magnetic Field Investigation (MFI) data, the spin tone and its harmonics are greatly reduced that allows the meaningful fitting of power spectra to the ~2 Hz limit above which digitization noise becomes apparent. The power spectral density is computed and the spectral index is fitted for the MHD and ion inertial regime separately along with the break point between the two for various solar wind conditions . The time periods of fixed solar wind conditions are obtained from VHO searches that greatly simplify the process. The functional dependence of the ion inertial spectral index and break point on solar wind plasma and magnetic field conditions will be discussed.

All-optical on-chip sensor for high refractive index sensing

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

Liu, Yazhao; Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg 1, 2628 CJ, Delft; Salemink, H. W. M., E-mail: H.Salemink@science.ru.nl

2015-01-19

A highly sensitive sensor design based on two-dimensional photonic crystal cavity is demonstrated. The geometric structure of the cavity is modified to gain a high quality factor, which enables a sensitive refractive index sensing. A group of slots with optimized parameters is created in the cavity. The existence of the slots enhances the light-matter interactions between confined photons and analytes. The interactions result in large wavelength shifts in the transmission spectra and are denoted by high sensitivities. Experiments show that a change in refractive index of Δn ∼ 0.12 between water and oil sample 1 causes a spectral shift of 23.5 nm, andmore » the spectral shift between two oil samples is 5.1 nm for Δn ∼ 0.039. These results are in good agreement with simulations, which are 21.3 and 7.39 nm for the same index changes.« less

Evidence for different accretion regimes in GRO J1008-57

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kühnel, Matthias; Fürst, Felix; Pottschmidt, Katja; Kreykenbohm, Ingo; Ballhausen, Ralf; Falkner, Sebastian; Rothschild, Richard E.; Klochkov, Dmitry; Wilms, Jörn

2017-11-01

We present a comprehensive spectral analysis of the BeXRB GRO J1008-57 over a luminosity range of three orders of magnitude using NuSTAR, Suzaku, and RXTE data. We find significant evolution of the spectral parameters with luminosity. In particular, the photon index hardens with increasing luminosity at intermediate luminosities in the range 1036-1037 erg s-1. This evolution is stable and repeatedly observed over different outbursts. However, at the extreme ends of the observed luminosity range, we find that the correlation breaks down, with a significance level of at least 3.7σ. We conclude that these changes indicate transitions to different accretion regimes, which are characterized by different deceleration processes, such as Coulomb or radiation breaking. We compare our observed luminosity levels of these transitions to theoretical predications and discuss the variation of those theoretical luminosity values with fundamental neutron star parameters. Finally, we present detailed spectroscopy of the unique "triple peaked" outburst in 2014/15 which does not fit in the general parameter evolution with luminosity. The pulse profile on the other hand is consistent with what is expected at this luminosity level, arguing against a change in accretion geometry. In summary, GRO J1008-57 is an ideal target to study different accretion regimes due to the well-constrained evolution of its broad-band spectral continuum over several orders of magnitude in luminosity.

Determination of the chromatic dispersion of liquids based on the liquid-prism SPR configuration in angular and spectral interrogations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lan, Guoqiang; Liu, Shugang; Wang, Yuxiao; Zhang, Xueru; Song, Yinglin

2015-10-01

In this work, we use the liquid-prism SPR sensing configuration to determine the chromatic dispersion of different liquids, since the condition of SPR is sensitive to the refractive index of the liquid prism. We use the glass slide coated with 50 nm Au film as the sensing chip, and use AvaLight - HAL (360 nm - 2500 nm) light source as the broaden band light source in our experiments. We adopt the deionized water as the standard sample to determine the chromatic dispersion of different liquid samples (ethanol and n-hexane), and we implement the experiment through the SPR sensing configuration in angular and spectral interrogations. According to the experimental data, the chromatic dispersions of ethanol and n-hexane are obtained. The proposed technique provides a new high sensitive method for the determination of chromatic dispersion of liquids.

Spectral modelling of multicomponent landscapes in the Sahel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hanan, N. P.; Prince, S. D.; Hiernaux, P. H. Y.

1991-01-01

Simple additive models are used to examine the infuence of differing soil types on the spatial average spectral reflectance and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The spatial average NDVI is shown to be a function of the brightness (red plus near-infrared reflectances), the NDVI, and the fractional cover of the components. In landscapes where soil and vegetation can be considered the only components, the NDVI-brightness model can be inverted to obtain the NDVI of vegetation. The red and near-infrared component reflectances of soil and vegetation are determined on the basis of aerial photoradiometer data from Mali. The relationship between the vegetation component NDVI and plant cover is found to be better than between the NDVI of the entire landscape and plant cover. It is concluded that the usefulness of this modeling approach depends on the existence of clearly distinguishable landscape components.

Monitoring corn and soybean crop development by remote sensing techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tucker, C. J.; Elgin, J. H., Jr.; Mcmurtrey, J. E., III

1978-01-01

A system for spectrally monitoring the stages of crop development for corn and soybeans based upon red and photographic infrared spectral radiances is proposed. The red and photographic infrared spectral radiance, highly correlated with the green leaf area index or green leaf biomass, enable nondestructive monitoring of the crop canopy throughout the growing season. Five distinct periods are apparent which are related to crop development for corn and soybeans.

Relationship between channel interaction and spectral-ripple discrimination in cochlear implant usersa

PubMed Central

Jones, Gary L.; Ho Won, Jong; Drennan, Ward R.; Rubinstein, Jay T.

2013-01-01

Cochlear implant (CI) users can achieve remarkable speech understanding, but there is great variability in outcomes that is only partially accounted for by age, residual hearing, and duration of deafness. Results might be improved with the use of psychophysical tests to predict which sound processing strategies offer the best potential outcomes. In particular, the spectral-ripple discrimination test offers a time-efficient, nonlinguistic measure that is correlated with perception of both speech and music by CI users. Features that make this “one-point” test time-efficient, and thus potentially clinically useful, are also connected to controversy within the CI field about what the test measures. The current work examined the relationship between thresholds in the one-point spectral-ripple test, in which stimuli are presented acoustically, and interaction indices measured under the controlled conditions afforded by direct stimulation with a research processor. Results of these studies include the following: (1) within individual subjects there were large variations in the interaction index along the electrode array, (2) interaction indices generally decreased with increasing electrode separation, and (3) spectral-ripple discrimination improved with decreasing mean interaction index at electrode separations of one, three, and five electrodes. These results indicate that spectral-ripple discrimination thresholds can provide a useful metric of the spectral resolution of CI users. PMID:23297914

Relationship between channel interaction and spectral-ripple discrimination in cochlear implant users.

PubMed

Jones, Gary L; Won, Jong Ho; Drennan, Ward R; Rubinstein, Jay T

2013-01-01

Cochlear implant (CI) users can achieve remarkable speech understanding, but there is great variability in outcomes that is only partially accounted for by age, residual hearing, and duration of deafness. Results might be improved with the use of psychophysical tests to predict which sound processing strategies offer the best potential outcomes. In particular, the spectral-ripple discrimination test offers a time-efficient, nonlinguistic measure that is correlated with perception of both speech and music by CI users. Features that make this "one-point" test time-efficient, and thus potentially clinically useful, are also connected to controversy within the CI field about what the test measures. The current work examined the relationship between thresholds in the one-point spectral-ripple test, in which stimuli are presented acoustically, and interaction indices measured under the controlled conditions afforded by direct stimulation with a research processor. Results of these studies include the following: (1) within individual subjects there were large variations in the interaction index along the electrode array, (2) interaction indices generally decreased with increasing electrode separation, and (3) spectral-ripple discrimination improved with decreasing mean interaction index at electrode separations of one, three, and five electrodes. These results indicate that spectral-ripple discrimination thresholds can provide a useful metric of the spectral resolution of CI users.

On the Nature of the Compact Object in SS 433: Observational Evidence of X-ray Photon Index Saturation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seifina, Elena; Titarchuk, Lev

2010-10-01

We present an analysis of the X-ray spectral properties observed from the black hole candidate (BHC) binary SS 433. We have analyzed Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer data from this source, coordinated with Green Bank Interferometer/RATAN-600. We show that SS 433 undergoes an X-ray spectral transition from the low hard state to the intermediate state (IS). We show that the X-ray broadband energy spectra during all spectral states are well fitted by a sum of the so-called bulk motion Comptonization (BMC) component and by two (broad and narrow) Gaussians for the continuum and line emissions, respectively. In addition to these spectral model components, we also find a strong feature that we identify as a "blackbody-like (BB)" component in which the color temperature is in the range of 4-5 keV in 24 IS spectra during the radio outburst decay in SS 433. Our observational results on the "high-temperature BB" bump lead us to suggest the presence of gravitationally redshifted annihilation line emission in this source. In fact, this spectral feature has been recently reproduced in Monte Carlo simulations by Laurent & Titarchuk. We have also established the photon index saturation at about 2.3 in index versus mass accretion correlation. This index-mass accretion correlation allows us to evaluate the low limit of the black hole (BH) mass of the compact object in SS 433, M_{{bh}}≳ 2 solar masses, using the scaling method using BHC GX 339 - 4 as a reference source. Our estimate of the BH mass in SS 433 is consistent with the recent BH mass measurement using the radial velocity measurements of the binary system by Hillwig & Gies, who find that Mx = (4.3 ± 0.8) solar masses. This is the smallest BH mass found up to now among all BH sources. Moreover, the index saturation effect versus mass accretion rate revealed in SS 433, as in a number of other BH candidates, is strong observational evidence for the presence of a BH in SS 433.

On the Nature of the Compact Object in SS 433. Observational Evidence of X-Ray Photon Index Saturation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seifina, Elena; Titarchuk, Lev

2010-01-01

We present an analysis of the X-ray spectral properties observed from black hole , candidate (BHC) binary SS 433. We have analyzed Rossi X-ray Time Explorer (RXTE) data from this source, coordinated with Green Bank Interferometer/RATAN-600. We show that SS 433 undergoes a X-ray spectral transition from the low hard state (LHS) to the intermediate state (IS). We show that the X-ray broad-band energy spectra during all spectral states are well fit by a sum of so called "Bulk Motion Comptonization (BMC) component" and by two (broad and narrow) Gaussians for the continuum and line emissions respectively. In addition to these spectral model components we also find a strong feature that we identify as a" blackbody-like (BB)" component which color temperature is in the range of 4-5 keV in 24 IS spectra during the radio outburst decay in SS 433. Our observational results on the "high temperature BB" bump leads us to suggest the presence of gravitationally redshifted annihilation line emission in this source. In fact this spectral feature has been recently reproduced in Monte Carlo simulations by Laurent and Titarchuk. We have also established the photon index saturation at about 2.3 in index vs mass accretion correlation. This index-mass accretion correlation allows us to evaluate the low limit of black hole (BH) mass of compact object in SS 433, M(sub bh) approximately > 2 solar masses, using the scaling method using BHC GX 339-4 as a reference source. Our estimate of the BH mass in SS 433 is consistent with recent BH mass measurement using the radial-velocity measurements of the binary system by Hillwig & Gies who find that M(sub x)( = (4.3 +/- 0.8) solar masses. This is the smallest BH mass found up to now among all BH sources. Moreover, the index saturation effect versus mass accretion rate revealed in SS 433, like in a number of other BH candidates, is the strong observational evidence for the presence of a BH in SS 433.

Spectral splitting of optical pulses inside a dispersive medium at a temporal boundary

DOE PAGES

Plansinis, Brent W.; Donaldson, William R.; Agrawal, Govind P.

2016-11-07

We show numerically that the spectrum of an optical pulse splits into multiple, widely separated, spectral bands when it arrives at a temporal boundary across which refractive index changes suddenly. At the same time, the pulse breaks into several temporally separated pulses traveling at different speeds. The number of such pulses depends on the dispersive properties of the medium. We study the effect of second- and third-order dispersion in detail but also consider briefly the impact of other higher-order terms. As a result, a temporal waveguide formed with two temporal boundaries can reflect the temporally separated pulses again and again,more » increasing the number of pulses trapped within the temporal waveguide.« less

Effect of amino acid dopants on the spectral, optical, mechanical and thermal properties of potassium acid phthalate crystals for possible optoelectronic and frequency doubling applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prakash, J. Thomas Joseph; Gnanaraj, J. Martin Sam; Dhavud, S. Shek; Ekadevasena, S.

2015-09-01

Undoped and amino acid (L-Arginine and L-Valine) doped KAP crystals were grown by slow evaporation solution growth technique. The changes in the structural, spectral, optical, mechanical and thermal properties were observed. The sharp prominent peaks in the indexed powder XRD pattern confirms the crystalline nature of the sample. Optical studies reveal that the crystal is transparent in the entire visible light region. Thermal stability was checked by TG/DTA analysis. The mechanical stability was evaluated from Vicker's microhardness test. The SHG efficiency for the title materials was tested with different particle sizes by the Kurtz and Perry powder method, which established the existence of phase matching.

Measurement of the refractive index dispersion of As2Se3 bulk glass and thin films prior to and after laser irradiation and annealing using prism coupling in the near- and mid-infrared spectral range

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

Carlie, Nathan; Anheier, Norman C.; Qiao, Hong

2011-05-01

The prism coupling technique has been utilized to measure the refractive index in the near- and mid-IR spectral region of chalcogenide glasses in bulk and thin film form. A commercial system (Metricon model 2010) has been modified with additional laser sources, detectors, and a new GaP prism to allow the measurement of refractive index dispersion over the 1.5–10.6 μm range. The instrumental error was found to be ±0.001 refractive index units across the entire wavelength region examined. Measurements on thermally evaporated AMTIR2 thin films confirmed that (i) the film deposition process provides thin films with reduced index compared to thatmore » of the bulk glass used as a target, (ii) annealing of the films increases the refractive index of the film to the level of the bulk glass used as a target to create it, and (iii) it is possible to locally increase the refractive index of the chalcogenide glass using laser exposure at 632.8 nm.« less

Measurement of the refractive index dispersion of As{sub 2}Se{sub 3} bulk glass and thin films prior to and after laser irradiation and annealing using prism coupling in the near- and mid-infrared spectral range

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

Carlie, N.; Petit, L.; Musgraves, J. D.

2011-05-15

The prism coupling technique has been utilized to measure the refractive index in the near- and mid-IR spectral region of chalcogenide glasses in bulk and thin film form. A commercial system (Metricon model 2010) has been modified with additional laser sources, detectors, and a new GaP prism to allow the measurement of refractive index dispersion over the 1.5-10.6 {mu}m range. The instrumental error was found to be {+-}0.001 refractive index units across the entire wavelength region examined. Measurements on thermally evaporated AMTIR2 thin films confirmed that (i) the film deposition process provides thin films with reduced index compared to thatmore » of the bulk glass used as a target, (ii) annealing of the films increases the refractive index of the film to the level of the bulk glass used as a target to create it, and (iii) it is possible to locally increase the refractive index of the chalcogenide glass using laser exposure at 632.8 nm.« less

Radiation characteristics and effective optical properties of dumbbell-shaped cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heng, Ri-Liang; Pilon, Laurent

2016-05-01

This study presents experimental measurements of the radiation characteristics of unicellular freshwater cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. during their exponential growth in F medium. Their scattering phase function at 633 nm average spectral absorption and scattering cross-sections between 400 and 750 nm were measured. In addition, an inverse method was used for retrieving the spectral effective complex index of refraction of overlapping or touching bispheres and quadspheres from their absorption and scattering cross-sections. The inverse method combines a genetic algorithm and a forward model based on Lorenz-Mie theory, treating bispheres and quadspheres as projected area and volume-equivalent coated spheres. The inverse method was successfully validated with numerically predicted average absorption and scattering cross-sections of suspensions consisting of bispheres and quadspheres, with realistic size distributions, using the T-matrix method. It was able to retrieve the monomers' complex index of refraction with size parameter up to 11, relative refraction index less than 1.3, and absorption index less than 0.1. Then, the inverse method was applied to retrieve the effective spectral complex index of refraction of Synechocystis sp. approximated as randomly oriented aggregates consisting of two overlapping homogeneous spheres. Both the measured absorption cross-section and the retrieved absorption index featured peaks at 435 and 676 nm corresponding to chlorophyll a, a peak at 625 nm corresponding to phycocyanin, and a shoulder around 485 nm corresponding to carotenoids. These results can be used to optimize and control light transfer in photobioreactors. The inverse method and the equivalent coated sphere model could be applied to other optically soft particles of similar morphologies.

An optimized index of human cardiovascular adaptation to simulated weightlessness

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, M.; Hassebrook, L.; Evans, J.; Varghese, T.; Knapp, C.

1996-01-01

Prolonged exposure to weightlessness is known to produce a variety of cardiovascular changes, some of which may influence the astronaut's performance during a mission. In order to find a reliable indicator of cardiovascular adaptation to weightlessness, we analyzed data from nine male subjects after a 24-hour period of normal activity and after a period of simulated weightlessness produced by two hours in a launch position followed by 20 hours of 6 degrees head-down tilt plus pharmacologically induced diuresis (furosemide). Heart rate, arterial pressure, thoracic fluid index, and radial flow were analyzed. Autoregressive spectral estimation and decomposition were used to obtain the spectral components of each variable from the subjects in the supine position during pre- and post-simulated weightlessness. We found a significant decrease in heart rate power and an increase in thoracic fluid index power in the high frequency region (0.2-0.45 Hz) and significant increases in radial flow and arterial pressure powers in the low frequency region (<0.2 Hz) in response to simulated weightlessness. However, due to the variability among subjects, any single variable appeared limited as a dependable index of cardiovascular adaptation to weightlessness. The backward elimination algorithm was then used to select the best discriminatory features from these spectral components. Fisher's linear discriminant and Bayes' quadratic discriminant were used to combine the selected features to obtain an optimal index of adaptation to simulated weightlessness. Results showed that both techniques provided improved discriminant performance over any single variable and thus have the potential for use as an index to track adaptation and prescribe countermeasures to the effects of weightlessness.

Spectral and spatial variability of undisturbed and disturbed grass under different view and illumination directions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borel-Donohue, Christoph C.; Shivers, Sarah Wells; Conover, Damon

2017-05-01

It is well known that disturbed grass covered surfaces show variability with view and illumination conditions. A good example is a grass field in a soccer stadium that shows stripes indicating in which direction the grass was mowed. These spatial variations are due to a complex interplay of spectral characteristics of grass blades, density, their length and orientations. Viewing a grass surface from nadir or near horizontal directions results in observing different components. Views from a vertical direction show more variations due to reflections from the randomly oriented grass blades and their shadows. Views from near horizontal show a mixture of reflected and transmitted light from grass blades. An experiment was performed on a mowed grass surface which had paths of simulated heavy foot traffic laid down in different directions. High spatial resolution hyperspectral data cubes were taken by an imaging spectrometer covering the visible through near infrared over a period of time covering several hours. Ground truth grass reflectance spectra with a hand held spectrometer were obtained of undisturbed and disturbed areas. Close range images were taken of selected areas with a hand held camera which were then used to reconstruct the 3D geometry of the grass using structure-from-motion algorithms. Computer graphics rendering using raytracing of reconstructed and procedurally created grass surfaces were used to compute BRDF models. In this paper, we discuss differences between observed and simulated spectral and spatial variability. Based on the measurements and/or simulations, we derive simple spectral index methods to detect spatial disturbances and apply scattering models.

Radio and infrared emission from Markarian starburst galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stine, Peter C.

1992-01-01

Radio and infrared emission were compared for a sample of 58 Markarian starburst galaxies, chosen to cover a wide range of 60-micron luminosity density. New radio observations were from the VLA at 6 and 20 cm in the B and A configurations. IRAS data were reanalyzed for 25 of the starbursts that were previously undetected at either 25 or 100 microns. The correlation between the global radio and IR emission for the starbursts in the sample is strongest at 25 and 60 microns, wavelengths in which the warm dust dominates. The radio spectral index steepens away from the center. This indicates that nonthermal emission leaks out of the starburst region. The change in the spectral index implies that while nonthermal sources dominate in the entire region, the bulk of the interior emission at 6 cm is thermal. The radio spectral index does not appear to vary as a function of the infrared luminosity or the infrared colors, which indicates that the slope of the initial mass function does not appear to be a function of either the mass or temperature of the starburst.

Quasar spectral variability from the XMM-Newton serendipitous source catalogue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serafinelli, R.; Vagnetti, F.; Middei, R.

2017-04-01

Context. X-ray spectral variability analyses of active galactic nuclei (AGN) with moderate luminosities and redshifts typically show a "softer when brighter" behaviour. Such a trend has rarely been investigated for high-luminosity AGNs (Lbol ≳ 1044 erg/s), nor for a wider redshift range (e.g. 0 ≲ z ≲ 5). Aims: We present an analysis of spectral variability based on a large sample of 2700 quasars, measured at several different epochs, extracted from the fifth release of the XMM-Newton Serendipitous Source Catalogue. Methods: We quantified the spectral variability through the parameter β defined as the ratio between the change in the photon index Γ and the corresponding logarithmic flux variation, β = -ΔΓ/Δlog FX. Results: Our analysis confirms a softer when brighter behaviour for our sample, extending the previously found general trend to high luminosity and redshift. We estimate an ensemble value of the spectral variability parameter β = -0.69 ± 0.03. We do not find dependence of β on redshift, X-ray luminosity, black hole mass or Eddington ratio. A subsample of radio-loud sources shows a smaller spectral variability parameter. There is also some change with the X-ray flux, with smaller β (in absolute value) for brighter sources. We also find significant correlations for a small number of individual sources, indicating more negative values for some sources.

Ambience-sensitive optical refraction in ferroelectric nanofilms of NaNbO3

PubMed Central

Tyunina, Marina; Chvostova, Dagmar; Pacherova, Oliva; Kocourek, Tomas; Jelinek, Miroslav; Jastrabik, Lubomir; Dejneka, Alexander

2014-01-01

Optical index of refraction n is studied by spectroscopic ellipsometry in epitaxial nanofilms of NaNbO3 with thickness ∼10 nm grown on different single-crystal substrates. The index n in the transparency spectral range (n ≈ 2.1 – 2.2) exhibits a strong sensitivity to atmospheric-pressure gas ambience. The index n in air exceeds that in an oxygen ambience by δn ≈ 0.05 – 0.2. The thermo-optical behaviour n(T) indicates ferroelectric state in the nanofilms. The ambience-sensitive optical refraction is discussed in terms of fundamental connection between refraction and ferroelectric polarization in perovskites, screening of depolarizing field on surfaces of the nanofilms, and thermodynamically stable surface reconstructions of NaNbO3. PMID:27877702

A special vegetation index for the weed detection in sensor based precision agriculture.

PubMed

Langner, Hans-R; Böttger, Hartmut; Schmidt, Helmut

2006-06-01

Many technologies in precision agriculture (PA) require image analysis and image- processing with weed and background differentiations. The detection of weeds on mulched cropland is one important image-processing task for sensor based precision herbicide applications. The article introduces a special vegetation index, the Difference Index with Red Threshold (DIRT), for the weed detection on mulched croplands. Experimental investigations in weed detection on mulched areas point out that the DIRT performs better than the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The result of the evaluation with four different decision criteria indicate, that the new DIRT gives the highest reliability in weed/background differentiation on mulched areas. While using the same spectral bands (infrared and red) as the NDVI, the new DIRT is more suitable for weed detection than the other vegetation indices and requires only a small amount of additional calculation power. The new vegetation index DIRT was tested on mulched areas during automatic ratings with a special weed camera system. The test results compare the new DIRT and three other decision criteria: the difference between infrared and red intensity (Diff), the soil-adjusted quotient between infrared and red intensity (Quotient) and the NDVI. The decision criteria were compared with the definition of a worse case decision quality parameter Q, suitable for mulched croplands. Although this new index DIRT needs further testing, the index seems to be a good decision criterion for the weed detection on mulched areas and should also be useful for other image processing applications in precision agriculture. The weed detection hardware and the PC program for the weed image processing were developed with funds from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

a Preliminary Investigation on Comparison and Transformation of SENTINEL-2 MSI and Landsat 8 Oli

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, F.; Lou, S.; Fan, Q.; Li, J.; Wang, C.; Claverie, M.

2018-05-01

A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION ON COMPARISON AND TRANSFORMATION OF SENTINEL-2 MSI AND LANDSAT 8 OLI Timely and accurate earth observation with short revisit interval is usually necessary, especially for emergency response. Currently, several new generation sensors provided with similar channel characteristics have been operated onboard different satellite platforms, including Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8. Joint use of the observations by different sensors offers an opportunity to meet the demands for emergency requirements. For example, through the combination of Landsat and Sentinel-2 data, the land can be observed every 2-3 days at medium spatial resolution. However, differences are expected in radiometric values (e.g., channel reflectance) of the corresponding channels between two sensors. Spectral response function (SRF) is taken as an important aspect of sensor settings. Accordingly, between-sensor differences due to SRFs variation need to be quantified and compensated. The comparison of SRFs shows difference (more or less) in channel settings between Sentinel-2 Multi-Spectral Instrument (MSI) and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI). Effect of the difference in SRF on corresponding values between MSI and OLI was investigated, mainly in terms of channel reflectance and several derived spectral indices. Spectra samples from ASTER Spectral Library Version 2.0 and Hyperion data archives were used in obtaining channel reflectance simulation of MSI and OLI. Preliminary results show that MSI and OLI are well comparable in several channels with small relative discrepancy (< 5 %), including the Costal Aerosol channel, a NIR (855-875 nm) channel, the SWIR channels, and the Cirrus channel. Meanwhile, for channels covering Blue, Green, Red, and NIR (785-900 nm), the between-sensor differences are significantly presented. Compared with the difference in reflectance of each individual channel, the difference in derived spectral index is more significant. In addition, effectiveness of linear transformation model is not ensured when the target belongs to another spectra collection. If an improper transformation model is selected, the between-sensor discrepancy will even largely increase. In conclusion, improvement in between-sensor consistency is possibly a challenge, through linear transformation based on model(s) generated from other spectra collections.

Differences between state entropy and bispectral index during analysis of identical electroencephalogram signals: a comparison with two randomised anaesthetic techniques.

PubMed

Pilge, Stefanie; Kreuzer, Matthias; Karatchiviev, Veliko; Kochs, Eberhard F; Malcharek, Michael; Schneider, Gerhard

2015-05-01

It is claimed that bispectral index (BIS) and state entropy reflect an identical clinical spectrum, the hypnotic component of anaesthesia. So far, it is not known to what extent different devices display similar index values while processing identical electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. To compare BIS and state entropy during analysis of identical EEG data. Inspection of raw EEG input to detect potential causes of erroneous index calculation. Offline re-analysis of EEG data from a randomised, single-centre controlled trial using the Entropy Module and an Aspect A-2000 monitor. Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich. Forty adult patients undergoing elective surgery under general anaesthesia. Blocked randomisation of 20 patients per anaesthetic group (sevoflurane/remifentanil or propofol/remifentanil). Isolated forearm technique for differentiation between consciousness and unconsciousness. Prediction probability (PK) of state entropy to discriminate consciousness from unconsciousness. Correlation and agreement between state entropy and BIS from deep to light hypnosis. Analysis of raw EEG compared with index values that are in conflict with clinical examination, with frequency measures (frequency bands/Spectral Edge Frequency 95) and visual inspection for physiological EEG patterns (e.g. beta or delta arousal), pathophysiological features such as high-frequency signals (electromyogram/high-frequency EEG or eye fluttering/saccades), different types of electro-oculogram or epileptiform EEG and technical artefacts. PK of state entropy was 0.80 and of BIS 0.84; correlation coefficient of state entropy with BIS 0.78. Nine percent BIS and 14% state entropy values disagreed with clinical examination. Highest incidence of disagreement occurred after state transitions, in particular for state entropy after loss of consciousness during sevoflurane anaesthesia. EEG sequences which led to false 'conscious' index values often showed high-frequency signals and eye blinks. High-frequency EEG/electromyogram signals were pooled because a separation into EEG and fast electro-oculogram, for example eye fluttering or saccades, on the basis of a single EEG channel may not be very reliable. These signals led to higher Spectral Edge Frequency 95 and ratio of relative beta and gamma band power than EEG signals, indicating adequate unconscious classification. The frequency of other artefacts that were assignable, for example technical artefacts, movement artefacts, was negligible and they were excluded from analysis. High-frequency signals and eye blinks may account for index values that falsely indicate consciousness. Compared with BIS, state entropy showed more false classifications of the clinical state at transition between consciousness and unconsciousness.

Spectro-spatial relationship between UAV derived high resolution DEM and SWIR hyperspectral data: application to an ombrotrophic peatland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arroyo-Mora, J. Pablo; Kalacska, Margaret; Lucanus, Oliver; Soffer, Raymond; Leblanc, George

2017-10-01

Peatlands cover 3% of the globe and are key ecosystems for climate regulation. To better understand the potential effects of climate change in peatlands, a major challenge is to determine the complex relationship between hydrology, microtopography, vegetation patterns, and gas exchange. Here we study the spectral and spatial relationship of microtopographic features (e.g. hollows and hummocks) and near-surface water through narrow-band spectral indices derived from hyperspectral imagery. We used a very high resolution digital elevation model (2.5 cm horizontal, 2.2 cm vertical resolution) derived from an UAV based Structure from Motion photogrammetry to map hollows and hummocks in the peatland area. We also created a 2 cm spatial resolution orthophoto mosaic to enhance the visual identification of these hollows and hummocks. Furthermore, we collected SWIR airborne hyperspectral (880-2450 nm) imagery at 1 m pixel resolution over four time periods, from April to June 2016 (phenological gradient: vegetation greening). Our results revealed an increase in the water indices values (NDWI1640 and NDWI2130) and a decrease in the moisture stress index (MSI) between April and June. In addition, for the same period the NDWI2130 shows a bimodal distribution indicating potential to quantitatively assess moisture differences between mosses and vascular plants. Our results, using the digital surface model to extract NDWI2130 values, showed significant differences between hollows and hummocks for each time period, with higher moisture values for hollows (i.e. moss dominated). However, for June, the water index for hummocks approximated the values found in hollows. Our study shows the advantages of using fine spatial and spectral scales to detect temporal trends in near surface water in a peatland.

Growth, spectral and optical characterization of a novel nonlinear optical organic material: D-Alanine DL-Mandelic acid single crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jayaprakash, P.; Mohamed, M. Peer; Caroline, M. Lydia

2017-04-01

An organic nonlinear optical single crystal, D-alanine DL-mandelic acid was synthesized and successfully grown by slow evaporation solution growth technique at ambient temperature using solvent of aqueous solution. The unit cell parameters were assessed from single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The presence of diverse functional groups and vibrational modes were identified using Fourier Transform Infra Red and Fourier Transform Raman spectral analyses. The chemical structure of grown crystal has been identified by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopic study. Ultraviolet-visible spectral analysis reveal that the crystal has lower cut-off wavelength down to 259 nm, is a key factor to exhibit second harmonic generation signal. The electronic optical band gap and Urbach energy is calculated as 5.31 eV and 0.2425 eV respectively from the UV absorption profile. The diverse optical properties such as, extinction coefficient, reflectance, linear refractive index, optical conductivity was calculated using UV-visible data. The relative second harmonic efficiency of the compound is found to be 0.81 times greater than that of KH2PO4 (KDP). The thermal stability of the grown crystal was studied by thermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis techniques. The luminescence spectrum exhibited two peaks (520 nm, 564 nm) due to the donation of protons from carboxylic acid to amino group. The Vickers microhardness test was carried out employing one of the as-grown hard crystal and there by hardness number (Hv), Meyer's index (n), yield strength (σy), elastic stiffness constant (C11) and Knoop hardness number (HK) were assessed. The dielectric behaviour of the as-grown crystal was analyzed for different temperatures (313 K, 333 K, 353 K, and 373 K) at different frequencies.

High Resolution Land Use Land Cover Classification using Landsat Earth Observation Data for the Continental Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Midekisa, A.; Bennet, A.; Gething, P. W.; Holl, F.; Andrade-Pacheco, R.; Savory, D. J.; Hugh, S. J.

2016-12-01

Spatially detailed and temporally dynamic land use land cover data is necessary to monitor the state of the land surface for various applications. Yet, such data at a continental to global scale is lacking. Here, we developed high resolution (30 meter) annual land use land cover layers for the continental Africa using Google Earth Engine. To capture ground truth training data, high resolution satellite imageries were visually inspected and used to identify 7, 212 sample Landsat pixels that were comprised entirely of one of seven land use land cover classes (water, man-made impervious surface, high biomass, low biomass, rock, sand and bare soil). For model validation purposes, 80% of points from each class were used as training data, with 20% withheld as a validation dataset. Cloud free Landsat 7 annual composites for 2000 to 2015 were generated and spectral bands from the Landsat images were then extracted for each of the training and validation sample points. In addition to the Landsat spectral bands, spectral indices such as normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalized difference water index (NDWI) were used as covariates in the model. Additionally, calibrated night time light imageries from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were included as a covariate. A decision tree classification algorithm was applied to predict the 7 land cover classes for the periods 2000 to 2015 using the training dataset. Using the validation dataset, classification accuracy including omission error and commission error were computed for each land cover class. Model results showed that overall accuracy of classification was high (88%). This high resolution land cover product developed for the continental Africa will be available for public use and can potentially enhance the ability of monitoring and studying the state of the Earth's surface.

Spectroscopic and polarimetric study of radio-quiet weak emission line quasars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Parveen; Chand, Hum; Gopal-Krishna; Srianand, Raghunathan; Stalin, Chelliah Subramonian; Petitjean, Patrick

2018-04-01

A small subset of optically selected radio-quiet QSOs with weak or no emission lines may turn out to be the elusive radio-quiet BL Lac objects, or simply be radio-quiet QSOs with an infant/shielded broad line region (BLR). High polarisation (p > 3-4%), a hallmark of BL Lacs, can be used to test whether some optically selected ‘radio-quiet weak emission line QSOs’ (RQWLQs) show a fractional polarisation high enough to qualify as radio-quiet analogues of BL Lac objects. To check this possibility, we have made optical spectral and polarisation measurements of a sample of 19 RQWLQs. Out of these, only 9 sources show a non-significant proper motion (hence very likely extragalactic) and only two of them are found to have p > 1%. For these two RQWLQs, namely J142505.59+035336.2 and J154515.77+003235.2, we found the highest polarization to be 1.59±0.53%, which is again too low to classify them as (radio-quiet) BL Lacs, although one may recall that even genuine BL Lacs sometimes appear weakly polarised. We also present a statistical comparison of the optical spectral index, for a sample of 45 RQWLQs with redshift-luminosity matched control samples of 900 QSOs and an equivalent sample of 120 blazars, assembled from the literature. The spectral index distribution of RQWLQs is found to differ, at a high significance level, from that of blazars. This, too, is consistent with the common view that the mechanism of the central engine in RQWLQs, as a population, is close to that operating in normal QSOs and the primary difference between them is related to the BLR.

Identifying the source of colours in the Jovian atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braude, Ashwin; Irwin, Patrick; Orton, Glenn S.; Fletcher, Leigh

2016-10-01

We wish to identify the source of Jupiter's colours through spectral analysis of images of Jupiter in the visible-to-near-infrared in conjunction with observations made by Juno in the mid-infrared and at super-high frequency. Three sets of observations were made of Jupiter by the MUSE integral-field spectrograph between 2014-2016 in the spectral range 0.48-0.93um, and reduced using a standard pipeline. Some large high-altitude hazes were observed in 2014 in the North Tropical Zone and the North Temperate Belt which appeared to have vanished by 2016. A single spectral image cube from 2014 was selected for analysis, and attempts at retrieving vertical cloud profiles, imaginary refractive indices and single-scattering albedos using the Nemesis radiative transfer model were made in different locations on Jupiter corresponding to the most prominent features close to the Equatorial region. Differences in lower tropospheric cloud altitude and opacity were found between the zones and the belts, and the belt cloud particles were seen to be significantly more blue-absorbing than the zone particles. Attempts were made at retrieving the real refractive index of the cloud particles in the upper tropospheric haze, where the majority of the colour-producing particles, or 'chromophores', are thought to be located, and values of refractive index greater than that of ammonia ice were observed, indicating the presence of a foreign substance. Further ground-based observations from MUSE in the visible and from TEXES in the mid-Infrared combined with localised observations from Juno later this year should shed more light on the origin of the colour-producing substance in the Jovian clouds, as well as of any seasonal changes in colour.

Gas discharge headlights and visibility of coloured road signs.

PubMed

Venkatachalam, Kannan; Smith, George

2000-01-01

BACKGROUND: Automotive headlamps mostly use the tungsten halogen bulb but several years ago a new type of headlamp, the gas discharge bulb, was introduced. Because of the different spectral output of this type of lamp, there has been a suggestion that it may affect the colour recognition and sign conspicuity under night-time conditions. In this study, the visibility of the road signs is used to examine the effect of the gas discharge lamp's spectrum compared with that of the conventional halogen headlamp. METHODS: The spectral output of the lamps and the spectral reflectance of common-coloured road signs were measured using a Spectra-Pritchard spectroradiometer. Using luminous reflectance data, chromaticity co-ordinates and the colorimetric shift of the road signs, when illuminated by gas discharge lamps, were plotted using CIE x,y co-ordinate system. Colour rendering indices of the lamp were calculated using Munsell samples and road signs as proscribed by the CIE Publication. In addition, the visibility index of the road signs was calculated using Adrian's 'Visibility of Target' model. RESULTS: The gas discharge headlamp has more energy in the blue region and less energy in the red region of the spectrum than the halogen headlamp. The general colour rendering index of the gas discharge lamp is higher than that of the halogen lamp. When compared with daylight, all coloured road signs used in this study have less colorimetric shift when illuminated by the gas discharge headlamp than by the halogen headlamp. CONCLUSION: The result indicates that the gas discharge lamp, while having a very different spectrum from daylight or tungsten halogen lamps, should not have a deleterious effect on sign detection or recognition, when compared to daylight or tungsten halogen lamps.

Diurnal variations in maize and soybean vegetation indices from continuous measurements of ground-based spectral reflectance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arkebauer, T. J.; Walter-Shea, E. A.

2017-12-01

Vegetation indices, based on canopy spectral reflectance, are widely used to infer physical and biological characteristics of vegetation. Understanding the changes in remotely sensed signals as vegetation responds to its changing environment is essential for full assessment of canopy structure and function. Canopy-level reflectance has been measured at Nebraska AmeriFlux sites US-Ne1, US-Ne2 and US-Ne3 for most years since flux measurements were initiated in 2001. Tower-mounted spectral sensors provided 10-minute averaged reflectance (in PAR and NIR spectral regions) every half hour through the growing season for maize and soybean. Canopy reflectance varied over diurnal and seasonal time periods which led to variations in vegetation indices. One source of variation is due to the interaction of incident solar radiant energy with canopy structure (e.g., reflectance varies with changes in solar zenith angle and direct beam fraction, vegetative fraction, and leaf angle distribution). Another source of variation results from changes in canopy function (e.g., fluctuations in gross primary production and invocation of photoprotective mechanisms with plant stress). We present here a series of diurnal "patterns" of vegetation indices (including Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and Chlorophyll Index) for maize and soybean under mostly clear sky conditions. We demonstrate that diurnal patterns change as the LAI of the canopy changes through the course of the growing season in a somewhat predictable pattern from plant emergence (low vegetative cover) through peak green LAI (full vegetation cover). However, there are changes in the diurnal pattern that we have yet to fully understand; this variation in pattern may indicate variation in canopy function. Initially, we have explored the pattern changes qualitatively and are currently developing more quantitative approaches.

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

Abeysekara, A. U.; Flinders, A.; Archambault, S.

Blazars are variable emitters across all wavelengths over a wide range of timescales, from months down to minutes. It is therefore essential to observe blazars simultaneously at different wavelengths, especially in the X-ray and gamma-ray bands, where the broadband spectral energy distributions usually peak. In this work, we report on three “target-of-opportunity” observations of Mrk 421, one of the brightest TeV blazars, triggered by a strong flaring event at TeV energies in 2014. These observations feature long, continuous, and simultaneous exposures with XMM-Newton (covering the X-ray and optical/ultraviolet bands) and VERITAS (covering the TeV gamma-ray band), along with contemporaneous observationsmore » from other gamma-ray facilities (MAGIC and Fermi -Large Area Telescope) and a number of radio and optical facilities. Although neither rapid flares nor significant X-ray/TeV correlation are detected, these observations reveal subtle changes in the X-ray spectrum of the source over the course of a few days. We search the simultaneous X-ray and TeV data for spectral hysteresis patterns and time delays, which could provide insight into the emission mechanisms and the source properties (e.g., the radius of the emitting region, the strength of the magnetic field, and related timescales). The observed broadband spectra are consistent with a one-zone synchrotron self-Compton model. We find that the power spectral density distribution at ≳4 × 10{sup −4} Hz from the X-ray data can be described by a power-law model with an index value between 1.2 and 1.8, and do not find evidence for a steepening of the power spectral index (often associated with a characteristic length scale) compared to the previously reported values at lower frequencies.« less

New parameter of the right gastroepiploic arterial graft using the power spectral analysis device named MemCalc soft.

PubMed

Uehara, Mayuko; Takagi, Nobuyuki; Muraki, Satoshi; Yanase, Yosuke; Tabuchi, Masaki; Tachibana, Kazutoshi; Miyaki, Yasuko; Ito, Toshiro; Higami, Tetsuya

2015-12-01

Transit-time flow measurement (TTFM) parameters such as mean graft flow (MGF, ml/min), pulsatility index (PI) and diastolic filling (DF, %) have been extensively researched for internal mammary arterial or saphenous vein grafts. In our experience of using the right gastroepiploic arterial (GEA) graft for right coronary artery (RCA) grafting, we observed unique GEA graft flow waveforms. We analysed the GEA graft flow waveforms for their effectiveness in determining GEA graft patency by power spectral analysis. Forty-five patients underwent off-pump coronary artery bypass using the GEA graft for RCA grafting individually. The means of intraoperative MGF, PI and DF were compared between patent and non-patent grafts, postoperatively. Furthermore, the GEA flow data were output and analysed using power spectral analysis. Forty grafts were 'patent' and five were 'non-patent'. There were no significant differences in the mean TTFM parameters between the patent and non-patent grafts (MGF: 22 vs 8 ml/min, respectively, P = 0.068; PI: 3.5 vs 6.5, respectively, P = 0.155; DF: 63 vs 53%, respectively, P = 0.237). Results of the power spectral analysis presented clear differences; the power spectral density (PSD) of patent grafts presented high peaks at frequency levels of 1, 2 and 3 Hz, and the non-patent graft PSD presented high peaks that were not limited to these frequencies. The PSD had a sensitivity and specificity of 80 and 87.5%, respectively. Power spectral analysis of the GEA graft flow is useful to distinguish between non-patent and patent grafts intraoperatively. This should be used as a fourth parameter along with MGF, PI and DF. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

Discrimination of periodontal diseases using diffuse reflectance spectral intensity ratios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandra Sekhar, Prasanth; Betsy, Joseph; Presanthila, Janam; Subhash, Narayanan

2012-02-01

This clinical study was to demonstrate the applicability of diffuse reflectance (DR) intensity ratio R620/R575 in the quantification and discrimination of periodontitis and gingivitis from healthy gingiva. DR spectral measurements were carried out with white-light illumination from 70 healthy sites in 30 healthy volunteers, and 63 gingivitis- and 58 periodontitis-infected sites in 60 patients. Clinical parameters such as probing pocket depth, clinical attachment level, and gingival index were recorded in patient population. Diagnostic accuracies for discrimination of gingivitis and periodontitis from healthy gingiva were determined by comparison of spectral signatures with clinical parameters. Divergence of average DR spectral intensity ratio between control and test groups was studied using analysis of variance. The mean DR spectrum on normalization at 620 nm showed marked differences between healthy tissue, gingivitis, and periodontitis. Hemoglobin concentration and apparent SO2 (oxygen saturation) were also calculated for healthy, gingivitis, and periodontitis sites. DR spectral intensities at 545 and 575 nm showed a decreasing trend with progression of disease. Among the various DR intensity ratios studied, the R620/R575 ratio provided a sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 94% for discrimination of healthy tissues from gingivitis and a sensitivity of 91% and specificity of 100% for discrimination of gingivitis from periodontitis.

Fusing Panchromatic and SWIR Bands Based on Cnn - a Preliminary Study Over WORLDVIEW-3 Datasets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, M.; Ma, H.; Bao, Y.; Wang, L.

2018-04-01

The traditional fusion methods are based on the fact that the spectral ranges of the Panchromatic (PAN) and multispectral bands (MS) are almost overlapping. In this paper, we propose a new pan-sharpening method for the fusion of PAN and SWIR (short-wave infrared) bands, whose spectral coverages are not overlapping. This problem is addressed with a convolutional neural network (CNN), which is trained by WorldView-3 dataset. CNN can learn the complex relationship among bands, and thus alleviate spectral distortion. Consequently, in our network, we use the simple three-layer basic architecture with 16 × 16 kernels to conduct the experiment. Every layer use different receptive field. The first two layers compute 512 feature maps by using the 16 × 16 and 1 × 1 receptive field respectively and the third layer with a 8 × 8 receptive field. The fusion results are optimized by continuous training. As for assessment, four evaluation indexes including Entropy, CC, SAM and UIQI are selected built on subjective visual effect and quantitative evaluation. The preliminary experimental results demonstrate that the fusion algorithms can effectively enhance the spatial information. Unfortunately, the fusion image has spectral distortion, it cannot maintain the spectral information of the SWIR image.

Is There Evidence for X-Ray Emitting Plasma Very Close to the Photospheres of O Stars?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leutenegger, Maurice A.

2008-01-01

Aims. We reexamine the implications of the recent HESS observations of the blazar 1ES0229+200 for constraining the extragalactic mid-infrared background radiation. Methods. We examine the effect of gamma-ray absorption by the extragalactic infrared radiation on predicted intrinsic spectra for this blazar and compare our results with the observational data. Results. We find agreement with our previous results on the shape of the infrared spectral energy distribution, contrary to the recent assertion of the HESS group. Our analysis indicates that 1ES0229+200 has a very hard intrinsic spectrum with a spectral index between 1.1 +/- 0.3 and 1.5 +/- 0.3 in the energy range between approx.0.5 TeV and approx.15 TeV. Conclusions. Under the assumptions that (1) the models of Stecker et al. (2006, ApJ, 648, 774) as derived from numerous detailed infrared observations are reasonable, and (2) spectral indexes in the range 1 < gamma < 1.5 are obtainable from relativistic shock acceleration under the astrophysical conditions extant in blazar flares (Stecker et al. 2007, ApJ, 667, L29), the fits to the observations of 1ES0229+200 using our previous infrared spectral energy distributions are consistent with both the infrared and gamma-ray observations. Our analysis presents evidence indicating that the energy spectrum of relativistic particles in 1ES0229+200 is produced by relativistic shock acceleration, producing an intrinsic -ray spectrum with index 1 < gamma < 1.5 and with no evidence of a peak in the spectral energy distribution up to energies approx.15 TeV.

GLACiAR: GaLAxy survey Completeness AlgoRithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrasco, Daniela; Trenti, Michele; Mutch, Simon; Oesch, Pascal

2018-05-01

GLACiAR (GaLAxy survey Completeness AlgoRithm) estimates the completeness and selection functions in galaxy surveys. Tailored for multiband imaging surveys aimed at searching for high-redshift galaxies through the Lyman Break technique, the code can nevertheless be applied broadly. GLACiAR generates artificial galaxies that follow Sérsic profiles with different indexes and with customizable size, redshift and spectral energy distribution properties, adds them to input images, and measures the recovery rate.

Further analysis of scintillation index for a laser beam propagating through moderate-to-strong non-Kolmogorov turbulence based on generalized effective atmospheric spectral model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Jing; Fu, Yu-Long; Yu, Si-Yuan; Xie, Xiao-Long; Tan, Li-Ying

2018-03-01

A new expression of the scintillation index (SI) for a Gaussian-beam wave propagating through moderate-to-strong non-Kolmogorov turbulence is derived, using a generalized effective atmospheric spectrum and the extended Rytov approximation theory. Finite inner and outer scale parameters and high wave number “bump” are considered in the spectrum with a generalized spectral power law in the range of 3–4, instead of the fixed classical Kolmogorov power law of 11/3. The obtained SI expression is then used to analyze the effects of the spectral power law and the inner scale and outer scale on SI under various non-Kolmogorov fluctuation conditions. These results will be useful in future investigations of optical wave propagation through atmospheric turbulence.

Interferometric atmospheric refractive-index environmental monitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ludman, Jacques E.; Ludman, Jacques J.; Callahan, Heidi; Robinson, John; Davis, Seth; Caulfield, H. John; Watt, David; Sampson, John L.; Hunt, Arlon

1995-06-01

Long, open-path, outdoor interferometric measurement of the index of refraction as a function of wavelength (spectral refractivity) requires a number of innovations. These include active compensation for vibration and turbulence. The use of electronic compensation produces an electronic signal that is ideal for extracting data. This allows the appropriate interpretation of those data and the systematic and fast scanning of the spectrum by the use of bandwidths that are intermediate between lasers (narrow bandwidth) and white light (broad bandwidth). An Environmental Interferometer that incorporates these features should be extremely valuable in both pollutant detection and pollutant identification. Spectral refractivity measurements complement the information available

Techniques for the estimation of leaf area index using spectral data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Badhwar, G. D.; Shen, S. S.

1984-01-01

Based on the radiative transport theory of a homogeneous canopy, a new approach for obtaining transformations of spectral data used to estimate leaf area index (LAI), is developed. The transformations which are obtained without any ground knowledge of LAI show low sensitivity to soil variability, and are linearly related to LAI with relationships which are predictable from leaf reflectance, transmittance properties, and canopy reflectance models. Evaluation of the SAIL (scattering by arbitrarily inclined leaves) model is considered. Using only nadir view data, results obtained on winter and spring wheat and corn crops are presented.

Precision Measurement of the Proton Flux in Primary Cosmic Rays from Rigidity 1 GV to 1.8 TV with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station.

PubMed

Aguilar, M; Aisa, D; Alpat, B; Alvino, A; Ambrosi, G; Andeen, K; Arruda, L; Attig, N; Azzarello, P; Bachlechner, A; Barao, F; Barrau, A; Barrin, L; Bartoloni, A; Basara, L; Battarbee, M; Battiston, R; Bazo, J; Becker, U; Behlmann, M; Beischer, B; Berdugo, J; Bertucci, B; Bigongiari, G; Bindi, V; Bizzaglia, S; Bizzarri, M; Boella, G; de Boer, W; Bollweg, K; Bonnivard, V; Borgia, B; Borsini, S; Boschini, M J; Bourquin, M; Burger, J; Cadoux, F; Cai, X D; Capell, M; Caroff, S; Casaus, J; Cascioli, V; Castellini, G; Cernuda, I; Cerreta, D; Cervelli, F; Chae, M J; Chang, Y H; Chen, A I; Chen, H; Cheng, G M; Chen, H S; Cheng, L; Chou, H Y; Choumilov, E; Choutko, V; Chung, C H; Clark, C; Clavero, R; Coignet, G; Consolandi, C; Contin, A; Corti, C; Cortina Gil, E; Coste, B; Creus, W; Crispoltoni, M; Cui, Z; Dai, Y M; Delgado, C; Della Torre, S; Demirköz, M B; Derome, L; Di Falco, S; Di Masso, L; Dimiccoli, F; Díaz, C; von Doetinchem, P; Donnini, F; Du, W J; Duranti, M; D'Urso, D; Eline, A; Eppling, F J; Eronen, T; Fan, Y Y; Farnesini, L; Feng, J; Fiandrini, E; Fiasson, A; Finch, E; Fisher, P; Galaktionov, Y; Gallucci, G; García, B; García-López, R; Gargiulo, C; Gast, H; Gebauer, I; Gervasi, M; Ghelfi, A; Gillard, W; Giovacchini, F; Goglov, P; Gong, J; Goy, C; Grabski, V; Grandi, D; Graziani, M; Guandalini, C; Guerri, I; Guo, K H; Haas, D; Habiby, M; Haino, S; Han, K C; He, Z H; Heil, M; Hoffman, J; Hsieh, T H; Huang, Z C; Huh, C; Incagli, M; Ionica, M; Jang, W Y; Jinchi, H; Kanishev, K; Kim, G N; Kim, K S; Kirn, Th; Kossakowski, R; Kounina, O; Kounine, A; Koutsenko, V; Krafczyk, M S; La Vacca, G; Laudi, E; Laurenti, G; Lazzizzera, I; Lebedev, A; Lee, H T; Lee, S C; Leluc, C; Levi, G; Li, H L; Li, J Q; Li, Q; Li, Q; Li, T X; Li, W; Li, Y; Li, Z H; Li, Z Y; Lim, S; Lin, C H; Lipari, P; Lippert, T; Liu, D; Liu, H; Lolli, M; Lomtadze, T; Lu, M J; Lu, S Q; Lu, Y S; Luebelsmeyer, K; Luo, J Z; Lv, S S; Majka, R; Mañá, C; Marín, J; Martin, T; Martínez, G; Masi, N; Maurin, D; Menchaca-Rocha, A; Meng, Q; Mo, D C; Morescalchi, L; Mott, P; Müller, M; Ni, J Q; Nikonov, N; Nozzoli, F; Nunes, P; Obermeier, A; Oliva, A; Orcinha, M; Palmonari, F; Palomares, C; Paniccia, M; Papi, A; Pauluzzi, M; Pedreschi, E; Pensotti, S; Pereira, R; Picot-Clemente, N; Pilo, F; Piluso, A; Pizzolotto, C; Plyaskin, V; Pohl, M; Poireau, V; Postaci, E; Putze, A; Quadrani, L; Qi, X M; Qin, X; Qu, Z Y; Räihä, T; Rancoita, P G; Rapin, D; Ricol, J S; Rodríguez, I; Rosier-Lees, S; Rozhkov, A; Rozza, D; Sagdeev, R; Sandweiss, J; Saouter, P; Sbarra, C; Schael, S; Schmidt, S M; Schulz von Dratzig, A; Schwering, G; Scolieri, G; Seo, E S; Shan, B S; Shan, Y H; Shi, J Y; Shi, X Y; Shi, Y M; Siedenburg, T; Son, D; Spada, F; Spinella, F; Sun, W; Sun, W H; Tacconi, M; Tang, C P; Tang, X W; Tang, Z C; Tao, L; Tescaro, D; Ting, Samuel C C; Ting, S M; Tomassetti, N; Torsti, J; Türkoğlu, C; Urban, T; Vagelli, V; Valente, E; Vannini, C; Valtonen, E; Vaurynovich, S; Vecchi, M; Velasco, M; Vialle, J P; Vitale, V; Vitillo, S; Wang, L Q; Wang, N H; Wang, Q L; Wang, R S; Wang, X; Wang, Z X; Weng, Z L; Whitman, K; Wienkenhöver, J; Wu, H; Wu, X; Xia, X; Xie, M; Xie, S; Xiong, R Q; Xin, G M; Xu, N S; Xu, W; Yan, Q; Yang, J; Yang, M; Ye, Q H; Yi, H; Yu, Y J; Yu, Z Q; Zeissler, S; Zhang, J H; Zhang, M T; Zhang, X B; Zhang, Z; Zheng, Z M; Zhuang, H L; Zhukov, V; Zichichi, A; Zimmermann, N; Zuccon, P; Zurbach, C

2015-05-01

A precise measurement of the proton flux in primary cosmic rays with rigidity (momentum/charge) from 1 GV to 1.8 TV is presented based on 300 million events. Knowledge of the rigidity dependence of the proton flux is important in understanding the origin, acceleration, and propagation of cosmic rays. We present the detailed variation with rigidity of the flux spectral index for the first time. The spectral index progressively hardens at high rigidities.

Multispectral index for the remote detection of human skin signatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baranoski, Gladimir V. G.; Chen, Tenn F.

2015-07-01

We propose a multispectral index to assist the detection of human signatures in complex natural environments. Differently from previously proposed indices, it takes into account the spectral responses of human skin not only in the near infrared, but also in the visible region of the light spectrum. As a result, it can contribute to mitigate the chances of false alarms during time-critical search and rescue operations carried out in such environments. Our investigation is supported by the use of reflectance data measured for different skin specimens and natural materials such as sand, ocean water, melting snow, and forest vegetation. We believe that the observations reported in this work can be incorporated into the design of more effective procedures and devices for the differentiation of human targets from background materials commonly found in nature.

Self-imaging of partially coherent light in graded-index media.

PubMed

Ponomarenko, Sergey A

2015-02-15

We demonstrate that partially coherent light beams of arbitrary intensity and spectral degree of coherence profiles can self-image in linear graded-index media. The results can be applicable to imaging with noisy spatial or temporal light sources.

Detailed spectral and morphological analysis of the shell type supernova remnant RCW 86

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

H.E.S.S. Collaboration; Abramowski, A.; Aharonian, F.; Ait Benkhali, F.; Akhperjanian, A. G.; Angüner, E. O.; Backes, M.; Balzer, A.; Becherini, Y.; Becker Tjus, J.; Berge, D.; Bernhard, S.; Bernlöhr, K.; Birsin, E.; Blackwell, R.; Böttcher, M.; Boisson, C.; Bolmont, J.; Bordas, P.; Bregeon, J.; Brun, F.; Brun, P.; Bryan, M.; Bulik, T.; Carr, J.; Casanova, S.; Chakraborty, N.; Chalme-Calvet, R.; Chaves, R. C. G.; Chen, A.; Chevalier, J.; Chrétien, M.; Colafrancesco, S.; Cologna, G.; Condon, B.; Conrad, J.; Couturier, C.; Cui, Y.; Davids, I. D.; Degrange, B.; Deil, C.; deWilt, P.; Djannati-Ataï, A.; Domainko, W.; Donath, A.; Drury, L. O.'C.; Dubus, G.; Dutson, K.; Dyks, J.; Dyrda, M.; Edwards, T.; Egberts, K.; Eger, P.; Ernenwein, J.-P.; Espigat, P.; Farnier, C.; Fegan, S.; Feinstein, F.; Fernandes, M. V.; Fernandez, D.; Fiasson, A.; Fontaine, G.; Förster, A.; Füßling, M.; Gabici, S.; Gajdus, M.; Gallant, Y. A.; Garrigoux, T.; Giavitto, G.; Giebels, B.; Glicenstein, J. F.; Gottschall, D.; Goyal, A.; Grondin, M.-H.; Grudzińska, M.; Hadasch, D.; Häffner, S.; Hahn, J.; Hawkes, J.; Heinzelmann, G.; Henri, G.; Hermann, G.; Hervet, O.; Hillert, A.; Hinton, J. A.; Hofmann, W.; Hofverberg, P.; Hoischen, C.; Holler, M.; Horns, D.; Ivascenko, A.; Jacholkowska, A.; Jamrozy, M.; Janiak, M.; Jankowsky, F.; Jung-Richardt, I.; Kastendieck, M. A.; Katarzyński, K.; Katz, U.; Kerszberg, D.; Khélifi, B.; Kieffer, M.; Klepser, S.; Klochkov, D.; Kluźniak, W.; Kolitzus, D.; Komin, Nu.; Kosack, K.; Krakau, S.; Krayzel, F.; Krüger, P. P.; Laffon, H.; Lamanna, G.; Lau, J.; Lefaucheur, J.; Lefranc, V.; Lemière, A.; Lemoine-Goumard, M.; Lenain, J.-P.; Lohse, T.; Lopatin, A.; Lorentz, M.; Lu, C.-C.; Lui, R.; Marandon, V.; Marcowith, A.; Mariaud, C.; Marx, R.; Maurin, G.; Maxted, N.; Mayer, M.; Meintjes, P. J.; Menzler, U.; Meyer, M.; Mitchell, A. M. W.; Moderski, R.; Mohamed, M.; Morå, K.; Moulin, E.; Murach, T.; de Naurois, M.; Niemiec, J.; Oakes, L.; Odaka, H.; Öttl, S.; Ohm, S.; Opitz, B.; Ostrowski, M.; Oya, I.; Panter, M.; Parsons, R. D.; Paz Arribas, M.; Pekeur, N. W.; Pelletier, G.; Petrucci, P.-O.; Peyaud, B.; Pita, S.; Poon, H.; Prokhorov, D.; Prokoph, H.; Pühlhofer, G.; Punch, M.; Quirrenbach, A.; Raab, S.; Reichardt, I.; Reimer, A.; Reimer, O.; Renaud, M.; de los Reyes, R.; Rieger, F.; Romoli, C.; Rosier-Lees, S.; Rowell, G.; Rudak, B.; Rulten, C. B.; Sahakian, V.; Salek, D.; Sanchez, D. A.; Santangelo, A.; Sasaki, M.; Schlickeiser, R.; Schüssler, F.; Schulz, A.; Schwanke, U.; Schwemmer, S.; Seyffert, A. S.; Simoni, R.; Sol, H.; Spanier, F.; Spengler, G.; Spies, F.; Stawarz, Ł.; Steenkamp, R.; Stegmann, C.; Stinzing, F.; Stycz, K.; Sushch, I.; Tavernet, J.-P.; Tavernier, T.; Taylor, A. M.; Terrier, R.; Tluczykont, M.; Trichard, C.; Tuffs, R.; Valerius, K.; van der Walt, J.; van Eldik, C.; van Soelen, B.; Vasileiadis, G.; Veh, J.; Venter, C.; Viana, A.; Vincent, P.; Vink, J.; Voisin, F.; Völk, H. J.; Vuillaume, T.; Wagner, S. J.; Wagner, P.; Wagner, R. M.; Weidinger, M.; White, R.; Wierzcholska, A.; Willmann, P.; Wörnlein, A.; Wouters, D.; Yang, R.; Zabalza, V.; Zaborov, D.; Zacharias, M.; Zdziarski, A. A.; Zech, A.; Zefi, F.; Żywucka, N.

2018-04-01

Aim. We aim for an understanding of the morphological and spectral properties of the supernova remnant RCW 86 and for insights into the production mechanism leading to the RCW 86 very high-energy γ-ray emission. Methods: We analyzed High Energy Spectroscopic System (H.E.S.S.) data that had increased sensitivity compared to the observations presented in the RCW 86 H.E.S.S. discovery publication. Studies of the morphological correlation between the 0.5-1 keV X-ray band, the 2-5 keV X-ray band, radio, and γ-ray emissions have been performed as well as broadband modeling of the spectral energy distribution with two different emission models. Results: We present the first conclusive evidence that the TeV γ-ray emission region is shell-like based on our morphological studies. The comparison with 2-5 keV X-ray data reveals a correlation with the 0.4-50 TeV γ-ray emission. The spectrum of RCW 86 is best described by a power law with an exponential cutoff at Ecut = (3.5 ± 1.2stat) TeV and a spectral index of Γ ≈ 1.6 ± 0.2. A static leptonic one-zone model adequately describes the measured spectral energy distribution of RCW 86, with the resultant total kinetic energy of the electrons above 1 GeV being equivalent to 0.1% of the initial kinetic energy of a Type Ia supernova explosion (1051 erg). When using a hadronic model, a magnetic field of B ≈ 100 μG is needed to represent the measured data. Although this is comparable to formerly published estimates, a standard E-2 spectrum for the proton distribution cannot describe the γ-ray data. Instead, a spectral index of Γp ≈ 1.7 would be required, which implies that ˜7 × 1049/ncm-3 has been transferred into high-energy protons with the effective density ncm-3 = n/1 cm-3. This is about 10% of the kinetic energy of a typical Type Ia supernova under the assumption of a density of 1 cm-3.

8-13 Hz fluctuations in rectal pressure are an objective marker of clitorally-induced orgasm in women.

PubMed

van Netten, Jaap J; Georgiadis, Janniko R; Nieuwenburg, Arie; Kortekaas, Rudie

2008-04-01

Orgasm is a subjective experience accompanied by involuntary muscle contractions. We hypothesized that orgasm in women would be distinguishable by frequency analysis of a perineal muscle-derived signal. Rectal pressure, an index of perineal muscle activity, was measured continuously in 23 healthy women during different sexual tasks: receiving clitoral stimulation, imitation of orgasm, and attempt to reach orgasm, in which case the women were asked to report whether orgasm had been reached ("orgasm") or not ("failed orgasm attempt"). We performed spectral analysis on the rectal pressure data and calculated the spectral power in the frequency bands delta (0.5-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-13 Hz), and beta (13-25 Hz). The most significant and most important difference in spectral power between orgasm and both control motor tasks (imitation of orgasm and failed orgasm attempt) was found in the alpha band. An objective rule based on spectral power in the alpha band recognized 94% (29/31) of orgasms and correctly labeled 69% (44/64) of all orgasm attempts as either successful or failed. Because outbursts of alpha fluctuations in rectal pressure only occurred during orgasm and not during voluntary imitation of orgasm or failed attempts, we propose that they represent involuntary contractions of muscles in the rectal vicinity. This is the first objective and quantitative measure that has a strong correspondence with the subjective experience of orgasm.

The Lag-Luminosity Relation in the GRB Source Frame: An Investigation with Swift BAT Bursts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ukwatta, T. N.; Dhuga, K. S.; Stamatikos, M.; Dermer, C. D.; Sakamoto, T.; Sonbas, E.; Parke, W. C.; Maximon, L. C.; Linnemann, J. T.; Bhat, P. N.;

Spectral ellipsometry studying of iron's optical and electronic properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chernukha, Yevheniia; Stashchuk, Vasyl S.; Polianska, Olena; Oshtuk, Olexsandr

2014-05-01

Fe's optical and electronic properties were investigated at room temperature in different structural states. The sample's surface was explored in wide spectral range λ = 0,23-17,0 μm (E = 4,96 - 0,07 еV ) by the Beatty's spectral ellipsometry method. While an experiment was carried out ellipsometry parameters Δ and ψ were measure near the principal angle of incidence. The refraction index R , permittivity Ɛ and optical conductivity σ( hν ) , that is proportional to the interband density of electronic states, were calculated using these parameters. Fe's optical conductivities in liquid, amorphous and crystalline states were compared in this work. The optical conductivity was calculated using the published data of the iron's density of electronic states in crystalline, amorphous and liquid states for the comparison of the experimental and theoretical results. It is shown that, at structural transformations "amorphous, liquid state- crystalline state", the optical properties of metallic iron are determined, in the first turn, by the nearest neighborhood, and the electronic structure is not subjected to significant modifications.

Effects of nitrogen fertilization on growth and reflectance characteristics of winter wheat

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hinzman, L. D.; Bauer, M. E.; Daughtry, C. S. T.

1986-01-01

The use of remote sensing to determine seasonal changes in agronomic and spectral properties of winter wheat canopies with different levels of N fertilization is investigated. Field experiments were conducted at Purdue Agronomy Farm, West Lafayette, IN during the 1978-1979 and 1979-1980 growing season. Spectral reflectance, total leaf N concentration, leaf chlorophyll concentration, leaf are index (LAI), and fresh and dry phytomass are measured and analyzed. Three distinct wheat canopies are detected for the O, 60, and 120 kg N/ha levels of fertilization; it is observed that with an increase in N the reflectance in the visible, and middle IR wavelengths decrease, and the IR reflectance is increased. The canopies with 120 kg N/ha display the highest LAI, maintain green leaf area the longest, and increase in fresh and dry phytomass. The relationship between spectral and agronomic variables is examined; the effect of changing chlorophyll concentration and LAI on the reflectance is studied.

Sun-view angle effects on reflectance factors of corn canopies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ranson, K. J.; Daughtry, C. S. T.; Biehl, L. L.; Bauer, M. E.

1985-01-01

The effects of sun and view angles on reflectance factors of corn (Zea mays L.) canopies ranging from the six leaf stage to harvest maturity were studied on the Purdue University Agronomy Farm by a multiband radiometer. The two methods of acquiring spectral data, the truck system and the tower systrem, are described. The analysis of the spectral data is presented in three parts: solar angle effects on reflectance factors viewed at nadir; solar angle effects on reflectance factors viewed at a fixed sun angle; and both sun and view angles effect on reflectance factors. The analysis revealed that for nadir-viewed reflectance factors there is a strong solar angle dependence in all spectral bands for canopies with low leaf area index. Reflectance factors observed from the sun angle at different view azimuth angles showed that the position of the sensor relative to the sun is important in determining angular reflectance characteristics. For both sun and view angles, reflectance factors are maximized when the sensor view direction is towards the sun.

Spectral sea surface reflectance of skylight.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiaodong; He, Shuangyan; Shabani, Afshin; Zhai, Peng-Wang; Du, Keping

2017-02-20

In examining the dependence of the sea surface reflectance of skylight ρs on sky conditions, wind speed, solar zenith angle, and viewing geometry, Mobley [Appl. Opt.38, 7442 (1999).10.1364/AO.38.007442] assumed ρs is independent of wavelength. Lee et al. [Opt. Express18, 26313 (2010).10.1364/OE.18.026313] showed experimentally that ρs does vary spectrally due to the spectral difference of sky radiance coming from different directions, which was ignored in Mobley's study. We simulated ρs from 350 nm to 1000 nm by explicitly accounting for spectral variations of skylight distribution and Fresnel reflectance. Furthermore, we separated sun glint from sky glint because of significant differences in magnitude, spectrum and polarization state between direct sun light and skylight light. The results confirm that spectral variation of ρs(λ) mainly arises from the spectral distribution of skylight and would vary from slightly blueish due to normal dispersion of the refractive index of water, to neutral and then to reddish with increasing wind speeds and decreasing solar zenith angles. Polarization moderately increases sky glint by 8 - 20% at 400 nm but only by 0 - 10% at 1000 nm. Sun glint is inherently reddish and becomes significant (>10% of sky glint) when the sun is at the zenith with moderate winds or when the sea is roughened (wind speeds > 10 m s^-1) with solar zenith angles < 20°. We recommend a two-step procedure by first correcting the glint due to direct sun light, which is unpolarized, followed by removing the glint due to diffused and polarized skylight. The simulated ρs(λ) as a function of wind speeds, sun angles and aerosol concentrations for currently recommended sensor-sun geometry, i.e., zenith angle = 40° and azimuthal angle relative to the sun = 45°, is available upon request.

The value of spectral imaging to reduce artefacts in the body after 125 I seed implantation.

PubMed

Liu, Jingang; Wang, Wenjuan; Zhao, Xingsheng; Shen, Zhen; Shao, Weiguang; Wang, Xizhen; Li, Lixin; Wang, Bin

2016-10-01

To explore the value of gemstone spectral imaging (GSI) and metal artefact reduction sequence (MARs) to reduce the artefacts of metal seeds. Thirty-five patients with 125 I seed implantation in their abdomens underwent GSI CT. Six types of monochromatic images and the corresponding MARs images at 60-110 keV (interval of 10 keV) were reconstructed. The differences in the quality of the images of three imaging methods were subjectively assessed by three radiologists. Length of artefacts, the CT value and noise value of tissue adjacent to 125 I seeds, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and artefact index (AI) were recorded. The differences in subjective scoring were statistically significant (t = 10.87, P < 0.001). Images at 70 keV showed the best CNR (0.84 ± 0.17) of tissues adjacent to 125 I seeds, and received the highest subjective score (2.82 ± 0.18). Images at 80 keV had the lowest AI (70.67 ± 19.17). Images at 110 keV had the shortest artefact lengths. High-density metal artefacts in the MARs spectral images were reduced. The length of metal artefacts in images at 110 keV was shorter than that of the polychromatic images and MARs spectral images (t = 3.35, 3.89, P < 0.05). The difference in CNR between MARs spectral images and polychromatic images, and images at 70 keV was statistically significant (t = 3.57, 4.16, P < 0.01). Gemstone spectral imaging technique can reduce metal artefacts of 125 I seeds effectively in CT images, and improve the quality of images, and improve the display of tissues adjacent to 125 I seeds after implantation. MARs technique cannot reduce the artefacts caused by radioactive seeds effectively. © 2016 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists.

Fine Structures of Solar Radio Type III Bursts and Their Possible Relationship with Coronal Density Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xingyao; Kontar, Eduard P.; Yu, Sijie; Yan, Yihua; Huang, Jing; Tan, Baolin

2018-03-01

Solar radio type III bursts are believed to be the most sensitive signatures of near-relativistic electron beam propagation in the corona. A solar radio type IIIb-III pair burst with fine frequency structures, observed by the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) with high temporal (∼10 ms) and spectral (12.5 kHz) resolutions at 30–80 MHz, is presented. The observations show that the type III burst consists of many striae, which have a frequency scale of about 0.1 MHz in both the fundamental (plasma) and the harmonic (double plasma) emission. We investigate the effects of background density fluctuations based on the observation of striae structure to estimate the density perturbation in the solar corona. It is found that the spectral index of the density fluctuation spectrum is about ‑1.7, and the characteristic spatial scale of the density perturbation is around 700 km. This spectral index is very close to a Kolmogorov turbulence spectral index of ‑5/3, consistent with a turbulent cascade. This fact indicates that the coronal turbulence may play the important role of modulating the time structures of solar radio type III bursts, and the fine structure of radio type III bursts could provide a useful and unique tool to diagnose the turbulence in the solar corona.

The VLA-COSMOS Survey - V. 324 MHz continuum observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smolčić, Vernesa; Ciliegi, Paolo; Jelić, Vibor; Bondi, Marco; Schinnerer, Eva; Carilli, Chris L.; Riechers, Dominik A.; Salvato, Mara; Brković, Alen; Capak, Peter; Ilbert, Olivier; Karim, Alexander; McCracken, Henry; Scoville, Nick Z.

2014-09-01

We present 90 cm Very Large Array imaging of the COSMOS field, comprising a circular area of 3.14 square degrees at 8.0arcsec × 6.0arcsec angular resolution with an average rms of 0.5 mJy beam-1. The extracted catalogue contains 182 sources (down to 5.5σ), 30 of which are multicomponent sources. Using Monte Carlo artificial source simulations, we derive the completeness of the catalogue, and we show that our 90 cm source counts agree very well with those from previous studies. Using X-ray, NUV-NIR and radio COSMOS data to investigate the population mix of our 90 cm radio sample, we find that our sample is dominated by active galactic nuclei. The average 90-20 cm spectral index (Sν ∝ να, where Sν is the flux density at frequency ν and α the spectral index) of our 90 cm selected sources is -0.70, with an interquartile range from -0.90 to -0.53. Only a few ultra-steep-spectrum sources are present in our sample, consistent with results in the literature for similar fields. Our data do not show clear steepening of the spectral index with redshift. Nevertheless, our sample suggests that sources with spectral indices steeper than -1 all lie at z ≳ 1, in agreement with the idea that ultra-steep-spectrum radio sources may trace intermediate-redshift galaxies (z ≳ 1).

A spatially resolved radio spectral index study of the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 1569

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Westcott, Jonathan; Brinks, Elias; Hindson, Luke; Beswick, Robert; Heesen, Volker

2018-04-01

We study the resolved radio continuum spectral energy distribution of the dwarf irregular galaxy, NGC 1569, on a beam-by-beam basis to isolate and study its spatially resolved radio emission characteristics. Utilizing high-quality NRAO Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array observations that densely sample the 1-34 GHz frequency range, we adopt a Bayesian fitting procedure, where we use H α emission that has not been corrected for extinction as a prior, to produce maps of how the separated thermal emission, non-thermal emission, and non-thermal spectral index vary across NGC 1569's main disc. We find a higher thermal fraction at 1 GHz than is found in spiral galaxies (26^{+2}_{-3} {per cent}) and find an average non-thermal spectral index α = -0.53 ± 0.02, suggesting that a young population of cosmic ray electrons is responsible for the observed non-thermal emission. By comparing our recovered map of the thermal radio emission with literature H α maps, we estimate the total reddening along the line of sight to NGC 1569 to be E(B - V) = 0.49 ± 0.05, which is in good agreement with other literature measurements. Spatial variations in the reddening indicate that a significant portion of the total reddening is due to internal extinction within NGC 1569.

Spectral properties of 441 radio pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jankowski, F.; van Straten, W.; Keane, E. F.; Bailes, M.; Barr, E. D.; Johnston, S.; Kerr, M.

2018-02-01

We present a study of the spectral properties of 441 pulsars observed with the Parkes radio telescope near the centre frequencies of 728, 1382 and 3100 MHz. The observations at 728 and 3100 MHz were conducted simultaneously using the dual-band 10-50 cm receiver. These high-sensitivity, multifrequency observations provide a systematic and uniform sample of pulsar flux densities. We combine our measurements with spectral data from the literature in order to derive the spectral properties of these pulsars. Using techniques from robust regression and information theory, we classify the observed spectra in an objective, robust and unbiased way into five morphological classes: simple or broken power law, power law with either low- or high-frequency cut-off and log-parabolic spectrum. While about 79 per cent of the pulsars that could be classified have simple power-law spectra, we find significant deviations in 73 pulsars, 35 of which have curved spectra, 25 with a spectral break and 10 with a low-frequency turn-over. We identify 11 gigahertz-peaked spectrum (GPS) pulsars, with 3 newly identified in this work and 8 confirmations of known GPS pulsars; 3 others show tentative evidence of GPS, but require further low-frequency measurements to support this classification. The weighted mean spectral index of all pulsars with simple power-law spectra is -1.60 ± 0.03. The observed spectral indices are well described by a shifted log-normal distribution. The strongest correlations of spectral index are with spin-down luminosity, magnetic field at the light-cylinder and spin-down rate. We also investigate the physical origin of the observed spectral features and determine emission altitudes for three pulsars.

Comparing the Palmer Drought Index and the Standardized Precipitation Index for Zagreb Gric Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandzic, K.; Likso, T.

2012-04-01

Conventional Palmer Drought Index (PDI) and recent Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) for Zagreb Gric Observatory are compared by spectral analysis technique. Data for a period 1862-2010 are used. The results indicate that SPI is simpler for interpretation but PDI more comprehensive index. On the other side, lack of temperature within SPI, make impossible application of it on climate change interpretation. Possible applications of them in irrigation scheduling system is considered as well for drought risk assessment.

Tropical forest biomass and successional age class relationships to a vegetation index derived from Landsat TM data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sader, Steven A.; Waide, Robert B.; Lawrence, William T.; Joyce, Armond T.

1989-01-01

Forest stand structure and biomass data were collected using conventional forest inventory techniques in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate forest biomes. The feasibility of detecting tropical forest successional age class and total biomass differences using Landsat-Thematic mapper (TM) data, was evaluated. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) calculated from Landsat-TM data were not significantly correlated with forest regeneration age classes in the mountain terrain of the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. The low sun angle and shadows cast on steep north and west facing slopes reduced spectral reflectance values recorded by TM orbital altitude. The NDVI, calculated from low altitude aircraft scanner data, was significatly correlated with forest age classes. However, analysis of variance suggested that NDVI differences were not detectable for successional forests older than approximately 15-20 years. Also, biomass differences in young successional tropical forest were not detectable using the NDVI. The vegetation index does not appear to be a good predictor of stand structure variables (e.g., height, diameter of main stem) or total biomass in uneven age, mixed broadleaf forest. Good correlation between the vegetation index and low biomass in even age pine plantations were achieved for a warm temperate study site. The implications of the study for the use of NDVI for forest structure and biomass estimation are discussed.

A new method of Quickbird own image fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Ying; Jiang, Hong; Zhang, Xiuying

2009-10-01

With the rapid development of remote sensing technology, the means of accessing to remote sensing data become increasingly abundant, thus the same area can form a large number of multi-temporal, different resolution image sequence. At present, the fusion methods are mainly: HPF, IHS transform method, PCA method, Brovey, Mallat algorithm and wavelet transform and so on. There exists a serious distortion of the spectrums in the IHS transform, Mallat algorithm omits low-frequency information of the high spatial resolution images, the integration results of which has obvious blocking effects. Wavelet multi-scale decomposition for different sizes, the directions, details and the edges can have achieved very good results, but different fusion rules and algorithms can achieve different effects. This article takes the Quickbird own image fusion as an example, basing on wavelet transform and HVS, wavelet transform and IHS integration. The result shows that the former better. This paper introduces the correlation coefficient, the relative average spectral error index and usual index to evaluate the quality of image.

Dense concentric circle scanning protocol for measuring pulsatile retinal blood flow in rats with Doppler optical coherence tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Bingyao; Hosseinaee, Zohreh; Bizheva, Kostadinka

2017-11-01

The variability in the spatial orientation of retinal blood vessels near the optic nerve head (ONH) results in imprecision of the measured Doppler angle and therefore the pulsatile blood flow (BF), when those parameters are evaluated using Doppler OCT imaging protocols based on dual-concentric circular scans. Here, we utilized a dense concentric circle scanning protocol and evaluated its precision for measuring pulsatile retinal BF in rats for different numbers of the circular scans. An spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) system operating in the 1060-nm spectral range with image acquisition rate of 47,000 A-scans/s was used to acquire concentric circular scans centered at the rat's ONH, with diameters ranging from 0.8 to 1.0 mm. A custom, automatic blood vessel segmentation algorithm was used to track the spatial orientation of the retinal blood vessels in three dimensions, evaluate the spatially dependent Doppler angle and calculate more accurately the axial BF for each major retinal blood vessel. Metrics such as retinal BF, pulsatility index, and resistance index were evaluated for each and all of the major retinal blood vessels. The performance of the proposed dense concentric circle scanning protocols was compared with that of the dual-circle scanning protocol. Results showed a 3.8±2.2 deg difference in the Doppler angle calculation between the two approaches, which resulted in ˜7% difference in the calculated retinal BF.

Terahertz spectroscopy properties of the selected engine oils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Shouming; Zhao, Kun; Lu, Tian; Zhao, Songqing; Zhou, Qingli; Shi, Yulei; Zhao, Dongmei; Zhang, Cunlin

2010-11-01

Engine oil, most of which is extracted from petroleum, consist of complex mixtures of hydrocarbons of molecular weights in the range of 250-1000. Variable amounts of different additives are put into them to inhibit oxidation, improve the viscosity index, decrease the fluidity point and avoid foaming or settling of solid particles among others. Terahertz (THz) spectroscopy contains rich physical, chemical, and structural information of the materials. Most low-frequency vibrational and rotational spectra of many petrochemicals lie in this frequency range. In recent years, much attention has been paid to the THz spectroscopic studies of petroleum products. In this paper, the optical properties and spectroscopy of selected kinds of engine oil consisting of shell HELIX 10W-40, Mobilube GX 80W-90, GEELY ENGINE OIL SG 10W-30, SMA engine oil SG 5W-30, SMA engine oil SG 10W-30, SMA engine oil SG 75W-90 have been studied by the terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) in the spectral range of 0.6-2.5 THz. Engine oil with different viscosities in the terahertz spectrum has certain regularity. In the THz-TDS, with the increase of viscosity, time delay is greater and with the increase of viscosity, refractive indexes also grow and their rank is extremely regular. The specific kinds of engine oil can be identified according to their different spectral features in the THz range. The THz-TDS technology has potentially significant impact on the engine oil analysis.

Simple luminosity normalization of greenness, yellowness and redness/greenness for comparison of leaf spectral profiles in multi-temporally acquired remote sensing images.

PubMed

Doi, Ryoichi

2012-09-01

Observation of leaf colour (spectral profiles) through remote sensing is an effective method of identifying the spatial distribution patterns of abnormalities in leaf colour, which enables appropriate plant management measures to be taken. However, because the brightness of remote sensing images varies with acquisition time, in the observation of leaf spectral profiles in multi-temporally acquired remote sensing images, changes in brightness must be taken into account. This study identified a simple luminosity normalization technique that enables leaf colours to be compared in remote sensing images over time. The intensity values of green and yellow (green+red) exhibited strong linear relationships with luminosity (R2 greater than 0.926) when various invariant rooftops in Bangkok or Tokyo were spectralprofiled using remote sensing images acquired at different time points. The values of the coefficient and constant or the coefficient of the formulae describing the intensity of green or yellow were comparable among the single Bangkok site and the two Tokyo sites, indicating the technique's general applicability. For single rooftops, the values of the coefficient of variation for green, yellow, and red/green were 16% or less (n=6-11), indicating an accuracy not less than those of well-established remote sensing measures such as the normalized difference vegetation index. After obtaining the above linear relationships, raw intensity values were normalized and a temporal comparison of the spectral profiles of the canopies of evergreen and deciduous tree species in Tokyo was made to highlight the changes in the canopies' spectral profiles. Future aspects of this technique are discussed herein.

Temporal studies of black hole X-ray transients during outburst decay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalemci, Emrah

Galactic black holes (GBH) are a class of astrophysical sources with X-ray emission that is powered by accretion from a companion star. An important goal of GBH research is to understand the accretion structure and the nature of the variability of these systems. The GBHs sometimes show significant changes in the X-ray emission properties, and these changes are called state transitions. The transitions are believed to be caused by variation of the mass accretion rate and changes in accretion geometry. Thus, their study provides valuable information on the nature of the accretion structure. In this thesis work, I present results from studying the spectral and temporal evolution of all GBH transients that have been observed with NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer during outburst decay. I explore the physical conditions before, during and after the state transition, characterize the quasi-periodic oscillations (QPO) and continuum of power spectral density (PSD) in different energy bands, and study the correlations between spectral and temporal fit parameters. I also analyze the evolution of the cross- spectral parameters during and after the transition. I show that the appearance of the broad band variability is coincident with an increase of power-law flux. The evolution of the characteristic frequencies and the spectral parameters after the transition are consistent with retreating of the inner accretion disk. The energy dependent PSD analysis shows that the level of variability increases with energy when there is significant soft flux from the optically thick accretion disk. The variability level also increases with energy if the absorption column density to the source is high. This may be a result of small angle scatterings of lower energy X-ray photons with the ISM dust around these sources. I find global correlations between the spectral index and three temporal fit parameters: the QPO frequency, the overall level of variability and the integrated time lag. The relation between the spectral index and the time lags are interpreted within the context of the average number of Compton scatterings and the temperature of the scattering medium. During the transitions, the average lag is higher and average coherence is lower. I discuss whether a hybrid accretion model, for which the hot electron corona is the base of an optically thin outflow or a jet, can explain the physical properties during the transition.

On the scattering directionality of a dielectric particle dimer of High Refractive Index.

PubMed

Barreda, Ángela I; Saleh, Hassan; Litman, Amélie; González, Francisco; Geffrin, Jean-Michel; Moreno, Fernando

2018-05-22

Low-losses and directionality effects exhibited by High Refractive Index Dielectric particles make them attractive for applications where radiation direction control is relevant. For instance, isolated metallo-dielectric core-shell particles or aggregates (dimers) of High Refractive Index Dielectric particles have been proposed for building operational switching devices. Also, the possibility of using isolated High Refractive Index Dielectric particles for optimizing solar cells performance has been explored. Here, we present experimental evidence in the microwave range, that a High Refractive Index Dielectric dimer of spherical particles is more efficient for redirecting the incident radiation in the forward direction than the isolated case. In fact, we report two spectral regions in the dipolar spectral range where the incident intensity is mostly scattered in the forward direction. They correspond to the Zero-Backward condition (also observed for isolated particles) and to a new condition, denoted as "near Zero-Backward" condition, which comes from the interaction effects between the particles. The proposed configuration has implications in solar energy harvesting devices and in radiation guiding.

SPECTRAL ANALYSIS IN ORBITAL/SUPERORBITAL PHASE SPACE AND HINTS OF SUPERORBITAL VARIABILITY IN THE HARD X-RAYS OF LS I +61°303

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

Li, Jian; Torres, Diego F.; Zhang, Shu

2014-04-10

We present an INTEGRAL spectral analysis in the orbital/superorbital phase space of LS I +61°303. A hard X-ray spectrum with no cutoff is observed at all orbital/superorbital phases. The hard X-ray index is found to be uncorrelated with the radio index (non-simultaneously) measured at the same orbital and superorbital phases. In particular, the absence of an X-ray spectrum softening during periods of negative radio index does not favor a simple interpretation of the radio index variations in terms of a microquasar's changes of state. We uncover hints of superorbital variability in the hard X-ray flux, in phase with the superorbitalmore » modulation in soft X-rays. An orbital phase drift of the radio peak flux and index along the superorbital period is observed in the radio data. We explore its influence on a previously reported double-peak structure of a radio orbital light curve, and present it as a plausible explanation.« less

Silicon Nitride Antireflection Coatings for Photovoltaic Cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, C.; Wydeven, T.; Donohoe, K.

1984-01-01

Chemical-vapor deposition adapted to yield graded index of refraction. Silicon nitride deposited in layers, refractive index of which decreases with distance away from cell/coating interface. Changing index of refraction allows adjustment of spectral transmittance for wavelengths which cell is most effective at converting light to electric current. Average conversion efficiency of solar cells increased from 8.84 percent to 12.63 percent.

Modified Kramers-Kronig relations and sum rules for meromorphic total refractive index

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

Peiponen, Kai-Erik; Saarinen, Jarkko J.; Vartiainen, Erik M.

2003-08-01

Modified Kramers-Kronig relations and corresponding sum rules are shown to hold for the total refractive index that can be presented as a sum of complex linear and nonlinear refractive indices, respectively. It is suggested that a self-action process, involving the degenerate third-order nonlinear susceptibility, can yield a negative total refractive index at some spectral range.

Hyperspectral and multispectral satellite sensors for mapping chlorophyll content in a Mediterranean Pinus sylvestris L. plantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Navarro-Cerrillo, Rafael Mª; Trujillo, Jesus; de la Orden, Manuel Sánchez; Hernández-Clemente, Rocío

2014-02-01

A new generation of narrow-band hyperspectral remote sensing data offers an alternative to broad-band multispectral data for the estimation of vegetation chlorophyll content. This paper examines the potential of some of these sensors comparing red-edge and simple ratio indices to develop a rapid and cost-effective system for monitoring Mediterranean pine plantations in Spain. Chlorophyll content retrieval was analyzed with the red-edge R750/R710 index and the simple ratio R800/R560 index using the PROSPECT-5 leaf model and the Discrete Anisotropic Radiative Transfer (DART) and experimental approach. Five sensors were used: AHS, CHRIS/Proba, Hyperion, Landsat and QuickBird. The model simulation results obtained with synthetic spectra demonstrated the feasibility of estimating Ca + b content in conifers using the simple ratio R800/R560 index formulated with different full widths at half maximum (FWHM) at the leaf level. This index yielded a r2 = 0.69 for a FWHM of 30 nm and r2 = 0.55 for a FWHM of 70 nm. Experimental results compared the regression coefficients obtained with various multispectral and hyperspectral images with different spatial resolutions at the stand level. The strongest relationships where obtained using high-resolution hyperspectral images acquired with the AHS sensor (r2 = 0.65) while coarser spatial and spectral resolution images yielded a lower root mean square error (QuickBird r2 = 0.42; Landsat r2 = 0.48; Hyperion r2 = 0.56; CHRIS/Proba r2 = 0.57). This study shows the need to estimate chlorophyll content in forest plantations at the stand level with high spatial and spectral resolution sensors. Nevertheless, these results also show the accuracy obtained with medium-resolution sensors when monitoring physiological processes. Generating biochemical maps at the stand level could play a critical rule in the early detection of forest decline processes enabling their use in precision forestry.

Spectral confocal reflection microscopy using a white light source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Booth, M.; Juškaitis, R.; Wilson, T.

2008-08-01

We present a reflection confocal microscope incorporating a white light supercontinuum source and spectral detection. The microscope provides images resolved spatially in three-dimensions, in addition to spectral resolution covering the wavelength range 450-650nm. Images and reflection spectra of artificial and natural specimens are presented, showing features that are not normally revealed in conventional microscopes or confocal microscopes using discrete line lasers. The specimens include thin film structures on semiconductor chips, iridescent structures in Papilio blumei butterfly scales, nacre from abalone shells and opal gemstones. Quantitative size and refractive index measurements of transparent beads are derived from spectral interference bands.

Spectral characteristics of plasma sheet ion and electron populations during undisturbed geomagnetic conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Christon, S. P.; Williams, D. J.; Mitchell, D. G.; Frank, L. A.; Huang, C. Y.

1989-01-01

The spectral characteristics of plasma-sheet ion and electron populations during periods of low geomagnetic activity were determined from the analysis of 127 one-hour average samples of central plasma sheet ions and electrons. Particle data from the ISEE-1 low-energy proton and electron differential energy analyzer and medium-energy particle instrument were combined to obtain differential energy spectra in the plasma sheet at geocentric radial distances above 12 earth radii. The relationships between the ion and electron spectral shapes and between the spectral shapes and the geomagnetic activity index were statistically investigated. It was found that the presence of interplanetary particle fluxes does not affect the plasma sheet particle spectral shape.

Methodology for diagnosing of skin cancer on images of dermatologic spots by spectral analysis.

PubMed

Guerra-Rosas, Esperanza; Álvarez-Borrego, Josué

2015-10-01

In this paper a new methodology for the diagnosing of skin cancer on images of dermatologic spots using image processing is presented. Currently skin cancer is one of the most frequent diseases in humans. This methodology is based on Fourier spectral analysis by using filters such as the classic, inverse and k-law nonlinear. The sample images were obtained by a medical specialist and a new spectral technique is developed to obtain a quantitative measurement of the complex pattern found in cancerous skin spots. Finally a spectral index is calculated to obtain a range of spectral indices defined for skin cancer. Our results show a confidence level of 95.4%.

Methodology for diagnosing of skin cancer on images of dermatologic spots by spectral analysis

PubMed Central

Guerra-Rosas, Esperanza; Álvarez-Borrego, Josué

2015-01-01

In this paper a new methodology for the diagnosing of skin cancer on images of dermatologic spots using image processing is presented. Currently skin cancer is one of the most frequent diseases in humans. This methodology is based on Fourier spectral analysis by using filters such as the classic, inverse and k-law nonlinear. The sample images were obtained by a medical specialist and a new spectral technique is developed to obtain a quantitative measurement of the complex pattern found in cancerous skin spots. Finally a spectral index is calculated to obtain a range of spectral indices defined for skin cancer. Our results show a confidence level of 95.4%. PMID:26504638

INTEGRAL and XMM-Newton observations of the puzzling binary system LSI +61 303

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chernyakova, Masha; Neronov, A.; Walter, R.

LSI +61° 303 is one of the few X-ray binaries with Be star companion from which both radio and high-energy gamma-ray emission have been observed. We present XMM-Newton and INTE- GRAL observations which reveal variability of the X-ray spectral index of the system. The X-ray spectrum is hard (photon index Γ ≃ 1.5) during the orbital phases of both high and low X-ray flux. However, the spectrum softens at the moment of transition from high to low X-ray state. The spectrum of the system in the hard X-ray band does not reveal the presence of a cut-off (or, at least a spectral break) at 10-60 keV energies, expected if the compact object is an accreting neu- tron star. The observed spectrum and spectral variability can be explained if the compact object in the system is a rotation powered pulsar. In this case the recently found X-ray spectral variability of the system on the several kiloseconds time scale can be explained by the clumpy structure of the Be star disk.

Multi-parameter fiber optic sensors based on fiber random grating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Yanping; Zhang, Mingjiang; Lu, Ping; Mihailov, Stephen; Bao, Xiaoyi

2017-04-01

Two novel configurations of multi-parameter fiber-optic sensing systems based on the fiber random grating are reported. The fiber random grating is fabricated through femtosecond laser induced refractive index modification over a 10cm standard telecom single mode fiber. In one configuration, the reflective spectrum of the fiber random grating is directly detected and a wavelength-division spectral cross-correlation algorithm is adopted to extract the spectral shifts for simultaneous measurement of temperature, axial strain, and surrounding refractive index. In the other configuration, a random fiber ring laser is constructed by incorporating the random feedback from the random grating. Numerous polarization-dependent spectral filters are formed along the random grating and superimposed to provide multiple lasing lines with high signal-to-noise ratio up to 40dB, which enables a high-fidelity multi-parameter sensing scheme by monitoring the spectral shifts of the lasing lines. Without the need of phase mask for fabrication and with the high physical strength, the random grating based sensors are much simpler and more compact, which could be potentially an excellent alternative for liquid medical sample sensing in biomedical and biochemical applications.

[Spectral characteristics of refractive index based on nanocoated optical fiber F-P sensor].

PubMed

Jiang, Ming-Shun; Li, Qiu-Shun; Sui, Qing-Mei; Jia, Lei; Peng, Peng

2013-01-01

An optical fiber Fabry-Perot (F-P) interferometer end surface was modified using layer-by-layer assembly and chemical covalent cross linking method, and the refractive index (RI) response characteristics of coated optical fiber F-P sensor were experimentally studied. Poly diallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDDA) and sodium polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) were chosen as nano-film materials. With the numbers of layers increasing, the reflection spectral contrast of optical fiber F-P sensor presents from high to low, then to high regularity. And the reflection spectral contrast has good temperature stability. The reflection spectra of the optical F-P sensor coated with 20 bilayers for a series of concentration of sucrose and inorganic solution were measured. Experimental results show that the inflection point extends from 1.457 to 1.462 3, and the reflection spectral contrast sensitivity to low RI material and high RI material is 24.53 and 3.60 dB x RI(-1), respectively, with good linearity. The results demonstrate that the functional coated optical F-P sensor provides a new method for biology and chemical material test.

Spectral estimators of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation in corn canopies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gallo, K. P.; Daughtry, C. S. T.; Bauer, M. E.

1985-01-01

Most models of crop growth and yield require an estimate of canopy leaf area index (LAI) or absorption of radiation. Relationships between photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) absorbed by corn canopies and the spectral reflectance of the canopies were investigated. Reflectance factor data were acquired with a Landsat MSS band radiometer. From planting to silking, the three spectrally predicted vegetation indices examined were associated with more than 95 percent of the variability in absorbed PAR. The relationships developed between absorbed PAR and the three indices were evaluated with reflectance factor data acquired from corn canopies planted in 1979 through 1982. Seasonal cumulations of measured LAI and each of the three indices were associated with greater than 50 percent of the variation in final grain yields from the test years. Seasonal cumulations of daily absorbed PAR were associated with up to 73 percent of the variation in final grain yields. Absorbed PAR, cumulated through the growing season, is a better indicator of yield than cumulated leaf area index. Absorbed PAR may be estimated reliably from spectral reflectance data of crop canopies.

Spectral estimators of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation in corn canopies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gallo, K. P.; Daughtry, C. S. T.; Bauer, M. E.

1984-01-01

Most models of crop growth and yield require an estimate of canopy leaf area index (LAI) or absorption of radiation. Relationships between photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) absorbed by corn canopies and the spectral reflectance of the canopies were investigated. Reflectance factor data were acquired with a LANDSAT MSS band radiometer. From planting to silking, the three spectrally predicted vegetation indices examined were associated with more than 95% of the variability in absorbed PAR. The relationships developed between absorbed PAR and the three indices were evaluated with reflectance factor data acquired from corn canopies planted in 1979 through 1982. Seasonal cumulations of measured LAI and each of the three indices were associated with greater than 50% of the variation in final grain yields from the test years. Seasonal cumulations of daily absorbed PAR were associated with up to 73% of the variation in final grain yields. Absorbed PAR, cumulated through the growing season, is a better indicator of yield than cumulated leaf area index. Absorbed PAR may be estimated reliably from spectral reflectance data of crop canopies.

Spectral characteristics of geomagnetic field variations at low and equatorial latitudes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Campbell, W.H.

1977-01-01

Geomagnetic field spectra from eight standard observations at geomagnetic latitudes below 30?? were studied to determine the field characteristics unique to the equatorial region. Emphasis was placed upon those variations having periods between 5 min and 4 hr for a selection of magnetically quiet, average, and active days in 1965. The power spectral density at the equator was about ten times that the near 30?? latitude. The initial manifestation of the equatorial electrojet as evidenced by the east-west alignment of the horizontal field or the change in vertical amplitudes occurred below about 20?? latitude. Induced current effects upon the vertical component from which the Earth conductivity might be inferred could best be obtained at times and latitudes unaffected by the electrojet current. Values of about 1.6 ?? 103 mhos/m for an effective skin depth of 500-600 km were determined. The spectral amplitudes increased linearly with geomagnetic activity index, Ap. The spectral slope had a similar behavior at all latitudes. The slope changed systematically with Ap-index and showed a diurnal variation, centered on local noon, that changed form with geomagnetic activity.

Formation of negative hydrogen ion: polarization electron capture and nonthermal shielding.

PubMed

Ki, Dae-Han; Jung, Young-Dae

2012-09-07

The influence of the nonthermal shielding on the formation of the negative hydrogen ion (H(-)) by the polarization electron capture are investigated in partially ionized generalized Lorentzian plasmas. The Bohr-Lindhard method has been applied to obtain the negative hydrogen formation radius and cross section as functions of the collision energy, de Broglie wave length, Debye length, impact parameter, and spectral index of the plasma. The result shows that the nonthermal character of the plasma enhances the formation radius of the negative hydrogen, especially, for small Debye radii. It is found that the nonthermal effect increases the formation cross section of the negative hydrogen. It is also found that the maximum position of the formation cross section approaches to the collision center with an increase of the spectral index. In addition, it is found that the formation cross section significantly decreases with an increase of the Debye length, especially, for small spectral indices.

Micro spectrometer for parallel light and method of use

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Park, Yeonjoon (Inventor); Choi, Sang H. (Inventor); King, Glen C. (Inventor); Elliott, James R. (Inventor)

2011-01-01

A spectrometer system includes an optical assembly for collimating light, a micro-ring grating assembly having a plurality of coaxially-aligned ring gratings, an aperture device defining an aperture circumscribing a target focal point, and a photon detector. An electro-optical layer of the grating assembly may be electrically connected to an energy supply to change the refractive index of the electro-optical layer. Alternately, the gratings may be electrically connected to the energy supply and energized, e.g., with alternating voltages, to change the refractive index. A data recorder may record the predetermined spectral characteristic. A method of detecting a spectral characteristic of a predetermined wavelength of source light includes generating collimated light using an optical assembly, directing the collimated light onto the micro-ring grating assembly, and selectively energizing the micro-ring grating assembly to diffract the predetermined wavelength onto the target focal point, and detecting the spectral characteristic using a photon detector.

Advanced spectral methods for climatic time series

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ghil, M.; Allen, M.R.; Dettinger, M.D.; Ide, K.; Kondrashov, D.; Mann, M.E.; Robertson, A.W.; Saunders, A.; Tian, Y.; Varadi, F.; Yiou, P.

2002-01-01

The analysis of univariate or multivariate time series provides crucial information to describe, understand, and predict climatic variability. The discovery and implementation of a number of novel methods for extracting useful information from time series has recently revitalized this classical field of study. Considerable progress has also been made in interpreting the information so obtained in terms of dynamical systems theory. In this review we describe the connections between time series analysis and nonlinear dynamics, discuss signal- to-noise enhancement, and present some of the novel methods for spectral analysis. The various steps, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of these methods, are illustrated by their application to an important climatic time series, the Southern Oscillation Index. This index captures major features of interannual climate variability and is used extensively in its prediction. Regional and global sea surface temperature data sets are used to illustrate multivariate spectral methods. Open questions and further prospects conclude the review.

Structural and optical properties of furfurylidenemalononitrile thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali, H. A. M.

2013-03-01

Thin films of furfurylidenemalononitrile (FMN) were deposited on different substrates at room temperature by thermal evaporation technique under a high vacuum. The structure of the powder was confirmed by Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) technique. The unit cell dimensions were determined from X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. The optical properties were investigated using spectrophotometric measurements of the transmittance and reflectance at normal incidence of light in the wavelength range from 200 to 2500 nm. The refractive index (n), the absorption index (k) and the absorption coefficient (α) were calculated. The analysis of the spectral behavior of the absorption coefficient in the absorption region revealed an indirect allowed transition. The refractive index dispersion was analyzed using the single oscillator model. Some dispersion parameters were estimated. Complex dielectric function and optical conductivity were determined. The influence of the irradiation with high-energy X-rays (6 MeV) on the studied properties was also investigated.

Simultaneous monitoring the real and imaginary parts of the analyte refractive index using liquid-core photonic bandgap Bragg fibers.

PubMed

Li, Jingwen; Qu, Hang; Skorobogatiy, Maksim

2015-09-07

We demonstrate simultaneous monitoring of the real and imaginary parts of the liquid analyte refractive index by using a hollow-core Bragg fiber. We apply this two-channel fiber sensor to monitor concentrations of various commercial cooling oils. The sensor operates using spectral monitoring of the fiber bandgap center wavelength, as well as monitoring of the fiber transmission amplitude at mid-bandgap position. The sensitivity of the fiber sensor to changes in the real part of the core refractive index is found to be 1460nm/Refractive index unit (RIU). By using spectral modality and effective medium theory, we determine the concentrations of the two commercial fluids from the measured refractive indices with an accuracy of ~0.57% for both low- and high-loss oils. Moreover, using an amplitude-based detection modality allows determination of the oil concentration with accuracy of ~1.64% for low-loss oils and ~2.81% for the high-loss oils.

Spatial and radiometric characterization of multi-spectrum satellite images through multi-fractal analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alonso, Carmelo; Tarquis, Ana M.; Zúñiga, Ignacio; Benito, Rosa M.

2017-03-01

Several studies have shown that vegetation indexes can be used to estimate root zone soil moisture. Earth surface images, obtained by high-resolution satellites, presently give a lot of information on these indexes, based on the data of several wavelengths. Because of the potential capacity for systematic observations at various scales, remote sensing technology extends the possible data archives from the present time to several decades back. Because of this advantage, enormous efforts have been made by researchers and application specialists to delineate vegetation indexes from local scale to global scale by applying remote sensing imagery. In this work, four band images have been considered, which are involved in these vegetation indexes, and were taken by satellites Ikonos-2 and Landsat-7 of the same geographic location, to study the effect of both spatial (pixel size) and radiometric (number of bits coding the image) resolution on these wavelength bands as well as two vegetation indexes: the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI). In order to do so, a multi-fractal analysis of these multi-spectral images was applied in each of these bands and the two indexes derived. The results showed that spatial resolution has a similar scaling effect in the four bands, but radiometric resolution has a larger influence in blue and green bands than in red and near-infrared bands. The NDVI showed a higher sensitivity to the radiometric resolution than EVI. Both were equally affected by the spatial resolution. From both factors, the spatial resolution has a major impact in the multi-fractal spectrum for all the bands and the vegetation indexes. This information should be taken in to account when vegetation indexes based on different satellite sensors are obtained.

Estimating photosynthesis with high resolution field spectroscopy in a Mediterranean grassland under different nutrient availability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perez-Priego, O.; Guan, J.; Fava, F.; Rossini, M.; Wutzler, T.; Moreno, G.; Carrara, A.; Kolle, O.; Schrumpf, M.; Reichstein, M.; Migliavacca, M.

2014-12-01

Recent studies have shown how human induced N:P imbalances are affecting essential processes (e.g. photosynthesis, plant growth rate) that lead to important changes in ecosystem structure and function. In this regard, the accuracy of the approaches based on remotely-sensed data for monitoring and modeling gross primary production (GPP) relies on the ability of vegetation indices (VIs) to track the dynamics of vegetation physiological and biophysical properties/variables. Promising results have been recently obtained when Chlorophyll-sensitive VIs and Chlorophyll fluorescence are combined with structural indices in the framework of the Monteith's light use efficiency (LUE) model. However, further ground-based experiments are required to validate LUE model performances, and their capability to be generalized under different nutrient availability conditions. In this study, the overall objective was to investigate the sensitivity of VIs to track short- and long-term GPP variations in a Mediterranean grassland under different N and P fertilization treatments. Spectral VIs were acquired manually using high resolution spectrometers (HR4000, OceanOptics, USA) along a phenological cycle. The VIs examined included photochemical reflectance index (PRI), MERIS terrestrial-chlorophyll index (MTCI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence calculated at the oxygen absorption band O2-A (F760) using spectral fitting methods was also used. Simultaneously, measurements of GPP and environmental variables were conducted using a transient-state canopy chamber. Overall, GPP, F760 and VIs showed a clear seasonal time-trend in all treatments, which was driven by the phenological development of the grassland. Results showed significant differences (p<0.05) in midday GPP values between N and without N addition plots, in particular at the peak of the growing season during the flowering stage and at the end of the season during senescence. While NDVI did not show any significant difference between treatments, VIs sensitive to pigment variations and physiology (PRI, MTCI) and F760 behaved as GPP. Model performance test indicated that VIs related to physiology and fluorescence are key to account for nutrient availability in LUE models and to better predict GPP.

Model for spectral and chromatographic data

DOEpatents

Jarman, Kristin [Richland, WA; Willse, Alan [Richland, WA; Wahl, Karen [Richland, WA; Wahl, Jon [Richland, WA

2002-11-26

A method and apparatus using a spectral analysis technique are disclosed. In one form of the invention, probabilities are selected to characterize the presence (and in another form, also a quantification of a characteristic) of peaks in an indexed data set for samples that match a reference species, and other probabilities are selected for samples that do not match the reference species. An indexed data set is acquired for a sample, and a determination is made according to techniques exemplified herein as to whether the sample matches or does not match the reference species. When quantification of peak characteristics is undertaken, the model is appropriately expanded, and the analysis accounts for the characteristic model and data. Further techniques are provided to apply the methods and apparatuses to process control, cluster analysis, hypothesis testing, analysis of variance, and other procedures involving multiple comparisons of indexed data.

Temporal dynamics of sensorimotor integration in speech perception and production: independent component analysis of EEG data

PubMed Central

Jenson, David; Bowers, Andrew L.; Harkrider, Ashley W.; Thornton, David; Cuellar, Megan; Saltuklaroglu, Tim

2014-01-01

Activity in anterior sensorimotor regions is found in speech production and some perception tasks. Yet, how sensorimotor integration supports these functions is unclear due to a lack of data examining the timing of activity from these regions. Beta (~20 Hz) and alpha (~10 Hz) spectral power within the EEG μ rhythm are considered indices of motor and somatosensory activity, respectively. In the current study, perception conditions required discrimination (same/different) of syllables pairs (/ba/ and /da/) in quiet and noisy conditions. Production conditions required covert and overt syllable productions and overt word production. Independent component analysis was performed on EEG data obtained during these conditions to (1) identify clusters of μ components common to all conditions and (2) examine real-time event-related spectral perturbations (ERSP) within alpha and beta bands. 17 and 15 out of 20 participants produced left and right μ-components, respectively, localized to precentral gyri. Discrimination conditions were characterized by significant (pFDR < 0.05) early alpha event-related synchronization (ERS) prior to and during stimulus presentation and later alpha event-related desynchronization (ERD) following stimulus offset. Beta ERD began early and gained strength across time. Differences were found between quiet and noisy discrimination conditions. Both overt syllable and word productions yielded similar alpha/beta ERD that began prior to production and was strongest during muscle activity. Findings during covert production were weaker than during overt production. One explanation for these findings is that μ-beta ERD indexes early predictive coding (e.g., internal modeling) and/or overt and covert attentional/motor processes. μ-alpha ERS may index inhibitory input to the premotor cortex from sensory regions prior to and during discrimination, while μ-alpha ERD may index sensory feedback during speech rehearsal and production. PMID:25071633

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.

Twist phase-induced characteristics changes of a radially polarized Gaussian Schell-Model beam in a uniaxial crystal orthogonal to the optical axis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Pengfei; Fu, Wenyu

2017-10-01

Based on the extended Huygens-Fresnel integral formula and unified theory of coherence and polarization, we obtained the cross-spectral density matrix elements for a radially polarized partially coherent twist (RPPCT) beam in a uniaxial crystal. Moreover, compared with free space, we explore numerically the evolution properties of a RPPCT beam in a uniaxial crystal. The calculation results show that the evolution properties of a RPPCT beam in crystals are substantially different from its properties in free space. These properties in crystals are mainly determined by the twist factor and the ratio of extraordinary index to ordinary refractive index. In a uniaxial crystal, the distribution of the intensity of a RPPCT beam all exhibits non-circular symmetry, and these distributions change with twist factor and the ratio of extraordinary index to ordinary refractive index. The twist factor affects their rotation orientation angles, and the ratio of extraordinary index to ordinary refractive index impacts their twisted levels. This novel characteristics can be used for free-space optical communications, particle manipulation and nonlinear optics, where partially coherent beam with controlled profile and twist factor are required.

Advances in structure elucidation of small molecules using mass spectrometry

PubMed Central

Fiehn, Oliver

2010-01-01

The structural elucidation of small molecules using mass spectrometry plays an important role in modern life sciences and bioanalytical approaches. This review covers different soft and hard ionization techniques and figures of merit for modern mass spectrometers, such as mass resolving power, mass accuracy, isotopic abundance accuracy, accurate mass multiple-stage MS(n) capability, as well as hybrid mass spectrometric and orthogonal chromatographic approaches. The latter part discusses mass spectral data handling strategies, which includes background and noise subtraction, adduct formation and detection, charge state determination, accurate mass measurements, elemental composition determinations, and complex data-dependent setups with ion maps and ion trees. The importance of mass spectral library search algorithms for tandem mass spectra and multiple-stage MS(n) mass spectra as well as mass spectral tree libraries that combine multiple-stage mass spectra are outlined. The successive chapter discusses mass spectral fragmentation pathways, biotransformation reactions and drug metabolism studies, the mass spectral simulation and generation of in silico mass spectra, expert systems for mass spectral interpretation, and the use of computational chemistry to explain gas-phase phenomena. A single chapter discusses data handling for hyphenated approaches including mass spectral deconvolution for clean mass spectra, cheminformatics approaches and structure retention relationships, and retention index predictions for gas and liquid chromatography. The last section reviews the current state of electronic data sharing of mass spectra and discusses the importance of software development for the advancement of structure elucidation of small molecules. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12566-010-0015-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. PMID:21289855

Retrieval of spectral aerosol optical thickness over land using ocean color sensors MERIS and SeaWiFS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

von Hoyningen-Huene, W.; Yoon, J.; Vountas, M.; Istomina, L. G.; Rohen, G.; Dinter, T.; Kokhanovsky, A. A.; Burrows, J. P.

2010-05-01

For the determination of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) Bremen AErosol Retrieval (BAER) has been developed. Method and main influences on the aerosol retrieval are described together with validation and results. The retrieval separates the spectral aerosol reflectance from surface and Rayleigh path reflectance for the shortwave range of the measured spectrum of top-of-atmosphere reflectance less than 0.670 μm. The advantage of MERIS (Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer on ENVISAT) and SeaWiFS (Sea viewing Wide Fiels Sensor on OrbView-2) observations are the existence of several spectral channels in the blue and visible range enabling the spectral determination of AOT in 7 (or 6) channels (0.412-0.670 μm) and additionally channels in the NIR, which can be used to characterize the surface properties. A dynamical spectral surface reflectance model for different surface types is used to obtain the spectral surface reflectance for this separation. Normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI), taken from the satellite observations, is the model input. Further surface BRDF is considered by the Raman-Pinty-Verstraete (RPV) model. Spectral AOT is obtained from aerosol reflectance using look-up-tables, obtained from radiative transfer calculations with given aerosol phase functions and single scattering albedos either from aerosol models, given by OPAC or from experimental campaigns. Validations of the obtained AOT retrieval results with AERONET data over Europe gave a preference for experimental phase functions derived from almucantar measurements. Finally long-term observations of SeaWiFS have been investigated for trends in AOT.

[Exploring novel hyperspectral band and key index for leaf nitrogen accumulation in wheat].

PubMed

Yao, Xia; Zhu, Yan; Feng, Wei; Tian, Yong-Chao; Cao, Wei-Xing

2009-08-01

The objectives of the present study were to explore new sensitive spectral bands and ratio spectral indices based on precise analysis of ground-based hyperspectral information, and then develop regression model for estimating leaf N accumulation per unit soil area (LNA) in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Three field experiments were conducted with different N rates and cultivar types in three consecutive growing seasons, and time-course measurements were taken on canopy hyperspectral reflectance and LNA tinder the various treatments. By adopting the method of reduced precise sampling, the detailed ratio spectral indices (RSI) within the range of 350-2 500 nm were constructed, and the quantitative relationships between LNA (gN m(-2)) and RSI (i, j) were analyzed. It was found that several key spectral bands and spectral indices were suitable for estimating LNA in wheat, and the spectral parameter RSI (990, 720) was the most reliable indicator for LNA in wheat. The regression model based on the best RSI was formulated as y = 5.095x - 6.040, with R2 of 0.814. From testing of the derived equations with independent experiment data, the model on RSI (990, 720) had R2 of 0.847 and RRMSE of 24.7%. Thus, it is concluded that the present hyperspectral parameter of RSI (990, 720) and derived regression model can be reliably used for estimating LNA in winter wheat. These results provide the feasible key bands and technical basis for developing the portable instrument of monitoring wheat nitrogen status and for extracting useful spectral information from remote sensing images.

Dual-Frequency VLBI Study of Centaurus A on Sub-Parsec Scales: The Highest-Resolution View of an Extragalactic Jet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mueller, C.; Kadler, M.; Ojha, R.; Wilms, J.; Boeck, M.; Edwards, P.; Fromm, C. M.; Hase, H.; Horiuchi, S.; Katz, U.;

The Radio Spectral Energy Distribution and Star-formation Rate Calibration in Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tabatabaei, F. S.; Schinnerer, E.; Krause, M.; Dumas, G.; Meidt, S.; Damas-Segovia, A.; Beck, R.; Murphy, E. J.; Mulcahy, D. D.; Groves, B.; Bolatto, A.; Dale, D.; Galametz, M.; Sandstrom, K.; Boquien, M.; Calzetti, D.; Kennicutt, R. C.; Hunt, L. K.; De Looze, I.; Pellegrini, E. W.

2017-02-01

We study the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the radio continuum (RC) emission from the Key Insight in Nearby Galaxies Emitting in Radio (KINGFISHER) sample of nearby galaxies to understand the energetics and origin of this emission. Effelsberg multi-wavelength observations at 1.4, 4.8, 8.4, and 10.5 GHz combined with archive data allow us, for the first time, to determine the mid-RC (1-10 GHz, MRC) bolometric luminosities and further present calibration relations versus the monochromatic radio luminosities. The 1-10 GHz radio SED is fitted using a Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique leading to measurements for the nonthermal spectral index ({S}ν ˜ {ν }-{α {nt}}) and the thermal fraction ({f}{th}) with mean values of {α }{nt}=0.97 +/- 0.16(0.79 +/- 0.15 for the total spectral index) and {f}{th} = (10 ± 9)% at 1.4 GHz. The MRC luminosity changes over ˜3 orders of magnitude in the sample, 4.3× {10}2 {L}⊙ < MRC < 3.9× {10}5 {L}⊙ . The thermal emission is responsible for ˜23% of the MRC on average. We also compare the extinction-corrected diagnostics of the star-formation rate (SFR) with the thermal and nonthermal radio tracers and derive the first star-formation calibration relations using the MRC radio luminosity. The nonthermal spectral index flattens with increasing SFR surface density, indicating the effect of the star-formation feedback on the cosmic-ray electron population in galaxies. Comparing the radio and IR SEDs, we find that the FIR-to-MRC ratio could decrease with SFR, due to the amplification of the magnetic fields in star-forming regions. This particularly implies a decrease in the ratio at high redshifts, where mostly luminous/star-forming galaxies are detected.

Indices for estimating fractional snow cover in the western Tibetan Plateau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shreve, Cheney M.; Okin, Gregory S.; Painter, Thomas H.

Snow cover in the Tibetan Plateau is highly variable in space and time and plays a key role in ecological processes of this cold-desert ecosystem. Resolution of passive microwave data is too low for regional-scale estimates of snow cover on the Tibetan Plateau, requiring an alternate data source. Optically derived snow indices allow for more accurate quantification of snow cover using higher-resolution datasets subject to the constraint of cloud cover. This paper introduces a new optical snow index and assesses four optically derived MODIS snow indices using Landsat-based validation scenes: MODIS Snow-Covered Area and Grain Size (MODSCAG), Relative Multiple Endmember Spectral Mixture Analysis (RMESMA), Relative Spectral Mixture Analysis (RSMA) and the normalized-difference snow index (NDSI). Pearson correlation coefficients were positively correlated with the validation datasets for all four optical snow indices, suggesting each provides a good measure of total snow extent. At the 95% confidence level, linear least-squares regression showed that MODSCAG and RMESMA had accuracy comparable to validation scenes. Fusion of optical snow indices with passive microwave products, which provide snow depth and snow water equivalent, has the potential to contribute to hydrologic and energy-balance modeling in the Tibetan Plateau.

[Non-invasive, spatially resolved determination of tissue properties of the crystalline lens with regard to rheology, refractive index, density and protein concentration by using Brillouin spectroscopy].

PubMed

Reiss, S; Stachs, O; Guthoff, R; Stolz, H

2011-12-01

The confocal Brillouin spectroscopy is an innovative measurement method that allows the non-invasive determination of the rheological properties of materials. Its application in ophthalmology can offer the possibility to determine in-vivo the deformation properties of sections of transparent biological tissue such as the cornea or eye lens with spatial resolution. This seems to be a promising approach concerning current presbyopia research. Due to the spatially resolved detection of the viscoelastic lens properties, a better understanding of the natural aging process of the lens and the influences of different lens opacities on the stiffness is expected. From the obtained spectral data the relative protein levels, the relative refractive index profile and the relative density profile within the lens tissue can be derived in addition. A measurement set-up for confocal Brillouin microscopy based on spectral analysis of spontaneous Brillouin scattering signals by using a high-resolution dispersive device is presented. First in-vitro test results on animal and human lenses are presented and evaluated concerning their rheological significance. These data are compared with known research results. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Effects of management practices on reflectance of spring wheat canopies. [Williston, North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daughtry, C. S. T.; Bauer, M. E.; Crecelius, D. W.; Hixson, M. M. (Principal Investigator)

1980-01-01

The effects of available soil moisture, planting date, nitrogen fertilization, and cultivar on reflectance of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) canopies were investigated. Spectral measurements were acquired on eight dates throughout the growing season, along with measurements of crop maturity stage, leaf area index, biomass, plant height, percent soil cover, and soil moisture. Planting date and available soil moisture were the primary agronomic factors which affected reflectance of spring wheat canopies from tillering to maturity. Comparisons of treatments indicated that during the seedling and tillering stages planting date was associated with 36 percent and 85 percent of variation in red and near infrared reflectances, respectively. As the wheat headed and matured, less of the variation in reflectance was associated with planting date and more with available soil moisture. By mid July, soil moisture accounted for 73 percent and 69 percent of the variation in reflectance in red and near infrared bands, respectively. Differences in spectral reflectance among treatments were attributed to changes in leaf area index, biomass, and percent soil cover. Cultivar and N fertilization rate were associated with very little of the variation in the reflectance of these canopies.

Size-dependent scanning parameters (kVp and mAs) for photon-counting spectral CT system in pediatric imaging: simulation study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Han; Danielsson, Mats; Xu, Cheng

2016-06-01

We are developing a photon-counting spectral CT detector with a small pixel size of 0.4× 0.5 mm2, offering a potential advantage for better visualization of small structures in pediatric patients. The purpose of this study is to determine the patient size dependent scanning parameters (kVp and mAs) for pediatric CT in two imaging cases: adipose imaging and iodinated blood imaging. Cylindrical soft-tissue phantoms of diameters between 10-25 cm were used to mimic patients of different ages from 0 to 15 y. For adipose imaging, a 5 mm diameter adipose sphere was assumed as an imaging target, while in the case of iodinated imaging, an iodinated blood sphere of 1 mm in diameter was assumed. By applying the geometry of a commercial CT scanner (GE Lightspeed VCT), simulations were carried out to calculate the detectability index, {{d}\\prime 2} , with tube potentials varying from 40 to 140 kVp. The optimal kVp for each phantom in each imaging case was determined such that the dose-normalized detectability index, {{d}\\prime 2}/ dose, is maximized. With the assumption that the detectability index in pediatric imaging is required the same as in typical adult imaging, the value of mAs at optimal kVp for each phantom was selected to achieve a reference detectability index that was obtained by scanning an adult phantom (30 cm in diameter) in a typical adult CT procedure (120 kVp and 200 mAs) using a modeled energy-integrating system. For adipose imaging, the optimal kVps are 50, 60, 80, and 120 kVp, respectively, for phantoms of 10, 15, 20, and 25 cm in diameter. The corresponding mAs values required to achieve the reference detectability index are only 9%, 23%, 24%, and 54% of the mAs that is used for adult patients at 120 kVp, for 10, 15, 20, and 25 cm diameter phantoms, respectively. In the case of iodinated imaging, a tube potential of 60 kVp was found optimal for all phantoms investigated, and the mAs values required to achieve the reference detectability index are 2%, 9%, 37%, and 109% of the adult mAs. The results also indicate that with the use of respective optimal kVps, the photon-counting spectral system offers up to 30% higher {{d}\\prime 2}/ dose than the modeled energy-integrating system for adipose imaging, and 70% for iodinated imaging.

Primordial perturbations in a rainbow universe with running Newton constant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brighenti, Francesco; Gubitosi, Giulia; Magueijo, Joao

2017-03-01

We compute the spectral index of primordial perturbations in a rainbow universe. We allow the Newton constant G to run at (super-) Planckian energies and we consider both vacuum and thermal perturbations. If the rainbow metric is the one associated to a generalized Horava-Lifshitz dispersion relation, we find that only when G tends asymptotically to 0 can one match the observed value of the spectral index and solve the horizon problem, both for vacuum and thermal perturbations. For vacuum fluctuations the observational constraints imply that the primordial universe expansion can be both accelerating or decelerating, while in the case of thermal perturbations only decelerating expansion is allowed.

Spectral and fractal analyses of geomagnetic and riometric antarctic observations and a multidimensional index of activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Santis, A.; de Franceschi, G.; Perrone, L.

1997-06-01

The Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica under the P.N.R.A. (National Program of Research in Antarctica) has the responsibility of acquiring geophysical observations at the Italian Antarctic Base of Terra Nova Bay. Among others, geomagnetic and riometric data can provide some new insights into local and global activity of the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling. This article investigates some properties of these kinds of data by means of spectral and fractal analyses. In addition, a multidimensional index is derived from this single-point dataset to represent not only the local but also the global state of the magnetospheric activity.

Terahertz scattering by two phased media with optically soft scatterers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaushik, Mayank; Ng, Brian W.-H.; Fischer, Bernd M.; Abbott, Derek

2012-12-01

Frequency dependent absorption by materials at distinct frequencies in the THz range is commonly used as spectral-fingerprints for identification and classification. For transmission measurements, the substance under study is often mixed with a transparent host material. Refractive index variations arising from the presence of impurities and inconsistencies in the sample's internal structure often cause the incident radiation to scatter. This can significantly distort the measured spectral-fingerprints. In this letter, we present a numerical approach to allay the scattering contribution in THz-TDS measurements, provided the sample's refractive index is known, and reveal the true absorption spectra for a given sample.

On the selection of high-z quasars using LOFAR observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Retana-Montenegro, Edwin; Röttgering, Huub

2018-03-01

We present a method to identify candidate quasars which combines optical/infrared color selection with radio detections from the Low Frequency ARray (LOFAR) at 150MHz. We apply this {method} in a region of 9 square degrees located in the Boötes field, with a wealth of multi-wavelength data. Our LOFAR imaging in the central region reaches a rms noise of ˜50μJy with a resolution of 5''. This is so deep that we also routinely, `radio-quiet' quasars. We use quasar spectroscopy from the literature to calculate the completeness and efficiency of our selection method. We conduct our analysis in two redshift intervals, 1-1.0 sources can be detected in the WSRT-Boötes map, we find that the spectral index distribution of the 21 quasars in the resulting sample is steeper than the general LOFAR-WSRT spectral index distribution with a median of α=-0.80±0.06. As the upcoming LOFAR wide area surveys are much deeper than the traditional 1.4GHz surveys like NVSS and FIRST, this indicates that LOFAR in combination with optical and infrared will be an excellent fishing ground to obtain large samples of quasars.

Comparison of the Spectral Properties of Pansharpened Images Generated from AVNIR-2 and Prism Onboard Alos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsuoka, M.

2012-07-01

A considerable number of methods for pansharpening remote-sensing images have been developed to generate higher spatial resolution multispectral images by the fusion of lower resolution multispectral images and higher resolution panchromatic images. Because pansharpening alters the spectral properties of multispectral images, method selection is one of the key factors influencing the accuracy of subsequent analyses such as land-cover classification or change detection. In this study, seven pixel-based pansharpening methods (additive wavelet intensity, additive wavelet principal component, generalized Laplacian pyramid with spectral distortion minimization, generalized intensity-hue-saturation (GIHS) transform, GIHS adaptive, Gram-Schmidt spectral sharpening, and block-based synthetic variable ratio) were compared using AVNIR-2 and PRISM onboard ALOS from the viewpoint of the preservation of spectral properties of AVNIR-2. A visual comparison was made between pansharpened images generated from spatially degraded AVNIR-2 and original images over urban, agricultural, and forest areas. The similarity of the images was evaluated in terms of the image contrast, the color distinction, and the brightness of the ground objects. In the quantitative assessment, three kinds of statistical indices, correlation coefficient, ERGAS, and Q index, were calculated by band and land-cover type. These scores were relatively superior in bands 2 and 3 compared with the other two bands, especially over urban and agricultural areas. Band 4 showed a strong dependency on the land-cover type. This was attributable to the differences in the observing spectral wavelengths of the sensors and local scene variances.

The Crab pulsar and its pulsar-wind nebula in the optical and infrared

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tziamtzis, A.; Lundqvist, P.; Djupvik, A. A.

2009-12-01

Aims. We investigate the emission mechanism and evolution of pulsars that are associated with supernova remnants. Methods: We used imaging techniques in both the optical and near infrared, using images with very good seeing (≤0.primeprime6) to study the immediate surroundings of the Crab pulsar. In the case of the infrared, we took two data sets with a time window of 75 days to check for variability in the inner part of the Crab nebula. We also measure the spectral indices of all these wisps, the nearby knot, and the interwisp medium, using our optical and infrared data. We then compared the observational results with the existing theoretical models. Results: We report variability in the three nearby wisps located to the northwest of the pulsar and also in a nearby anvil wisp in terms of their structure, position, and emissivity within the time window of 75 days. All the wisps display red spectra with similar spectral indices (α_ν = -0.58 ± 0.08, α_ν = -0.63 ± 0.07, α_ν = -0.53 ± 0.08) for the northwest triplet. The anvil wisp (anvil wisp 1) has a spectral index of α_ν = -0.62 ± 0.10. Similarly, the interwisp medium regions also show red spectra similar to those of the wisps, with the spectral index being α_ν = -0.61 ± 0.08, α_ν = -0.50 ± 0.10, while the third interwisp region has a flatter spectrum with spectral α_ν = -0.49 ± 0.10. The inner knot has a spectral index of α_ν = -0.63 ± 0.02. Also, based on archival HST data and our IR data, we find that the inner knot remains stationary for a time period of 13.5 years. The projected average velocity relative to the pulsar for this period is ≲8 ~km s-1. Conclusions: By comparing the spectral indices of the structures in the inner Crab with the current theoretical models, we find that the Del Zanna et al. model for the synchrotron emission fits our observations, although the spectral index is at the flatter end of their modelled spectra. Based on observations made with the Nordic Optical Telescope, operated on the island of La Palma jointly by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias. Part of the data presented here have been taken using ALFOSC, which is owned by the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (IAA) and operated at the Nordic Optical Telescope under an agreement between IAA and the NBIfAFG of the Astronomical Observatory of Copenhagen.

Effect of antimony (Sb) addition on the linear and non-linear optical properties of amorphous Ge-Te-Sb thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, P.; Kaur, J.; Tripathi, S. K.; Sharma, I.

2017-12-01

Non-crystalline thin films of Ge20Te80-xSbx (x = 0, 2, 4, 6, 10) systems were deposited on glass substrate using thermal evaporation technique. The optical coefficients were accurately determined by transmission spectra using Swanepoel envelope method in the spectral region of 400-1600 nm. The refractive index was found to increase from 2.38 to 2.62 with the corresponding increase in Sb content over the entire spectral range. The dispersion of refractive index was discussed in terms of the single oscillator Wemple-DiDomenico model. Tauc relation for the allowed indirect transition showed decrease in optical band gap. To explore non-linearity, the spectral dependence of third order susceptibility of a-Ge-Te-Sb thin films was evaluated from change of index of refraction using Miller's rule. Susceptibility values were found to enhance rapidly from 10-13 to 10-12 (esu), with the red shift in the absorption edge. Non-linear refractive index was calculated by Fourier and Snitzer formula. The values were of the order of 10-12 esu. At telecommunication wavelength, these non-linear refractive index values showed three orders higher than that of silica glass. Dielectric constant and optical conductivity were also reported. The prepared Sb doped thin films on glass substrate with observed improved functional properties have a noble prospect in the application of nonlinear optical devices and might be used for a high speed communication fiber. Non-linear parameters showed good agreement with the values given in the literature.

An experiment on the color rendering of different light sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fumagalli, Simonetta; Bonanomi, Cristian; Rizzi, Alessandro

2013-02-01

The color rendering index (CRI) of a light source attempts to measure how much the color appearance of objects is preserved when they are illuminated by the given light source. This problem is of great importance for various industrial and scientific fields, such as lighting architecture, design, ergonomics, etc. Usually a light source is specified through the Correlated Color Temperature or CCT. However two (or more) light sources with the same CCT but different spectral power distribution can exist. Therefore color samples viewed under two light sources with equal CCTs can appear different. Hence, the need for a method to assess the quality of a given illuminant in relation to color. Recently CRI has had a renewed interest because of the new LED-based lighting systems. They usually have a color rendering index rather low, but good preservation of color appearance and a pleasant visual appearance (visual appeal). Various attempts to develop a new color rendering index have been done so far, but still research is working for a better one. This article describes an experiment performed by human observers concerning the appearance preservation of color under some light sources, comparing it with a range of available color rendering indices.

Predictability and co-movement relationships between conventional and Islamic stock market indexes: A multiscale exploration using wavelets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saâdaoui, Foued; Naifar, Nader; Aldohaiman, Mohamed S.

2017-09-01

This paper investigates the dynamical relationship between conventional and Islamic stock markets using the wavelet-assisted cross-spectral, cross-correlation and causality analyses. Relying on bivariate time series from emerging and developed markets, the aim is to find and recognize local microscopic signs of convergence or divergence. The data set covers a period of exceptional instability in the financial system that was accompanied by a significant slump in the global economic environment. The empirical results demonstrate an obvious strong dependence between conventional and Islamic indexes at low-frequency, while the dependence becomes rather instable in the finest frequencies across different investment time horizons. The relationship also took a special different form in the crisis period compared to relatively calm periods. In developed markets, indexes were the most correlated over many periods and at many frequencies, while the relationship in emerging markets tended to be less manifest, especially for short-term horizons, offering investors different investment alternatives and portfolio diversification opportunities. The pre- and post-crisis causality investigations at the end of the study suggested a bidirectional relationship in most cases, thereby offering further perspectives on multivariate forecasting.

A Multi-Epoch Timing and Spectral Study of the ULX NGC 5408 X-1 with XMM-Newton

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strohmayer, Tod E.; Dheeraj, Pasham R.

2012-01-01

We report results from extensive new XMM- Newton observations of the ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) NGC 5408 X-1, one of the few ULXs to show quasi-periodic X-ray variability. We detect quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in each of four new (approximately equal 100 ks each) pointings, expanding the range of frequencies and rms amplitudes observed from the source to 10-40 mHz and 10-45 %, respectively. However, similarly significant variations in the power-law photon spectral index, Gamma, are not observed. We use the results of timing and energy spectral modeling to compare with the timing and spectral correlations seen in stellar-mass systems. We find that the qualitative nature of the timing and energy spectra of NGC 5408 X-1 are very similar to stellar-mass black holes in the steep power-law state exhibiting Type-C QPOs. However, in order for this analogy to quantitatively hold we must only be seeing the so-called saturated portion of the QPO frequency - photon index (or disk flux) relation. Assuming this to be the case, we place a lower limit on the mass of NGC 5408 X-1 of approx greater than 800 Solar Mass. Alternatively, the QPO centroid frequency is largely independent of the spectral parameters, in which case a close analogy of NGC 5408 X-1's mHz QPOs with Type-C QPOs in stellar systems is problematic. Measurement of the source's timing properties over a greater range of spectral parameters (in particular the spectral index) is needed in order to definitively resolve this ambiguity. We searched all the available data for both a broad Fe emission line as well as high frequency QPO analogs (0.1 - 1 Hz), but detected neither. We place upper limits on the equivalent width of any Fe emission feature in the 6 - 7 keY band, and of the amplitude (rms) of a high frequency QPO analog of approx equal 10 eV and approx equal 4%, respectively.

Analysis of Terrestrial Conditions and Dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goward, S. N.

1985-01-01

An ecological model is developed to estimate annual net primary productivity of vegetation in twelve major North American biomes. Three models are adapted and combined, each addressing a different factor known to govern primary productivity, i.e., photosynthesis, respiration, and moisture availability. Measures of intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (1PAR) for input to the photosynthesis model are derived from spectral vegetation index data. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data are produced from NOAA-7 Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) observations for April 1982 through March 1983. NDVI values are sampled from within the biomes at locations for which climatological data are available. Monthly estimates of Net Primary Productivity (NPP) for each sample location are generated and summed over the twelve month period. These monthly estimates are averaged to produce a single annual estimated NPP value for each biomes. Comparison of estimated NPP values with figures reported in the literature produces a correlation coefficient of 85.

Experimental realization of a polarization-independent ultraviolet/visible coaxial plasmonic metamaterial.

PubMed

van de Haar, M A; Maas, R; Schokker, H; Polman, A

2014-11-12

We report the experimental realization of an optical metamaterial composed of a hexagonal array of coaxial plasmonic metal/insulator/metal waveguides that shows strong polarization-independent optical mode index dispersion in the ultraviolet/blue. The metamaterial is composed of silicon coaxes with a well-defined diameter in the range of 150-168 nm with extremely thin sidewalls (13-15 nm), embedded in a silver film, fabricated using a combination of electron beam lithography, physical vapor deposition, reactive ion etching, and focused ion beam polishing. Using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer the phase advance is measured on several metamaterial samples with different dimensions in the UV/visible part of the spectrum. For all geometries the spectral features as well as the geometry dependence of the data correspond well with numerical finite-difference time domain simulations and the calculated waveguide dispersion diagram, showing a negative mode index between 440 and 500 nm.

Response of spectral vegetation indices to soil moisture in grasslands and shrublands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zhang, Li; Ji, Lei; Wylie, Bruce K.

2011-01-01

The relationships between satellite-derived vegetation indices (VIs) and soil moisture are complicated because of the time lag of the vegetation response to soil moisture. In this study, we used a distributed lag regression model to evaluate the lag responses of VIs to soil moisture for grasslands and shrublands at Soil Climate Analysis Network sites in the central and western United States. We examined the relationships between Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-derived VIs and soil moisture measurements. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) showed significant lag responses to soil moisture. The lag length varies from 8 to 56 days for NDVI and from 16 to 56 days for NDWI. However, the lag response of NDVI and NDWI to soil moisture varied among the sites. Our study suggests that the lag effect needs to be taken into consideration when the VIs are used to estimate soil moisture.

Analysis of structural and optical properties of annealed fullerene thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Nahass, M. M.; Ali, H. A. M.; Gadallah, A.-S.; Atta Khedr, M.; Afify, H. A.

2015-08-01

Fullerene thin films were thermally deposited onto different substrates. The films annealed at 523 K for 10 h. X-ray diffraction technique was used to examine the structure of the films. The morphology of films was examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy. Fourier transform infrared spectra were recorded in wavenumber range 400-2000 cm-1. The optical characteristics were analyzed using UV- Vis-NIR spectrophotometric measurements in the spectral range 200-2500 nm. The refractive index and extinction coefficient were determined. Some dispersion parameters were calculated such as single oscillator energy, dispersion energy, dielectric constant at high frequency and lattice dielectric constant. As well as, the nonlinear optical susceptibility χ(3) and nonlinear refractive index n2 were determined.

Assessing the use of remotely sensed measurements for characterizing rangeland condition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Folker, Geoffrey P.

There are over 233 million hectares (ha) of nonfederal grazing lands in the United States. Conventional field observation and sampling techniques are insufficient methods to monitor such large areas frequently enough to confidently quantify the biophysical state and assess rangeland condition over large geographic areas. In an attempt to enhance rangeland resource managers' abilities to monitor and assess these factors, remote sensing scientists and land resource managers have worked together to determine whether remotely sensed measurements can improve the ability to measure rangeland response to land management practices. The relationship between spectral reflectance patterns and plant species composition was investigated on six south-central Kansas ranches. Airborne multispectral color infrared images for 2002 through 2004 were collected at multiple times in the growing season over the study area. Concurrent with the image acquisition periods, ground cover estimates of plant species composition and biomass by growth form were collected. Correlation analysis was used to examine relationships among spectral and biophysical field measurements. Results indicate that heavily grazed sites exhibited the highest spectral vegetation index values. This was attributed to increases in low forage quality broadleaf forbs such as annual ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.). Although higher vegetation index values have a positive correlation with overall above ground primary productivity, species composition may be the best indicator of healthy rangeland condition. A Weediness Index, which was found to be correlated with range condition, was also strongly linked to spectral reflectance patterns recorded in the airborne imagery.

Understanding the temporal dimension of the red-edge spectral region for forest decline detection using high-resolution hyperspectral and Sentinel-2a imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zarco-Tejada, P. J.; Hornero, A.; Hernández-Clemente, R.; Beck, P. S. A.

2018-03-01

The operational monitoring of forest decline requires the development of remote sensing methods that are sensitive to the spatiotemporal variations of pigment degradation and canopy defoliation. In this context, the red-edge spectral region (RESR) was proposed in the past due to its combined sensitivity to chlorophyll content and leaf area variation. In this study, the temporal dimension of the RESR was evaluated as a function of forest decline using a radiative transfer method with the PROSPECT and 3D FLIGHT models. These models were used to generate synthetic pine stands simulating decline and recovery processes over time and explore the temporal rate of change of the red-edge chlorophyll index (CI) as compared to the trajectories obtained for the structure-related Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The temporal trend method proposed here consisted of using synthetic spectra to calculate the theoretical boundaries of the subspace for healthy and declining pine trees in the temporal domain, defined by CItime=n/CItime=n+1 vs. NDVItime=n/NDVItime=n+1. Within these boundaries, trees undergoing decline and recovery processes showed different trajectories through this subspace. The method was then validated using three high-resolution airborne hyperspectral images acquired at 40 cm resolution and 260 spectral bands of 6.5 nm full-width half-maximum (FWHM) over a forest with widespread tree decline, along with field-based monitoring of chlorosis and defoliation (i.e., 'decline' status) in 663 trees between the years 2015 and 2016. The temporal rate of change of chlorophyll vs. structural indices, based on reflectance spectra extracted from the hyperspectral images, was different for trees undergoing decline, and aligned towards the decline baseline established using the radiative transfer models. By contrast, healthy trees over time aligned towards the theoretically obtained healthy baseline. The applicability of this temporal trend method to the red-edge bands of the MultiSpectral Imager (MSI) instrument on board Sentinel-2a for operational forest status monitoring was also explored by comparing the temporal rate of change of the Sentinel-2-derived CI over areas with declining and healthy trees. Results demonstrated that the Sentinel-2a red-edge region was sensitive to the temporal dimension of forest condition, as the relationships obtained for pixels in healthy condition deviated from those of pixels undergoing decline.

Spectral Indices to Monitor Nitrogen-Driven Carbon Uptake in Field Corn

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Corp, Lawrence A.; Middleton, Elizabeth M.; Campbell, Peya E.; Huemmrich, K. Fred; Daughtry, Craig S. T.; Russ, Andrew; Cheng, Yen-Ben

2010-01-01

Climate change is heavily impacted by changing vegetation cover and productivity with large scale monitoring of vegetation only possible with remote sensing techniques. The goal of this effort was to evaluate existing reflectance (R) spectroscopic methods for determining vegetation parameters related to photosynthetic function and carbon (C) dynamics in plants. Since nitrogen (N) is a key constituent of photosynthetic pigments and C fixing enzymes, biological C sequestration is regulated in part by N availability. Spectral R information was obtained from field corn grown at four N application rates (0, 70, 140, 280 kg N/ha). A hierarchy of spectral observations were obtained: leaf and canopy with a spectral radiometer; aircraft with the AISA sensor; and satellite with EO-1 Hyperion. A number of spectral R indices were calculated from these hyperspectral observations and compared to geo-located biophysical measures of plant growth and physiological condition. Top performing indices included the R derivative index D730/D705 and the normalized difference of R750 vs. R705 (ND705), both of which differentiated three of the four N fertilization rates at multiple observation levels and yielded high correlations to these carbon parameters: light use efficiency (LUE); C:N ratio; and crop grain yield. These results advocate the use of hyperspectral sensors for remotely monitoring carbon cycle dynamics in managed terrestrial ecosystems.

Interferometric measurement of refractive index modification in a single mode microfiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmed, Farid; Ahsani, Vahid; Jun, Martin B. G.

2017-02-01

Efficient and cost effective measurement of the refractive index profile in an optical fiber is a significant technical job to design and manufacture in-fiber photonic devices and communication systems. For instance, to design fiber gratings, it is required to estimate the refractive index modulation to be inscribed by the fabrication apparatus such as ultraviolet or infrared lasers. Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) based quantification of refractive index change written in single mode microfiber by femtosecond laser radiation is presented in this study. The MZI is constructed by splicing a microfiber (core diameter: 3.75 μm, cladding diameter: 40 μm) between standard single mode fibers. To measure the RI inscribed by infrared femtosecond laser, 200 μm length of the core within the MZI was scanned with laser radiation. As the higher index was written within 200 μm length of the core, the transmission spectrum of the interferometer displayed a corresponding red shift. The observed spectral shift was used to calculate the amount of refractive index change inscribed by the femtosecond irradiation. For the MZI length of 3.25 mm, and spectral shift of 0.8 nm, the calculated refractive index was found to be 0.00022. The reported results display excellent agreement between theory and experimental findings. Demonstrated method provides simple yet very effective on-site measurement of index change in optical fibers. Since the MZI can be constructed in diverse fiber types, this technique offers flexibility to quantify index change in various optical fibers.

Far-infrared photometry of OJ 287 with the Herschel Space Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kidger, Mark; Zola, Staszek; Valtonen, Mauri; Lähteenmäki, Anne; Järvelä, Emilia; Tornikoski, Merja; Tammi, Joni; Liakos, Alexis; Poyner, Gary

2018-03-01

Context. The blazar OJ 287 has shown a ≈12 year quasi-periodicity over more than a century, in addition to the common properties of violent variability in all frequency ranges. It is the strongest known candidate to have a binary singularity in its central engine. Aim. We aim to better understand the different emission components by searching for correlated variability in the flux over four decades of frequency measurements. Methods: We combined data at frequencies from the millimetric to the visible to characterise the multifrequency light curve in April and May 2010. This includes the only photometric observations of OJ 287 made with the Herschel Space Observatory: five epochs of data obtained over 33 days at 250, 350, and 500 μm with Herschel-SPIRE. Results: Although we find that the variability at 37 GHz on timescales of a few weeks correlates with the visible to near-IR spectral energy distribution, there is a small degree of reddening in the continuum at lower flux levels that is revealed by the decreasing rate of decline in the light curve at lower frequencies. However, we see no clear evidence that a rapid flare detected in the light curve during our monitoring in the visible to near-IR light curve is seen either in the Herschel data or at 37 GHz, suggesting a low-frequency cut-off in the spectrum of such flares. Conclusions.We see only marginal evidence of variability in the observations with Herschel over a month, although this may be principally due to the poor sampling. The spectral energy distribution between 37 GHz and the visible can be characterised by two components of approximately constant spectral index: a visible to far-IR component of spectral index α = -0.95, and a far-IR to millimetric spectral index of α = -0.43. There is no evidence of an excess of emission that would be consistent with the 60 μmdust bump found in many active galactic nuclei. Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA.The photometry data (Table 4) is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/610/A74 Warning, no authors found for 2018A&A...610L..17.

[A snow depth inversion method for the HJ-1B satellite data].

PubMed

Dong, Ting-Xu; Jiang, Hong-Bo; Chen, Chao; Qin, Qi-Ming

2011-10-01

The importance of the snow is self-evident, while the harms caused by the snow have also received more and more attention. At present, the retrieval of snow depth mainly focused on the use of microwave remote sensing data or a small amount of optical remote sensing data, such as the meteorological data or the MODIS data. The small satellites for environment and disaster monitoring of China are quite different form the meteorological data and MODIS data, both in the spectral resolution or spatial resolution. In this paper, aimed at the HJ-1B data, snow spectral of different underlying surfaces and depths were surveyed. The correlation between snow cover index and snow depth was also analyzed to establish the model for the snow depth retrieval using the HJ-1B data. The validation results showed that it can meet the requirements of real-time monitoring the snow depth on the condition of conventional snow depth.

Observations of M87 and Hydra A at 90 GHz

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cotton, W. D.; Mason, B. S.; Dicker, S.; Korngut, P.; Devlin, M. J.; Aquirre, J.; Benford, D.; Moseley, H.; Staguhn, J.; Irwin, K.;

Large and Small-Scale Cropland Classification on the Foothills of Mount Kenya Based on SPOT-5 Take-5 Data Time Series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eckert, Sandra

2016-08-01

The SPOT-5 Take 5 campaign provided SPOT time series data of an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. We analysed 29 scenes acquired between May and September 2015 of a semi-arid region in the foothills of Mount Kenya, with two aims: first, to distinguish rainfed from irrigated cropland and cropland from natural vegetation covers, which show similar reflectance patterns; and second, to identify individual crop types. We tested several input data sets in different combinations: the spectral bands and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) time series, principal components of NDVI time series, and selected NDVI time series statistics. For the classification we used random forests (RF). In the test differentiating rainfed cropland, irrigated cropland, and natural vegetation covers, the best classification accuracies were achieved using spectral bands. For the differentiation of crop types, we analysed the phenology of selected crop types based on NDVI time series. First results are promising.

A numerical and experimental study on the nonlinear evolution of long-crested irregular waves

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

Goullet, Arnaud; Choi, Wooyoung; Division of Ocean Systems Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 305-701

2011-01-15

The spatial evolution of nonlinear long-crested irregular waves characterized by the JONSWAP spectrum is studied numerically using a nonlinear wave model based on a pseudospectral (PS) method and the modified nonlinear Schroedinger (MNLS) equation. In addition, new laboratory experiments with two different spectral bandwidths are carried out and a number of wave probe measurements are made to validate these two wave models. Strongly nonlinear wave groups are observed experimentally and their propagation and interaction are studied in detail. For the comparison with experimental measurements, the two models need to be initialized with care and the initialization procedures are described. Themore » MNLS equation is found to approximate reasonably well for the wave fields with a relatively smaller Benjamin-Feir index, but the phase error increases as the propagation distance increases. The PS model with different orders of nonlinear approximation is solved numerically, and it is shown that the fifth-order model agrees well with our measurements prior to wave breaking for both spectral bandwidths.« less

Evaluation of Multispectral Based Radiative Transfer Model Inversion to Estimate Leaf Area Index in Wheat

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Leaf area index (LAI) is a critical variable for predicting the growth and productivity of crops. Remote sensing estimates of LAI have relied upon empirical relationships between spectral vegetation indices and ground measurements that are costly to obtain. Radiative transfer model inversion based o...

Variations of the TeV energy spectrum at different flux levels of Mkn 421 observed with the HEGRA system of Cherenkov telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aharonian, F.; Akhperjanian, A.; Beilicke, M.; Bernlöhr, K.; Börst, H.; Bojahr, H.; Bolz, O.; Coarasa, T.; Contreras, J.; Cortina, J.; Costamante, L.; Denninghoff, S.; Fonseca, V.; Girma, M.; Götting, N.; Heinzelmann, G.; Hermann, G.; Heusler, A.; Hofmann, W.; Horns, D.; Jung, I.; Kankanyan, R.; Kestel, M.; Kettler, J.; Kohnle, A.; Konopelko, A.; Kornmeyer, H.; Kranich, D.; Krawczynski, H.; Lampeitl, H.; Lopez, M.; Lorenz, E.; Lucarelli, F.; Mang, O.; Meyer, H.; Mirzoyan, R.; Milite, M.; Moralejo, A.; Ona, E.; Panter, M.; Plyasheshnikov, A.; Pühlhofer, G.; Rauterberg, G.; Reyes, R.; Rhode, W.; Ripken, J.; Rowell, G.; Sahakian, V.; Samorski, M.; Schilling, M.; Siems, M.; Sobzynska, D.; Stamm, W.; Tluczykont, M.; Völk, H. J.; Wiedner, C. A.; Wittek, W.; Remillard, R. A.

2002-10-01

The nearby BL Lacertae (BL Lac) object Markarian 421 (Mkn 421) at a red shift z=0.031 was observed to undergo strong TeV gamma -ray outbursts in the observational periods from December 1999 until May 2001. The time averaged flux level F(E>1 TeV) in the 1999/2000 season was (1.43+/-0.04) x 10-11 ph cm-2 s-1, whereas in the 2000/2001 season the average integral flux increased to (4.19+/-0.04) x 10-11 ph cm-2 s-1. Both energy spectra are curved and well fit by a power law with an exponential cut-off energy at 3.6(+0.4-0.3)_stat(+0.9-0.8)_sys TeV. The respective energy spectra averaged over each of the two time periods indicate a spectral hardening for the 2000/2001 spectrum. The photon index changes from 2.39+/-0.09_stat for 1999/2000 to 2.19+/-0.02_stat in 2000/2001. The energy spectra derived for different average flux levels ranging from 0.5 to 10 x 10-11 ph cm-2 s-1 follow a clear correlation of photon index and flux level. Generally, the energy spectra are harder for high flux levels. From January to April 2001 Mkn 421 showed rapid variability (doubling time as short as 20 min), accompanied with a spectral hardening with increasing flux level within individual nights. For two successive nights (MJD 51989-51991, March 21-23, 2001), this correlation of spectral hardness and change in flux has been observed within a few hours. The cut-off energy for the Mkn 421 TeV spectrum remains within the errors constant for the different flux levels and differs by Delta E=2.6+/-0.6_stat+/-0.6_sys TeV from the value determined for Mkn 501. This indicates that the observed exponential cut-off in the energy spectrum of Mkn 421 is not solely caused by absorption of multi-TeV photons by pair-production processes with photons of the extragalactic near/mid infrared background radiation.

Assessment of Pansharpening Methods Applied to WorldView-2 Imagery Fusion.

PubMed

Li, Hui; Jing, Linhai; Tang, Yunwei

2017-01-05

Since WorldView-2 (WV-2) images are widely used in various fields, there is a high demand for the use of high-quality pansharpened WV-2 images for different application purposes. With respect to the novelty of the WV-2 multispectral (MS) and panchromatic (PAN) bands, the performances of eight state-of-art pan-sharpening methods for WV-2 imagery including six datasets from three WV-2 scenes were assessed in this study using both quality indices and information indices, along with visual inspection. The normalized difference vegetation index, normalized difference water index, and morphological building index, which are widely used in applications related to land cover classification, the extraction of vegetation areas, buildings, and water bodies, were employed in this work to evaluate the performance of different pansharpening methods in terms of information presentation ability. The experimental results show that the Haze- and Ratio-based, adaptive Gram-Schmidt, Generalized Laplacian pyramids (GLP) methods using enhanced spectral distortion minimal model and enhanced context-based decision model methods are good choices for producing fused WV-2 images used for image interpretation and the extraction of urban buildings. The two GLP-based methods are better choices than the other methods, if the fused images will be used for applications related to vegetation and water-bodies.

Assessment of Pansharpening Methods Applied to WorldView-2 Imagery Fusion

PubMed Central

Li, Hui; Jing, Linhai; Tang, Yunwei

2017-01-01

Since WorldView-2 (WV-2) images are widely used in various fields, there is a high demand for the use of high-quality pansharpened WV-2 images for different application purposes. With respect to the novelty of the WV-2 multispectral (MS) and panchromatic (PAN) bands, the performances of eight state-of-art pan-sharpening methods for WV-2 imagery including six datasets from three WV-2 scenes were assessed in this study using both quality indices and information indices, along with visual inspection. The normalized difference vegetation index, normalized difference water index, and morphological building index, which are widely used in applications related to land cover classification, the extraction of vegetation areas, buildings, and water bodies, were employed in this work to evaluate the performance of different pansharpening methods in terms of information presentation ability. The experimental results show that the Haze- and Ratio-based, adaptive Gram-Schmidt, Generalized Laplacian pyramids (GLP) methods using enhanced spectral distortion minimal model and enhanced context-based decision model methods are good choices for producing fused WV-2 images used for image interpretation and the extraction of urban buildings. The two GLP-based methods are better choices than the other methods, if the fused images will be used for applications related to vegetation and water-bodies. PMID:28067770

The NASA earth resources spectral information system: A data compilation, second supplement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vincent, R. K.

1973-01-01

The NASA Earth Resources Spectral Information System (ERSIS) and the information contained therein are described. It is intended for use as a second supplement to the NASA Earth Resources Spectral Information System: A Data Compilation, NASA CR-31650-24-T, May 1971. The current supplement includes approximately 100 rock and mineral, and 375 vegetation directional reflectance spectral curves in the optical region from 0.2 to 22.0 microns. The data were categorized by subject and each curve plotted on a single graph. Each graph is fully titled to indicate curve source and indexed by subject to facilitate user retrieval from ERSIS magnetic tape records.

Effects of Source Correlations on the Spectrum of Radiated Fields

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-09-01

media. When the refractive index n(co) is nearly constant over the source spectral width, the medium acts as a non- dispersive homogeneous medium of...constant refractive index no = n(w0 ), where o is the central frequency of the source spectrum. We will consider the non- dispersive case first. It is...in free space (a), for propagation in a homogeneous medium of an index of refraction n((o) = 1.5 (b) and for propagation in a medium of index of

Investigation on the growth, spectral, lifetime, mechanical analysis and third-order nonlinear optical studies of L-methionine admixtured D-mandelic acid single crystal: A promising material for nonlinear optical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jayaprakash, P.; Sangeetha, P.; Kumari, C. Rathika Thaya; Caroline, M. Lydia

2017-08-01

A nonlinear optical bulk single crystal of L-methionine admixtured D-mandelic acid (LMDMA) has been grown by slow solvent evaporation technique using water as solvent at ambient temperature. The crystallized LMDMA single crystal subjected to single crystal X-ray diffraction study confirmed monoclinic system with the acentric space group P21. The FTIR analysis gives information about the modes of vibration in the various functional groups present in LMDMA. The UV-visible spectral analysis assessed the optical quality and linear optical properties such as extinction coefficient, reflectance, refractive index and from which optical conductivity and electric susceptibility were also evaluated. The frequency doubling efficiency was observed using Kurtz Perry powder technique. A multiple shot laser was utilized to evaluate the laser damage threshold energy of the crystal. Discrete thermodynamic properties were carried out by TG-DTA studies. The hardness, Meyer's index, yield strength, elastic stiffness constant, Knoop hardness, fracture toughness and brittleness index were analyzed using Vickers microhardness tester. Layer growth pattern and the surface defect were examined by chemical etching studies using optical microscope. Fluorescence emission spectrum was recorded and lifetime was also studied. The electric field response of crystal was investigated from the dielectric studies at various temperatures at different frequencies. The third-order nonlinear optical response in LMDMA has been investigated using Z-scan technique with He-Ne laser at 632.8 nm and nonlinear parameters such as refractive index (n2), absorption coefficient (β) and susceptibility (χ3) investigated extensively for they are in optical phase conjucation, high-speed optical switches and optical dielectric devices.

Daytime Mud Detection for Unmanned Ground Vehicle Autonomous Navigation

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-12-01

disambiguate shadows from wet soil than shadows from dry soil. (a) Red band (b) NIR band (c) NDVI image (d) Brightness image wet soil Red...spectral bands to segment wet soil. Red and NIR bands (Figures 5a and 5b) can be used to generate a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ( NDVI ...along the soil line image (Figure 5f) can be generated. The NDVI and normal distance to the soil line images can be used to segment soil from