New Satellite Constellation Uses Radio Occultation to Monitor Space Weather

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Mohi

2006-05-01

A constellation of six satellites, expected to enhance space weather research, improve terrestrial meteorology forecasts, and monitor climate change, were launched 15 April from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

A mission-oriented orbit design method of remote sensing satellite for region monitoring mission based on evolutionary algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Xin; Zhang, Jing; Yao, Huang

2015-12-01

Remote sensing satellites play an increasingly prominent role in environmental monitoring and disaster rescue. Taking advantage of almost the same sunshine condition to same place and global coverage, most of these satellites are operated on the sun-synchronous orbit. However, it brings some problems inevitably, the most significant one is that the temporal resolution of sun-synchronous orbit satellite can't satisfy the demand of specific region monitoring mission. To overcome the disadvantages, two methods are exploited: the first one is to build satellite constellation which contains multiple sunsynchronous satellites, just like the CHARTER mechanism has done; the second is to design non-predetermined orbit based on the concrete mission demand. An effective method for remote sensing satellite orbit design based on multiobjective evolution algorithm is presented in this paper. Orbit design problem is converted into a multi-objective optimization problem, and a fast and elitist multi-objective genetic algorithm is utilized to solve this problem. Firstly, the demand of the mission is transformed into multiple objective functions, and the six orbit elements of the satellite are taken as genes in design space, then a simulate evolution process is performed. An optimal resolution can be obtained after specified generation via evolution operation (selection, crossover, and mutation). To examine validity of the proposed method, a case study is introduced: Orbit design of an optical satellite for regional disaster monitoring, the mission demand include both minimizing the average revisit time internal of two objectives. The simulation result shows that the solution for this mission obtained by our method meet the demand the users' demand. We can draw a conclusion that the method presented in this paper is efficient for remote sensing orbit design.

The CEOS-Land Surface Imaging Constellation Portal for GEOSS: A resource for land surface imaging system information and data access

USGS Publications Warehouse

Holm, Thomas; Gallo, Kevin P.; Bailey, Bryan

2010-01-01

The Committee on Earth Observation Satellites is an international group that coordinates civil space-borne observations of the Earth, and provides the space component of the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS). The CEOS Virtual Constellations concept was implemented in an effort to engage and coordinate disparate Earth observing programs of CEOS member agencies and ultimately facilitate their contribution in supplying the space-based observations required to satisfy the requirements of the GEOSS. The CEOS initially established Study Teams for four prototype constellations that included precipitation, land surface imaging, ocean surface topography, and atmospheric composition. The basic mission of the Land Surface Imaging (LSI) Constellation [1] is to promote the efficient, effective, and comprehensive collection, distribution, and application of space-acquired image data of the global land surface, especially to meet societal needs of the global population, such as those addressed by the nine Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Societal Benefit Areas (SBAs) of agriculture, biodiversity, climate, disasters, ecosystems, energy, health, water, and weather. The LSI Constellation Portal is the result of an effort to address important goals within the LSI Constellation mission and provide resources to assist in planning for future space missions that might further contribute to meeting those goals.

Analysis For Monitoring the Earth Science Afternoon Constellation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Demarest, Peter; Richon, Karen V.; Wright, Frank

2005-01-01

The Earth Science Afternoon Constellation consists of Aqua, Aura, PARASOL, CALIPSO, Cloudsat, and the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO). The coordination of flight dynamics activities between these missions is critical to the safety and success of the Afternoon Constellation. This coordination is based on two main concepts, the control box and the zone-of-exclusion. This paper describes how these two concepts are implemented in the Constellation Coordination System (CCS). The CCS is a collection of tools that enables the collection and distribution of flight dynamics products among the missions, allows cross-mission analyses to be performed through a web-based interface, performs automated analyses to monitor the overall constellation, and notifies the missions of changes in the status of the other missions.

Next Generation Grating Spectrometer Sounders for LEO and GEO

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pagano, Thomas S.

2011-01-01

AIRS and MODIS are widely used for weather, climate, composition, carbon cycle, cross-calibration, and applications. The community asking for new capability in the 2020 timeframe, capabilities desired: (1) Hyperspectral UV to LWIR, High Spatial ?1km IFOV (2) Maximize Synergies of Solar Reflected and IR. Synergies with OCO-2. We expect more users and applications of next gen LEO IR Sounder than GEO. These include: weather, climate, GHG monitoring, aviation, disaster response. There is a new direction for imagers and sounders: (1) Separate Vis/NIR/SWIR from MWIR/LWIR instruments reduces technology risk and complexity. (2) Expect Costs to be lower than CrIS & VIIRS Some additional ideas to reduce costs include: (1) minimum set of requirements (2) mini-grating spectrometers. supports constellation for higher revisit (3) new technology to reduce instrument size (large format fpa's) (4) hosted payloads

Secure Autonomous Automated Scheduling (SAAS). Rev. 1.1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walke, Jon G.; Dikeman, Larry; Sage, Stephen P.; Miller, Eric M.

2010-01-01

This report describes network-centric operations, where a virtual mission operations center autonomously receives sensor triggers, and schedules space and ground assets using Internet-based technologies and service-oriented architectures. For proof-of-concept purposes, sensor triggers are received from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to determine targets for space-based sensors. The Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) Disaster Monitoring Constellation satellite, the UK-DMC, is used as the space-based sensor. The UK-DMC's availability is determined via machine-to-machine communications using SSTL's mission planning system. Access to/from the UK-DMC for tasking and sensor data is via SSTL's and Universal Space Network's (USN) ground assets. The availability and scheduling of USN's assets can also be performed autonomously via machine-to-machine communications. All communication, both on the ground and between ground and space, uses open Internet standards

ONLINE WATER MONITORING UTILIZING AN AUTOMATED MICROARRAY BIOSENSOR INSTRUMENT - PHASE I

EPA Science Inventory

Constellation Technology Corporation (Constellation) proposes the use of an integrated recovery and detection system for online water supply monitoring.  The integrated system is designed to efficiently capture and recover pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, an...

Spatiotemporal hazard mapping of a flood event "migration" in a transboundary river basin as an operational tool in flood risk management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perrou, Theodora; Papastergios, Asterios; Parcharidis, Issaak; Chini, Marco

2017-10-01

Flood disaster is one of the heaviest disasters in the world. It is necessary to monitor and evaluate the flood disaster in order to mitigate the consequences. As floods do not recognize borders, transboundary flood risk management is imperative in shared river basins. Disaster management is highly dependent on early information and requires data from the whole river basin. Based on the hypothesis that the flood events over the same area with same magnitude have almost identical evolution, it is crucial to develop a repository database of historical flood events. This tool, in the case of extended transboundary river basins, could constitute an operational warning system for the downstream area. The utility of SAR images for flood mapping, was demonstrated by previous studies but the SAR systems in orbit were not characterized by high operational capacity. Copernicus system will fill this gap in operational service for risk management, especially during emergency phase. The operational capabilities have been significantly improved by newly available satellite constellation, such as the Sentinel-1A AB mission, which is able to provide systematic acquisitions with a very high temporal resolution in a wide swath coverage. The present study deals with the monitoring of a transboundary flood event in Evros basin. The objective of the study is to create the "migration story" of the flooded areas on the basis of the evolution in time for the event occurred from October 2014 till May 2015. Flood hazard maps will be created, using SAR-based semi-automatic algorithms and then through the synthesis of the related maps in a GIS-system, a spatiotemporal thematic map of the event will be produced. The thematic map combined with TanDEM-X DEM, 12m/pixel spatial resolution, will define the non- affected areas which is a very useful information for the emergency planning and emergency response phases. The Sentinels meet the main requirements to be an effective and suitable operational tool in transboundary flood risk management.

Monitoring of Arctic Conditions from a Virtual Constellation of Synthetic Aperture Radar Satellites

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-30

Constellation of Synthetic Aperture Radar Satellites RSMAS – Department of Ocean Sciences Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing...fax: (305) 421-4696 email: pminnett@rsmas.miami.edu Award Number: N00014-12-1-0448 LONG-TERM GOALS Utilize a constellation of satellite...OBJECTIVES a) Provide daily Arctic situational awareness from the CSTARS SAR satellite constellation . b) Develop a Neural Network algorithm for ice-type

Capacity building in emerging space nations: Experiences, challenges and benefits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jason, Susan; da Silva Curiel, Alex; Liddle, Doug; Chizea, Francis; Leloglu, Ugur Murat; Helvaci, Mustafa; Bekhti, Mohammed; Benachir, Djouad; Boland, Lee; Gomes, Luis; Sweeting, Martin

2010-09-01

This paper focuses on ways in which space is being used to build capacity in science and technology in order to: Offer increasing support for national and global solutions to current and emerging problems including: how to improve food security; resource management; understanding the impacts of climate change and how to deal with them; improving disaster mitigation, management and response. Support sustainable economic development. We present some of the experiences, lessons learned and benefits gained in capacity building projects undertaken by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. and our partners from developing and mature space nations. We focus on the Turkish, Algerian and Nigerian know-how and technology transfer programmes which form part of the first Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) in orbit. From the lessons learned on Surrey's know-how and technology transfer partnership programmes, it is clear that space technology needs to be implemented responsibly as part of a long-term capacity building plan to be a sustainable one. It needs to be supported with appropriate policy and legal frameworks, institutional development, including community participation, human resources development and strengthening of managerial systems. In taking this on board, DMC has resulted in a strong international partnership combining national objectives, humanitarian aid and commerce. The benefits include: Ownership of space-based and supporting ground assets with low capital expenditure that is in line with national budgets of developing nations. Ownership of data and control over data acquisition. More for the money via collaborative consortium. Space related capacity building in organisations and nations with the goal of sustainable development. Opportunities for international collaboration, including disaster management and relief.

Off-the-shelf real-time monitoring of satellite constellations in a visual 3-D environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwuttke, Ursula M.; Hervias, Felipe; Cheng, Cecilia Han; Mactutis, Anthony; Angelino, Robert

1996-01-01

The multimission spacecraft analysis system (MSAS) data monitor is a generic software product for future real-time data monitoring and analysis. The system represents the status of a satellite constellation through the shape, color, motion and position of graphical objects floating in a three dimensional virtual reality environment. It may be used for the monitoring of large volumes of data, for viewing results in configurable displays, and for providing high level and detailed views of a constellation of monitored satellites. It is considered that the data monitor is an improvement on conventional graphic and text-based displays as it increases the amount of data that the operator can absorb in a given period, and can be installed and configured without the requirement for software development by the end user. The functionality of the system is described, including: the navigation abilities; the representation of alarms in the cybergrid; limit violation; real-time trend analysis, and alarm status indication.

Promoting space research and applications in developing countries through small satellite missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sweeting, M.

The high vantage-point of space offers very direct and tangible benefits to developing countries when carefully focused upon their real and particular communications and Earth observation needs. However, until recently, access to space has been effectively restricted to only those countries prepared to invest enormous sums in complex facilities and expensive satellites and launchers: this has placed individual participation in space beyond the sensible grasp of developing countries. However, during the last decade, highly capable and yet inexpensive small satellites have been developed which provide an opportunity for developing countries realistically to acquire and operate their own independent space assets - customized to their particular national needs. Over the last 22 years, the Surrey Space Centre has pioneered, developed and launched 23 nano-micro-minisatellite missions, and has worked in partnership with 12 developing countries to enable them to take their first independent steps into space. Surrey has developed a comprehensive and in-depth space technology know-how transfer and 'hands-on' training programme that uses a collaborative project comprising the design, construction, launch and operation of a microsatellite to acquire an indigenous space capability and create the nucleus of a national space agency and space industry. Using low cost small satellite projects as a focus, developing countries are able to initiate a long term, affordable and sustainable national space programme specifically tailored to their requirements, that is able to access the benefits derived from Earth observation for land use and national security; improved communications services; catalyzing scientific research and indigenous high-technology supporting industries. Perhaps even more important is the long-term benefit to the country provided by stimulating educational and career opportunities for your scientists and engineers and retaining them inside the country rather the all-too-familiar 'brain-drain' seeking employment overseas. The most successful countries have secured their initial investment in acquiring space know-how by following through with the formation of a national space agency or organization to provide a stable nucleus for supporting long-term space activities. Particularly suited to developing countries, Surrey has co-ordinated the first international constellation of small satellites for Earth Observation - the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC). Four enhanced microsatellites have been launched in 2002 & 2003 built collaboratively by Surrey and Algeria, Nigeria, Turkey and UK which now provide daily images of anywhere in the world for disaster management and monitoring other dynamic phenomena such as land use and urban development. The same model of international partnership will be used in follow-on constellations with different sensors (IR, SAR, hyper-spectral) to meet national needs in a sustainable way. In a similar manner whereby the Personal Computer enabled developing countries access to modern information technologies on an affordable budget, small satellites are enabling these same countries to access space within sensible and sustainable expenditures for the direct benefit of their populations.

An integrated hyperspectral and SAR satellite constellation for environment monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jinnian; Ren, Fuhu; Xie, Chou; An, Jun; Tong, Zhanbo

2017-09-01

A fully-integrated, Hyperspectral optical and SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) constellation of small earth observation satellites will be deployed over multiple launches from last December to next five years. The Constellation is expected to comprise a minimum of 16 satellites (8 SAR and 8 optical ) flying in two orbital planes, with each plane consisting of four satellite pairs, equally-spaced around the orbit plane. Each pair of satellites will consist of a hyperspectral/mutispectral optical satellite and a high-resolution SAR satellite (X-band) flying in tandem. The constellation is expected to offer a number of innovative capabilities for environment monitoring. As a pre-launch experiment, two hyperspectral earth observation minisatellites, Spark 01 and 02 were launched as secondary payloads together with Tansat in December 2016 on a CZ-2D rocket. The satellites feature a wide-range hyperspectral imager. The ground resolution is 50 m, covering spectral range from visible to near infrared (420 nm - 1000 nm) and a swath width of 100km. The imager has an average spectral resolution of 5 nm with 148 channels, and a single satellite could obtain hyperspectral imagery with 2.5 million km2 per day, for global coverage every 16 days. This paper describes the potential applications of constellation image in environment monitoring.

Real Time Agricultural Monitoring with the Planet SmallSat Constellation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mascaro, J.

2017-12-01

Planet—an aerospace and data analytics company (www.planet.com)—now operates 190 earth observation satellites, collecting approximately 85% of the land-surface of the Earth every day in multispectral, 3.7m-resolution imagery. This frequency and spatial resolution provides for unique monitoring of global agriculture, especially billions of smallholder farms that feed much of the world. Through our Education and Research Program, anyone at a university is eligible to access a portion of Planet data to power their research at no cost. Here, we present innovative results from our research partners. Most critically, several users have undertaken the development of models for regularizing spectrally disparate data feeds from Planet, Sentinel and Landsat; these approaches have generated standardized, 3.7m-resolution, daily data feeds for NDVI, LAI and (in combination with eddy covariance data) crop water use. The key breakthrough is interoperability: ingesting multiple, disparate satellite information fields for the generation of actionable agricultural indicators. This foundational methodology, aided by computer vision, can provide near real-time updates on the yield, health and welfare of smallholder farms. Storms, drought and disease can be detected faster than ever before, enabling smart intervention and enhancing the effectiveness of insurance and disaster relief mechanisms.

Ubiquitous and continuous SAR imaging for natural hazards: present and future of remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monti Guarnieri, Andrea; Rocca, Fabio

2017-04-01

Constellation of optical and SAR sensors have achieved unprecedented performances: dense constellation of cubesats - like the next constellation of 88 Dove satellites (Planet labs), launched simultaneously this February - reduce the revisit time to nearly daily. This brings great value to many domains, like the assessment of risk and damage in natural hazards, post-earthquake response, real time flood monitoring. The limits to optical imaging due to cloud coverage could then be removed with drones. Alternatively, decades of coherent exploitation of Synthetic Aperture Radars have demonstrated their unique capabilities in precise deformation monitoring, penetration in canopies and subsurfaces (glacier and deserts), 3D imaging of volumes, sensitivity to soil moisture and generation of water vapor maps. Thanks to these capabilities, for one, early warning was possible for a landslide at Bingham Canyon Mine (one of the largest in history), whereas monitoring of infrastructures, natural gas and carbon dioxide storage reservoirs, dams, mines is already an established business. Many of these applications are made possible by the Sentinel-1 SAR constellation, the first to provide systematic coherent acquisitions and free and open data. More than 50000 products are downloaded daily. Nonetheless, the present revisit times of this constellation (1-3 days), or the future 6 hours of Cosmo-SKYmed I and II constellations, will leave a gap that cannot be fruitfully exploited for early warning of landslides, real time mapping of flooding, hydrometeor forecasts, real-time regional alerts of collapse, continuous soil moisture mapping for precision farming. On the other side, the limited penetration capabilities of C-band (Sentinel-1) and X band (Cosmo, TerraSAR constellations) would not allow sufficient penetration to monitor volumes, like ice, sands and forests. In order to fill these gaps, two novel SAR systems are under study and will possibly appear in the next decades: geosynchronous systems and bistatic constellations. The geosynchronous SAR exploits the geostationary orbit to create a hundred kilometers wide real antenna, fixed in the sky, if relative to the ground. If one satellite is exploited, the full antenna would be spanned in twelve hours, and images of medium resolution (ten meter or so) could be got every one-two hours, and finally coarse resolution products, like water vapor or soil moisture maps for flash-flood now-casting, could be generated every fifteen minutes. However, thanks to the intrinsic possibility of phase coherence of the microwaves, a constellation of mini or microsatellites could be deployed to act as a single instrument. Power and resolution would improve with the number of satellites squared, and the revisit would be reduced to minutes. This would be a unique system to provide day-and-night, all-weather imaging capabilities with the additional coherent Radar capabilities to monitor deformations, water-vapor, volumes, soil moisture. The bistatic SAR companion is a passive satellite (or a constellation of) flying in close formation with an active one. Such a system would provide the same capabilities of present TanDEM-X constellation, but enhanced to 3D volume penetration if L band is used.

Implementation of the Geological Hazard Monitoring and Early Warning System Based on Multi - source Data -A Case Study of Deqin Tibetan County, Yunnan Province

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Junsan; Chen, Guoping; Yuan, Lei

2017-04-01

The new technologies, such as 3D laser scanning, InSAR, GNSS, unmanned aerial vehicle and Internet of things, will provide much more data resources for the surveying and monitoring, as well as the development of Early Warning System (EWS). This paper provides the solutions of the design and implementation of a geological disaster monitoring and early warning system (GDMEWS), which includes landslides and debris flows hazard, based on the multi-sources of the date by use of technologies above mentioned. The complex and changeable characteristics of the GDMEWS are described. The architecture of the system, composition of the multi-source database, development mode and service logic, the methods and key technologies of system development are also analyzed. To elaborate the process of the implementation of the GDMEWS, Deqin Tibetan County is selected as a case study area, which has the unique terrain and diverse types of typical landslides and debris flows. Firstly, the system functional requirements, monitoring and forecasting models of the system are discussed. Secondly, the logic relationships of the whole process of disaster including pre-disaster, disaster rescue and post-disaster reconstruction are studied, and the support tool for disaster prevention, disaster reduction and geological disaster management are developed. Thirdly, the methods of the multi - source monitoring data integration and the generation of the mechanism model of Geological hazards and simulation are expressed. Finally, the construction of the GDMEWS is issued, which will be applied to management, monitoring and forecasting of whole disaster process in real-time and dynamically in Deqin Tibetan County. Keywords: multi-source spatial data; geological disaster; monitoring and warning system; Deqin Tibetan County

CubeSat constellation design for air traffic monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nag, Sreeja; Rios, Joseph L.; Gerhardt, David; Pham, Camvu

2016-11-01

Suitably equipped global and local air traffic can be tracked. The tracking information may then be used for control from ground-based stations by receiving the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) signal. In this paper, we describe a tool for designing a constellation of small satellites which demonstrates, through high-fidelity modeling based on simulated air traffic data, the value of space-based ADS-B monitoring. It thereby provides recommendations for cost-efficient deployment of a constellation of small satellites to increase safety and situational awareness in the currently poorly-served surveillance area of Alaska. Air traffic data were obtained from NASA's Future ATM Concepts Evaluation Tool, for the Alaskan airspace over one day. The results presented were driven by MATLAB and the satellites propagated and coverage calculated using AGI's Satellite Tool. While Ad-hoc and precession spread constellations have been quantitatively evaluated, Walker constellations show the best performance in simulation. Sixteen satellites in two perpendicular orbital planes are shown to provide more than 99% coverage over representative Alaskan airspace and the maximum time gap where any airplane in Alaska is not covered is six minutes, therefore meeting the standard set by the International Civil Aviation Organization to monitor every airplane at least once every fifteen minutes. In spite of the risk of signal collision when multiple packets arrive at the satellite receiver, the proposed constellation shows 99% cumulative probability of reception within four minutes when the airplanes are transmitting every minute, and at 100% reception probability if transmitting every second. Data downlink can be performed using any of the three ground stations of NASA Earth Network in Alaska.

DEIMOS-1 Announcement of Opportunity: New Challenges and Achievements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casanova, J.-L.; Duque, P.; Calle, A.; Romo, A.; Sanz, J.; Bello, M.

2010-12-01

This paper will show the projects and results obtained as consequence of the Deimos-1 Announcement of Opportunity, AO, offered by the Spanish company Deimos Imaging, owner and manager of the first commercial Spanish satellite dedicated to Earth Observation: Deimos-1. The satellite Deimos-1 belongs to the DMC (Disaster Managing Constellation) and it was launched on July, 2009, by means of a Dnepr rocket, from the Russian cosmodrome of Baikonur.

SERVIR-Africa: Developing an Integrated Platform for Floods Disaster Management in Africa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macharia, Daniel; Korme, Tesfaye; Policelli, Fritz; Irwin, Dan; Adler, Bob; Hong, Yang

2010-01-01

SERVIR-Africa is an ambitious regional visualization and monitoring system that integrates remotely sensed data with predictive models and field-based data to monitor ecological processes and respond to natural disasters. It aims addressing societal benefits including floods and turning data into actionable information for decision-makers. Floods are exogenous disasters that affect many parts of Africa, probably second only to drought in terms of social-economic losses. This paper looks at SERVIR-Africa's approach to floods disaster management through establishment of an integrated platform, floods prediction models, post-event flood mapping and monitoring as well as flood maps dissemination in support of flood disaster management.

NASA Lunar Impact Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Suggs, Robert M.; Moser, D. E.

2015-01-01

The MSFC lunar impact monitoring program began in 2006 in support of environment definition for the Constellation (return to Moon) program. Work continued by the Meteoroid Environment Office after Constellation cancellation. Over 330 impacts have been recorded. A paper published in Icarus reported on the first 5 years of observations and 126 calibrated flashes. Icarus: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103514002243; ArXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/1404.6458 A NASA Technical Memorandum on flash locations is in press

The application of unmanned aerial vehicle remote sensing for monitoring secondary geological disasters after earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, Tianjie; Zhang, Yazhen; Wang, Xingyong; Fu, Jun'e.; Li, Lin; Pang, Zhiguo; Zhang, Xiaolei; Kan, Guangyuan

2017-07-01

Remote sensing system fitted on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) can obtain clear images and high-resolution aerial photographs. It has advantages of strong real-time, flexibility and convenience, free from influence of external environment, low cost, low-flying under clouds and ability to work full-time. When an earthquake happened, it could go deep into the places safely and reliably which human staff can hardly approach, such as secondary geological disasters hit areas. The system can be timely precise in response to secondary geological disasters monitoring by a way of obtaining first-hand information as quickly as possible, producing a unique emergency response capacity to provide a scientific basis for overall decision-making processes. It can greatly enhance the capability of on-site disaster emergency working team in data collection and transmission. The great advantages of UAV remote sensing system played an irreplaceable role in monitoring secondary geological disaster dynamics and influences. Taking the landslides and barrier lakes for example, the paper explored the basic application and process of UAV remote sensing in the disaster emergency relief. UAV high-resolution remote sensing images had been exploited to estimate the situation of disaster-hit areas and monitor secondary geological disasters rapidly, systematically and continuously. Furthermore, a rapid quantitative assessment on the distribution and size of landslides and barrier lakes was carried out. Monitoring results could support relevant government departments and rescue teams, providing detailed and reliable scientific evidence for disaster relief and decision-making.

A survey of the practice of nurses' skills in Wenchuan earthquake disaster sites: implications for disaster training.

PubMed

Yin, Huahua; He, Haiyan; Arbon, Paul; Zhu, Jingci

2011-10-01

To determine nursing skills most relevant for nurses participating in disaster response medical teams; make recommendations to enhance training of nurses who will be first responders to a disaster site; to improve the capacity of nurses to prepare and respond to severe natural disasters. Worldwide, nurses play a key role in disaster response teams at disaster sites. They are often not prepared for the challenges of dealing with mass casualties; little research exists into what basic nursing skills are required by nurses who are first responders to a disaster situation. This study assessed the most relevant disaster nursing skills of first responder nurses at the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake disaster site. Data were collected in China in 2008 using a self-designed questionnaire, with 24 participants who had been part of the medical teams that were dispatched to the disaster sites. The top three skills essential for nurses were: intravenous insertion; observation and monitoring; mass casualty triage. The three most frequently used skills were: debridement and dressing; observation and monitoring; intravenous insertion. The three skills performed most proficiently were: intravenous insertion; observation and monitoring; urethral catheterization. The top three ranking skills most important for training were: mass casualty transportation; emergency management; haemostasis, bandaging, fixation, manual handling. The core nursing skills for disaster response training are: mass casualty transportation; emergency management; haemostasis, bandaging, fixation, manual handling; observation and monitoring; mass casualty triage; controlling specific infection; psychological crisis intervention; cardiopulmonary resuscitation; debridement and dressing; central venous catheter insertion; patient care recording. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Advanced Nursing © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Sensor Webs to Constellations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cole, M.

2017-12-01

Advanced technology plays a key role in enabling future Earth-observing missions needed for global monitoring and climate research. Rapid progress over the past decade and anticipated for the coming decades have diminished the size of some satellites while increasing the amount of data and required pace of integration and analysis. Sensor web developments provide correlations to constellations of smallsats. Reviewing current advances in sensor webs and requirements for constellations will improve planning, operations, and data management for future architectures of multiple satellites with a common mission goal.

a Study of Co-Planing Technology of Spaceborne, Airborne and Ground Remote Sensing Detecting Resource, Driven by Disaster Emergency Task

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, F.; Chen, H.; Tu, K.; Wen, Q.; He, J.; Gu, X.; Wang, Z.

2018-04-01

Facing the monitoring needs of emergency responses to major disasters, combining the disaster information acquired at the first time after the disaster and the dynamic simulation result of the disaster chain evolution process, the overall plan for coordinated planning of spaceborne, airborne and ground observation resources have been designed. Based on the analysis of the characteristics of major disaster observation tasks, the key technologies of spaceborne, airborne and ground collaborative observation project are studied. For different disaster response levels, the corresponding workflow tasks are designed. On the basis of satisfying different types of disaster monitoring demands, the existing multi-satellite collaborative observation planning algorithms are compared, analyzed, and optimized.

Space programs in Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Lou-Chuang; Chang, Guey-Shin; Ting, Nan-Hong

2013-10-01

Taiwan's current and future space programs are briefly introduced in this paper. The National Space Organization (NSPO) in Taiwan has successfully carried out three satellite programs (FORMOSAT-1, 2, &3) since its establishment in 1991. FORMOSAT-1 is a scientific satellite performing three scientific experiments for measuring the density, velocity and temperature of ionospheric plasmas, taking the ocean color image, and conducting Ka-band communication experiments. Equipped with a 2m ground resolution remote sensing instrument, FORMOSAT-2 operates in a sun-synchronous orbit with revisit time equal to one day. This unique feature of the daily revisit capability is significantly useful for post disaster assessment and environmental monitoring. FORMOSAT-2 also carries a scientific payload "Imager of Sprites and Upper Atmospheric Lightning (ISUAL)". ISUAL provides the world's first long-term satellite observations on the lighting phenomenon in the earth's upper atmosphere. FORMOSAT-3 is a constellation of six micro-satellites to collect atmospheric and ionospheric data for weather prediction and for climate, ionosphere, and geodesy research. FORMOSAT-3 has demonstrated the ability to significantly increase the accuracy of weather forecasting by utilizing the GPS Radio Occultation (GPS-RO) technique. Currently, NSPO is pursuing the follow-on space missions of FORMOSAT-5 and FORMOSAT-7. FORMOSAT-5 will be the first to utilize a CMOS detector on a high-resolution earth-observation camera. FORMOSAT-7 is a joint mission of Taiwan/US to deploy a 12-satellite constellation operational system to provide dense and timely GNSS RO data to the global communities for real-time weather forecast as well as space science research.

InteractInteraction mechanism of emergency response in geological hazard perception and risk management: a case study in Zhouqu county

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Yuan; Zhao, Hongtao

2017-04-01

China is one of few several natural disaster prone countries, which has complex geological and geographical environment and abnormal climate. On August 8, 2010, a large debris flow disaster happened in Zhouqu Country, Gansu province, resulting in more than 1700 casualties and more than 200 buildings damaged. In order to percept landslide and debris flow, an early warning system was established in the county. Spatial information technologies, such as remote sensing, GIS, and GPS, play core role in the early warning system, due to their functions in observing, analyzing, and locating geological disasters. However, all of these spatial information technologies could play an important role only guided by the emergency response mechanism. This article takes the establishment of Zhouqu Country's Disaster Emergency Response Interaction Mechanism (DERIM) as an example to discuss the risk management of country-level administrative units. The country-level risk management aims to information sharing, resources integration, integrated prevention and unified command. Then, nine subsystems support DERIM, which included disaster prevention and emergency data collection and sharing system, joint duty system, disaster verification and evaluation system, disaster consultation system, emergency warning and information release system, emergency response system, disaster reporting system, plan management system, mass prediction and prevention management system. At last, an emergency command platform in Zhouqu Country built up to realize DERIM. The core mission of the platform consists of daily management of disaster, monitoring and warning, comprehensive analysis, information release, consultation and decision-making, emergency response, etc. Five functional modules, including module of disaster information management, comprehensive monitoring module (geological monitoring, meteorological monitoring, water conservancy and hydrological monitoring), alarm management module, emergency command and disaster dispatching management module are developed on the basis of this platform. Based on the internet technology, an web-based office platform is exploited for the nodes scattered in departments and towns, which includes daily business, monitoring and warning, alarm notification, alarm recording, personnel management and update in disaster region, query and analysis of real-time observation data, etc. The platform experienced 3 years' test of the duty in flood period since 2013, and two typical disaster cases during this period fully illustrates the effectiveness of the DERIM and the emergency command platform.

Practitioner Perspectives on a Disaster Management Architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moe, K.; Evans, J. D.

2012-12-01

The Committee on Earth Observing Satellites (CEOS) Working Group on Information Systems and Services (WGISS) is constructing a high-level reference model for the use of satellites, sensors, models, and associated data products from many different global data and service providers in disaster response and risk assessment. To help streamline broad, effective access to satellite information, the reference model provides structured, shared, holistic views of distributed systems and services - in effect, a common vocabulary describing the system-of-systems building blocks and how they are composed for disaster management. These views are being inferred from real-world experience, by documenting and analyzing how practitioners have gone about using or providing satellite data to manage real disaster events or to assess or mitigate hazard risks. Crucial findings and insights come from case studies of three kinds of experience: - Disaster response and recovery (such as the 2008 Sichuan/Wenchuan earthquake in China; and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan); - Technology pilot projects (such as NASA's Flood Sensor Web pilot in Namibia, or the interagency Virtual Mission Operation Center); - Information brokers (such as the International Charter: Space and Major Disasters, or the U.K.-based Disaster Management Constellation). Each of these experiences sheds light on the scope and stakeholders of disaster management; the information requirements for various disaster types and phases; and the services needed for effective access to information by a variety of users. They also highlight needs and gaps in the supply of satellite information for disaster management. One need stands out: rapid and effective access to complex data from multiple sources, across inter-organizational boundaries. This is the near-real-time challenge writ large: gaining access to satellite data resources from multiple organizationally distant and geographically disperse sources, to meet an urgent need. The case studies and reference model will highlight gaps in data supply and data delivery technologies, and suggest recommended priorities for satellite missions, ground data systems, and third-party service providers.

Exploring the Architectural Tradespace of Severe Weather Monitoring Nanosatellite Constellations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hitomi, N.; Selva, D.; Blackwell, W. J.

2014-12-01

MicroMAS-1, a 3U nanosatellite developed by MIT/LL, MIT/SSL, and University of Massachusetts, was launched on July 13, 2014 and is scheduled for deployment from the International Space Station in September. The development of MicroMAS motivates an architectural analysis of a constellation of nanosatellites with the goal of drastically reducing the cost of observing severe storms compared with current monolithic missions such as the Precision and All-Weather Temperature and Humidity (PATH) mission from the NASA Decadal Survey. Our goal is to evolve the instrument capability on weather monitoring nanosatellites to achieve higher performance and better satisfy stakeholder needs. Clear definitions of performance requirements are critical in the conceptual design phase when much of the project's lifecycle cost and performance will be fixed. Ability to perform trade studies and optimization of performance needs with instrument capability will enable design teams to focus on key technologies that will introduce high value and high return on investment. In this work, we approach the significant trades and trends of constellations for monitoring severe storms by applying our rule-based decision support tool. We examine a subset of stakeholder groups listed in the OSCAR online database (e.g., weather, climate) that would benefit from severe storm weather data and their respective observation requirements (e.g. spatial resolution, accuracy). We use ten parameters in our analysis, including atmospheric temperature, humidity, and precipitation. We compare the performance and cost of thousands of different possible constellations. The constellations support hyperspectral sounders that cover different portions of the millimeter-wave spectrum (50-60 GHz, 118GHz, 183GHz) in different orbits, and the performance results are compared against those of the monolithic PATH mission. Our preliminary results indicate that constellations using the hyperspectral millimeter wave sounders can better satisfy stakeholder needs compared to the PATH mission. Well-architected constellations have increased coverage, improved horizontal resolution from lower orbits, and improved temporal resolution. Furthermore, this improved performance can be achieved at a lower cost than what is estimated for the PATH mission.

The Global Positioning System constellation as a space weather monitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morley, S.; Henderson, M. G.; Woodroffe, J. R.; Brito, T. V.

2016-12-01

The Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites are distributed across six orbital planes and follow near-circular orbits, with a 12 hour period, at an altitude of approximately 20200 km. The six orbital planes are distributed around the Earth and are nominally inclined at 55 degrees. Energetic particle detectors have been flown on the GPS constellation for more than two decades; by February 2016 there were 23 GPS satellites equipped with energetic particle instrumentation. The Combined X-ray Dosimeter (CXD), which is flown on 21 GPS satellites, has recently been cross-calibrated against electron data from the Van Allen Probes mission, demonstrating its utility for scientific research and radiation environment specification. Recently electron and proton flux data from these instruments, for the month of January 2014, have been publicly released. We will describe the GPS constellation from the perspective of its use as a monitor for space weather, review some of the key scientific results enabled by these instruments and show some recent observations from the constellation, including the 2015 St. Patrick's Day storm. Using data from multiple satellite missions we describe the dynamics of this storm in detail.

Spaceborne GNSS reflectometry for ocean winds: First results from the UK TechDemoSat-1 mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foti, Giuseppe; Gommenginger, Christine; Jales, Philip; Unwin, Martin; Shaw, Andrew; Robertson, Colette; Roselló, Josep

2015-07-01

First results are presented for ocean surface wind speed retrieval from reflected GPS signals measured by the low Earth orbiting UK TechDemoSat-1 satellite (TDS-1). Launched in July 2014, TDS-1 provides the first new spaceborne Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry (GNSS-R) data since the pioneering UK-Disaster Monitoring Mission (UK-DMC) experiment in 2003. Examples of onboard-processed delay-Doppler maps reveal excellent data quality for winds up to 27.9 m/s. Collocated Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) winds are used to develop and evaluate a wind speed algorithm based on signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the bistatic radar equation. For SNRs greater than 3 dB, wind speed is retrieved without bias and a precision around 2.2 m/s between 3 and 18 m/s even without calibration. Exploiting lower SNR signals, however, requires good knowledge of the antenna beam, platform attitude, and instrument gain setting. This study demonstrates the capabilities of low-cost, low-mass, and low-power GNSS-R receivers ahead of their launch on the NASA Cyclone GNSS (CYGNSS) constellation in 2016.

Long-term monitoring on environmental disasters using multi-source remote sensing technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuo, Y. C.; Chen, C. F.

2017-12-01

Environmental disasters are extreme events within the earth's system that cause deaths and injuries to humans, as well as causing damages and losses of valuable assets, such as buildings, communication systems, farmlands, forest and etc. In disaster management, a large amount of multi-temporal spatial data is required. Multi-source remote sensing data with different spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions is widely applied on environmental disaster monitoring. With multi-source and multi-temporal high resolution images, we conduct rapid, systematic and seriate observations regarding to economic damages and environmental disasters on earth. It is based on three monitoring platforms: remote sensing, UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) and ground investigation. The advantages of using UAS technology include great mobility and availability in real-time rapid and more flexible weather conditions. The system can produce long-term spatial distribution information from environmental disasters, obtaining high-resolution remote sensing data and field verification data in key monitoring areas. It also supports the prevention and control on ocean pollutions, illegally disposed wastes and pine pests in different scales. Meanwhile, digital photogrammetry can be applied on the camera inside and outside the position parameters to produce Digital Surface Model (DSM) data. The latest terrain environment information is simulated by using DSM data, and can be used as references in disaster recovery in the future.

The ESA Nanosatellite Beacons for Space Weather Monitoring Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hapgood, M.; Eckersley, S.; Lundin, R.; Kluge, M.

2008-09-01

This paper will present final results from this ESA-funded study that has investigated how current and emerging concepts for nanosats may be used to monitor space weather conditions and provide improved access to data needed for space weather services. The study has reviewed requirements developed in previous ESA space weather studies to establish a set of service and measurements requirements appropriate to nanosat solutions. The output is conveniently represented as a set of five distinct classes of nanosat constellations, each in different orbit locations and which can address a specific group of measurement requirements. One example driving requirement for several of the constellations was the need for real-time data reception. Given this background, the study then iterated a set of instrument and spacecraft solutions to address each of the nanosat constellations from the requirements. Indeed, iteration has proved to be a critical aspect of the study. The instrument solutions have driven a refinement of requirements through assessment of whether or not the physical parameters to be measured dictate instrument components too large for a nanosat. In addition, the study has also reviewed miniaturization trends for instruments relevant to space weather monitoring by nanosats, looking at the near, mid and far-term timescales. Within the spacecraft solutions the study reviewed key technology trends relevant to space weather monitoring by nanosats: (a) micro and nano-technology devices for spacecraft communications, navigation, propulsion and power, and (b) development and flight experience with nanosats for science and for engineering demonstration. These requirements and solutions were then subject to an iterative system and mission analysis including key mission design issues (e.g. launch/transfer, mission geometry, instrument accommodation, numbers of spacecraft, communications architectures, de-orbit, nanosat reliability and constellation robustness) and the impact of nanosat fundamental limitations (e.g. mass, volume/size, power, communications). As a result, top-level Strawman mission concepts were developed for each constellation, and ROM costs were derived for programme development, operation and maintenance over a ten-year period. Nanosat reliability and constellation robustness were shown to be a key driver in deriving mission costs. In parallel with the mission analysis the study results have been reviewed to identify key issues that determine the prospects for a space weather nanosat programme and to make recommendations on measures to enable implementation of such a programme. As a follow-on to this study, a student MSc project was initiated by Astrium at Cranfield University to analyse a potential space weather precursor demonstration mission in GTO (one of the recommendations from this ESA study), composing of a reduced constellation of nanosats, launched on ASAP or some other low cost method. The demonstration would include: 1/ Low cost multiple manufacture techniques for a fully industrial nanosat constellation programme 2/ Real time datalinks and fully operational mission for space weather 3/ Miniaturised payloads to fit in a nanosat for space weather monitoring: 4/ Other possible demonstrations of advanced technology The aim was to comply with ESA demonstration mission (i.e. PROBA-type) requirements, to be representative on issues such as cost and risk

[High Resolution Remote Sensing Monitoring and Assessment of Secondary Geological Disasters Triggered by the Lushan Earthquake].

PubMed

Wang, Fu-tao; Wang, Shi-xin; Zhou, Yi; Wang, Li-tao; Yan, Fu-li; Li, Wen-jun; Liu, Xiong-fei

2016-01-01

The secondary geological disasters triggered by the Lushan earthquake on April 20, 2013, such as landslides, collapses, debris flows, etc., had caused great casualties and losses. We monitored the number and spatial distribution of the secondary geological disasters in the earthquake-hit area from airborne remote sensing images, which covered areas about 3 100 km2. The results showed that Lushan County, Baoxing County and Tianquan County were most severely affected; there were 164, 126 and 71 secondary geological disasters in these regions. Moreover, we analyzed the relationship between the distribution of the secondary geological disasters, geological structure and intensity. The results indicate that there were 4 high-hazard zones in the monitored area, one focused within six kilometers from the epicenter, and others are distributed along the two main fault zones of the Longmen Mountain. More than 97% secondary geological disasters occurred in zones with a seismic intensity of VII to IX degrees, a slope between 25 A degrees and 50 A degrees, and an altitude of between 800 and 2 000 m. At last, preliminary suggestions were proposed for the rehabilitation and reconstruction planning of Lushan earthquake. According to the analysis result, airborne and space borne remote sensing can be used accurately and effectively in almost real-time to monitor and assess secondary geological disasters, providing a scientific basis and decision making support for government emergency command and post-disaster reconstruction.

Use of the Delay-Tolerant Networking Bundle Protocol from Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, Lloyd; Ivancic, William D.; Eddy, Wesley M.; Stewart, Dave; Northam, James; Jackson, Chris; daSilvaCuriel, Alex

2009-01-01

The Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC), constructed by Survey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), is a multisatellite Earth-imaging low-Earth-orbit sensor network where captured image swaths are stored onboard each satellite and later downloaded from the satellite payloads to a ground station. Store-and-forward of images with capture and later download gives each satellite the characteristics of a node in a Delay/Disruption Tolerant Network (DTN). Originally developed for the Interplanetary Internet, DTNs are now under investigation in an Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) DTN research group (RG), which has developed a bundle architecture and protocol. The DMC is currently unique in its adoption of the Internet Protocol (IP) for its imaging payloads and for satellite command and control, based around reuse of commercial networking and link protocols. These satellites use of IP has enabled earlier experiments with the Cisco router in Low Earth Orbit (CLEO) onboard the constellation's UK-DMC satellite. Earth images are downloaded from the satellites using a custom IPbased high-speed transfer protocol developed by SSTL, Saratoga, which tolerates unusual link environments. Saratoga has been documented in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) for wider adoption. We experiment with use of DTNRG bundle concepts onboard the UKDMC satellite, by examining how Saratoga can be used as a DTN convergence layer to carry the DTNRG Bundle Protocol, so that sensor images can be delivered to ground stations and beyond as bundles. This is the first successful use of the DTNRG Bundle Protocol in a space environment. We use our practical experience to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the Bundle Protocol for DTN use, paying attention to fragmentation, custody transfer, and reliability issues.

Monitoring Disaster-Related Power Outages Using NASA Black Marble Nighttime Light Product

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Z.; Román, M. O.; Sun, Q.; Molthan, A. L.; Schultz, L. A.; Kalb, V. L.

2018-04-01

Timely and accurate monitoring of disruptions to the electricity grid, including the magnitude, spatial extent, timing, and duration of net power losses, is needed to improve situational awareness of disaster response and long-term recovery efforts. Satellite-derived Nighttime Lights (NTL) provide an indication of human activity patterns and have been successfully used to monitor disaster-related power outages. The global 500 m spatial resolution National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Black Marble NTL daily standard product suite (VNP46) is generated from Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band (DNB) onboard the NASA/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi- NPP) satellite, which began operations on 19 January 2012. With its improvements in product accuracy (including critical atmospheric and BRDF correction routines), the VIIRS daily Black Mable product enables systematic monitoring of outage conditions across all stages of the disaster management cycle.

Disaster Emergency Rapid Assessment Based on Remote Sensing and Background Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, X.; Wu, J.

2018-04-01

The period from starting to the stable conditions is an important stage of disaster development. In addition to collecting and reporting information on disaster situations, remote sensing images by satellites and drones and monitoring results from disaster-stricken areas should be obtained. Fusion of multi-source background data such as population, geography and topography, and remote sensing monitoring information can be used in geographic information system analysis to quickly and objectively assess the disaster information. According to the characteristics of different hazards, the models and methods driven by the rapid assessment of mission requirements are tested and screened. Based on remote sensing images, the features of exposures quickly determine disaster-affected areas and intensity levels, and extract key disaster information about affected hospitals and schools as well as cultivated land and crops, and make decisions after emergency response with visual assessment results.

Small Satellite Constellations: The Future for Operational Earth Observation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stephens, J. Paul

2007-01-01

Nanosat, microsat and minisat are low-cost, rapid-response small-satellites built from advanced terrestrial technology. SSTL delivers the benefits of affordable access to space through low-cost, rapid response, small satellites designed and built with state-of-the-art COTS technologies by: a) reducing the cost of entry into space; b) Achieving more missions within fixed budgets; c) making constellations and formation flying financially viable; d) responding rapidly from initial concept to orbital operation; and e) bringing the latest industrial COTS component advances to space. Growth has been stimulated in constellations for high temporal revisit&persistent monitoring and military responsive space assets.

Research on public participant urban infrastructure safety monitoring system using smartphone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Xuefeng; Wang, Niannian; Ou, Jinping; Yu, Yan; Li, Mingchu

2017-04-01

Currently more and more people concerned about the safety of major public security. Public participant urban infrastructure safety monitoring and investigation has become a trend in the era of big data. In this paper, public participant urban infrastructure safety protection system based on smart phones is proposed. The system makes it possible to public participant disaster data collection, monitoring and emergency evaluation in the field of disaster prevention and mitigation. Function of the system is to monitor the structural acceleration, angle and other vibration information, and extract structural deformation and implement disaster emergency communications based on smartphone without network. The monitoring data is uploaded to the website to create urban safety information database. Then the system supports big data analysis processing, the structure safety assessment and city safety early warning.

Real-time Retrieving Atmospheric Parameters from Multi-GNSS Constellations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, X.; Zus, F.; Lu, C.; Dick, G.; Ge, M.; Wickert, J.; Schuh, H.

2016-12-01

The multi-constellation GNSS (e.g. GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou) bring great opportunities and challenges for real-time retrieval of atmospheric parameters for supporting numerical weather prediction (NWP) nowcasting or severe weather event monitoring. In this study, the observations from different GNSS are combined together for atmospheric parameter retrieving based on the real-time precise point positioning technique. The atmospheric parameters retrieved from multi-GNSS observations, including zenith total delay (ZTD), integrated water vapor (IWV), horizontal gradient (especially high-resolution gradient estimates) and slant total delay (STD), are carefully analyzed and evaluated by using the VLBI, radiosonde, water vapor radiometer and numerical weather model to independently validate the performance of individual GNSS and also demonstrate the benefits of multi-constellation GNSS for real-time atmospheric monitoring. Numerous results show that the multi-GNSS processing can provide real-time atmospheric products with higher accuracy, stronger reliability and better distribution, which would be beneficial for atmospheric sounding systems, especially for nowcasting of extreme weather.

United States Frigate Constellation: Monitoring of Water at Constellation Pier, Baltimore Harbor, for the Presence of Marine Wood-Destroyers--First Year of Observations, from April 1978 to May 1979.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-09-30

10- by 20-cm southern pine sapwood panels spaced approximately 1.5 m (5 ft) apart (center to center) on a supporting line; the lowest panel is...level [91. Such a climatic phenomenon could occur for the Chesapeake Bay area . Fouling Organisms The yearly settlement of epifaunal organisms at

Determination of Earth outgoing radiation using a constellation of satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gristey, Jake; Chiu, Christine; Gurney, Robert; Han, Shin-Chan; Morcrette, Cyril

2017-04-01

The outgoing radiation fluxes at the top of the atmosphere, referred to as Earth outgoing radiation (EOR), constitute a vital component of the Earth's energy budget. This EOR exhibits strong diurnal signatures and is inherently connected to the rapidly evolving scene from which the radiation originates, so our ability to accurately monitor EOR with sufficient temporal resolution and spatial coverage is crucial for weather and climate studies. Despite vast improvements in satellite observations in recent decades, achieving these criteria remains challenging from current measurements. A technology revolution in small satellites and sensor miniaturisation has created a new and exciting opportunity for a novel, viable and sustainable observation strategy from a constellation of satellites, capable of providing both global coverage and high temporal resolution simultaneously. To explore the potential of a constellation approach for observing EOR we perform a series of theoretical simulation experiments. Using the results from these simulation experiments, we will demonstrate a baseline constellation configuration capable of accurately monitoring global EOR at unprecedented temporal resolution. We will also show whether it is possible to reveal synoptic scale, fast evolving phenomena by applying a deconvolution technique to the simulated measurements. The ability to observe and understand the relationship between these phenomena and changes in EOR is of fundamental importance in constraining future warming of our climate system.

Interferometric investigations with the S1 constellation: an application to the Vesuvius/Campi Flegrei volcanic test site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borgstrom, Sven; Del Gaudio, Carlo; De Martino, Prospero; Siniscalchi, Valeria; Prats-Iraola, Pau; Nannini, Matteo; Yague-Martinez, Nestor; Pinheiro, Muriel; Kim, Jun-Su; Vecchioli, Francesco; Minati, Federico; Costantini, Mario; Foumelis, Michael; Desnos, Yves-Louis

2017-04-01

The contribution focuses on the current status of the ESA study entitled "INSARAP Sentinel-1 Constellation Study" and investigates the interferometric performance of the S1A/S1B units. In particular, we refer to the Vesuvius/Campi Flegrei (Southern Italy) volcanic test site, where the continuous inflation (about 35 cm from 2011 to date) and the huge availability of ground-based geodetic data (continuous GPS - cGPS - leveling, tiltmetric, gravimetric, etc.) from the INGV-Osservatorio Vesuviano monitoring networks have allowed to get a clear deformation signal, besides the comparison between S1A/S1B and geodetic data. In this regard, the integration between InSAR and geodetic measurements is crucial for a continuous and extended monitoring of such an active volcanic area, as InSAR investigations allow to get an information on wide areas, whereas permanent networks (e.g., cGPS), allow to provide a continuous information complementing InSAR, which is limited by its revisiting time. Comparisons between S1 constellation data and geodetic measurements, with a particular focus on cGPS, will be presented, exploiting both LOS and inverted (E-W and vertical inversion) InSAR data starting from October, 2014. In addition, as a next step we are planning to model the deformation source of the area by exploiting the S1 time series results. Ultimately, very encouraging results suggest for a continuation of this activity also for the future, showing the great potential of S1 constellation data for monitoring active volcanic areas and, in general, to retrieve a very high quality deformation signal.

Applications of Remote Sensing to Emergency Management.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-02-15

Contents: Foundations of Remote Sensing : Data Acquisition and Interpretation; Availability of Remote Sensing Technology for Disaster Response...Imaging Systems, Current and Near Future Satellite and Aircraft Remote Sensing Systems; Utilization of Remote Sensing in Disaster Response: Categories of...Disasters, Phases of Monitoring Activities; Recommendations for Utilization of Remote Sensing Technology in Disaster Response; Selected Reading List.

The clinical application of mobile technology to disaster medicine.

PubMed

Case, Timothy; Morrison, Cecily; Vuylsteke, Alain

2012-10-01

Mobile health care technology (mHealth) has the potential to improve communication and clinical information management in disasters. This study reviews the literature on health care and computing published in the past five years to determine the types and efficacy of mobile applications available to disaster medicine, along with lessons learned. Five types of applications are identified: (1) disaster scene management; (2) remote monitoring of casualties; (3) medical image transmission (teleradiology); (4) decision support applications; and (5) field hospital information technology (IT) systems. Most projects have not yet reached the deployment stage, but evaluation exercises show that mHealth should allow faster processing and transport of patients, improved accuracy of triage and better monitoring of unattended patients at a disaster scene. Deployments of teleradiology and field hospital IT systems to disaster zones suggest that mHealth can improve resource allocation and patient care. The key problems include suitability of equipment for use in disaster zones and providing sufficient training to ensure staff familiarity with complex equipment. Future research should focus on providing unbiased observations of the use of mHealth in disaster medicine.

Coseismic displacements of the 14 November 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikoura, New Zealand, earthquake using the Planet optical cubesat constellation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kääb, Andreas; Altena, Bas; Mascaro, Joseph

2017-05-01

Satellite measurements of coseismic displacements are typically based on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry or amplitude tracking, or based on optical data such as from Landsat, Sentinel-2, SPOT, ASTER, very high-resolution satellites, or air photos. Here, we evaluate a new class of optical satellite images for this purpose - data from cubesats. More specific, we investigate the PlanetScope cubesat constellation for horizontal surface displacements by the 14 November 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikoura, New Zealand, earthquake. Single PlanetScope scenes are 2-4 m-resolution visible and near-infrared frame images of approximately 20-30 km × 9-15 km in size, acquired in continuous sequence along an orbit of approximately 375-475 km height. From single scenes or mosaics from before and after the earthquake, we observe surface displacements of up to almost 10 m and estimate matching accuracies from PlanetScope data between ±0.25 and ±0.7 pixels (˜ ±0.75 to ±2.0 m), depending on time interval and image product type. Thereby, the most optimistic accuracy estimate of ±0.25 pixels might actually be typical for the final, sun-synchronous, and near-polar-orbit PlanetScope constellation when unrectified data are used for matching. This accuracy, the daily revisit anticipated for the PlanetScope constellation for the entire land surface of Earth, and a number of other features, together offer new possibilities for investigating coseismic and other Earth surface displacements and managing related hazards and disasters, and complement existing SAR and optical methods. For comparison and for a better regional overview we also match the coseismic displacements by the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake using Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 data.

The Role of Cloud and Precipitation Radars in Convoys and Constellations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tanelli, Simone; Durden, Stephen L.; Im, Eastwood; Sadowy, Gregory A.

2013-01-01

We provide an overview of which benefits a radar, and only a radar, can provide to any constellation of satellites monitoring Earth's atmosphere; which aspects instead are most useful to complement a radar instrument to provide accurate and complete description of the state of the troposphere; and finally which goals can be given a lower priority assuming that other types of sensors will be flying in formation with a radar.

Application research for 4D technology in flood forecasting and evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ziwei; Liu, Yutong; Cao, Hongjie

1998-08-01

In order to monitor the region which disaster flood happened frequently in China, satisfy the great need of province governments for high accuracy monitoring and evaluated data for disaster and improve the efficiency for repelling disaster, under the Ninth Five-year National Key Technologies Programme, the method was researched for flood forecasting and evaluation using satellite and aerial remoted sensed image and land monitor data. The effective and practicable flood forecasting and evaluation system was established and DongTing Lake was selected as the test site. Modern Digital photogrammetry, remote sensing and GIS technology was used in this system, the disastrous flood could be forecasted and loss can be evaluated base on '4D' (DEM -- Digital Elevation Model, DOQ -- Digital OrthophotoQuads, DRG -- Digital Raster Graph, DTI -- Digital Thematic Information) disaster background database. The technology of gathering and establishing method for '4D' disaster environment background database, application technology for flood forecasting and evaluation based on '4D' background data and experimental results for DongTing Lake test site were introduced in detail in this paper.

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission contributions to hydrology and societal applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirschbaum, D.; Huffman, G. J.; Skofronick Jackson, G.

2016-12-01

Too much or too little rain can serve as a tipping point for triggering catastrophic flooding and landslides or widespread drought. Knowing when, where and how much rain is falling globally is vital to understanding how vulnerable areas may be more or less impacted by these disasters. The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission provides near real-time precipitation data worldwide that is used by a broad range of end users, from tropical cyclone forecasters to agricultural modelers to researchers evaluating the spread of diseases. The GPM constellation provides merged, multi-satellite data products at three latencies that are critical for research and societal applications around the world. This presentation will outline current capabilities in using accurate and timely information of precipitation to directly benefit society, including examples of end user applications within the tropical cyclone forecasting, disasters response, agricultural forecasting, and disease tracking communities, among others. The presentation will also introduce some of the new visualization and access tools developed by the GPM team.

Enhanced change detection index for disaster response, recovery assessment and monitoring of buildings and critical facilities-A case study for Muzzaffarabad, Pakistan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Alwis Pitts, Dilkushi A.; So, Emily

2017-12-01

The availability of Very High Resolution (VHR) optical sensors and a growing image archive that is frequently updated, allows the use of change detection in post-disaster recovery and monitoring for robust and rapid results. The proposed semi-automated GIS object-based method uses readily available pre-disaster GIS data and adds existing knowledge into the processing to enhance change detection. It also allows targeting specific types of changes pertaining to similar man-made objects such as buildings and critical facilities. The change detection method is based on pre/post normalized index, gradient of intensity, texture and edge similarity filters within the object and a set of training data. More emphasis is put on the building edges to capture the structural damage in quantifying change after disaster. Once the change is quantified, based on training data, the method can be used automatically to detect change in order to observe recovery over time in potentially large areas. Analysis over time can also contribute to obtaining a full picture of the recovery and development after disaster, thereby giving managers a better understanding of productive management and recovery practices. The recovery and monitoring can be analyzed using the index in zones extending from to epicentre of disaster or administrative boundaries over time.

7 CFR 759.5 - Secretarial disaster area determination and notification process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... § 759.5 Secretarial disaster area determination and notification process. (a) U.S. Drought Monitor. With respect to drought and without requiring an LAR: (1) If any portion of a county is physically located in an area with a Drought Monitor Intensity Classification value of D3 (drought-extreme) or higher...

7 CFR 759.5 - Secretarial disaster area determination and notification process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... § 759.5 Secretarial disaster area determination and notification process. (a) U.S. Drought Monitor. With respect to drought and without requiring an LAR: (1) If any portion of a county is physically located in an area with a Drought Monitor Intensity Classification value of D3 (drought-extreme) or higher...

Real-Time GNSS Positioning with JPL's new GIPSYx Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bar-Sever, Y. E.

2016-12-01

The JPL Global Differential GPS (GDGPS) System is now producing real-time orbit and clock solutions for GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, and Galileo. The operations are based on JPL's next generation geodetic analysis and data processing software, GIPSYx (also known at RTGx). We will examine the impact of the nascent GNSS constellations on real-time kinematic positioning for earthquake monitoring, and assess the marginal benefits from each constellation. We will discus the options for signal selection, inter-signal bias modeling, and estimation strategies in the context of real-time point positioning. We will provide a brief overview of the key features and attributes of GIPSYx. Finally we will describe the current natural hazard monitoring services from the GDGPS System.

Integrating TWES and Satellite-based remote sensing: Lessons learned from the Honshu 2011 Tsunami

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Löwe, Peter; Wächter, Joachim

2013-04-01

The Boxing Day Tsunami killed 240,000 people and inundated the affected shorelines with waves reaching heights up to 30m. Tsunami Early Warning Capabilities have improved in the meantime by continuing development of modular Tsunami Early Warning Systems (TEWS). However, recent tsunami events, like the Chile 2010 and the Honshu 2011 tsunami demonstrate that the key challenge for TEWS research still lies in the timely issuing of reliable early warning messages to areas at risk, but also to other stakeholders professionally involved in the unfolding event. Until now remote sensing products for Tsunami events, including crisis maps and change detection products, are exclusively linked to those phases of the disaster life cycle, which follow after the early warning stage: Response, recovery and mitigation. The International Charter for Space and Major Disasters has been initiated by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) in 1999. It coordinates a voluntary group of governmental space agencies and industry partners, to provide rapid crisis imaging and mapping to disaster and relief organisations to mitigate the effects of disasters on human life, property and the environment. The efficiency of this approach has been demonstrated in the field of Tsunami early warning by Charter activations following the Boxing Day Tsunami 2004, the Chile Tsunami 2010 and the Honshu Tsunami 2011. Traditional single-satellite operations allow at best bimonthly repeat rates over a given Area of Interest (AOI). This allows a lot of time for image acquisition campaign planning between imaging windows for the same AOI. The advent of constellations of identical remote sensing satellites in the early 21st century resulted both in daily AOI revisit capabilities and drastically reduced time frames for acquisition planning. However, the image acquisition planning for optical remote sensing satellite constellations is constrained by orbital and communication requirements: Defined time slots exist to commandeer the tasking of image acquisitions. If such a time slot has been missed, another attempt to image an AOI again can only be attempted ca. 24 hours later, due to the sun-synchronous satellite orbits Therefore it is critical to establish automated Disaster Early Warning dissemination services for the remote sensing community, to supply them with the timeliest opportunity to trigger the tasking process for the affected AOI. For very large events like a Tsunami in the Pacific, this approach provides the chance to gain additional pre-disaster imagery as a reference for change detection. In the case of the Tohoku earthquake, an ad-hoc warning dissemination process was manually dispatched by the Centre for Geoinformation Technology (CeGIT) at the German Research Centre for Geoscience, contacting RapidEye AG, once the severity of the earthquake event had been confirmed by the GEOFON geoseismic network. RapidEye AG decided to launch an imaging campaign which yielded 78 georectified image tiles (L3A) of Honshu island during the next imaging window. Of these, 26 tiles cover the affected coastline, resulting in 16,250km² of content for crisis mapping effort such as the Humanitarian Open Street Map (OSM) Team. This data was made available by RapidEye as a part of the Charter Activiation requested by Japan on March 11 2011. [1] Hoja, D., Schwinger, M.,Wendleder A.,Löwe, P., Konstanski, H., Weichelt, H.: Optimised Near-Real Time Data Acquisition for Disaster Related Rapid Mapping

13 CFR 123.3 - How are disaster declarations made?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... the disaster occurrence. When a Governor certifies with respect to a drought or to below average water... period meet or exceed the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) standard of “severe” (Intensity level D-2 to D-4). The USDM may be found at http://drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor. With respect to below average water levels...

13 CFR 123.3 - How are disaster declarations made?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... the disaster occurrence. When a Governor certifies with respect to a drought or to below average water... period meet or exceed the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) standard of “severe” (Intensity level D-2 to D-4). The USDM may be found at http://drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor. With respect to below average water levels...

13 CFR 123.3 - How are disaster declarations made?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... the disaster occurrence. When a Governor certifies with respect to a drought or to below average water... period meet or exceed the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) standard of “severe” (Intensity level D-2 to D-4). The USDM may be found at http://drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor. With respect to below average water levels...

13 CFR 123.3 - How are disaster declarations made?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... the disaster occurrence. When a Governor certifies with respect to a drought or to below average water... period meet or exceed the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) standard of “severe” (Intensity level D-2 to D-4). The USDM may be found at http://drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor. With respect to below average water levels...

13 CFR 123.3 - How are disaster declarations made?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... the disaster occurrence. When a Governor certifies with respect to a drought or to below average water... period meet or exceed the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) standard of “severe” (Intensity level D-2 to D-4). The USDM may be found at http://drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor. With respect to below average water levels...

Utilizing multisource remotely sensed data to dynamically monitor drought in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Sanchao; Li, Wenbo

2011-12-01

Drought is one of major nature disaster in the world and China. China has a vast territory and very different spatio-temporal distribution weather condition. Therefore, drought disasters occur frequently throughout China, which may affect large areas and cause great economic loss every year. In this paper, geostationary meteorological remote sensing data, FY-2C/D/E VISSR and three quantitative remotely sensed models including Cloud Parameters Method (CPM), Vegetation Supply Water Index (VSWI), and Temperature Vegetation Dryness Index (TVDI) have been used to dynamically monitor severe drought in southwest China from 2009 to 2010. The results have effectively revealed the occurrence, development and disappearance of this drought event. The monitoring results can be used for the relevant disaster management departments' decision-making works.

Vital signs monitoring and patient tracking over a wireless network.

PubMed

Gao, Tia; Greenspan, Dan; Welsh, Matt; Juang, Radford; Alm, Alex

2005-01-01

Patients at a disaster scene can greatly benefit from technologies that continuously monitor their vital status and track their locations until they are admitted to the hospital. We have designed and developed a real-time patient monitoring system that integrates vital signs sensors, location sensors, ad-hoc networking, electronic patient records, and web portal technology to allow remote monitoring of patient status. This system shall facilitate communication between providers at the disaster scene, medical professionals at local hospitals, and specialists available for consultation from distant facilities.

Application of CBERS-1 to monitoring of geological hazards in china

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiao, Y.

China is a country with a great variety of wide and frequent geological disasters which is the most serious natural disasters bring damage to national economical construction and people's life and property and causes an annual direct economic loss over 200 hundred million Chinese yuan to China. In recent 20 years great work has been done to apply remote sensing to investigation and monitoring earthquake, collapse, landslide, mud-rock flow, river-band cave-in, lava collapse, earth crevise, ground coal bunker spontaneous combustion, and great contribution has been done for the control. The successful launch and operation of the China-Brazil Resources Satellite& "CBERS -1" provides us an even more convenient tool. In present paper it introduces the applications of CBERS remote sensing in monitoring of large scale slide in Yigong Tibet and in Yangyuan Shanxi for earthquake calamities combined with meteorological remote sensing data. The results demonstrate that CBERS data could get in time and accurate geo-disasters monitoring information and show us the actual happenings which supply reliable basis for control and release measures to the disaster. CBERS has played an unique important role in fighting against the slide disaster and sending relief to the area and the resulted floods. It is bond to play an active role to promote growth of Chinese national economy. Keywords: CBERS; Geological Hazards; Monimonitoring

Application of satellite radar altimetry for near-real time monitoring of floods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, H.; Calmant, S.; Shum, C.; Kim, J.; Huang, Z.; Bettadpur, S. V.; Alsdorf, D. E.

2011-12-01

According to the 2004 UNESCO World Disasters Report, it is estimated that flooding affected 116 million people globally, causing about 7000 deaths and leading to $7.5 billion in losses. The report also indicates that flood is the most frequently occurring disaster type among all other natural disasters. Hence, timely monitoring of changing of river, wetland and lake/reservoir levels is important to support disaster monitoring and proper response. Yet, we have surprisingly poor knowledge of the spatial and temporal dynamics of surface water discharge and storage changes globally. Although satellite radar altimetry has been successfully used to observe water height changes over rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and wetlands, there have been few studies for near-real time monitoring of floods mainly due to its limited spatial and temporal sampling of surface water elevations. In this study, we monitor flood by examining its spatial and temporal origin of the flooding and its timely propagation using multiple altimeter-river intersections over the entire hydrologic basin. We apply our method to the Amazon 2009 flood event that caused the most severe flooding in more than two decades. We also compare our results with inundated areas estimated from ALOS PALSAR ScanSAR measurements and GRACE 15-day Quick-Look (QL) gravity field data product. Our developed method would potentially enhance the capability of satellite altimeter toward near-real time monitoring of floods and mitigating their hazards.

Experience with Delay-Tolerant Networking from Orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ivancic, W.; Eddy, W. M.; Stewart, D.; Wood, L.; Northam, J.; Jackson, C.

2010-01-01

We describe the first use from space of the Bundle Protocol for Delay-Tolerant Networking (DTN) and lessons learned from experiments made and experience gained with this protocol. The Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC), constructed by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), is a multiple-satellite Earth-imaging low-Earth-orbit sensor network in which recorded image swaths are stored onboard each satellite and later downloaded from the satellite payloads to a ground station. Store-and-forward of images with capture and later download gives each satellite the characteristics of a node in a disruption-tolerant network. Originally developed for the Interplanetary Internet, DTNs are now under investigation in an Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) DTN research group (RG), which has developed a bundle architecture and protocol. The DMC is technically advanced in its adoption of the Internet Protocol (IP) for its imaging payloads and for satellite command and control, based around reuse of commercial networking and link protocols. These satellites use of IP has enabled earlier experiments with the Cisco router in Low Earth Orbit (CLEO) onboard the constellation s UK-DMC satellite. Earth images are downloaded from the satellites using a custom IP-based high-speed transfer protocol developed by SSTL, Saratoga, which tolerates unusual link environments. Saratoga has been documented in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) for wider adoption. We experiment with the use of DTNRG bundle concepts onboard the UK-DMC satellite, by examining how Saratoga can be used as a DTN convergence layer to carry the DTNRG Bundle Protocol, so that sensor images can be delivered to ground stations and beyond as bundles. Our practical experience with the first successful use of the DTNRG Bundle Protocol in a space environment gives us insights into the design of the Bundle Protocol and enables us to identify issues that must be addressed before wider deployment of the Bundle Protocol. Published in 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. KEY WORDS: Internet; UK-DMC; satellite; Delay-Tolerant Networking (DTN); Bundle Protocol

Invitation to a forum: architecting operational `next generation' earth monitoring satellites based on best modeling, existing sensor capabilities, with constellation efficiencies to secure trusted datasets for the next 20 years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Helmuth, Douglas B.; Bell, Raymond M.; Grant, David A.; Lentz, Christopher A.

2012-09-01

Architecting the operational Next Generation of earth monitoring satellites based on matured climate modeling, reuse of existing sensor & satellite capabilities, attention to affordability and evolutionary improvements integrated with constellation efficiencies - becomes our collective goal for an open architectural design forum. Understanding the earth's climate and collecting requisite signatures over the next 30 years is a shared mandate by many of the world's governments. But there remains a daunting challenge to bridge scientific missions to 'operational' systems that truly support the demands of decision makers, scientific investigators and global users' requirements for trusted data. In this paper we will suggest an architectural structure that takes advantage of current earth modeling examples including cross-model verification and a first order set of critical climate parameters and metrics; that in turn, are matched up with existing space borne collection capabilities and sensors. The tools used and the frameworks offered are designed to allow collaborative overlays by other stakeholders nominating different critical parameters and their own treaded connections to existing international collection experience. These aggregate design suggestions will be held up to group review and prioritized as potential constellation solutions including incremental and spiral developments - including cost benefits and organizational opportunities. This Part IV effort is focused on being an inclusive 'Next Gen Constellation' design discussion and is the natural extension to earlier papers.

Linking Geophysical Networks to International Economic Development Through Integration of Global and National Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lerner-Lam, A.

2007-05-01

Outside of the research community and mission agencies, global geophysical monitoring rarely receives sustained attention except in the aftermath of a humanitarian disaster. The recovery and rebuilding period focuses attention and resources for a short time on regional needs for geophysical observation, often at the national or sub-national level. This can result in the rapid deployment of national monitoring networks, but may overlook the longer-term benefits of integration with global networks. Even in the case of multinational disasters, such as the Indian Ocean tsunami, it has proved difficult to promote the integration of national solutions with global monitoring, research and operations infrastructure. More importantly, continuing operations at the national or sub-national scale are difficult to sustain once the resources associated with recovery and rebuilding are depleted. Except for some notable examples, the vast infrastructure associated with global geophysical monitoring is not utilized constructively to promote the integration of national networks with international efforts. This represents a missed opportunity not only for monitoring, but for developing the international research and educational collaborations necessary for technological transfer and capacity building. The recent confluence of highly visible disasters, global multi-hazard risk assessments, evaluations of the relationships between natural disasters and socio-economic development, and shifts in development agency policies, provides an opportunity to link global geophysical monitoring initiatives to central issues in international development. Natural hazard risk reduction has not been the first priority of international development agendas for understandable, mainly humanitarian reasons. However, it is now recognized that the so-called risk premium associated with making development projects more risk conscious or risk resilient is relatively small relative to potential losses. Thus there is an attitudinal shift emerging whereby disaster risk management can be "mainstreamed" into the sustainable development programs in many countries. Consequently, it is incumbent to demonstrate that multi-scale geophysical monitoring, comprising integration of global networks with national and sub-national operations, is a foundational component of sustainable development infrastructure. This suggests even greater emphasis on developing dynamic and adaptive multi- hazard risk assessments, encompassing valid estimates of social and physical vulnerabilities; designing multi- scale network integration strategies that consider risk as well as hazard; providing operational and flexible templates for developing national networks in a global context; emphasizing the backbone characteristics of global geophysical monitoring to nations seeking to develop their own monitoring capacity; promoting sustained international research, education and training collaborations coinciding with the development of monitoring capacity; and continuing to promote the free and open exchange of data as a necessary component of sustained intellectual interest in monitoring. A combination of these strategies may counteract the decay of interest in regional geophysical monitoring after a disaster.

Mitigating Decision-Making Paralysis During Catastrophic Disasters

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-01

COVERED Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Mitigating Decision-Making Paralysis During Catastrophic Disasters 6. AUTHOR( S ) Terrence J. Winters 5...FUNDING NUMBERS 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME( S ) AND ADDRESS(ES) Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, CA 93943-5000 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION...REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME( S ) AND ADDRESS(ES) N/A 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11

Monitoring of Engineering Buildings Behaviour Within the Disaster Management System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oku Topal, G.; Gülal, E.

2017-11-01

The Disaster management aims to prevent events that result in disaster or to reduce their losses. Monitoring of engineering buildings, identification of unusual movements and taking the necessary precautions are very crucial for determination of the disaster risk so possible prevention could be taken to reduce big loss. Improving technology, increasing population due to increased construction and these areas largest economy lead to offer damage detection strategies. Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is the most effective of these strategies. SHM research is very important to maintain all this structuring safely. The purpose of structural monitoring is determining in advance of possible accidents and taking necessary precaution. In this paper, determining the behaviour of construction using Global Positioning System (GPS) is investigated. For this purpose shaking table tests were performed. Shaking table was moved at different amplitude and frequency aiming to determine these movement with a GPS measuring system. The obtained data were evaluated by analysis of time series and Fast Fourier Transformation techniques and the frequency and amplitude values are calculated. By examining the results of the tests made, it will be determined whether the GPS measurement method can accurately detect the movements of the engineering structures.

Integrating social media and remote sensing data in a model framework to identify vulnerable areas in coastal cities after disasters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopalakrishnan, G.

2013-12-01

In the aftermath of man-made disasters such as oil spills or natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods, city planners and residents of affected areas are often concerned about future vulnerabilities and rebuilding the area to increase resilience. However, identifying locations in the affected area that are most impacted by the disaster, the associated human health risks and potential vulnerabilities often require a monitoring effort that is expensive, time-consuming and difficult to implement in disaster-hit areas using traditional monitoring techniques. This project presents a framework for identifying areas that are most likely to be impacted by disasters by integrating remote sensing data and information from social media networks, including Twitter streams. The framework was tested for New York, coastal New Jersey and Staten Island in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Vulnerable areas were identified using anomaly detection and the results were mapped against measurements collected on the ground. A correlation coefficient of 0.78 was obtained. Uncertainty in model predictions was evaluated using Monte Carlo simulations.

Civil Applications of National Satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Killam, Dudley B.

2002-01-01

For over thirty years, the United States Air Force has employed infrared surveillance for missile warning purposes in support of peace. The Defense Support Program, currently employed in this way, consists of a constellation of satellites that provide civil-oriented, peace preserving infrared surveillance. Such civil applications include monitoring parched areas for wind-whipped brush fires or lightning-initiated forest fires that consume many acres of timber and threaten populated areas. Other applications include the similar monitoring of static, infrared-sensed heat sources including volcanoes and the plumes of acrid smoke produced when the volcanoes are active. This paper will address these important missions that can be performed by the national infrared surveillance satellite constellations, furthering the peace of the world in ways never envisioned by their creators 30 years ago.

Snow cover monitoring model and change over both time and space in pastoral area of northern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Yan; Li, Suju; Wang, Ping; Zhang, Wei; Nie, Juan; Wen, Qi

2014-11-01

Snow disaster is a natural phenomenon owning to widespread snowfall for a long time and usually affect people's life, property and economic. During the whole disaster management circle, snow disaster in pastoral area of northern china which including Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Tibet has been paid more attention. Thus do a good job in snow cover monitoring then found snow disaster in time can help the people in disaster area to take effective rescue measures, which always been the central and local government great important work. Remote sensing has been used widely in snow cover monitoring for its wide range, high efficiency, less conditions, more methods and large information. NOAA/AVHRR data has been used for wide range, plenty bands information and timely acquired and act as an import data of Snow Cover Monitoring Model (SCMM). SCMM including functions list below: First after NOAA/AVHRR data has been acquired, geometric calibration, radiometric calibration and other pre-processing work has been operated. Second after band operation, four threshold conditions are used to extract snow spectrum information among water, cloud and other features in NOAA/AVHRR image. Third snow cover information has been analyzed one by one and the maximum snow cover from about twenty images in a week has been selected. Then selected image has been mosaic which covered the pastoral area of China. At last both time and space analysis has been carried out through this operational model ,such as analysis on the difference between this week and the same period of last year , this week and last week in three level regional. SCMM have been run successfully for three years, and the results have been take into account as one of the three factors which led to risk warning of snow disaster and analysis results from it always play an important role in disaster reduction and relief.

[Application of small remote sensing satellite constellations for environmental hazards in wetland landscape mapping: taking Liaohe Delta, Liaoning Province of Northeast China as a case].

PubMed

Yang, Yuan-Zheng; Chang, Yu; Hu, Yuan-Man; Liu, Miao; Li, Yue-Hui

2011-06-01

To timely and accurately acquire the spatial distribution pattern of wetlands is of significance for the dynamic monitoring, conservation, and sustainable utilization of wetlands. The small remote sensing satellite constellations A/B stars (HJ-1A/1B stars) for environmental hazards were launched by China for monitoring terrestrial resources, which could provide a new data source of remote sensing image acquisition for retrieving wetland types. Taking Liaohe Delta as a case, this paper compared the accuracy of wetland classification map and the area of each wetland type retrieved from CCD data (HJ CCD data) and TM5 data, and validated and explored the applicability and the applied potential of HJ CCD data in wetland resources dynamic monitoring. The results showed that HJ CCD data could completely replace Landsat TM5 data in feature extraction and remote sensing classification. In real-time monitoring, due to its 2 days of data acquisition cycle, HJ CCD data had the priority to Landsat TM5 data (16 days of data acquisition cycle).

Global Earth Outgoing Radiation From A Constellation Of Satellites: Proof-Of-Concept Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gristey, J. J.; Chiu, J. Y. C.; Gurney, R. J.; Han, S. C.; Morcrette, C. J.

2017-12-01

The flux of radiation exiting at the top of the atmosphere, referred to as Earth Outgoing Radiation (EOR), constitutes a vital component of the Earth's energy budget. Since EOR is inherently connected to the rapidly evolving scene from which the radiation originates and exhibits large regional variations, it is of paramount importance that we can monitor EOR at a sufficient frequency and spatial scale for weather and climate studies. Achieving these criteria remains challenging using traditional measurement techniques. However, explosive development in small satellite technology and sensor miniaturisation has paved a viable route for measurements to be made from a constellation of satellites in different orbits. This offers an exciting new opportunity to make observations of EOR with both global coverage and high temporal resolution for the first time. To assess the potential of the constellation approach for observing EOR we perform a series of observing system simulation experiments. We will outline a baseline constellation configuration capable of sampling the Earth with unprecedented temporal resolution. Using this configuration and a sophisticated deconvolution technique, we demonstrate how to recover synoptic-scale global EOR to the accuracy required to understand Earth's global energy budget. Finally, we will reveal the impact of various modifications to the constellation configuration and provide recommendations for the community.

Constellation Operations: Lessons Learned For Future Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelly, Angelita C.; Case, Warren F.

2006-01-01

The Earth science community has long advocated placing numerous instruments in space to study the Earth and its environment. Space agencies from many countries have responded to this call with a wide range of orbiting satellites. Scientists also envisioned placing some satellites in constellations, to enable diverse remote sensing instruments to observe the same part of the Earth (or its atmosphere) at about the same time, thereby increasing the opportunities for coincident science observations. The Earth Science Afternoon Constellation is answering this call, but there have been unique challenges on the way to its deployment. Currently, the Afternoon Constellation is to comprise six satellites. Three are currently on orbit: NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS)-Aqua (2002) and EOS-Aura (2004), and CNES's Polarization & Anisotropy of Reflectances for Atmospheric Sciences coupled with Observations from a Lidar (PARASOL) (2004). Two more satellites, the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) and Cloudsat, are to be jointly launched in late 2005, followed by the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) in 2008. The Afternoon Constellation is unlike most satellite constellations in that: 1) It is not a homogenous mix of identical satellites; rather it comprises several satellites with complementary observational capabilities; 2) The satellites are not spaced around the Earth to provide instantaneous, global coverage (as for a communications satellite constellation); rather they orbit in close proximity so observations occur at about the same time over approximately the same region; and 3) Lastly, the satellites are not managed and controlled by one organization; rather the list of organizations is diverse: CNES in France, NASA Centers at Goddard, Langley, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the US Air Force facility in New Mexico. The PARASOL launch and early orbit (L&EO) phase proved to be a learning experience for constellation members (including Constellation management). Prior to launch, all members signed an operations coordination document that spelled out basic requirements for keeping the constellation safe and resolving non-nominal events. Once PARASOL reached orbit and the mission teams gained experience using the newly-developed constellation monitoring tools, it became clear that some of the guidelines in the signed agreements had to be adjusted. This paper presents the L&EO lessons learned and how they were used to prepare for the next phase - the period following the CloudSat/CALIPSO launch.

Towards to Resilience Science -Research on the Nankai trough seismogenic zone-

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaneda, Yoshiyuki; Shiraki, Wataru; Fujisawa, Kazuhito; Tokozakura, Eiji

2017-04-01

For the last few decades, many destructive earthquakes and tsunamis occurred in the world. Based on lessons learnt from 2004 Sumatra Earthquake/Tsunamis, 2010 Chilean Earthquake/Tsunami and 2011 East Japan Earthquake/Tsunami, we recognized the importance of real time monitoring on Earthquakes and Tsunamis for disaster mitigation. Recently, Kumamoto Earthquake occurred in 2006. This destructive Earthquake indicated that multi strong motions including pre shock and main shock generated severe earthquake damages buildings. Furthermore, we recognize recovers/ revivals are very important and difficult. In Tohoku area damaged by large tsunamis, recovers/revivals have been under progressing after over 5 years passed after the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake. Therefore, we have to prepare the pre plan before next destructive disasters such as the Nankai trough mega thrust earthquake. As one of disaster countermeasures, we would like to propose that Disaster Mitigation Science. This disaster mitigation science is including engineering, science, medicine and social science such as sociology, informatics, law, literature, art, psychology etc. For Urgent evacuations, there are some kinds of real time monitoring system such as Dart buoy and ocean floor network. Especially, the real time monitoring system using multi kinds of sensors such as the accelerometer, broadband seismometer, pressure gauge, difference pressure gauge, hydrophone and thermometer is indispensable for Earthquakes/ Tsunamis monitoring. Furthermore, using multi kind of sensors, we can analyze and estimate broadband crustal activities around mega thrust earthquake seismogenic zones. Therefore, we deployed DONET1 and DONET2 which are dense ocean floor networks around the Nankai trough Southwestern Japan. We will explain about Resilience Science and real time monitoring systems around the Nankai trough seismogenic zone.

Supporting Disaster Assessment and Response with the VIIRS Day-Night Band

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schultz, Lori A.; Cole, Tony; Molthan, Andrew L.

2015-01-01

When meteorological or man-made disasters occur, first responders often focus on impacts to the affected population and other human activities. Often, these disasters result in significant impacts to local infrastructure and power, resulting in widespread power outages. For minor events, these power outages are often short-lived, but major disasters often include long-term outages that have a significant impact on wellness, safety, and recovery efforts within the affected areas. Staff at NASA's Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center have been investigating the use of the VIIRS day-night band for monitoring power outages that result from significant disasters, and developing techniques to identify damaged areas in near real-time following events. In addition to immediate assessment, the VIIRS DNB can be used to monitor and assess ongoing recovery efforts. In this presentation, we will highlight previous applications of the VIIRS DNB following Superstorm Sandy in 2012, and other applications of the VIIRS DNB to more recent disaster events, including detection of outages following the Moore, Oklahoma tornado of May 2013 and the Chilean earthquake of April 2014. Examples of current products will be shown, along with future work and other goals for supporting disaster assessment and response with VIIRS capabilities.

Constellations of Next Generation Gravity Missions: Simulations regarding optimal orbits and mitigation of aliasing errors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hauk, M.; Pail, R.; Gruber, T.; Purkhauser, A.

2017-12-01

The CHAMP and GRACE missions have demonstrated the tremendous potential for observing mass changes in the Earth system from space. In order to fulfil future user needs a monitoring of mass distribution and mass transport with higher spatial and temporal resolution is required. This can be achieved by a Bender-type Next Generation Gravity Mission (NGGM) consisting of a constellation of satellite pairs flying in (near-)polar and inclined orbits, respectively. For these satellite pairs the observation concept of the GRACE Follow-on mission with a laser-based low-low satellite-to-satellite tracking (ll-SST) system and more precise accelerometers and state-of-the-art star trackers is adopted. By choosing optimal orbit constellations for these satellite pairs high frequency mass variations will be observable and temporal aliasing errors from under-sampling will not be the limiting factor anymore. As part of the European Space Agency (ESA) study "ADDCON" (ADDitional CONstellation and Scientific Analysis Studies of the Next Generation Gravity Mission) a variety of mission design parameters for such constellations are investigated by full numerical simulations. These simulations aim at investigating the impact of several orbit design choices and at the mitigation of aliasing errors in the gravity field retrieval by co-parametrization for various constellations of Bender-type NGGMs. Choices for orbit design parameters such as altitude profiles during mission lifetime, length of retrieval period, value of sub-cycles and choice of prograde versus retrograde orbits are investigated as well. Results of these simulations are presented and optimal constellations for NGGM's are identified. Finally, a short outlook towards new geophysical applications like a near real time service for hydrology is given.

Monitoring Disasters by Use of Instrumented Robotic Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wegener, Steven S.; Sullivan, Donald V.; Dunagan, Steven E.; Brass, James A.; Ambrosia, Vincent G.; Buechel, Sally W.; Stoneburner, Jay; Schoenung, Susan M.

2009-01-01

Efforts are under way to develop data-acquisition, data-processing, and data-communication systems for monitoring disasters over large geographic areas by use of uninhabited aerial systems (UAS) robotic aircraft that are typically piloted by remote control. As integral parts of advanced, comprehensive disaster- management programs, these systems would provide (1) real-time data that would be used to coordinate responses to current disasters and (2) recorded data that would be used to model disasters for the purpose of mitigating the effects of future disasters and planning responses to them. The basic idea is to equip UAS with sensors (e.g., conventional video cameras and/or multispectral imaging instruments) and to fly them over disaster areas, where they could transmit data by radio to command centers. Transmission could occur along direct line-of-sight paths and/or along over-the-horizon paths by relay via spacecraft in orbit around the Earth. The initial focus is on demonstrating systems for monitoring wildfires; other disasters to which these developments are expected to be applicable include floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, leaks of toxic chemicals, and military attacks. The figure depicts a typical system for monitoring a wildfire. In this case, instruments aboard a UAS would generate calibrated thermal-infrared digital image data of terrain affected by a wildfire. The data would be sent by radio via satellite to a data-archive server and image-processing computers. In the image-processing computers, the data would be rapidly geo-rectified for processing by one or more of a large variety of geographic-information- system (GIS) and/or image-analysis software packages. After processing by this software, the data would be both stored in the archive and distributed through standard Internet connections to a disaster-mitigation center, an investigator, and/or command center at the scene of the fire. Ground assets (in this case, firefighters and/or firefighting equipment) would also be monitored in real time by use of Global Positioning System (GPS) units and radio communication links between the assets and the UAS. In this scenario, the UAS would serve as a data-relay station in the sky, sending packets of information concerning the locations of assets to the image-processing computer, wherein this information would be incorporated into the geo-rectified images and maps. Hence, the images and maps would enable command-center personnel to monitor locations of assets in real time and in relation to locations affected by the disaster. Optionally, in case of a disaster that disrupted communications, the UAS could be used as an airborne communication relay station to partly restore communications to the affected area. A prototype of a system of this type was demonstrated in a project denoted the First Response Experiment (Project FiRE). In this project, a controlled outdoor fire was observed by use of a thermal multispectral scanning imager on a UAS that delivered image data to a ground station via a satellite uplink/ downlink telemetry system. At the ground station, the image data were geo-rectified in nearly real time for distribution via the Internet to firefighting managers. Project FiRE was deemed a success in demonstrating several advances essential to the eventual success of the continuing development effort.

Iterative User-Centered Design of a Next Generation Patient Monitoring System for Emergency Medical Response

PubMed Central

Gao, Tia; Kim, Matthew I.; White, David; Alm, Alexander M.

2006-01-01

We have developed a system for real-time patient monitoring during large-scale disasters. Our system is designed with scalable algorithms to monitor large numbers of patients, an intuitive interface to support the overwhelmed responders, and ad-hoc mesh networking capabilities to maintain connectivity to patients in the chaotic settings. This paper describes an iterative approach to user-centered design adopted to guide development of our system. This system is a part of the Advanced Health and Disaster Aid Network (AID-N) architecture. PMID:17238348

Using ISERV and Commercial Satellite Imagery to Assess and Monitor Recovery Efforts in Urban Damaged Areas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bell, Jordan R.; Molthan, Andrew L.; Burks, Jason E.; McGrath, Kevin M.

2014-01-01

NASA's Short-term Prediction, Research, and Transition (SPoRT) Center uses a wide array of satellites to monitor and assess the impacts of natural disasters, with support from NASA's Applied Sciences Program. One of the newest sensors SPoRT is utilizing in these activities is the International Space Station (ISS) SERVIR Environmental Research and Visualization System (ISERV) instrument. ISERV provides a unique view of the areas impacted and will play a big role in monitoring the recovery these areas. High-resolution commercial satellite data is also used to monitor urban areas that have been impacted by natural disasters. SPoRT is developing techniques to measure the extent of these disasters and to monitor recovery. Several of these techniques include semi-automatic feature detection and change as well as developing an experimental damage assessment based upon the visible damage observed by the satellites. Furthermore, throughout these activities SPoRT hopes to provide additional data to the NOAA National Weather Service Damage Assessment Toolkit, which will help to supplement those activities being performed in the field.

Preparing routine health information systems for immediate health responses to disasters

PubMed Central

Aung, Eindra; Whittaker, Maxine

2013-01-01

During disaster times, we need specific information to rapidly plan a disaster response, especially in sudden-onset disasters. Due to the inadequate capacity of Routine Health Information Systems (RHIS), many developing countries face a lack of quality pre-disaster health-related data and efficient post-disaster data processes in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Considering the significance of local capacity during the early stages of disaster response, RHIS at local, provincial/state and national levels need to be strengthened so that they provide relief personnel up-to-date information to plan, organize and monitor immediate relief activities. RHIS professionals should be aware of specific information needs in disaster response (according to the Sphere Project’s Humanitarian Minimum Standards) and requirements in data processes to fulfil those information needs. Preparing RHIS for disasters can be guided by key RHIS-strengthening frameworks; and disaster preparedness must be incorporated into countries’ RHIS. Mechanisms must be established in non-disaster times and maintained between RHIS and information systems of non-health sectors for exchanging disaster-related information and sharing technologies and cost. PMID:23002249

Observations of volcanic hotspots with TET-1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakšek, Klemen; Hort, Matthias; Lorenz, Eckehard

2016-04-01

The most important source of uncertainties in thermal monitoring of active volcanoes from space stems from the lack of dedicated satellite instruments. Considering the currently available technology, we usually have to make a compromises between spatial and temporal resolution - if the data is available at high temporal resolution (from geostationary instruments), it is impossible to provide high spatial resolution data. The most promising solution seems to be a constellation of small satellites, for they can provide data at high spatial resolution and provide a short revisit time as there is a high number of satellites in the constellation. It is also difficult to provide narrow spectral channels at high radiometric accuracy for monitoring high and low temperatures at the same time. Instruments designed for meteorological applications are usually used in remote sensing of volcanic thermal anomalies. These instruments contain a mid-infrared channel, which provides crucial data for monitoring active volcanoes. However, the settings of meteorological instruments are optimized for monitoring low temperatures, which results in often saturated data over active volcanoes. The volcanological community can partially overcome the gap between the available meteorological satellites and its requirements with the small satellite TET-1 German abbreviation for "Technologie-Erprobungsträger 1" meaning Technology Experiment Carrier). TET-1 is the first satellite within the FireBird constellation. This consists of two small satellites which are predominantly dedicated to investigating high temperature events. They were built and are operated by the German Aerospace Center. TET-1 was launched in June 2012. Here we present the first results obtained from TET-1 data. The data were retrieved over several volcanoes: Etna, Stromboli, Bárdarbunga, etc. We show that using TET-1 data, it is possible to better constrain the time averaged lava discharge from other satellite data sources.

Web Application to Monitor Logistics Distribution of Disaster Relief Using the CodeIgniter Framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamil, Mohamad; Ridwan Lessy, Mohamad

2018-03-01

Disaster management is the responsibility of the central government and local governments. The principles of disaster management, among others, are quick and precise, priorities, coordination and cohesion, efficient and effective manner. Help that is needed by most societies are logistical assistance, such as the assistance covers people’s everyday needs, such as food, instant noodles, fast food, blankets, mattresses etc. Logistical assistance is needed for disaster management, especially in times of disasters. The support of logistical assistance must be timely, to the right location, target, quality, quantity, and needs. The purpose of this study is to make a web application to monitorlogistics distribution of disaster relefusing CodeIgniter framework. Through this application, the mechanisms of aid delivery will be easily controlled from and heading to the disaster site.

Smart garments for safety improvement of emergency/disaster operators.

PubMed

Curone, Davide; Dudnik, Gabriela; Loriga, Giannicola; Luprano, Jean; Magenes, Giovanni; Paradiso, Rita; Tognetti, Alessandro; Bonfiglio, Annalisa

2007-01-01

The main purpose of the European project ProeTEX is to develop equipment to improve safety, coordination and efficiency of emergency disaster intervention personnel like fire-fighters or civil protection rescuers. The equipment consists of a new generation of "smart" garments, integrating wearable sensors which will allow monitoring physiological parameters, position and activity of the user, as like as environmental variables of the operating field in which rescuers are working: both commercial and newly developed textile and fibre based sensors will be included. The garments will also contain an electronic box to process data collected by the sensors and a communication system enabling the transmission of data to the other rescuers and to a monitoring station. Also a "smart" victim patch will be developed: a wearable garment which will allow monitoring physiological parameters of injured civilians involved in disasters, with the aim of optimizing their survival management.

Disaster management: using Internet-based technology.

PubMed

Dimitruk, Paul

2007-01-01

Disasters impose operational challenges and substantial financial burdens on hospitals. Internet-based disaster management technology can help. This technology should: Capture, analyze, and track relevant data. Be available 24/7. Guide decision makers in setting up an incident command center and monitor the completion of jobs by ICC role. Provide assistance in areas that hospitals are not used to dealing with, e.g., chemical or bio-terror agents.

Ranking of the Ecological Disaster Areas According to Coliform Contamination and the Incidence of Acute Enteric Infections of the Population in Kyzylorda Region

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Omarova, Mariya N.; Orakbay, Lyazzat Zh.; Shuratov, Idelbay H.; Kenjebayeva, Asiya T.; Zhumagalieva, Aizhan B.; Sarsenova, Ainur B.

2016-01-01

The paper is devoted to monitoring the environmental coliform bacteria (CB) contamination (soil and water) in the environmental disaster areas in the Kazakhstan part of the Aral Sea Region and ranking districts by their level of contamination and the rate of gastrointestinal infections (GI). The research was done in environmental disaster areas…

Disaster Monitoring and Emergency Response Services in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, J.; Han, X.; Zhou, Y.; Yue, P.; Wang, X.; Lu, J.; Jiang, W.; Li, J.; Tang, H.; Wang, F.; Li, X.; Fan, J.

2018-04-01

The Disaster Monitoring and Emergency Response Service(DIMERS) project was kicked off in 2017 in China, with the purpose to improve timely responsive service of the institutions involved in the management of natural disasters and man-made emergency situations with the timely and high-quality products derived from Space-based, Air-based and the in-situ Earth observation. The project team brought together a group of top universities and research institutions in the field of Earth observations as well as the operational institute in typical disaster services at national level. The project will bridge the scientific research and the response services of massive catastrophe in order to improve the emergency response capability of China and provide scientific and technological support for the implementation of the national emergency response strategy. In response to the call for proposal of "Earth Observation and Navigation" of 2017 National Key R&D Program of China, Professor Wu Jianjun, the deputy chairman of Faculty of Geographical Science of Beijing Normal University, submitted the Disaster Monitoring and Emergency Response Service (DIMERS) project, jointly with the experts and scholars from Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan University, China Institute of Earthquake Forecasting of China Earthquake Administration and China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Science. After two round evaluations, the proposal was funded by Ministry of Science and Technology of China.

The response to September 11: a disaster case study.

PubMed

Crane, Michael A; Levy-Carrick, Nomi C; Crowley, Laura; Barnhart, Stephanie; Dudas, Melissa; Onuoha, Uchechukwu; Globina, Yelena; Haile, Winta; Shukla, Gauri; Ozbay, Fatih

2014-01-01

The response to 9/11 continues into its 14th year. The World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP), a long-term monitoring and treatment program now funded by the Zadroga Act of 2010, includes >60,000 World Trade Center (WTC) disaster responders and community members ("survivors"). The aim of this review is to identify several elements that have had a critical impact on the evolution of the WTC response and, directly or indirectly, the health of the WTC-exposed population. It further explores post-disaster monitoring efforts, recent scientific findings from the WTCHP, and some implications of this experience for ongoing and future environmental disaster response. Transparency and responsiveness, site safety and worker training, assessment of acute and chronic exposure, and development of clinical expertise are interconnected elements determining efficacy of disaster response. Even in a relatively well-resourced environment, challenges regarding allocation of appropriate attention to vulnerable populations and integration of treatment response to significant medical and mental health comorbidities remain areas of ongoing programmatic development. Copyright © 2014 Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. All rights reserved.

MISSIONS: The Mobile-Based Disaster Mitigation System in Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Passarella, Rossi; Putri Raflesia, Sarifah; Lestarini, Dinda; Rifai, Ahmad; Veny, Harumi

2018-04-01

Disaster mitigation is essential to minimize the effects of disasters. Indonesia is one of the disaster prone areas in Asia and the government explores the usage of Information technology (IT) to aid its mitigation efforts. Currently, there are Indonesian websites which hold information regarding the weather monitoring, climate conditions, and geophysics. But, there is no clear indicator of mitigation efforts or things to do during an emergency. Therefore, this research proposed MISSIONS, a disaster mitigation model using geo-fencing technique to detect the location of the users through their mobile devices. MISSIONS uses mobile-based disaster mitigation system as a way to disseminate critical information to victims during emergency when they are in disaster zones using virtual fences. It aims to help the government to reduce the effects of disaster and aid in the mitigation efforts. The implementation result shows that MISSIONS have a high accuracy in detecting user whereabouts.

[Psychosocial care following the firework disaster in Enschede; the lessons from the Bijlmer airline disaster].

PubMed

Gersons, B P R; Huijsman-Rubingh, R R R; Olff, M

2004-07-17

When the psychosocial-care scheme for victims of the firework explosion in Enschede, the Netherlands (2000) was set up, lessons learned from the Bijlmer airline disaster (Amsterdam 1992) were put into practice. The aftermath of this incident showed that psychological and physical health problems can still occur many years later. The main failure of the aftercare of the Bijlmer disaster lay in the coordination of aid and the monitoring of health problems. In Enschede steps were taken to redress these problems. An information and advice centre (IAC) was set up to monitor the well-being of the victims, and to provide them with information and, where necessary, assistance. It is responsible for limiting the effects of the disaster. A total of 13,000 people have consulted the IAC. A residents' association was formed. This gave the victims a common voice during the process of attempting to restore normality in their lives. A specialized mental health-care unit was founded to treat disaster-related disorders using evidence-based treatments. So far approximately 1,300 people have consulted this body. A longitudinal study has been set up to map the consequences of the disaster and to advise aid organizations. This will also give information on the extent to which these methods have been able to limit the long-term consequences.

Asynchronous Processing of a Constellation of Geostationary and Polar-Orbiting Satellites for Fire Detection and Smoke Estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hyer, E. J.; Peterson, D. A.; Curtis, C. A.; Schmidt, C. C.; Hoffman, J.; Prins, E. M.

2014-12-01

The Fire Locating and Monitoring of Burning Emissions (FLAMBE) system converts satellite observations of thermally anomalous pixels into spatially and temporally continuous estimates of smoke release from open biomass burning. This system currently processes data from a constellation of 5 geostationary and 2 polar-orbiting sensors. Additional sensors, including NPP VIIRS and the imager on the Korea COMS-1 geostationary satellite, will soon be added. This constellation experiences schedule changes and outages of various durations, making the set of available scenes for fire detection highly variable on an hourly and daily basis. Adding to the complexity, the latency of the satellite data is variable between and within sensors. FLAMBE shares with many fire detection systems the goal of detecting as many fires as possible as early as possible, but the FLAMBE system must also produce a consistent estimate of smoke production with minimal artifacts from the changing constellation. To achieve this, NRL has developed a system of asynchronous processing and cross-calibration that permits satellite data to be used as it arrives, while preserving the consistency of the smoke emission estimates. This talk describes the asynchronous data ingest methodology, including latency statistics for the constellation. We also provide an overview and show results from the system we have developed to normalize multi-sensor fire detection for consistency.

Client-Server Connection Status Monitoring Using Ajax Push Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lamongie, Julien R.

2008-01-01

This paper describes how simple client-server connection status monitoring can be implemented using Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), JSF (Java Server Faces) and ICEfaces technologies. This functionality is required for NASA LCS (Launch Control System) displays used in the firing room for the Constellation project. Two separate implementations based on two distinct approaches are detailed and analyzed.

What ails the Bhopal disaster investigations? (And is there a cure?).

PubMed

Dhara, V Ramana

2002-01-01

A review of the health effects of the 1984 disaster in Bhopal, India, shows continuing morbidity of a multi-systemic nature in the exposed population. Scientific questions about epidemiologic issues are discussed with a view to understanding appropriate methods of investigation into the disaster. Other major chemical incidents were reviewed to note some of the common problems associated with public health investigations of disasters, which have included the lack of accident-related and toxicologic information, expertise, and funds. The complexity of the Bhopal crisis was underscored by the severe mortality and morbidity it entailed as well as its occurrence in a developing nation that had little experience in dealing with chemical disasters. Lessons learned from the disaster are discussed, with recommendations for disaster preparedness, long-term monitoring, rehabilitation, and treatment of the gas victims.

The application of dam break monitoring based on BJ-2 images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Yan; Li, Suju; Wu, Wei; Liu, Ming

2018-03-01

Flood is one of the major disasters in China. There are heavy intensity and wide range rainstorm during flood season in eastern part of China, and the flood control capacity of rivers is lower somewhere, so the flood disaster is abrupt and caused lots of direct economic losses. In this paper, based on BJ-2 Spatio-temporal resolution remote sensing data, reference image, 30-meter Global Land Cover Dataset(GlobeLand 30) and basic geographic data, forming Dam break monitoring model which including BJ-2 date processing sub-model, flood inundation range monitoring sub-model, dam break change monitoring sub-model and crop inundation monitoring sub-model. Case analysis in Poyang County Jiangxi province in 20th, Jun, 2016 show that the model has a high precision and could monitoring flood inundation range, crops inundation range and breach.

Survey of computer vision-based natural disaster warning systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ko, ByoungChul; Kwak, Sooyeong

2012-07-01

With the rapid development of information technology, natural disaster prevention is growing as a new research field dealing with surveillance systems. To forecast and prevent the damage caused by natural disasters, the development of systems to analyze natural disasters using remote sensing geographic information systems (GIS), and vision sensors has been receiving widespread interest over the last decade. This paper provides an up-to-date review of five different types of natural disasters and their corresponding warning systems using computer vision and pattern recognition techniques such as wildfire smoke and flame detection, water level detection for flood prevention, coastal zone monitoring, and landslide detection. Finally, we conclude with some thoughts about future research directions.

Applying telehealth in natural and anthropogenic disasters.

PubMed

Simmons, Scott; Alverson, Dale; Poropatich, Ronald; D'Iorio, Joe; DeVany, Mary; Doarn, Charles R

2008-11-01

There are myriad telehealth applications for natural or anthropogenic disaster response. Telehealth technologies and methods have been demonstrated in a variety of real and simulated disasters. Telehealth is a force multiplier, providing medical and public health expertise at a distance, minimizing the logistic and safety issues associated with on-site care provision. Telehealth provides a virtual surge capacity, enabling physicians and other health professionals from around the world to assist overwhelmed local health and medical personnel with the increased demand for services postdisaster. There are several categories of telehealth applications in disaster response, including ambulatory/primary care, specialty consultation, remote monitoring, and triage, medical logistics, and transportation coordination. External expertise would be connected via existing telehealth networks in the disaster area or specially deployed telehealth systems in shelters or on-scene. This paper addresses the role of telehealth in disaster response and recommends a roadmap for its widespread use in preparing for and responding to natural and anthropogenic disasters.

Impact of public health emergencies on modern disaster taxonomy, planning, and response.

PubMed

Burkle, Frederick M; Greenough, P Gregg

2008-10-01

Current disaster taxonomy describes diversity, distinguishing characteristics, and common relations in disaster event classifications. The impact of compromised public health infrastructure and systems on health consequences defines and greatly influences the manner in which disasters are observed, planned for, and managed, especially those that are geographically widespread, population dense, and prolonged. What may first result in direct injuries and death may rapidly change to excess indirect illness and subsequent death as essential public health resources are destroyed, deteriorate, or are systematically denied to vulnerable populations. Public health and public health infrastructure and systems in developed and developing countries must be seen as strategic and security issues that deserve international public health resource monitoring attention from disaster managers, urban planners, the global humanitarian community, World Health Organization authorities, and participating parties to war and conflict. We posit here that disaster frameworks be reformed to emphasize and clarify the relation of public health emergencies and modern disasters.

Cost Analysis of U.S. Navy Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Missions

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-01

93943–5000 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) N/ A 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY...as a core competency to its maritime strategy. From 1970 to 2000, the Navy diverted vessels 366 times for HA/DR operations, as opposed to 22 times...Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief as a core competency to its maritime strategy. From 1970 to 2000, the Navy diverted vessels 366 times for HA/DR

A modular design for rapid-response telecoms and navigation missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, P.; Liddle, D.; Buckley, John; Sweeting, M.; Roussel-Dupre, Diane; Caffrey, Michael

2004-11-01

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd and Los Alamos National Laboratory are together building the Cibola Flight Experiment (CFESat), a mission with the aim of flight-proving a reconfigurable processor payload intended for a Low Earth Orbit system. The mission will survey portions of the VHF and UHF radio spectra. The satellite will be launched by the Space Test Program in September 2006 on the USAF Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) using the EELV's Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) that allows up to six small satellites to be launched as "piggyback" passengers with larger spacecraft. The payload is based on networks of reprogrammable, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) to process the received signals for ionospheric and lightning studies. The objective is to validate the on-orbit use of commercial, reconfigurable FPGA technology utilizing several different single-event upset mitigation schemes. It will also detect and measure impulsive events that occur in a complex background. SSTL's satellite platform is based on a new, ESPA- compatible, structure housing subsystems and equipments with proven flight heritage from SSTL's disaster monitoring constellation (DMC) and the Topsat mission satellite due for launch in 2005. The structure is mechanically quite complex for a microsatellite having both deployed solar panels and a pair of long booms as part of the payload. The satellite design is highly constrained by the mass and volume requirements of the EELV/EPSA.

On the feasibility of monitoring carbon monoxide in the lower troposphere from a constellation of northern hemisphere geostationary satellites: Global scale assimilation experiments (Part II)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barré, Jérôme; Edwards, David; Worden, Helen; Arellano, Avelino; Gaubert, Benjamin; Da Silva, Arlindo; Lahoz, William; Anderson, Jeffrey

2016-09-01

This paper describes the second phase of an Observing System Simulation Experiment (OSSE) that utilizes the synthetic measurements from a constellation of satellites measuring atmospheric composition from geostationary (GEO) Earth orbit presented in part I of the study. Our OSSE is focused on carbon monoxide observations over North America, East Asia and Europe where most of the anthropogenic sources are located. Here we assess the impact of a potential GEO constellation on constraining northern hemisphere (NH) carbon monoxide (CO) using data assimilation. We show how cloud cover affects the GEO constellation data density with the largest cloud cover (i.e., lowest data density) occurring during Asian summer. We compare the modeled state of the atmosphere (Control Run), before CO data assimilation, with the known "true" state of the atmosphere (Nature Run) and show that our setup provides realistic atmospheric CO fields and emission budgets. Overall, the Control Run underestimates CO concentrations in the northern hemisphere, especially in areas close to CO sources. Assimilation experiments show that constraining CO close to the main anthropogenic sources significantly reduces errors in NH CO compared to the Control Run. We assess the changes in error reduction when only single satellite instruments are available as compared to the full constellation. We find large differences in how measurements for each continental scale observation system affect the hemispherical improvement in long-range transport patterns, especially due to seasonal cloud cover. A GEO constellation will provide the most efficient constraint on NH CO during winter when CO lifetime is longer and increments from data assimilation associated with source regions are advected further around the globe.

On the Feasibility of Monitoring Carbon Monoxide in the Lower Troposphere from a Constellation of Northern Hemisphere Geostationary Satellites: Global Scale Assimilation Experiments (Part II)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barre, Jerome; Edwards, David; Worden, Helen; Arellano, Avelino; Gaubert, Benjamin; Da Silva, Arlindo; Lahoz, William; Anderson, Jeffrey

2016-01-01

This paper describes the second phase of an Observing System Simulation Experiment (OSSE) that utilizes the synthetic measurements from a constellation of satellites measuring atmospheric composition from geostationary (GEO) Earth orbit presented in part I of the study. Our OSSE is focused on carbon monoxide observations over North America, East Asia and Europe where most of the anthropogenic sources are located. Here we assess the impact of a potential GEO constellation on constraining northern hemisphere (NH) carbon monoxide (CO) using data assimilation. We show how cloud cover affects the GEO constellation data density with the largest cloud cover (i.e., lowest data density) occurring during Asian summer. We compare the modeled state of the atmosphere (Control Run), before CO data assimilation, with the known 'true' state of the atmosphere (Nature Run) and show that our setup provides realistic atmospheric CO fields and emission budgets. Overall, the Control Run underestimates CO concentrations in the northern hemisphere, especially in areas close to CO sources. Assimilation experiments show that constraining CO close to the main anthropogenic sources significantly reduces errors in NH CO compared to the Control Run. We assess the changes in error reduction when only single satellite instruments are available as compared to the full constellation. We find large differences in how measurements for each continental scale observation system affect the hemispherical improvement in long-range transport patterns, especially due to seasonal cloud cover. A GEO constellation will provide the most efficient constraint on NH CO during winter when CO lifetime is longer and increments from data assimilation associated with source regions are advected further around the globe.

Application of GIS Rapid Mapping Technology in Disaster Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Z.; Tu, J.; Liu, G.; Zhao, Q.

2018-04-01

With the rapid development of GIS and RS technology, especially in recent years, GIS technology and its software functions have been increasingly mature and enhanced. And with the rapid development of mathematical statistical tools for spatial modeling and simulation, has promoted the widespread application and popularization of quantization in the field of geology. Based on the investigation of field disaster and the construction of spatial database, this paper uses remote sensing image, DEM and GIS technology to obtain the data information of disaster vulnerability analysis, and makes use of the information model to carry out disaster risk assessment mapping.Using ArcGIS software and its spatial data modeling method, the basic data information of the disaster risk mapping process was acquired and processed, and the spatial data simulation tool was used to map the disaster rapidly.

Strict Blood Pressure Control Achieved Using an ICT-Based Home Blood Pressure Monitoring System in a Catastrophically Damaged Area After a Disaster.

PubMed

Nishizawa, Masafumi; Hoshide, Satoshi; Okawara, Yukie; Matsuo, Takefumi; Kario, Kazuomi

2017-01-01

At the time of the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami (March 2011), the authors developed a web-based information and communications technology (ICT)-based blood pressure (BP) monitoring system (the Disaster CArdiovascular Prevention [DCAP] Network) and introduced it in an area that was catastrophically damaged (Minamisanriku town) to help control the survivors' BP. Using this system, home BP (HBP) was monitored and the data were automatically transmitted to a central computer database and to the survivors' attending physicians. The study participants, 341 hypertensive patients, continued to use this system for 4 years after the disaster and all of the obtained HBP readings were analyzed. This DCAP HBP-guided approach helped achieve a decrease in the participants' HBPs (initial average: 151.3±20.0/86.9±10.2 mm Hg to 120.2±12.1/70.8±10.2 mm Hg) over the 4 years. In addition, the amplitude of seasonal BP variation was suppressed and the duration from the summer lowest HBP values to the winter peak HBP values was gradually prolonged. This ICT-based approach was useful to achieve strict HBP control and minimize the seasonal BP variation even in a catastrophically damaged area during a 4-year period after the disaster, suggesting that this approach could be a routine way to monitor BP in the community. ©2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A introduction of a Scientific Research Program on Chinese Drought

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Y.

2014-12-01

Drought is one of the major meteorological disasters, with high frequencies, wide distributions and serious conditions. It is one of the biggest impacts on global agricultural productions, ecological environment and socioeconomic sustainable developments. China is particularly one of the countries in the world with serious drought disasters. The goal of this project is improving the capabilities in drought monitoring and forecasting based on an in-depth theories of drought. The project will be implemented in the typical extreme drought area based on comprehensive and systemic observation network and numerical experiments It will show a complete feedback mechanism among the atmospheric, water, biological and other spheres for forming drought. First, the atmospheric droughts that leads to agriculture and hydrologic drought and the possible causes for these disasters will be explored using our observation data sets. Second, the capability of monitoring, forecasting and early warning for drought will be developed with numerical model (regional climate model and land surface model, etc.). Last but not the least, evaluation approaches for the risk of drought and the strategy of predicting/prohibiting the drought at regional scale will be proposed. Meanwhile, service system and information sharing platform of drought monitoring and early warning will be established to improve the technical level of drought disaster preparedness and response in China.

Global trends in satellite-based emergency mapping

USGS Publications Warehouse

Voigt, Stefan; Giulio-Tonolo, Fabio; Lyons, Josh; Kučera, Jan; Jones, Brenda; Schneiderhan, Tobias; Platzeck, Gabriel; Kaku, Kazuya; Hazarika, Manzul Kumar; Czaran, Lorant; Li, Suju; Pedersen, Wendi; James, Godstime Kadiri; Proy, Catherine; Muthike, Denis Macharia; Bequignon, Jerome; Guha-Sapir, Debarati

2016-01-01

Over the past 15 years, scientists and disaster responders have increasingly used satellite-based Earth observations for global rapid assessment of disaster situations. We review global trends in satellite rapid response and emergency mapping from 2000 to 2014, analyzing more than 1000 incidents in which satellite monitoring was used for assessing major disaster situations. We provide a synthesis of spatial patterns and temporal trends in global satellite emergency mapping efforts and show that satellite-based emergency mapping is most intensively deployed in Asia and Europe and follows well the geographic, physical, and temporal distributions of global natural disasters. We present an outlook on the future use of Earth observation technology for disaster response and mitigation by putting past and current developments into context and perspective.

What does nature have to do with it? Reconsidering distinctions in international disaster response frameworks in the Danube basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McClain, Shanna N.; Secchi, Silvia; Bruch, Carl; Remo, Jonathan W. F.

2017-12-01

This article examines the international policy and institutional frameworks for response to natural and man-made disasters occurring in the Danube basin and the Tisza sub-basin, two transnational basins. Monitoring and response to these types of incidents have historically been managed separately. We discuss whether the policy distinctions in response to natural and man-made disasters remain functional given recent international trends toward holistic response to both kinds of disasters. We suggest that these distinctions are counterproductive, outdated, and ultimately flawed, illustrate some of the specific gaps in the Danube and the Tisza, and conclude by proposing an integrated framework for disaster response in the Danube basin and Tisza sub-basin.

Small Satellites and the Nigerian National Space Programme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borroffice, Robert; Chizea, Francis; Sun, Wei; Sweeting, Martin, , Sir

2002-01-01

Space technology and access to space have been elusive to most developing countries over the last half of the 21st century, which is attributed to very low par capital income and the lack of awareness of policy/decision makers about the role of space technology in national development. Space technology was seen as very expensive and prestigious, meant only for the major industrialized countries, while the developing countries should focus on building their national economy and providing food, shelter and other social amenities for their ever-growing populations. In the last decade, the trend has changed with many developing countries embracing spaced technology as one of the major ways of achieving sustainable development. The present trend towards the use of small satellites in meeting national needs has aided this transition because, apart from the small size, they are cheaper to build and to launch, with shorter development time, lower complexity, improved effectiveness and reduced operating costs. This in turn has made them more affordable and has opened up new avenues for the acquisition of satellite technology. The collaborative work between National Space Research and Development Agency of Nigeria (NASRDA) and Surrey Satellite and Technology Limited (SSTL) is a programme aimed at building two small satellites as a way of kick- starting the national space programme. The first project, NigeriaSAT-1, is an enhanced microsatellite carrying Earth observation payloads able to provide 32 metre GSD 3 band multispectral images with a 600km swath width. NigeriaSAT-1 is one of six microsatellites forming the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) alongside microsatellites contributed by Algeria, China, Turkey, Thailand and UK. Through participation in this international constellation, Nigeria will be able to receive images with a daily revisit worldwide. The EO images generated by NigeriaSAT-1 and the partner microsatellites will be used for providing rapid coverage of natural and man-made disasters but will also be used for monitoring rapidly changing and dynamic aspect of agriculture, the environment, pipeline oil spillages and other national remote sensing requirements. Commercial exploitation of this unique 24hr revisit EO data is planned to offset the government investment. The second national project is NigeriaSAT-2, which is a geostationary communications minisatellite that has been selected specifically to address the lack of communications infrastructure in Nigeria. Both NigeriaSAT-1 and NigeriaSAT-2 projects are being carried out in co-operation with the Surrey Space Centre (UK), combined with a detailed space know-how transfer and training to build up an indigenous Nigeria capability in space technology, EO and communications. While the acquisition and development space technology is the prime focus of the national space programme, an application center, education center and various space research centers are being formed to draw the maximum benefit of space activities for Nigeria. The paper will present the experience of Nigeria in examining the cost/benefit of an affordable space programme based upon small satellites with real applications that will benefit the people of the country. The Nigerian space policy and programme and its first two small satellite projects (NigeriaSAT-1/DMC and NigeriaSAT-2/GEMINI) will also be presented. This paper focuses on how a developing country can take advantage of a cheap and efficient means of gaining access to space and using space technology in achieving its socio-economic development plans.

Taiwan Space Programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jann-Yenq

Taiwan space programs consist of FORMOSAT-1, -2, and -3, sounding rockets, and international cooperation. FORMOSAT-1, a low-earth-orbit (LEO) scientific experimental satellite, was launched on January 26, 1999. It circulates with an altitude of 600 km and 35 degree inclination around the Earth every 97 minutes, transmitting collected data to Taiwan's receiving stations approximately six times a day. The major mission of FORMOSAT-1 includes three scientific experiments for measuring the effects of ionospheric plasma and electrodynamics, taking the ocean color image and conducting Ka-band communication experiment. The FORMOSAT- 1 mission was ended by June 15, 2004. FORMOSAT-2, launched on May 21, 2004 onto the Sun-synchronous orbit located at 891 km above ground. The main mission of FORMOSAT-2 is to conduct remote sensing imaging over Taiwan and on terrestrial and oceanic regions of the entire earth. The images captured by FORMOSAT-2 during daytime can be used for land distribution, natural resources research, environmental protection, disaster prevention and rescue work etc. When the satellite travels to the eclipsed zone, it observes natural phenomena of lighting in the upper atmosphere. FORMOSAT-3 is an international collaboration project between Taiwan and the US to develop advanced technology for the real-time monitoring of the global climate. This project is also named Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate, or FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC for short. Six micro-satellites were launched on 15 April 2007 and eventually placed into six different orbits at 700 800 kilometer above the earth ground. These satellites orbit around the earth to form a LEO constellation that receives signals transmitted by the 24 US GPS satellites. The satellite observation covers the entire global atmosphere and ionosphere, providing over 2,500 global sounding data per day. These data distribute uniformly over the earth's atmosphere. The global climate information collection and analysis can be completed in three hours while the sounding data is updated every 90 minutes for updating weather forecast. In addition, this system can also be used as the long-term climate change research, interactive ionosphere monitoring, global space weather forecast, and earth gravity research. From 1997 to 2003, there are three launches of sounding rockets. To compliment the second phase of Taiwan's national space technology long-term development plan, the sounding rocket space exploration project was established. The timeframe of the second phase sounding rocket project is 15 years, from January 2004 to December 2018, and 10 15 sounding rockets will be launched during this time period. In this paper, the current status and results of the programs are presented in detail.

Space technologies for short-term earthquake warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pulinets, S.

Recent theoretical and experimental studies explicitly demonstrated the ability of space technologies to identify and monitor the specific variations at near-earth space plasma, atmosphere and ground surface associated with approaching severe earthquakes (named as earthquake precursors) appearing several days (from 1 to 5) before the seismic shock over the seismically active areas. Several countries and private companies are in the stage of preparation (or already launched) the dedicated spacecrafts for monitoring of the earthquake precursors from space and for short-term earthquake prediction. The present paper intends to outline the optimal algorithm for creation of the space-borne system for the earthquake precursors monitoring and for short-term earthquake prediction. It takes into account the following considerations: Selection of the precursors in the terms of priority, taking into account their statistical and physical parameters Configuration of the spacecraft payload Configuration of the satellite constellation (orbit selection, satellite distribution, operation schedule) Proposal of different options (cheap microsatellite or comprehensive multisatellite constellation) Taking into account that the most promising are the ionospheric precursors of earthquakes, the special attention will be devoted to the radiophysical techniques of the ionosphere monitoring. The advantages and disadvantages of such technologies as vertical sounding, in-situ probes, ionosphere tomography, GPS TEC and GPS MET technologies will be considered.

Space technologies for short-term earthquake warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pulinets, S. A.

Recent theoretical and experimental studies explicitly demonstrated the ability of space technologies to identify and monitor the specific variations at near-earth space plasma, atmosphere and ground surface associated with approaching severe earthquakes (named as earthquake precursors) which appear several days (from 1 to 5) before the seismic shock over the seismically active areas. Several countries and private companies are in the stage of preparation (or already launched) the dedicated spacecrafts for monitoring of the earthquake precursors from space and for short-term earthquake prediction. The present paper intends to outline the optimal algorithm for creation of the space-borne system for the earthquake precursors monitoring and for short-term earthquake prediction. It takes into account the following: Selection of the precursors in the terms of priority, considering their statistical and physical parameters.Configuration of the spacecraft payload.Configuration of the satellite constellation (orbit selection, satellite distribution, operation schedule).Different options of the satellite systems (cheap microsatellite or comprehensive multisatellite constellation). Taking into account that the most promising are the ionospheric precursors of earthquakes, the special attention is devoted to the radiophysical techniques of the ionosphere monitoring. The advantages and disadvantages of such technologies as vertical sounding, in-situ probes, ionosphere tomography, GPS TEC and GPS MET technologies are considered.

The Bhopal Disaster of 1984

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Varma, Roli; Varma, Daya R.

2005-01-01

The 20th anniversary of the Bhopal calamity fell on December 3, 2004. The world's worst industrial disaster in Bhopal, India, happened because of inadequate maintenance by Union Carbide and poor monitoring by the Indian authorities. Malfunctioning safety measures, inappropriate location of the plant, and lack of information about the identity and…

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND MODELING ASSOCIATED WITH NATIONAL EMERGENCIES - EXPERIENCES GAINED FROM THE WORLD TRADE CENTER DISASTER

EPA Science Inventory

A workshop was held in Research Triangle Park, NC on November 18-19, 2002 to discuss scientific issues associated with measuring, modeling, and assessing exposure and risk to air containing contaminants generated as a result of national emergencies and disasters. Participants wer...

Mt Pamola, the Electromagnetic Field, EMF, Thunderbird, Mothman and Environmental Monitoring Signals Via the Southern Constellation Phoenix As Detectable In Potato Cave, Acton, MA.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pecora, Andrea S.; Pawa Matagamon, Sagamo

2004-03-01

Just below the peak of Mt Pamola in ME, at the juncture with the Knife Edge, downwardly arcing segments of Earths EMF, are manifested by a faint lotus-blossom-blue, neon-like glow at 3 pm some sunny afternoons. Similarly hued glows, and horizontal but variable-arced segmented trajectories, are somewhat periodically detectable under certain conditions in chambers at Acton, MA. These phenomena curiously have the filled-in profile that precisely matches the outline of the southern constellation Phoenix, which is never visible above the nighttime horizon locally. The stick-figure representation of the constellation Canis Major can also be detected in a chamber at Americas Stonehenge, two hours before it has arisen, at certain times. The sequence of phenomena visible at Acton correctly correlates with eclipses and other alignments of our solar system. Phoenix, a.k.a. Thunderbird and Mothman, is detectable elsewhere in MA.

The CEOS Atmospheric Composition Constellation: Enhancing the Value of Space-Based Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eckman, Richard; Zehner, Claus; Al-Saadi, Jay

2015-01-01

The Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) coordinates civil space-borne observations of the Earth. Participating agencies strive to enhance international coordination and data exchange and to optimize societal benefit. In recent years, CEOS has collaborated closely with the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) in implementing the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS) space-based objectives. The goal of the CEOS Atmospheric Composition Constellation (ACC) is to collect and deliver data to improve monitoring, assessment and predictive capabilities for changes in the ozone layer, air quality and climate forcing associated with changes in the environment through coordination of existing and future international space assets. A project to coordinate and enhance the science value of a future constellation of geostationary sensors measuring parameters relevant to air quality supports the forthcoming European Sentinel-4, Korean GEMS, and US TEMPO missions. Recommendations have been developed for harmonization to mutually improve data quality and facilitate widespread use of the data products.

Interdisciplinary Environmental-health Science Throughout Disaster Lifecycles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plumlee, G. S.; Morman, S. A.; Hoefen, T. M.

2014-12-01

Potential human health effects from exposures to hazardous disaster materials and environmental contamination are common concerns following disasters. Using several examples from US Geological Survey environmental disaster responses (e.g., 2001 World Trade Center, mine tailings spills, 2005 Hurricane Katrina, 2007-2013 wildfires, 2011 Gulf oil spill, 2012 Hurricane Sandy, 2013 Colorado floods) and disaster scenarios (2011 ARkStorm, 2013 SAFRR tsunami) this presentation will illustrate the role for collaborative earth, environmental, and health science throughout disaster lifecycles. Pre-disaster environmental baseline measurements are needed to help understand environmental influences on pre-disaster health baselines, and to constrain the magnitude of a disaster's impacts. During and following disasters, there is a need for interdisciplinary rapid-response and longer-term assessments that: sample and characterize the physical, chemical, and microbial makeup of complex materials generated by the disasters; fingerprint material sources; monitor, map, and model dispersal and evolution of disaster materials in the environment; help understand how the materials are modified by environmental processes; and, identify key characteristics and processes that influence the exposures and toxicity of disaster materials to humans and the living environment. This information helps emergency responders, public health experts, and cleanup managers: 1) identify short- and long-term exposures to disaster materials that may affect health; 2) prioritize areas for cleanup; and 3) develop appropriate disposal solutions or restoration uses for disaster materials. By integrating lessons learned from past disasters with geospatial information on vulnerable sources of natural or anthropogenic contaminants, the environmental health implications of looming disasters or disaster scenarios can be better anticipated, which helps enhance preparedness and resilience. Understanding economic costs of environmental cleanup and environmental-health impacts from disasters is an area of needed research. Throughout all disaster stages, effective communication between diverse scientific disciplines and stakeholder groups is both a necessity and a challenge.

Novel Payload Architectures for LISA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johann, Ulrich A.; Gath, Peter F.; Holota, Wolfgang; Schulte, Hans Reiner; Weise, Dennis

2006-11-01

As part of the current LISA Mission Formulation Study, and based on prior internal investigations, Astrium Germany has defined and preliminary assessed novel payload architectures, potentially reducing overall complexity and improving budgets and costs. A promising concept is characterized by a single active inertial sensor attached to a single optical bench and serving both adjacent interferometer arms via two rigidly connected off-axis telescopes. The in-plane triangular constellation ``breathing angle'' compensation is accomplished by common telescope in-field of view pointing actuation of the transmit/received beams line of sight. A dedicated actuation mechanism located on the optical bench is required in addition to the on bench actuators for differential pointing of the transmit and receive direction perpendicular to the constellation plane. Both actuators operate in a sinusoidal yearly period. A technical challenge is the actuation mechanism pointing jitter and the monitoring and calibration of the laser phase walk which occurs while changing the optical path inside the optical assembly during re-pointing. Calibration or monitoring of instrument internal phase effects e.g. by a laser metrology truss derived from the existing interferometry is required. The architecture exploits in full the two-step interferometry (strap down) concept, separating functionally inter spacecraft and intra-spacecraft interferometry (reference mass laser metrology degrees of freedom sensing). The single test mass is maintained as cubic, but in free-fall in the lateral degrees of freedom within the constellation plane. Also the option of a completely free spherical test mass with full laser interferometer readout has been conceptually investigated. The spherical test mass would rotate slowly, and would be allowed to tumble. Imperfections in roundness and density would be calibrated from differential wave front sensing in a tetrahedral arrangement, supported by added attitude information via a grid of tick marks etched onto the surface and monitored by the laser readout.

Analysis and Remediation of the 2013 LAC-MÉGANTIC Train Derailment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brunke, Suzanne; Aubé, Guy; Legaré, Serge; Auger, Claude

2016-06-01

On July 6, 2013 a train owned by Montréal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (MMA) Company derailed in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada triggering the explosion of the tankers carrying crude oil. Several buildings in the downtown core were destroyed. The Sûreté du Québec confirmed the death of 47 people in the disaster. Through the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Rapid Information Products and Services (RIPS) program, MDA developed value-added products that allowed stakeholders and all levels of government (municipal, provincial and federal) to get an accurate picture of the disaster. The goal of this RIPS Project was to identify the contribution that remote sensing technology can provide to disasters such as the train derailment and explosion at Lac-Mégantic through response and remediation monitoring. Through monitoring and analysis, the Lac-Mégantic train derailment response and remediation demonstrated how Earth observation data can be used for situational awareness in a disaster and in documenting the remediation process. Both high resolution optical and RADARSAT-2 SAR image products were acquired and analyzed over the disaster remediation period as each had a role in monitoring. High resolution optical imagery provided a very clear picture of the current state of remediation efforts, however it can be difficult to acquire due to cloud cover and weather conditions. The RADARSAT-2 SAR images can be acquired in all weather conditions at any time of day making it ideal for mission critical information gathering. MDA's automated change detection processing enabled rapid delivery of advanced information products.

Managing the natural disasters from space technology inputs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jayaraman, V.; Chandrasekhar, M. G.; Rao, U. R.

1997-01-01

Natural disasters, whether of meteorological origin such as Cyclones, Floods, Tornadoes and Droughts or of having geological nature such as earthquakes and volcanoes, are well known for their devastating impacts on human life, economy and environment. With tropical climate and unstable land forms, coupled with high population density, poverty, illiteracy and lack of infrastructure development, developing countries are more vulnerable to suffer from the damaging potential of such disasters. Though it is almost impossible to completely neutralise the damage due to these disasters, it is, however possible to (i) minimise the potential risks by developing disaster early warning strategies (ii) prepare developmental plans to provide resilience to such disasters, (iii) mobilize resources including communication and telemedicinal services and (iv) to help in rehabilitation and post-disaster reconstruction. Space borne platforms have demonstrated their capability in efficient disaster management. While communication satellites help in disaster warning, relief mobilisation and telemedicinal support, Earth observation satellites provide the basic support in pre-disaster preparedness programmes, in-disaster response and monitoring activities, and post-disaster reconstruction. The paper examines the information requirements for disaster risk management, assess developing country capabilities for building the necessary decision support systems, and evaluate the role of satellite remote sensing. It describes several examples of initiatives from developing countries in their attempt to evolve a suitable strategy for disaster preparedness and operational framework for the disaster management Using remote sensing data in conjunction with other collateral information. It concludes with suggestions and recommendations to establish a worldwide network of necessary space and ground segments towards strengthening the technological capabilities for disaster management and mitigation.

Global trends in satellite-based emergency mapping.

PubMed

Voigt, Stefan; Giulio-Tonolo, Fabio; Lyons, Josh; Kučera, Jan; Jones, Brenda; Schneiderhan, Tobias; Platzeck, Gabriel; Kaku, Kazuya; Hazarika, Manzul Kumar; Czaran, Lorant; Li, Suju; Pedersen, Wendi; James, Godstime Kadiri; Proy, Catherine; Muthike, Denis Macharia; Bequignon, Jerome; Guha-Sapir, Debarati

2016-07-15

Over the past 15 years, scientists and disaster responders have increasingly used satellite-based Earth observations for global rapid assessment of disaster situations. We review global trends in satellite rapid response and emergency mapping from 2000 to 2014, analyzing more than 1000 incidents in which satellite monitoring was used for assessing major disaster situations. We provide a synthesis of spatial patterns and temporal trends in global satellite emergency mapping efforts and show that satellite-based emergency mapping is most intensively deployed in Asia and Europe and follows well the geographic, physical, and temporal distributions of global natural disasters. We present an outlook on the future use of Earth observation technology for disaster response and mitigation by putting past and current developments into context and perspective. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Practice parameter on disaster preparedness.

PubMed

Pfefferbaum, Betty; Shaw, Jon A

2013-11-01

This Practice Parameter identifies best approaches to the assessment and management of children and adolescents across all phases of a disaster. Delivered within a disaster system of care, many interventions are appropriate for implementation in the weeks and months after a disaster. These include psychological first aid, family outreach, psychoeducation, social support, screening, and anxiety reduction techniques. The clinician should assess and monitor risk and protective factors across all phases of a disaster. Schools are a natural site for conducting assessments and delivering services to children. Multimodal approaches using social support, psychoeducation, and cognitive behavioral techniques have the strongest evidence base. Psychopharmacologic interventions are not generally used but may be necessary as an adjunct to other interventions for children with severe reactions or coexisting psychiatric conditions. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc.

GPS Monitor Station Upgrade Program at the Naval Research Laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Galysh, Ivan J.; Craig, Dwin M.

1996-01-01

One of the measurements made by the Global Positioning System (GPS) monitor stations is to measure the continuous pseudo-range of all the passing GPS satellites. The pseudo-range contains GPS and monitor station clock errors as well as GPS satellite navigation errors. Currently the time at the GPS monitor station is obtained from the GPS constellation and has an inherent inaccuracy as a result. Improved timing accuracy at the GPS monitoring stations will improve GPS performance. The US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is developing hardware and software for the GPS monitor station upgrade program to improve the monitor station clock accuracy. This upgrade will allow a method independent of the GPS satellite constellation of measuring and correcting monitor station time to US Naval Observatory (USNO) time. THe hardware consists of a high performance atomic cesium frequency standard (CFS) and a computer which is used to ensemble the CFS with the two CFS's currently located at the monitor station by use of a dual-mixer system. The dual-mixer system achieves phase measurements between the high-performance CFS and the existing monitor station CFS's to within 400 femtoseconds. Time transfer between USNO and a given monitor station is achieved via a two way satellite time transfer modem. The computer at the monitor station disciplines the CFS based on a comparison of one pulse per second sent from the master site at USNO. The monitor station computer is also used to perform housekeeping functions, as well as recording the health status of all three CFS's. This information is sent to the USNO through the time transfer modem. Laboratory time synchronization results in the sub nanosecond range have been observed and the ability to maintain the monitor station CFS frequency to within 3.0 x 10 (sup minus 14) of the master site at USNO.

Data poverty: A global evaluation for 2009 to 2013 - implications for sustainable development and disaster risk reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leidig, Mathias; Teeuw, Richard M.; Gibson, Andrew D.

2016-08-01

The article presents a time series (2009-2013) analysis for a new version of the ;Digital Divide; concept that developed in the 1990s. Digital information technologies, such as the Internet, mobile phones and social media, provide vast amounts of data for decision-making and resource management. The Data Poverty Index (DPI) provides an open-source means of annually evaluating global access to data and information. The DPI can be used to monitor aspects of data and information availability at global and national levels, with potential application at local (district) levels. Access to data and information is a major factor in disaster risk reduction, increased resilience to disaster and improved adaptation to climate change. In that context, the DPI could be a useful tool for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030). The effects of severe data poverty, particularly limited access to geoinformatic data, free software and online training materials, are discussed in the context of sustainable development and disaster risk reduction. Unlike many other indices, the DPI is underpinned by datasets that are consistently provided annually for almost all the countries of the world and can be downloaded without restriction or cost.

A Constellation of Microsatellites Promises to Help in a Range of Geoscience Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuo, Y. H.; Chao, B. F.; Lee, L. C.

1999-01-01

An octet of microsatellites to be launched in 2003 promises to deliver a large amount of useful data for meteorological, climatic, ionospheric, and geodetic research as well as for operational weather forecasting and space weather monitoring. Known as the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC), the joint Taiwan-U.S. scientific satellite project makes use of Global Positioning System (GPS) occultation and tracking signals. COSMIC's final operational configuration is depicted in Figure 1. Each of the eight microsatellites in low-Earth-orbit (LEO, shown relative to the high-altitude GPS satellite orbits) will carry in particular an advanced limb-sounding GPS receiver, a Tiny Ionospheric Photometer, and a triband beacon transmitter.

Volunteered Geographic Information for Disaster Management with Application to Earthquake Disaster Databank & Sharing Platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, H.; Zhang, W. C.; Deng, C.; Nie, N.; Yi, L.

2017-02-01

All phases of disaster management require up-to-date and accurate information. Different in-situ and remote sensor systems help to monitor dynamic properties such as air quality, water level or inundated areas. The rapid emergence of web-based services has facilitated the collection, dissemination, and cartographic representation of spatial information from the public, giving rise to the idea of using Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) to aid disaster management. In this study, with a brief review on the concept and the development of disaster management, opportunities and challenges for applying VGI in disaster management were explored. The challenges, including Data availability, Data quality, Data management and Legal issues of using VGI for disaster management, were discussed in detail with particular emphasis on the actual needs of disaster management practice in China. Three different approaches to assure VGI data quality, namely the classification and authority design of volunteers, a government-led VGI data acquisition framework for disaster management and a quality assessment system for VGI, respectively, were presented and discussed. As a case study, a prototype of VGI oriented earthquake disaster databank & sharing platform, an open WebGIS system for volunteers and other interested individuals collaboratively create and manage the earthquake disaster related information, was proposed, to provide references for improving the level of earthquake emergency response and disaster mitigation in China.

Exposure and Human Health Evaluation of Airborne Pollution from the World Trade Center Disaster (External Review Draft)

EPA Science Inventory

Following the collapse of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, New York State and Federal agencies initiated numerous air monitoring activities to better understand the ongoing impact of emissions from the disaster. This report focuses on these air measurement da...

Earthquake-Induced Building Damage Assessment Based on SAR Correlation and Texture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, Lixia; Li, Qiang; Zhang, Jingfa

2016-08-01

Comparing with optical Remote Sensing, the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has unique advantages as applied to seismic hazard monitoring and evaluation. SAR can be helpful in the whole process of after an earthquake, which can be divided into three stages. On the first stage, pre-disaster imagery provides history information of the attacked area. On the mid-term stage, up-to-date thematic maps are provided for disaster relief. On the later stage, information is provided to assist secondary disaster monitoring, post- disaster assessment and reconstruction second stage. In recent years, SAR has become an important data source of earthquake damage analysis and evaluation.Correlation between pre- and post-event SAR images is considered to be related with building damage. There will be a correlation decrease when the building collapsed in a shock. Whereas correlation decrease does not definitely indicate building changes. Correlation is also affected by perpendicular baseline, the ground coverage type, atmospheric change and other natural conditions, data processing and other factors. Building samples in the earthquake are used to discriminate the relation between damage degree and SAR correlation.

Analysis of rainfall characteristics and its related disasters of slag disposal pit of a certain Gold-Copper Deposit in Fujian province

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Huali; Hu, Mingjian; Ou, Guoqiang

2017-04-01

According to the geological investigation in Fujian province, the total number of geological disasters was 9513, in which the number of landslide, collapse, unstable slope and surface collapse was 5816, 1888, 1591, 103 and 115 respectively. The main geological disaster was the landslide with 61.1% of total geological disasters. Among all these geological disasters, only 6.0% was relative stable, 17.0% was basic stable, nearly 76.0% was unstable. The slope disaster was the main geological disaster, if the unstable slope was the potential landslide or collapse; the slope collapse was 98.0% of all geological disasters. The rainfall, in particular the heavy rain, was direct dynamic factor for geological disasters, but the occurrence probability of geological disasters was different because of the sensitivity of the geological environment though of the same intensity rainfall. To obtain the characteristics of soil erosion under the rainfall condition, the rainfall characteristics and its related disasters of slag disposal pit of a certain Gold-Copper Deposit in Fujian province was analyzed by the meteorological and rainfall data. According to the distribution of monitoring stations of hydrological and rainfall in Longyan city of Fujian province and the location of gold-copper deposit, the Shanghang monitoring station of hydrological and rainfall was chosen, which is the nearest one to the gold-copper deposit. Then main parameters of the prediction model, the antecedent precipitation, the rainfall on the day and the rainfall threshold, were calculated by using the rainfall data from 2002 to 2010. And the relationship between geological disasters and the rainfall characteristics were analyzed. The results indicated that there was high risk for the debris flow with landslide collapse when either the daily rainfall was more than 100.0 mm, or the total rainfall was more than 136.0mm in the gold-copper deposit and the Shanghang region. At the same time, although there was few risk for the debris flow when the daily rainfall was between 50.0-100.0mm, once the soil was saturated or nearly saturated because of the continuous antecedent precipitation, debris flow disaster would occur even the daily rainfall was only 50.0mm. In addition, it was prone to trigger debris flow disaster when the daily heavy rainfall was more than 100.0mm or the torrential rainfall in 3 days was between 250.0 -300.0mm.

Public Trauma after the Sewol Ferry Disaster: The Role of Social Media in Understanding the Public Mood.

PubMed

Woo, Hyekyung; Cho, Youngtae; Shim, Eunyoung; Lee, Kihwang; Song, Gilyoung

2015-09-03

The Sewol ferry disaster severely shocked Korean society. The objective of this study was to explore how the public mood in Korea changed following the Sewol disaster using Twitter data. Data were collected from daily Twitter posts from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2013 and from 1 March 2014 to 30 June 2014 using natural language-processing and text-mining technologies. We investigated the emotional utterances in reaction to the disaster by analyzing the appearance of keywords, the human-made disaster-related keywords and suicide-related keywords. This disaster elicited immediate emotional reactions from the public, including anger directed at various social and political events occurring in the aftermath of the disaster. We also found that although the frequency of Twitter keywords fluctuated greatly during the month after the Sewol disaster, keywords associated with suicide were common in the general population. Policy makers should recognize that both those directly affected and the general public still suffers from the effects of this traumatic event and its aftermath. The mood changes experienced by the general population should be monitored after a disaster, and social media data can be useful for this purpose.

Rapid assessment of disaster damage using social media activity

PubMed Central

Kryvasheyeu, Yury; Chen, Haohui; Obradovich, Nick; Moro, Esteban; Van Hentenryck, Pascal; Fowler, James; Cebrian, Manuel

2016-01-01

Could social media data aid in disaster response and damage assessment? Countries face both an increasing frequency and an increasing intensity of natural disasters resulting from climate change. During such events, citizens turn to social media platforms for disaster-related communication and information. Social media improves situational awareness, facilitates dissemination of emergency information, enables early warning systems, and helps coordinate relief efforts. In addition, the spatiotemporal distribution of disaster-related messages helps with the real-time monitoring and assessment of the disaster itself. We present a multiscale analysis of Twitter activity before, during, and after Hurricane Sandy. We examine the online response of 50 metropolitan areas of the United States and find a strong relationship between proximity to Sandy’s path and hurricane-related social media activity. We show that real and perceived threats, together with physical disaster effects, are directly observable through the intensity and composition of Twitter’s message stream. We demonstrate that per-capita Twitter activity strongly correlates with the per-capita economic damage inflicted by the hurricane. We verify our findings for a wide range of disasters and suggest that massive online social networks can be used for rapid assessment of damage caused by a large-scale disaster. PMID:27034978

Public Trauma after the Sewol Ferry Disaster: The Role of Social Media in Understanding the Public Mood

PubMed Central

Woo, Hyekyung; Cho, Youngtae; Shim, Eunyoung; Lee, Kihwang; Song, Gilyoung

2015-01-01

The Sewol ferry disaster severely shocked Korean society. The objective of this study was to explore how the public mood in Korea changed following the Sewol disaster using Twitter data. Data were collected from daily Twitter posts from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2013 and from 1 March 2014 to 30 June 2014 using natural language-processing and text-mining technologies. We investigated the emotional utterances in reaction to the disaster by analyzing the appearance of keywords, the human-made disaster-related keywords and suicide-related keywords. This disaster elicited immediate emotional reactions from the public, including anger directed at various social and political events occurring in the aftermath of the disaster. We also found that although the frequency of Twitter keywords fluctuated greatly during the month after the Sewol disaster, keywords associated with suicide were common in the general population. Policy makers should recognize that both those directly affected and the general public still suffers from the effects of this traumatic event and its aftermath. The mood changes experienced by the general population should be monitored after a disaster, and social media data can be useful for this purpose. PMID:26404349

Rapid assessment of disaster damage using social media activity.

PubMed

Kryvasheyeu, Yury; Chen, Haohui; Obradovich, Nick; Moro, Esteban; Van Hentenryck, Pascal; Fowler, James; Cebrian, Manuel

2016-03-01

Could social media data aid in disaster response and damage assessment? Countries face both an increasing frequency and an increasing intensity of natural disasters resulting from climate change. During such events, citizens turn to social media platforms for disaster-related communication and information. Social media improves situational awareness, facilitates dissemination of emergency information, enables early warning systems, and helps coordinate relief efforts. In addition, the spatiotemporal distribution of disaster-related messages helps with the real-time monitoring and assessment of the disaster itself. We present a multiscale analysis of Twitter activity before, during, and after Hurricane Sandy. We examine the online response of 50 metropolitan areas of the United States and find a strong relationship between proximity to Sandy's path and hurricane-related social media activity. We show that real and perceived threats, together with physical disaster effects, are directly observable through the intensity and composition of Twitter's message stream. We demonstrate that per-capita Twitter activity strongly correlates with the per-capita economic damage inflicted by the hurricane. We verify our findings for a wide range of disasters and suggest that massive online social networks can be used for rapid assessment of damage caused by a large-scale disaster.

Radiometric and geometric assessment of data from the RapidEye constellation of satellites

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chander, Gyanesh; Haque, Md. Obaidul; Sampath, Aparajithan; Brunn, A.; Trosset, G.; Hoffmann, D.; Roloff, S.; Thiele, M.; Anderson, C.

2013-01-01

To monitor land surface processes over a wide range of temporal and spatial scales, it is critical to have coordinated observations of the Earth's surface using imagery acquired from multiple spaceborne imaging sensors. The RapidEye (RE) satellite constellation acquires high-resolution satellite images covering the entire globe within a very short period of time by sensors identical in construction and cross-calibrated to each other. To evaluate the RE high-resolution Multi-spectral Imager (MSI) sensor capabilities, a cross-comparison between the RE constellation of sensors was performed first using image statistics based on large common areas observed over pseudo-invariant calibration sites (PICS) by the sensors and, second, by comparing the on-orbit radiometric calibration temporal trending over a large number of calibration sites. For any spectral band, the individual responses measured by the five satellites of the RE constellation were found to differ <2–3% from the average constellation response depending on the method used for evaluation. Geometric assessment was also performed to study the positional accuracy and relative band-to-band (B2B) alignment of the image data sets. The position accuracy was assessed by comparing the RE imagery against high-resolution aerial imagery, while the B2B characterization was performed by registering each band against every other band to ensure that the proper band alignment is provided for an image product. The B2B results indicate that the internal alignments of these five RE bands are in agreement, with bands typically registered to within 0.25 pixels of each other or better.

Operational SAR Data Processing in GIS Environments for Rapid Disaster Mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahr, Thomas

2014-05-01

The use of SAR data has become increasingly popular in recent years and in a wide array of industries. Having access to SAR can be highly important and critical especially for public safety. Updating a GIS with contemporary information from SAR data allows to deliver a reliable set of geospatial information to advance civilian operations, e.g. search and rescue missions. SAR imaging offers the great advantage, over its optical counterparts, of not being affected by darkness, meteorological conditions such as clouds, fog, etc., or smoke and dust, frequently associated with disaster zones. In this paper we present the operational processing of SAR data within a GIS environment for rapid disaster mapping. For this technique we integrated the SARscape modules for ENVI with ArcGIS®, eliminating the need to switch between software packages. Thereby the premier algorithms for SAR image analysis can be directly accessed from ArcGIS desktop and server environments. They allow processing and analyzing SAR data in almost real time and with minimum user interaction. This is exemplified by the November 2010 flash flood in the Veneto region, Italy. The Bacchiglione River burst its banks on Nov. 2nd after two days of heavy rainfall throughout the northern Italian region. The community of Bovolenta, 22 km SSE of Padova, was covered by several meters of water. People were requested to stay in their homes; several roads, highways sections and railroads had to be closed. The extent of this flooding is documented by a series of Cosmo-SkyMed acquisitions with a GSD of 2.5 m (StripMap mode). Cosmo-SkyMed is a constellation of four Earth observation satellites, allowing a very frequent coverage, which enables monitoring using a very high temporal resolution. This data is processed in ArcGIS using a single-sensor, multi-mode, multi-temporal approach consisting of 3 steps: (1) The single images are filtered with a Gamma DE-MAP filter. (2) The filtered images are geocoded using a reference DEM without the need of ground control points. This step includes radiometric calibration. (3) A subsequent change detection analysis generates the final map showing the extent of the flash flood on Nov. 5th 2010. The underlying algorithms are provided by three different sources: Geocoding & radiometric calibration (2) is a standard functionality from the commercial SARscape Toolbox for ArcGIS. This toolbox is extended by the filter tool (1), which is called from the SARscape modules in ENVI. The change detection analysis (3) is based on ENVI processing routines and scripted with IDL. (2) and (3) are integrated with ArcGIS using a predefined Python interface. These 3 processing steps are combined using the ArcGIS ModelBuilder to create a new model for rapid disaster mapping in ArcGIS, based on SAR data. Moreover, this model can be dissolved from its desktop environment and published to users across the ArcGIS Server enterprise. Thus disaster zones, e.g. after severe flooding, can be automatically identified and mapped to support local task forces - using an operational workflow for SAR image analysis, which can be executed by the responsible operators without SAR expert knowledge.

Extreme Geohazards: Reducing the Disaster Risk and Increasing Resilience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plag, Hans-Peter; Stein, Seth; Brocklebank, Sean; Jules-Plag, Shelley; Marsh, Stuart; Campus, Paola

2013-04-01

Extreme geohazards have the potential to escalate the global sustainability crisis and put us close to the boundaries of the safe operating space for humanity. Exposure of human assets to geohazards has increased dramatically in recent decades, and the sensitivity of the built environment and the embedded socio-economic fabric have changed. We are putting the urban environment, including megacities, in harm's way. Paradoxically, innovation during recent decades, in particular, urban innovation, has increased the disaster risk and coupled this risk to the sustainability crisis. Only more innovation can reduce disaster risk and lead us out of the sustainability crisis. Extreme geohazards (volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis) that occurred regularly throughout the last few millennia mostly did not cause major disasters because population density was low and the built environment was not sprawling into hazardous areas to the same extent as today. Similar extreme events today would cause unparalleled damage on a global scale and could worsen the sustainability crisis. Simulation of these extreme hazards under present conditions can help to assess the disaster risk. The Geohazards Community of Practice of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) with support from the European Science Foundation is preparing a white paper assessing the contemporary disaster risks associated with extreme geohazards and developing a vision for science and society to engage in deliberations addressing this risk (see http://www.geohazcop.org/projects/extgeowp). Risk awareness and monitoring is highly uneven across the world, and this creates two kinds of problems. Firstly, potential hazards are much more closely monitored in wealthy countries than in the developing world. But the largest hazards are global in nature, and it is critical to get as much forewarning as possible to develop an effective response. The disasters and near-misses of the past show that adherence to scientific knowledge, particularly during the early warning phase, can reduce disasters. This suggests that a strong global monitoring system for geohazards is needed, not least to support the early detection of extreme hazards. Secondly, low risk awareness combined with poverty, corruption, and a lack of building codes and informed land use management creates the conditions to turn hazards into disasters throughout much of the developing world. Democratizing knowledge about extreme geohazards is very important in order to inform deliberations of disaster risks and community strategies that can reduce the disaster risk by increasing resilience and adaptive capacities without compromising the livelihood of communities. We use a four-order scheme to define disaster risk outcomes and associated societal processes. This framework can be implemented in the context of deliberative democracy and governance with participation of the community. The current dialog between science and society is not fully capable of supporting deliberative governance and a democratizing of knowledge. Most scientific knowledge is created independent of those who could put it to use, and a transition to co-design and co-development of knowledge involving a broad stakeholder base is necessary to address the disaster risk associated with extreme events. This transition may have the consequence of more responsibility and even liability for science.

The CEOS Atmospheric Composition Constellation (ACC), an Integrated Observing System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilsenrath, E.; Langen, J.; Zehner, C.

2008-05-01

The Atmospheric Composition (AC) Constellation is one of four pilot projects initiated by the Committee for Earth Observations Systems (CEOS) to bring about technical/scientific cooperation among space agencies that meet the goals of GEO and comply with the CEOS member agencies national programs. The Constellation concept has been endorsed in the GEO Work Plan, 2007-2009. The AC Constellation goal is to collect and deliver data to develop and improve monitoring, assessment and predictive capabilities for changes in the ozone layer, air quality and climate forcing associated with changes in the environment. These data will support five of the nine GEO SBAs: Health, Energy, Climate, Hazards, and Ecosystems. At the present time ESA, EC, CSA, CNES, JAXA, DLR, NIVR, NASA, NOAA and Eumetsat are participating in the Constellation study, and have major assets in orbit including 17 instruments on seven platforms. One goal of the Constellation study is to identify missing capabilities that will result when the present orbiting research satellites missions end and those not included in the next generation operational missions. Missing observations include very accurate and high spatial resolution measurements needed to be to track trends in atmospheric composition and understand their relationship to climate change. The following are the top level objectives for the AC Constellation Concept Study: • Develop a virtual constellation of existing and upcoming missions using synergies among the instruments and identify missing capabilities. • Study advanced architecture with new space assets and varying orbits with expectations that new technology could also be brought forward to best meet user requirements • Data system interoperability to insure that data are useful, properly targeted, and easily accessible. To demonstrate that the Constellation concept can provide value added data products, the ACC has initiated the three projects that are being supported by the participating space agencies. These include 1) Time of day changes in NO2 using Aura/OMI and Metop/GOME-2. 2) Near-real-time fire detection and smoke forecasts using multiple satellites (A-Train, GOES, GOME-2, MSG, etc) and trajectory model, and 3) Improved volcanic ash alerts for aviation hazard avoidance from satellite SO2 and ash data from SCIAMACHY, OMI, GOME-2, AIRS and SEVIRI. Each of the three projects will address the GEO SBAs with consideration to discovery and interoperability of their data products. The status of the ACC studies will be reviewed with a progress report on the above three projects.

Enhancing the temporal resolution of satellite-based flood extent generation using crowdsourced data for disaster monitoring.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panteras, G.; Cervone, G.

2016-12-01

Satellite-based disaster monitoring has been extensively and successfully used for numerous crisis response and impact delineation tasks until nowadays. Remote sensing satellite are routinely used data during disasters for damage assessment and to coordinate relief operations. Although there is a plethora of satellite sensors able to provide actionable data about an event, their temporal resolution is limited by the satellite revisit time and the presence of clouds. These limitations do not allow for an uninterrupted and timely sensitive monitoring, which is crucial during disasters and emergencies. This research presents an approach that leverages the increased temporal resolution of crowdsourced data to partially overcame the limitations of satellite data. The proposed approach focuses on the geostatistical analysis of Tweeter data to help delineate the flood extent on a daily basis. The crowdsourced data are used to augment satellite imagery from EO-1 ALI, Landsat 8, WorldView-2 and WorldView-3 by fusing them together to complement the satellite observations. The proposed methodology was applied to estimate the daily flood extents in Charleston, SC, caused by hurricane Joaquin on October 2015. The results of the proposed methodology indicate that the user-generated data can be utilized adequately to both bridge the temporal gaps in the satellite-based observations and also to increase the spatial resolution of the flood extents.

The potential of crowdsourcing and mobile technology to support flood disaster risk reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

See, Linda; McCallum, Ian; Liu, Wei; Mechler, Reinhard; Keating, Adriana; Hochrainer-Stigler, Stefan; Mochizuki, Junko; Fritz, Steffen; Dugar, Sumit; Arestegui, Michael; Szoenyi, Michael; Laso-Bayas, Juan-Carlos; Burek, Peter; French, Adam; Moorthy, Inian

2016-04-01

The last decade has seen a rise in citizen science and crowdsourcing for carrying out a variety of tasks across a number of different fields, most notably the collection of data such as the identification of species (e.g. eBird and iNaturalist) and the classification of images (e.g. Galaxy Zoo and Geo-Wiki). Combining human computing with the proliferation of mobile technology has resulted in vast amounts of geo-located data that have considerable value across multiple domains including flood disaster risk reduction. Crowdsourcing technologies, in the form of online mapping, are now being utilized to great effect in post-disaster mapping and relief efforts, e.g. the activities of Humanitarian OpenStreetMap, complementing official channels of relief (e.g. Haiti, Nepal and New York). Disaster event monitoring efforts have been further complemented with the use of social media (e.g. twitter for earthquakes, flood monitoring, and fire detection). Much of the activity in this area has focused on ex-post emergency management while there is considerable potential for utilizing crowdsourcing and mobile technology for vulnerability assessment, early warning and to bolster resilience to flood events. This paper examines the use of crowdsourcing and mobile technology for measuring and monitoring flood hazards, exposure to floods, and vulnerability, drawing upon examples from the literature and ongoing projects on flooding and food security at IIASA.

Cubesat Constellation Design for Air Traffic Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nag, Sreeja; Rios, Joseph Lucio; Gerhardt, David; Pham, Camvu

2015-01-01

Suitably equipped global and local air traffic can be tracked. The tracking information may then be used for control from ground-based stations by receiving the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) signal. The ADS-B signal, emitted from the aircraft's Mode-S transponder, is currently tracked by terrestrial based receivers but not over remote oceans or sparsely populated regions such as Alaska or the Pacific Ocean. Lack of real-time aircraft time/location information in remote areas significantly hinders optimal planning and control because bigger "safety bubbles" (lateral and vertical separation) are required around the aircraft until they reach radar-controlled airspace. Moreover, it presents a search-and-rescue bottleneck. Aircraft in distress, e.g. Air France AF449 that crashed in 2009, take days to be located or cannot be located at all, e.g. Malaysia Airlines MH370 in 2014. In this paper, we describe a tool for designing a constellation of small satellites which demonstrates, through high-fidelity modeling based on simulated air traffic data, the value of space-based ADS-B monitoring and provides recommendations for cost-efficient deployment of a constellation of small satellites to increase safety and situational awareness in the currently poorly-served surveillance area of Alaska. Air traffic data has been obtained from the Future ATM Concepts Evaluation Tool (FACET), developed at NASA Ames Research Center, simulated over the Alaskan airspace over a period of one day. The simulation is driven by MATLAB with satellites propagated and coverage calculated using AGI's Satellite ToolKit(STK10).

Disaster mitigation science for Earthquakes and Tsunamis -For resilience society against natural disasters-

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaneda, Y.; Takahashi, N.; Hori, T.; Kawaguchi, K.; Isouchi, C.; Fujisawa, K.

2017-12-01

Destructive natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis have occurred frequently in the world. For instance, 2004 Sumatra Earthquake in Indonesia, 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake in China, 2010 Chile Earthquake and 2011 Tohoku Earthquake in Japan etc., these earthquakes generated very severe damages. For the reduction and mitigation of damages by destructive natural disasters, early detection of natural disasters and speedy and proper evacuations are indispensable. And hardware and software developments/preparations for reduction and mitigation of natural disasters are quite important. In Japan, DONET as the real time monitoring system on the ocean floor is developed and deployed around the Nankai trough seismogenic zone southwestern Japan. So, the early detection of earthquakes and tsunamis around the Nankai trough seismogenic zone will be expected by DONET. The integration of the real time data and advanced simulation researches will lead to reduce damages, however, in the resilience society, the resilience methods will be required after disasters. Actually, methods on restorations and revivals are necessary after natural disasters. We would like to propose natural disaster mitigation science for early detections, evacuations and restorations against destructive natural disasters. This means the resilience society. In natural disaster mitigation science, there are lots of research fields such as natural science, engineering, medical treatment, social science and literature/art etc. Especially, natural science, engineering and medical treatment are fundamental research fields for natural disaster mitigation, but social sciences such as sociology, geography and psychology etc. are very important research fields for restorations after natural disasters. Finally, to realize and progress disaster mitigation science, human resource cultivation is indispensable. We already carried out disaster mitigation science under `new disaster mitigation research project on Mega thrust earthquakes around Nankai/Ryukyu subduction zone', and `SATREPS project of earthquake and tsunami disaster mitigation in the Marmara region and disaster education in Turkey'. Furthermore, we have to progress the natural disaster mitigation science against destructive natural disaster in the near future.

Applying Advances in GPM Radiometer Intercalibration and Algorithm Development to a Long-Term TRMM/GPM Global Precipitation Dataset

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berg, W. K.

2016-12-01

The Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) Core Observatory, which was launched in February of 2014, provides a number of advances for satellite monitoring of precipitation including a dual-frequency radar, high frequency channels on the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI), and coverage over middle and high latitudes. The GPM concept, however, is about producing unified precipitation retrievals from a constellation of microwave radiometers to provide approximately 3-hourly global sampling. This involves intercalibration of the input brightness temperatures from the constellation radiometers, development of an apriori precipitation database using observations from the state-of-the-art GPM radiometer and radars, and accounting for sensor differences in the retrieval algorithm in a physically-consistent way. Efforts by the GPM inter-satellite calibration working group, or XCAL team, and the radiometer algorithm team to create unified precipitation retrievals from the GPM radiometer constellation were fully implemented into the current version 4 GPM precipitation products. These include precipitation estimates from a total of seven conical-scanning and six cross-track scanning radiometers as well as high spatial and temporal resolution global level 3 gridded products. Work is now underway to extend this unified constellation-based approach to the combined TRMM/GPM data record starting in late 1997. The goal is to create a long-term global precipitation dataset employing these state-of-the-art calibration and retrieval algorithm approaches. This new long-term global precipitation dataset will incorporate the physics provided by the combined GPM GMI and DPR sensors into the apriori database, extend prior TRMM constellation observations to high latitudes, and expand the available TRMM precipitation data to the full constellation of available conical and cross-track scanning radiometers. This combined TRMM/GPM precipitation data record will thus provide a high-quality high-temporal resolution global dataset for use in a wide variety of weather and climate research applications.

Oil spill disasters detection and monitoring by optical satellite data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Livia Grimaldi, Caterina Sara; Coviello, Irina; Lacava, Teodosio; Pergola, Nicola; Tramutoli, Valerio

2010-05-01

Marine oil spill disasters may be related to natural hazards, when storms and hurricanes cause the sinking of tankers carrying crude or refined oil, as well as to human action, as illegal discharges, assessment errors (failures or collisions) or acts of warfare. Their consequence has a devastating effects on the marine and coastal environment. In order to reduce the environmental impact of such kind of hazard, giving to local authorities necessary information of pollution entity and evolution, timely detection and continuously updated information are fundamental. Satellite remote sensing can give a significant contribution in such a direction. Nowadays, SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) technology has been recognized as the most efficient for oil spill detection and description, thanks to the high spatial resolution and all-time/weather capability of the present operational sensors. Anyway, the actual SARs revisiting time does not allow a rapid detection and near real-time monitoring of these phenomena at global scale. The COSMO-Skymed Italian dual-mission (expected in the 2010) will overcome this limitation improving the temporal resolution until 12 hours by a SAR constellation of four satellites, but several open questions regarding costs and global delivery policy of such data, might prevent their use in an operational context. Passive optical sensors, on board meteorological satellites, thanks to their high temporal resolution (from a few hours to 15 minutes, depending on the characteristics of the platform/sensor), may represent, at this moment, a suitable SAR alternative/complement for oil spill detection and monitoring. Up to now, some techniques have been proposed for mapping known oil spill discharges monitoring using optical satellite data, on the other hand, reliable satellite methods for an automatic and timely detection of oil spill are still currently missing. Existing methods, in fact, can localize the presence of an oil spill only after an alert and require the presence of a qualified operator. Recently, an innovative technique for near real time oil spill detection and monitoring has been proposed. The technique is based on the general RST (Robust Satellite Technique) approach which exploits long-term multi-temporal satellite records in order to obtain a former characterization of the measured signal, in terms of expected value and natural variability, providing a further identification of signal anomalies by an automatic, unsupervised change detection step. Results obtained by using both AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data in different geographic areas and observational conditions demonstrate excellent detection capabilities both in term of sensitivity (to the presence even of very thin/old oil films) and reliability (up to zero occurrence of false alarms) mainly due to the RST invariance regardless of local and environmental conditions. Moreover, the possibility to apply RST approach to both MODIS and AVHRR sensors may ensure an improved (up to 3 hours and less) frequency of TIR (Thermal Infrared) observations as well as an increased spatial accuracy of the description of oil spills (thanks to higher spatial resolution of MODIS visible channels). In this paper, results obtained applying the proposed methodology to events of different extension and in different geographic areas are shown and discussed.

Implementation of Multiple Host Nodes in Wireless Sensing Node Network System for Landslide Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abas, Faizulsalihin bin; Takayama, Shigeru

2015-02-01

This paper proposes multiple host nodes in Wireless Sensing Node Network System (WSNNS) for landslide monitoring. As landslide disasters damage monitoring system easily, one major demand in landslide monitoring is the flexibility and robustness of the system to evaluate the current situation in the monitored area. For various reasons WSNNS can provide an important contribution to reach that aim. In this system, acceleration sensors and GPS are deployed in sensing nodes. Location information by GPS, enable the system to estimate network topology and enable the system to perceive the location in emergency by monitoring the node mode. Acceleration sensors deployment, capacitate this system to detect slow mass movement that can lead to landslide occurrence. Once deployed, sensing nodes self-organize into an autonomous wireless ad hoc network. The measurement parameter data from sensing nodes is transmitted to Host System via host node and "Cloud" System. The implementation of multiple host nodes in Local Sensing Node Network System (LSNNS), improve risk- management of the WSNNS for real-time monitoring of landslide disaster.

A Contextual Fire Detection Algorithm for Simulated HJ-1B Imagery.

PubMed

Qian, Yonggang; Yan, Guangjian; Duan, Sibo; Kong, Xiangsheng

2009-01-01

The HJ-1B satellite, which was launched on September 6, 2008, is one of the small ones placed in the constellation for disaster prediction and monitoring. HJ-1B imagery was simulated in this paper, which contains fires of various sizes and temperatures in a wide range of terrestrial biomes and climates, including RED, NIR, MIR and TIR channels. Based on the MODIS version 4 contextual algorithm and the characteristics of HJ-1B sensor, a contextual fire detection algorithm was proposed and tested using simulated HJ-1B data. It was evaluated by the probability of fire detection and false alarm as functions of fire temperature and fire area. Results indicate that when the simulated fire area is larger than 45 m(2) and the simulated fire temperature is larger than 800 K, the algorithm has a higher probability of detection. But if the simulated fire area is smaller than 10 m(2), only when the simulated fire temperature is larger than 900 K, may the fire be detected. For fire areas about 100 m(2), the proposed algorithm has a higher detection probability than that of the MODIS product. Finally, the omission and commission error were evaluated which are important factors to affect the performance of this algorithm. It has been demonstrated that HJ-1B satellite data are much sensitive to smaller and cooler fires than MODIS or AVHRR data and the improved capabilities of HJ-1B data will offer a fine opportunity for the fire detection.

IPv6 and IPsec Tests of a Space-Based Asset, the Cisco Router in Low Earth Orbit (CLEO)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ivancic, William; Stewart, David; Wood, Lloyd; Jackson, Chris; Northam, James; Wilhelm, James

2008-01-01

This report documents the design of network infrastructure to support testing and demonstrating network-centric operations and command and control of space-based assets, using IPv6 and IPsec. These tests were performed using the Cisco router in Low Earth Orbit (CLEO), an experimental payload onboard the United Kingdom--Disaster Monitoring Constellation (UK-DMC) satellite built and operated by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL). On Thursday, 29 March 2007, NASA Glenn Research Center, Cisco Systems and SSTL performed the first configuration and demonstration of IPsec and IPv6 onboard a satellite in low Earth orbit. IPv6 is the next generation of the Internet Protocol (IP), designed to improve on the popular IPv4 that built the Internet, while IPsec is the protocol used to secure communication across IP networks. This demonstration was made possible in part by NASA s Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) and shows that new commercial technologies such as mobile networking, IPv6 and IPsec can be used for commercial, military and government space applications. This has direct application to NASA s Vision for Space Exploration. The success of CLEO has paved the way for new spacebased Internet technologies, such as the planned Internet Routing In Space (IRIS) payload at geostationary orbit, which will be a U.S. Department of Defense Joint Capability Technology Demonstration. This is a sanitized report for public distribution. All real addressing has been changed to psueco addressing.

Study of mobile satellite network based on GEO/LEO satellite constellation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Xiulin; Zeng, Yujiang; Wang, Ying; Wang, Xianhui

2005-11-01

Mobile satellite network with Inter Satellite Links (ISLs), which consists of non-geostationary satellites, has the characteristic of network topology's variability. This is a great challenge to the design and management of mobile satellite network. This paper analyzes the characteristics of mobile satellite network, takes multimedia Quality of Service (QoS) as the chief object and presents a reference model based on Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO)/ Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation which adapts to the design and management of mobile satellite network. In the reference model, LEO satellites constitute service subnet with responsibility for the access, transmission and switch of the multimedia services for mobile users, while GEO satellites constitute management subnet taking on the centralized management to service subnet. Additionally ground control centre realizes the whole monitoring and control via management subnet. Comparing with terrestrial network, the above reference model physically separates management subnet from service subnet, which not only enhances the advantage of centralized management but also overcomes the shortcoming of low reliability in terrestrial network. Routing of mobile satellite network based on GEO/LEO satellite constellation is also discussed in this paper.

Extreme seismicity and disaster risks: Hazard versus vulnerability (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ismail-Zadeh, A.

2013-12-01

Although the extreme nature of earthquakes has been known for millennia due to the resultant devastation from many of them, the vulnerability of our civilization to extreme seismic events is still growing. It is partly because of the increase in the number of high-risk objects and clustering of populations and infrastructure in the areas prone to seismic hazards. Today an earthquake may affect several hundreds thousand lives and cause significant damage up to hundred billion dollars; it can trigger an ecological catastrophe if occurs in close vicinity to a nuclear power plant. Two types of extreme natural events can be distinguished: (i) large magnitude low probability events, and (ii) the events leading to disasters. Although the first-type events may affect earthquake-prone countries directly or indirectly (as tsunamis, landslides etc.), the second-type events occur mainly in economically less-developed countries where the vulnerability is high and the resilience is low. Although earthquake hazards cannot be reduced, vulnerability to extreme events can be diminished by monitoring human systems and by relevant laws preventing an increase in vulnerability. Significant new knowledge should be gained on extreme seismicity through observations, monitoring, analysis, modeling, comprehensive hazard assessment, prediction, and interpretations to assist in disaster risk analysis. The advanced disaster risk communication skill should be developed to link scientists, emergency management authorities, and the public. Natural, social, economic, and political reasons leading to disasters due to earthquakes will be discussed.

Efficacy of critical incident monitoring for evaluating disaster medical readiness and response during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

PubMed

Flabouris, Arthas; Nocera, Antony; Garner, Alan

2004-01-01

Multiple casualty incidents (MCI) are infrequent events for medical systems. This renders audit and quality improvement of the medical responses difficult. Quality tools and use of such tools for improvement is necessary to ensure that the design of medical systems facilitates the best possible response to MCI. To describe the utility of incident reporting as a quality monitoring and improvement tool during the deployment of medical teams for mass gatherings and multiple casualty incidents. Voluntary and confidential reporting of incidents was provided by members of the disaster medical response teams during the period of disaster medical team deployment for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Qualitative evaluations were conducted of reported incidents. The main outcome measures included the nature of incident and associated contributing factors, minimization factors, harm potential, and comparison with the post-deployment, cold debriefings. A total of 53 incidents were reported. Management-based decisions, poor or non-existent protocols, and equipment and communication-related issues were the principal contributing factors. Eighty nine percent of the incidents were considered preventable. A potential for harm to patients and/or team members was documented in 58% of reports, of which 76% were likely to cause at least significant harm. Of equipment incidents, personal protective equipment (33%), medical equipment (27%), provision of equipment (22%), and communication equipment (17%) predominated. Personal protective equipment (50%) was reported as the most frequent occupational health and safety incident followed by fatigue (25%). Pre-deployment planning was the most important factor for future incident impact minimization. Incident monitoring was efficacious as a quality tool in identifying incident contributing factors. Incident monitoring allowed for greater systems evaluation. Further evaluation of this quality tool within different disaster settings is required.

The Department of Defense at the Forefront of a Global Health Emergency Response: Lessons Learned from the Ebola Outbreak.

PubMed

Diehl, Glendon; Bradstreet, Nicole; Monahan, Felicia

2016-01-01

Tasked with analyzing the effectiveness of the Department of Defense's (DoD's) global health engagements, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) used the Measures Of Effectiveness in Defense Engagement and Learning (MODEL) study to conduct a qualitative analysis of the DoD's response efforts to the Ebola pandemic in West Africa. The research aims to summarize the findings of studies that monitor and evaluate the DoD's response to the Ebola pandemic or compare the effectiveness of different DoD response activities; it further aims to identify common themes around positive and negative lessons learned and recommendations that can be applied to future DoD humanitarian assistance and disaster response efforts. The search included documents and observations from PubMed, Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, the Joint Lessons Learned Information System, the DoD and US Africa Command websites, and Google Scholar. The records selected from the search were analyzed to provide insights on the DoD's humanitarian assistance and disaster response engagements that could be employed to inform future operations and policy. Furthermore, the research identifies strengths and gaps in military capabilities to respond to disasters, which can be used to inform future training and education courses. Overall, the findings demonstrate the importance of monitoring, evaluating, and assessing disaster response activities and provide new evidence to support the implementation of activities, in accordance with the Global Health Security Agenda, to strengthen all-threat prevention, detection, and response capabilities worldwide.

Use of NASA Near Real-Time and Archived Satellite Data to Support Disaster Assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McGrath, Kevin M.; Molthan, Andrew L.; Burks, Jason E.

2014-01-01

NASA's Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center partners with the NWS to provide near realtime data in support of a variety of weather applications, including disasters. SPoRT supports NASA's Applied Sciences Program: Disasters focus area by developing techniques that will aid the disaster monitoring, response, and assessment communities. SPoRT has explored a variety of techniques for utilizing archived and near real-time NASA satellite data. An increasing number of end-users - such as the NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit (DAT) - access geospatial data via a Web Mapping Service (WMS). SPoRT has begun developing open-standard Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data sets via WMS to respond to end-user needs.

The Monitoring Case of Ground-Based Synthetic Aperture Radar with Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, H. Y.; Zhai, Q. P.; Chen, L.; Liu, Y. J.; Zhou, K. Q.; Wang, Y. S.; Dou, Y. D.

2017-09-01

The features of the landslide geological disaster are wide distribution, variety, high frequency, high intensity, destructive and so on. It has become a natural disaster with harmful and wide range of influence. The technology of ground-based synthetic aperture radar is a novel deformation monitoring technology developed in recent years. The features of the technology are large monitoring area, high accuracy, long distance without contact and so on. In this paper, fast ground-based synthetic aperture radar (Fast-GBSAR) based on frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) system is used to collect the data of Ma Liuzui landslide in Chongqing. The device can reduce the atmospheric errors caused by rapidly changing environment. The landslide deformation can be monitored in severe weather conditions (for example, fog) by Fast-GBSAR with acquisition speed up to 5 seconds per time. The data of Ma Liuzui landslide in Chongqing are analyzed in this paper. The result verifies that the device can monitor landslide deformation under severe weather conditions.

CarbonSat Constellation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Wei; Tobehn, Carsten; Ernst, Robert; Bovensmann, Heinrich; Buchwitz, Michael; Burrows, John P.; Notholt, John

1 Carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) are the most important manmade greenhouse gases (GHGs) which are driving global climate change. Currently, the CO2 measurements from the ground observing network are still the main sources of information but due to the limited number of measurement stations the coverage is limited. In addition, CO2 monitoring and trading is often based mainly on bottom-up calculations and an independent top down verification is limited due to the lack of global measurement data with local resolution. The first CO2 and CH4 mapping from SCIAMACHY on ENVISAT shows that satellites add important missing global information. Current GHG measurement satellites (GOSAT)are limited either in spatial or temporal resolution and coverage. These systems have to collect data over a year or even longer to produce global regional fluxes products. Conse-quently global, timely, higher spatial resolution and high accuracy measurement are required for: 1. A good understanding of the CO2 and CH4 sources and sinks for reliable climate predic-tion; and 2. Independent and transparent verification of accountable sources and sinks in supporting Kyoto and upcoming protocols The CarbonSat constellation idea comes out the trade off of resolution and swath width during CarbonSat mission definition studies. In response to the urgent need to support the Kyoto and upcoming protocols, a feasibility study has been carried out. The proposed solution is a constellation of five CarbonSat satellites in 614km LTAN 13:00, which is able to provide global, daily CO2 and CH4 measurement everywhere on the Earth with high spatial resolution 2 × 2 km and low uncertainty lt;2ppm (CO2) and lt;8ppb (CH4). The unique global daily measurement capability significantly increases the number of cloud free measurements, which enables more reliable services associated with reduced uncertainty, e.g. to 0.15ppm (CO2) per month in 10km and even more timely products. The CarbonSat Constellation in combination with inverse modelling techniques will be able to provide information services, such as global quarterly 1. CO2 and CH4 regional flux updates 2. CO2 emission reporting from hot spots e.g. the power plant 3. CH4 emission reporting from hot spots e.g. the pipeline/oil and gas fields. The team led by the industry partner -OHB now promotes an internationally coordinated CarbonSat constellation to provide operational services contributing to the independent iden-tification and verification of man-made & natural CO2 and CH4 emissions and claimed carbon sinks. It is proposed that the CarbonSat Constellation will be implemented through an internation-ally coordinated constellation. Each country contributes one satellite in the constellation and establishes its own ground station to provide data for national applications. A central coordi-nation will be set up for the constellation operation, data calibration and international data distribution. The proposed approach provides independence for each partner and is financially more feasible. In addition, the CarbonSat Constellation consortium could be a bridge/forum between developed countries and developing countries in establishing common understandings of and actions on the global climate change. The world wide transparency provided by this international forum is also critical in supporting Kyoto protocol and upcoming international agreement in man-made Greenhouse emission reduction. The paper will present the CarbonSat Constellation design and the proposed products/ services to verify CO2 and CH4 sources and sinks from a constellation of five CarbonSat satellites through a multilateral collaboration.

The establishment of experimental watershed in Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yu-Chi; Tsung, Shun-Chung; Wang, Hau-Wei; Chen, Cheng-Hsin; Chang, Ya-Chi; Ho, Jui-Yi; Lee, Shih-Chiang; Hong, Jian-Hao

2015-04-01

The rainfall distribution in Taiwan is non-uniform in space and unsteady in time. The water level in the river usually rises rapidly due to the steep slope gradient in the upland area of the watershed. In addition, urbanization and high rainfall intensity result in an increase in surface runoff and decrease the time of concentration. All of these lead to flooding-related disasters and influence people's lives. Thus, the establishment of a more complete hydro-information will increase our understanding of the characteristics of watersheds, prevent disasters, and mitigate damages. To overcome these deficiencies, the Water Resources Agency (WRA), Ministry of Economic Affairs has identified Yilan and Dianbao River Basin to develop a long-term monitoring, then Taiwan Typhoon and Flood Research Institute is responsible for this project. The monitoring sites had been installed in 2012. The sensors for monitoring include rainfall gauge, water level sensor, water surface velocity sensor and pressure-type water depth sensor. Totally, there are 73 sites in the experimental watershed, including the sites installed by the Central Weather Bureau and the Water Resources Agency. Over 30 million data have been collected and validated. Most of data have been passed the processes and considered reliable data. Then, three types of models are applied including rainfall-runoff, river routing and two-dimensional flood models. The simulation results can properly fit the monitored data in these selected events and indicates these models are proper for the experimental watersheds and suitable used for real-time warning. Finally, for purpose of hydrological monitoring and disaster mitigation, a website has been created to show the monitoring data. The users can login and browse the real time monitoring data and figure of temporal data in the past 24 hours and get the information for flood mitigation and emergent evacuation.

Monitoring Space Radiation Hazards with the Responsive Environmental Assessment Commercially Hosted (REACH) Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazur, J. E.; Guild, T. B.; Crain, W.; Crain, S.; Holker, D.; Quintana, S.; O'Brien, T. P., III; Kelly, M. A.; Barnes, R. J.; Sotirelis, T.

2017-12-01

The Responsive Environmental Assessment Commercial Hosting (REACH) project uses radiation dosimeters on a commercial satellite constellation in low Earth orbit to provide unprecedented spatial and time sampling of space weather radiation hazards. The spatial and time scales of natural space radiation environments coupled with constraints for the hosting accommodation drove the instrumentation requirements and the plan for the final orbital constellation. The project has delivered a total of thirty two radiation dosimeter instruments for launch with each instrument containing two dosimeters with different passive shielding and electronic thresholds to address proton-induced single-event effects, vehicle charging, and total ionizing dose. There are two REACH instruments currently operating with four more planned for launch by the time of the 2017 meeting. Our aim is to field a long-lived system of highly-capable radiation detectors to monitor the hazards of single-event effects, total ionizing dose, and spacecraft charging with maximized spatial coverage and with minimal time latency. We combined a robust detection technology with a commercial satellite hosting to produce a new demonstration for satellite situational awareness and for other engineering and science applications.

A Solar Wind Source Tracking Concept for Inner Heliosphere Constellations of Spacecraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luhmann, J. G.; Li, Yan; Arge, C. N.; Hoeksema, Todd; Zhao, Xuepu

2003-09-01

During the next decade, a number of spacecraft carrying in-situ particles and fields instruments, including the twin STEREO spacecraft, ACE, WIND, and possibly Triana, will be monitoring the solar wind in the inner heliosphere. At the same time, several suitably instrumented planetary missions, including Nozomi, Mars Express, and Messenger will be in either their cruise or orbital phases which expose them at times to interplanetary conditions and/or regions affected by the solar wind interaction. In addition to the mutual support role for the individual missions that can be gained from this coincidence, this set provides an opportunity for evaluating the challenges and tools for a future targeted heliospheric constellation mission. In the past few years the capability of estimating the solar sources of the local solar wind has improved, in part due to the ability to monitor the full-disk magnetic field of the Sun on an almost continuous basis. We illustrate a concept for a model and web-based display that routinely updates the estimated sources of the solar wind arriving at inner heliospheric spacecraft.

“You can get there from here”: Advanced low cost propulsion concepts for small satellites beyond LEO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker, Adam M.; da Silva Curiel, Alex; Schaffner, Jake; Sweeting, Martin

2005-07-01

Small satellites have historically been forced to use low cost propulsion, or to do without in order to maintain low cost. Since 1999 an increasing number of SSTL's customers have demanded the capability to precisely position and subsequently manoeuvre their satellites, driven largely by the current attraction of small satellite constellations such as Disaster Monitoring (DMC), which require propulsion for launcher injection error correction, drag compensation, constellation phasing and proximity manoeuvring and rendezvous. SSTL has successfully flight qualified a simple, low cost propulsion system based on a low power (15-100 W) resistojet employing green propellants such as butane and xenon, and demonstrated key constellation manoeuvres. The system is capable of up to 60 m/s deltaV and will be described here. The SSTL low power resistojet is however limited by a low Isp ( ˜50s for Xenon in the present design, and ˜100s with nitrogen and butane) and a slow reaction time ( 10min warm-up required). An increasing desire to apply small satellite technology to high deltaV missions while retaining the low cost aspect demands new solutions. 'Industry standard' solutions based on cryogenic propulsion, or toxic, carcinogenic storable propellants such as hydrazine/nitrogen oxides combination are not favourable for small satellite missions developed within SSTL's low cost engineering environment. This paper describes a number of strawman missions with high deltaV and/or precision manoeuvring requirements and some low cost propulsion solutions which have been explored at the Surrey Space Centre to meet future needs: Deployment of a complex constellation of nano- or pico-satellites from a secondary launch to a new orbit. The S3TV concept has been developed to allow deployment up to 12 payloads from an 'off-the-shelf' thrust tube, using a restartable nitrous oxide hybrid engine, operating in a dual mode with resistojets for attitude control. Orbit transfer of an enhanced microsatellite from a typical 700 km sun-synchronous orbit to a lower or higher orbit using a low cost 40 N thrust concentrated hydrogen peroxide/kerosene bipropellant engine. A spin stabilized 'tug' concept capable of providing between 130 and 300 m/s of deltaV to the payload is described. Transfer of an enhanced microsatellite from LEO to lunar orbit using a novel, storable propellant solar thermal propulsion system under development at the Surrey Space Centre. The solar thermal propulsion unit is designed for low cost small satellite support and will be compared with a more traditional approach using and industry standard storable bipropellant chemical engine. Nanosatellite manoeuvring for formation flying using advanced low power electric propulsion. A colloid thruster system concept is planned for development jointly between SSTL, Queen Mary University London and Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK. The colloid thruster system is designed to complement an existing butane resistojet to give full 3-axis manoeuvrability to an upgraded SNAP nanosatellite platform which could be reflown in 2007 alongside ESA's Proba 2 technology demonstrator microsatellite. A comparison between low power resistojets, a colloid thruster system, and pulsed plasma thrusters for orbit manoeuvring of microsatellites will be made. This paper's final section will briefly describe some of the interplanetary missions which have been considered at the Surrey Space Centre, and will highlight the few as yet practical solutions for sending small spacecraft on high deltaV missions without the use of a costly upper stage.

SAR sensors onboard small satellites - Problems and prospectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perrotta, Giorgio

A system concept based on a constellation of 4 to 6 lightsats in low inclined circular orbits is presented. Each satellite carries a SAR sensor with two antennas, resulting in 5-m resolution and continuous coverage of the earth belt between 50 deg N and 50 deg S latitude, with typical revisit intervals of a few hours. Such a system appears highly suitable for tactical applications and can be adapted to the needs of conventional disarmament verification. The system can be used for: surface and subsurface sea traffic surveillance; near real-time tracking of oil spills; early warning of events preceding natural disasters; and rapid assessment of postdisaster damage. The system can also support and complement other remote sensing satellites providing, for example, the HF components of the effects of the interaction between meteorological events and soil, vegetation, and national resources in general.

Land cover changes induced by the great east Japan earthquake in 2011

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishihara, Mitsunori; Tadono, Takeo

2017-03-01

The east Japan earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011 was a big natural disaster, comprising the large earthquake shock, tsunami, and Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident. These disasters caused changes in the land use and land cover (LULC) in Japan’s Tohoku district. While the LULC map created before the disaster is available, as yet there is no precise LULC map of the district after the disaster. In this study, we created a precise LULC map for the years 2013-2015 post-disaster with 30-m spatial resolution using the Landsat-8 with the Operational Land Imager (OLI) to evaluate the changes in LULC induced by the disaster. Our results indicate many changes in areas categorized as rice paddies primarily into grass categories along the coast damaged by the tsunami and in the evacuation zone around the FDNPP. Since there is a possibility of future LULC changes according to the change of the evacuation zone and implementation of reconstruction and revitalization efforts, we recommend continual monitoring of the changes in LULC by the use of satellite data in order to evaluate the long-term effects of the disaster.

Land cover changes induced by the great east Japan earthquake in 2011.

PubMed

Ishihara, Mitsunori; Tadono, Takeo

2017-03-31

The east Japan earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011 was a big natural disaster, comprising the large earthquake shock, tsunami, and Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident. These disasters caused changes in the land use and land cover (LULC) in Japan's Tohoku district. While the LULC map created before the disaster is available, as yet there is no precise LULC map of the district after the disaster. In this study, we created a precise LULC map for the years 2013-2015 post-disaster with 30-m spatial resolution using the Landsat-8 with the Operational Land Imager (OLI) to evaluate the changes in LULC induced by the disaster. Our results indicate many changes in areas categorized as rice paddies primarily into grass categories along the coast damaged by the tsunami and in the evacuation zone around the FDNPP. Since there is a possibility of future LULC changes according to the change of the evacuation zone and implementation of reconstruction and revitalization efforts, we recommend continual monitoring of the changes in LULC by the use of satellite data in order to evaluate the long-term effects of the disaster.

GPM Mission Overview and U.S. Science Status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hou, Arthur Y.; Azarbarzin, Art; Skofronick, Gail; Carlisle, Candace

2012-01-01

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission is an international satellite mission to unify and advance precipitation measurements from a constellation of research and operational sensors to provide "next-generation" precipitation products [1-2]. Water is fundamental to life on Earth. Knowing where and how much rain and snow falls globally is vital to understanding how weather and climate impact both our environment and Earth's water and energy cycles, including effects on agriculture, fresh water availability, and responses to natural disasters. Since rainfall and snowfall vary greatly from place to place and over time, satellites can provide more uniform observations of rain and snow around the globe than ground instruments, especially in areas where surface measurements are difficult. Relative to current global rainfall products, GPM data products will be characterized by: (l) more accurate instantaneous precipitation measurements (especially for light rain and cold-season solid precipitation), (2) more frequent sampling by an expanded constellation of domestic and international microwave radiometers including operational humidity sounders, (3) intercalibrated microwave brightness temperatures from constellation radiometers within a unified framework, and (4) physical-based precipitation retrievals from constellation radiometers using a common a priori cloud/hydrometeor database derived from GPM Core sensor measurements. The cornerstone of the GPM mission is the deployment of a Core Observatory in a unique 65 non-Sun-synchronous orbit to serve as a physics observatory and a reference standard to unify precipitation measurements by a constellation of dedicated and operational passive microwave sensors. The design of the GPM Core Observatory is an advancement of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)'s highly successful rain-sensing package. The Core Observatory will carry a Ku/Ka-band Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) and a multichannel (l0-183 GHz) GPM Microwave Radiometer (GMI). Since light rain and falling snow account for a significant fraction of precipitation occurrence in middle and high latitudes, the GPM instruments extend the capabilities of the TRMM sensors to detect falling snow, measure light rain, and provide, for the first time, quantitative estimates of microphysical properties of precipitation particles. The combined use of DPR and GMI measurements will place greater constraints on possible solutions to radiometer retrievals to improve the accuracy and consistency of precipitation retrievals from all constellation radiometers. The GMI uses 13 different microwave channels to observe energy from the different types of precipitation through clouds for estimating everything from heavy to light rain and for detecting falling snow. As the satellite passes over Earth, the GMI constantly scans a region 885 kilometers across. The Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation built the GMI under contract with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The DPR provides three-dimensional information about precipitation particles derived from reflected energy by these particles at different heights within the cloud system. The two frequencies of the DPR also allow the radar to infer the sizes of precipitation particles and offer insights into a storm's physical characteristics. The Ka-band frequeny scans across a region of 125 kilometers and is nested within the wider scan of the Ku-band frequency of 245 kilometers. The Japan Aerospace and Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) built the DPR. The Core Observatory satellite will fly at an altitude of 253 miles (407 kilometers) in a non-Sun-synchronous orbit that covers the Earth from 65 S to 65 N - from about the Antarctic Circle to the Arctic Circle. The GPM Core Observatory is being developed and tested at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Once complete, a Japanese H-lIA rocket will carry thPM Core Observatory into orbit from Tanegashima Island, Japan in 2014. The GPM constellation is envisioned to comprise 8 or more microwave sensors provided by partners, including both conical imagers and cross-track sounders. GPM is currently a partnership between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Additional partnerships are under development to include microwave radiometers on the French-Indian Megha-Tropiques satellite and U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites, as well as humidity sounders or precipitation sensors on operational satellites such as the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP), NOAA-NASA Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) satellites, European MetOp satellites, and DMSP follow-on sensors. In addition, data from Chinese and Russian microwave radiometers may be available through international cooperation under the auspices of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and Group on Earth Observations (GEO). GPM's next-generation global precipitation data will lead to scientific advances and societal benefits in the following areas: (1) Improved knowledge of the Earth's water cycle and its link to climate change (2) New insights into precipitation microphysics, storm structures and large-scale atmospheric processes (3) Better understanding of climate sensitivity and feedback processes (4) Extended capabilities in monitoring and predicting hurricanes and other extreme weather events (5) Improved forecasting capabilities for natural hazards, including floods, droughts and landslides. (6) Enhanced numerical prediction skills for weather and climate (7) Better agricultural crop forecasting and monitoring of freshwater resources. An overview of the GPM mission concept and science activities in the United States, together with an update on international collaborations in radiometer intercalibration and ground validation, will be presented.

Monitoring and evaluation of disaster response efforts undertaken by local health departments: a rapid realist review.

PubMed

Gossip, Kate; Gouda, Hebe; Lee, Yong Yi; Firth, Sonja; Bermejo, Raoul; Zeck, Willibald; Jimenez Soto, Eliana

2017-06-29

Local health departments are often at the forefront of a disaster response, attending to the immediate trauma inflicted by the disaster and also the long term health consequences. As the frequency and severity of disasters are projected to rise, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) efforts are critical to help local health departments consolidate past experiences and improve future response efforts. Local health departments often conduct M&E work post disaster, however, many of these efforts fail to improve response procedures. We undertook a rapid realist review (RRR) to examine why M&E efforts undertaken by local health departments do not always result in improved disaster response efforts. We aimed to complement existing frameworks by focusing on the most basic and pragmatic steps of a M&E cycle targeted towards continuous system improvements. For these purposes, we developed a theoretical framework that draws on the quality improvement literature to 'frame' the steps in the M&E cycle. This framework encompassed a M&E cycle involving three stages (i.e., document and assess, disseminate and implement) that must be sequentially completed to learn from past experiences and improve future disaster response efforts. We used this framework to guide our examination of the literature and to identify any context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) configurations which describe how M&E may be constrained or enabled at each stage of the M&E cycle. This RRR found a number of explanatory CMO configurations that provide valuable insights into some of the considerations that should be made when using M&E to improve future disaster response efforts. Firstly, to support the accurate documentation and assessment of a disaster response, local health departments should consider how they can: establish a culture of learning within health departments; use embedded training methods; or facilitate external partnerships. Secondly, to enhance the widespread dissemination of lessons learned and facilitate inter-agency learning, evaluation reports should use standardised formats and terminology. Lastly, to increase commitment to improvement processes, local health department leaders should possess positive leadership attributes and encourage shared decision making. This study is among the first to conduct a synthesis of the CMO configurations which facilitate or hinder M&E efforts aimed at improving future disaster responses. It makes a significant contribution to the disaster literature and provides an evidence base that can be used to provide pragmatic guidance for improving M&E efforts of local health departments. PROSPERO 2015: CRD42015023526 .

Synergistic Opportunities for the Geostationary Satellite Constellation: Status of the CEOS Activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Saadi, J. A.; Zehner, C.

2012-12-01

This talk will summarize activities of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Atmospheric Composition Constellation (ACC) to collaboratively advance the next generation of air quality monitoring from space. Over the past 2 years, CEOS ACC have developed a position paper describing the benefits to be derived from such collaboration. The resulting ACC recommendations were endorsed by CEOS in May 2011. We will discuss next steps toward implementing this vision, starting with a new 3-year CEOS Action in 2012. Several countries and space agencies are currently planning to launch geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) missions in 2017-2022 to obtain atmospheric composition measurements for characterizing anthropogenic and natural distributions of tropospheric ozone, aerosols, and their precursors. These missions include Europe's ESA Sentinel-4 with EUMETSAT IRS, the United States' NASA GEO-CAPE, Korea's ME/MEST/KARI GEMS, and Japan's JAXA GMAP-Asia. GEO observations offer a quantum advance in air quality monitoring from space by providing measurements many times per day. However, a single GEO satellite views only a portion of the globe. These satellites, positioned to view Europe, East Asia, and North America, will collectively provide hourly coverage of the industrialized Northern Hemisphere at similar spatial resolutions. Planned low Earth orbit (LEO) missions will provide complementary daily global observations. Observations from a single LEO satellite will overlap those from each GEO satellite once per day, providing a means for combining the GEO observations and a necessary perspective for interpreting global impacts of smaller scale processes. The EUMETSAT Metop series, NOAA/NASA JPSS series, and ESA Sentinel-5 Precursor and Sentinel-5 missions will each provide such daily overlap with the GEO missions. The Canadian PCW PHEMOS mission will make an additional unique suite of observations. PCW will provide quasi-geostationary coverage over the Arctic that overlaps with each geostationary satellite over 30N - 60N, adding opportunities for intercalibration many times per day. The development of common data products, data distribution protocols, and calibration strategies will synergistically enable critically needed understanding of the interactions between regional and global atmospheric composition. Common air quality trace gas products will be tropospheric column O3, NO2, HCHO, and SO2 nominally at 8 km spatial resolution and 1 hour temporal frequency. Detection of aerosols in the UV will allow absorbing aerosols to be distinguished from total aerosol optical depth, providing information on aerosol speciation and particularly relevant to the air quality/climate interface associated with aerosol radiative forcing. Such activities directly address societal benefit areas of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), including Health, Energy, Climate, Disasters, and Ecosystems, and are responsive to the requirements of each mission to provide advanced user services and societal benefits in their own regions.

Fault Management Technology Maturation for NASA's Constellation Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Waterman, Robert D.

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the maturation of fault management technology in preparation for the Constellation Program. There is a review of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) and a discussion of a couple of incidents with the shuttle main engine and tanking that indicated the necessity for predictive maintenance. Included is a review of the planned Ares I-X Ground Diagnostic Prototype (GDP) and further information about detection and isolation of faults using Testability Engineering and Maintenance System (TEAMS). Another system that being readied for use that detects anomalies, the Inductive Monitoring System (IMS). The IMS automatically learns how the system behaves and alerts operations it the current behavior is anomalous. The comparison of STS-83 and STS-107 (i.e., the Columbia accident) is shown as an example of the anomaly detection capabilities.

An introduction to the global positioning system and some geological applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dixon, T. H.

1991-01-01

The fundamental principles of the global positioning system (GPS) are reviewed, with consideration given to geological and geophysical applications and related accuracy requirements. Recent improvements are emphasized which relate to areas such as equipment cost, limitations in the GPS satellite constellation, data analysis, uncertainties in satellite orbits and propagation delays, and problems in resolving carrier phase cycle ambiguities. Earthquake processes and near-fault crustal deformation monitoring have been facilitated by advances in GPS data acquisition and analysis. Horizontal positioning capability has been improved by new satellite constellation, better models, and global tracking networks. New classes of tectonic problems may now be studied through GPS, such as kinematic descriptions of crustal deformation and the measurement of relative plate motion at convergent boundaries. Continued improvements in the GPS are foreseen.

Post-disaster health effects: strategies for investigation and data collection. Experiences from the Enschede firework disaster.

PubMed

Roorda, J; van Stiphout, W A H J; Huijsman-Rubingh, R R R

2004-12-01

Public health policy is increasingly concerned with the care for victims of a disaster. This article describes the design and implementation of an epidemiological study, which seeks to match care services to the specific problems of persons affected by a large scale incident. The study was prompted by the explosion of a firework depot in Enschede, the Netherlands. All those directly affected by this incident (residents, emergency services personnel, and people who happened to be in the area at the time), some of whom suffered personal loss or injury. The project investigates both the physical and psychological effects of the disaster, as well as the target group's subsequent call on healthcare services. A questionnaire based follow up survey of those directly affected and an ongoing monitoring of health problems relying on reports from healthcare professionals. The follow up survey started three weeks after the incident and was repeated 18 months and almost four years after the incident. The monitoring is conducted over a four year period by general practitioners, the local mental health services department, occupational health services, and the youth healthcare services department. It provides ongoing information. The results of the study are regularly discussed with healthcare professionals and policy makers, and are made known to the research participants. The paper also explains the considerations that were made in designing the study to help others making up their research plans when confronted with possible health effects of a disaster.

Rockburst Disaster Prediction of Isolated Coal Pillar by Electromagnetic Radiation Based on Frictional Effect

PubMed Central

Zhao, Tongbin; Yin, Yanchun; Xiao, Fukun; Tan, Yunliang; Zou, Jianchao

2014-01-01

Based on the understanding that charges generated during coal cracking are due to coal particle friction, a microstructure model was developed by considering four different variation laws of friction coefficient. Firstly, the frictional energy release of coal sample during uniaxial compressive tests was investigated and discussed. Then electromagnetic radiation method was used to predict the potential rockburst disaster in isolated coal pillar mining face, Muchengjian Colliery. The results indicate that the friction coefficient of coal particles decreases linearly with the increase of axial loading force. In predicting the strain-type rockburst, the high stress state of coal must be closely monitored. Field monitoring shows that electromagnetic radiation signal became abnormal before the occurrence of rockburst during isolated coal pillar mining. Furthermore, rockburst tends to occur at the early and ending stages of isolated coal pillar extraction. Mine-site investigation shows the occurrence zone of rockburst is consistent with the prediction, proving the reliability of the electromagnetic radiation method to predict strain-type rockburst disaster. PMID:25054186

Rockburst disaster prediction of isolated coal pillar by electromagnetic radiation based on frictional effect.

PubMed

Zhao, Tongbin; Yin, Yanchun; Xiao, Fukun; Tan, Yunliang; Zou, Jianchao

2014-01-01

Based on the understanding that charges generated during coal cracking are due to coal particle friction, a microstructure model was developed by considering four different variation laws of friction coefficient. Firstly, the frictional energy release of coal sample during uniaxial compressive tests was investigated and discussed. Then electromagnetic radiation method was used to predict the potential rockburst disaster in isolated coal pillar mining face, Muchengjian Colliery. The results indicate that the friction coefficient of coal particles decreases linearly with the increase of axial loading force. In predicting the strain-type rockburst, the high stress state of coal must be closely monitored. Field monitoring shows that electromagnetic radiation signal became abnormal before the occurrence of rockburst during isolated coal pillar mining. Furthermore, rockburst tends to occur at the early and ending stages of isolated coal pillar extraction. Mine-site investigation shows the occurrence zone of rockburst is consistent with the prediction, proving the reliability of the electromagnetic radiation method to predict strain-type rockburst disaster.

The New Aphrodite school on Disasters Food and Poverty organized by CIMA Research Foundation and University of Genova

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boni, G.

2009-04-01

CIMA is a Research Foundation which aim is to advance science and engineering in environmentally related fields, focusing on public health and safety, civil protection and the preservation of terrestrial and water-related ecosystems. This aim is accomplished through scientific research, technology transfer and high level training services. Here we present the "New Aphrodite school on Disasters Food and Poverty" jointly managed by CIMA Foundation, and the University of Genova. The school is organized to provide to international students, professionals and government officials, mainly from poor or developing countries, formation for the management, prediction and prevention of natural and man made disasters. The expertise of the teachers, mainly CIMA's researchers, comes from a long term support of CIMA Foundation to the Italian Civil Protection in developing the advanced national system for risk prediction, prevention and management. The school is organized in two levels. The first level includes an international master of science degree in "Environmental Engineering: Sustainable Development and Risk Management", which classes are given in English, and a master for professional and government officials in "Disasters, food and poverty". The second level includes an international Ph.D. programme in "Information sciences and technologies for system monitoring and environmental risk management". Short training courses for international government official are periodically organized. At present the school is organizing short courses for officials of Civil Protections of Venezuela, Barbados and Mozambique. The philosophy underlying the teaching activities is to promote a multi-disciplinary approach to disaster mitigation, prevention and prediction. Special focus is on the potential of high-tech low-cost technologies for rapid communication and disaster monitoring, such as satellite based technologies. Such technologies are seen as the best way to support the development of autonomous capacities in developing countries, with affordable investment costs, and to improve globally the understanding of the phenomena leading to disasters.

Autonomy Architectures for a Constellation of Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barrett, Anthony

2000-01-01

Until the past few years, missions typically involved fairly large expensive spacecraft. Such missions have primarily favored using older proven technologies over more recently developed ones, and humans controlled spacecraft by manually generating detailed command sequences with low-level tools and then transmitting the sequences for subsequent execution on a spacecraft controller. This approach toward controlling a spacecraft has worked spectacularly on previous missions, but it has limitations deriving from communications restrictions - scheduling time to communicate with a particular spacecraft involves competing with other projects due to the limited number of deep space network antennae. This implies that a spacecraft can spend a long time just waiting whenever a command sequence fails. This is one reason why the New Millennium program has an objective to migrate parts of mission control tasks onboard a spacecraft to reduce wait time by making spacecraft more robust. The migrated software is called a "remote agent" and has 4 components: a mission manager to generate the high level goals, a planner/scheduler to turn goals into activities while reasoning about future expected situations, an executive/diagnostics engine to initiate and maintain activities while interpreting sensed events by reasoning about past and present situations, and a conventional real-time subsystem to interface with the spacecraft to implement an activity's primitive actions. In addition to needing remote planning and execution for isolated spacecraft, a trend toward multiple-spacecraft missions points to the need for remote distributed planning and execution. The past few years have seen missions with growing numbers of probes. Pathfinder has its rover (Sojourner), Cassini has its lander (Huygens), and the New Millenium Deep Space 3 (DS3) proposal involves a constellation of 3 spacecraft for interferometric mapping. This trend is expected to continue to progressively larger fleets. For example, one mission proposed to succeed DS3 would have 18 spacecraft flying in formation in order to detect earth-sized planets orbiting other stars. A proposed magnetospheric constellation would involve 5 to 500 spacecraft in Earth orbit to measure global phenomena within the magnetosphere. This work describes and compares three autonomy architectures for a system that continuously plans to control a fleet of spacecraft using collective mission goals instead of goals or command sequences for each spacecraft. A fleet of self-commanding spacecraft would autonomously coordinate itself to satisfy high level science and engineering goals in a changing partially-understood environment making feasible the operation of tens or even a hundred spacecraft (such as for interferometry or plasma physics missions). The easiest way to adapt autonomous spacecraft research to controlling constellations involves treating the constellation as a single spacecraft. Here one spacecraft directly controls the others as if they were connected. The controlling "master" spacecraft performs all autonomy reasoning, and the slaves only have real-time subsystems to execute the master's commands and transmit local telemetry/observations. The executive/diagnostics module starts actions and the master's real-time subsystem controls the action either locally or remotely through a slave. While the master/slave approach benefits from conceptual simplicity, it relies on an assumption that the master spacecraft's executive can continuously monitor the slaves' real-time subsystems, and this relies on high-bandwidth highly-reliable communications. Since unintended results occur fairly rarely, one way to relax the bandwidth requirements involves only monitoring unexpected events in spacecraft. Unfortunately, this disables the ability to monitor for unexpected events between spacecraft and leads to a host of coordination problems among the slaves. Also, failures in the communications system can result in losing slaves. The other two architectures improve robustness while reducing communications by progressively distributing more of the other three remote agent components across the constellation. In a teamwork architecture, all spacecraft have executives and real-time subsystems - only the leader has the planner/scheduler and mission manager. Finally, distributing all remote agent components leads to a peer-to-peer approach toward constellation control.

Public awareness and disaster risk reduction: just-in-time networks and learning.

PubMed

Ardalan, Ali; Linkov, Faina; Shubnikov, Eugene; LaPorte, Ronald E

2008-01-01

Improving public awareness through education has been recognized widely as a basis for reducing the risk of disasters. Some of the first disaster just-in-time (JIT) education modules were built within 3-6 days after the south Asia tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and the Bam, Pakistan, and Indonesia earthquakes through a Supercourse. Web monitoring showed that visitors represented a wide spectrum of disciplines and educational levels from 120 developed and developing countries. Building disaster networks using an educational strategy seizes the opportunity of increased public interest to teach and find national and global expertise in hazard and risk information. To be effective, an expert network and a template for the delivery of JIT education must be prepared before an event occurs, focusing on developing core materials that could be customized rapidly, and then be based on the information received from a recent disaster. The recyclable process of the materials would help to improve the quality of the teaching, and decrease the time required for preparation. The core materials can be prepared for disasters resulting from events such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, and bioterrorism.

Multi-Satellite Observation Scheduling for Large Area Disaster Emergency Response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niu, X. N.; Tang, H.; Wu, L. X.

2018-04-01

an optimal imaging plan, plays a key role in coordinating multiple satellites to monitor the disaster area. In the paper, to generate imaging plan dynamically according to the disaster relief, we propose a dynamic satellite task scheduling method for large area disaster response. First, an initial robust scheduling scheme is generated by a robust satellite scheduling model in which both the profit and the robustness of the schedule are simultaneously maximized. Then, we use a multi-objective optimization model to obtain a series of decomposing schemes. Based on the initial imaging plan, we propose a mixed optimizing algorithm named HA_NSGA-II to allocate the decomposing results thus to obtain an adjusted imaging schedule. A real disaster scenario, i.e., 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, is revisited in terms of rapid response using satellite resources and used to evaluate the performance of the proposed method with state-of-the-art approaches. We conclude that our satellite scheduling model can optimize the usage of satellite resources so as to obtain images in disaster response in a more timely and efficient manner.

A satellite constellation optimization for a regional GNSS remote sensing mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gavili Kilaneh, Narin; Mashhadi Hossainali, Masoud

2017-04-01

Due to the recent advances in the Global Navigation Satellite System Remote sensing (GNSS¬R) applications, optimization of a satellite orbit to investigate the Earth's properties seems significant. The comparison of the GNSS direct and reflected signals received by a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite introduces a new technique to remotely sense the Earth. Several GNSS¬R missions including Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) have been proposed for different applications such as the ocean wind speed and height monitoring. The geometric optimization of the satellite orbit before starting the mission is a key step for every space mission. Since satellite constellation design varies depending on the application, we have focused on the required geometric criteria for oceanography applications in a specified region. Here, the total number of specular points, their spatial distribution and the accuracy of their position are assumed to be sufficient for oceanography applications. Gleason's method is used to determine the position of specular points. We considered the 2-D lattice and 3-D lattice theory of flower constellation to survey whether a circular orbit or an elliptical one is suitable to improve the solution. Genetic algorithm is implemented to solve the problem. To check the visibility condition between the LEO and GPS satellites, the satellite initial state is propagated by a variable step size numerical integration method. Constellation orbit parameters achieved by optimization provide a better resolution and precession for the specular points in the study area of this research.

Decontamination Work and the Long-term Increase in Hospital Visits for Hymenoptera Stings Following the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster.

PubMed

Ozaki, Akihiko; Yokota, Takeru; Nomura, Shuhei; Tsubokura, Masaharu; Leppold, Claire; Tanimoto, Tetsuya; Miura, Toru; Yamamoto, Kana; Sawano, Toyoaki; Tsukada, Manabu; Kami, Masahiro; Kanazawa, Yukio; Ohira, Hiromichi

2017-10-01

Animals, including arthropods, are one health threat that can be affected by disasters. This institution-based study aimed to assess trends in Hymenoptera stings following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. We reviewed the medical records of patients with hymenopteran stings who visited Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital, located 23 km from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, from March 2005 to March 2016. Patient and sting characteristics of post-disaster patients were examined, and the annual incidence of hospital visits for hymenopteran stings was compared with the pre-disaster baseline, calculating an incidence rate ratio (IRR) for each year. We identified 152 pre-disaster patients (2005-2011) and 222 post-disaster patients (2011-2016). In the post-disaster period, 160 males (72.1%) were identified, with a median age of 59 years (range: 2-89 years). A total of 45 patients (20.3%) were decontamination workers. Post-disaster increases were found in the IRR for hymenopteran stings, peaking first in 2011 (IRR: 2.8; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.9-4.2) and later in 2014 (IRR: 3.2; 95% CI: 2.4-4.3) and 2015 (IRR 3.3; 95% CI: 2.5-4.4). Long-term increases were found in the IRR of hospital visits for hymenopteran stings in an institution affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Decontamination workers appear to have been particularly affected by this phenomenon. Better disaster field worker monitoring and education about potential environmental health hazards may help to identify and prevent worker exposure to insect stings and other vectors in these settings. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:545-551).

Post-disaster health impact of natural hazards in the Philippines in 2013.

PubMed

Salazar, Miguel Antonio; Pesigan, Arturo; Law, Ronald; Winkler, Volker

2016-01-01

In 2011, the Health Emergency Management Bureau (HEMB) created the Surveillance for Post Extreme Emergencies and Disasters (SPEED), a real-time syndromic surveillance system that allows the early detection and monitoring of post-disaster disease trends. SPEED can assist health leaders in making informed decisions on health systems affected by disasters. There is a need for further validation of current concepts in post-disaster disease patterns in respect to actual field data. This study aims to evaluate the temporal post-disaster patterns of selected diseases after a flood, an earthquake, and a typhoon in the Philippines in 2013. We analyzed the 21 syndromes provided by SPEED both separately and grouped into injuries, communicable diseases, and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by calculating daily post-disaster consultation rates for up to 150 days post-disaster. These were compared over time and juxtaposed according to the type of disaster. Communicable diseases were found to be the predominant syndrome group in all three disaster types. The top six syndromes found were: acute respiratory infections, open wounds, bruises and burns, high blood pressure, skin disease, fever, and acute watery diarrhea. Overall, the results aligned with the country's morbidity profile. Within 2 months, the clear gradation of increasing syndrome rates reflected the severity (flood

GPS timing products - Naval Oceanography Portal

Science.gov Websites

section Advanced Search... Sections Home Time Earth Orientation Astronomy Meteorology Oceanography Ice You are here: Home › USNO › Precise Time › GPS USNO Logo USNO Navigation Master Clock GPS Display Clocks TWSTT Telephone Time NTP Info GPS timing products USNO monitors the GPS constellation and provides

The International Space Station: New Capabilities for Disaster Response and Humanitarian Aid

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stefanov, William

2012-01-01

The International Space Station (ISS) has been acquiring Earth imagery since 2000, primarily in the form of astronaut photography using hand-held film and digital cameras. Recent additions of more sophisticated multispectral and hyperspectral sensor systems have expanded both the capabilities and relevance of the ISS to basic research, applied Earth science, and development of new sensor technologies. Funding opportunities established within NASA, the US National Laboratories and the international partner organizations have generated instrument proposals that will further enhance these capabilities. With both internal and external sensor location options, and the availability of both automated and human-tended operational environments, the ISS is a unique platform within the constellation of Earth-observing satellites currently in orbit. Current progress and challenges associated with development of ISS terrestrial remote sensing capabilities in the area of disaster response and support of relief efforts will be presented. The ISS orbit allows for imaging of the Earth's surface at varying times of day and night, providing opportunities for data collection over approximately 95% of the populated regions. These opportunities are distinct from--yet augment--the data collection windows for the majority of sensors on polar-orbiting satellites. In addition to this potential for "being in the right place at the right time" to collect critical information on an evolving disaster, the presence of a human crew also allows for immediate recognition of an event from orbit, notification of relevant organizations on the ground, and re-tasking of available remote sensing resources to support humanitarian response and relief efforts. Challenges to establishing an integrated response capability are both technical (coordination of sensor targeting and data collection, rapid downlink and posting of data to a central accessible hub, timely generation and distribution of relevant data products) and operational (notification and engagement of sensor support teams, international partner agency sanction of astronaut support activities). To better collaborate on common issues and strengthen applications, including using the data to support disaster response, we established an ISS Program Science Forum Working Group for Earth Observations comprised of representatives from the international partner agencies. This international forum welcomes input and support from relevant United Nations task groups regarding our disaster response and humanitarian aid to enable development of the ISS capabilities in this area for greatest value to the international community.

BILSAT-1: A low-cost, agile, earth observation microsatellite for Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bradford, Andy; Gomes, Luis M.; Sweeting, Martin; Yuksel, Gokhan; Ozkaptan, Cem; Orlu, Unsal

2003-08-01

TUBITAK-BIlTEN has initaited a project to develop and propagate small satallite technologies in Turkey.As part of this initiative, TUBITAK-BILTEN is working working SSTL to develop a 100kg class enhanced microsatelliote, BILSAT-1. With the successful completion of this project, TUBITAK-BILTEN will be capable of producing its own satellites, covering all phases from design from design to production and in-orbit operatiion. It is hoped that acquisition of these technologies will stimulate Turkish industry into greater involvement in space related activities. The project was started in August 2001 and will run through to February 2003 with launch scheduled for July 2003. BILSAT-1 will be one of the most capable satellites that SSTL have eveer built and features several technologies normally only found on larger satellites. Specifically, the Attitude Determination and Control System of BILSAT-1 will be the most advanced that SSTL have everflown: Dual redundant Star Cameras, sun sensors and rate gyros provide accurate and precise attitude information allowing a very high degree of attitude knowledge. Acruators on board will make the satellite extremely agile — for instance allowing fast slew manoeuvers about its roll and pitch axes. The agile control system also enables ground target revisit times to be reduced compared to nadir-pointing gravity gradient stabilized satellites, and will allow stereoscopic imaging, target tracking and multiple attitude imaging to be undertaken with the satellites prime payloads: a 4-band multispectral 26-metre GSD imaging system and a 12-metre GSD panchromatic imager. Also on board the satellite there are additional payloads, including a state-of-the-art Digital Signal Processing payload (GEZGIN) that will enabele real time image compression in JPEG2000 format using a high performance floating point DSP, and a low resolution multi spectral (9-band) camera (COBAN). BILSAT-1 will also co-operate in the international Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) led by SSTL, providing the ability to enhance the imaging capabilities of the constellation. In parallel with the microsatellite design and build activities, all the infrastructure required to design, produce and operate a satellite is being constructed at BILTEN's premises in Turkey. This infrastructure includes assembly and integration rooms, a PCB prototyping workshop, research and development laboratories, and a satellite mission control ground station.

BILSAT-1: a Low-Cost Agile Earth Observation Microsatellite for Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bradford, Andy; Gomes, Luis M.; Sweeting, Martin, , Sir

TUBITAK-BILTEN has initiated a project to develop and propagate small satellite technologies in Turkey. As part of this initiative, TUBITAK-BILTEN is working with SSTL (UK) to develop a 100kg class microsatellite, BILSAT-1. With the successful completion of this project, TUBITAK-BILTEN will be capable of producing its own satellites, covering all phases from design to production. It is hoped that acquisition of these technologies will stimulate Turkish industry into greater involvement in space related activities. The project was started in August 2001 and will run through to launch scheduled for February 2003. BILSAT-1 will be one of the most capable microsatellites built by SSTL and features several technologies normally only found on larger satellites. Specifically, the Attitude Determination and Control System of BILSAT-1 will include dual-redundant star cameras, sun sensors and rate gyros to provide precise attitude information allowing very accurate attitude knowledge. Actuators on board will make the satellite extremely agile, allowing fast slew manoeuvres about its roll and pitch axes enabling the satellite to reduce imaging revisit times compared to fixed nadir-pointing gravity gradient stabilized satellites, and will allow novel and complex operations scenarios to be undertaken with the satellites prime payloads; a 26-metre GSD 4-band multispectral and a 12-metre GSD panchromatic imaging system. Stereoscopic imaging, target tracking and multiple attitude imaging are all operational scenarios that feature in the mission plan. Also on board the satellite are additional payloads, including a state-of-the-art Digital Signal Processing Board payload that will enable real time image compression in JPEG2000 format using a high performance floating point DSP, and a low resolution 9-band multispectral camera. BILSAT-1 will join the other 5 microsatellites in the SSTL-led international Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC), providing the ability to enhance the imaging capabilities of the constellation whose objective is to provide EO with daily revisit worldwide. In parallel with the Satellite design and build activities at the Surrey Space Centre &SSTL in the UK, all the infrastructure required to design, produce and operate a satellite, is being constructed at BILTEN's premises in Turkey. This infrastructure includes assembly and integration rooms, a PCB prototyping workshop, research and development laboratories, and a satellite mission control ground station.

CONSTELL: NASA's Satellite Constellation Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Theall, Jeffrey R.; Krisko, Paula H.; Opiela, John N.; McKay, Gordon A. (Technical Monitor)

1999-01-01

The CONSTELL program represents an initial effort by the orbital debris modeling group at NASA/JSC to address the particular issues and problems raised by the presence of LEO satellite constellations. It was designed to help NASA better understand the potential orbital debris consequences of having satellite constellations operating in the future in LEO. However, it could also be used by constellation planners to evaluate architecture or design alternatives that might lessen debris consequences for their constellation or lessen the debris effects on other users of space. CONSTELL is designed to perform debris environment projections rapidly so it can support parametric assessments involving either the constellations themselves or the background environment which represents non-constellation users of the space. The projections need to be calculated quickly because a number of projections are often required to adequately span the parameter space of interest. To this end CONSTELL uses the outputs of other NASA debris environment models as inputs, thus doing away with the need for time consuming upfront calculations. Specifically, CONSTELL uses EVOLVE or ORDEM96 debris spatial density results as its background environment, debris cloud snapshot templates to simulate debris cloud propagation, and time dependent orbit profiles of the intact non- functional constellation spacecraft and upper stages. In this paper the environmental consequences of the deployment of particular LEO satellite constellations using the CONSTELL model will be evaluated. Constellations that will undergo a parametric assessment will reflect realistic parameter values. Among other results the increase in loss rate of non-constellation spacecraft, the number of collisions involving constellation elements, and the replacement rate of constellation satellites as a result of debris impact will be presented.

Physical and environmental considerations for first responders.

PubMed

Migl, Karen S; Powell, Rose M

2010-12-01

To prioritize the most common effects of a disaster, HCPs must decide in advance what is needed and how, when, and whom to provide the necessary support to deal with the posteffects of a disaster. During the rescue mission, the primary public health concern is clean drinking water, food, shelter, and medical care. Medical care is critical especially in areas where little or no medical care exists. Natural disasters do not necessarily cause an increase in infectious disease outbreaks. However, contaminated water and food supplies as well as the lack of shelter and medical care may have a secondary effect of worsening illnesses that already exists in the affected region. Appropriate preparation in the form of preplanning for immunizations as well as education about other forms of protection, such as appropriate apparel and water decontamination, promotes a safer environment for first responders and survivors. The continued need for postdisaster health monitoring for HCPs is imperative. The effects of a disaster last a long time; therefore there is an ongoing need to focus on the physical and environmental effects, including surveying and monitoring for infectious water or insect-transmitted diseases; restoring normal primary health services, water systems, transportation, housing, and employment; and continuing to assist the community’s recovery after the immediate crisis has subsided. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Multi-GNSS Experiment (MGEX) of the International GNSS Service (IGS) - Achievements, prospects and challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montenbruck, Oliver; Steigenberger, Peter; Prange, Lars; Deng, Zhiguo; Zhao, Qile; Perosanz, Felix; Romero, Ignacio; Noll, Carey; Stürze, Andrea; Weber, Georg; Schmid, Ralf; MacLeod, Ken; Schaer, Stefan

2017-04-01

Over the past five years, the International GNSS Service (IGS) has made continuous efforts to extend its service from GPS and GLONASS to the variety of newly established global and regional navigation satellite systems. This report summarizes the achievements and progress made in this period by the IGS Multi-GNSS Experiment (MGEX). The status and tracking capabilities of the IGS monitoring station network are presented and the multi-GNSS products derived from this resource are discussed. The achieved performance is assessed and related to the current level of space segment and user equipment characterization. While the performance of orbit and clock products for BeiDou, Galileo, and QZSS still lags behind the legacy GPS and GLONASS products, continued progress has been made since launch of the MGEX project and already enables use of the new constellations for precise point positioning, atmospheric research and other applications. Directions for further research are identified to fully integrate the new constellations into routine GNSS processing. Furthermore, the active support of GNSS providers is encouraged to assist the scientific community in the generation of fully competitive products for the new constellations.

Co-infection of influenza A viruses of swine contributes to effective shuffling of gene segments in a naturally reared pig.

PubMed

Abe, Haruka; Mine, Junki; Parchariyanon, Sujira; Takemae, Nobuhiro; Boonpornprasert, Prakit; Ubonyaem, Namfon; Patcharasinghawut, Phornnachat; Nuansrichay, Bandit; Tanikawa, Taichiro; Tsunekuni, Ryota; Saito, Takehiko

2015-10-01

Following the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, surveillance activities have been accelerated globally to monitor the emergence of novel reassortant viruses. However, the mechanism by which influenza A viruses of swine (IAV-S) acquire novel gene constellations through reassortment events in natural settings remains poorly understood. To explore the mechanism, we collected 785 nasal swabs from pigs in a farm in Thailand from 2011 to 2014. H3N2, H3N1, H1N1 and H1N2 IAVs-S were isolated from a single co-infected sample by plaque purification and showed a high degree of diversity of the genome. In particular, the H1N1 isolates, possessing a novel gene constellation previously unreported in Thailand, exhibited greater variation in internal genes than H3N2 IAVs-S. A pair of isolates, designated H3N2-B and H1N1-D, was determined to have been initially introduced to the farm. These results demonstrate that numerous IAVs-S with various gene constellations can be created in a single co-infected pig via reassortment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Gujarat Earthquake: Mitigations Failures and Lessons learnt for Future Strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katuri, A. K.; Mittal, J.; Kumar, K.

Time and again, the Indian subcontinent has been suffering from diverse natural calamities, ranging from droughts to floods, landslides to earthquakes, and cyclones to spells of famines. Recently, in October 1999, a severe cyclone battered the eastern coast of Orissa affecting millions of people, blowing away homes, damaging buildings, destroying crops and wiping out a huge cattle population. The Gujarat earthquake of January 2001 was another monumental disaster that affected more than 15 million people causing colossal loss of life and property estimated at US 1.30 billion, though actual may be much higher. More than 200 international and domestic voluntary agencies promptly rushed aid to the damaged areas at the shake of the quake-2001. In this crucial rescue phase, teams were scattered across affected villages and urban centers, clueless of precise locations and extent of damage. Problems faced during the relief and rehabilitation were- absence of a comprehensive information system (both spatial and attribute), absence of a nodal agency to disseminate information on the type of relief required, absence of high precision remotely sensed data, appropriate for preparation and implementation of long term reconstruction and rehabilitation plan (Development Plan). Repeated disaster assessments by multiple agencies led to wastage of time and resources. All this led to non-coherence amongst the coordinating agencies, and rescue &relief teams. Spatial and attribute damage assessment could have been easier in the presence of comprehensive geographic and demographic information supported by high precision satellite imageries to compare pre and post disaster situation. Disaster management includes pre-disaster preparedness planning, post- disaster damage assessment, search and rescue, rehabilitation and reconstruction activities. Unlike other disasters, scientific alerts, forecasts and warnings of impending earthquake still require more attention. Disaster Preparedness Plan for speedy rescue and relief operations needs to be in place with improved information system for post disaster recovery. This paper draws upon the shortfalls faced in the management of Gujarat earthquake; a lesson learnt and presents a comprehensive strategy for Systems networking including the role of space programs in disaster management. The proposed structure is a top down approach for cooperation, emerging from bottom level demand. The missing key elements in the post-disaster situation were - effective information system, high resolution remote sensing data (for effective town planning), operational GIS, with support network from some or all of the governmental agencies. An integrated global communication network for wider dissemination of forecasts, warning and monitoring on a global level and sharing of related knowledge and information can play a vital role in disaster reduction. Needless to say, the local, regional and national disaster communication networks must be fully integrated in the global grid. The proposed structure for disaster management has a National Disaster Mitigation Establishment (NDME) as the apex body under the auspices of the central government, which would be networked across nations to similar other NDMEs. Each NDME would handle the coordination and monitoring of its state units which may be called as State Disaster Management Establishments (SDME). The SDMEs with various district or sub-district level units would collate data. The Network would be supported with field staff at its offices and would liaison with respective higher level DMEs where the lowest unit may be a village / town or cluster of villages. This paper emphasizes the need for comprehensive information system with Spatial Decision Support System (DSS) at three different levels for total disaster management.

Sentinel-2 Mission status

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoersch, Bianca; Colin, Olivier; Gascon, Ferran; Arino, Olivier; Spoto, Francois; Marchese, Franco; Krassenburg, Mike; Koetz, Benjamin

2016-04-01

Copernicus is a joint initiative of the European Commission (EC) and the European Space Agency (ESA), designed to establish a European capacity for the provision and use of operational monitoring information for environment and security applications. Within the Copernicus programme, ESA is responsible for the development of the Space Component, a fully operational space-based capability to supply earth-observation data to sustain environmental information Services in Europe. The Sentinel missions are Copernicus dedicated Earth Observation missions composing the essential elements of the Space Component. In the global Copernicus framework, they are complemented by other satellites made available by third-parties or by ESA and coordinated in the synergistic system through the Copernicus Data-Access system versus the Copernicus Services. The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission provides continuity to services relying on multi-spectral high-resolution optical observations over global terrestrial surfaces. Sentinel-2 capitalizes on the technology and the vast experience acquired in Europe and the US to sustain the operational supply of data for services such as forest monitoring, land cover changes detection or natural disasters management. The Sentinel-2 mission offers an unprecedented combination of the following capabilities: ○ Systematic global coverage of land surfaces: from 56°South to 84°North, coastal waters and Mediterranean sea; ○ High revisit: every 5 days at equator under the same viewing conditions with 2 satellites; ○ High spatial resolution: 10m, 20m and 60m; ○ Multi-spectral information with 13 bands in the visible, near infra-red and short wave infra-red part of the spectrum; ○ Wide field of view: 290 km. The data from the Sentinel-2 mission are available openly and freely for all users with online easy access since December 2015. The presentation will give a status report on the Sentinel-2 mission, and outlook for the remaining ramp-up Phase, the completion of the constellation and a view to ongoing evolutions, together with a view on data exploitation.

[Organization, availability and possibility of analysis of disaster data of climate related origin and its impacts on health].

PubMed

Xavier, Diego Ricardo; Barcellos, Christovam; Barros, Heglaucio da Silva; Magalhães, Monica de Avelar Figueiredo Mafra; Matos, Vanderlei Pascoal de; Pedroso, Marcel de Moraes

2014-09-01

The occurrence of disasters is often related to unforeseeable able natural processes. However, the analysis of major databases may highlight seasonal and long-term trends, as well as some spatial patterns where risks are concentrated. In this paper the process of acquiring and organizing climate-related disaster data collected by civil protection institutions and made available by the Brazilian Climate and Health Observatory is described. Preliminary analyses show the concentration of disasters caused by heavy rainfall events along the Brazilian coastline especially during the summer. Droughts have longer duration and extent, affecting large areas of the south and northeast regions of the country. These data can be used to analyze and monitor the impact of extreme climatic events on health, as well as identify the vulnerability and climate deteminants.

UAV-based NDVI calculation over grassland: An alternative approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mejia-Aguilar, Abraham; Tomelleri, Enrico; Asam, Sarah; Zebisch, Marc

2016-04-01

The Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is one of the most widely used indicators for monitoring and assessing vegetation in remote sensing. The index relies on the reflectance difference between the near infrared (NIR) and red light and is thus able to track variations of structural, phenological, and biophysical parameters for seasonal and long-term monitoring. Conventionally, NDVI is inferred from space-borne spectroradiometers, such as MODIS, with moderate resolution up to 250 m ground resolution. In recent years, a new generation of miniaturized radiometers and integrated hyperspectral sensors with high resolution became available. Such small and light instruments are particularly adequate to be mounted on airborne unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) used for monitoring services reaching ground sampling resolution in the order of centimetres. Nevertheless, such miniaturized radiometers and hyperspectral sensors are still very expensive and require high upfront capital costs. Therefore, we propose an alternative, mainly cheaper method to calculate NDVI using a camera constellation consisting of two conventional consumer-grade cameras: (i) a Ricoh GR modified camera that acquires the NIR spectrum by removing the internal infrared filter. A mounted optical filter additionally obstructs all wavelengths below 700 nm. (ii) A Ricoh GR in RGB configuration using two optical filters for blocking wavelengths below 600 nm as well as NIR and ultraviolet (UV) light. To assess the merit of the proposed method, we carry out two comparisons: First, reflectance maps generated by the consumer-grade camera constellation are compared to reflectance maps produced with a hyperspectral camera (Rikola). All imaging data and reflectance maps are processed using the PIX4D software. In the second test, the NDVI at specific points of interest (POI) generated by the consumer-grade camera constellation is compared to NDVI values obtained by ground spectral measurements using a portable spectroradiometer (Spectravista SVC HR-1024i). All data were collected on a dry alpine mountain grassland site in the Matsch valley, Italy, during the vegetation period of 2015. Data acquisition for the first comparison followed a pre-programmed flight plan in which the hyperspectral and alternative dual-camera constellation were mounted separately on an octocopter-UAV during two consecutive flight campaigns. Ground spectral measurements collection took place on the same site and on the same dates (three in total) of the flight campaigns. The proposed technique achieves promising results and therewith constitutes a cheap and simple way of collecting spatially explicit information on vegetated areas even in challenging terrain.

Natural disasters and suicidal behaviours: a systematic literature review.

PubMed

Kõlves, Kairi; Kõlves, Keili E; De Leo, Diego

2013-03-20

Various consequences including suicidal behaviours can arise in the aftermath of natural disasters. The aim of the present review was to systematically analyse the existing literature on the potential impact of natural disasters on suicidal behaviours. A systematic search of English-language articles indexed in electronic databases was conducted. The current review covers 42 papers containing empirical analyses of the relationship between natural disasters and suicidal behaviours. In total, 19 papers analysed suicide mortality and 23 non-fatal suicidal behaviours. The effects of earthquakes on suicidal behaviours are the most frequently studied among natural disasters (n=20), followed by hurricanes (n=11). Further, there were four papers about tsunamis, three about floods, three about heat waves and drought, and one investigating the effects of multiple natural disasters. The studies show different directions in suicide mortality following natural disasters. Nevertheless, there seems to be a drop in non-fatal suicidal behaviours in the initial post-disaster period, which has been referred to as the 'honeymoon' phase. A delayed increase in suicidal behaviours has been reported in some studies. However, other factors increasing the risk of suicidal behaviours after natural disasters have been reported, such as previous and current mental health problems. Furthermore, contributing factors, such as economic conditions, should also be considered. The exclusion of non-English articles. In light of the various methodological limitations observed, there is a need for further studies using proper designs. Mental health and suicidal behaviours should continue to be monitored for several years after the disaster. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Building Change Detection from Harvey using Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, A.; Yeom, J.; Jung, J.; Choi, I.

2017-12-01

Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) is getting to be the most important technique in recent days since the fine spatial and high temporal resolution data previously unobtainable from traditional remote sensing platforms. Advanced UAS data can provide a great opportunity for disaster monitoring. Especially, building change detection is the one of the most important topics for damage assessment and recovery from disasters. This study is proposing a method to monitor building change with UAS data for Holiday Beach in Texas, where was directly hit by Harvey on 25 August 2017. This study adopted 3D change detection to monitor building damage and recovery levels with building height as well as natural color information. We used a rotorcraft UAS to collect RGB data twice on 9 September and 18 October 2017 after the hurricane. The UAS data was processed using Agisoft Photoscan Pro Software to generate super high resolution dataset including orthomosaic, DSM (Digital Surface Model), and 3D point cloud. We compared the processed dataset with an airborne image considerable as before-hurricane data, which was acquired on January 2016. Building damage and recovery levels were determined by height and color change. The result will show that UAS data is useful to assess building damage and recovery for affected area by the natural disaster such as Harvey.

Pathfinder-Plus aircraft in flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

The Pathfinder-Plus solar-powered aircraft is shown taking off from a runway, then flying at low altitude over the ocean. The vehicle, which looks like a flying ruler, operates at low airspeed. Among the missions proposed for a solar-powered aircraft are communications relay, atmospheric studies, pipeline monitoring and gas leak detection, environmental monitoring using thermal and radar images, and disaster relief and monitoring.

Snow Cover Mapping and Ice Avalanche Monitoring from the Satellite Data of the Sentinels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, S.; Yang, B.; Zhou, Y.; Wang, F.; Zhang, R.; Zhao, Q.

2018-04-01

In order to monitor ice avalanches efficiently under disaster emergency conditions, a snow cover mapping method based on the satellite data of the Sentinels is proposed, in which the coherence and backscattering coefficient image of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data (Sentinel-1) is combined with the atmospheric correction result of multispectral data (Sentinel-2). The coherence image of the Sentinel-1 data could be segmented by a certain threshold to map snow cover, with the water bodies extracted from the backscattering coefficient image and removed from the coherence segment result. A snow confidence map from Sentinel-2 was used to map the snow cover, in which the confidence values of the snow cover were relatively high. The method can make full use of the acquired SAR image and multispectral image under emergency conditions, and the application potential of Sentinel data in the field of snow cover mapping is exploited. The monitoring frequency can be ensured because the areas obscured by thick clouds are remedied in the monitoring results. The Kappa coefficient of the monitoring results is 0.946, and the data processing time is less than 2 h, which meet the requirements of disaster emergency monitoring.

Study of Landslide Disaster Prevention System in Malaysia as a Disaster Mitigation Prototype for South East Asia Countries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koay, Swee Peng; Fukuoka, Hiroshi; Tien Tay, Lea; Murakami, Satoshi; Koyama, Tomofumi; Chan, Huah Yong; Sakai, Naoki; Hazarika, Hemanta; Jamaludin, Suhaimi; Lateh, Habibah

2016-04-01

Every year, hundreds of landslides occur in Malaysia and other tropical monsoon South East Asia countries. Therefore, prevention casualties and economical losses, by rain induced slope failure, are those countries government most important agenda. In Malaysia, millions of Malaysian Ringgit are allocated for slope monitoring and mitigation in every year budget. Besides monitoring the slopes, here, we propose the IT system which provides hazard map information, landslide historical information, slope failure prediction, knowledge on natural hazard, and information on evacuation centres via internet for user to understand the risk of landslides as well as flood. Moreover, the user can obtain information on rainfall intensity in the monitoring sites to predict the occurrence of the slope failure. Furthermore, we are working with PWD, Malaysia to set the threshold value for the landslide prediction system which will alert the officer if there is a risk of the slope failure in the monitoring sites by calculating rainfall intensity. Although the IT plays a significant role in information dissemination, education is also important in disaster prevention by educating school students to be more alert in natural hazard, and there will be bottom up approach to alert parents on what is natural hazard, by conversion among family members, as most of the parents are busy and may not have time to attend natural hazard workshop. There are many races living in Malaysia as well in most of South East Asia countries. It is not easy to educate them in single education method as the level of living and education are different. We started landslides education workshops in primary schools in rural and urban area, in Malaysia. We found out that we have to use their mother tongue language while conducting natural hazard education for better understanding. We took questionnaires from the students before and after the education workshop. Learning from the questionnaire result, the students are more alert on natural disaster then before, after attending the workshop.

The environmental and medical geochemistry of potentially hazardous materials produced by disasters

USGS Publications Warehouse

Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Morman, Suzette A.; Meeker, G.P.; Hoefen, Todd M.; Hageman, Philip L.; Wolf, Ruth E.

2014-01-01

Many natural or human-caused disasters release potentially hazardous materials (HM) that may pose threats to the environment and health of exposed humans, wildlife, and livestock. This chapter summarizes the environmentally and toxicologically significant physical, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics of materials produced by a wide variety of recent disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and extreme storms, spills of mining/mineral-processing wastes or coal extraction by-products, and the 2001 attacks on and collapse of the World Trade Center towers. In describing these characteristics, this chapter also illustrates the important roles that geochemists and other earth scientists can play in environmental disaster response and preparedness. In addition to characterizing in detail the physical, chemical, and microbial makeup of HM generated by the disasters, these roles also include (1) identifying and discriminating potential multiple sources of the materials; (2) monitoring, mapping, and modeling dispersal and evolution of the materials in the environment; (3) understanding how the materials are modified by environmental processes; (4) identifying key characteristics and processes that influence the materials' toxicity to exposed humans and ecosystems; (5) estimating shifts away from predisaster environmental baseline conditions; and (6) using geochemical insights learned from past disasters to help estimate, prepare for, and increase societal resilience to the environmental and related health impacts of future disasters.

The Role of Epidemiology in Disaster Response Policy Development

PubMed Central

Thorpe, Lorna E; Assari, Shervin; Deppen, Stephen; Glied, Sherry; Lurie, Nicole; Mauer, Matthew P; Mays, Vickie M.; Trapido, Edward

2015-01-01

Purpose Disasters expose the general population and responders to a range of potential contaminants and stressors which may harm physical and mental health. This article addresses the role of epidemiology in informing policies after a disaster to mitigate ongoing exposures, provide care and compensation, and improve preparedness for future disasters. Methods The World Trade Center (WTC) disaster response is used as a case study. We examine how epidemiologic evidence was used to shape post-disaster policy and identify important gaps in early research. Results In the wake of WTC attacks, epidemiologic research played a key role in identifying and characterizing affected populations, assessing environmental exposures, quantifying physical and mental health impacts, and producing evidence to ascribe causation. However, most studies suffered from methodological challenges, including delays, selection biases, poor exposure measurement, and nonstandardized outcomes. Gaps included measuring unmet health needs and financing coverage, as well as coordination across longitudinal cohorts of studies for rare conditions with long latency, such as cancer. Conclusions Epidemiologists can increase their impact on evidence-based policymaking by ensuring core mechanisms are in place prior to a disaster to mount monitoring of responders and other affected populations, improve early exposure assessment efforts, identify critical gaps in scientific knowledge, and coordinate communication of scientific findings to policymakers and the public. PMID:25150446

Investment in online self-evaluation tests: A theoretical approach.

PubMed

de Gara, Francesco; Gallo, William T; Bisson, Jonathan I; Endrass, Jerome; Vetter, Stefan

2008-04-15

Large-scale traumatic events may burden any affected public health system with consequential charges. One major post-disaster, expense factor emerges form early psychological interventions and subsequent, posttraumatic mental health care. Due to the constant increase in mental health care costs, also post-disaster public mental health requires best possible, cost-effective care systems. Screening and monitoring the affected population might be one such area to optimize the charges. This paper analyzes the potential cost-effectiveness of monitoring a psychologically traumatized population and to motivate individuals at risk to seek early treatment. As basis for our model served Grossman's health production function, which was modified according to fundamental concepts of cost-benefit analyzes, to match the basic conditions of online monitoring strategies. We then introduce some fundamental concepts of cost-benefit analysis. When performing cost-benefit analyses, policy makers have to consider both direct costs (caused by treatment) and indirect costs (due to non-productivity). Considering both costs sources we find that the use of Internet-based psychometric screening instruments may reduce the duration of future treatment, psychological burden and treatment costs. The identification of individuals at risk for PTSD following a disaster may help organizations prevent both the human and the economic costs of this disease. Consequently future research on mental health issues should put more emphasis on the importance of monitoring to detect early PTSD and focus the most effective resources within early treatment and morbidity prevention.

Ghana's experience in the establishment of a national digital seismic network observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahulu, Sylvanus; Danuor, Sylvester Kojo

2015-07-01

The Government of Ghana has established a National Digital Seismic Network Observatory in Ghana with the aim of monitoring events such as earthquakes, blasts from mining and quarrying, nuclear tests, etc. The Digital Observatory was commissioned on 19 December 2012, and was dedicated to Geosciences in Ghana. Previously Ghana did not have any operational, digital seismic network acquisition system with the capability of monitoring and analysing data for planning and research purposes. The Ghana Geological Survey has been monitoring seismic events with an analogue system which was not efficient and does not deliver real-time data. Hence, the importance of setting up the National Digital Seismic Network System which would enable the Geological Survey to constantly monitor, manage and coordinate both natural and man-made seismic activities in the country and around the globe, to some extent on real-time basis. The Network System is made up of six remote digital stations that transmit data via satellite to the central observatory. Sensors used are 3× Trillium Compact and 3× Trillium 120PA with Trident digitizers. The department has also acquired strong motion equipment: Titan accelerometers with Taurus digitizers from Nanometrics. Three of each of these instruments have been installed at the Akosombo and Kpong hydrodams, and also at the Weija water supply dam. These instruments are used to monitor dams. The peak ground acceleration (PGA) values established from the analysed data from the accelerometers will be used to retrofit or carry out maintenance work of the dam structures to avoid collapse. Apart from these, the observatory also assesses and analyses seismic waveforms relevant to its needs from the Global Seismographic Network (GSN) system operated by the US Geological Survey. The Ghana Geological Survey, through its Seismic Network Observatory makes data available to its stakeholder institutions for earthquake disaster mitigation; reports on all aspects of seismic-related disasters to the relevant government agencies that deal with disasters; makes recommendations to the government of Ghana on earthquake safety measures; and provides information to assist government institutions develop appropriate land and building policies. The Geological Survey Department, in collaboration with stakeholder agencies, periodically organises public lectures on earthquake disaster risk mitigation.

Utilização Do Sensor Airdas (Airborne Infrared Disaster Assessment System) no monitoramento de desflorestamentos no norte do estado do mato grosso - Brasil

Treesearch

Geraldo José Lucatelli Dória de Araújo; João Antônio Raposo Pereira; Tânia Maria Vieira da Silva; Helvécio Mafra; James A. Brass; Robert N. Lockwood; Robert G. Higgins; Philip J. Riggan

2008-01-01

This study has as objective to assess AIRDAS (Airborne Infrared Disaster Assessment System) sensor for the monitoring of deforestation in the northern area of Mato Grosso State, between the latitudes 10° and 12° south and longitudes 54° and 56° west, within the area known as deforestation arch. The results show that the main advantage of...

RAVAN CubeSat Results: Technologies and Science Demonstrated On Orbit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swartz, W. H.; Lorentz, S. R.; Huang, P. M.; Smith, A. W.; Yu, Y.; Briscoe, J. S.; Reilly, N.; Reilly, S.; Reynolds, E.; Carvo, J.; Wu, D.

2017-12-01

Elucidating Earth's energy budget is vital to understanding and predicting climate, particularly the small imbalance between the incident solar irradiance and Earth-leaving fluxes of total and solar-reflected energy. Accurately quantifying the spatial and temporal variation of Earth's outgoing energy from space is a challenge—one potentially rendered more tractable with the advent of multipoint measurements from small satellite or hosted payload constellations. The Radiometer Assessment using Vertically Aligned Nanotubes (RAVAN) 3U CubeSat, launched November 11, 2016, is a pathfinder for a constellation to measure the Earth's energy imbalance. The objective of RAVAN is to establish that compact, broadband radiometers absolutely calibrated to high accuracy can be built and operated in space for low cost. RAVAN demonstrates two key technologies: (1) vertically aligned carbon nanotubes as spectrally flat radiometer absorbers and (2) gallium phase-change cells for on-board calibration and degradation monitoring of RAVAN's radiometer sensors. We show on-orbit results, including calibrated irradiance measurements at both shortwave, solar-reflected wavelengths and in the thermal infrared. These results are compared with both modeled upwelling fluxes and those measured by independent Earth energy instruments in low-Earth orbit. Further, we show the performance of two gallium phase-change cells that are used to monitor the degradation of RAVAN's radiometer sensors. In addition to Earth energy budget technology and science, RAVAN also demonstrates partnering with a commercial vendor for the CubeSat bus, payload integration and test, and mission operations. We conclude with a discussion of how a RAVAN-type constellation could enable a breakthrough in the measurement of Earth's energy budget and lead to superior predictions of future climate.

Disaster risk profile and existing legal framework of Nepal: floods and landslides

PubMed Central

Gaire, Surya; Castro Delgado, Rafael; Arcos González, Pedro

2015-01-01

Nepal has a complicated geophysical structure that is prone to various kinds of disasters. Nepal ranks the most disaster-prone country in the world and has experienced several natural calamities, causing high property and life losses. Disasters are caused by natural processes, but may be increased by human activities. The overall objective of this paper is to analyze the disaster risk profile and existing legal framework of Nepal. The paper is based on secondary data sources. Major causative factors for floods and landslides are heavy and continuous rainfall, outburst floods, infrastructure failure, and deforestation. Historical data of natural disasters in Nepal show that water-induced disasters have killed hundreds of people and affected thousands every year. Likewise, properties worth millions of US dollars have been damaged. There is an increasing trend toward landslides and floods, which will likely continue to rise if proper intervention is not taken. A positive correlation between water-induced disasters and deaths has been observed. Nepal has a poor Index for Risk Management (INFORM). There are fluctuations in the recording of death data caused by flood and landslides. The Government of Nepal focuses more on the response phase than on the preparedness phase of disasters. The existing disaster management act seems to be weak and outdated. There is a gap in current legal procedure, so the country is in dire need of a comprehensive legal framework. The new proposed act seems to take a much broader approach to disaster management. With a long-term vision of managing disaster risk in the country, the Government of Nepal has begun the Nepal Risk Reduction Consortium (NRRC) in collaboration with development and humanitarian partners. In order to improve the vulnerability of Nepal, an early warning system, mainstreaming disasters with development, research activities, community participation and awareness, and a rainfall monitoring system must all be a focus. PMID:26366106

Disaster risk profile and existing legal framework of Nepal: floods and landslides.

PubMed

Gaire, Surya; Castro Delgado, Rafael; Arcos González, Pedro

2015-01-01

Nepal has a complicated geophysical structure that is prone to various kinds of disasters. Nepal ranks the most disaster-prone country in the world and has experienced several natural calamities, causing high property and life losses. Disasters are caused by natural processes, but may be increased by human activities. The overall objective of this paper is to analyze the disaster risk profile and existing legal framework of Nepal. The paper is based on secondary data sources. Major causative factors for floods and landslides are heavy and continuous rainfall, outburst floods, infrastructure failure, and deforestation. Historical data of natural disasters in Nepal show that water-induced disasters have killed hundreds of people and affected thousands every year. Likewise, properties worth millions of US dollars have been damaged. There is an increasing trend toward landslides and floods, which will likely continue to rise if proper intervention is not taken. A positive correlation between water-induced disasters and deaths has been observed. Nepal has a poor Index for Risk Management (INFORM). There are fluctuations in the recording of death data caused by flood and landslides. The Government of Nepal focuses more on the response phase than on the preparedness phase of disasters. The existing disaster management act seems to be weak and outdated. There is a gap in current legal procedure, so the country is in dire need of a comprehensive legal framework. The new proposed act seems to take a much broader approach to disaster management. With a long-term vision of managing disaster risk in the country, the Government of Nepal has begun the Nepal Risk Reduction Consortium (NRRC) in collaboration with development and humanitarian partners. In order to improve the vulnerability of Nepal, an early warning system, mainstreaming disasters with development, research activities, community participation and awareness, and a rainfall monitoring system must all be a focus.

SIMEDIS: a Discrete-Event Simulation Model for Testing Responses to Mass Casualty Incidents.

PubMed

Debacker, Michel; Van Utterbeeck, Filip; Ullrich, Christophe; Dhondt, Erwin; Hubloue, Ives

2016-12-01

It is recognized that the study of the disaster medical response (DMR) is a relatively new field. To date, there is no evidence-based literature that clearly defines the best medical response principles, concepts, structures and processes in a disaster setting. Much of what is known about the DMR results from descriptive studies and expert opinion. No experimental studies regarding the effects of DMR interventions on the health outcomes of disaster survivors have been carried out. Traditional analytic methods cannot fully capture the flow of disaster victims through a complex disaster medical response system (DMRS). Computer modelling and simulation enable to study and test operational assumptions in a virtual but controlled experimental environment. The SIMEDIS (Simulation for the assessment and optimization of medical disaster management) simulation model consists of 3 interacting components: the victim creation model, the victim monitoring model where the health state of each victim is monitored and adapted to the evolving clinical conditions of the victims, and the medical response model, where the victims interact with the environment and the resources at the disposal of the healthcare responders. Since the main aim of the DMR is to minimize as much as possible the mortality and morbidity of the survivors, we designed a victim-centred model in which the casualties pass through the different components and processes of a DMRS. The specificity of the SIMEDIS simulation model is the fact that the victim entities evolve in parallel through both the victim monitoring model and the medical response model. The interaction between both models is ensured through a time or medical intervention trigger. At each service point, a triage is performed together with a decision on the disposition of the victims regarding treatment and/or evacuation based on a priority code assigned to the victim and on the availability of resources at the service point. The aim of the case study is to implement the SIMEDIS model to the DMRS of an international airport and to test the medical response plan to an airplane crash simulation at the airport. In order to identify good response options, the model then was used to study the effect of a number of interventional factors on the performance of the DMRS. Our study reflects the potential of SIMEDIS to model complex systems, to test different aspects of DMR, and to be used as a tool in experimental research that might make a substantial contribution to provide the evidence base for the effectiveness and efficiency of disaster medical management.

Assessing COSMO-SkyMed capability for crops identification and monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guarini, R.; Dini, L.

2015-12-01

In the last decade, it has been possible to better understand the impact of agricultural human practices on the global environmental change at different spatial (from local to global) and time (from seasonal to decadal) scales. This has been achieved thanks to: big dataset continuously acquired by Earth Observation (EO) satellites; the improved capabilities of remote sensing techniques in extracting valuable information from the EO datasets; the new EO data policy which allowed unrestricted data usage; the net technologies which allowed to quickly and easily share national, international and market-derived information; an increasingly performing computing technology which allows to massively process large amount of data easier and at decreasing costs. To better understand the environmental impacts of agriculture and to monitor the consequences of human agricultural activities on the biosphere, scientists require to better identify crops and monitor crop conditions over time and space. Traditionally, NDVI time series maps derived from optical sensors have been used to this aim. As well-known this important source of information is conditioned by cloud cover. Unlike passive systems, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) ones are almost insensitive to atmospheric influences; thus, they are especially suitable for crop identification and condition monitoring. Among the other SAR systems currently in orbit, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) COSMO Sky-Med® (CSK®) constellation (X-band, frequency 9.6 GHz, wavelength 3.1 cm), especially for its peculiar high revisit capability (up to four images in 16 days with same acquisition geometry) seems to be particular suitable for providing information in addition and/or in alternative to other optical EO systems. To assess the capability of the CSK® constellation in identifying crops and in monitoring crops condition in 2013 ASI started the "AGRICIDOT" project. Some of the main project achievements will be presented at the congress.

Post-disaster health effects: strategies for investigation and data collection. Experiences from the Enschede firework disaster

PubMed Central

Roorda, J; van Stiphout, W A H J; Huijsman-Rubingh, R

2004-01-01

Background: Public health policy is increasingly concerned with the care for victims of a disaster. This article describes the design and implementation of an epidemiological study, which seeks to match care services to the specific problems of persons affected by a large scale incident. The study was prompted by the explosion of a firework depot in Enschede, the Netherlands. Study population: All those directly affected by this incident (residents, emergency services personnel, and people who happened to be in the area at the time), some of whom suffered personal loss or injury. The project investigates both the physical and psychological effects of the disaster, as well as the target group's subsequent call on healthcare services. Study design: A questionnaire based follow up survey of those directly affected and an ongoing monitoring of health problems relying on reports from healthcare professionals. The follow up survey started three weeks after the incident and was repeated 18 months and almost four years after the incident. The monitoring is conducted over a four year period by general practitioners, the local mental health services department, occupational health services, and the youth healthcare services department. It provides ongoing information. Results and Conclusions: The results of the study are regularly discussed with healthcare professionals and policy makers, and are made known to the research participants. The paper also explains the considerations that were made in designing the study to help others making up their research plans when confronted with possible health effects of a disaster. PMID:15547056

A Contextual Fire Detection Algorithm for Simulated HJ-1B Imagery

PubMed Central

Qian, Yonggang; Yan, Guangjian; Duan, Sibo; Kong, Xiangsheng

2009-01-01

The HJ-1B satellite, which was launched on September 6, 2008, is one of the small ones placed in the constellation for disaster prediction and monitoring. HJ-1B imagery was simulated in this paper, which contains fires of various sizes and temperatures in a wide range of terrestrial biomes and climates, including RED, NIR, MIR and TIR channels. Based on the MODIS version 4 contextual algorithm and the characteristics of HJ-1B sensor, a contextual fire detection algorithm was proposed and tested using simulated HJ-1B data. It was evaluated by the probability of fire detection and false alarm as functions of fire temperature and fire area. Results indicate that when the simulated fire area is larger than 45 m2 and the simulated fire temperature is larger than 800 K, the algorithm has a higher probability of detection. But if the simulated fire area is smaller than 10 m2, only when the simulated fire temperature is larger than 900 K, may the fire be detected. For fire areas about 100 m2, the proposed algorithm has a higher detection probability than that of the MODIS product. Finally, the omission and commission error were evaluated which are important factors to affect the performance of this algorithm. It has been demonstrated that HJ-1B satellite data are much sensitive to smaller and cooler fires than MODIS or AVHRR data and the improved capabilities of HJ-1B data will offer a fine opportunity for the fire detection. PMID:22399950

32 CFR 1656.5 - Eligible employment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., park and recreational activities, pollution control and monitoring systems, and disaster relief; (iv... retraining programs, senior citizens activities, crisis intervention and poverty relief; (v) Community...

32 CFR 1656.5 - Eligible employment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., park and recreational activities, pollution control and monitoring systems, and disaster relief; (iv... retraining programs, senior citizens activities, crisis intervention and poverty relief; (v) Community...

Broadband, red-edge information from satellites improves early stress detection in a New Mexico conifer woodland

Treesearch

Jan U.H. Eitel; Lee A. Vierling; Marcy E. Litvak; Dan S. Long; Urs Schulthess; Alan A. Ager; Dan J. Krofcheck; Leo Stoscheck

2011-01-01

Multiple plant stresses can affect the health, esthetic condition, and timber harvest value of conifer forests. To monitor spatial and temporal dynamic forest stress conditions, timely, accurate, and cost-effective information is needed that could be provided by remote sensing. Recently, satellite imagery has become available via the RapidEye satellite constellation to...

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission: Overview and Status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hou, Arthur

2008-01-01

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission is an international satellite mission to unify and advance global precipitation measurements from a constellation of dedicated and operational microwave sensors. The GPM concept centers on the deployment of a Core Spacecraft in a non-Sun-synchronous orbit at 65 degrees inclination carrying a dual-frequency precipitation radar (DPR) and a multi-frequency passive microwave radiometer (GMI) with high-frequency capabilities to serve as a precipitation physics observatory and calibration standard for the constellation radiometers. The baseline GPM constellation is envisioned to comprise conical-scanning microwave imagers (e.g., GMI, SSMIS, AMSR, MIS, MADRAS, GPM-Brazil) augmented with cross-track microwave temperature/humidity sounders (e.g., MHS, ATMS) over land. In addition to the Core Satellite, the GPM Mission will contribute a second GMI to be flown in a low-inclination (approximately 40 deg.) non-Sun-synchronous orbit to improve near real-time monitoring of hurricanes. GPM is a science mission with integrated applications goals aimed at (1) advancing the knowledge of the global water/energy cycle variability and freshwater availability and (2) improving weather, climate, and hydrological prediction capabilities through more accurate and frequent measurements of global precipitation. The GPM Mission is currently a partnership between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), with opportunities for additional partners in satellite constellation and ground validation activities. Within the framework of the inter-governmental Group ob Earth Observations (GEO) and Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), GPM has been identified as a cornerstone for the Precipitation Constellation (PC) being developed under the auspices of Committee of Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS). The GPM Core Observatory is scheduled for launch in 2013, followed by the launch of the GPM Low-Inclination Observatory in 2014. An overview of the GPM mission status, instrument capabilities, ground validation plans, and anticipated scientific and societal benefits will be presented.

Reducing Loss of Life and Property from Disasters: A Societal Benefit Area of the Strategic Plan for U.S. Integrated Earth Observation System (IEOS)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Helz, Rosalind L.; Gaynor, John E.

2007-01-01

Natural and technological disasters, such as hurricanes and other extreme weather events, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides and debris flows, wildland and urban-interface fires, floods, oil spills, and space-weather storms, impose a significant burden on society. Throughout the United States, disasters inflict many injuries and deaths, and cost the nation $20 billion each year (SDR, 2003). Disasters in other countries can affect U.S. assets and interests overseas (e.g. the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines, which effectively destroyed Clark Air Force Base). Also, because they have a disproportionate impact on developing countries, disasters are major barriers to sustainable development. Improving our ability to assess, predict, monitor, and respond to hazardous events is a key factor in reducing the occurrence and severity of disasters, and relies heavily on the use of information from well-designed and integrated Earth observation systems. To fully realize the benefits gained from the observation systems, the information derived must be disseminated through effective warning systems and networks, with products tailored to the needs of the end users and the general public.

Land use, urban, environmental, and cartographic applications, chapter 2, part D

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

Microwave data and its use in effective state, regional, and national land use planning are dealt with. Special attention was given to monitoring land use change, especially dynamic components, and the interaction between land use and dynamic features of the environment. Disaster and environmental monitoring are also discussed.

Monitoring dam structural health from space: Insights from novel InSAR techniques and multi-parametric modeling applied to the Pertusillo dam Basilicata, Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milillo, Pietro; Perissin, Daniele; Salzer, Jacqueline T.; Lundgren, Paul; Lacava, Giusy; Milillo, Giovanni; Serio, Carmine

2016-10-01

The availability of new constellations of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors is leading to important advances in infrastructure monitoring. These constellations offer the advantage of reduced revisit times, providing low-latency data that enable analysis that can identify infrastructure instability and dynamic deformation processes. In this paper we use COSMO-SkyMed (CSK) and TerraSAR-X (TSX) data to monitor seasonal induced deformation at the Pertusillo dam (Basilicata, Italy) using multi-temporal SAR data analysis. We analyzed 198 images spanning 2010-2015 using a coherent and incoherent PS approach to merge COSMO-SkyMed adjacent tracks and TerraSAR-X acquisitions, respectively. We used hydrostatic-seasonal-temporal (HST) and hydrostatic-temperature-temporal (HTT) models to interpret the non-linear deformation at the dam wall using ground measurements together with SAR time-series analysis. Different look geometries allowed us to characterize the horizontal deformation field typically observed at dams. Within the limits of our models and the SAR acquisition sampling we found that most of the deformation at the Pertusillo dam can be explained by taking into account only thermal seasonal dilation and hydrostatic pressure. The different models show slightly different results when interpreting the aging term at the dam wall. The results highlight how short-revisit SAR satellites in combination with models widely used in the literature for interpreting pendulum and GPS data can be used for supporting structural health monitoring and provide valuable information to ground users directly involved in field measurements.

Disaster Risk Management and Measurement Indicators for Cultural Heritage in Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yen, Y. N.; Cheng, C. F.; Cheng, H. M.

2015-08-01

Under the influence of global climate change, the risk preparedness has become a universal issue in different research fields. In the conservation of cultural heritage, disaster risk management is becoming one of the major research topics. Besides researches on the theory and mechanism of disaster risk management, the tools for the performance of site managers to protect cultural heritage is another important issue that needs development. UNESCO and ICOMOS have released some important documents on disaster risk management including its concept, identification, evaluation, mitigation, monitoring and resilience, etc. However, there is a big gap between concept and implementation in Taiwan. Presently there are 2000 monuments in Taiwan that hardly meet the modern code. First, based on international documents released, this research presents 13 disaster indicators on monuments and their environments. Next, 345 monuments in northern Taiwan are taken as examples to evaluate their risk situations with indicators designed in 2011. Some positive recommendations were given at the same time. As a result, a comparative evaluation was completed in 2012 and some key issues are found, such as too many electrical facilities, lack of efficient firefighting equipment, and a shortage of management mechanism, just to name a few. Through the improvement of the management, some major risk can be mitigated. In 2013~14, this research took 23 national monuments from the 345 monuments to evaluate their risk situations and compare the differences between national and local monuments. Results show that almost all management mechanisms in the national monuments have been established and are running well. However, problems like inappropriate electrical facilities and insufficient monitoring equipment remain. In addition, the performance of private monuments is not as good as public ones. Based on the collected information and evaluation, this research develops safety measures of heritage conservation in two aspects. One is for researchers to measure the risk of the heritage; the other is for site managers to manage the risk of their monument with ease. In conclusion, intendants of monuments in Taiwan have to develop more disaster risk management ideas to mitigate and prevent risks. In the meantime, the management and monitoring mechanisms available are helpful tools for risk mitigation. The awareness and training of the site managers are important issues for the implementation of risk prevention.

Megacity Indicator System for Disaster Risk Management in Istanbul (MegaIST)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yahya Menteşe, Emin; Kılıç, Osman; Baş, Mahmut; Khazai, Bijan; Ergün Konukcu, Betul; Emre Basmacı, Ahmet

2017-04-01

Decision makers need tools to understand the priorities and to set up benchmarks and track progress in their disaster risk reduction activities, so that they can justify their decisions and investments. In this regard, Megacity Indicator System for Disaster Risk Management (MegaIST), is developed in order to be used in disaster risk management studies, for decision makers and managers to establish right strategies and proper risk reduction actions, enhance resource management and investment decisions, set priorities, monitor progress in DRM and validate decisions taken with the aim of helping disaster oriented urban redevelopment, inform investors about risk profile of the city and providing a basis for dissemination and sharing of risk components with related stakeholders; by Directorate of Earthquake and Ground Research of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM). MegaIST achieves these goals by analyzing the earthquake risk in three separate but complementary sub-categories consisting of "urban seismic risk, coping capacity and disaster risk management index" in an integrated way. MegaIST model fosters its analyses by presenting the outputs in a simple and user friendly format benefiting from GIS technology that ensures the adoptability of the model's use. Urban seismic risk analysis includes two components, namely; Physical Risk and Social Vulnerability Analysis. Physical risk analysis is based on the possible physical losses (such as building damage, casualties etc.) due to an earthquake while social vulnerability is considered as a factor that increases the results of the physical losses in correlation with the level of education, health, economic status and disaster awareness/preparedness of society. Coping capacity analysis is carried out with the aim of understanding the readiness of the Municipality to respond and recover from a disaster in Istanbul can be defined both in terms of the Municipality's operational capacities - the capacity of the Municipality in terms of the demand on its resources to respond to emergencies and restore services - as well as functional capacities - the policies and planning measures at the Municipality which lead to reduction of risk and protection of people. Disaster Risk Management Index (DRMI) is used as "control system" within the conceptual framework of MegaIST. This index has been developed to understand impact of corporate governance and enforcement structures and policies on total Urban Seismic Risk and in order to make the performance evaluation. Also, DRMI is composed of macro indicators that are developed in order to monitor progress in reducing disaster risk management of institution. They are presented in four broad indicator groups: Legal and Institutional Requirements, Risk Reduction Implementation and Preparedness Activities, Readiness to Respond and Recover, and Strategy and Coordination. As a result; in MegaIST, with the identification and analysis of physical and social vulnerabilities along with coping capacity and disaster risk management performance indicators; an integrated and analytical decision support system has been established to enhance DRM process and reach to a disaster resilient urban environment.

Methodology and Method and Apparatus for Signaling with Capacity Optimized Constellations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barsoum, Maged F. (Inventor); Jones, Christopher R. (Inventor)

2016-01-01

Design Methodology and Method and Apparatus for Signaling with Capacity Optimized Constellation Abstract Communication systems are described that use geometrically PSK shaped constellations that have increased capacity compared to conventional PSK constellations operating within a similar SNR band. The geometrically shaped PSK constellation is optimized based upon parallel decoding capacity. In many embodiments, a capacity optimized geometrically shaped constellation can be used to replace a conventional constellation as part of a firmware upgrade to transmitters and receivers within a communication system. In a number of embodiments, the geometrically shaped constellation is optimized for an Additive White Gaussian Noise channel or a fading channel. In numerous embodiments, the communication uses adaptive rate encoding and the location of points within the geometrically shaped constellation changes as the code rate changes.

Improved candidate generation and coverage analysis methods for design optimization of symmetric multi-satellite constellations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matossian, Mark G.

1997-01-01

Much attention in recent years has focused on commercial telecommunications ventures involving constellations of spacecraft in low and medium Earth orbit. These projects often require investments on the order of billions of dollars (US$) for development and operations, but surprisingly little work has been published on constellation design optimization for coverage analysis, traffic simulation and launch sequencing for constellation build-up strategies. This paper addresses the two most critical aspects of constellation orbital design — efficient constellation candidate generation and coverage analysis. Inefficiencies and flaws in the current standard algorithm for constellation modeling are identified, and a corrected and improved algorithm is presented. In the 1970's, John Walker and G. V. Mozhaev developed innovative strategies for continuous global coverage using symmetric non-geosynchronous constellations. (These are sometimes referred to as rosette, or Walker constellations. An example is pictured above.) In 1980, the late Arthur Ballard extended and generalized the work of Walker into a detailed algorithm for the NAVSTAR/GPS program, which deployed a 24 satellite symmetric constellation. Ballard's important contribution was published in his "Rosette Constellations of Earth Satellites."

The Volcano Disaster Assistance Program: Working with International Partners to Reduce the Risk from Volcanic Eruptions Worldwide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayberry, G. C.; Pallister, J. S.

2015-12-01

The Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP) is a joint effort between USGS and the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). OFDA leads and coordinates disaster responses overseas for the U.S. government and is a unique stakeholder concerned with volcano disaster risk reduction as an international humanitarian assistance donor. One year after the tragic eruption of Nevado del Ruiz in 1985, OFDA began funding USGS to implement VDAP. VDAP's mission is to reduce the loss of life and property and limit the economic impact from foreign volcano crises, thereby preventing such crises from becoming disasters. VDAP fulfills this mission and complements OFDA's humanitarian assistance by providing crisis response, capacity-building, technical training, and hazard assessments to developing countries before, during, and after eruptions. During the past 30 years, VDAP has responded to more than 27 major volcanic crises, built capacity in 12+ countries, and helped counterparts save tens of thousands of lives and hundreds of millions of dollars in property. VDAP responses have evolved as host-country capabilities have grown, but the pace of work has not diminished; as a result of VDAP's work at 27 volcanoes in fiscal year 2014, more than 1.3 million people who could have been impacted by volcanic activity benefitted from VDAP assistance, 11 geological policies were modified, 188 scientists were trained, and several successful eruption forecasts were made. VDAP is developing new initiatives to help counterparts monitor volcanoes and communicate volcanic risk. These include developing the Eruption Forecasting Information System (EFIS) to learn from compiled crisis data from 30 years of VDAP responses, creating event trees to forecast eruptions at restless volcanoes, and exploring the use of unmanned aerial systems for monitoring. The use of these new methods, along with traditional VDAP assistance, has improved VDAP's ability to assist counterparts with preparing for eruptions.

Traditional and non-traditional approaches to the prediction of natural disasters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sapunov, Valentin; Glazyrina, Tatiana

2016-04-01

Since the beginning of the 21st century the number of disasters in the world increased approximately two times. Damage from disasters cost an average of 230 billion dollars per year. Recently, the death toll in the disaster has reached 230,000 - 1 000,000 per year. Along with earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, increased the number of forest and steppe fires. These processes are not fully known global, geophysical and space reasons. Of great importance are perennial not until the end of the study of natural cycles. There is evidence that the state of the planet's surface affect processes in the Earth's core. Understanding the causes and prediction of the tragic events require an integrated effort based on the synthesis of various sciences as well as history which has knowledge about the disasters of the past. Factor that reduces the risk is constant monitoring, including both distant and contact methods. However, its possibility is limited. Firstly, due to the high cost of global, especially space monitoring. Secondly, due to the unpredictability of some processes. In December 2004, the countries of Southeast Asia hit by the tsunami. The death gotten 250 000 people. Animals in this cataclysm appeared to stay safety and advance left the danger zone. Animals are able to predict hazards having no materials predecessors. Participants nuclear tests show - a day before the explosion of the animals escape dangerous zone. This means that animals have the ability to predict the catastrophic events. The most important abiotic factor, the physical nature of which is still not clear is time. One of the scientists, who achieved some success in the study of time, was N.Kozyrev (1908-1983). He devoted his life to the study of the phenomenon of time and attempt to systematize the knowledge of him as a physical substance. Kozyrev in his theoretical calculations and experiments found the new field - the field of time (chrono-information). Through it can instantly and accurately transmit information in space and in time - from the past or the future, however, a diffuse form. The less significant by energy event is, the farther it is remote in time, the less accurate it becomes the transmitted information. Hence: 1. Create in addition to traditional monitoring system for monitoring the behavior of animals that can anticipate disasters natural and anthropogenic genesis based on the properties proscopy. 2. Carry out laboratory investigations of the physical properties of time based on the ideas Kozyrev and other Russian scientists. 3. Some known devices may be used to predict the existing, such as torsion balance. 4. To develop a theoretical framework of proscopy is actual field of both theoretical and applied science.

Disaster risk reduction policies and regulations in Aceh after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Syamsidik; Rusydy, I.; Arief, S.; Munadi, K.; Melianda, E.

2017-02-01

The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami that struck most of coastal cities in Aceh has motivated a numerous changes in the world of disaster risk reduction including to the policies and regulations at local level in Aceh. This paper is aimed at elaborating the changes of policies and regulations in Aceh captured and monitored during 12-year of the tsunami recovery process. A set of questionnaires were distributed to about 245 respondents in Aceh to represent government officials at 6 districts in Aceh. The districts were severely damaged due to the 2004 tsunami. Four aspects were investigated during this research, namely tsunami evacuation mechanism and infrastructures, disaster risk map, disaster data accessibility, perceptions on tsunami risks, and development of tsunami early warning at local level in Aceh. This research found that the spatial planning in several districts in Aceh have adopted tsunami mitigation although they were only significant in terms of land-use planning within several hundreds meter from the coastline. Perceptions of the government officials toward all investigated aspects were relatively good. One concern was found at coordination among disaster stakeholders in Aceh.

Methods and Apparatuses for Signaling with Geometric Constellations in a Raleigh Fading Channel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Christopher R. (Inventor); Barsoum, Maged F. (Inventor)

2015-01-01

Communication systems are described that use signal constellations, which have unequally spaced (i.e., `geometrically` shaped) points. In many embodiments, the communication systems use specific geometric constellations that are capacity optimized at a specific SNR (signal to noise ratio). In addition, ranges within which the constellation points of a capacity optimized constellation can be perturbed and are still likely to achieve a given percentage of the optimal capacity increase compared to a constellation that maximizes d (sub min) (i.e. minimum distance between constellations) are also described. Capacity measures that are used in the selection of the location of constellation points include, but are not limited to, parallel decode (PD) capacity and joint capacity.

Measuring and Monitoring Long Term Disaster Recovery Using Remote Sensing: A Case Study of Post Katrina New Orleans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Archer, Reginald S.

This research focuses on measuring and monitoring long term recovery progress from the impacts of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans, LA. Remote sensing has frequently been used for emergency response and damage assessment after natural disasters. However, techniques for analysis of long term disaster recovery using remote sensing have not been widely explored. With increased availability and lower costs, remote sensing offers an objective perspective, systematic and repeatable analysis, and provides a substitute to multiple site visits. In addition, remote sensing allows access to large geographical areas and areas where ground access may be disrupted, restricted or denied. This dissertation addressed the primary difficulties involved in the development of change detection methods capable of detecting changes experienced by disaster recovery indicators. Maximum likelihood classification and post-classification change detection were applied to multi-temporal high resolution aerial images to quantitatively measure the progress of recovery. Images were classified to automatically identify disaster recovery indicators and exploit the indicators that are visible within each image. The spectral analysis demonstrated that employing maximum likelihood classification to high resolution true color aerial images performed adequately and provided a good indication of spectral pattern recognition, despite the limited spectral information. Applying the change detection to the classified images was effective for determining the temporal trajectory of indicators categorized as blue tarps, FEMA trailers, houses, vegetation, bare earth and pavement. The results of the post classification change detection revealed a dominant change trajectory from bluetarp to house, as damaged houses became permanently repaired. Specifically, the level of activity of blue tarps, housing, vegetation, FEMA trailers (temporary housing) pavement and bare earth were derived from aerial image processing to measure and monitor the progress of recovery. Trajectories of recovery for each individual indicator were examined to provide a better understanding of activity during reconstruction. A collection of spatial metrics was explored in order to identify spatial patterns and characterize classes in terms of patches of pixels. One of the key findings of the spatial analysis is that patch shapes were more complex in the presence of debris and damaged or destroyed buildings. The combination of spectral, temporal, and spatial analysis provided a satisfactory, though limited, solution to the question of whether remote sensing alone, can be used to quantitatively assess and monitor the progress of long term recovery following a major disaster. The research described in this dissertation provided a detailed illustration of the level of activity experienced by different recovery indicators during the long term recovery process. It also addressed the primary difficulties involved in the development of change detection methods capable of detecting changes experienced by disaster recovery indicators identified from classified high resolution true color aerial imagery. The results produced in this research demonstrate that the observed trajectories for actual indicators of recovery indicate different levels of recovery activity even within the same community. The level of activity of the long term reconstruction phase observed in the Kates model is not consistent with the level of activity of key recovery indicators in the Lower 9th Ward during the same period. Used in the proper context, these methods and results provide decision making information for determining resources. KEYWORDS: Change detection, classification, Katrina, New Orleans, remote sensing, disaster recovery, spatial metrics

Three-Dimensional Maps for Disaster Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bandrova, T.; Zlatanova, S.; Konecny, M.

2012-07-01

Geo-information techniques have proven their usefulness for the purposes of early warning and emergency response. These techniques enable us to generate extensive geo-information to make informed decisions in response to natural disasters that lead to better protection of citizens, reduce damage to property, improve the monitoring of these disasters, and facilitate estimates of the damages and losses resulting from them. The maintenance and accessibility of spatial information has improved enormously with the development of spatial data infrastructures (SDIs), especially with second-generation SDIs, in which the original product-based SDI was improved to a process-based SDI. Through the use of SDIs, geo-information is made available to local, national and international organisations in regions affected by natural disasters as well as to volunteers serving in these areas. Volunteer-based systems for information collection (e.g., Ushahidi) have been created worldwide. However, the use of 3D maps is still limited. This paper discusses the applicability of 3D geo-information to disaster management. We discuss some important aspects of maps for disaster management, such as user-centred maps, the necessary components for 3D maps, symbols, and colour schemas. In addition, digital representations are evaluated with respect to their visual controls, i.e., their usefulness for the navigation and exploration of the information. Our recommendations are based on responses from a variety of users of these technologies, including children, geospecialists and disaster managers from different countries.

The Transmission Channel Tower Identification and Landslide Disaster Monitoring Based on Insar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, G.; Tan, Q.; Xie, C.; Fei, X.; Ma, X.; Zhao, B.; Ou, W.; Yang, Z.; Wang, J.; Fang, H.

2018-04-01

The transmission distance of transmission lines is long, the line affected by the diversity of climate and topography of the corridors of transmission lines, differences in regional geological structure conditions, variability of rock and soil types, and the complexity of groundwater. Under the influence of extreme weather conditions (ice-covered, strong wind, etc.) and sudden geological disasters (such as mudslides, flash floods, earthquakes, etc.), catastrophic damage and basic deformation problems of the tower foundations are prone, and even tower collapse accidents occur in severe cases, which affect the safe operation of transmission lines. Monitoring the deformation of power transmission towers and surrounding grounds, it is critical to ensuring the normal operation of transmission lines by assessing and controlling potential risks in advance. In this paper, using ALOS-2 PALSAR radar satellite data, differential interferometry was used to monitor surface deformation near the Sichuan Jinsu line transmission channel. The analysis found that a significant landslide hazard was found near the transmission channel tower in Yibin-Zhaotong section of Jinsu, Sichuan Province, the cumulative deformation reaches 9cm. The results of this paper can provide new monitoring means for safety monitoring of transmission towers.

JPRS Report, Science & Technology, China, Remote Sensing Systems, Applications.

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-17

Partial Contents: Short Introduction to Nation’s Remote Sensing Units, Domestic Airborne Remote - Sensing System, Applications in Monitoring Natural...Disasters, Applications of Imagery From Experimental Satellites Launched in 1985, 1986, Current Status, Future Prospects for Domestic Remote - Sensing -Satellite...Ground Station, and Radar Remote - Sensing Technology Used to Monitor Yellow River Delta,

CONSTELLATION Images from other centers - February 2010

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-02-08

JSC2010-E-019040 (8 Feb. 2010) --- Brent Jett, director, flight crew operations, watches a monitor at his console in the space shuttle flight control room in the Mission Control Center at NASA's Johnson Space Center during launch countdown activities a few hundred miles away in Florida, site of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 launch. John McCullough (seated), chief of the flight director office, is at right.

Opening the archive: how free data has enabled the science and monitoring promise of Landsat

Treesearch

Michael A. Wulder; Jeffrey G. Masek; Warren B. Cohen; Thomas R. Loveland; Curtis E. Woodcock

2012-01-01

Landsat occupies a unique position in the constellation of civilian earth observation satellites, with a long and rich scientific and applications heritage. With nearly 40 years of continuous observation—since launch of the first satellite in 1972—the Landsat program has benefited from insightful technical specification, robust engineering, and the necessary...

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Microwave Imager (GMI): Instrument Overview and Early On-Orbit Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Draper, David W.; Newell, David A.; Wentz, Frank J.; Krimchansky, Sergey; Jackson, Gail

2015-01-01

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission is an international satellite mission that uses measurements from an advanced radar/radiometer system on a core observatory as reference standards to unify and advance precipitation estimates made by a constellation of research and operational microwave sensors. The GPM core observatory was launched on February 27, 2014 at 18:37 UT in a 65? inclination nonsun-synchronous orbit. GPM focuses on precipitation as a key component of the Earth's water and energy cycle, and has the capability to provide near-real-time observations for tracking severe weather events, monitoring freshwater resources, and other societal applications. The GPM microwave imager (GMI) on the core observatory provides the direct link to the constellation radiometer sensors, which fly mainly in polar orbits. The GMI sensitivity, accuracy, and stability play a crucial role in unifying the measurements from the GPM constellation of satellites. The instrument has exhibited highly stable operations through the duration of the calibration/validation period. This paper provides an overview of the GMI instrument and a report of early on-orbit commissioning activities. It discusses the on-orbit radiometric sensitivity, absolute calibration accuracy, and stability for each radiometric channel. Index Terms-Calibration accuracy, passive microwave remote sensing, radiometric sensitivity.

Using monitoring and modeling to define the hazard posed by the reactivated Ferguson rock slide, Merced Canyon, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

De Graff, Jerome V.; Gallegos, Alan J.; Reid, Mark E.; Lahusen, Richard G.; Denlinger, Roger P.

2015-01-01

Rapid onset natural disasters such as large landslides create a need for scientific information about the event, which is vital to ensuring public safety, restoring infrastructure, preventing additional damage, and resuming normal economic activity. At the same time, there is limited data available upon which to base reliable scientific responses. Monitoring movement and modeling runout are mechanisms for gaining vital data and reducing the uncertainty created about a rapid onset natural disaster. We examine the effectiveness of this approach during the 2006 Ferguson rock slide disaster, which severed California Highway 140. Even after construction of a bypass restoring normal access to the community of El Portal, CA and a major entrance to Yosemite National Park, significant scientific questions remained. The most important for the affected public and emergency service agencies was the likelihood that access would again be severed during the impending rainy season and the possibility of a landslide dam blocking flow in the Merced River. Real-time monitoring of the Ferguson rock slide yielded clear information on the continuing movement of the rock slide and its implications for emergency response actions. Similarly, simulation of runout deposits using a physically based model together with volumes and slope steepness information demonstrated the conditions necessary for a landslide dam-forming event and the possible consequences of such an event given the dimensions of potential rock slide deposits.

Landsat continuity: Issues and opportunities for land cover monitoring

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wulder, M.A.; White, Joanne C.; Goward, S.N.; Masek, J.G.; Irons, J.R.; Herold, M.; Cohen, W.B.; Loveland, Thomas R.; Woodcock, C.E.

2008-01-01

Initiated in 1972, the Landsat program has provided a continuous record of earth observation for 35 years. The assemblage of Landsat spatial, spectral, and temporal resolutions, over a reasonably sized image extent, results in imagery that can be processed to represent land cover over large areas with an amount of spatial detail that is absolutely unique and indispensable for monitoring, management, and scientific activities. Recent technical problems with the two existing Landsat satellites, and delays in the development and launch of a successor, increase the likelihood that a gap in Landsat continuity may occur. In this communication, we identify the key features of the Landsat program that have resulted in the extensive use of Landsat data for large area land cover mapping and monitoring. We then augment this list of key features by examining the data needs of existing large area land cover monitoring programs. Subsequently, we use this list as a basis for reviewing the current constellation of earth observation satellites to identify potential alternative data sources for large area land cover applications. Notions of a virtual constellation of satellites to meet large area land cover mapping and monitoring needs are also presented. Finally, research priorities that would facilitate the integration of these alternative data sources into existing large area land cover monitoring programs are identified. Continuity of the Landsat program and the measurements provided are critical for scientific, environmental, economic, and social purposes. It is difficult to overstate the importance of Landsat; there are no other systems in orbit, or planned for launch in the short-term, that can duplicate or approach replication, of the measurements and information conferred by Landsat. While technical and political options are being pursued, there is no satellite image data stream poised to enter the National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive should system failures occur to Landsat-5 and -7.

Constellation Coverage Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lo, Martin W. (Compiler)

1997-01-01

The design of satellite constellations requires an understanding of the dynamic global coverage provided by the constellations. Even for a small constellation with a simple circular orbit propagator, the combinatorial nature of the analysis frequently renders the problem intractable. Particularly for the initial design phase where the orbital parameters are still fluid and undetermined, the coverage information is crucial to evaluate the performance of the constellation design. We have developed a fast and simple algorithm for determining the global constellation coverage dynamically using image processing techniques. This approach provides a fast, powerful and simple method for the analysis of global constellation coverage.

Research on Resilience of Power Systems Under Natural Disasters—A Review

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

Wang, Yezhou; Chen, Chen; Wang, Jianhui

2016-03-01

Natural disasters can cause large blackouts. Research into natural disaster impacts on electric power systems is emerging to understand the causes of the blackouts, explore ways to prepare and harden the grid, and increase the resilience of the power grid under such events. At the same time, new technologies such as smart grid, micro grid, and wide area monitoring applications could increase situational awareness as well as enable faster restoration of the system. This paper aims to consolidate and review the progress of the research field towards methods and tools of forecasting natural disaster related power system disturbances, hardening andmore » pre-storm operations, and restoration models. Challenges and future research opportunities are also presented in the paper.« less

Satellite Application for Disaster Management Information Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okpanachi, George

Abstract Satellites are becoming increasingly vital to modern day disaster management activities. Earth observation (EO) satellites provide images at various wavelengths that assist rapid-mapping in all phases of the disaster management cycle: mitigation of potential risks in a given area, preparedness for eventual disasters, immediate response to a disaster event, and the recovery/reconstruction efforts follo wing it. Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) assist all the phases by providing precise location and navigation data, helping manage land and infrastructures, and aiding rescue crews coordinate their search efforts. Effective disaster management is a complex problem, because it involves many parameters, which are usually not easy to measure and even identify: Analysis of current situation, planning, optimum resource management, coordination, controlling and monitoring current activities and making quick and correct decisions are only some of these parameters, whose complete list is very long. Disaster management information systems (DMIS) assist disaster management to analyse the situation better, make decisions and suggest further actions following the emergency plans. This requires not only fast and thorough processing and optimization abilities, but also real-time data provided to the DMIS. The need of DMIS for disaster’s real-time data can be satisfied by small satellites data utilization. Small satellites can provide up-to-data, plus a better media to transfer data. This paper suggests a rationale and a framework for utilization of small Satellite data by DMIS. DMIS should be used ‘’before’’, ‘’during’’ and ‘’after’’ the disasters. Data provided by the Small Satellites are almost crucial in any period of the disasters, because early warning can save lives, and satellite data may help to identify disasters before they occur. The paper also presents’ ‘when’’, ‘’where’’ and ‘’how’’ small satellite data should be used by DMIS.

Balloon-borne air traffic management (ATM) as a precursor to space-based ATM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brodsky, Yuval; Rieber, Richard; Nordheim, Tom

2012-01-01

The International Space University—Balloon Air traffic control Technology Experiment (I-BATE ) has flown on board two stratospheric balloons and has tracked nearby aircraft by receiving their Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) transmissions. Air traffic worldwide is facing increasing congestion. It is predicted that daily European flight volumes will more than double by 2030 compared to 2009 volumes. ADS-B is an air traffic management system being used to mitigate air traffic congestion. Each aircraft is equipped with both a GPS receiver and an ADS-B transponder. The transponder transmits an equipped aircraft's unique identifier, position, heading, and velocity once per second. The ADS-B transmissions can then be received by ground stations for use in traditional air traffic management. Airspace not monitored by these ground stations or other traditional means remains uncontrolled and poorly monitored. A constellation of space-based ADS-B receivers could close these gaps and provide global air traffic monitoring. By flying an ADS-B receiver on a stratospheric balloon, I-BATE has served as a precursor to a constellation of ADS-B-equipped Earth-orbiting satellites. From the ˜30 km balloon altitude, I-BATE tracked aircraft ranging up to 850 km. The experiment has served as a proof of concept for space-based air traffic management and supports a technology readiness level 6 of space-based ADS-B reception. I-BATE: International Space University—Balloon Air traffic control Technology Experiment.

The BDS iGMAS RIOS station at Observatório Nacional, Rio de Janeiro

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Humberto Andrei, Alexandre; Song, Shuli; Junqueira, Selma; Beauvalet, Laurene

2016-07-01

GNSS navigation satellites are currently being developed by all major players in the science and technology scene, to compete with the GPS system. Because their applications span many different areas, from traffic and cargo control, to geodesy and seismic monitoring, it is required to assess the coherence between the different constellations. BDS is the GNSS system currently developed in China. Its first generation of satellites consisted of 3 geostationnary satellites allowing geolocalisation in China only. In addition to these satellites, other satellites have been launched in geostationnary and geosynchronous orbits, as well as satellites orbiting with a classical GNSS semi-major axis. With these additions, the BDS system possesses 19 operating satellites, and though the system is mostly efficient for geolocalisation in Asia, the satellites are also visible in other parts of the globe. In parallel to the development of the BDS constellation, China has launched the iGMAS (International GNSS Monitoring and Assessment Service) project to develop a global tracking network of multi-GNSS geodetic receivers. One of the goals of this project is to evaluate the efficiency of the BDS constellation as well as the efficiency of the receivers developed by the Chinese laboratories. As part of the Brazilian program COSBAN leaded by the Foreign Affairs Ministry to foster up the science and technology partnership with China, materialized by the collaboration between the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory/CAS and the Observatório Nacional/MCTI, in Rio de Janeiro. Through it the RIOS-iGMAS station was installed at Observatório Nacional, where the RJEP GNSS station already operates as part of the Brazilian reference system. Thus at the Observatório Nacional can be observed satellites from any constellation with both systems of reception, leading to a direct, efficient way to compare the results obtained for each network. In this communication we focus on the determination of the position of the satellites by analyzing the pseudo-ranges obtained by C1W code for GPS, and C7I code for BDS. Using the Allan variation a crucial result is obtained. It is shown that the BDS system can perform at the level of the GPS system, provided equal satellite coverage. On the other hand at the Observatório Nacional it is detected a near constant bias of about 35m between the ranges simultaneously derived from the RIOS (iGMAS) and RJEP (GNSS) stations, no matter the observed satellite, or constellation. Both results are presented and discussed. We also present the current status of the installation of a second BDS iGMAS station, in a northern, equatorial location in Brazil. The operational and scientific perspectives are disclosed.

76 FR 41783 - Combined Notice of Filings #2

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-15

... Commodities Group, Constellation Pwr Source Generation LLC, Constellation NewEnergy, Inc., CER Generation II..., CER Generation, LLC, Constellation Energy Commodities Group M, Constellation Mystic Power, LLC...

Geophysical Hazards and Preventive Disaster Management of Extreme Natural Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ismail-Zadeh, A.; Takeuchi, K.

2007-12-01

Geophysical hazard is potentially damaging natural event and/or phenomenon, which may cause the loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption, or environmental degradation. Extreme natural hazards are a key manifestation of the complex hierarchical nonlinear Earth system. An understanding, accurate modeling and forecasting of the extreme hazards are most important scientific challenges. Several recent extreme natural events (e.g., 2004 Great Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami and the 2005 violent Katrina hurricane) demonstrated strong coupling between solid Earth and ocean, and ocean and atmosphere. These events resulted in great humanitarian tragedies because of a weak preventive disaster management. The less often natural events occur (and the extreme events are rare by definition), the more often the disaster managers postpone the preparedness to the events. The tendency to reduce the funding for preventive disaster management of natural catastrophes is seldom follows the rules of responsible stewardship for future generations neither in developing countries nor in highly developed economies where it must be considered next to malfeasance. Protecting human life and property against earthquake disasters requires an uninterrupted chain of tasks: from (i) understanding of physics of the events, analysis and monitoring, through (ii) interpretation, modeling, hazard assessment, and prediction, to (iii) public awareness, preparedness, and preventive disaster management.

Policy and administrative issues for large-scale clinical interventions following disasters.

PubMed

Scheeringa, Michael S; Cobham, Vanessa E; McDermott, Brett

2014-02-01

Large, programmatic mental health intervention programs for children and adolescents following disasters have become increasingly common; however, little has been written about the key goals and challenges involved. Using available data and the authors' experiences, this article reviews the factors involved in planning and implementing large-scale treatment programs following disasters. These issues include funding, administration, choice of clinical targets, workforce selection, choice of treatment modalities, training, outcome monitoring, and consumer uptake. Ten factors are suggested for choosing among treatment modalities: 1) reach (providing access to the greatest number), 2) retention of patients, 3) privacy, 4) parental involvement, 5) familiarity of the modality to clinicians, 6) intensity (intervention type matches symptom acuity and impairment of patient), 7) burden to the clinician (in terms of time, travel, and inconvenience), 8) cost, 9) technology needs, and 10) effect size. Traditionally, after every new disaster, local leaders who have never done so before have had to be recruited to design, administer, and implement programs. As expertise in all of these areas represents a gap for most local professionals in disaster-affected areas, we propose that a central, nongovernmental agency with national or international scope be created that can consult flexibly with local leaders following disasters on both overarching and specific issues. We propose recommendations and point out areas in greatest need of innovation.

Near Real-Time Georeference of Umanned Aerial Vehicle Images for Post-Earthquake Response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, S.; Wang, X.; Dou, A.; Yuan, X.; Ding, L.; Ding, X.

2018-04-01

The rapid collection of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) remote sensing images plays an important role in the fast submitting disaster information and the monitored serious damaged objects after the earthquake. However, for hundreds of UAV images collected in one flight sortie, the traditional data processing methods are image stitching and three-dimensional reconstruction, which take one to several hours, and affect the speed of disaster response. If the manual searching method is employed, we will spend much more time to select the images and the find images do not have spatial reference. Therefore, a near-real-time rapid georeference method for UAV remote sensing disaster data is proposed in this paper. The UAV images are achieved georeference combined with the position and attitude data collected by UAV flight control system, and the georeferenced data is organized by means of world file which is developed by ESRI. The C # language is adopted to compile the UAV images rapid georeference software, combined with Geospatial Data Abstraction Library (GDAL). The result shows that it can realize rapid georeference of remote sensing disaster images for up to one thousand UAV images within one minute, and meets the demand of rapid disaster response, which is of great value in disaster emergency application.

Operational early warning platform for extreme meteorological events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mühr, Bernhard; Kunz, Michael

2015-04-01

Operational early warning platform for extreme meteorological events Most natural disasters are related to extreme weather events (e.g. typhoons); weather conditions, however, are also highly relevant for humanitarian and disaster relief operations during and after other natural disaster like earthquakes. The internet service "Wettergefahren-Frühwarnung" (WF) provides various information on extreme weather events, especially when these events are associated with a high potential for large damage. The main focus of the platform is on Central Europe, but major events are also monitored worldwide on a daily routine. WF provides high-resolution forecast maps for many weather parameters which allow detailed and reliable predictions about weather conditions during the next days in the affected areas. The WF service became operational in February 2004 and is part of the Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology (CEDIM) since 2007. At the end of 2011, CEDIM embarked a new type of interdisciplinary disaster research termed as forensic disaster analysis (FDA) in near real time. In case of an imminent extreme weather event WF plays an important role in CEDIM's FDA group. It provides early and precise information which are always available and updated several times during a day and gives advice and assists with articles and reports on extreme events.

Proposing a Framework for Mobile Applications in Disaster Health Learning.

PubMed

Liu, Alexander G; Altman, Brian A; Schor, Kenneth; Strauss-Riggs, Kandra; Thomas, Tracy N; Sager, Catherine; Leander-Griffith, Michelle; Harp, Victoria

2017-08-01

Mobile applications, or apps, have gained widespread use with the advent of modern smartphone technologies. Previous research has been conducted in the use of mobile devices for learning. However, there is decidedly less research into the use of mobile apps for health learning (eg, patient self-monitoring, medical student learning). This deficiency in research on using apps in a learning context is especially severe in the disaster health field. The objectives of this article were to provide an overview of the current state of disaster health apps being used for learning, to situate the use of apps in a health learning context, and to adapt a learning framework for the use of mobile apps in the disaster health field. A systematic literature review was conducted by using the PRISMA checklist, and peer-reviewed articles found through the PubMed and CINAHL databases were examined. This resulted in 107 nonduplicative articles, which underwent a 3-phase review, culminating in a final selection of 17 articles. While several learning models were identified, none were sufficient as an app learning framework for the field. Therefore, we propose a learning framework to inform the use of mobile apps in disaster health learning. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:487-495).

The joint return period analysis of natural disasters based on monitoring and statistical modeling of multidimensional hazard factors.

PubMed

Liu, Xueqin; Li, Ning; Yuan, Shuai; Xu, Ning; Shi, Wenqin; Chen, Weibin

2015-12-15

As a random event, a natural disaster has the complex occurrence mechanism. The comprehensive analysis of multiple hazard factors is important in disaster risk assessment. In order to improve the accuracy of risk analysis and forecasting, the formation mechanism of a disaster should be considered in the analysis and calculation of multi-factors. Based on the consideration of the importance and deficiencies of multivariate analysis of dust storm disasters, 91 severe dust storm disasters in Inner Mongolia from 1990 to 2013 were selected as study cases in the paper. Main hazard factors from 500-hPa atmospheric circulation system, near-surface meteorological system, and underlying surface conditions were selected to simulate and calculate the multidimensional joint return periods. After comparing the simulation results with actual dust storm events in 54years, we found that the two-dimensional Frank Copula function showed the better fitting results at the lower tail of hazard factors and that three-dimensional Frank Copula function displayed the better fitting results at the middle and upper tails of hazard factors. However, for dust storm disasters with the short return period, three-dimensional joint return period simulation shows no obvious advantage. If the return period is longer than 10years, it shows significant advantages in extreme value fitting. Therefore, we suggest the multivariate analysis method may be adopted in forecasting and risk analysis of serious disasters with the longer return period, such as earthquake and tsunami. Furthermore, the exploration of this method laid the foundation for the prediction and warning of other nature disasters. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Constellations: A New Paradigm for Earth Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelly, Angelita C.; Volz, Stephen M.; Yuhas, Cheryl L.; Case, Warren F.

2009-01-01

The last decade has seen a significant increase in the number and the capabilities of remote sensing satellites launched by the international community. A relatively new approach has been the launching of satellites into heterogeneous constellations. Constellations provide the scientists a capability to acquire science data, not only from specific instruments on a single satellite, but also from instruments on other satellites that fly in the same orbit. Initial results from the A-Train (especially following the CALIPSO/CloudSat launch) attest to the tremendous scientific value of constellation flying. This paper provides a history of the constellations (particularly the A-Train) and how the A-Train mission design was driven by science requirements. The A-Train has presented operational challenges which had not previously been encountered. Operations planning had to address not only how the satellites of each constellation operate safely together, but also how the two constellations fly in the same orbits without interfering with each other when commands are uplinked or data are downlinked to their respective ground stations. This paper discusses the benefits of joining an on-orbit constellation. When compared to a single, large satellite, a constellation infrastructure offers more than just the opportunities for coincidental science observations. For example, constellations reduce risks by distributing observing instruments among numerous satellites; in contrast, a failed launch or a system failure in a single satellite would lead to loss of all observations. Constellations allow for more focused, less complex satellites. Constellations distribute the development, testing, and operations costs among various agencies and organizations for example, the Morning and Afternoon Constellations involve several agencies within the U.S. and in other countries. Lastly, this paper addresses the need to plan for the long-term evolution of a constellation. Agencies need to have a replenishment strategy as some satellites age and eventually leave the constellation. This will ensure overlap of observations, thus providing continuous, calibrated science data over a much longer time period. Thoughts on the evolution of the A-Train will also be presented.

Interactions of the space debris environment with mega constellations-Using the example of the OneWeb constellation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radtke, Jonas; Kebschull, Christopher; Stoll, Enrico

2017-02-01

Recently, several announcements have been published to deploy satellite constellations into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) containing several hundred to thousands of rather small sized objects. The purpose of these constellations is to provide a worldwide internet coverage, even to the remotest areas. Examples of these mega-constellations are one from SpaceX, which is announced to comprise of about 4000 satellites, the Norwegian STEAM network, which is told to contain 4257 satellites, and the OneWeb constellation, which forms one of the smaller constellations with 720 satellites. As example constellation, OneWeb has been chosen. From all announced constellation, OneWeb by far delivered most information, both in regards to constellation design and their plans to encounter space debris issues, which is the reason why it has been chosen for these analyses. In this paper, at first an overview of the planned OneWeb constellation setup is given. From this description, a mission life-cycle is deduced, splitting the complete orbital lifetime of the satellites into four phases. Following, using ESA-MASTER, for each of the mission phases the flux on both single constellations satellites and the complete constellation are performed and the collision probabilities are derived. The focus in this analysis is set on catastrophic collisions. This analysis is then varied parametrically for different operational altitudes of the constellation as well as different lifetimes with different assumptions for the success of post mission disposal (PMD). Following the to-be-expected mean number of collision avoidance manoeuvres during all active mission phases is performed using ARES from ESA's DRAMA tool suite. The same variations as during the flux analysis are considered. Lastly the characteristics of hypothetical OneWeb satellite fragmentation clouds, calculated using the NASA Breakup model, are described and the impact of collision clouds from OneWeb satellites on the constellation itself is analysed.

The Potentials Of Gnss-R For Sea Hazard Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clarizia, Maria Paola; Toffoli, Alessandro

2013-04-01

GNSS-Reflectometry represents a new and innovative approach for ocean remote sensing. This technique exploits signals of opportunity from GNSS constellations (i.e. GPS, Glonass, Galileo etc.), reflected off the surface of the ocean, and uses these reflections to retrieve useful geophysical parameters of the ocean surface. GNSS-R is generating an increasing attention from the Remote Sensing community, especially in recent years, due to its numerous advantages compared to other classical remote sensing techniques. The exploitation of long-term, ubiquitous signals of opportunity freely available, the high space-time sampling capabilities and the ability of its L-band signals to penetrate well through rain all contribute to make this technique very attractive. An additional and very important strength of GNSS-R is the need for simple, low-cost/low-power GNSS receivers, that could be easily piggybacked on other satellites to form a constellation of receivers. These recognized potentials of GNSS-R have been recently led to the approval of the NASA EV-2 Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS), a spaceborne mission focused on tropical cyclone (TC) inner core process studies. GNSS-R can be used for both scatterometric applications (i.e. wind and wave monitoring) and altimetric applications (i.e. measurements of sea surface height). In particular, its ability to collect multiple GPS reflections anywhere on the globe and at any time (due to the ubiquity of GPS signals) using a large constellation of simple GNSS receivers, makes is very suitable for Real-Time (RT) and Near-Real Time (NRT) applications. These are particularly crucial for monitoring sea hazards related to ship operations and operational oceanography in general. For scatterometric purposes, GNSS-R can potentially detect high wind and waves in RT and NRT, as well as oil spills on the surface of the ocean, through its measurements of the sea surface roughness. In addition to that, GNSS-R could provide densely spaced Sea Surface Height (SSH) measurements, by collecting a number of reflections from different satellites within a field point of view. A number of sea hazards like tsunamis, high tides, storm surges of simply very high solitary waves in the ocean can be easily detected with GNSS-R measurements of SSH. The precision in the SSH measurement that can be achieved with GNSS-R is still considerably lower than that obtained with operational conventional altimetry. For this reason, GNSS-R is currently more suitable to detect large waves, since they generate a large signal in the data that allows for a better detection. The increase in the number of GNSS constellations and signals, and the improvements that the new signals will have (larger bandwidth, longer codes etc.) should ultimately lead to an overcome of the current limitations of GNSS for sea surface altimetry applications.

The Global Positioning System constellation as a space weather monitor. Comparison of electron measurements with Van Allen Probes data

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

Morley, Steven K.; Sullivan, John P.; Henderson, Michael G.

Energetic electron observations in Earth's radiation belts are typically sparse, and multipoint studies often rely on serendipitous conjunctions. This paper establishes the scientific utility of the Combined X-ray Dosimeter (CXD), currently flown on 19 satellites in the Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation, by cross-calibrating energetic electron measurements against data from the Van Allen Probes. By breaking our cross calibration into two parts—one that removes any spectral assumptions from the CXD flux calculation and one that compares the energy spectra—we first validate the modeled instrument response functions, then the calculated electron fluxes. Unlike previous forward modeling of energetic electron spectra, wemore » use a combination of four distributions that together capture a wide range of observed spectral shapes. Moreover, our two-step approach allowed us to identify, and correct for, small systematic offsets between block IIR and IIF satellites. Using the Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer and Relativistic Electron-Proton Telescope on Van Allen Probes as a “gold standard,” here we demonstrate that the CXD instruments are well understood. A robust statistical analysis shows that CXD and Van Allen Probes fluxes are similar and the measured fluxes from CXD are typically within a factor of 2 of Van Allen Probes at energies inline image4 MeV. Our team present data from 17 CXD-equipped GPS satellites covering the 2015 “St. Patrick's Day” geomagnetic storm to illustrate the scientific applications of such a high data density satellite constellation and therefore demonstrate that the GPS constellation is positioned to enable new insights in inner magnetospheric physics and space weather forecasting.« less

On the Feasibility of Monitoring Carbon Monoxide in the Lower Troposphere from a Constellation of Northern Hemisphere Geostationary Satellites (PART 1)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barre, Jerome; Edwards, David; Worden, Helen; Da Silva, Arlindo; Lahoz, William

2015-01-01

By the end of the current decade, there are plans to deploy several geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellite missions for atmospheric composition over North America, East Asia and Europe with additional missions proposed. Together, these present the possibility of a constellation of geostationary platforms to achieve continuous time-resolved high-density observations over continental domains for mapping pollutant sources and variability at diurnal and local scales. In this paper, we use a novel approach to sample a very high global resolution model (GEOS-5 at 7 km horizontal resolution) to produce a dataset of synthetic carbon monoxide pollution observations representative of those potentially obtainable from a GEO satellite constellation with predicted measurement sensitivities based on current remote sensing capabilities. Part 1 of this study focuses on the production of simulated synthetic measurements for air quality OSSEs (Observing System Simulation Experiments). We simulate carbon monoxide nadir retrievals using a technique that provides realistic measurements with very low computational cost. We discuss the sampling methodology: the projection of footprints and areas of regard for geostationary geometries over each of the North America, East Asia and Europe regions; the regression method to simulate measurement sensitivity; and the measurement error simulation. A detailed analysis of the simulated observation sensitivity is performed, and limitations of the method are discussed. We also describe impacts from clouds, showing that the efficiency of an instrument making atmospheric composition measurements on a geostationary platform is dependent on the dominant weather regime over a given region and the pixel size resolution. These results demonstrate the viability of the "instrument simulator" step for an OSSE to assess the performance of a constellation of geostationary satellites for air quality measurements.

The Global Positioning System constellation as a space weather monitor. Comparison of electron measurements with Van Allen Probes data

DOE PAGES

Morley, Steven K.; Sullivan, John P.; Henderson, Michael G.; ...

2016-02-06

Energetic electron observations in Earth's radiation belts are typically sparse, and multipoint studies often rely on serendipitous conjunctions. This paper establishes the scientific utility of the Combined X-ray Dosimeter (CXD), currently flown on 19 satellites in the Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation, by cross-calibrating energetic electron measurements against data from the Van Allen Probes. By breaking our cross calibration into two parts—one that removes any spectral assumptions from the CXD flux calculation and one that compares the energy spectra—we first validate the modeled instrument response functions, then the calculated electron fluxes. Unlike previous forward modeling of energetic electron spectra, wemore » use a combination of four distributions that together capture a wide range of observed spectral shapes. Moreover, our two-step approach allowed us to identify, and correct for, small systematic offsets between block IIR and IIF satellites. Using the Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer and Relativistic Electron-Proton Telescope on Van Allen Probes as a “gold standard,” here we demonstrate that the CXD instruments are well understood. A robust statistical analysis shows that CXD and Van Allen Probes fluxes are similar and the measured fluxes from CXD are typically within a factor of 2 of Van Allen Probes at energies inline image4 MeV. Our team present data from 17 CXD-equipped GPS satellites covering the 2015 “St. Patrick's Day” geomagnetic storm to illustrate the scientific applications of such a high data density satellite constellation and therefore demonstrate that the GPS constellation is positioned to enable new insights in inner magnetospheric physics and space weather forecasting.« less

Methods and Apparatuses for Signaling with Geometric Constellations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barsoum, Maged F. (Inventor); Jones, Christopher R. (Inventor)

2018-01-01

Communication systems are described that use signal constellations, which have unequally spaced (i.e. `geometrically` shaped) points. In many embodiments, the communication systems use specific geometric constellations that are capacity optimized at a specific SNR. In addition, ranges within which the constellation points of a capacity optimized constellation can be perturbed and are still likely to achieve a given percentage of the optimal capacity increase compared to a constellation that maximizes d.sub.min, are also described. Capacity measures that are used in the selection of the location of constellation points include, but are not limited to, parallel decode (PD) capacity and joint capacity.

Methods and apparatuses for signaling with geometric constellations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Christopher R. (Inventor); Barsoum, Maged F. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

Communication systems are described that use signal constellations, which have unequally spaced (i.e. geometrically shaped) points. In many embodiments, the communication systems use specific geometric constellations that are capacity optimized at a specific SNR. In addition, ranges within which the constellation points of a capacity optimized constellation can be perturbed and are still likely to achieve a given percentage of the optimal capacity increase compared to a constellation that maximizes d.sub.min, are also described. Capacity measures that are used in the selection of the location of constellation points include, but are not limited to, parallel decode (PD) capacity and joint capacity.

High-grade, compact spectrometers for Earth observation from SmallSats

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Wal, L. F.; de Goeij, B. T. G.; Jansen, R.; Oosterling, J. A. J.; Snijders, B.

2016-10-01

The market for nano- and microsatellites is developing rapidly. There is a strong focus on 2D imaging of the Earth's surface, with limited possibilities to obtain spectral information. More demanding applications, such as monitoring trace gases, aerosols or water quality still require advanced imaging instruments, which are large, heavy and expensive. In recent years TNO has investigated and developed different innovative designs to realize advanced spectrometers for space applications in a more compact and cost-effective manner. This offers multiple advantages: a compact instrument can be flown on a much smaller platform (nano- or microsatellite); a low-cost instrument opens up the possibility to fly multiple instruments in a satellite constellation, improving both global coverage and temporal sampling (e.g. to study diurnal processes); a constellation of low-cost instruments may provide added value to the larger scientific and operational satellite missions (e.g. the Copernicus Sentinel missions); and a small, lightweight spectrometer can also be mounted easily on a high-altitude UAV (offering high spatial resolution). Last but not least, a low-cost instrument may allow to break through the `cost spiral': lower cost will allow to take more risk and thus progress more quickly. This may lead to a much faster development cycle than customary for current Earth Observation instruments. To explore the potential of a constellation of low-cost instruments a consortium of Dutch partners was formed, which currently consists of Airbus Defence and Space Netherlands, ISISpace, S and T and TNO. In this paper we will illustrate this new design approach by using the most advanced design of a hyperspectral imaging spectrometer (named `Spectrolite') as an example. We will discuss the different design and manufacturing techniques that were used to realize this compact and low-cost design. Laboratory tests as well as the first preliminary results of airborne measurements with the Spectrolite breadboard will be presented and discussed. The design of Spectrolite offers the flexibility to tune its performance (spectral range, spectral resolution) to a specific application. Thus, based on the same basic system design, Spectrolite offers a range of applications to different clients. To illustrate this, we will present a mission concept to monitor NO2 concentrations over urban areas at high spatial resolution, based on a constellation of small satellites.

Exploring the potential of geocoding the impact of disasters: The experience of global and national databases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guha-Sapir, Debarati; Davis, Rhonda; Gall, Melanie; Wallemacq, Pascaline; Cutter, Susan

2015-04-01

As extreme climate events such as precipitation driven flooding, storms and droughts are increasingly devastating, assessing impacts accurately becomes critically important in guiding decisions and investments on disaster risk reduction. Capturing disaster impacts includes not only quantitative information such as the economic and human effects but also the determination of where and when the impacts occurred. Among the most commonly used impact indicators are the number of deaths and the number of people affected or homeless, and the economic damages. Unfortunately, these figures are typically used in their raw form and conclusions are drawn without due consideration to denominators. For example, key parameters such as the population base or the size of the region affected are often not factored in when judging the severity of the event or calculating increases or decreases in an indicator. To increase the meaningfulness and comparability of disaster impacts across time and space, however, it is important to mathematically standardize indicators and utilize common denominators such as number of population exposed, area affected, GDP, and so forth. Geospatial techniques such as geo-referencing and spatial overlays are coming into greater use to facilitate this process. In 2013, EM-DAT, one of the main providers of global disaster impact data, launched an effort to enhance its contents through spatial analyses. The challenge was to develop a sustainable methodology and protocol for a large dataset and to systematically collect and enter geocoded profiles for each event that is registered in EM-DAT. Along with specialists in geography from different institutions EM-DAT launched an effort to geocode each disaster event working backwards in time starting from the most recent. For geo-referencing purposes, EM-DAT requires a standardized dataset of sub-national administrative boundaries. Though a number of such initiatives exist, the Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) Global Administrative Unit Layers (GAUL) was selected as the most appropriate since the data are updated annually, disputed areas are labelled as such and not assigned to a national entity, and the FAO uses a community-based approach whereby users of the dataset can provide updated administrative boundaries and related shapefiles. Geocoding the impact areas of disaster events not only allows for more accurate spatial analyses and mapping but it also enhances the interoperability of EM-DAT data with other spatially explicit data (such as population or land use data), or with nationally-developed loss datasets such as SHELDUS. Most importantly, geocoding permits the monitoring of key parameters of disaster impacts such as exposure, vulnerable populations, effectiveness of disaster risk reduction measures, as well as the investigation of linkages and ripple effects between a catastrophic event and other external factors. For example, the intersection between extreme malnutrition and the spatial extent of droughts or floods aids in the identification of hot spots and facilitates strategic delivery of nutrition interventions. With the need for tracking and monitoring progress towards sustainable development and disaster risk reduction gaining in importance, the ability to express disaster impacts in standardized terms such as ratios or percentages per some unit area will increase transparency and comparability of disaster management programmes.

"Capture" Me if You Can: Estimating Abundance of Dolphin Populations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Jessica; Curran, Mary Carla; Cox, Tara

2016-01-01

Animal populations are monitored over time to assess the effects of environmental disaster and disease, as well as the efficacy of laws designed to protect them. Determining the abundance of a species within a defined area is one method of monitoring a population. In "Capture" Me if You Can, middle school students will use data collected…

Fire monitoring capability of the joint Landsat and Sentinel 2 constellation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, S.; Wright, R.

2017-12-01

Fires are a global hazard. Landsat and Sentinel 2 can monitor the Earth's surface every 2 - 4 days. This provides an important opportunity to complement the operational (lower resolution) fire monitoring systems. Landsat-class sensors can detect small fires that would be missed by MODIS-classed sensors. All large fires start out as small fires. We analyze fire patterns in California from 1984 to 2017 and compare the performance of Landsat-type and MODIS-type sensors. Had an operational Landsat-Sentinel 2 fire detection system been in place at the time of the Soberanes fire last year (i.e. August 2016), the cost of suppressing of this fire event (US $236 million) could potentially have been reduced by an order of magnitude.

NASA's Lunar Impact Monitoring Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Suggs, Robert M.; Cooke, William; Swift, Wesley; Hollon, Nicholas

2007-01-01

NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office nas implemented a program to monitor the Moon for meteoroid impacts from the Marshall Space Flight Center. Using off-the-shelf telescopes and video equipment, the moon is monitored for as many as 10 nights per month, depending on weather. Custom software automatically detects flashes which are confirmed by a second telescope, photometrically calibrated using background stars, and published on a website for correlation with other observations, Hypervelocity impact tests at the Ames Vertical Gun Facility have been performed to determine the luminous efficiency ana ejecta characteristics. The purpose of this research is to define the impact ejecta environment for use by lunar spacecraft designers of the Constellation (manned lunar) Program. The observational techniques and preliminary results will be discussed.

Dynamics of tethered constellations in Earth orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lorenzini, E.

1986-01-01

Topics covered include station keeping of single-axis and two-axis constellations; single-axis vertical constellations with low-g platform; single-axis vertical constellations with three masses; deployment strategy; and damping of vibrational modes.

The BEYOND center of excellence for the effective exploitation of satellite time series towards natural disasters monitoring and assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kontoes, Charalampos; Papoutsis, Ioannis; Amiridis, Vassilis; Balasis, George; Keramitsoglou, Iphigenia; Herekakis, Themistocles; Christia, Eleni

2014-05-01

BEYOND project (2013-2016, 2.3Meuro) funded under the FP7-REGPOT scheme is an initiative which aims to build a Centre of Excellence for Earth Observation (EO) based monitoring of natural disasters in south-eastern Europe (http://beyond-eocenter.eu/), established at the National Observatory of Athens (NOA). The project focuses on capacity building on top of the existing infrastructure, aiming at unlocking the institute's potential through the systematic interaction with high-profile partners across Europe, and at consolidating state-of-the-art equipment and technological know-how that will allow sustainable cutting-edge interdisciplinary research to take place with an impact on the regional and European socioeconomic welfare. The vision is to set up innovative integrated observational solutions to allow a multitude of space borne and ground-based monitoring networks to operate in a complementary and cooperative manner, create archives and databases of long series of observations and higher level products, and make these available for exploitation with the involvement of stakeholders. In BEYOND critical infrastructural components are being procured for fostering access, use, retrieval and analysis of long EO data series and products. In this framework NOA has initiated activities for the development, installation and operation of important acquisition facilities and hardware modules, including space based observational infrastructures as the X-/L-band acquisition station for receiving EOS Aqua/Terra, NPP, JPSS, NOAA, Metop, Feng Yun data in real time, the setting up of an ESA's Mirror Site of Sentinel missions to be operable from 2014 onwards, an advanced Raman Lidar portable station, a spectrometer facility, several ground magnetometer stations. All these are expected to work in synergy with the existing capacity resources and observational networks including the MSG/SEVIRI acquisition station, nationwide seismographic, GPS, meteo and atmospheric networks. The analysis of the satellite time series from this diverse EO based monitoring network facilities established at NOA covers a broad spectrum of research activities. Indicatively using Landsat TM/ETM+ imagery we have developed algorithms for the automatic diachronic mapping of burnt areas over Greece since 1984 and we have been using MSG/SEVIRI data to detect forest wildfires in Greece since 2007, analyze their temporal and geographical signatures and store these events for further analysis in relation with auxiliary geo-information layers for risk assessment applications. In the field of geophysics we have been employing sophisticated radar interferometry techniques using SAR sensor diversity with multi-frequency, multi-resolution and multi-temporal datasets (e.g. ERS1/ERS2, ENVISAT, TerraSAR-X, COSMO-SkyMED) to map diachronic surface deformation associated with volcanic activity, tectonic stress accumulation and urban subsidence. In the field of atmospheric research, we have developed a 3-dimentional global climatology of aerosol and cloud distributions using the CALIPSO dataset. The database, called LIVAS, will continue utilizing CALIPSO observations but also datasets from the upcoming ADM-Aeolus and EarthCARE ESA missions in order to provide a unique historical dataset of global aerosol and cloud vertical distributions, as well as respective trends in cloud cover, aerosol/cloud amount and variability of the natural and anthropogenic aerosol component. Additionally, our team is involved in Swarm magnetic field constellation, a new Earth Explorer mission in ESA's Living Planet Programme launched on November 22, 2013, as member of the validation team of the mission. Finally, assessment of heat wave risk and hazards is carried out systematically using MODIS satellite data.

Monitoring and evaluating recovery from natural disasters using remote sensing - towards creating guidelines on the use of satellite images in the context of disaster recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saito, K.; Brown, D.; Spence, R.; Chenvidyakarn, T.; Adams, B.; Bevington, J.; Platt, S.; Chuenpagdee, R.; Juntarashote, K.; Khan, A.

2009-04-01

The use of high-resolution optical satellite images is being investigated for evaluating and monitoring recovery after natural disasters. Funded by EPSRC, UK, the aim of the RECOVERY project is to develop indicators of recovery that can exploit the wealth of data now available, including those from satellite imagery, internet-based statistics and advanced field survey techniques. The final output will be a set of guidelines that suggests how remote sensing can be used to help monitor and evaluate the recovery process after natural disasters. The final guideline that will be produced at the end of the two year project, which started in February 2008, will be freely available to aid agencies and anyone that is interested. Currently there is no agreed standard approach for evaluating the effectiveness of recovery aid, although international frameworks such as PDNA (Post-Disaster Needs Assessment, United Nations Development Program, European Commission and World Bank) is currently being developed, and TRIAMS (Tsunami Recovery and Impact Assessment and Monitoring System, by UNDP and WHO) is being implemented to monitor the recovery from the Indian Ocean Tsunami. The RECOVERY project consists of three phases. Phase 1 was completed by September 2008 and focused on user needs survey, developing the recovery indicators and satellite image data identification/acquisition. The user needs survey was conducted to identify whether there were any indicators that the aid community would like to see prioritised. The survey result suggested that most indicators are equally important. Based on this result and also referring to the TRIAMS framework, a comprehensive list of indicators were developed which belong to six large categories, i.e. housing, infrastructure, services, livelihood, environment, social/security, risk reduction. For the RECOVERY project, two case study sites have been identified, i.e. the village of Baan Nam Khem on the west coast of Thailand, which was heavily damaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and the city of Muzaffarabad, Pakistan, which was hit by the October 2005 Kashmir earthquake. For both sites, high-resolution optical satellite images from the following time periods have been acquired: for Baan Nam Khem, pre-event (-30 months), 1 week after, 4 months after, 7 months after, 13 months after, 23 months after and 38 months after; for Muzaffarabad, pre-event (-14 months), 14 days after, 8 months after and . The potential indicators cover all aspects of recovery. However not all of them can be monitored and evaluated using remote sensing. A set of indicators that can be monitored using remote sensing has been identified, and the images are currently being analysed for these indicators. In early February 2009, a field trip to Baan Nam Khem will take place to verify the findings of the image analysis. A narrative of the change that is observed in the images will be presented to the local community, and feedback will be sought to see how accurate the narrative produced by the image analysis is, and also to identify the issues that cannot be monitored using images. Interviews will be carried out with aid agencies that have been working in Baan Nam Khem, as well as household surveys to capture the recovery process. Preliminary results from the field trip to Thailand will be presented.

Methods and Apparatuses for Signaling with Geometric Constellations in a Raleigh Fading Channel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barsoum, Maged F. (Inventor); Jones, Christopher R. (Inventor)

2017-01-01

Communication systems are described that use signal constellations, which have unequally spaced (i.e. `geometrically` shaped) points. In many embodiments, the communication systems use specific geometric constellations that are capacity optimized at a specific SNR, over the Raleigh fading channel. In addition, ranges within which the constellation points of a capacity optimized constellation can be perturbed and are still likely to achieve a given percentage of the optimal capacity increase compared to a constellation that maximizes d.sub.min, are also described. Capacity measures that are used in the selection of the location of constellation points include, but are not limited to, parallel decode (PD) capacity and joint capacity.

Capacity Maximizing Constellations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barsoum, Maged; Jones, Christopher

2010-01-01

Some non-traditional signal constellations have been proposed for transmission of data over the Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel using such channel-capacity-approaching codes as low-density parity-check (LDPC) or turbo codes. Computational simulations have shown performance gains of more than 1 dB over traditional constellations. These gains could be translated to bandwidth- efficient communications, variously, over longer distances, using less power, or using smaller antennas. The proposed constellations have been used in a bit-interleaved coded modulation system employing state-ofthe-art LDPC codes. In computational simulations, these constellations were shown to afford performance gains over traditional constellations as predicted by the gap between the parallel decoding capacity of the constellations and the Gaussian capacity

Review of the Applications of Formosat-2 on Rapidly Responding to Global Disasters and Monitoring Earth Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, C.

2009-12-01

Formosat-2 is the first satellite with high-spatial-resolution sensor deployed in a daily-revisit orbit in the world. Together with its agility of pointing ±45 degree both across and along track, we are able to observe each accessible scene from the same angle under the similar illumination conditions. These characteristics make Formosat-2 an ideal satellite for site surveillance. We developed a Formosat-2 automatic image processing system (F-2 AIPS) that can accurately and rapidly process a large amount of Formosat-2 images to produce the higher levels of products, including rigorous band-to-band coregistration, automatic orthorectification, multi-temporal image coregistration and radiance normalization, and pan-sharpening. This system has been successfully employed to rapidly respond to many international disaster events in the past five years, including flood caused by Typhoon Mindulle (2004), landslide caused by Typhoon Aere (2004), South Asia earthquake and tsunami (2004), Hurricane Katrina (2005), California wildfire (2007), Sichuan Earthquake (2008), Typhoon Kalmaegi (2008), Typhoon Sinlaku (2008), Mountain Ali wildfire (2009), Victoria bushfire in Australia (2009), Honduras earthquake (2009), Typhoon Morakot (2009). This paper reviews the applications of Formosat-2 on rapidly responding to global disasters and monitoring earth environment.

Emergency and Disaster Information Service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boszormenyi, Zsolt

2010-05-01

The Hungarian National Association of Radio Distress-Signalling and Infocommunications (RSOE) operates Emergency and Disaster Information Service (EDIS) within the frame of its own website which has the objective to monitor and document all the events on the Earth which may cause disaster or emergency. Our service is using the speed and the data spectrum of the internet to gather information. We are monitoring and processing several foreign organisation's data to get quick and certified information. The EDIS website operated together by the General-Directorate of National Disaster Management (OKF) and RSOE, in co-operation with the Crisis Management Centre of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, provides useful information regarding emergency situations and their prevention. Extraordinary events happening in Hungary, Europe and other areas of the World are being monitored in 24 hours per day. All events processed by RSOE EDIS are displayed real time - for the sake of international compatibility - according to the CAP protocol on a secure website. To ensure clear transparency all events are categorized separately in the RSS directory (e.g. earthquake, fire, flood, landslide, nuclear event, tornado, vulcano). RSOE EDIS also contributes in dissemination of the CAP protocol in Hungary. Beside the official information, with the help of special programs nearly 900-1000 internet press publication will be monitored and the publication containing predefined keywords will be processed. However, these "news" cannot be considered as official and reliable information, but many times we have learnt critical information from the internet press. We are screening the incoming information and storing in a central database sorted by category. After processing the information we are sending it immediately via E-Mail (or other format) for the organisations and persons who have requested it (e.g. National Disaster Management, United Nations etc.). We are aspiring that the processed data will be validated and reliable in all cases, to avoid the possible panic situation caused by unreal information. That is why we are trying to create and keep contact with all organisations, which can provide validated information for us, to operate the RSOE EDIS. Certainly we are publishing all incoming data and information at our website to provide up-to-date information to the citizens as well as we are publishing useful knowledge for them. We have a knowledge database, which contains all necessary information, which can help the citizens in an emergency situation. For the prevention and the most relevant information we are willing to amend our published data with the population information.

Roadmap for the protection of disaster research participants: findings from the World Trade Center Evacuation Study.

PubMed

Qureshi, Kristine A; Gershon, Robyn R M; Smailes, Elizabeth; Raveis, Victoria H; Murphy, Bridgette; Matzner, Frederick; Fleischman, Alan R

2007-01-01

This report addresses the development, implementation, and evaluation of a protocol designed to protect participants from inadvertent emotional harm or further emotional trauma due to their participation in the World Trade Center Evacuation (WTCE) Study research project. This project was designed to identify the individual, organizational, and structural (environmental) factors associated with evacuation from the World Trade Center Towers 1 and 2 on 11 September 2001. Following published recommended practices for protecting potentially vulnerable disaster research participants, protective strategies and quality assurance processes were implemented and evaluated, including an assessment of the impact of participation on study subjects enrolled in the qualitative phase of the WTCE Study. The implementation of a protocol designed to protect disaster study participants from further emotional trauma was feasible and effective in minimizing risk and monitoring for psychological injury associated with study participation. Details about this successful strategy provide a roadmap that can be applied in other post-disaster research investigations.

Seawater influence monitored by NaCl on the growth of Trametes versicolor.

PubMed

Yanagawa, Aya

2016-01-01

There are only a few scientific data about the function of ecosystems after tsunami disasters. The ecosystems help the environment to recover after a disaster, and therefore, the research on its function is important. We estimated the seawater influences on wood degradation after a tsunami disaster by the growth of Trametes versicolor. The debris from the Great East Japan Earthquake on the pacific coast in March 2011 was used for the simulations. Its growth on debris was compared with those on seawater-treated woods, and the amount of sodium chloride was examined to know the approximate amount of salts in the samples. Sodium chloride contents were employed as an indicative parameter of sea salts, which contained many elements. As a result, this common white-rot fungus degraded wood debris in the same way as sound sapwood. Although the study was conducted at the laboratory level, this is the first report from the real debris, which assessed the fungal decomposition ability of the ecosystem after a tsunami disaster.

UAVSAR for the Management of Natural Disasters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lou, Y.; Hensley, S.; Jones, C. E.

2014-12-01

The unique capabilities of imaging radar to penetrate cloud cover and collect data in darkness over large areas at high resolution makes it a key information provider for the management and mitigation of natural and human-induced disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, floods, and wildfires. Researchers have demonstrated the use of UAVSAR's fully polarimetric data to determine flood extent, forest fire extent, lava flow, and landslide. The ability for UAVSAR to provide high accuracy repeated flight tracks and precise imaging geometry for measuring surface deformation to a few centimeter accuracy using InSAR techniques. In fact, UAVSAR's repeat-pass interferometry capability unleashed new potential approaches to manage the risk of natural disasters prior to the occurrence of these events by modeling and monitoring volcano inflation, earthquake fault movements, landslide rate and extent, and sink hole precursory movement. In this talk we will present examples of applications of UAVSAR for natural disaster management. This research was conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Investigation: revelations about Three Mile Island disaster raise doubts over nuclear plant safety: a special facing south investigation by Sue Sturgis.

PubMed

Sturgis, Sue

2009-01-01

A series of mishaps in a reactor at the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear plant led to the 1979 meltdown of almost half the uranium fuel and uncontrolled releases of radiation into the air and surrounding Susquehanna River. It was the single worst disaster ever to befall the U.S. nuclear power industry. Health physics technician Randall Thompson's story about what he witnessed while monitoring radiation there after the incident is being publicly disclosed for the first time. It is supported by a growing body of evidence and it contradicts the U.S. government's contention that the TMI accident posed no threat to the public. Thompson and his wife, a nuclear health physicist who also worked at TMI in the disaster's wake, warn that the government's failure to acknowledge the full scope of the disaster is leading officials to underestimate the risks posed by a new generation of nuclear power plants.

Climate Change, Disaster and Sentiment Analysis over Social Media Mining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, J.; McCusker, J. P.; McGuinness, D. L.

2012-12-01

Accelerated climate change causes disasters and disrupts people living all over the globe. Disruptive climate events are often reflected in expressed sentiments of the people affected. Monitoring changes in these sentiments during and after disasters can reveal relationships between climate change and mental health. We developed a semantic web tool that uses linked data principles and semantic web technologies to integrate data from multiple sources and analyze them together. We are converting statistical data on climate change and disaster records obtained from the World Bank data catalog and the International Disaster Database into a Resource Description Framework (RDF) representation that was annotated with the RDF Data Cube vocabulary. We compare these data with a dataset of tweets that mention terms from the Emotion Ontology to get a sense of how disasters can impact the affected populations. This dataset is being gathered using an infrastructure we developed that extracts term uses in Twitter with controlled vocabularies. This data was also converted to RDF structure so that statistical data on the climate change and disasters is analyzed together with sentiment data. To visualize and explore relationship of the multiple data across the dimensions of time and location, we use the qb.js framework. We are using this approach to investigate the social and emotional impact of climate change. We hope that this will demonstrate the use of social media data as a valuable source of understanding on global climate change.

Novel miniature mobile cardiac catheterization laboratory for critical cardiovascular disease following natural disasters: a feasibility study.

PubMed

Han, Ya-ling; Liang, Zhuo; Yao, Tian-ming; Sun, Jing-yang; Liang, Ming; Huo, Yu; Wang, Geng; Wang, Xiao-zeng; Liang, Yan-chun; Meng, Wei-hong

2012-03-01

Natural disasters have been frequent in recent years. Effective treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease following natural disasters is an unsolved problem. We aimed to develop a novel miniature mobile cardiac catheterization laboratory (Mini Mobile Cath Lab) to provide emergency interventional services for patients with critical cardiovascular disease following natural disasters. A feasibility study was performed by testing the Mini Mobile Cath Lab on dogs with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) model in a hypothetical natural-disaster-stricken area. The Mini Mobile Cath Lab was transported to the hypothetical natural-disaster-stricken area by truck. Coronary angiography and primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were performed on six dogs with STEMI model. The transportation and transformation of the Mini Mobile Cath Lab were monitored and its functioning was evaluated through the results of animal experiments. The Mini Mobile Cath Lab could be transported by truck at an average speed of 80 km/h on mountain roads during daytime in the winter, under conditions of light snow (-15°C to -20°C/-68°F to -59°F). The average time required to prepare the Mini Mobile Cath Lab after transportation, in a wetland area, was 30 minutes. Coronary angiography, and primary PCI were performed successfully. This preliminary feasibility study of the use of the Mini Mobile Cath Lab for emergency interventional treatment of dogs with STEMI indicated that it may perform well in the rescue of critical cardiovascular disease following natural disasters.

Global Coverage from Ad-Hoc Constellations in Rideshare Orbits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ellis, Armin; Mercury, Michael; Brown, Shannon

2012-01-01

A promising area of small satellite development is in providing higher temporal resolution than larger satellites. Traditional constellations have required specific orbits and dedicated launch vehicles. In this paper we discuss an alternative architecture in which the individual elements of the constellation are launched as rideshare opportunities. We compare the coverage of such an ad-hoc constellation with more traditional constellations. Coverage analysis is based on actual historical data from rideshare opportunities. Our analysis includes ground coverage and temporal revisits for Polar, Tropics, Temperate, and Global regions, comparing ad-hoc and Walker constellation.

Nanosatellite constellation deployment using on-board magnetic torquer interaction with space plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Ji Hyun; Matsuzawa, Shinji; Inamori, Takaya; Jeung, In-Seuck

2018-04-01

One of the advantages that drive nanosatellite development is the potential of multi-point observation through constellation operation. However, constellation deployment of nanosatellites has been a challenge, as thruster operations for orbit maneuver were limited due to mass, volume, and power. Recently, a de-orbiting mechanism using magnetic torquer interaction with space plasma has been introduced, so-called plasma drag. As no additional hardware nor propellant is required, plasma drag has the potential in being used as constellation deployment method. In this research, a novel constellation deployment method using plasma drag is proposed. Orbit decay rate of the satellites in a constellation is controlled using plasma drag in order to achieve a desired phase angle and phase angle rate. A simplified 1D problem is formulated for an elementary analysis of the constellation deployment time. Numerical simulations are further performed for analytical analysis assessment and sensitivity analysis. Analytical analysis and numerical simulation results both agree that the constellation deployment time is proportional to the inverse square root of magnetic moment, the square root of desired phase angle and the square root of satellite mass. CubeSats ranging from 1 to 3 U (1-3 kg nanosatellites) are examined in order to investigate the feasibility of plasma drag constellation on nanosatellite systems. The feasibility analysis results show that plasma drag constellation is feasible on CubeSats, which open up the possibility of CubeSat constellation missions.

The 2-D lattice theory of Flower Constellations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avendaño, Martín E.; Davis, Jeremy J.; Mortari, Daniele

2013-08-01

The 2-D lattice theory of Flower Constellations, generalizing Harmonic Flower Constellations (the symmetric subset of Flower Constellations) as well as the Walker/ Mozhaev constellations, is presented here. This theory is a new general framework to design symmetric constellations using a 2× 2 lattice matrix of integers or by its minimal representation, the Hermite normal form. From a geometrical point of view, the phasing of satellites is represented by a regular pattern (lattice) on a two-Dimensional torus. The 2-D lattice theory of Flower Constellations does not require any compatibility condition and uses a minimum set of integer parameters whose meaning are explored throughout the paper. This general minimum-parametrization framework allows us to obtain all symmetric distribution of satellites. Due to the J_2 effect this design framework is meant for circular orbits and for elliptical orbits at critical inclination, or to design elliptical constellations for the unperturbed Keplerian case.

General Purpose Data-Driven Monitoring for Space Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Iverson, David L.; Martin, Rodney A.; Schwabacher, Mark A.; Spirkovska, Liljana; Taylor, William McCaa; Castle, Joseph P.; Mackey, Ryan M.

2009-01-01

As modern space propulsion and exploration systems improve in capability and efficiency, their designs are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex. Determining the health state of these systems, using traditional parameter limit checking, model-based, or rule-based methods, is becoming more difficult as the number of sensors and component interactions grow. Data-driven monitoring techniques have been developed to address these issues by analyzing system operations data to automatically characterize normal system behavior. System health can be monitored by comparing real-time operating data with these nominal characterizations, providing detection of anomalous data signatures indicative of system faults or failures. The Inductive Monitoring System (IMS) is a data-driven system health monitoring software tool that has been successfully applied to several aerospace applications. IMS uses a data mining technique called clustering to analyze archived system data and characterize normal interactions between parameters. The scope of IMS based data-driven monitoring applications continues to expand with current development activities. Successful IMS deployment in the International Space Station (ISS) flight control room to monitor ISS attitude control systems has led to applications in other ISS flight control disciplines, such as thermal control. It has also generated interest in data-driven monitoring capability for Constellation, NASA's program to replace the Space Shuttle with new launch vehicles and spacecraft capable of returning astronauts to the moon, and then on to Mars. Several projects are currently underway to evaluate and mature the IMS technology and complementary tools for use in the Constellation program. These include an experiment on board the Air Force TacSat-3 satellite, and ground systems monitoring for NASA's Ares I-X and Ares I launch vehicles. The TacSat-3 Vehicle System Management (TVSM) project is a software experiment to integrate fault and anomaly detection algorithms and diagnosis tools with executive and adaptive planning functions contained in the flight software on-board the Air Force Research Laboratory TacSat-3 satellite. The TVSM software package will be uploaded after launch to monitor spacecraft subsystems such as power and guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C). It will analyze data in real-time to demonstrate detection of faults and unusual conditions, diagnose problems, and react to threats to spacecraft health and mission goals. The experiment will demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of integrated system health management (ISHM) technologies with both ground and on-board experiments.

A MODIS-based automated flood monitoring system for southeast asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahamed, A.; Bolten, J. D.

2017-09-01

Flood disasters in Southeast Asia result in significant loss of life and economic damage. Remote sensing information systems designed to spatially and temporally monitor floods can help governments and international agencies formulate effective disaster response strategies during a flood and ultimately alleviate impacts to population, infrastructure, and agriculture. Recent destructive flood events in the Lower Mekong River Basin occurred in 2000, 2011, 2013, and 2016 (http://ffw.mrcmekong.org/historical_rec.htm, April 24, 2017). The large spatial distribution of flooded areas and lack of proper gauge data in the region makes accurate monitoring and assessment of impacts of floods difficult. Here, we discuss the utility of applying satellite-based Earth observations for improving flood inundation monitoring over the flood-prone Lower Mekong River Basin. We present a methodology for determining near real-time surface water extent associated with current and historic flood events by training surface water classifiers from 8-day, 250-m Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data spanning the length of the MODIS satellite record. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) signature of permanent water bodies (MOD44W; Carroll et al., 2009) is used to train surface water classifiers which are applied to a time period of interest. From this, an operational nowcast flood detection component is produced using twice daily imagery acquired at 3-h latency which performs image compositing routines to minimize cloud cover. Case studies and accuracy assessments against radar-based observations for historic flood events are presented. The customizable system has been transferred to regional organizations and near real-time derived surface water products are made available through a web interface platform. Results highlight the potential of near real-time observation and impact assessment systems to serve as effective decision support tools for governments, international agencies, and disaster responders.

Citizen Science for Earth Observation: Applications in Environmental Monitoring and Disaster Response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kotovirta, V.; Toivanen, T.; Tergujeff, R.; Hame, T.; Molinier, M.

2015-04-01

Citizen science is a promising way to increase temporal and spatial coverages of in-situ data, and to aid in data processing and analysis. In this paper, we present how citizen science can be used together with Earth observation, and demonstrate its value through three pilot projects focusing on forest biomass analysis, data management in emergencies and water quality monitoring. We also provide recommendations and ideas for follow-up activities. In the forest biomass analysis pilot, in the state of Durango (Mexico), local volunteers make in-situ forest inventory measurements with mobile devices. The collected data is combined with Landsat-8 imagery to derive forest biomass map of the area. The study area includes over 390 permanent sampling plots that will provide reference data for concept validation and verification. The emergency data management pilot focuses in the Philippines, in the areas affected by the typhoons Haiyan in November 2013 and Hagupit in December 2014. Data collected by emergency workers and citizens are combined with satellite data (Landsat-8, VHR if available) to intensify the disaster recovery activities and the coordination efforts. Simple processes for citizens, nongovernmental organisations and volunteers are developed to find and utilize up to date and freely available satellite imagery for coordination purposes and for building new not-for-profit services in disaster situations. In the water quality monitoring pilot, citizens around the Baltic Sea area contribute to the algae situation awareness by collecting algae observations using a mobile application. In-situ observations are compared with surface algal bloom products based on the satellite imagery, e.g. Aqua MODIS images with 500 meter resolution. As an outcome, the usability of the citizen observations together with satellite data in the algae monitoring will be evaluated.

SSTL UK-DMC SLIM-6 data quality assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chander, G.; Saunier, S.; Choate, M.J.; Scaramuzza, P.L.

2009-01-01

Satellite data from the Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) United Kingdom (UK) Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) were assessed for geometric and radiometric quality. The UK-DMC Surrey Linear Imager 6 (SLIM-6) sensor has a 32-m spatial resolution and a ground swath width of 640 km. The UK-DMC SLIM-6 design consists of a three-band imager with green, red, and near-infrared bands that are set to similar bandpass as Landsat bands 2, 3, and 4. The UK-DMC data consisted of imagery registered to Landsat orthorectified imagery produced from the GeoCover program. Relief displacements within the UK-DMC SLIM-6 imagery were accounted for by using global 1-km digital elevation models available through the Global Land One-km Base Elevation (GLOBE) Project. Positional accuracy and relative band-to-band accuracy were measured. Positional accuracy of the UK-DMC SLIM-6 imagery was assessed by measuring the imagery against digital orthophoto quadrangles (DOQs), which are designed to meet national map accuracy standards at 1 : 24 000 scales; this corresponds to a horizontal root-mean-square accuracy of about 6 m. The UK-DMC SLIM-6 images were typically registered to within 1.0-1.5 pixels to the DOQ mosaic images. Several radiometric artifacts like striping, coherent noise, and flat detector were discovered and studied. Indications are that the SSTL UK-DMC SLIM-6 data have few artifacts and calibration challenges, and these can be adjusted or corrected via calibration and processing algorithms. The cross-calibration of the UK-DMC SLIM-6 and Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus was performed using image statistics derived from large common areas observed by the two sensors.

Absolute Calibration of Optical Satellite Sensors Using Libya 4 Pseudo Invariant Calibration Site

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mishra, Nischal; Helder, Dennis; Angal, Amit; Choi, Jason; Xiong, Xiaoxiong

2014-01-01

The objective of this paper is to report the improvements in an empirical absolute calibration model developed at South Dakota State University using Libya 4 (+28.55 deg, +23.39 deg) pseudo invariant calibration site (PICS). The approach was based on use of the Terra MODIS as the radiometer to develop an absolute calibration model for the spectral channels covered by this instrument from visible to shortwave infrared. Earth Observing One (EO-1) Hyperion, with a spectral resolution of 10 nm, was used to extend the model to cover visible and near-infrared regions. A simple Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution function (BRDF) model was generated using Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations over Libya 4 and the resulting model was validated with nadir data acquired from satellite sensors such as Aqua MODIS and Landsat 7 (L7) Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+). The improvements in the absolute calibration model to account for the BRDF due to off-nadir measurements and annual variations in the atmosphere are summarized. BRDF models due to off-nadir viewing angles have been derived using the measurements from EO-1 Hyperion. In addition to L7 ETM+, measurements from other sensors such as Aqua MODIS, UK-2 Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC), ENVISAT Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) and Operational Land Imager (OLI) onboard Landsat 8 (L8), which was launched in February 2013, were employed to validate the model. These satellite sensors differ in terms of the width of their spectral bandpasses, overpass time, off-nadir-viewing capabilities, spatial resolution and temporal revisit time, etc. The results demonstrate that the proposed empirical calibration model has accuracy of the order of 3% with an uncertainty of about 2% for the sensors used in the study.

A Constellation of CubeSat InSAR Sensors for Rapid-Revisit Surface Deformation Studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wye, L.; Lee, S.; Yun, S. H.; Zebker, H. A.; Stock, J. D.; Wicks, C. W., Jr.; Doe, R.

2016-12-01

The 2007 NRC Decadal Survey for Earth Sciences highlights three major Earth surface deformation themes: 1) solid-earth hazards and dynamics; 2) human health and security; and 3) land-use change, ecosystem dynamics and biodiversity. Space-based interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) is a key change detection tool for addressing these themes. Here, we describe the mission and radar payload design for a constellation of S-band InSAR sensors specifically designed to provide the global, high temporal resolution, sub-cm level deformation accuracy needed to address some of the major Earth system goals. InSAR observations with high temporal resolution are needed to properly monitor certain nonlinearly time-varying features (e.g., unstable volcanoes, active fault lines, and heavily-used groundwater or hydrocarbon reservoirs). Good temporal coverage is also needed to reduce atmospheric artifacts by allowing multiple acquisitions to be averaged together, since each individual SAR measurement is corrupted by up to several cm of atmospheric noise. A single InSAR platform is limited in how often it can observe a given scene without sacrificing global spatial coverage. Multiple InSAR platforms provide the spatial-temporal flexibility required to maximize the science return. However, building and launching multiple InSAR platforms is cost-prohibitive for traditional satellites. SRI International (SRI) and our collaborators are working to exploit developments in nanosatellite technology, in particular the emergence of the CubeSat standard, to provide high-cadence InSAR capabilities in an affordable package. The CubeSat Imaging Radar for Earth Science (CIRES) subsystem, a prototype SAR elec­tronics package developed by SRI with support from a 2014 NASA ESTO ACT award, is specifically scaled to be a drop-in radar solution for resource-limited delivery systems like CubeSats and small airborne vehicles. Here, we present our mission concept and flow-down requirements for a constellation of 6U InSAR sensors that individually approach the performance capabilities of existing instruments, but collectively surpass the temporal coverage capabilities of single-platform sensors. We discuss the key applications addressed by this constellation and the capabilities that the constellation enables.

Methodology and Method and Apparatus for Signaling With Capacity Optimized Constellations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barsoum, Maged F. (Inventor); Jones, Christopher R. (Inventor)

2014-01-01

Communication systems are described that use geometrically shaped constellations that have increased capacity compared to conventional constellations operating within a similar SNR band. In several embodiments, the geometrically shaped is optimized based upon a capacity measure such as parallel decoding capacity or joint capacity. In many embodiments, a capacity optimized geometrically shaped constellation can be used to replace a conventional constellation as part of a firmware upgrade to transmitters and receivers within a communication system. In a number of embodiments, the geometrically shaped constellation is optimized for an Additive White Gaussian Noise channel or a fading channel. In numerous embodiments, the communication uses adaptive rate encoding and the location of points within the geometrically shaped constellation changes as the code rate changes.

Cyber Surveillance for Flood Disasters

PubMed Central

Lo, Shi-Wei; Wu, Jyh-Horng; Lin, Fang-Pang; Hsu, Ching-Han

2015-01-01

Regional heavy rainfall is usually caused by the influence of extreme weather conditions. Instant heavy rainfall often results in the flooding of rivers and the neighboring low-lying areas, which is responsible for a large number of casualties and considerable property loss. The existing precipitation forecast systems mostly focus on the analysis and forecast of large-scale areas but do not provide precise instant automatic monitoring and alert feedback for individual river areas and sections. Therefore, in this paper, we propose an easy method to automatically monitor the flood object of a specific area, based on the currently widely used remote cyber surveillance systems and image processing methods, in order to obtain instant flooding and waterlogging event feedback. The intrusion detection mode of these surveillance systems is used in this study, wherein a flood is considered a possible invasion object. Through the detection and verification of flood objects, automatic flood risk-level monitoring of specific individual river segments, as well as the automatic urban inundation detection, has become possible. The proposed method can better meet the practical needs of disaster prevention than the method of large-area forecasting. It also has several other advantages, such as flexibility in location selection, no requirement of a standard water-level ruler, and a relatively large field of view, when compared with the traditional water-level measurements using video screens. The results can offer prompt reference for appropriate disaster warning actions in small areas, making them more accurate and effective. PMID:25621609

Mapping and Visualization of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Using Satellite Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira Pichardo, E.

2017-12-01

Satellites are man-made objects hovering around the Earth's orbit and are essential for Earth observation, i.e. the monitoring and gathering of data about the Earth's vital systems. Environmental Satellites are used for atmospheric research, weather forecasting, and warning as well as monitoring extreme weather events. These satellites are categorized into Geosynchronous and Low Earth (Polar) orbiting satellites. Visualizing satellite data is critical to understand the Earth's systems and changes to our environment. The objective of this research is to examine satellite-based remotely sensed data that needs to be processed and rendered in the form of maps or other forms of visualization to understand and interpret the satellites' observations to monitor the status, changes and evolution of the mega-disaster Deepwater Horizon Spill that occurred on April 20, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. In this project, we will use an array of tools and programs such as Python, CSPP and Linux. Also, we will use data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): Polar-Orbiting Satellites Terra Earth Observing System AM-1 (EOS AM-1), and Aqua EOS PM-1 to investigate the mega-disaster. Each of these satellites carry a variety of instruments, and we will use the data obtained from the remote sensor Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Ultimately, this study shows the importance of mapping and visualizing data such as satellite data (MODIS) to understand the extents of environmental impacts disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill.

Application of Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) in monitoring slope movements in Nainital, Uttarakhand Lesser Himalaya, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yhokha, Akano; Goswami, Pradeep K.; Chang, Chung-Pai; Yen, Jiun-Yee; Ching, Kuo-En; Aruche, K. Manini

2018-02-01

Orogenic movements and sub-tropical climate have rendered the slopes of the Himalayan region intensely deformed and weathered. As a result, the incidences of slope failure are quite common all along the Himalayan region. The Lesser Himalayan terrane is particularly vulnerable to mass-movements owing to geological fragility, and many parts of it are bearing a high-risk of associated disaster owing to the high population density. An important step towards mitigation of such disasters is the monitoring of slope movement. Towards this, the Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) technique can be applied. In the present study, the PSI technique is employed in Lesser Himalayan town of Nainital in Uttarakhand state of India to decipher and monitor slope movements. A total of 15 multi-date ENVISAT ASAR satellite images, acquired during August 2008 to August 2010 period, were subjected to PSI, which revealed a continuous creep movement along the hillslopes located towards the eastern side of the Nainital lake. The higher reaches of the hill seem to be experiencing accelerated creep of {˜ }21 mm/year, which decreases downslope to {˜ }5 mm/year. Based on spatial pattern of varying PSI Mean LOS Velocity (MLV) values, high (H), moderate (M), low (L) and very low (S) creeping zones have been delineated in the hillslopes. Given the long history of mass movements and continuously increasing anthropogenic activities in Nainital, these results call for immediate measures to avert any future disaster in the town.

Solar-Powered Airplane with Cameras and WLAN

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Higgins, Robert G.; Dunagan, Steve E.; Sullivan, Don; Slye, Robert; Brass, James; Leung, Joe G.; Gallmeyer, Bruce; Aoyagi, Michio; Wei, Mei Y.; Herwitz, Stanley R.;

77 FR 274 - Combined Notice of Filings #2

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-04

.... Applicants: Constellation Energy Commodities Group, Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, Constellation Power... that the Commission received the following electric rate filings: Docket Numbers: ER10-2172-006; ER10... Generation, LLC, Constellation NewEnergy, Inc., MXenergy Electric Inc. Description: Constellation MBR...

Methodology and method and appartus for signaling with capacity optimized constellations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barsoum, Maged F. (Inventor); Jones, Christopher R. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

Communication systems are described that use geometrically shaped constellations that have increased capacity compared to conventional constellations operating within a similar SNR band. In several embodiments, the geometrically shaped is optimized based upon a capacity measure such as parallel decoding capacity or joint capacity. In many embodiments, a capacity optimized geometrically shaped constellation can be used to replace a conventional constellation as part of a firmware upgrade to transmitters and receivers within a communication system. In a number of embodiments, the geometrically shaped constellation is optimized for an Additive White Gaussian Noise channel or a fading channel.

Methodology and Method and Apparatus for Signaling with Capacity Optimized Constellations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barsoum, Maged F. (Inventor); Jones, Christopher R. (Inventor)

2017-01-01

Communication systems are described that use geometrically shaped constellations that have increased capacity compared to conventional constellations operating within a similar SNR band. In several embodiments, the geometrically shaped is optimized based upon a capacity measure such as parallel decoding capacity or joint capacity. In many embodiments, a capacity optimized geometrically shaped constellation can be used to replace a conventional constellation as part of a firmware upgrade to transmitters and receivers within a communication system. In a number of embodiments, the geometrically shaped constellation is optimized for an Additive White Gaussian Noise channel or a fading channel.

Engineering and Design: Structural Deformation Surveying

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-06-01

loading deformations. Long-term measurements are far more common and somewhat more complex given their external nature . Long-term monitoring of a...fitting of structural elements, environmental protection, and development of mitigative measures in the case of natural disasters (land slides, earthquakes...of additional localized monitoring points (i.e., points not intended for routine observation) to determine the nature and extent of large displacements

Scheduling Mission-Critical Flows in Congested and Contested Airborne Network Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-03-01

precision agriculture [64–71]. However, designing, implementing, and testing UAV networks poses numerous interdisciplinary challenges because the...applications including search and rescue, disaster relief, precision agriculture , environmental monitoring, and surveillance. Many of these applications...monitoring enabling precision agriculture ,” in Automation Science and Engineering (CASE), 2015 IEEE International Conference on. IEEE, 2015, pp. 462–469. [65

Policy and Administrative Issues for Large-Scale Clinical Interventions Following Disasters

PubMed Central

Cobham, Vanessa E.; McDermott, Brett

2014-01-01

Abstract Objective: Large, programmatic mental health intervention programs for children and adolescents following disasters have become increasingly common; however, little has been written about the key goals and challenges involved. Methods: Using available data and the authors' experiences, this article reviews the factors involved in planning and implementing large-scale treatment programs following disasters. Results: These issues include funding, administration, choice of clinical targets, workforce selection, choice of treatment modalities, training, outcome monitoring, and consumer uptake. Ten factors are suggested for choosing among treatment modalities: 1) reach (providing access to the greatest number), 2) retention of patients, 3) privacy, 4) parental involvement, 5) familiarity of the modality to clinicians, 6) intensity (intervention type matches symptom acuity and impairment of patient), 7) burden to the clinician (in terms of time, travel, and inconvenience), 8) cost, 9) technology needs, and 10) effect size. Traditionally, after every new disaster, local leaders who have never done so before have had to be recruited to design, administer, and implement programs. Conclusion: As expertise in all of these areas represents a gap for most local professionals in disaster-affected areas, we propose that a central, nongovernmental agency with national or international scope be created that can consult flexibly with local leaders following disasters on both overarching and specific issues. We propose recommendations and point out areas in greatest need of innovation. PMID:24521227

The Development and Delivery of On-Demand RADARSAT Constellation Mission Ground Deformation Products Based on Advanced Insar Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samsonov, S. V.; Feng, W.

2017-12-01

InSAR-based mapping of surface deformation (displacement) has proven valuable to a variety of geoscience applications within NRCan. Conventional approaches to InSAR analysis require significant expert intervention to separate useful signal from noise and are not suited to the address the opportunities and challenges presented by the large multi-temporal SAR datasets provided by future radar constellations. The Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation (CCMEO) develops, in support of NRCAN and Government of Canada priorities a framework for automatic generation of standard and advanced deformation products based on Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) technology from RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) Synthetic Aperture Radar data. We utilize existing processing algorithms that are currently used for processing RADARSAT-2 data and adapt them to RCM specifications. In addition we develop novel advanced processing algorithms that address large data sets made possible by the satellites' rapid revisit cycle and expand InSAR functionality to regional and national scales across a wide range of time scales. Through automation the system makes it possible to extend the mapping of surface deformation to non-SAR experts. The architecture is scalable and expandable to serve large number of clients and simultaneously address multiple application areas including: natural and anthropogenic hazards, natural resource development, permafrost and glacier monitoring, coastal and environmental change and wetlands mapping.

Upsurge and spread of G3 rotaviruses in Eastern India (2014-2016): Full genome analyses reveals heterogeneity within Wa-like genomic constellation.

PubMed

Banerjee, Anindita; Lo, Mahadeb; Indwar, Pallavi; Deb, Alok K; Das, Santasabuj; Manna, Byomkesh; Dutta, Shanta; Bhadra, Uchhal K; Bhattacharya, Mala; Okamoto, Keinosuke; Chawla-Sarkar, Mamta

2018-05-26

Advent of new strains and shift in predominantly circulating genotypes are characteristics of group- A rotavirus (RVA), one of the major causes of childhood gastroenteritis. During diarrheal disease surveillance at Kolkata, India (2014-2016), a shift in circulating RVA strains from G1P[8] to G3P[8] was seen. Stool samples from children (n = 3048) with acute gastroenteritis were tested of which 38.7% were RVA positive. G1 was the predominant strain (65.3%) in 2014-2015 whereas in late 2015 and 2016, G3 became the preponderant strain (44.6%). In the past decade G3 strains were not observed in this region, we conducted whole genome sequencing of representative strains to gain insight into the phenomenon of emergence and genetic constellation of these circulating human G3 strains. The analyses revealed intergenogroup reassortment in G3P[4] strains (among Wa and DS-1-like genogroup) whereas G3P[8] strains were authentic Wa-like. Phylogenetic analysis revealed Kolkata G3 strains as polymorphic and thus they formed two sub-clusters due to antigenic differences in their VP7 protein. One of the sub-clusters had the wild-type threonine at 87 amino acid position while another sub-cluster had an isoleucine mutation. Presence of additional N-linked glycosylation site at amino acid 283 of VP7 glycoprotein suggests that the major neutralizing epitope on the VP7 (G3) of RotaTeq vaccine differs from the currently circulating G3 strains. The study is important as efficiency of rotavirus vaccine depends on the circulating heterogeneous genotype constellations. Continuous monitoring of circulating RVA strains in endemic settings like India is therefore important in pre- and post-vaccination period to monitor the emergence of new reassortant genotypes in addition to assessing vaccine efficacy. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Towards an integrated strategy for monitoring wetland inundation with virtual constellations of optical and radar satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeVries, B.; Huang, W.; Huang, C.; Jones, J. W.; Lang, M. W.; Creed, I. F.; Carroll, M.

2017-12-01

The function of wetlandscapes in hydrological and biogeochemical cycles is largely governed by surface inundation, with small wetlands that experience periodic inundation playing a disproportionately large role in these processes. However, the spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of inundation in these wetland systems are still poorly understood, resulting in large uncertainties in global water, carbon and greenhouse gas budgets. Satellite imagery provides synoptic and repeat views of the Earth's surface and presents opportunities to fill this knowledge gap. Despite the proliferation of Earth Observation satellite missions in the past decade, no single satellite sensor can simultaneously provide the spatial and temporal detail needed to adequately characterize inundation in small, dynamic wetland systems. Surface water data products must therefore integrate observations from multiple satellite sensors in order to address this objective, requiring the development of improved and coordinated algorithms to generate consistent estimates of surface inundation. We present a suite of algorithms designed to detect surface inundation in wetlands using data from a virtual constellation of optical and radar sensors comprising the Landsat and Sentinel missions (DeVries et al., 2017). Both optical and radar algorithms were able to detect inundation in wetlands without the need for external training data, allowing for high-efficiency monitoring of wetland inundation at large spatial and temporal scales. Applying these algorithms across a gradient of wetlands in North America, preliminary findings suggest that while these fully automated algorithms can detect wetland inundation at higher spatial and temporal resolutions than currently available surface water data products, limitations specific to the satellite sensors and their acquisition strategies are responsible for uncertainties in inundation estimates. Further research is needed to investigate strategies for integrating optical and radar data from virtual constellations, with a focus on reducing uncertainties, maximizing spatial and temporal detail, and establishing consistent records of wetland inundation over time. The findings and conclusions in this article do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Government.

78 FR 3042 - J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, et al.; Notice of Application and Temporary Order

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-15

... Management Inc. (``BSAM''), Bear Stearns Health Innoventures Management, L.L.C. (``BSHIM''), BSCGP Inc. (``BSGCP''), Constellation Growth Capital LLC (``Constellation''), Constellation Ventures Management II, LLC (``Constellation II''), Highbridge Capital Management, LLC (``Highbridge''), JF International...

COSMO-SkyMed Open Call: An Opportunity for the International Scientific Community and National SMEs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Battagliere, Maria Libera; Dini, Luigi; Daraio, Maria Girolamo; Sacco, Patrizia; Virelli, Maria; Coletta, Alessandro; Piperno, Osvaldo

2016-08-01

COSMO-SkyMed (Constellation of Small satellites for Mediterranean basin Observation) is an Italian Earth Observation (EO) Dual-Use (Civilian and Defence) Space System conceived with the aim to establish a global service able to satisfy almost all user application requirements and most of potential market demand. Thanks to its features, since 2008, Italy plays a key role in the international EO context, being one of the most exploited Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) mission during awareness and disaster events.The Italian Space Agency (ASI) continues to stimulate also the scientific data exploitation of COSMO-SkyMed data, through the issue, in 2015, of an "Open Call for Science", addressed to the international EO scientific community, and an "Open Call for National Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)".This paper is focused on the status and results obtained after one year of activity by ASI through the mentioned calls, considering a quantitative analysis of the received proposals.

NASA Earth Science Disasters Program Response Activities During Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in 2017

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bell, J. R.; Schultz, L. A.; Molthan, A.; Kirschbaum, D.; Roman, M.; Yun, S. H.; Meyer, F. J.; Hogenson, K.; Gens, R.; Goodman, H. M.; Owen, S. E.; Lou, Y.; Amini, R.; Glasscoe, M. T.; Brentzel, K. W.; Stefanov, W. L.; Green, D. S.; Murray, J. J.; Seepersad, J.; Struve, J. C.; Thompson, V.

2017-12-01

The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season included a series of storms that impacted the United States, and the Caribbean breaking a 12-year drought of landfalls in the mainland United States (Harvey and Irma), with additional impacts from the combination of Irma and Maria felt in the Caribbean. These storms caused widespread devastation resulting in a significant need to support federal partners in response to these destructive weather events. The NASA Earth Science Disasters Program provided support to federal partners including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Guard Bureau (NGB) by leveraging remote sensing and other expertise through NASA Centers and partners in academia throughout the country. The NASA Earth Science Disasters Program leveraged NASA mission products from the GPM mission to monitor cyclone intensity, assist with cyclone center tracking, and quantifying precipitation. Multispectral imagery from the NASA-NOAA Suomi-NPP mission and the VIIRS Day-Night Band proved useful for monitoring power outages and recovery. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellites operated by the European Space Agency were used to create flood inundation and damage assessment maps that were useful for damage density mapping. Using additional datasets made available through the USGS Hazards Data Distribution System and the activation of the International Charter: Space and Major Disasters, the NASA Earth Science Disasters Program created additional flood products from optical and radar remote sensing platforms, along with PI-led efforts to derive products from other international partner assets such as the COSMO-SkyMed system. Given the significant flooding impacts from Harvey in the Houston area, NASA provided airborne L-band SAR collections from the UAVSAR system which captured the daily evolution of record flooding, helping to guide response and mitigation decisions for critical infrastructure and public safety. We will provide an overview of the response activities and data products provided by the NASA Earth Science Disasters program, partnerships with federal end-users and the International Charter, and preliminary feedback from end-user partners during response efforts following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria..

Reducing Disaster Exacerbated Non-Communicable Diseases Through Public Health Infrastructure Resilience: Perspectives of Australian Disaster Service Providers

PubMed Central

Ryan, Benjamin J.; Franklin, Richard C.; Burkle Jr., Frederick M.; Aitken, Peter; Smith, Erin; Watt, Kerrianne; Leggat, Peter

2016-01-01

Background: The exposure of people and infrastructure to flood and storm related disasters across the world is increasing faster than vulnerability is decreasing. For people with non-communicable diseases this presents a significant risk as traditionally the focus of disaster management systems has been on immediate trauma and communicable diseases. This focus must now be expanded to include the management of non-communicable diseases because these conditions are generating the bulk of ill health, disability and premature death around the globe. When public health service infrastructure is destroyed or damaged access to treatment and care is severely jeopardised, resulting in an increased risk of non-communicable disease exacerbation or even death. This research proposes disaster responders, coordinators and government officials are vital assets to mitigate and eventually prevent these problems from being exacerbated during a disaster. This is due to their role in supporting the public health service infrastructure required to maximise treatment and care for people with non-communicable diseases. By focusing on the disaster cycle as a template, and on mitigation and prevention phases in particular, these actions and activities performed by disaster service responders will lead to overall improved preparedness, response, recovery and rehabilitation phases. Methods: Data were collected via 32 interviews and one focus group (eight participants) between March 2014 and August 2015 (total of 40 participants). The research was conducted in the State of Queensland, Australia, with disaster service providers. The analysis included the phases of: organizing data; data description; data classification; and interpretation. Results: The research found a relationship between the impact of a disaster on public health service infrastructure, and increased health risks for people with non-communicable diseases. Mitigation strategies were described for all phases of the disaster cycle impacting public health service infrastructure. Specific measures include: increasing the use of telemedicine; preplanning with medical suppliers; effective town planning; health professionals visiting evacuation centers; evacuation centers having power for medical equipment; hubs for treatment and care after a disaster; evacuation of high risk people prior to disaster; mapping people at risk by non-communicable disease; and a mechanism for sharing information between agencies. A common theme from the participants was that having accurate and easily accessible data on people with non-communicable diseases would allow disaster service providers to adequately prepare for and respond to a disaster. Conclusions: Disaster service providers can play a vital role in reducing the risk of disaster exacerbated non-communicable diseases through public health service infrastructure resilience. They are often employed in communities where disasters occur and are therefore best-placed to lead implementation of the mitigation strategies identified in this research. To sustainably implement the mitigation strategies they will need to become integrated into effective performance and monitoring of the disaster response and health sector during non-disaster periods. For this to occur, the strategies should be integrated into business and strategic plans. Achieving this will help implement the Sendia Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and, most importantly, help protect the health of people with non-communicable diseases before, during and after a disaster. PMID:28239511

Reducing Disaster Exacerbated Non-Communicable Diseases Through Public Health Infrastructure Resilience: Perspectives of Australian Disaster Service Providers.

PubMed

Ryan, Benjamin J; Franklin, Richard C; Burkle, Frederick M; Aitken, Peter; Smith, Erin; Watt, Kerrianne; Leggat, Peter

2016-12-21

The exposure of people and infrastructure to flood and storm related disasters across the world is increasing faster than vulnerability is decreasing. For people with non-communicable diseases this presents a significant risk as traditionally the focus of disaster management systems has been on immediate trauma and communicable diseases. This focus must now be expanded to include the management of non-communicable diseases because these conditions are generating the bulk of ill health, disability and premature death around the globe. When public health service infrastructure is destroyed or damaged access to treatment and care is severely jeopardised, resulting in an increased risk of non-communicable disease exacerbation or even death. This research proposes disaster responders, coordinators and government officials are vital assets to mitigate and eventually prevent these problems from being exacerbated during a disaster. This is due to their role in supporting the public health service infrastructure required to maximise treatment and care for people with non-communicable diseases. By focusing on the disaster cycle as a template, and on mitigation and prevention phases in particular, these actions and activities performed by disaster service responders will lead to overall improved preparedness, response, recovery and rehabilitation phases. Data were collected via 32 interviews and one focus group (eight participants) between March 2014 and August 2015 (total of 40 participants). The research was conducted in the State of Queensland, Australia, with disaster service providers. The analysis included the phases of: organizing data; data description; data classification; and interpretation. The research found a relationship between the impact of a disaster on public health service infrastructure, and increased health risks for people with non-communicable diseases. Mitigation strategies were described for all phases of the disaster cycle impacting public health service infrastructure. Specific measures include: increasing the use of telemedicine; preplanning with medical suppliers; effective town planning; health professionals visiting evacuation centers; evacuation centers having power for medical equipment; hubs for treatment and care after a disaster; evacuation of high risk people prior to disaster; mapping people at risk by non-communicable disease; and a mechanism for sharing information between agencies. A common theme from the participants was that having accurate and easily accessible data on people with non-communicable diseases would allow disaster service providers to adequately prepare for and respond to a disaster. Disaster service providers can play a vital role in reducing the risk of disaster exacerbated non-communicable diseases through public health service infrastructure resilience. They are often employed in communities where disasters occur and are therefore best-placed to lead implementation of the mitigation strategies identified in this research. To sustainably implement the mitigation strategies they will need to become integrated into effective performance and monitoring of the disaster response and health sector during non-disaster periods. For this to occur, the strategies should be integrated into business and strategic plans. Achieving this will help implement the Sendia Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and, most importantly, help protect the health of people with non-communicable diseases before, during and after a disaster.

Remembering Fukushima: PNNL Monitors Radiation from Nuclear Disaster

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

Miley, Harry

Senior Scientist Harry Miley describes how his work in ultra-trace, nuclear detection technology picked up the first reading of radiological materials over the U.S. following the nuclear power plant explosion in Japan.

Remembering Fukushima: PNNL Monitors Radiation from Nuclear Disaster

ScienceCinema

Miley, Harry

2018-02-07

Senior Scientist Harry Miley describes how his work in ultra-trace, nuclear detection technology picked up the first reading of radiological materials over the U.S. following the nuclear power plant explosion in Japan.

DisasterHub: A mobile application for enabling crowd generated data fusion in Earth Observation disaster management services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsironis, Vassilis; Herekakis, Themistocles; Tsouni, Alexia; Kontoes, Charalampos Haris

2016-04-01

The rapid changes in climate over the last decades, together with the explosion of human population, have shaped the context for a fragile biosphere, prone to natural and manmade disasters that result in massive flows of environmental immigrants and great disturbances of ecosystems. The magnitude of the latest great disasters have shown evidence for high quality Earth Observation (EO) services as it regards disaster risk reduction and emergency support (DRR & EMS). The EO community runs ambitious initiatives in order to generate services with direct impact in the biosphere, and intends to stimulate the wider participation of citizens, enabling the Openness effect through the Open Innovation paradigm. This by its turn results in the tremendous growth of open source software technologies associated with web, social media, mobile and Crowdsourcing. The Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing of National Observatory of Athens has developed, in the framework of the BEYOND Centre of Excellence for EO-based monitoring of Natural Disasters (http://www.beyond-eocenter.eu), a rich ecosystem of Copernicus compliant services addressing diverse hazardous phenomena caused from climate and weather extremes (fires, floods, windstorms, heat waves), atmospheric disturbances (smoke, dust, ozone, UV), and geo-hazards (earthquakes, landslides, volcanoes). Several services are delivered in near-real time to the public and the institutional authorities at national and regional level in southeastern Europe. Specific ones have been recognized worldwide for their innovation and operational aspects (e.g. FIREHUB was awarded the first prize as Best Service Challenge in the Copernicus Masters Competition, 2014). However, a communication gap still exists between the BEYOND ecosystem and those directly concerned by the natural disasters, the citizens and emergency response managers. This disruption of information flow between interested parties is addressed by DisasterHub, an application proposal that won the MYGEOSS Second Call for Innovative Apps (http://beyond-eocenter.eu/index.php/ann-blog/197-disasterhub-mygeoss). DisasterHub will fill the gap by introducing a mobile application that will act as a middleware between mobile users and BEYOND services, building on the concept of citizen observatories in support of Copernicus, GEO, GEOSS, and UN-SPIDER. In this context the roadmap for generating beneficial EO services through DisasterHub is sketched in two main branches: (i) ingestion, processing and fusion of big multimodal data with additional spatiotemporal evidences (originated from Core Copernicus, GEO, GEOSS) for deriving higher value DRR and EMS products, (ii) interlinking the web and mobile platforms for the exchange and ease access of the societies to open EO/crowd generated data. The benefited communities will be effectively enlarged through DisasterHub mobile app. Mutually the BEYOND ecosystem will profit from the large amount of tagged information returned from the field, forming a unique input to the production chains and assimilation of predictive modeling. In conclusion DisasterHub will showcase in the EO community an enhanced EO services ecosystem with a software infrastructure for easy access of mobile users to the real-time monitoring and early-warning systems of BEYOND and tools for incorporating crowd-sourced data with open geospatial and socioeconomic data via open/linked data ingestion mechanisms (APIs), retrieved from the GEOSS Data-CORE, Copernicus and other EU portals.

An Investigation into Establishing a Formation of Small Satellites in a Lunar Flower Constellation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McManus, Lauren

Lunar science missions such as LADEE and GRAIL achieved unprecedented measurements of the Lunar exosphere and gravity field. These missions were performed with one (LADEE) or two (GRAIL) traditional satellites. The global coverage achieved by these missions could have been greatly enhanced with the use of a constellation of satellites. A constellation of communication satellites at the Moon would also be necessary if a Lunar human base were to be established. Constellations with many satellites are expensive with traditional technology, but have become feasible through the technological advancements and affordability of cubesats. Cubesat constellations allow for full surface coverage in science or communication missions at a reasonable mission cost. Repeat ground track orbits offer interesting options for science or communication constellations, since they provide repeat coverage of the surface at a fixed time between sequential visits. Flower constellations are a family of constellations being studied primarily by Daniele Mortari at Texas A&M; University that make use of repeat ground tracks. Orbital parameters are selected such that the nodal period of the orbit matches the nodal period of the primary body by a factor dependent on the number of days and the number of revolutions to repeat the ground track. All orbits in a flower constellation have identical orbital elements, with the exception of the right ascension of the ascending node (RAAN) and the initial mean anomaly, which are determined based on the desired phasing scheme desired. Flower constellations have thus far primarily been studied at Earth. A flower constellation at the Moon could be quite useful for science or communication purposes. In this scenario, the flower constellation satellites would be small satellites, which introduces many unique challenges. The cubesats would have limited propulsion capability and would need to be deployed from a mothercraft. Orbital maintenance would then be required after deployment to retain the repeat ground track nature of flower constellations. The limited fuel on the cubesats and the maneuvers required determine the lifetime of the constellation. The communications range of the cubesats will also be limited; following a successful deployment, the mothercraft must move into a long-term communications orbit where it can see both the children craft and Earth, to act as a communications relay. This work investigates the differences in flower constellations at the Moon versus at Earth. It is found that due to the longer rotation period of the Moon, the number of petals in the flower constellation must be quite large in order to produce reasonable orbit sizes. Two types of flower constellations are investigated: a single-petal and multi-petal constellation. The single-petal constellation consists of a string-of-pearls formation within one inertial flower constellation orbit. The multi-petal configuration has one satellite per inertial orbit, with the orbits spaced symmetrically within a 360 degree RAAN distribution. Optimal methods for deployment are explored for both configurations. Phasing orbits are used to deploy the single-petal constellation. This is found to be a simple and low-cost deployment scheme. The multi-petal configuration requires larger plane change maneuvers, and three-burn transfer orbit solutions that are optimal over single impulsive burn maneuvers are found. The mothercraft maneuver into the long-term communications orbit is also investigated. This maneuver is once again just a phase orbit maneuver for the single-petal constellation and is low cost. A polar mothercraft orbit is desired for the multi-petal configuration, again requiring a large and expensive plane change maneuver. As was the case with the deployment maneuver, a three-burn transfer orbit series is found to be cost optimal over a series of impulsive burns for this maneuver. Finally, once the constellation is established, orbit maintenance maneuvers are calculated. A 4 kg cubesat with 1 kg of fuel is assumed, and various thruster types are used to correlate required maintenance Delta-Vs to propellant mass required. It is found that the flower constellations at the Moon can be maintained for between 100 and 800 days, depending on the eciency of the thruster system used. Ultimately, a small satellite constellation at the Moon is found to be feasible to establish and maintain for a science or communication mission.

Long Term Measurement of the Earth's Radiation Budget using a constellation of Broadband Radiometers hosted on Iridium NEXT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Om Prakash; Thoma, Donald; Chaloner, Chris; Russell, Jacqueline; Simpson, Bill; Spilling, David; Morris, Nigel; Caldwell, Martin; Oneill, Alan

The WMO called for "bringing new missions to operational status" and that "ERB should be measured through a constellation of sensors". A unique opportu-nity exists to host a set of Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) sensors on the Iridium NEXT (NEXT) LEO constellation in a cost effective manner that can deliver these requirements. The NEXT constellation, with 66 interconnected satellites in 6 near polar orbiting planes, provides a unique platform for hosting a variety of Earth observation missions including ERB. Launches are planned to begin in 2014 through 2016. The ERB both drives and responds to global climate and monitoring it can provide much insight into the climate system and how it might be changing. A climate quality measurement of the ERB requires high absolute accuracy and excellent stability and a long-term (decades) data record in order to inform the debate about global warming. Measurement of the ERB in terms of the broadband reflected solar (0.3 to 4 µm) and emitted thermal (4 to 200 µm) components have been identified as high priority by the WMO for climate observations. High temporal resolution is the key advantage offered by the NEXT platform and can provide a great step forward in accurately monitoring the energy balance of the planet. The sensor we propose will consist of a broad band instrument and associated imager for scene identification and cloud classification. There is the chance to place two such sensors in each of six different orbital planes this will improve the product refresh time from currently 12 hours to 3 hours. The increased temporal resolution will allow direct measure-ment of the changes to the broadband radiances that result from rapidly varying components of the climate such as cloud and aerosol, and avoid the need of relying on narrow band sensors to infer such changes. Considering that the prediction of cloud response to climate change is still a major source of uncertainty; improved measurement of the cloud effect and possible changes in this quantity are of particular interest. This proposed configuration of twelve ERB sensors on NEXT has been analyzed in a detailed study by this team and demonstrated to have compatibility with proposed NEXT satellites. This study has also demonstrated the following: 1. Full globe coverage, including the poles, and 3 hourly temporal resolution even at the equator 2. Spatial coverage with a swath of each sensor of 1000 km and resolution of 10 km at nadir 3. LEO orbits which are not sun-synchronous so aliasing effects, which are always a concern with single sensors in sun-synchronous orbits, are no longer of concern 4. Twelve sensors in orbit simultaneously, with frequent near-coincidences at high latitudes, so cross-calibration will become a normal part of the system operation. Cross-calibration will also be possible against current sensors such as CERES in LEO and GERB in GEO and offers the possibly of combined products with the sensors. 5. The data stream will be in real-time via the NEXT communications network 6. System robustness is assured since loss of a sensor or satellite is not mission critical 7. Low risk and short lead times because heritage sensors are to be deployed 8. Low chance of launch delays or mission creep, since timing is crucial to the Iridium's business 9. Planned long constellation design life reduces long term cost and continuity problems 10. Near-certain continuity missions as follow-on constellations are part of the host's business plans 11. A move to truly operational observations using real, rather than virtual, constellation 12. A significantly lower cost alternative to traditional methods for collecting this data.

Simulation and monitoring tools to protect disaster management facilities against earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saito, Taiki

2017-10-01

The earthquakes that hit Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan on April 14 and 16, 2016 severely damaged over 180,000 houses, including over 8,000 that were completely destroyed and others that were partially damaged according to the Cabinet Office's report as of November 14, 2016 [1]. Following these earthquakes, other parts of the world have been struck by earthquakes including Italy and New Zealand as well as the central part of Tottori Prefecture in October, where the earthquake-induced collapse of buildings has led to severe damage and casualties. The earthquakes in Kumamoto Prefecture, in fact, damaged various disaster management facilities including Uto City Hall, which significantly hindered the city's evacuation and recovery operations. One of the most crucial issues in times of disaster is securing the functions of disaster management facilities such as city halls, hospitals and fire stations. To address this issue, seismic simulations are conducted on the East and the West buildings of Toyohashi City Hall using the analysis tool developed by the author, STERA_3D, with the data of the ground motion waveform prediction for the Nankai Trough earthquake provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. As the result, it was found that the buildings have sufficient earthquake resistance. It turned out, however, that the west building is at risk for wall cracks or ceiling panel's collapse while in the east building, people would not be able to stand through the strong quakes of 7 on the seismic intensity scale and cabinets not secured to the floors or walls would fall over. Additionally, three IT strong-motion seismometers were installed in the city hall to continuously monitor vibrations. Every five minutes, the vibration data obtained by the seismometers are sent to the computers in Toyohashi University of Technology via the Internet for the analysis tools to run simulations in the cloud. If an earthquake strikes, it is able to use the results of the simulations to assess whether it is safe to continue using the buildings. There is a plan to implement more measures against earthquakes, for example by having additional monitoring locations including fire stations and evacuation facilities, and installing a dedicated line for disaster prevention. Accumulating real-time data in the cloud can also improve the accuracy of the simulations.

Assessment of Flood Disaster Impacts in Cambodia: Implications for Rapid Disaster Response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahamed, Aakash; Bolten, John; Doyle, Colin

2016-04-01

Disaster monitoring systems can provide near real time estimates of population and infrastructure affected by sudden onset natural hazards. This information is useful to decision makers allocating lifesaving resources following disaster events. Floods are the world's most common and devastating disasters (UN, 2004; Doocy et al., 2013), and are particularly frequent and severe in the developing countries of Southeast Asia (Long and Trong, 2001; Jonkman, 2005; Kahn, 2005; Stromberg, 2007; Kirsch et al., 2012). Climate change, a strong regional monsoon, and widespread hydropower construction contribute to a complex and unpredictable regional hydrodynamic regime. As such, there is a critical need for novel techniques to assess flood impacts to population and infrastructure with haste during and following flood events in order to enable governments and agencies to optimize response efforts following disasters. Here, we build on methods to determine regional flood extent in near real time and develop systems that automatically quantify the socioeconomic impacts of flooding in Cambodia. Software developed on cloud based, distributed processing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is used to demonstrate spatial and numerical estimates of population, households, roadways, schools, hospitals, airports, agriculture and fish catch affected by severe monsoon flooding occurring in the Cambodian portion of Lower Mekong River Basin in 2011. Results show modest agreement with government and agency estimates. Maps and statistics generated from the system are intended to complement on the ground efforts and bridge information gaps to decision makers. The system is open source, flexible, and can be applied to other disasters (e.g. earthquakes, droughts, landslides) in various geographic regions.

Medical management of the consequences of the Fukushima nuclear power plant incident.

PubMed

Hachiya, Misao; Tominaga, Takako; Tatsuzaki, Hideo; Akashi, Makoto

2014-02-01

A huge earthquake struck the northeast coast of the main island of Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a tsunami with 14-15 meter-high waves hitting the area. The earthquake was followed by numerous sustained aftershocks. The earthquake affected the nuclear power plant (NPP) in Fukushima prefecture, resulting in large amounts of radioactive materials being released into the environment. The major nuclides released on land were ¹³¹I, ¹³⁴Cs, and ¹³⁷Cs. Therefore, almost 170,000 people had to be evacuated or stay indoors. Besides the NPP and the telecommunications system, the earthquake also affected infrastructures such as the supplies of water and electricity as well as the radiation monitoring system. The local hospital system was dysfunctional; hospitals designated as radiation-emergency facilities were not able to function because of damage from the earthquake and tsunami, and some of them were located within a 20 km radius of the NPP, the designated evacuation zone. Local fire department personnel were also asked to evacuate. Furthermore, the affected hospitals had not established their evacuation plans at that time. We have learned from this "combined disaster" that the potential for damage to lifelines as well as the monitoring systems for radiation in case of an earthquake requires our intense focus and vigilance, and that hospitals need comprehensive plans for evacuation, including patients requiring life support equipment during and after a nuclear disaster. There is an urgent need for a "combined disaster" strategy, and this should be emphasized in current disaster planning and response. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The First Results About Earthquake Study with FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, J. Y.; Oyama, K.; Jhuang, H. K.; Istep, M.; Hsiao, C. C.; Wang, Y. H.

2007-12-01

To improve the global weather prediction and space weather monitoring, six microsatellites termed the Formosa Satellite 3 - Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC) were launched into a circular low-Earth orbit (LEO) from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, at 0140 UTC on 15 April 2006. Each microsatellite of the joint Taiwan-US satellite constellation mission has a GPS occultation experiment (GOX) payload to operate the atmospheric and ionospheric radio occultation, a tiny ionospheric photometer (TIP) to observe the nighttime ionospheric airglow OI 135.6 nm emission, and a tri-band beacon (TBB) to tomographically estimate fine structures of ionospheric electron density on the satellite-to-receiver plane. While the GOX daily observes about 2500 vertical electron density profiles up to the satellite altitude, the TIP provides accurate horizontal gradients of nighttime electron density. In this study, anomalies in the ionospheric electron density structure and dynamics concurrently observed by FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC and co-located ground- based GPS receivers before recent large earthquakes are presented and discussed.

Extracting Ocean-Generated Tidal Magnetic Signals from Swarm Data Through Satellite Gradiometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sabaka, Terence J.; Tyler, Robert H.; Olsen, Nils

2016-01-01

Ocean-generated magnetic field models of the Principal Lunar, M2, and the Larger Lunar elliptic, N2, semidiurnal tidal constituents were estimated through a "Comprehensive Inversion" of the first 20.5 months of magnetic measurements from European Space Agency's (ESA) Swarm satellite constellation mission. While the constellation provides important north-south along-track gradiometry information, it is the unique low-spacecraft pair that allows for east-west cross-track gradiometry. This latter type is crucial in delivering an M2 estimate of similar quality with that derived from over 10 years of CHAMP satellite data but over a shorter interval, at higher altitude, and during more magnetically disturbed conditions. Recovered N2 contains nonoceanic signal but is highly correlated with theoretical models in regions of maximum oceanic amplitude. Thus, satellite magnetic gradiometry may eventually enable the monitoring of ocean electrodynamic properties at temporal resolutions of 1 to 2 years, which may have important implications for the inference of ocean temperature and salinity.

Three-dimensional information extraction from GaoFen-1 satellite images for landslide monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Shixin; Yang, Baolin; Zhou, Yi; Wang, Futao; Zhang, Rui; Zhao, Qing

2018-05-01

To more efficiently use GaoFen-1 (GF-1) satellite images for landslide emergency monitoring, a Digital Surface Model (DSM) can be generated from GF-1 across-track stereo image pairs to build a terrain dataset. This study proposes a landslide 3D information extraction method based on the terrain changes of slope objects. The slope objects are mergences of segmented image objects which have similar aspects; and the terrain changes are calculated from the post-disaster Digital Elevation Model (DEM) from GF-1 and the pre-disaster DEM from GDEM V2. A high mountain landslide that occurred in Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province is used to conduct a 3D information extraction test. The extracted total area of the landslide is 22.58 ha; the displaced earth volume is 652,100 m3; and the average sliding direction is 263.83°. The accuracies of them are 0.89, 0.87 and 0.95, respectively. Thus, the proposed method expands the application of GF-1 satellite images to the field of landslide emergency monitoring.

Satellites, tweets, forecasts: the future of flood disaster management?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dottori, Francesco; Kalas, Milan; Lorini, Valerio; Wania, Annett; Pappenberger, Florian; Salamon, Peter; Ramos, Maria Helena; Cloke, Hannah; Castillo, Carlos

2017-04-01

Floods have devastating effects on lives and livelihoods around the world. Structural flood defence measures such as dikes and dams can help protect people. However, it is the emerging science and technologies for flood disaster management and preparedness, such as increasingly accurate flood forecasting systems, high-resolution satellite monitoring, rapid risk mapping, and the unique strength of social media information and crowdsourcing, that are most promising for reducing the impacts of flooding. Here, we describe an innovative framework which integrates in real-time two components of the Copernicus Emergency mapping services, namely the European Flood Awareness System and the satellite-based Rapid Mapping, with new procedures for rapid risk assessment and social media and news monitoring. The integrated framework enables improved flood impact forecast, thanks to the real-time integration of forecasting and monitoring components, and increases the timeliness and efficiency of satellite mapping, with the aim of capturing flood peaks and following the evolution of flooding processes. Thanks to the proposed framework, emergency responders will have access to a broad range of timely and accurate information for more effective and robust planning, decision-making, and resource allocation.

Impedance based sensor technology to monitor stiffness of biological structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Annamdas, Venu Gopal Madhav; Annamdas, Kiran Kishore Kumar

2010-04-01

In countries like USA or Japan it is not so uncommon to have wooden structures in their homes. However, metals and its alloys are the most widely used engineering materials in construction of any military or civil structure. Revisiting natural disasters like the recent Haiti earthquake (12 Jan 2010) or Katrina (cyclones) reminds the necessity to have better housing infrastructure with robust monitoring systems. Traditionally wood is accepted as excellent rehabilitation material, after any disaster. The recycling materials extracted from in-organic, biodegradable wastes, also can be used for rehabilitation. The key issue which dampens the life of these rehabilitated structure including green materials (like wood) is unnecessary deposits (nails, screws, bolts etc)/damages due to insect attack. Thus, a few health monitoring techniques have emerged in the recent past. Electromechanical Impedance technique is one such technique, which is simple but robust to detect variations in the integrity of structures. In this paper, impedance based piezoceramic sensor was bonded on wooden sample, which was used to study changes due to metallic (steel nails) deposits at various locations. A study of weight deposits on aluminum plate was used for comparisons.

Space Technology 5 - A Successful Micro-Satellite Constellation Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carlisle, Candace; Webb, Evan H.

2007-01-01

The Space Technology 5 (ST5) constellation of three micro-satellites was launched March 22, 2006. During the three-month flight demonstration phase, the ST5 team validated key technologies that will make future low-cost micro-sat constellations possible, demonstrated operability concepts for future micro-sat science constellation missions, and demonstrated the utility of a micro-satellite constellation to perform research-quality science. The ST5 mission was successfully completed in June 2006, demonstrating high-quality science and technology validation results.

Armenian Names of Sky Constellations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mickaelian, A. M.; Farmanyan, S. V.; Mikayelyan, A. A.

2016-12-01

The work is devoted to the correction and recovery of the Armenian names of the sky constellations, as they were forgotten or distorted during the Soviet years, mainly due to the translation from Russian. A total of 34 constellation names have been corrected. A brief overview of the history of the division of the sky into constellations and their naming is also given. At the end, the list of all 88 constellations is given with the names in Latin, English, Russian and Armenian.

Environmental Standards for Storage of Books and Manuscripts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Banks, Paul N.

1974-01-01

Deals with those factors included in building planning that can influence preservation, deterioration, or destruction of books--temperature, humidity, light, air cleanness, ventilation, exhibition, shelving and transportation, storage of microfilm, disaster control, and monitoring systems. (CH)

Evaluation of Data Applicability for D-Insar in Areas Covered by Abundant Vegetation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, P.; Zhao, Z.

2018-04-01

In the past few years, the frequent geological disasters have caused enormous casualties and economic losses. Therefore, D-InSAR (differential interferometry synthetic aperture radar) has been widely used in early-warning and post disaster assessment. However, large area of decorrelation often occurs in the areas covered with abundant vegetation, which seriously affects the accuracy of surface deformation monitoring. In this paper, we analysed the effect of sensor parameters and external environment parameters on special decorrelation. Then Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) datasets acquired by X-band TerraSAR-X, Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Satellite-2 (ALOS-2), and C-band Sentinel-1 in Guizhou province were collected and analysed to generate the maps of coherence, which were used to evaluating the applicability of datasets of different wavelengths for D-InSAR in forest area. Finally, we found that datasets acquired by ALOS-2 had the best monitoring effect.

Sensor Network Provides Environmental Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

The National Biocomputation Center, a joint partnership between the Stanford University School of Medicine's Department of Surgery and NASA's Ames Research Center, is the test bed for much of NASA's research in telemedicine, the remote delivery of medical care. In early 2005, researchers at the National Biocomputation Center formed a spinoff company, Intelesense Technologies, to use the telemedicine sensors to provide integrated global monitoring systems. Intelesense uses the systems to better understand how environments and people are linked, monitor and protect natural resources, predict and adapt to environmental changes, provide for sustainable development, reduce the costs and impacts of natural disasters, and provide an effective and intelligent response to such disasters. Current projects range from protecting the environment to tracking emerging infectious diseases like avian influenza (bird flu) and helping people from around the world connect and interact with each other to better understand their environment and themselves.

Identifying the stars on Johann Bayer's Chart of the South Polar Sky

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ridpath, I.

2014-04-01

The first chart of the stars in the region around the south celestial pole was published in 1603 by Johann Bayer (1572-1625) as part of his monumental star atlas called Uranometria. This south polar chart depicted 12 entirely new constellations that had been created only a few years earlier from stars observed during the first Dutch expedition to the East Indies in 1595-97. Bayer's chart plotted 121 stars in the 12 newly invented constellations. Five more stars formed a southern extension of the existing constellation Eridanus, while another twelve stars were left 'unformed', i.e. unattached to any constellation. Whereas Bayer famously applied Greek or Roman letters to the stars in the 48 Ptolemaic constellations, he left the stars in the newly invented constellations unlabelled. This paper attempts to identify the stars plotted on Bayer's chart. It also discusses the source of Bayer's data and the origin of the 12 new southern constellations.

The elusive constellations of poverty.

PubMed

Breugelmans, Seger M; Plantinga, Arnoud; Zeelenberg, Marcel; Poluektova, Olga; Efremova, Maria

2017-01-01

Pepper & Nettle describe possible processes underlying what they call a behavioral constellation of deprivation (BCD). Although we are certain about the application of evolutionary models to our understanding of poverty, we are less certain about the utility of behavioral constellations. The empirical record on poverty-related behaviors is much more divergent and broad than such constellations suggest.

Forecasting and Communicating Water-Related Disasters in Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Y.; Clark, R. A.; Mandl, D.; Gourley, J. J.; Flamig, Z.; Zhang, K.; Macharia, D.; Frye, S. W.; Cappelaere, P. G.; Handy, M.

2016-12-01

Accurate forecasting and communication of water and water-related hazards in developing regions could save untold lives and property. To this end, the CREST (Coupled Routing and Excess Storage) hydrologic model has been implemented over East Africa, and in dozens of other countries as a user-friendly, flexible, and highly extensible platform for monitoring water resources, floods, droughts, and landslides since 2009. We will present the updated CREST/EF5 hydrologic ensemble modeling framework with new model physics and better forecasts of streamflow, soil moisture, and other hydrologic states to RCMRD (the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development) and SERVIR global hub network. The central goal of this project is to develop an ensemble hydrologic prediction system, forced by weather and climate forecasts in a single continuum, to communicate forecasts on scales ranging from sub-daily to seasonal and in formats designed for better decision making about water and water-related disasters. The CREST/EF5 is a proven performer at getting researcher and officials in emerging regions excited about and confident in their ability to independently monitor, forecast, and understand water and water-related disasters, through a series of training workshops and capacity building activities in USA, Africa, Mesoamerica, and South Asia and is thus particularly well-suited for hydrologic capacity building in emerging countries.

Reproductive Outcomes Following Maternal Exposure to the Events of September 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center, in New York City.

PubMed

Maslow, Carey B; Caramanica, Kimberly; Li, Jiehui; Stellman, Steven D; Brackbill, Robert M

2016-10-01

To estimate associations between exposure to the events of September 11, 2001, (9/11) and low birth weight (LBW), preterm delivery (PD), and small size for gestational age (SGA). We matched birth certificates filed in New York City for singleton births between 9/11 and the end of 2010 to 9/11-related exposure data provided by mothers who were World Trade Center Health Registry enrollees. Generalized estimating equations estimated associations between exposures and LBW, PD, and SGA. Among 3360 births, 5.8% were LBW, 6.5% were PD, and 9% were SGA. Having incurred at least 2 of 4 exposures, having performed rescue or recovery work, and probable 9/11-related posttraumatic stress disorder 2 to 3 years after 9/11 were associated with PD and LBW during the early study period. Disasters on the magnitude of 9/11 may exert effects on reproductive outcomes for several years. Women who are pregnant during and after a disaster should be closely monitored for physical and psychological sequelae. In utero and maternal disaster exposure may affect birth outcomes. Researchers studying effects of individual disasters should identify commonalities that may inform postdisaster responses to minimize disaster-related adverse birth outcomes.

Disaster risk reduction in developing countries: costs, benefits and institutions.

PubMed

Kenny, Charles

2012-10-01

Some 60,000 people worldwide die annually in natural disasters, mostly due to the collapse of buildings in earthquakes, and primarily in the developing world. This is despite the fact that engineering solutions exist that can eliminate almost completely the risk of such deaths. Why is this? The solutions are expensive and technically demanding, so their cost-benefit ratio often is unfavourable as compared to other interventions. Nonetheless, there are various public disaster risk reduction interventions that are highly cost-effective. That such interventions frequently remain unimplemented or ineffectively executed points to a role for issues of political economy. Building regulations in developing countries appear to have limited impact in many cases, perhaps because of inadequate capacity and corruption. Public construction often is of low quality, perhaps for similar reasons. This suggests the need for approaches that emphasise simple and limited disaster risk regulation covering only the most at-risk structures-and that, preferably, non-experts can monitor-as well as numerous transparency and oversight mechanisms for public construction projects. © 2012 The Author(s). Journal compilation © Overseas Development Institute, 2012.

[Construction and validation of a socio-environmental vulnerability index for monitoring and management of natural disasters in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil].

PubMed

Guimarães, Raphael Mendonça; Mazoto, Maíra Lopes; Martins, Raphael Nascimento; do Carmo, Cleber Nascimento; Asmus, Carmen Ildes Fróes

2014-10-01

Floods account for approximately 40% of natural disasters that occur around the world and they are therefore considered a major public health problem. While floods constitute a global problem, data from the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction showed that almost all of the deaths or individuals affected are concentrated in developing countries. It is assumed that, although they have natural causes, the consequences of floods also involve social issues. To try to predict such vulnerability in the occurrence of natural disasters, a social and environmental index that shows the degree of vulnerability of a location was developed in this paper. This index was developed using multivariate analysis involving factor analysis and demographic, social and environmental variables. The index was applied in the municipalities of the state of Rio de Janeiro and compared with the official figures of the Civil Defense Unit. The results found suggest that the proposed index meets the expectation of predicting the vulnerability of the local population.

Application of Modern Tools and Techniques for Mine Safety & Disaster Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Dheeraj

2016-04-01

The implementation of novel systems and adoption of improvised equipment in mines help mining companies in two important ways: enhanced mine productivity and improved worker safety. There is a substantial need for adoption of state-of-the-art automation technologies in the mines to ensure the safety and to protect health of mine workers. With the advent of new autonomous equipment used in the mine, the inefficiencies are reduced by limiting human inconsistencies and error. The desired increase in productivity at a mine can sometimes be achieved by changing only a few simple variables. Significant developments have been made in the areas of surface and underground communication, robotics, smart sensors, tracking systems, mine gas monitoring systems and ground movements etc. Advancement in information technology in the form of internet, GIS, remote sensing, satellite communication, etc. have proved to be important tools for hazard reduction and disaster management. This paper is mainly focused on issues pertaining to mine safety and disaster management and some of the recent innovations in the mine automations that could be deployed in mines for safe mining operations and for avoiding any unforeseen mine disaster.

Use of Declassified High-Resolution Imagery and Coincident Data Sets for Characterizing the Changing Arctic Ice Cover, and Collaboration with SIZRS

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-30

Meter-Scale Sea Ice Properties Karen E. Frey, Christopher Polashenski The Seasonal Evolution of Sea Ice Floe Size Distribution Jacqueline A...Richter-Menge and Donald K. Perovich 3 Monitoring of Arctic Conditions from a Virtual Constellation of Synthetic Aperture Radar Hans C. Graber, Peter...Jennifer K. Hutchings, Jacqueline A. Richter-Menge Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Surveys Coordination James Morison REFERENCES Kwok, R., and N

Mobile Response Team Saves Lives in Volcano Crises

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ewert, John W.; Miller, C. Dan; Hendley, James W.; Stauffer, Peter H.

1997-01-01

The world's only volcano crisis response team, organized and operated by the USGS, can be quickly mobilized to assess and monitor hazards at volcanoes threatening to erupt. Since 1986, the team has responded to more than a dozen volcano crises as part of the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP), a cooperative effort with the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance of the U.S. Agency for International Development. The work of USGS scientists with VDAP has helped save countless lives, and the valuable lessons learned are being used to reduce risks from volcano hazards in the United States.

Cloud Based Web 3d GIS Taiwan Platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsai, W.-F.; Chang, J.-Y.; Yan, S. Y.; Chen, B.

2011-09-01

This article presents the status of the web 3D GIS platform, which has been developed in the National Applied Research Laboratories. The purpose is to develop a global earth observation 3D GIS platform for applications to disaster monitoring and assessment in Taiwan. For quick response to preliminary and detailed assessment after a natural disaster occurs, the web 3D GIS platform is useful to access, transfer, integrate, display and analyze the multi-scale huge data following the international OGC standard. The framework of cloud service for data warehousing management and efficiency enhancement using VMWare is illustrated in this article.

Re-establishing clean water in a disaster.

PubMed

Fournier, Chris

2011-09-01

When a disaster occurs, water systems can be overwhelmed with sediment, chemicals, microbes, and other harmful organisms. Dialysis clinics need to have disaster management plans and protocols in place to meet the demands of any situation. During emergency events, such as large widespread natural disasters, it is necessary to have the support of outside resources to keep the clinic operating or to aid in returning it to service as quickly and as safely as possible. Before proceeding with any medical treatments that use water, such as dialysis, facilities should address five different response actions to establish the safety and effectiveness of their water system. Test the water quality prior to treating patients. Make sure the system is working properly by performing critical water tests. Compare all results with pre-disaster data to help spot any warning signs. Inspect the water system, including all connections, timers, and settings. Consider contacting your water treatment vendor for additional verification and support. Be sure to closely monitor the water system equipment; make sure it is not overwhelmed by staying in touch with local water authorities. They may "shock" their distribution system to regain compliance. Make every effort to conserve water during this time. Change the water system. If the central water system has been compromised, consider using portable RO units or portable exchange DI tanks. Finally, moving your patients to another facility may be the only alternative, so work with other local facilities unaffected by the disaster.

Chronic disease and disasters medication demands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

PubMed

Jhung, Michael A; Shehab, Nadine; Rohr-Allegrini, Cherise; Pollock, Daniel A; Sanchez, Roger; Guerra, Fernando; Jernigan, Daniel B

2007-09-01

Preparing for natural disasters has historically focused on treatment for acute injuries, environmental exposures, and infectious diseases. Many disaster survivors also have existing chronic illness, which may be worsened by post-disaster conditions. The relationship between actual medication demands and medical relief pharmaceutical supplies was assessed in a population of 18,000 evacuees relocated to San Antonio TX after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in August 2005. Healthcare encounters from day 4 to day 31 after landfall were monitored using a syndromic surveillance system based on patient chief complaint. Medication-dispensing records were collected from federal disaster relief teams and local retail pharmacies serving evacuees. Medications dispensed to evacuees during this period were quantified into defined daily doses and classified as acute or chronic, based on their primary indications. Of 4,229 categorized healthcare encounters, 634 (15%) were for care of chronic medical conditions. Sixty-eight percent of all medications dispensed to evacuees were for treatment of chronic diseases. Cardiovascular medications (39%) were most commonly dispensed to evacuees. Thirty-eight percent of medication doses dispensed by federal relief teams were for chronic care, compared to 73% of doses dispensed by retail pharmacies. Federal disaster relief teams supplied 9% of all chronic care medicines dispensed. A substantial demand for drugs used to treat chronic medical conditions was identified among San Antonio evacuees, as was a reliance on retail pharmacy supplies to meet this demand. Medical relief pharmacy supplies did not consistently reflect the actual demands of evacuees.

Biomarkers reveal sea turtles remained in oiled areas following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

USGS Publications Warehouse

Vander Zanden, Hannah B.; Bolten, Alan B.; Tucker, Anton D.; Hart, Kristen M.; Lamont, Margaret M.; Fujisaki, Ikuko; Reich, Kimberly J.; Addison, David S.; Mansfield, Katherine L.; Phillips, Katrina F.; Pajuelo, Mariela; Bjorndal, Karen A.

2016-01-01

Assessments of large-scale disasters, such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, are problematic because while measurements of post-disturbance conditions are common, measurements of pre-disturbance baselines are only rarely available. Without adequate observations of pre-disaster organismal and environmental conditions, it is impossible to assess the impact of such catastrophes on animal populations and ecological communities. Here, we use long-term biological tissue records to provide pre-disaster data for a vulnerable marine organism. Keratin samples from the carapace of loggerhead sea turtles record the foraging history for up to 18 years, allowing us to evaluate the effect of the oil spill on sea turtle foraging patterns. Samples were collected from 76 satellite-tracked adult loggerheads in 2011 and 2012, approximately one to two years after the spill. Of the 10 individuals that foraged in areas exposed to surface oil, none demonstrated significant changes in foraging patterns post spill. The observed long-term fidelity to foraging sites indicates that loggerheads in the northern Gulf of Mexico likely remained in established foraging sites, regardless of the introduction of oil and chemical dispersants. More research is needed to address potential long-term health consequences to turtles in this region. Mobile marine organisms present challenges for researchers to monitor effects of environmental disasters, both spatially and temporally. We demonstrate that biological tissues can reveal long-term histories of animal behavior and provide critical pre-disaster baselines following an anthropogenic disturbance or natural disaster.

Origins of the "Western" Constellations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frank, Roslyn M.

The development of the 48 Greek constellations is analyzed as a complex mixture of cognitive layers deriving from different cultural traditions and dating back to different epochs. The analysis begins with a discussion of the zodiacal constellations, goes on to discuss the stellar lore in Homer and Hesiod, and then examines several theories concerning the origins of the southern non-zodiacal constellations. It concludes with a commentary concerning the age and possible cultural significance of stars of the Great Bear constellation in light of ethnohistorical documentation, folklore, and beliefs related to European bear ceremonialism.

Optimal signal constellation design for ultra-high-speed optical transport in the presence of nonlinear phase noise.

PubMed

Liu, Tao; Djordjevic, Ivan B

2014-12-29

In this paper, we first describe an optimal signal constellation design algorithm suitable for the coherent optical channels dominated by the linear phase noise. Then, we modify this algorithm to be suitable for the nonlinear phase noise dominated channels. In optimization procedure, the proposed algorithm uses the cumulative log-likelihood function instead of the Euclidian distance. Further, an LDPC coded modulation scheme is proposed to be used in combination with signal constellations obtained by proposed algorithm. Monte Carlo simulations indicate that the LDPC-coded modulation schemes employing the new constellation sets, obtained by our new signal constellation design algorithm, outperform corresponding QAM constellations significantly in terms of transmission distance and have better nonlinearity tolerance.

The USAID Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance: Using Disaster Risk Reduction Programs to Increase Community Resiliency to Geologic Hazards and Promote Sustained Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayberry, G. C.

2009-12-01

The U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) supports several geologic-hazard related projects that help reduce the impact of geologic disasters by utilizing advances in science to monitor hazards and mitigate their effects. OFDA’s main responsibility is to rapidly respond to disasters, but OFDA also supports disaster risk reduction activities that aim to ultimately decrease the need for external responders and help to sustain development efforts by lessening the impact of potential disasters and strengthening at-risk community’s resiliency. One of OFDA’s success stories in geologic hazard risk reduction is the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP). Following the deadly 1985 eruption of Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Colombia that killed about 25,000 people, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and OFDA formed the VDAP team to provide technical assistance worldwide when potentially dangerous volcanoes show signs of unrest. VDAP also provides technical assistance for capacity-building projects at foreign observatories in order to strengthen their volcano monitoring networks and better prepare them for future activity. VDAP has deployed to 24 major crises in the past 23 years and helped to build infrastructure in 12 countries. They have helped their local counterparts save tens of thousands of lives, and hundreds of millions of dollars in property. Several factors contribute to VDAP’s success: sustained technical assistance allows VDAP to build upon previous efforts, working in the background with counterparts promotes independence, and addressing response and capacity-building needs leads to sustained development among counterpart agencies. Some of the lessons learned from VDAP will be parlayed into the newly formed OFDA-USGS Earthquake Disaster Assistance Team (EDAT), which will provide technical assistance to scientists shortly after large earthquakes occur in foreign countries so that they can “build back better” after events. An example of how OFDA is using advances in science to address the impact of earthquakes on society is the Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER). PAGER, which is implemented by the USGS, distributes notifications that provide an estimate of the impact of significant earthquakes shortly after they occur. The notifications include earthquake information such as location, magnitude and depth, an estimate of the number of people exposed to varying levels of shaking based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, and a description of the region’s vulnerability to earthquakes. The science-based information that PAGER provides has proven to be a valuable asset for responders who have to quickly make potentially life-saving decisions often with little data. In addition, scenarios can be run using the PAGER system that provide a visual means to communicate the potential seismic hazard to at-risk communities and decision makers so that they can make informed decisions about future development. OFDA’s disaster risk reduction projects such as VDAP, EDAT, and PAGER, help promote sustained development by lessening the impact of future geologic events.

Implementation of New Technologies to Monitor Phytoplankton Blooms in the South of Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez-Benito, C.; Haag, C.; Alvial, A.

2004-05-01

A pilot project has been carried out to demonstrate the applicability of remote sensing in the Xth region of Chile, related to the monitoring of algal blooms. Most of the fish farms of the country are located in this area, where considerable economic losses for this activity are the consequence of algal blooms. The implementation of new technologies to monitor this natural disaster is one of the main goals of local institutions. The project has been developed using ENVISAT/MERIS and AATSR images and oceanographic instrumentation in order to improve the information of the ongoing coastal monitoring programs.

An experimental system for flood risk forecasting and monitoring at global scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dottori, Francesco; Alfieri, Lorenzo; Kalas, Milan; Lorini, Valerio; Salamon, Peter

2017-04-01

Global flood forecasting and monitoring systems are nowadays a reality and are being applied by a wide range of users and practitioners in disaster risk management. Furthermore, there is an increasing demand from users to integrate flood early warning systems with risk based forecasting, combining streamflow estimations with expected inundated areas and flood impacts. Finally, emerging technologies such as crowdsourcing and social media monitoring can play a crucial role in flood disaster management and preparedness. Here, we present some recent advances of an experimental procedure for near-real time flood mapping and impact assessment. The procedure translates in near real-time the daily streamflow forecasts issued by the Global Flood Awareness System (GloFAS) into event-based flood hazard maps, which are then combined with exposure and vulnerability information at global scale to derive risk forecast. Impacts of the forecasted flood events are evaluated in terms of flood prone areas, potential economic damage, and affected population, infrastructures and cities. To increase the reliability of our forecasts we propose the integration of model-based estimations with an innovative methodology for social media monitoring, which allows for real-time verification and correction of impact forecasts. Finally, we present the results of preliminary tests which show the potential of the proposed procedure in supporting emergency response and management.

Piezo impedance sensors to monitor degradation of biological structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Annamdas, Kiran Kishore Kumar; Annamdas, Venu Gopal Madhav

2010-04-01

In some countries it is common to have wooden structures in their homes, especially Japan. However, metals and its alloys are the most widely used engineering materials in construction of any military or civil structure. Re-visiting natural disasters like the recent Haiti earthquake (12 Jan 2010) or Katrina (cyclones) reminds the necessity to have better housing infrastructure with robust monitoring systems. Traditionally wood (green material) was accepted as excellent rehabilitation material, after any disaster. In recent times, the recycling materials extracted from inorganic, biodegradable wastes are converted into blocks or sheets, and are also used to assist public in rehabilitation camps. The key issue which decreases the life of these rehabilitated structure including green materials (like wood) is unnecessary degradation or deterioration over time due to insect or acid attack or rain/ice fall. The recycling material also needs monitoring to protect them against acid or rain/ice attacks. Thus, a few health monitoring techniques have emerged in the recent past. Electromechanical Impedance technique is one such technique, which is simple but robust to detect variations in the integrity of structures. In this paper, impedance based piezoceramic sensor was bonded on wooden sample, which was subjected to degradation in presence of acids. Variations in mass of plank are studied.

The CEOS constellation for land surface imaging

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bailey, G.B.; Berger, Marsha; Jeanjean, H.; Gallo, K.P.

2007-01-01

A constellation of satellites that routinely and frequently images the Earth's land surface in consistently calibrated wavelengths from the visible through the microwave and in spatial detail that ranges from sub-meter to hundreds of meters would offer enormous potential benefits to society. A well-designed and effectively operated land surface imaging satellite constellation could have great positive impact not only on the quality of life for citizens of all nations, but also on mankind's very ability to sustain life as we know it on this planet long into the future. The primary objective of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Land Surface Imaging (LSI) Constellation is to define standards (or guidelines) that describe optimal future LSI Constellation capabilities, characteristics, and practices. Standards defined for a LSI Constellation will be based on a thorough understanding of user requirements, and they will address at least three fundamental areas of the systems comprising a Land Surface Imaging Constellation: the space segments, the ground segments, and relevant policies and plans. Studies conducted by the LSI Constellation Study Team also will address current and shorter-term problems and issues facing the land remote sensing community today, such as seeking ways to work more cooperatively in the operation of existing land surface imaging systems and helping to accomplish tangible benefits to society through application of land surface image data acquired by existing systems. 2007 LSI Constellation studies are designed to establish initial international agreements, develop preliminary standards for a mid-resolution land surface imaging constellation, and contribute data to a global forest assessment.

How to Improve Fault Tolerance in Disaster Predictions: A Case Study about Flash Floods Using IoT, ML and Real Data.

PubMed

Furquim, Gustavo; Filho, Geraldo P R; Jalali, Roozbeh; Pessin, Gustavo; Pazzi, Richard W; Ueyama, Jó

2018-03-19

The rise in the number and intensity of natural disasters is a serious problem that affects the whole world. The consequences of these disasters are significantly worse when they occur in urban districts because of the casualties and extent of the damage to goods and property that is caused. Until now feasible methods of dealing with this have included the use of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for data collection and machine-learning (ML) techniques for forecasting natural disasters. However, there have recently been some promising new innovations in technology which have supplemented the task of monitoring the environment and carrying out the forecasting. One of these schemes involves adopting IP-based (Internet Protocol) sensor networks, by using emerging patterns for IoT. In light of this, in this study, an attempt has been made to set out and describe the results achieved by SENDI (System for dEtecting and forecasting Natural Disasters based on IoT). SENDI is a fault-tolerant system based on IoT, ML and WSN for the detection and forecasting of natural disasters and the issuing of alerts. The system was modeled by means of ns-3 and data collected by a real-world WSN installed in the town of São Carlos - Brazil, which carries out the data collection from rivers in the region. The fault-tolerance is embedded in the system by anticipating the risk of communication breakdowns and the destruction of the nodes during disasters. It operates by adding intelligence to the nodes to carry out the data distribution and forecasting, even in extreme situations. A case study is also included for flash flood forecasting and this makes use of the ns-3 SENDI model and data collected by WSN.

How to Improve Fault Tolerance in Disaster Predictions: A Case Study about Flash Floods Using IoT, ML and Real Data

PubMed Central

Furquim, Gustavo; Filho, Geraldo P. R.; Pessin, Gustavo; Pazzi, Richard W.

2018-01-01

The rise in the number and intensity of natural disasters is a serious problem that affects the whole world. The consequences of these disasters are significantly worse when they occur in urban districts because of the casualties and extent of the damage to goods and property that is caused. Until now feasible methods of dealing with this have included the use of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for data collection and machine-learning (ML) techniques for forecasting natural disasters. However, there have recently been some promising new innovations in technology which have supplemented the task of monitoring the environment and carrying out the forecasting. One of these schemes involves adopting IP-based (Internet Protocol) sensor networks, by using emerging patterns for IoT. In light of this, in this study, an attempt has been made to set out and describe the results achieved by SENDI (System for dEtecting and forecasting Natural Disasters based on IoT). SENDI is a fault-tolerant system based on IoT, ML and WSN for the detection and forecasting of natural disasters and the issuing of alerts. The system was modeled by means of ns-3 and data collected by a real-world WSN installed in the town of São Carlos - Brazil, which carries out the data collection from rivers in the region. The fault-tolerance is embedded in the system by anticipating the risk of communication breakdowns and the destruction of the nodes during disasters. It operates by adding intelligence to the nodes to carry out the data distribution and forecasting, even in extreme situations. A case study is also included for flash flood forecasting and this makes use of the ns-3 SENDI model and data collected by WSN. PMID:29562657

The Solar system.Stars and constellations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horia Minda, Octavian

2017-04-01

It is important for students to understand what is in our Solar System. The Students need to know that there are other things besides the Earth, Sun and Moon in the solar sky. The students will learn about the other eight planets and a few other celestial objects like stars and constellations. Constellations are useful because they can help people to recognize stars in the sky. By looking for patterns, the stars and locations can be much easier to spot. The constellations had uses in ancient times. They were used to help keep track of the calendar. This was very important so that people knew when to plant and harvest crops. Another important use for constellations was navigation. By finding Ursa Minor it is fairly easy to spot the North Star (Polaris). Using the height of the North Star in the sky, navigators could figure out their latitude helping ships to travel across the oceans. Objective: 1. The students will be introduced to the origin of the stars they see at night. 2. They will learn that there are groups of stars called constellations. The students will individually create their own constellations. They will be given the chance to tell the class a small story explaining their constellation. Evaluation of Children: The children will be evaluated through the creation of their constellations and ability to work in groups on the computers.

On the feasibility of monitoring carbon monoxide in the lower troposphere from a constellation of Northern Hemisphere geostationary satellites. (Part 1)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barré, Jérôme; Edwards, David; Worden, Helen; Da Silva, Arlindo; Lahoz, William

2015-07-01

By the end of the current decade, there are plans to deploy several geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellite missions for atmospheric composition over North America, East Asia and Europe with additional missions proposed. Together, these present the possibility of a constellation of geostationary platforms to achieve continuous time-resolved high-density observations over continental domains for mapping pollutant sources and variability at diurnal and local scales. In this paper, we use a novel approach to sample a very high global resolution model (GEOS-5 at 7 km horizontal resolution) to produce a dataset of synthetic carbon monoxide pollution observations representative of those potentially obtainable from a GEO satellite constellation with predicted measurement sensitivities based on current remote sensing capabilities. Part 1 of this study focuses on the production of simulated synthetic measurements for air quality OSSEs (Observing System Simulation Experiments). We simulate carbon monoxide nadir retrievals using a technique that provides realistic measurements with very low computational cost. We discuss the sampling methodology: the projection of footprints and areas of regard for geostationary geometries over each of the North America, East Asia and Europe regions; the regression method to simulate measurement sensitivity; and the measurement error simulation. A detailed analysis of the simulated observation sensitivity is performed, and limitations of the method are discussed. We also describe impacts from clouds, showing that the efficiency of an instrument making atmospheric composition measurements on a geostationary platform is dependent on the dominant weather regime over a given region and the pixel size resolution. These results demonstrate the viability of the ;instrument simulator; step for an OSSE to assess the performance of a constellation of geostationary satellites for air quality measurements. We describe the OSSE results in a follow up paper (Part 2 of this study).

A study of catasterisms in the 'phaenomena' of Aratus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rousseau, A.; Dimitrakoudis, S.

We provide a fresh analysis of the constellations in Aratos Phenomena by using the astronomical program Cybersky (by Stephen Schimpf) to check each reference of constellations within the poem for validity in 2800 BCE and 300 BCE (the later accounting for the broader period of time covering Eudoxus of Cnidus and Aratus of Soli). In each case, the latitude of observation was chose to be 36 North in agreement with the area of the sky that is not covered in the descriptions of Aratus (and contains the unseen constellations for a particular latitude). Each constellation was traced back to its Greek mythological origin through tha various writers of antiquity. Our results are collected in a table of the constellations mentioned by Aratus in his epic poem, with respect to the ancient authors who have mentioned each constellation shaping its myth, the locations on the earth each constellation is associated with and the most likely date of observation according to Aratus description and taking into account precession and the proper motion of stars.

Tethered constellations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lorenzini, E.

1986-01-01

The studies that have been carried out on Tethered Constellations are briefly addressed. A definition of a tethered constellation is any number of masses/platforms greater that two connected by tethers in a stable configuration. Configurations and stability constraints are reviewed. Conclusions reached are: (1) The 1-D, horizontal, passively stabilized constellations have been ruled out; (2) Fishbone constellations have been also ruled out; (3) Alternative stable 2-D configurations have been devised such as the quadrangular configuration stabilized by electrodynamic forces (ESC), the quadrangular configuration stabilized by differential air drag (DSC), and the pseudo elliptical configuration stabilized by electrodynamic forces (PEC). Typical dimensions for these constellations are 10 km (horizontal) by 20 km (vertical) with balloon diameters around 100 m in the case of a DSC and a power consumption around 7 KW for an ESC or PEC.

Dual use of distributed remote sensing satellites

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

Canavan, G.H.

1992-12-02

Satellites can serve both defense and the environment, simultaneously monitoring preparations for aggression, the environment, pollution, and natural disasters. These applications have been discussed extensively in international meetings, which have produced specific projects for cooperation and growing acceptance of dual-use concepts.

Dual use of distributed remote sensing satellites

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

Canavan, G.H.

1993-03-01

Satellites can serve both defense and the environment, simultaneously monitoring preparations for aggression, the environment, pollution, and natural disasters. These applications have been discussed extensively in international meetings, which have produced specific projects for cooperation and growing acceptance of dual-use concepts.

Dual use of distributed remote sensing satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Canavan, G. H.

1992-12-01

Satellites can serve both defense and the environment, simultaneously monitoring preparations for aggression, the environment, pollution, and natural disasters. These applications have been discussed extensively in international meetings, which have produced specific projects for cooperation and growing acceptance of dual-use concepts.

Cascading disasters in the huge coastal aquifer of Salento (Apulia region, Southern Italy) ensuing droughts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parisi, Alessandro; Fidelibus, Maria Dolores

2017-04-01

Physical extremes can be distinguished in "sudden physical extremes" (e.g. earthquakes, tsunami) and "progressive physical extremes" (e.g. drought, desertification, landslides). They differ for frequency, intensity, spatial extent, duration and timing of occurrence. If a physical extreme, by interacting with human systems, induces negative consequences, its outcome can be a "disaster". The disasters are, in both above cases, characterized by a few phases: physical extreme occurrence, emergency, response, and recovery. However, in the case of a progressive physical extreme, the disaster develops with an overlap in the time of the above-mentioned phases. When the events are repetitive, the emergency planning (which follows a cycle) succeeds with preparedness and mitigation with the intent of reducing the risk. Both the sudden and progressive physical extremes produce cascading effects of consequences on social, environmental and economic systems. Disasters consequent to sudden and progressive extremes show, however, some differences, mainly attributable to the "visibility" of the effects and to their time scale of evolution. As matter of fact, a disaster consequent to a progressive physical extreme produces "emerging signals" that are often invisible. Moreover, the emergency phase can arise with a time delay compared to the occurrence of the physical extreme, depending on the spatial scale of impacted system. The above differences allow defining "creeping disasters" the potential disasters related to progressive physical extremes. This study deals with some peculiar "cascading disasters" consequent to drought, which is the main "creeping disaster", namely the groundwater drought and the consequent salinization of coastal aquifers. In regional flow systems, their effects are invisible in the immediate to common people (and often even to managers) because of the concealed nature of groundwater; moreover, they are difficult to assess because of the shift over time of their evolution compared to the promptness of surface effects. The study area is the Salento coastal karstic aquifer (Apulia region, Southern Italy), where the groundwater flows according to a regional flow system. It has been subject to successive meteorological droughts between 1960 and 2010. The groundwater monitoring performed during this period, even with some gaps, allows identifying time lags between superficial effects and underground system response, potential tipping points, and emerging signals of the cascading disasters.

RaInCube: a proposed constellation of precipitation profiling Radars In Cubesat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peral, E.; Tanelli, S.; Haddad, Z. S.; Stephens, G. L.; Im, E.

2014-12-01

Precipitation radars in Low-Earth-Orbit provide vertically resolved profiles of rain and snow on a global scale. With the recent advances in miniaturized radar and CubeSat/SmallSat technologies, it would now be feasible to launch multiple copies of the same radar instrument in desirable formations to allow measurements of short time scale evolution of atmospheric processes. One such concept is the novel radar architecture compatible with the 6U CubeSat class that is being developed at JPL by exploiting simplification and miniaturization of the radar subsystems. The RaInCube architecture would significantly reduce the number of components, power consumption and mass with respect to existing spaceborne radars. The baseline RaInCube instrument configuration would be a fixed nadir-pointing profiler at Ka-band with a minimum detectable reflectivity better than +10 dBZ at 250m range resolution and 5 km horizontal resolution. The low cost nature of the RaInCube platform would enable deployment of a constellation of identical copies of the same instrument in various relative positions in LEO to address specific observational gaps left open by the current missions that require high-resolution vertical profiling capability. A constellation of only four RaInCubes would populate the precipitation statistics in a distributed fashion across the globe and across the times of day, and therefore, would enable substantially better sampling of the diurnal cycle statistics. One could extend this scheme by adding more RaInCubes in each of the orbital planes, and phase them once in orbit so that they would be separated by an arbitrary amount of time among them. Wide separations (say 20-30 min) would further extend the sampling of the diurnal cycle to sub-hourly scales. Narrower time separations between RaInCubes would allow studying the evolution of convective systems at the convective time scale in each region of interest and would reveal the dominant modes of evolution of each corresponding climatological regime. A constellation of RaInCubes would also be a natural complement to other resources aiming at monitoring the evolution of weather systems, for example the Geostationary IR/VIS imagers, the NEXRAD network, and the GPM constellation.

Hyperspectral Cubesat Constellation for Rapid Natural Hazard Response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mandl, D.; Huemmrich, K. F.; Ly, V. T.; Handy, M.; Ong, L.; Crum, G.

2015-12-01

With the advent of high performance space networks that provide total coverage for Cubesats, the paradigm for low cost, high temporal coverage with hyperspectral instruments becomes more feasible. The combination of ground cloud computing resources, high performance with low power consumption onboard processing, total coverage for the cubesats and social media provide an opprotunity for an architecture that provides cost-effective hyperspectral data products for natural hazard response and decision support. This paper provides a series of pathfinder efforts to create a scalable Intelligent Payload Module(IPM) that has flown on a variety of airborne vehicles including Cessna airplanes, Citation jets and a helicopter and will fly on an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) hexacopter to monitor natural phenomena. The IPM's developed thus far were developed on platforms that emulate a satellite environment which use real satellite flight software, real ground software. In addition, science processing software has been developed that perform hyperspectral processing onboard using various parallel processing techniques to enable creation of onboard hyperspectral data products while consuming low power. A cubesat design was developed that is low cost and that is scalable to larger consteallations and thus can provide daily hyperspectral observations for any spot on earth. The design was based on the existing IPM prototypes and metrics that were developed over the past few years and a shrunken IPM that can perform up to 800 Mbps throughput. Thus this constellation of hyperspectral cubesats could be constantly monitoring spectra with spectral angle mappers after Level 0, Level 1 Radiometric Correction, Atmospheric Correction processing. This provides the opportunity daily monitoring of any spot on earth on a daily basis at 30 meter resolution which is not available today.

Surface Water and Flood Extent Mapping, Monitoring, and Modeling Products and Services for the SERVIR Regions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, Eric

2016-01-01

SERVIR is a joint NASA - US Agency for International Development (USAID) project to improve environmental decision-making using Earth observations and geospatial technologies. A common need identified among SERVIR regions has been improved information for disaster risk reduction and in specific surface water and flood extent mapping, monitoring and forecasting. Of the 70 SERVIR products (active, complete, and in development), 4 are related to surface water and flood extent mapping, monitoring or forecasting. Visit http://www.servircatalog.net for more product details.

Almaz

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Viter, V.

1993-01-01

The basic data of the automatic space station ALMAZ-1B is overviewed, including the orbit parameters and maximum power. The principal technical characteristics of its remote sensing equipment is listed for the synthetic aperture and side-looking radar, optoelectronic equipment for stereophotography, high-resolution electronic scanner, middle-resolution optomechanical scanner, spectroradiometer for ocean satellite monitoring, and information transmission and reception. The main objectives and uses of the ALMAZ-1B information are cartography, land monitoring, geology, ecological monitoring, oceanology, pilotage, fishery, and information supply during an emergency such as controlling situation in natural disasters.

Local health care system utilizing the LPG (liquid propane gas) network.

PubMed

Umemoto, T; Hoshi, H; Tsuda, M; Horio, S; Itou, N; Neriki, T

1998-07-01

JAC's LPG monitoring network system is mainly provided in mountain villages. However, by using this system, it will be possible to start a Digital Network Program for the Elderly while maintaining superior economic feasibility and public benefit using existing information infrastructures. This project also has the capabilities for the creation of a fire/disaster monitoring system, as well as a health care system by using conventional LPG monitoring systems. Telemedicine is an option for the future, as well, by connecting medical equipment and a tele-conferencing system.

Building for the Future: China’s Progress in Space Technology During the Tenth 5-Year Plan and the U.S. Response

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-01

solar telescope to study solar physics. — Develop technologies for a three-satellite constellation called Kua Fu to study solar activity that will...consist of one satellite to monitor solar activity and two others to study the aurora. • International cooperation. Participate in the Sino...Russian Mars environment exploration plan, the World Space Observatory Ultraviolet Project,50 and the Sino-French Small Satellite Solar Flare Exploration

Visualizing Earth Science Data for Environmental Monitoring and Decision Support in Mesoamerica: The SERVIR Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hardin, D.; Graves, S.; Sever, T.; Irwin, D.

2005-05-01

In 2002 and 2003 NASA, the World Bank and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) joined with the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD) to develop an advanced decision support system for Mesoamerica (named SERVIR). Mesoamerica - composed of the seven Central American countries and the five southernmost states of Mexico - makes up only a small fraction of the world's land surface. However, the region is home to approximately eight percent of the planet's biodiversity (14 biosphere reserves, 31 Ramsar sites, 8 world heritage sites, 589 protected areas) and 45 million people including more than 50 different ethnic groups. Mesoamerica's biological and cultural diversity are severely threatened by human impact and natural disasters including extensive deforestation, illegal logging, water pollution, slash and burn agriculture, earthquakes, hurricanes, drought, and volcanic eruption. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA/MSFC), together with the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and the SERVIR partners are developing state-of-the-art decision support tools for environmental monitoring as well as disaster prevention and mitigation in Mesoamerica. These partners are contributing expertise in space-based observation with information management technologies and intimate knowledge of local ecosystems to create a system that is being used by scientists, educators, and policy makers to monitor and forecast ecological changes, respond to natural disasters, and better understand both natural and human induced effects. The decision support and environmental monitoring data products are typically formatted as conventional two-dimensional, static and animated imagery. However, in addition to conventional data products and as a major portion of our research, we are employing commercial applications that generate three-dimensional interactive visualizations that allow data products to be viewed from multiple angles and at different scales. One of these is a 15 meter resolution mosaic of the entire Mesoamerican region. This paper gives an overview of the SERVIR project and its associated visualization methods.

The CEOS/GEO Constellation Concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cramer, Bryant; Ungar, Stephen

2007-01-01

The Constellation concept was first proposed during a discussion at the 19th CEOS Plenary, in London, in November 2005. The first Paper of the Constellation Concept was presented at the CEOS Strategic Implementation Team meeting (SIT-18), in Frascati, in March 2006, and strongly endorsed by the CEOS Principals. The concept attempts to provide agencies with tools for implementation of the elements that have been previously discussed in international forums (GEO Work Plan, GCOS Implementation Plan). This provides a solid foundation from the community providing requirements. Though agency spending is governed by national requirements, CEOS seeks synergies among member agency programs to fulfil GEOSS requirements, defining guidelines and standards to help agencies to determine from the outset what can be achieved. The constellations concept will allow the development of a commonalties approach among different agencies. At the heart of the application of the Constellations concept is the definition of a series of standards (specific to each Constellation) - required to be satisfied for any mission to be included in the constellation - and a process of recognition/acceptance, whereby an agency applies to SIT to have one or more of its missions (ideally from the outset of planning) recognised as meeting the constellation standards and thereby satisfying the relevant user community needs.

Sensing Disaster: The Use of Wearable Sensor Technology to Decrease Firefighter Line-of-Duty Deaths

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-01

peripheral oxygen or SpO2), and temperature , to name but a few.164 The current GTWM allows these sensors to be plugged in anywhere on the shirt, although...desired monitoring parameters included the “heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature , blood oxygen saturation levels, environmental...physiological tests and parameters of firefighters that should be monitored are the EKG, heart rate (HR), body temperature , blood oxygen saturation

Design and development of compact monitoring system for disaster remote health centres.

PubMed

Santhi, S; Sadasivam, G S

2015-02-01

To enhance speedy communication between the patient and the doctor through newly proposed routing protocol at the mobile node. The proposed model is applied for a telemedicine application during disaster recovery management. In this paper, Energy Efficient Link Stability Routing Protocol (EELSRP) has been developed by simulation and real time. This framework is designed for the immediate healing of affected persons in remote areas, especially at the time of the disaster where there is no hospital proximity. In case of disasters, there might be an outbreak of infectious diseases. In such cases, the patient's medical record is also transferred by the field operator from disaster place to the hospital to facilitate the identification of the disease-causing agent and to prescribe the necessary medication. The heterogeneous networking framework provides reliable, energy efficientand speedy communication between the patient and the doctor using the proposed routing protocol at the mobile node. The performance of the simulation and real time versions of the Energy Efficient Link Stability Routing Protocol (EELSRP) protocol has been analyzed. Experimental results prove the efficiency of the real-time version of EESLRP protocol. The packet delivery ratio and throughput of the real time version of EELSRP protocol is increased by 3% and 10%, respectively, when compared to the simulated version of EELSRP. The end-to-end delay and energy consumption are reduced by 10% and 2% in the real time version of EELSRP.

Research on Storm-Tide Disaster Losses in China Using a New Grey Relational Analysis Model with the Dispersion of Panel Data

PubMed Central

Yin, Kedong; Zhang, Ya; Li, Xuemei

2017-01-01

Owing to the difference of the sequences’ orders and the surface structure in the current panel grey relational models, research results will not be unique. In addition, individual measurement of indicators and objects and the subjectivity of combined weight would significantly weaken the effective information of panel data and reduce the reliability and accuracy of research results. Therefore, we propose the concept and calculation method of dispersion of panel data, establish the grey relational model based on dispersion of panel data (DPGRA), and prove that DPGRA exhibits the effective properties of uniqueness, symmetry, and normality. To demonstrate its applicability, the proposed DPGRA model is used to research on storm-tide disaster losses in China’s coastal areas. Comparing research results of three models, which are DPGRA, Euclidean distance grey relational model, and grey grid relational model, it was shown that DPGRA is more effective, feasible, and stable. It is indicated that DPGRA can entirely utilize the effective information of panel data; what’s more, it can not only handle the non-uniqueness of the grey relational model’s results but also improve the reliability and accuracy of research results. The research results are of great significance for coastal areas to focus on monitoring storm–tide disasters hazards, strengthen the protection measures of natural disasters, and improve the ability of disaster prevention and reduction. PMID:29104262

Research on Storm-Tide Disaster Losses in China Using a New Grey Relational Analysis Model with the Dispersion of Panel Data.

PubMed

Yin, Kedong; Zhang, Ya; Li, Xuemei

2017-11-01

Owing to the difference of the sequences' orders and the surface structure in the current panel grey relational models, research results will not be unique. In addition, individual measurement of indicators and objects and the subjectivity of combined weight would significantly weaken the effective information of panel data and reduce the reliability and accuracy of research results. Therefore, we propose the concept and calculation method of dispersion of panel data, establish the grey relational model based on dispersion of panel data (DPGRA), and prove that DPGRA exhibits the effective properties of uniqueness, symmetry, and normality. To demonstrate its applicability, the proposed DPGRA model is used to research on storm-tide disaster losses in China's coastal areas. Comparing research results of three models, which are DPGRA, Euclidean distance grey relational model, and grey grid relational model, it was shown that DPGRA is more effective, feasible, and stable. It is indicated that DPGRA can entirely utilize the effective information of panel data; what's more, it can not only handle the non-uniqueness of the grey relational model's results but also improve the reliability and accuracy of research results. The research results are of great significance for coastal areas to focus on monitoring storm-tide disasters hazards, strengthen the protection measures of natural disasters, and improve the ability of disaster prevention and reduction.

Measuring the Impact of Disasters Using Publicly Available Data: Application to Hurricane Sandy (2012).

PubMed

Mongin, Steven J; Baron, Sherry L; Schwartz, Rebecca M; Liu, Bian; Taioli, Emanuela; Kim, Hyun

2017-12-01

The unexpected nature of disasters leaves little time or resources for organized health surveillance of the affected population, and even less for those who are unaffected. An ideal epidemiologic study would monitor both groups equally well, but would typically be decided against as infeasible or costly. Exposure and health outcome data at the level of the individual can be difficult to obtain. Despite these challenges, the health effects of a disaster can be approximated. Approaches include 1) the use of publicly available exposure data in geographic detail, 2) health outcomes data-collected before, during, and after the event, and 3) statistical modeling designed to compare the observed frequency of health outcomes with the counterfactual frequency hidden by the disaster itself. We applied these strategies to Hurricane Sandy, which struck the northeastern United States in October 2012. Hospital admissions data from the state of New York with information on primary payer as well as patient demographic characteristics were analyzed. To illustrate the method, we present multivariate logistic regression results for the first 2 months after the hurricane. Inferential implications of admissions data on nearly the entire target population in the wake of a disaster are discussed. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Does Social Protection on Education Increase the Capacity of Communities in Facing Disasters?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suroso, D. S. A.; Sagala, S. A.; Alberdi, H. A.; Wulandari, Y.

2018-05-01

Based on the crunch model, the root causes of vulnerability to disasters include political, natural, economic, and social aspects. To target these root causes, there needs to be a focus on developing education as it plays an important role in increasing the capacity of an individual and a community. The Indonesian has prioritized the development of education and even allocated about 20 percent of its spending. In addition, the government has a social protection program that also affects the education, particularly for children namely Indonesia Smart Program (“Program Indonesia Pintar”). For this paper, Cianjur Regency was chosen as a case study for several reasons. First, Cianjur is the regency most vulnerable to disasters in West Java, particularly of floods and landslides. Second, Cianjur is one of the regencies in West Java with many social problems. The objective of this paper is to analyse the role of the Indonesia Smart Program in increasing the capacity of children to strengthen disaster resilience in Cianjur Regency. The PIP faces many challenges particularly in Cianjur Regency such as the accessibility of the beneficiaries to get the financial aid and the monitoring aspect of utilization of the money. The Indonesia Smart Program has an indirect effect in increasing the capacity of children in general. However, the effect of increasing the capacity of children in disaster risk reduction is relatively limited and indirect.

Best Practices for Operations of Satellite Constellations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howard, Joseph; Oza, Dipak; Smith, Danford S.

2006-01-01

This paper presents the best practices used by several commercial and government operators of satellite constellations. These best practices were identified through a series of seminars and discussions held at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The best practices are arrived through many years of experience and improvements made in the operations procedures and the operational systems with the primary drivers as mission safety and cost effectiveness. This paper discusses the operational aspects associated with how different organizations manage complexities of constellation operations. For the purposes of this paper, satellite constellations are groups of similar spacecraft with more than one spacecraft needed to fully accomplish the constellation's mission

Biomarkers reveal sea turtles remained in oiled areas following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

PubMed

Vander Zanden, Hannah B; Bolten, Alan B; Tucker, Anton D; Hart, Kristen M; Lamont, Margaret M; Fujisaki, Ikuko; Reich, Kimberly J; Addison, David S; Mansfield, Katherine L; Phillips, Katrina F; Pajuelo, Mariela; Bjorndal, Karen A

2016-10-01

Assessments of large-scale disasters, such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, are problematic because while measurements of post-disturbance conditions are common, measurements of pre-disturbance baselines are only rarely available. Without adequate observations of pre-disaster organismal and environmental conditions, it is impossible to assess the impact of such catastrophes on animal populations and ecological communities. Here, we use long-term biological tissue records to provide pre-disaster data for a vulnerable marine organism. Keratin samples from the carapace of loggerhead sea turtles record the foraging history for up to 18 years, allowing us to evaluate the effect of the oil spill on sea turtle foraging patterns. Samples were collected from 76 satellite-tracked adult loggerheads in 2011 and 2012, approximately one to two years after the spill. Of the 10 individuals that foraged in areas exposed to surface oil, none demonstrated significant changes in foraging patterns post spill. The observed long-term fidelity to foraging sites indicates that loggerheads in the northern Gulf of Mexico likely remained in established foraging sites, regardless of the introduction of oil and chemical dispersants. More research is needed to address potential long-term health consequences to turtles in this region. Mobile marine organisms present challenges for researchers to monitor effects of environmental disasters, both spatially and temporally. We demonstrate that biological tissues can reveal long-term histories of animal behavior and provide critical pre-disaster baselines following an anthropogenic disturbance or natural disaster. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Test and Verification Approach for the NASA Constellation Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strong, Edward

2008-01-01

This viewgraph presentation is a test and verification approach for the NASA Constellation Program. The contents include: 1) The Vision for Space Exploration: Foundations for Exploration; 2) Constellation Program Fleet of Vehicles; 3) Exploration Roadmap; 4) Constellation Vehicle Approximate Size Comparison; 5) Ares I Elements; 6) Orion Elements; 7) Ares V Elements; 8) Lunar Lander; 9) Map of Constellation content across NASA; 10) CxP T&V Implementation; 11) Challenges in CxP T&V Program; 12) T&V Strategic Emphasis and Key Tenets; 13) CxP T&V Mission & Vision; 14) Constellation Program Organization; 15) Test and Evaluation Organization; 16) CxP Requirements Flowdown; 17) CxP Model Based Systems Engineering Approach; 18) CxP Verification Planning Documents; 19) Environmental Testing; 20) Scope of CxP Verification; 21) CxP Verification - General Process Flow; 22) Avionics and Software Integrated Testing Approach; 23) A-3 Test Stand; 24) Space Power Facility; 25) MEIT and FEIT; 26) Flight Element Integrated Test (FEIT); 27) Multi-Element Integrated Testing (MEIT); 28) Flight Test Driving Principles; and 29) Constellation s Integrated Flight Test Strategy Low Earth Orbit Servicing Capability.

SIAM-SERVIR: An Environmental Monitoring and Decision Support System for Mesoamerica

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Irwin, D. E.; Sever, T. L.; Graves, S.; Hardin, Dan

2004-01-01

In 2002/2003 NASA, the World Bank and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) joined with the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD) to develop an advanced decision support system for Mesoamerica (named SERVIR) as part of the Mesoamerican Environmental Information System (SIAM). Mesoamerica, composed of the seven Central American countries and the five southernmost states of Mexico, make up only a small fraction of the world's land surface. However, the region is home to seven to eight percent of the planet's biodiversity (14 biosphere reserves, 31 Ramsar sites, 8 world heritage sites, 589 protected areas) and 45 million people including more than 50 different ethnic groups. Today Mesoamerica's biological and cultural diversity is severely threatened by extensive deforestation, illegal logging, water pollution, and uncontrolled slash and burn agriculture. Additionally, Mesoamerica's distinct geology and geography result in disproportionate vulnerability to natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, drought, and volcanic eruptions. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, together with the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and the SIAM-SERVIR partners are developing state-of-the-art decision support tools for environmental monitoring as well as disaster prevention and mitigation in Mesoamerica. These partners are contributing expertise in space-based observation with information management technologies and intimate knowledge of local ecosystems to create a system that is being used by scientists, educators, and policy makers to monitor and forecast ecological changes, respond to natural disasters and better understand both natural and human induced effects. In its first year of development and operation, the SIAM-SERVIR project has already yielded valuable information on Central American fires, weather conditions, and the first ever real-time data on red tides. This paper presents the progress thus far in the development of SIAM-SERVIR and the plans for the future.

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill: the trauma signature of an ecological disaster.

PubMed

Shultz, James M; Walsh, Lauren; Garfin, Dana Rose; Wilson, Fiona E; Neria, Yuval

2015-01-01

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon “British Petroleum (BP)” oil spill was a mega-disaster characterized as the petroleum industry’s largest-volume marine oil spill in history. Following a “wellhead blowout” that destroyed the drilling platform, 4.9 million barrels of petroleum flowed into the Gulf of Mexico over 87 days and the spill expanded to cover 68,000 square miles of sea surface. However, despite the expansive scope of the event, systematic surveys of affected coastal populations found only modest effects on mental health and substance abuse. An established trauma signature (TSIG) methodology was used to examine the psychological consequences in relation to exposure to the unique constellation of hazards associated with the spill. A hazard profile, a matrix of psychological stressors, and a “trauma signature” summary for the affected Gulf Coast population--in terms of exposure to hazard, loss, and change--were created specifically for this human-generated ecological disaster. Psychological risk characteristics of this event included: human causation featuring corporate culpability, large spill volume, protracted duration, coastal contamination from petroleum products, severe ecological damage, disruption of Gulf Coast industries and tourism, and extensive media coverage. The multiple impact effect was notable due to prior exposure of the region to Hurricane Katrina. These stressors were counterbalanced by the relative absence of other prominent risks for distress and psychopathology. Coastal residents did not experience significant onshore spill-related mortality or severe injury, shortages of survival needs, disruption of vital services (health care, schools, utilities, communications, and transportation), loss of homes, population displacement, destruction of the built environment, or loss of social supports. Initial acute economic losses were partially offset by large-sum BP payments for cleanup and recovery of the coastal economy. Not only did Gulf Coast populations display remarkable resilience in the face of daunting challenges, the behavioral health impact of the Deepwater Horizon spill appears to have been blunted by the absence of major evidence-based risks for psychological distress and disorder, the exemplary response, and the infusion of economic resources.

Lessons on humanitarian assistance.

PubMed Central

Gracia Antequera, M.; Morales Suárez-Varela, M.

1999-01-01

Conflict almost completely destroyed Rwanda's infrastructure in 1994. Natural disasters, as well as disasters caused by humans, have severely challenged humanitarian aid available within the country. In this study, we have analysed the experiences of nongovernmental organizations since the summer of 1994 to evaluate how these difficulties may be overcome. One of the problems identified has been restrictions on the ability to introduce effective health planning due to the poor quality of available local information. The implementation of effective plans that show due consideration to the environment and society is clearly necessary. Effective monitoring and detailed observation are identified as being essential to the continuity of existing humanitarian assistance. PMID:10444885

The Monitoring and Spatial-Temporal Evolution Characteristic Analysis for Land Subsidence in Beijing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Q.; Zhao, W.; Yu, J.

2018-05-01

At present the land subsidence has been the main geological disaster in the plain area of China, and became one of the most serious disaster that restrict the social and economic sustainable development, it also is an important content in the project of national geographic conditions monitoring. With the development of economy and society, Beijing as the capital of China has experienced significant population growth in the last few decades which led to over-exploitation of the ground water to meet the water demand of more than 20 million inhabitants, especially in the urban region with high population density. However, the rainfall and surface runoff can't satisfy the need of aquifer recharge that product the land subsidence. As China's political center and a metropolis, there are a lot of large constructions, underground traffic projects and complicated municipal pipeline network, and Beijing is also an important traffic hub for national railway and highway network, all of them would be threatened by the land subsidence disaster. In this article the author used twenty ENVISAT Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images acquired in 2008 June-2010 August and ten TerraSAR images acquired in 2011 June-2012 September were processed with Small Baseline Subset SAR Interferometry (SBAS-InSAR) techniques, to investigate spatial and temporal patterns of land subsidence in the urban area of Beijing.

Finite-element simulation of possible natural disasters on landfall dams with changes in climate and seismic conditions taken into account

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bandurin, M. A.; Volosukhin, V. A.; Vanzha, V. V.; Mikheev, A. V.; Volosukhin, Y. V.

2018-05-01

At present theoretical substations for fundamental methods of forecasting possible natural disasters and for quantitative evaluating remaining live technical state of landfall dams in the mountain regions with higher danger are lacking. In this article, the task was set to carry out finite-element simulation of possible natural disasters with changes in the climate as well as in modern seismic conditions of operation in the mountain regions of the Greater Caucasus with higher danger. The research is aimed at the development of methods and principles for monitoring safety of possible natural disasters, evaluating remaining live technical state of landfall dams having one or another damage and for determination of dam failure riskiness, as well. When developing mathematical models of mudflow descents by inflows tributaries into the main bed, an intensive danger threshold was determined, taking into consideration geomorphological characteristics of earthflow courses, physico-chemical and mechanical state of mudflow mass and the dynamics of their state change. Consequences of mudflow descents into river basins were simulated with assessment of threats and risks for projects with different infrastructures located in the river floodplain.

Constellation Program Press Conference

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-04

Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program Manager, speaks during a press conference outlining specific center responsibilities associated with the Constellation Program for robotic and human Moon and Mars exploration, Monday, June 5, 2006, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Life Support Technology Challenges for NASA's Constellation Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carrasquillo, Robyn; Bagdigian, Robert; Ewert, Michael

2007-01-01

The presentation is for the ECLSS session of the Constellation Technology Exchange Conference and is to describe what new technology challenges the Constellation mission presents for the ECLSS, in order to communicate these needs with industry.

Constellation Pharmacology: A new paradigm for drug discovery

PubMed Central

Schmidt, Eric W.; Olivera, Baldomero M.

2015-01-01

Constellation Pharmacology is a cell-based high-content phenotypic-screening platform that utilizes subtype-selective pharmacological agents to elucidate the cell-specific combinations (“constellations”) of key signaling proteins that define specific cell types. Heterogeneous populations of native cells, in which the different individual cell types have been identified and characterized, are the foundation for this screening platform. Constellation Pharmacology is useful for screening small molecules or for deconvoluting complex mixtures of biologically-active natural products. This platform has been used to purify natural products and discover their molecular mechanisms. In the on-going development of Constellation Pharmacology, there is a positive-feedback loop between the pharmacological characterization of cell types and screening for new drug candidates. As Constellation Pharmacology is used to discover compounds with novel targeting-selectivity profiles, those new compounds then further help to elucidate the constellations of specific cell types, thereby increasing the content of this high-content platform. PMID:25562646

A New Synthesis for the Origin of the Greek Constellations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaefer, B. E.

2005-08-01

The Greek constellations constitute one of the longest enduring intellectual properties of humanity. While various papers attribute the origin of the constellations to many diverse possibilities, main stream historians view the origin as largely being in Mesopotamia after around 1350 BC with transmission to the Greeks around 500 BC or so. The evidence for this synthesis is cuneiform and iconographic records that first mention constellations from roughly 1350-500 BC. My recent research on precessional dating has added much detail to this old synthesis. The earliest surviving written description of the Greek constellations is Aratus' Phaenomenon, which is a copy of Eudoxus' lost book of the same name. Hipparchus' Commentary also extensively quotes from Eudoxus. With 172 observations from Eudoxus, I derive a precessional date of 1130 ± 80 BC and a latitude of 36.0 ± 0.9 degrees north. Further, the positioning of the southern void amongst the Greek constellations yields a date of 690 BC (with an uncertainty of 2-4 centuries) and a latitude of 33 degrees (with an uncertainty of 1-3 degrees) for the six southernmost constellations. The earliest surviving description of the Mesopotamian constellations is the MUL.APIN tablet series, with the oldest dated example from the 8th century BC. My precessional calculation gives a date of 1100 BC and a latitude of 33 north. I also see that Eudoxus and MUL.APIN share a substantial number of observations. In all, some Assyrian observer(s) between 33-36 degrees north latitude around the time of 1300-1000 BC apparently invented many of the constellations adopted by the Greeks and made a database of observations later repeated by MUL.APIN, Eudoxus, Aratus, and Hipparchus. But this is not the whole story, as this only accounts for 19 Greek constellations which are identical in stars and representation with the Mesopotamian sky. An additional 12 Greek constellations have the same star groups as the Babylonians yet have completely different mythology/names; and so these representations must have been added by the Greeks. In addition, the Bear constellations must have originated with Paleolithic hunters in northern Eurasia sometime before 11,000 BC, as shown by the widespread distribution of essentially identical myths for the asterism across Eurasia and North America. This leaves about a dozen old constellations which have no Mesopotamian roots and for which the first reference anywhere is from early Greek sources and which have characteristically Greek flavor. Thus it appears that a substantial fraction of the old Greek constellations are actually Greek in origin, with the majority being older asterisms adopted from Mesopotamia, while the Bear originates at least 13,000 years ago. This research was supported in part by the Herbert C. Pollack Award of the Dudley Observatory.

Real Time Fire Reconnaissance Satellite Monitoring System Failure Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nino Prieto, Omar Ariosto; Colmenares Guillen, Luis Enrique

2013-09-01

In this paper the Real Time Fire Reconnaissance Satellite Monitoring System is presented. This architecture is a legacy of the Detection System for Real-Time Physical Variables which is undergoing a patent process in Mexico. The methodologies for this design are the Structured Analysis for Real Time (SA- RT) [8], and the software is carried out by LACATRE (Langage d'aide à la Conception d'Application multitâche Temps Réel) [9,10] Real Time formal language. The system failures model is analyzed and the proposal is based on the formal language for the design of critical systems and Risk Assessment; AltaRica. This formal architecture uses satellites as input sensors and it was adapted from the original model which is a design pattern for physical variation detection in Real Time. The original design, whose task is to monitor events such as natural disasters and health related applications, or actual sickness monitoring and prevention, as the Real Time Diabetes Monitoring System, among others. Some related work has been presented on the Mexican Space Agency (AEM) Creation and Consultation Forums (2010-2011), and throughout the International Mexican Aerospace Science and Technology Society (SOMECYTA) international congress held in San Luis Potosí, México (2012). This Architecture will allow a Real Time Fire Satellite Monitoring, which will reduce the damage and danger caused by fires which consumes the forests and tropical forests of Mexico. This new proposal, permits having a new system that impacts on disaster prevention, by combining national and international technologies and cooperation for the benefit of humankind.

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission: Overview and U.S. Status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hou, Arthur Y.; Azarbarzin, Ardeshir A.; Kakar, Ramesh K.; Neeck, Steven

2011-01-01

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission is an international satellite mission specifically designed to unify and advance precipitation measurements from a constellation of research and operational microwave sensors. The cornerstone of the GPM mission is the deployment of a Core Observatory in a 65 deg non-Sun-synchronous orbit to serve as a physics observatory and a transfer standard for inter-calibration of constellation radiometers. The GPM Core Observatory will carry a Ku/Ka-band Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) and a conical-scanning multi-channel (10-183 GHz) GPM Microwave Radiometer (GMI). The first space-borne dual-frequency radar will provide not only measurements of 3-D precipitation structures but also quantitative information on microphysical properties of precipitating particles needed for improving precipitation retrievals from passive microwave sensors. The combined use of DPR and GMI measurements will place greater constraints on radiometer retrievals to improve the accuracy and consistency of precipitation estimates from all constellation radiometers. The GPM constellation is envisioned to comprise five or more conical-scanning microwave radiometers and four or more cross-track microwave sounders on operational satellites. NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plan to launch the GPM Core in July 2013. NASA will provide a second radiometer to be flown on a partner-provided GPM Low-Inclination Observatory (L10) to improve near real-time monitoring of hurricanes and mid-latitude storms. NASA and the Brazilian Space Program (AEB/IPNE) are currently engaged in a one-year study on potential L10 partnership. JAXA will contribute to GPM data from the Global Change Observation Mission-Water (GCOM-W) satellite. Additional partnerships are under development to include microwave radiometers on the French-Indian Megha-Tropiques satellite and U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites, as well as cross-track scanning humidity sounders on operational satellites such as the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP), POES, the NASA/NOAA Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), and EUMETSAT MetOp satellites. Data from Chinese and Russian microwave radiometers may also become available through international collaboration under the auspices of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and Group on Earth Observations (GEO). The current generation of global rainfall products combines observations from a network of uncoordinated satellite missions using a variety of merging techniques. Relative to current data products, GPM's "nextgeneration" precipitation products will be characterized by: (1) more accurate instantaneous precipitation estimate (especially for light rain and cold-season solid precipitation), (2) more frequent sampling by an expanded constellation of microwave radiometers including operational humidity sounders over land, (3) intercalibrated microwave brightness temperatures from constellation radiometers within a unified framework, and (4) physical-based precipitation retrievals from constellation radiometers using a common a priori hydrometeor database constrained by combined radar/radiometer measurements provided by the GPM Core Observatory. An overview of the GPM mission concept, the U.S. GPM program status and updates on international science collaborations on GPM will be presented.

MEASURING AIRBORNE PAHS FROM THE NEW YORK WORLD TRADE CENTER DISASTER

EPA Science Inventory

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous in ambient air, are suspected human carcinogens, and have been linked to genotoxic and mutagenic effects. Although there are no specific monitoring programs for PAHs in ambient air in the United States, there is a national...

Runtime Simulation for Post-Disaster Data Fusion Visualization

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-10-01

Center for Multisource Information Fusion ( CMIF ) The State University of New York at Buffalo Buffalo, NY 14260 USA kesh@eng.buffalo.edu ABSTRACT...Fusion ( CMIF ) The State University of New York at Buffalo Buffalo, NY 14260 USA 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING

Utilizing new GNSS capabilities for exploring Geospace

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coster, A. J.

2015-12-01

In 2000 the density of GPS receivers across the continental United States increased to the point that strictly data-driven regional maps of total electron content (TEC) could be constructed. These data-driven maps allowed the TEC to be monitored throughout the course of geomagnetic storms and to observe the progression of traveling ionospheric disturbances. This allowed studies of the development of storm enhanced density plumes in both hemispheres and of the dynamic changes in the equatorial TEC following stratospheric warming events. Currently, GPS TEC maps have become recognized as one of the premier tools to monitor coupling of atmospheric regions from both below and above the ionosphere. The number of available scientific dual-frequency receivers across the globe now exceeds 3000. However this number is anticipated to increase rapidly in part due to the numerous arrays being fielded for commercial applications such as precision farming and highway surveying. In addition, there will be a rapid increase in the number of GNSS signals available in the near future. Besides GPS, the European Union is building a system named GALILEO, which will consist of a 30-satellite constellation. The Russians have a system based on a 24-satellite constellation named GLONASS. The Chinese are developing a system called Beidou, which means "stars of the Big Dipper". The Beidou system will consist of 35 satellites. By 2023, there will be more than 160 GNSS satellites and 400 signals. Multi-constellation, multi-band GNSS will be a major enabler for space weather studies. This talk will focus on the potential of using the multiple new GNSS signals and the new higher density receiver arrays for measurements of plasma drift, detailed studies of traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDS) and expanded studies of atmospheric coupling. We will conclude by describing the tremendous potential of merging GNSS observations with observations collected by arrays of low-cost, low-power, and small form factor ionosondes. In the future, we predict that new ionosonde and GNSS receiver networks will enable unprecedented mesoscale real-time tomographic observations of the ionosphere.

Data Sharing to Improve Close Approach Monitoring and Safety of Flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, Joseph; DalBello, Richard; Hope, Dean; Wauthier, Pascal; Douglas, Tim; Inghram, Travis

2009-03-01

Individual satellite operators have done a good job of developing the internal protocols and procedures to ensure the safe operation of their fleets. However, data sharing among operators for close approach monitoring is conducted in an ad-hoc manner during relocations, and there is currently no standardized agreement among operators on the content, format, and distribution protocol for data sharing. Crowding in geostationary orbit, participation by new commercial actors, government interest in satellite constellations, and highly maneuverable spacecraft all suggest that satellite operators will need to begin a dialogue on standard communication protocols and procedure to improve situation awareness. We will give an overview of the current best practices among different operators for close approach monitoring and discuss the concept of an active data center to improve data sharing, conjunction monitoring, and avoidance among satellite operators. We will also report on the progress and lessons learned from a Data Center prototype conducted by several operators over a one year period.

1993 Earth Observing System reference handbook

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asrar, Ghassem (Editor); Dokken, David Jon (Editor)

1993-01-01

Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) is a NASA-sponsored concept that uses space- and ground-based measurement systems to provide the scientific basis for understanding global change. The space-based components of MTPE will provide a constellation of satellites to monitor the Earth from space. Sustained observations will allow researchers to monitor climate variables overtime to determine trends; however, space-based monitoring alone is not sufficient. A comprehensive data and information system, a community of scientists performing research with the data acquired, and extensive ground campaigns are all important components. Brief descriptions of the various elements that comprise the overall mission are provided. The Earth Observing System (EOS) - a series of polar-orbiting and low-inclination satellites for long-term global observations of the land surface, biosphere, solid Earth, atmosphere, and oceans - is the centerpiece of MTPE. The elements comprising the EOS mission are described in detail.

Welcome to NASA's Earth Science Enterprise. Version 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2001-01-01

There are strong scientific indications that natural change in the Earth system is being accelerated by human intervention. As a result, planet Earth faces the possibility of rapid environmental changes that would have a profound impact on all nations. However, we do not fully understand either the short-term effects of our activities, or their long-term implications - many important scientific questions remain unanswered. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is working with the national and international scientific communities to establish a sound scientific basis for addressing these critical issues through research efforts coordinated under the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program, and the World Climate Research Program. The Earth Science Enterprise is NASA's contribution to the U.S. Global Change Research Program. NASA's Earth Science Enterprise will use space- and surface-based measurement systems to provide the scientific basis for understanding global change. The space-based components will provide a constellation of satellites to monitor the Earth from space. A major component of the Earth Science Enterprise is the Earth Observing System (EOS). The overall objective of the EOS Program is to determine the extent, causes, and regional consequences of global climate change. EOS will provide sustained space-based observations that will allow researchers to monitor climate variables over time to determine trends. A constellation of EOS satellites will acquire global data, beginning in 1998 and extending well into the 21st century.

Landslide susceptibility mapping in the coastal region in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alvala, R. C.; Camarinha, P. I.; Canavesi, V.

2013-05-01

The exposure of populations in risk areas is a matter of global concern, because it is a determining factor for the natural disasters occurrences. Furthermore, it has also been observed an intensification of extreme hydrometeorological events that has triggered disasters in various parts of the globe, further increasing the need for monitoring and alerting for natural disasters, aiming the safeguarding of life and minimize economic losses. Accordingly, different methodologies for risk assessment have been proposed, focusing on the specific natural hazards. Particularly for Brazil, which has economic axis of development in the regions near the coast, it is common to observe the process of urbanization advancing on steep slopes of the mountain regions. This characteristic causes the population exposure to the natural hazards related to the mass movements, which the landslides stood out as the cause of many deaths and economic losses every year. Thus, prior to risk analysis (when human occupation intersect with natural hazard), it is essential to analyze the susceptibility, which reflects the physical and environmental conditions that trigger for such phenomena. However, this task becomes a major challenge due to the difficulty of finding databases with good quality. In this context, this paper presents a methodology based only on spatial information in the public domain, integrated into a Geographic Information System free, in order to analyze the landslides susceptibility. In a first effort, we evaluated four counties of Southeastern Brazil - Santos, Cubatão, Caraguatatuba and Ubatuba - located in a region that includes the rugged reliefs of Serra do Mar and the transition to the coastal region, that have historic of disasters related. It is noteworthy that the methodology takes into account many variables that was weighted and crossed by Fuzzy Gamma technique, such as: topography (horizontal and vertical curvature of the slopes), geology, geomorphology, slope, land use and pedology. As a result, we obtain 5 susceptibility classes: very low, low, medium, high and very high. To validate the methodology, there was overlapped the Landslides Susceptibility Map with real risk areas previously mapped, provided by the National Centre for Monitoring and Alert of Natural Disasters. This step is important especially to assess the methodology adherence to evaluate the classes that was mapped with high and very high susceptibility. The preliminary results indicate that over 70% of the the mapped risks areas are located into the classes more susceptible. We observed small inconsistencies that are related with spatial displacement of the various databases considered, which has different resolutions and scales. Therefore, the results indicated that the methodology is robust and showed the high vulnerability of the counties analyzed, which further highlights that the landslides susceptibility should be monitored carefully by the decision makers in order to prevent and minimize the natural disasters impact, so that provide better territorial planning.

A Bilateral U.S. - Russia Contribution to Disaster Risk Reduction in the Asia-Pacific Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eichelberger, J. C.; Gordeev, E.; Bratton, J.; Ismail-Zadeh, A.

2012-12-01

An accepted principle of disaster risk reduction is that all stakeholders should be engaged in the process. For extreme geophysical events, this almost always means stakeholders in more than one country. Even when the direct impacts on the ground from violent shaking or explosive eruptions are confined to a single country, effects to lives and property may be carried thousands of kilometers from the event source by tsunamis or ash clouds, respectively. The formation of G-EVER recognizes the need for neighbors to join together on disaster risk reduction. There is much to be gained by sharing real-time monitoring data and databases on past extreme events, mapping risks seamlessly across borders, and establishing best practices through sharing of experiences. Each extreme event is a learning opportunity, and the recent lessons have been particularly painful. Our science, while progressing, is still inadequate both in content and in application. There has also been lack of recognition that the "worst case" is indeed possible. Among the various collaborations needed to reduce disaster risk is bilateral collaboration, because borders are obstacles and exist between two countries with rules that have been determined by those countries. Borders are used by all countries for protection of national and economic security. They restrict flow of people, equipment, and information, but not seismic waves, tsunamis, and ash. Even the relatively minor event of sea ice arriving early in Nome, Alaska last fall involved both Russia and the U.S. in a relief effort to bring fuel. It is the responsibility of natural hazard scientists and crisis managers to work together across borders, and where necessary make the case to their governments for sharing of data and information based on an expanded view of national security. The Bilateral Presidential Commission initiated by U.S. President Barrack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has provided a framework in which to expand collaboration in dealing with the geohazards of the Russian Far East - Alaska region. Subduction within this segment of the Pacific Rim has produced 50% of the top 30 earthquakes recorded instrumentally worldwide, numerous Pacific-crossing tsunamis, and the largest ash eruption in almost 200 years. Recognizing that Russia and the United States need to develop a whole-region perspective of disaster risk, scientists and program managers from several Russian and U.S. government agencies met at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow in July to identify bilateral steps that would improve safety for communities of the Kuril-Kamchatka-Aleutian-Alaska region. Significantly, the meeting included disaster preparation and response agencies EMERCOM and FEMA. Participants proposed development of a standing committee to advocate and facilitate bilateral collaboration, expanded exchange of real-time monitoring data, development of a strategy for monitoring currently unmonitored sections of plate and micro-plate boundaries, and holding of an inclusive, all-stakeholders meeting in the U.S. next year.

Mitigation of Volcanic Risk: The COSMO-SkyMed Contribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sacco, Patrizia; Daraio, Maria Girolamo; Battagliere, Maria Libera; Coletta, Alessandro

2015-05-01

The Italian Space Agency (ASI) promotes Earth Observation (EO) applications related to themes such as the prediction, monitoring, management and mitigation of natural and anthropogenic hazards. The approach generally followed is the development and demonstration of prototype services, using currently available data from space missions, in particular the COSMO-SkyMed (Constellation of Small Satellites for Mediterranean basin observation) mission, which represents the largest Italian investment in Space System for EO and thanks to which Italy plays a key role worldwide. Projects funded by ASI provide the convergence of various national industry expertise, research and institutional reference users. In this context a significant example is represented by the ASI Pilot Projects, recently concluded, dealing with various thematic, such as volcanoes. In this paper a special focus will be addressed to the volcanic risk management and the contribution provided in this field by COSMO-SkyMed satellite constellation during the last years. A comprehensive overview of the various national and international projects using COSMO-SkyMed data for the volcanic risk mitigation will be given, highlighting the Italian contribution provided worldwide in this operational framework.

An Experimental Investigation of Leak Rate Performance of a Subscale Candidate Elastomer Docking Space Seal

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garafolo, Nicholas G.; Daniels, Christopher C.

2011-01-01

A novel docking seal was developed for the main interface seal of NASA s Low Impact Docking System (LIDS). This interface seal was designed to maintain acceptable leak rates while being exposed to the harsh environmental conditions of outer space. In this experimental evaluation, a candidate docking seal assembly called Engineering Development Unit (EDU58) was characterized and evaluated against the Constellation Project leak rate requirement. The EDU58 candidate seal assembly was manufactured from silicone elastomer S0383-70 vacuum molded in a metal retainer ring. Four seal designs were considered with unique characteristic heights. The leak rate performance was characterized through a mass point leak rate method by monitoring gas properties within an internal control volume. The leakage performance of the seals were described herein at representative docking temperatures of -50, +23, and +50 C for all four seal designs. Leak performance was also characterized at 100, 74, and 48 percent of full closure. For all conditions considered, the candidate seal assemblies met the Constellation Project leak rate requirement.

Galileo: The Added Value for Integrity in Harsh Environments.

PubMed

Borio, Daniele; Gioia, Ciro

2016-01-16

A global navigation satellite system (GNSS)-based navigation is a challenging task in a signal-degraded environments where GNSS signals are distorted by multipath and attenuated by fading effects: the navigation solution may be inaccurate or unavailable. A possible approach to improve accuracy and availability is the joint use of measurements from different GNSSs and quality check algorithms; this approach is investigated here using live GPS and Galileo signals. A modified receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM) algorithm, including geometry and separability checks, is proposed to detect and exclude erroneous measurements: the multi-constellation approach provides redundant measurements, and RAIM exploits them to exclude distorted observations. The synergy between combined GPS/Galileo navigation and RAIM is analyzed using live data; the performance is compared to the accuracy and availability of a GPS-only solution. The tests performed demonstrate that the methods developed are effective techniques for GNSS-based navigation in signal-degraded environments. The joint use of the multi-constellation approach and of modified RAIM algorithms improves the performance of the navigation system in terms of both accuracy and availability.

Galileo: The Added Value for Integrity in Harsh Environments

PubMed Central

Borio, Daniele; Gioia, Ciro

2016-01-01

A global navigation satellite system (GNSS)-based navigation is a challenging task in a signal-degraded environments where GNSS signals are distorted by multipath and attenuated by fading effects: the navigation solution may be inaccurate or unavailable. A possible approach to improve accuracy and availability is the joint use of measurements from different GNSSs and quality check algorithms; this approach is investigated here using live GPS and Galileo signals. A modified receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM) algorithm, including geometry and separability checks, is proposed to detect and exclude erroneous measurements: the multi-constellation approach provides redundant measurements, and RAIM exploits them to exclude distorted observations. The synergy between combined GPS/Galileo navigation and RAIM is analyzed using live data; the performance is compared to the accuracy and availability of a GPS-only solution. The tests performed demonstrate that the methods developed are effective techniques for GNSS-based navigation in signal-degraded environments. The joint use of the multi-constellation approach and of modified RAIM algorithms improves the performance of the navigation system in terms of both accuracy and availability. PMID:26784205

Social Media in Crisis Management and Forensic Disaster Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dittrich, André; Lucas, Christian

2014-05-01

Today, modern sensors or sensor networks provide good quality measurements for the observation of large-scale emergencies as a result of natural disasters. Mostly however, only at certain points in their respective locations and for a very limited number of measurement parameters (e.g. seismograph) and not over the entire course of a disaster event. The proliferation of different social media application (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc.), yields the possibility to use the resulting data as a free and fast supplement or complement to traditional monitoring techniques. In particular, these new channels can serve for rapid detection, for information gathering for emergency protection and for information dissemination. Thus, each user of these networks represents a so-called virtual sensor ('social sensor'), whose eyewitness account can be important for understanding the situation on the ground. The advantages of these social sensors are the high mobility, the versatility of the parameters that can be captured (text, images, videos, etc.) as well as the rapid spread of information. Due to the subjective characteristics however, the data often show different quality and quantity. Against this background, it is essential for an application in crisis management to reasonably (pre-)process the data from social media. Hence, fully-automated processes are used which adequately filter and structure the enormous amount of information and associate it with an event, respectively, a geographic location. This is done through statistical monitoring of the volume of messages (Twitter) in different geographic regions of the world. In combination with a frequency analysis with respect to disaster-relevant terms (in 43 languages), thematic as well as spatio-temporal clustering, an initial assessment regarding the severity and extent of the detected event, its classification and (spatio-temporal) localization can be achieved. This detection in real time (2-5 minutes) thus allows gathering first responder reports or eyewitness reports, which can provide important information for a first situation analysis for the various officials and volunteers, especially in case of large-scale emergencies. Eventually, this can be used in combination with conventional sensors and information sources to conduct a detailed forensic disaster analysis of an event.

Analysis of the Civil-Military Relationship To Improve Efficacy And Coordination Of Humanitarian Aid And Disaster Relief Efforts

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-01

high. One factor that contributed to success was cross- fertilization of skills.  NDMA is a hybrid organization with officers from military, civil...Majeed Raja, Fahad Irshad, and Donny Bayu Sukarno 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, CA 93943-5000...8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) N/A 10. SPONSORING / MONITORING AGENCY

Development and application of a modified wireless tracer for disaster prevention

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chung Yang, Han; Su, Chih Chiang

2016-04-01

Typhoon-induced flooding causes water overflow in a river channel, which results in general and bridge scour and soil erosion, thus leading to bridge failure, debris flow and landslide collapse. Therefore, dynamic measurement technology should be developed to assess scour in channels and landslide as a disaster-prevention measure against bridge failure and debris flow. This paper presents a wireless tracer that enables monitoring general scour in river channels and soil erosion in hillsides. The wireless tracer comprises a wireless high-power radio modem, various electronic components, and a self-designed printed circuit board that are all combined with a 9-V battery pack and an auto switch. The entire device is sealed in a jar by silicon. After it was modified, the wireless tracer underwent the following tests for practical applications: power continuation and durability, water penetration, and signal transmission during floating. A regression correlation between the wireless tracer's transmission signal and distance was also established. This device can be embedded at any location where scouring is monitored, and, in contrast to its counterparts that detect scour depth by identifying and analyzing received signals, it enables real-time observation of the scouring process. In summary, the wireless tracer developed in this study provides a dynamic technology for real-time monitoring of scouring (or erosion) and forecasting of landslide hazards. Keywords: wireless tracer; scour; real-time monitoring; landslide hazard.

Exposure and Human Health Evaluation of Airborne Pollution ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

In the days following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on New York City's World Trade Center (WTC) towers, many Federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), were called upon to bring their technical and scientific expertise to the national emergency. Several EPA offices, including the Office of Research and Development (ORD), quickly became involved with the Agency's response. This project entails an exposure and human health risk assessment of the impact of air emissions from the collapse of the World Trade Center Towers. ORD's National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) are conducting this assessment at the request of EPA's Region II, which includes the New York City metropolitan area in both New York and New Jersey. The assessment relies primarily on the results of ambient air samples from monitors at various sites in Lower Manhattan and surrounding areas. These monitoring activities were undertaken by Federal, State and local agencies that have made their analytical results available to EPA for analysis. Most of the monitors were placed following the disaster with the intent of surrounding the World Trade Center site at different distances. Some monitors for particulate matter, operated by New York State, existed prior to the disaster. In addition, this report provides a limited discussion of the results of both indoor and outdoor dust samples and the results of some indoor air samples. The project focus

Extreme Geohazards: Reducing Disaster Risk and Increasing Resilience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plag, Hans-Peter; Stein, Seth; Brocklebank, Sean; Jules-Plag, Shelley; Campus, Paola

2014-05-01

Extreme natural hazards have the potential to cause global disasters and to lead to an escalation of the global sustainability crisis. Floods and droughts pose threats that could reach planetary extent, particularly through secondary economic and social impacts. Earthquakes and tsunamis cause disasters that could exceed the immediate coping capacity of the global economy, particularly in hazardous areas containing megacities, that can be particularly vulnerable to natural hazards if proper emergency protocols and infrastructures are not set in place. Recent events illustrate the destruction extreme hazards can inflict, both directly and indirectly, through domino effects resulting from the interaction with the built environment. Unfortunately, the more humanity learns to cope with relatively frequent (50 to 100 years) natural hazard events, the less concerns remain about the low-probability (one in a few hundred or more years) high-impact events. As a consequence, threats from low-probability extreme floods, droughts, and volcanic eruptions are not appropriately accounted for in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) discussions. With the support of the European Science Foundation (ESF), the Geohazards Community of Practice (GHCP) of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) has developed a White Paper (WP) on the risk associated with low-probability, high-impact geohazards. These events are insufficiently addressed in risk management, although their potential impacts are comparable to those of a large asteroid impact, a global pandemic, or an extreme drought. The WP aims to increase awareness of the risk associated with these events as a basis for a comprehensive risk management. Extreme geohazards have occurred regularly throughout the past, but mostly did not cause major disasters because the exposure of human assets to such hazards and the global population density were much lower than today. The most extreme events during the last 2,000 years would cause today unparalleled damage on a global scale for a globally connected and stressed society. In particular, large volcanic eruptions could impact climate, damage anthropogenic infrastructure and interrupt resource supplies on a global scale. The occurrence of one or more of the largest volcanic eruptions that took place during the last 2,000 years under today's conditions would likely cause global disasters or catastrophes challenging civilization. Integration of these low-probability, high-impact events in DRR requires an approach focused on resilience and antifragility, as well as the ability to cope with, and recover from failure of infrastructures and social systems. Resilience results from social capital even more than from the robustness of infrastructure. While it is important to understand the hazards through the contribution of geosciences, it is equally important to understand through the contribution of social sciences and engineering the societal processes involved with coping with hazards or leading to failure. For comprehensive development of resilience to natural hazards and, in particular, extreme geohazards, synergy between geosciences, engineering and social sciences, jointed to an improved science-policy relationship is key to success. For example, a simple cost-benefit analysis shows that a comprehensive monitoring system that could identify the onset of an extreme volcanic eruption with sufficient lead time to allow for a globally coordinated preparation makes economic sense. The WP recommends implementation of such a monitoring system with global coverage, assesses the existing assets in current monitoring systems, and illustrates many benefits, besides providing early warning for extreme volcanic eruptions. However, such a monitoring system can provide resilience only via the capability of the global community to react to early warnings. The WP recommends achieving this through the establishment of a global coordination platform comparable to IPCC's role in addressing climate-change related issues to assess knowledge and related adaptive capabilities for disasters due to extreme geohazards.

Constellation Program Update

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-04

Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program Manager, announces to NASA employees and members of the media the responsibilities of the NASA centers associated with the Constellation Program for robotic and human Moon and Mars exploration on Wednesday, June 5, 2006, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Constellation Program Update

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-04

Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program Manager, right, listens to a question during a NASA Update outlining responsibilities of the NASA centers associated with the Constellation Program for robotic and human Moon and Mars exploration on Wednesday, June 5, 2006, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Coordination and Cooperation to Achieve the GEOSS Space Segment: A Systems Approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Killough, Brian D., Jr.

2007-01-01

Established in April 2007, the SEO has made significant accomplishments in the support of CEOS and the virtual constellations. These accomplishments include (1) constellation trade studies for Atmospheric Composition and Land Surface Imaging, (2) a new engineering framework for requirements definition, assessment and architecture planning, (3) completion of a draft requirements document and gap analysis for the Atmospheric Composition Virtual Constellation, and (4) the development of a DVD video highlighting CEOS and the Virtual Constellation concept.

Image quality validation of Sentinel 2 Level-1 products: performance status at the beginning of the constellation routine phase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Francesconi, Benjamin; Neveu-VanMalle, Marion; Espesset, Aude; Alhammoud, Bahjat; Bouzinac, Catherine; Clerc, Sébastien; Gascon, Ferran

2017-09-01

Sentinel-2 is an Earth Observation mission developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) in the frame of the Copernicus program of the European Commission. The mission is based on a constellation of 2-satellites: Sentinel-2A launched in June 2015 and Sentinel-2B launched in March 2017. It offers an unprecedented combination of systematic global coverage of land and coastal areas, a high revisit of five days at the equator and 2 days at mid-latitudes under the same viewing conditions, high spatial resolution, and a wide field of view for multispectral observations from 13 bands in the visible, near infrared and short wave infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum. The mission performances are routinely and closely monitored by the S2 Mission Performance Centre (MPC), including a consortium of Expert Support Laboratories (ESL). This publication focuses on the Sentinel-2 Level-1 product quality validation activities performed by the MPC. It presents an up-to-date status of the Level-1 mission performances at the beginning of the constellation routine phase. Level-1 performance validations routinely performed cover Level-1 Radiometric Validation (Equalisation Validation, Absolute Radiometry Vicarious Validation, Absolute Radiometry Cross-Mission Validation, Multi-temporal Relative Radiometry Vicarious Validation and SNR Validation), and Level-1 Geometric Validation (Geolocation Uncertainty Validation, Multi-spectral Registration Uncertainty Validation and Multi-temporal Registration Uncertainty Validation). Overall, the Sentinel-2 mission is proving very successful in terms of product quality thereby fulfilling the promises of the Copernicus program.

Genesis and genetic constellations of swine influenza viruses in Thailand.

PubMed

Poonsuk, Sukontip; Sangthong, Pradit; Petcharat, Nantawan; Lekcharoensuk, Porntippa

2013-12-27

Swine influenza virus (SIV) is one of the most important zoonotic agents and the origin of the most recent pandemic virus. Asia is considered to be the epicenter for genetic exchanging of influenza A viruses and Southeast Asia including Thailand serves as a reservoir to maintain the persistence of the viruses for seeding other regions. Therefore, searching for new reassortants in this area has been routinely required. Although SIVs in Thailand have been characterized, collective information regarding their genetic evolution and gene constellations is limited. In this study, whole genomes of 30 SIVs isolated during clinical target surveillance plus all available sequences of past and currently circulating Thai SIVs were genetically characterized based on their evolutionary relationships. All genetic pools of Thai SIVs are comprised of four lineages including classical swine (CS), Eurasian swine (EAs), Triple reassortants (TRIG) and Seasonal human (Shs). Out of 84 isolates, nine H1N1, six H3N2 and one H1N2 strains were identified. Gene constellations of SIVs in Thailand are highly complex resulting from multiple reassortments among concurrently circulating SIVs and temporally introduced foreign genes. Most strains contain gene segments from both EAs and CS lineages and appeared transiently. TRIG lineage has been recently introduced into Thai SIV gene pools. The existence of EAs and TRIG lineages in this region may increase rates of genetic exchange and diversity while Southeast Asia is a persistent reservoir for influenza A viruses. Continual monitoring of SIV evolution in this region is crucial in searching for the next potential pandemic viruses. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multi-GNSS signal-in-space range error assessment - Methodology and results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montenbruck, Oliver; Steigenberger, Peter; Hauschild, André

2018-06-01

The positioning accuracy of global and regional navigation satellite systems (GNSS/RNSS) depends on a variety of influence factors. For constellation-specific performance analyses it has become common practice to separate a geometry-related quality factor (the dilution of precision, DOP) from the measurement and modeling errors of the individual ranging measurements (known as user equivalent range error, UERE). The latter is further divided into user equipment errors and contributions related to the space and control segment. The present study reviews the fundamental concepts and underlying assumptions of signal-in-space range error (SISRE) analyses and presents a harmonized framework for multi-GNSS performance monitoring based on the comparison of broadcast and precise ephemerides. The implications of inconsistent geometric reference points, non-common time systems, and signal-specific range biases are analyzed, and strategies for coping with these issues in the definition and computation of SIS range errors are developed. The presented concepts are, furthermore, applied to current navigation satellite systems, and representative results are presented along with a discussion of constellation-specific problems in their determination. Based on data for the January to December 2017 time frame, representative global average root-mean-square (RMS) SISRE values of 0.2 m, 0.6 m, 1 m, and 2 m are obtained for Galileo, GPS, BeiDou-2, and GLONASS, respectively. Roughly two times larger values apply for the corresponding 95th-percentile values. Overall, the study contributes to a better understanding and harmonization of multi-GNSS SISRE analyses and their use as key performance indicators for the various constellations.

Constellation Space Suit System Development Status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, Amy; Aitchison, Lindsay; Daniel, Brian

2007-01-01

The Constellation Program has initiated the first new flight suit development project since the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) was developed for the Space Shuttle Program in the 1970s. The Constellation suit system represents a significant challenge to designers in that the system is required to address all space suit functions needed through all missions and mission phases. This is in marked contrast to the EMU, which was designed specifically for micro-gravity space walks. The Constellation suit system must serve in all of the following scenarios: launch, entry and abort crew survival; micro-gravity extravehicular activity (EVA); and lunar (1/6th-gravity) surface EVA. This paper discusses technical efforts performed from May 2006 through February 2007 for the Constellation space suit system pressure garment.

PM2.5 monitoring system based on ZigBee wireless sensor network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Lukai; Li, Xiangshun; Gu, Weiying

2017-06-01

In the view of the haze problem, aiming at improving the deficiency of the traditional PM2.5 monitoring methods, such as the insufficient real-time monitoring, limited transmission distance, high cost and the difficulty to maintain, the atmosphere PM2.5 monitoring system based on ZigBee technology is designed. The system combines the advantages of ZigBee’s low cost, low power consumption, high reliability and GPRS/Internet’s capability of remote transmission of data. Furthermore, it adopts TI’s Z-Stack protocol stack, and selects CC2530 chip and TI’s MSP430 microcontroller as the core, which establishes the air pollution monitoring network that is helpful for the early prediction of major air pollution disasters.

Learning the Constellations: From Junior High to Undergraduate Descriptive Astronomy Class

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stephens, Denise C.; Hintz, Eric G.; Hintz, Maureen; Lawler, Jeannette; Jones, Michael; Bench, Nathan

2015-01-01

As part of two separate studies we have examined the ability of students to learn and remember a group of constellations, bright stars, and deep sky objects. For a group of junior high students we tested their knowledge of only the constellations by giving them a 'constellation quiz' without any instruction. We then provided the students with a lab session, and retested. We also tested a large number of undergraduate students in our descriptive astronomy classes, but in this case there were the same 30 constellations, 17 bright stars, and 3 deep sky objects. The undergraduate students were tested in a number of ways: 1) pre-testing without instruction, 2) self-reporting of knowledge, 3) normal constellation quizzes as part of the class, and 4) retesting students from previous semesters. This provided us with a set of baseline measurements, allowed us to track the learning curve, and test retention of the material. We will present our early analysis of the data.

Scalable Algorithms for Global Scale Remote Sensing Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vatsavai, R. R.; Bhaduri, B. L.; Singh, N.

2015-12-01

Recent decade has witnessed major changes on the Earth, for example, deforestation, varying cropping and human settlement patterns, and crippling damages due to disasters. Accurate damage assessment caused by major natural and anthropogenic disasters is becoming critical due to increases in human and economic loss. This increase in loss of life and severe damages can be attributed to the growing population, as well as human migration to the disaster prone regions of the world. Rapid assessment of these changes and dissemination of accurate information is critical for creating an effective emergency response. Change detection using high-resolution satellite images is a primary tool in assessing damages, monitoring biomass and critical infrastructures, and identifying new settlements. Existing change detection methods suffer from registration errors and often based on pixel (location) wise comparison of spectral observations from single sensor. In this paper we present a novel probabilistic change detection framework based on patch comparison and a GPU implementation that supports near real-time rapid damage exploration capability.

Flood risks in urbanized areas - multi-sensoral approaches using remotely sensed data for risk assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taubenböck, H.; Wurm, M.; Netzband, M.; Zwenzner, H.; Roth, A.; Rahman, A.; Dech, S.

2011-02-01

Estimating flood risks and managing disasters combines knowledge in climatology, meteorology, hydrology, hydraulic engineering, statistics, planning and geography - thus a complex multi-faceted problem. This study focuses on the capabilities of multi-source remote sensing data to support decision-making before, during and after a flood event. With our focus on urbanized areas, sample methods and applications show multi-scale products from the hazard and vulnerability perspective of the risk framework. From the hazard side, we present capabilities with which to assess flood-prone areas before an expected disaster. Then we map the spatial impact during or after a flood and finally, we analyze damage grades after a flood disaster. From the vulnerability side, we monitor urbanization over time on an urban footprint level, classify urban structures on an individual building level, assess building stability and quantify probably affected people. The results show a large database for sustainable development and for developing mitigation strategies, ad-hoc coordination of relief measures and organizing rehabilitation.

Long-term impact of environmental public health disaster on health system performance: experiences from the Graniteville, South Carolina chlorine spill.

PubMed

Runkle, Jennifer R; Zhang, Hongmei; Karmaus, Wilfried; Brock-Martin, Amy; Svendsen, Erik R

2013-01-01

In the aftermath of an environmental public health disaster (EPHD) a healthcare system may be the least equipped entity to respond. Preventable visits for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (ACSCs) may be used as a population-based indicator to monitor health system access postdisaster. The objective of this study was to examine whether ACSC rates among vulnerable subpopulations are sensitive to the impact of a disaster. We conducted a retrospective analysis on the 2005 chlorine spill in Graniteville, South Carolina using a Medicaid claims database. Poisson regression was used to calculate change in monthly ACSC visits at the disaster site in the postdisaster period compared with the predisaster period after adjusting for parallel changes in a control group. The adjusted rate of a predisaster ACSC hospital visit for the direct group was 1.68 times the rate for the control group (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.47-1.93), whereas the adjusted ACSC hospital rate postdisaster for the direct group was 3.10 times the rate for the control group (95% CI 1.97-5.18). For ED ACSC visits, the adjusted rate among those directly affected predisaster were 1.82 times the rate for the control group (95% CI 1.61-2.08), whereas the adjusted ACSC rate postdisaster was 2.81 times the rate for the control group (95% CI 1.92-5.17). Results revealed that an increased demand on the health system altered health services delivery for vulnerable populations directly affected by a disaster. Preventable visits for ACSCs may advance public health practice by identifying healthcare disparities during disaster recovery.

Historic Landslide Data Combined with Sentinel Satellite Data to Improve Modelling for Disaster Risk Reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bye, B. L.; Kontoes, C.; Catarino, N.; De Lathouwer, B.; Concalves, P.; Meyer-Arnek, J.; Mueller, A.; Kraft, C.; Grosso, N.; Goor, E.; Voidrot, M. F.; Trypitsidis, A.

2017-12-01

Landslides are geohazards potentially resulting in disasters. Landslides both vary enormously in their distribution in space and time. The surface deformation varies considerably from one type of instability to another. Individual ground instabilities may have a common trigger (extreme rainfall, earthquake), and therefore occur alongside many equivalent occurrences over a large area. This means that they can have a significant regional impact demanding national and international disaster risk reduction strategies. Regional impacts require collaboration across boarders as reflected in The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030). The data demands related to the SDGs are unprecedented, another factor that will require coordinated efforts at the global, regional and national levels. Data of good quality are vital for governments, international organizations, civil society, the private sector and the general public in order to make informed decisions, included for disaster risk reduction. The NextGEOSS project evolves the European vision of a user driven GEOSS data exploitation for innovation and business, relying on 3 main pillars; engaging communities of practice, delivering technological advancements, and advocating the use of GEOSS. These 3 pillars support the creation and deployment of Earth observation based innovative research activities and commercial services. In this presentation we will explain how one of the 10 NextGEOSS pilots, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), plan to provide an enhanced multi-hazard risk assessment framework based on statistical analysis of long time series of data. Landslide events monitoring and landslides susceptibility estimation will be emphazised. Workflows will be based on models developed in the context of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service. Data envisaged to be used are: Radar SAR data; Yearly ground deformation/velocities; Historic landslide inventory; data related to topographic, geological, hydrological, geomorphological settings and ground observations from field trips. The development of NextGEOSS pilots opens up for interactions with international communities. Contributions from communities engaged in SDG activities and the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction are welcome

Joint System of the National Hydrometeorology for disaster prevention

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, J.; Cho, K.; Lee, Y. S.; Jung, H. S.; Yoo, H. D.; Ryu, D.; Kwon, J.

2014-12-01

Hydrological disaster relief expenditure accounts for as much as 70 percent of total expenditure of disasters occurring in Korea. Since the response to and recovery of disasters are normally based on previous experiences, there have been limitations when dealing with ever-increasing localized heavy rainfall with short range in the era of climate change. Therefore, it became necessary to establish a system that can respond to a disaster in advance through the analysis and prediction of hydrometeorological information. Because a wide range of big data is essential, it cannot be done by a single agency only. That is why the three hydrometeorology-related agencies cooperated to establish a pilot (trial) system at Soemjingang basin in 2013. The three governmental agencies include the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in charge of disaster prevention and public safety, the National Geographic Information Institute (NGII under Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport) in charge of geographical data, and the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) in charge of weather information. This pilot system was designed to be able to respond to disasters in advance through providing a damage prediction information for flash flood to public officers for safety part using high resolution precipitation prediction data provided by the KMA and high precision geographic data by NGII. To produce precipitation prediction data with high resolution, the KMA conducted downscaling from 25km×25km global model to 3km×3km local model and is running the local model twice a day. To maximize the utility of weather prediction information, the KMA is providing the prediction information for 7 days with 1 hour interval at Soemjingang basin to monitor and predict not only flood but also drought. As no prediction is complete without a description of its uncertainty, it is planned to continuously develop the skills to improve the uncertainty of the prediction on weather and its impact. I will introduce more the flow chart to produce and provide the weather prediction information in AGU fall meeting.

The Origin of Our Constellations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ridpath, Ian

1990-01-01

Reviewed is the history of the naming of the constellations which appear in the sky. The roles of many ancient peoples through the astronomers of the eighteenth century up to the adoption of the official list of 88 constellations produced in 1922 by the International Astronomical Union are discussed. (CW)

Earth Girl Volcano: An Interactive Casual Game about Complex Volcanic Hazards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kerlow, I.

2017-12-01

Earth Girl Volcano is an interactive casual strategy game for disaster preparedness. The project is designed for mainstream audiences, particularly for children, as an engaging and fun way to learn about volcano hazards, monitoring, and mitigation strategies. The game is deceptively simple but it provides a toolbox to address practically all volcanic hazards ranging from gas and ash fall to pyroclastic flows, lava and lahars. This presentation shows the basic dynamic to explore the area, assess the risk, choose the best-suited tools and execute a mitigation strategy within the available budget. This game is a real-time simulation of a crowd evacuation that allows players to intervene before and during the disaster.

Current Technologies and its Trends of Machine Vision in the Field of Security and Disaster Prevention

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashimoto, Manabu; Fujino, Yozo

Image sensing technologies are expected as useful and effective way to suppress damages by criminals and disasters in highly safe and relieved society. In this paper, we describe current important subjects, required functions, technical trends, and a couple of real examples of developed system. As for the video surveillance, recognition of human trajectory and human behavior using image processing techniques are introduced with real examples about the violence detection for elevators. In the field of facility monitoring technologies as civil engineering, useful machine vision applications such as automatic detection of concrete cracks on walls of a building or recognition of crowded people on bridge for effective guidance in emergency are shown.

7 CFR 759.3 - Abbreviations and definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

..., as a result of the natural disaster. U.S. Drought Monitor is a system for classifying drought severity according to a range of abnormally dry to exceptional drought. It is a collaborative effort..., outlooks, and drought impacts on a map and in narrative form. This synthesis of indices is reported by the...

7 CFR 759.3 - Abbreviations and definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

..., as a result of the natural disaster. U.S. Drought Monitor is a system for classifying drought severity according to a range of abnormally dry to exceptional drought. It is a collaborative effort..., outlooks, and drought impacts on a map and in narrative form. This synthesis of indices is reported by the...

Perspectives or Telemedicine Development in Ukraine

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-05-01

National Register of the individuals who are suffering from consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. This Register monitors the health of more than 700,000...integrate the Chernobyl Register net into ’UkrMedNet’ and to create a WWW server containing the Chernobyl Register information. To provide access to the

Remote Sensing of Earth--A New Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyer, Robert E.

1973-01-01

Photographs of the earth taken from space are used to illustrate the advantages and application of remote sensing. This technique may be used in such areas as the immediate appraisal of disasters, surveillance of the oceans, monitoring of land, food and water resources, detection of natural resources, and identification of pollution. (JR)

Retrieving quantifiable social media data from human sensor networks for disaster modeling and crisis mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aulov, Oleg

This dissertation presents a novel approach that utilizes quantifiable social media data as a human aware, near real-time observing system, coupled with geophysical predictive models for improved response to disasters and extreme events. It shows that social media data has the potential to significantly improve disaster management beyond informing the public, and emphasizes the importance of different roles that social media can play in management, monitoring, modeling and mitigation of natural and human-caused extreme disasters. In the proposed approach Social Media users are viewed as "human sensors" that are "deployed" in the field, and their posts are considered to be "sensor observations", thus different social media outlets all together form a Human Sensor Network. We utilized the "human sensor" observations, as boundary value forcings, to show improved geophysical model forecasts of extreme disaster events when combined with other scientific data such as satellite observations and sensor measurements. Several recent extreme disasters are presented as use case scenarios. In the case of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster of 2010 that devastated the Gulf of Mexico, the research demonstrates how social media data from Flickr can be used as a boundary forcing condition of GNOME oil spill plume forecast model, and results in an order of magnitude forecast improvement. In the case of Hurricane Sandy NY/NJ landfall impact of 2012, we demonstrate how the model forecasts, when combined with social media data in a single framework, can be used for near real-time forecast validation, damage assessment and disaster management. Owing to inherent uncertainties in the weather forecasts, the NOAA operational surge model only forecasts the worst-case scenario for flooding from any given hurricane. Geolocated and time-stamped Instagram photos and tweets allow near real-time assessment of the surge levels at different locations, which can validate model forecasts, give timely views of the actual levels of surge, as well as provide an upper bound beyond which the surge did not spread. Additionally, we developed AsonMaps---a crisis-mapping tool that combines dynamic model forecast outputs with social media observations and physical measurements to define the regions of event impacts.

76 FR 66054 - Exelon Corporation Constellation Energy Group, Inc.; Notice of Filing

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-25

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. EC11-83-001] Exelon Corporation Constellation Energy Group, Inc.; Notice of Filing Take notice that, on October 11, 2011, Exelon Corporation and Constellation Energy Group, Inc. (Merger Applicants) submitted a filing styled as an answer in...

Global Precipitation Measurement Poster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Azarbarzin, Art

2010-01-01

This poster presents an overview of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) constellation of satellites which are designed to measure the Earth's precipitation. It includes the schedule of launches for the various satellites in the constellation, and the coverage of the constellation, It also reviews the mission capabilities, and the mission science objectives.

Constellation Program Press Conference

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-04

Scott Horowitz, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems, left, looks on as Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program Manager, speaks during a press conference outlining specific center responsibilities associated with the Constellation Program for robotic and human Moon and Mars exploration, Monday, June 5, 2006, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Constellation Program Press Conference

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-04

Scott Horowitz, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems, center, speaks as Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program Manager, right, looks on during a press conference outlining specific center responsibilities associated with the Constellation Program for robotic and human Moon and Mars exploration, Monday, June 5, 2006, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Constellation Program Press Conference

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-04

Scott Horowitz, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems, left, and Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program Manager, are seen during a press conference outlining specific center responsibilities associated with the Constellation Program for robotic and human Moon and Mars exploration, Monday, June 5, 2006, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

System Constellations as a Tool Supporting Organisational Learning and Change Processes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birkenkrahe, Marcus

2008-01-01

Originally developed in the context of family therapy, system constellations are introduced using an organisational learning and system theoretical framework. Constellations are systemic group interventions using a spatial representation of the system elements. They correspond to deutero-learning processes and use higher-order systemic thinking.…

75 FR 53688 - Constellation Mystic Power, LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-01

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. ER10-2281-000] Constellation... proceeding of Constellation Mystic Power, LLC's application for market-based rate authority, with an... CFR part 34, of future issuances of securities and assumptions of liability. Any person desiring to...

Teaching through Trade Books: Seeing Stars

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Royce, Christine Anne

2008-01-01

The winter months are a great time to make observations of several familiar constellations. While there is no scientific reason to "know" the constellations--they are simply imaginative pictures imposed on stars--studying constellations can help students connect with culture in a fun way and develop the awareness that stars are different in…

Methodology and method and apparatus for signaling with capacity optimized constellations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barsoum, Maged F. (Inventor); Jones, Christopher R. (Inventor)

2011-01-01

Communication systems having transmitter, includes a coder configured to receive user bits and output encoded bits at an expanded output encoded bit rate, a mapper configured to map encoded bits to symbols in a symbol constellation, a modulator configured to generate a signal for transmission via the communication channel using symbols generated by the mapper. In addition, the receiver includes a demodulator configured to demodulate the received signal via the communication channel, a demapper configured to estimate likelihoods from the demodulated signal, a decoder that is configured to estimate decoded bits from the likelihoods generated by the demapper. Furthermore, the symbol constellation is a capacity optimized geometrically spaced symbol constellation that provides a given capacity at a reduced signal-to-noise ratio compared to a signal constellation that maximizes d.sub.min.

Constellation Program Human-System Integration Requirements. Revision E, Nov. 19, 2010

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dory, Jonathan

2010-01-01

The Human-Systems Integration Requirements (HSIR) in this document drive the design of space vehicles, their systems, and equipment with which humans interface in the Constellation Program (CxP). These requirements ensure that the design of Constellation (Cx) systems is centered on the needs, capabilities, and limitations of the human. The HSIR provides requirements to ensure proper integration of human-to-system interfaces. These requirements apply to all mission phases, including pre-launch, ascent, Earth orbit, trans-lunar flight, lunar orbit, lunar landing, lunar ascent, Earth return, Earth entry, Earth landing, post-landing, and recovery. The Constellation Program must meet NASA's Agency-level human rating requirements, which are intended to ensure crew survival without permanent disability. The HSIR provides a key mechanism for achieving human rating of Constellation systems.

Efficacy of intrathoracic impedance and remote monitoring in patients with an implantable device after the 2011 great East Japan earthquake.

PubMed

Suzuki, Hitoshi; Yamada, Shinya; Kamiyama, Yoshiyuki; Takeishi, Yasuchika

2014-01-01

Several studies have revealed that stress after catastrophic disasters can trigger cardiovascular events, however, little is known about its association with the occurrence of heart failure in past earthquakes. The objective of the present study was to determine whether the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, increased the incidence of worsening heart failure in chronic heart failure (CHF) patients with implantable devices. Furthermore, we examined whether intrathoracic impedance using remote monitoring was effective for the management of CHF.We enrolled 44 CHF patients (32 males, mean age 63 ± 12 years) with implantable devices that can check intrathoracic impedance using remote monitoring. We defined the worsening heart failure as accumulated impedance under reference impedance exceeding 60 ohms-days (fluid index threshold), and compared the incidence of worsening heart failure and arrhythmic events 30 days before and after March 11.Within the 30 days after March 11, 10 patients exceeded the threshold compared with only 2 patients in the preceding 30 days (P < 0.05). Although 9 patients using remote monitoring among the 10 patients with threshold crossings were not hospitalized, one patient without the system was hospitalized due to acute decompensated heart failure. On the contrary, arrhythmic events did not change between before and after March 11.Our results suggest that earthquake-induced stress causes an increased risk of worsening heart failure without changes in arrhythmia. Furthermore, intrathoracic impedance using remote monitoring may be a useful tool for the management of CHF in catastrophic disasters.

A Retrospective and Prospective Follow-up Study of Psychological Distress in the Danwon High School Survivors of the Sewol Ferry Disaster.

PubMed

Kim, Eun Ji; Nam, Hee Sun; Kim, Hak Beom; Chung, Unsun; Lee, So Hee; Chae, Jeong-Ho

2018-03-01

We monitored a group of students from Danwon High School who survived the Sewol ferry disaster for 27 months to examine the course of their psychological symptoms. We performed a chart review at the Danwon High School Mental Health Center at the following time points (T): 9 months (T1), 12 months (T2), and 15 months (T3) after the disaster. Additionally, we performed a follow-up review at 27 months (T4). Subjects completed the 'State' section of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression assessment, the Child Report of Post-traumatic Symptoms, and the Inventory of Complicated Grief. Data from the 32 subjects who completed all four assessments were used in the statistical analyses. Scores of psychological variables tended to increase until T2 and then slowly decreased until T4. The severity of anxiety and complicated grief symptoms changed significantly over time, but the severity of depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms did not. We found that the symptoms of anxiety and complicated grief reported by Sewol ferry survivors from Danwon High School were exacerbated at the first anniversary of the disaster, but these symptoms subsided after the students graduated from high school.

A Retrospective and Prospective Follow-up Study of Psychological Distress in the Danwon High School Survivors of the Sewol Ferry Disaster

PubMed Central

Kim, Eun Ji; Nam, Hee Sun; Kim, Hak Beom; Chung, Unsun; Lee, So Hee; Chae, Jeong-Ho

2018-01-01

Objective We monitored a group of students from Danwon High School who survived the Sewol ferry disaster for 27 months to examine the course of their psychological symptoms. Methods We performed a chart review at the Danwon High School Mental Health Center at the following time points (T): 9 months (T1), 12 months (T2), and 15 months (T3) after the disaster. Additionally, we performed a follow-up review at 27 months (T4). Subjects completed the ‘State’ section of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression assessment, the Child Report of Post-traumatic Symptoms, and the Inventory of Complicated Grief. Data from the 32 subjects who completed all four assessments were used in the statistical analyses. Results Scores of psychological variables tended to increase until T2 and then slowly decreased until T4. The severity of anxiety and complicated grief symptoms changed significantly over time, but the severity of depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms did not. Conclusion We found that the symptoms of anxiety and complicated grief reported by Sewol ferry survivors from Danwon High School were exacerbated at the first anniversary of the disaster, but these symptoms subsided after the students graduated from high school. PMID:29475236

Bayesian modeling to assess populated areas impacted by radiation from Fukushima

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hultquist, C.; Cervone, G.

2017-12-01

Citizen-led movements producing spatio-temporal big data are increasingly important sources of information about populations that are impacted by natural disasters. Citizen science can be used to fill gaps in disaster monitoring data, in addition to inferring human exposure and vulnerability to extreme environmental impacts. As a response to the 2011 release of radiation from Fukushima, Japan, the Safecast project began collecting open radiation data which grew to be a global dataset of over 70 million measurements to date. This dataset is spatially distributed primarily where humans are located and demonstrates abnormal patterns of population movements as a result of the disaster. Previous work has demonstrated that Safecast is highly correlated in comparison to government radiation observations. However, there is still a scientific need to understand the geostatistical variability of Safecast data and to assess how reliable the data are over space and time. The Bayesian hierarchical approach can be used to model the spatial distribution of datasets and flexibly integrate new flows of data without losing previous information. This enables an understanding of uncertainty in the spatio-temporal data to inform decision makers on areas of high levels of radiation where populations are located. Citizen science data can be scientifically evaluated and used as a critical source of information about populations that are impacted by a disaster.

Constellation of CubeSats for Realtime Ionospheric E-field Measurements for Global Space Weather

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crowley, G.; Swenson, C.; Pilinski, M.; Fish, C. S.; Neilsen, T. L.; Stromberg, E. M.; Azeem, I.; Barjatya, A.

2014-12-01

Inexpensive and robust space-weather monitoring instruments are needed to fill upcoming gaps in the Nation's ability to meet requirements for space weather specification and forecasting. Foremost among the needed data are electric fields, since they drive global ionospheric and thermospheric behavior, and because there are relatively few ground-based measurements. We envisage a constellation of CubeSats to provide global coverage of the electric field and its variability. The DICE (Dynamic Ionosphere CubeSat Experiment) mission was a step towards this goal, with two identical 1.5U CubeSats, each carrying three space weather instruments: (1) double probe instruments to measure AC and DC electric fields; (2) Langmuir probes to measure ionospheric electron density, and; (3) a magnetometer to measure field-aligned currents. DICE launched in October 2011. DICE was the first CubeSat mission to observe a Storm Enhanced Density event, fulfilling a major goal of the mission. Due to attitude control anomalies encountered in orbit, the DICE electric field booms have not yet been deployed. Important lessons have been learned for the implementation of a spin-stabilized CubeSat, and the design and performance of the Attitude Determination & Control System (ADCS). These lessons are now being applied to the DIME SensorSat, a risk-reduction mission that is capable of deploying flexible electric field booms up to a distance of 10-m tip-to-tip from a 1.5U CubeSat. DIME will measure AC and DC electric fields, and will exceed several IORD-2 threshold requirements. Ion densities, and magnetic fields will also be measured to characterize the performance of the sensor in different plasma environments. We show the utility of a constellation of electric field measurements, describe the DIME SensorSat, and demonstrate how the measurement will meet or exceed IORD requirements. The reduced cost of these sensors will enable constellations that can, for the first time, adequately resolve the spatial and temporal variability in ionospheric electrodynamics. DICE and DIME are collaborations between ASTRA and Space Dynamics Lab/Utah State University.

What the Heliophysics System Observatory is teaching us about future constellations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angelopoulos, V.

2017-12-01

Owing to the benign space weather during the recent solar cycle numerous Heliophysics missions have outlived their original purpose and have exceeded expectations in terms of science return. The simultaneous availability of several multi-spacecraft fleets also offers conjunction opportunities that compounds their science yield. It allows the Heliophysics System, a vast region of Sun-Earth interactions, to be peered through the colletive eyes of a fortuitous grand Observatory. The success of this Heliophysics/Geospace System Observatory (H/GSO) has been partly due to fuel resources available on THEMIS, allowing it to reconfigure its orbit lines of apsides, apogees and mean anomalies to optimize conjunctions with the rest of the H/GSO. The other part of the success has been a mandatory open data policy, the accessibility of the data though common data formats, unified analysis tools (e.g. SPEDAS) and distributed data repositories. Future constellations are motivated by the recent science lessons learned: Tight connections between dayside and nightside processes, evidenced by fortuitous conjunctions of ground and space-based assets, suggest that regional activations drive classical global modes of circulation. Like regional tornadoes and hurricanes synthesize global atmospheric weather that cannot be studied with 5 weather stations alone, one per continent, so do dayside reconnection, and nightside injections require more than a handful of point measurements. Like atmospheric weather, space weather too requires networks of stations built to meet a minimum set of requirements to "play together" and build on each other over time. Like Argo's >3000 buoys have revolutionized research, modeling and prediction by global circulation models, "space buoys" can study space weather fronts and double-up as monitors and inputs to space weather models, increasing fidelity and advance warning. Reconfigurability can allow versatility as the scientific targets adjust to the knowledge gained over the years. Classical single-satellite, multi-sensor or imaging missions can benefit from the context that constellations provide. CubeSats, a disruptive technology, are catalysts for the emergence of constellations, a new research and operations asset for Heliophysics.

Long Range Weather Prediction III: Miniaturized Distributed Sensors for Global Atmospheric Measurements

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

Teller, E; Leith, C; Canavan, G

2001-11-13

We continue consideration of ways-and-means for creating, in an evolutionary, ever-more-powerful manner, a continually-updated data-base of salient atmospheric properties sufficient for finite differenced integration-based, high-fidelity weather prediction over intervals of 2-3 weeks, leveraging the 10{sup 14} FLOPS digital computing systems now coming into existence. A constellation comprised of 10{sup 6}-10{sup 9} small atmospheric sampling systems--high-tech superpressure balloons carrying early 21st century semiconductor devices, drifting with the local winds over the meteorological spectrum of pressure-altitudes--that assays all portions of the troposphere and lower stratosphere remains the central feature of the proposed system. We suggest that these devices should be active-signaling, rather than passive-transponding, as we had previously proposed only for the ground- and aquatic-situated sensors of this system. Instead of periodic interrogation of the intra-atmospheric transponder population by a constellation of sophisticated small satellites in low Earth orbit, we now propose to retrieve information from the instrumented balloon constellation by existing satellite telephony systems, acting as cellular tower-nodes in a global cellular telephony system whose ''user-set'' is the atmospheric-sampling and surface-level monitoring constellations. We thereby leverage the huge investment in cellular (satellite) telephony and GPS technologies, with large technical and economic gains. This proposal minimizes sponsor forward commitment along its entire programmatic trajectory, and moreover may return data of weather-predictive value soon after field activities commence. We emphasize its high near-term value for making better mesoscale, relatively short-term weather predictions with computing-intensive means, and its great long-term utility in enhancing the meteorological basis for global change predictive studies. We again note that adverse impacts of weather involve continuing costs of the order of 1% of GDP, a large fraction of which could be retrieved if high-fidelity predictions of two weeks forward applicability were available. These {approx}more » $$10{sup 2} B annual savings dwarf the <$$1 B costs of operating a rational, long-range weather prediction system of the type proposed.« less

Long Range Weather Prediction III: Miniaturized Distributed Sensors for Global Atmospheric Measurements

DOE R&D Accomplishments Database

Teller, E.; Leith, C.; Canavan, G.; Wood, L.

2001-11-13

We continue consideration of ways-and-means for creating, in an evolutionary, ever-more-powerful manner, a continually-updated data-base of salient atmospheric properties sufficient for finite differenced integration-based, high-fidelity weather prediction over intervals of 2-3 weeks, leveraging the 10{sup 14} FLOPS digital computing systems now coming into existence. A constellation comprised of 10{sup 6}-10{sup 9} small atmospheric sampling systems--high-tech superpressure balloons carrying early 21st century semiconductor devices, drifting with the local winds over the meteorological spectrum of pressure-altitudes--that assays all portions of the troposphere and lower stratosphere remains the central feature of the proposed system. We suggest that these devices should be active-signaling, rather than passive-transponding, as we had previously proposed only for the ground- and aquatic-situated sensors of this system. Instead of periodic interrogation of the intra-atmospheric transponder population by a constellation of sophisticated small satellites in low Earth orbit, we now propose to retrieve information from the instrumented balloon constellation by existing satellite telephony systems, acting as cellular tower-nodes in a global cellular telephony system whose ''user-set'' is the atmospheric-sampling and surface-level monitoring constellations. We thereby leverage the huge investment in cellular (satellite) telephony and GPS technologies, with large technical and economic gains. This proposal minimizes sponsor forward commitment along its entire programmatic trajectory, and moreover may return data of weather-predictive value soon after field activities commence. We emphasize its high near-term value for making better mesoscale, relatively short-term weather predictions with computing-intensive means, and its great long-term utility in enhancing the meteorological basis for global change predictive studies. We again note that adverse impacts of weather involve continuing costs of the order of 1% of GDP, a large fraction of which could be retrieved if high-fidelity predictions of two weeks forward applicability were available. These{approx}$10{sup 2} B annual savings dwarf the<$1 B costs of operating a rational, long-range weather prediction system of the type proposed.

Monitoring of pipeline ruptures by means of a Robust Satellite Technique (RST)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filizzola, C.; Baldassarre, G.; Corrado, R.; Mazzeo, G.; Marchese, F.; Paciello, R.; Pergola, N.; Tramutoli, V.

2009-04-01

Pipeline ruptures have deep economic and ecologic consequences so that pipeline networks represent critical infrastructures to be carefully monitored particularly in areas which are frequently affected by natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, landslide, etc. In order to minimize damages, the detection of harmful events along pipelines should be as rapid as possible and, at the same time, what is detected should be an actual incident and not a false alarm. In this work, a Robust Satellite Technique (RST), already applied to the prevision and NRT (Near Real Time) monitoring of major natural and environmental hazards (such as seismically active areas, volcanic activity, hydrological risk, forest fires and oil spills) has been employed to automatically identify, from satellite, anomalous Thermal Infrared (TIR) transients related to explosions of oil/gas pipelines. In this context, the combination of the RST approach with high temporal resolution, offered by geostationary satellites, seems to assure both a reliable and timely detection of such events. The potentials of the technique (applied to MSG-SEVIRI data) were tested over Iraq, a region which is sadly known for the numerous (mainly manmade) accidents to pipelines, in order to have a simulation of the effects (such as fires or explosions near or directly involving a pipeline facility) due to natural disasters.

Cost effective propulsion systems for small satellites using butane propellant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gibbon, D.; Underwood, C.; Sweeting, M.; Amri, R.

2002-07-01

This paper will describe the work performed at the Surrey Space Centre to produce cost effective propulsion systems for small spacecraft with relatively low deltaV (ΔV) requirements. Traditionally, cold gas nitrogen systems have been used for this type of application, however they have high storage volume requirements. This can be a problem on small spacecraft, which are typically volume limited. An alternative solution is to use liquefied gases, which store as liquids, hence have reasonable density levels, and can be used in a cold gas thruster. At the Surrey Space Centre, butane has been selected as the propellant of choice. Although it has slightly lower specific impulse performance than nitrogen, it has a significantly higher storage density and it stores at a very low pressure, hence no regulation system is required. On 28 th June 2000 Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) launched it first nanosatellite SNAP-1. This 6.5kg spacecraft was equipped with a small cold gas propulsion system utilising 32.6 grams of butane propellant. During the propulsion system operation phase the spacecraft's semi major axis was raised by nearly 4 kilometers using the propulsion system. The design of the propulsion system will be described and the low cost features highlighted. Telemetry data will be used to describe the propulsion operations and an overall mission specific impulse will be derived. SSTL are currently under contract to build three Earth observation spacecraft for a Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC). Each spacecraft will weigh approx 100 kg and have a ΔV requirement of 10 m/sec. A butane system has been designed and manufactured to meet the requirements of these spacecraft. The system is based very much on the flight heritage of the SNAP-1 system, with the addition of greater propellant storage capacity. The lessons learnt from the SNAP-1 operation will be reviewed and the resulting design improvements on the DMC propulsion systems will be detailed.

Constellation Program Update

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-05

Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program Manager, right, and Scott J. Horowitz, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems announce to NASA employees and members of the media the responsibilities of the NASA centers associated with the Constellation Program for robotic and human Moon and Mars exploration on Wednesday, June 5, 2006, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Constellation Program Press Conference

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-04

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, left, Scott Horowitz, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems and Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program Manager, right, are seen during a press conference outlining specific center responsibilities associated with the Constellation Program for robotic and human Moon and Mars exploration, Monday, June 5, 2006, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Constellation Program Press Conference

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-04

Members of the media listen during a press conference with NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, Scott Horowitz, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems and Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program Manager, outlining specific center responsibilities associated with the Constellation Program for robotic and human Moon and Mars exploration, Monday, June 5, 2006, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Constellation Program Update

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-04

Scott J. Horowitz, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems, left, and Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program Manager, announce to NASA employees and members of the media the responsibilities of the NASA centers associated with the Constellation Program for robotic and human Moon and Mars exploration on Wednesday, June 5, 2006, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Borderline/Schizoid Marriage: The Holding Environment as an Essential Treatment Construct.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCormack, Charles C.

1989-01-01

Discusses the borderline/schizoid marital constellation as the prominent constellation among borderline patients on a long-term inpatient unit. Contends that treatment of this marital constellation requires application of the concept of the holding environment as an essential treatment construct with the therapist as manager of the holding…

78 FR 32385 - Exelon Generation Company, LLC; CER Generation II, LLC; Constellation Mystic Power, LLC...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-30

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. EL13-64-000] Exelon Generation Company, LLC; CER Generation II, LLC; Constellation Mystic Power, LLC; Constellation NewEnergy...) Rules of Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR 385.207, Exelon Generation Company, LLC, CER Generation II, LLC...

On the optimum signal constellation design for high-speed optical transport networks.

PubMed

Liu, Tao; Djordjevic, Ivan B

2012-08-27

In this paper, we first describe an optimum signal constellation design algorithm, which is optimum in MMSE-sense, called MMSE-OSCD, for channel capacity achieving source distribution. Secondly, we introduce a feedback channel capacity inspired optimum signal constellation design (FCC-OSCD) to further improve the performance of MMSE-OSCD, inspired by the fact that feedback channel capacity is higher than that of systems without feedback. The constellations obtained by FCC-OSCD are, however, OSNR dependent. The optimization is jointly performed together with regular quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check (LDPC) code design. Such obtained coded-modulation scheme, in combination with polarization-multiplexing, is suitable as both 400 Gb/s and multi-Tb/s optical transport enabling technology. Using large girth LDPC code, we demonstrate by Monte Carlo simulations that a 32-ary signal constellation, obtained by FCC-OSCD, outperforms previously proposed optimized 32-ary CIPQ signal constellation by 0.8 dB at BER of 10(-7). On the other hand, the LDPC-coded 16-ary FCC-OSCD outperforms 16-QAM by 1.15 dB at the same BER.

The CEOS Global Observation Strategy for Disaster Risk Management: An Enterprise Architect's View

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moe, K.; Evans, J. D.; Frye, S.

2013-12-01

The Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Working Group on Information Systems and Services (WGISS), on behalf of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), is defining an enterprise architecture (known as GA.4.D) for the use of satellite observations in international disaster management. This architecture defines the scope and structure of the disaster management enterprise (based on disaster types and phases); its processes (expressed via use cases / system functions); and its core values (in particular, free and open data sharing via standard interfaces). The architecture also details how a disaster management enterprise describes, obtains, and handles earth observations and data products for decision-support; and how it draws on distributed computational services for streamlined operational capability. We have begun to apply this architecture to a new CEOS initiative, the Global Observation Strategy for Disaster Risk Management (DRM). CEOS is defining this Strategy based on the outcomes of three pilot projects focused on seismic hazards, volcanoes, and floods. These pilots offer a unique opportunity to characterize and assess the impacts (benefits / costs) of the GA.4.D architecture in practice. In particular, the DRM Floods Pilot is applying satellite-based optical and radar data to flood mitigation, warning, and response, including monitoring and modeling at regional to global scales. It is focused on serving user needs and building local institutional / technical capacity in the Caribbean, Southern Africa, and Southeast Asia. In the context of these CEOS DRM Pilots, we are characterizing where and how the GA.4D architecture helps participants to: - Understand the scope and nature of hazard events quickly and accurately - Assure timely delivery of observations into analysis, modeling, and decision-making - Streamline user access to products - Lower barriers to entry for users or suppliers - Streamline or focus field operations in disaster reduction - Reduce redundancies and gaps in inter-organizational systems - Assist in planning / managing / prioritizing information and computing resources - Adapt computational resources to new technologies or evolving user needs - Sustain capability for the long term Insights from this exercise are helping us to abstract best practices applicable to other contexts, disaster types, and disaster phases, whereby local communities can improve their use of satellite data for greater preparedness. This effort is also helping to assess the likely impacts and roles of emerging technologies (such as cloud computing, "Big Data" analysis, location-based services, crowdsourcing, semantic services, small satellites, drones, direct broadcast, or model webs) in future disaster management activities.

Second BRITE-Constellation Science Conference: Small satellites—big science, Proceedings of the Polish Astronomical Society volume 5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zwintz, Konstanze; Poretti, Ennio

2017-09-01

In 2016 the BRITE-Constellation mission had been operational for more than two years. At that time, several hundreds of bright stars of various types had been observed successfully in the two BRITE lters and astonishing new discoveries had been made. Therefore, the time was ripe to host the Second BRITE-Constellation Science Conference: Small satellites | big science" from August 22 to 26, 2016, in the beautiful Madonnensaal of the University of Innsbruck, Austria. With this conference, we brought together the scientic community interested in BRITE-Constellation, pro- vided an update on the status of the mission, presented and discussed latest scientic results, shared our experiences with the data, illustrated successful cooperations between professional and amateur ground-based observers and BRITE scientists, and explored new ideas for future BRITE-Constellation observations.

The New Millenium Program ST-5 Mission: Nanosatellite Constellation Trailblazer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Slavin, James A.

1999-01-01

NASA's New Millenium Program has recently selected the Nanosatellite Constellation Trailblazer (NCT) as its fifth mission (ST-5). NCT will consist of 3 small, very capable and highly autonomous satellites which will be operated as a single "constellation" with minimal ground operations support. Each spacecraft will be approximately 40 cm in diameter by 20 cm in height and weigh only 20 kg. These small satellites will incorporate 8 new technologies essential to the further miniaturization of space science spacecraft which need space flight validation. In this talk we will describe in greater detail the NCT mission concept and goals, the exciting new technologies it will validate, and the role of miniaturized particles and fields sensors in this project. Finally, NCT's pathfinder function for such future NASA missions as Magnetotail Constellation and Inner Magnetosphere Constellation will be discussed.

A walk through the heavens : a guide to stars and constellations and their legends

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heifetz, Milton D.; Tirion, Wil

What star is that? Where's the Great Bear? Who was Andromeda? A Walk through the Heavens is your guide to the pathways of the night sky, answering the commonest questions about what you can see up there. There are simplified maps of the constellations, together with instructions on how to gauge their sizes and the distances between them. With this information you can find the constellations easily, and make a journey by eye from one constellation to the next. Ancient myths surrounding the constellations are retold, enriching our understanding of how historical peoples saw the awe-inspiring spectacle of a sky sprinkled with stars. This book, magically illustrated by Wil Tirion, does not require any instrument or telescope. It is an ideal introduction to launch a young astronomer on a journey across starlit skies.

Geo-oculus: high resolution multi-spectral earth imaging mission from geostationary orbit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaillon, L.; Schull, U.; Knigge, T.; Bevillon, C.

2017-11-01

Geo-Oculus is a GEO-based Earth observation mission studied by Astrium for ESA in 2008-2009 to complement the Sentinel missions, the space component of the GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment & Security). Indeed Earth imaging from geostationary orbit offers new functionalities not covered by existing LEO observation missions, like real-time monitoring and fast revisit capability of any location within the huge area in visibility of the satellite. This high revisit capability is exploited by the Meteosat meteorogical satellites, but with a spatial resolution (500 m nadir for the third generation) far from most of GMES needs (10 to 100 m). To reach such ground resolution from GEO orbit with adequate image quality, large aperture instruments (> 1 m) and high pointing stability (<< 1 μrad) are required, which are the major challenges of such missions. To address the requirements from the GMES user community, the Geo-Oculus mission is a combination of routine observations (daily systematic coverage of European coastal waters) with "on-demand" observation for event monitoring (e.g. disasters, fires and oil slicks). The instrument is a large aperture imaging telescope (1.5 m diameter) offering a nadir spatial sampling of 10.5 m (21 m worst case over Europe, below 52.5°N) in a PAN visible channel used for disaster monitoring. The 22 multi-spectral channels have resolutions over Europe ranging from 40 m in UV/VNIR (0.3 to 1 μm) to 750 m in TIR (10-12 μm).

Fieldservers and Sensor Service Grid as Real-time Monitoring Infrastructure for Ubiquitous Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Honda, Kiyoshi; Shrestha, Aadit; Witayangkurn, Apichon; Chinnachodteeranun, Rassarin; Shimamura, Hiroshi

2009-01-01

The fieldserver is an Internet based observation robot that can provide an outdoor solution for monitoring environmental parameters in real-time. The data from its sensors can be collected to a central server infrastructure and published on the Internet. The information from the sensor network will contribute to monitoring and modeling on various environmental issues in Asia, including agriculture, food, pollution, disaster, climate change etc. An initiative called Sensor Asia is developing an infrastructure called Sensor Service Grid (SSG), which integrates fieldservers and Web GIS to realize easy and low cost installation and operation of ubiquitous field sensor networks. PMID:22574018

Demonstration of Spacecraft Fire Safety Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruff, Gary A.; Urban, David L.

2012-01-01

During the Constellation Program, the development of spacecraft fire safety technologies were focused on the immediate questions related to the atmosphere of the habitable volume and implementation of fire detection, suppression, and postfire clean-up systems into the vehicle architectures. One of the difficulties encountered during the trade studies for these systems was the frequent lack of data regarding the performance of a technology, such as a water mist fire suppression system or an optically-based combustion product monitor. Even though a spacecraft fire safety technology development project was being funded, there was insufficient time and funding to address all the issues as they were identified. At the conclusion of the Constellation Program, these knowledge gaps formed the basis for a project proposed to the Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Program. This project, subsequently funded by the AES Program and in operation since October 2011, has as its cornerstone the development of an experiment to be conducted on an ISS resupply vehicle, such as the European Space Agency (ESA) Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) or Orbital Science s Cygnus vehicle after it leaves the ISS and before it enters the atmosphere. The technology development efforts being conducted in this project include continued quantification of low- and partial-gravity maximum oxygen concentrations of spacecraft-relevant materials, development and verification of sensors for fire detection and post-fire monitoring, development of standards for sizing and selecting spacecraft fire suppression systems, and demonstration of post-fire cleanup strategies. The major technology development efforts are identified in this paper but its primary purpose is to describe the spacecraft fire safety demonstration being planned for the reentry vehicle.

Observing the Anthropocene from Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dittus, Hansjörg

2016-07-01

Influence of mankind on Earth's climate is evident. The growing population using the resources available, especially by burning goal, oil and gas, changes the composition of the Earth's atmosphere with the result of a continuously increasing temperature. Effects are not limited to the regional scale but are evident on the whole planet, meanwhile named Anthropocene. According to this global influence, it's necessary to also extend monitoring to the entire planet. Space-based observation systems are not limited by any artificial borders and are in principle able, to cover the whole Earth. In principle, two different ways of observation can be selected: Either a dedicated spacecraft will be send into low earth orbit (LEO) or existing platforms are used. Advantages of satellites are the more or less freely selectable orbit (with orbits covering also the polar regions) and the possible adaption of spacecraft platform for the dedicated instrument. On the other hand platforms like the ISS space station enable continuous long term coverage with different instruments. The drawback of an only limited coverage based on the orbit inclination is made up by the possibility to service systems on the station. Furthermore different generations of sensors can be run in parallel and therefore cross calibrated if needed. This paper reviews the currently available sensors types and discusses potential future needs. Included in this discussion is the international space station as an already available platform for earth observation. Furthermore, discussion should also take into account, that an increasing number of constellations with dozens or even thousand satellites are planned. Are these constellations also an option for an increased temporal and spatial monitoring of the Earth?

NASA Keeps Watch on a Potential Disaster in the Icy Andes

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-04-11

An Earth-monitoring instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite is keeping a close eye on a potential glacial disaster in the making in Peru's spectacular, snow-capped Cordillera Blanca (White Mountains), the highest range of the Peruvian Andes. Data from NASA's Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (Aster) is assisting Peruvian government officials and geologists in monitoring a glacier that feeds Lake Palcacocha, located high above the city of Huaraz, 270 kilometers (168 miles) north of Lima. An ominous crack has developed in the glacier. Should the large glacier chunk break off and fall into the lake, the ensuing flood could hurtle down the Cojup Valley into the Rio Santa Valley below, reaching Huaraz, population 60,000, in less than 15 minutes. "Glacial natural hazards like the one in Huaraz are an increasing threat to people in many parts of the world," said Dr. Michael Abrams, associate Aster team leader at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Remote sensing instruments like Aster can serve a vital role in mountain hazard management and disaster mapping by providing rapid access to data, even in regions not easily accessible by humans. Aster's unique vantage point from space gives scientists another tool with which to see early signs of potential glacial flood-burst events and to monitor changes in glacial behavior over time. In Huaraz, Peruvian authorities and scientists will incorporate Aster data along with data from ground-based monitoring techniques to better assess current conditions and take steps necessary to reduce risks to human lives and property." Comparison images of the area are available at: http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov . Huaraz can be seen in the images' left-center, with Lake Palcacocha in the images' upper right corners at the head of a valley, below the snow and glacier cap. The left image was acquired on November 5, 2001; the right on April 8, 2003. Glacial flood-bursts, known by Peruvians as "aluviones," occur periodically when water is released abruptly from a previously ice-dammed lake alongside, within, or above a glacier. The release can be caused by various triggering events. These flood-bursts typically arrive with little or no warning, carrying liquid mud, large rock boulders and blocks of ice. The Rio Santa Valley is no stranger to such disasters. Since 1702, floods caused by glaciological conditions have repeatedly caused death and destruction in the region. One particularly devastating event in 1941 destroyed approximately one-third of Huaraz, killing an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 people. Since then, the Peruvian government has emphasized control of the water level in Lake Palcacocha and other lakes in the region that pose similar threats. The efforts appear to have worked; since 1972, no destructive floods resulting from the breakout of glacial lakes have occurred. Nevertheless, officials are still monitoring the current situation closely. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03899

Taking the Earth's Pulse

USGS Publications Warehouse

Woodward, Robert L.; Benz, Harley Mitchell; Shedlock, Kaye M.; Brown, William M.

2000-01-01

During the past 35 years, scientists have developed a vast network of seismometers that record earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and nuclear explosions throughout the world. Seismographic data support disaster response, scientific research, and global security. With this network, the United States maintains world leadership in monitoring the greatest natural and technological events that threaten our planet's population.

Taking the Earth's pulse

USGS Publications Warehouse

Woodward, Robert L.; Benz, Harly M.; Brown, William M.

1997-01-01

During the past 35 years, scientists have developed a vast network of seismometers that record earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and nuclear explosions throughout the world. Seismographic data support disaster response, scientific research, and global security. With this network, the United States maintains world leadership in monitoring the greatest natural and technological events that threaten our planet's population.

EPA, Notre Dame researchers discuss challenges in adopting DNA-based methods for monitoring invasive species in U.S. water bodies

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

DNA-based technology helps people solve problems. It can be used to correctly match organ donors with recipients, identify victims of natural and man-made disasters, and detect bacteria and other organisms that may pollute air, soil, food, or water.

Search and rescue response to a large-scale rockfall disaster.

PubMed

Procter, Emily; Strapazzon, Giacomo; Balkenhol, Karla; Fop, Ernst; Faggionato, Alessandro; Mayr, Karl; Falk, Markus; Brugger, Hermann

2015-03-01

To describe the prehospital management and safety of search and rescue (SAR) teams involved in a large-scale rockfall disaster and monitor the acute and chronic health effects on personnel with severe dolomitic dust exposure. SAR personnel underwent on-site medical screening and lung function testing 3 months and 3 years after the event. The emergency dispatch center was responsible for central coordination of resources. One hundred fifty SAR members from multidisciplinary air- and ground-based teams as well as geotechnical experts were dispatched to a provisionary operation center. Acute exposure to dolomite dust with detectable silicon and magnesium concentrations was not associated with (sub)acute or chronic sequelae or a clinically significant impairment in lung function in exposed personnel. The risk for personnel involved in mountain SAR operations is rarely reported and not easily investigated or quantified. This case exemplifies the importance of a multiskilled team and additional considerations for prehospital management during natural hazard events. Safety plans should include compulsory protective measures and medical monitoring of personnel. Copyright © 2015 Wilderness Medical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Collaboration of local government and experts responding to increase in environmental radiation level due to the nuclear disaster: focusing on their activities and latest radiological discussion.

PubMed

Iimoto, T; Nunokawa, J; Fujii, H; Takashima, R; Hashimoto, M; Fukuhara, T; Yajima, T; Matsuzawa, H; Kurosawa, K; Yanagawa, Y; Someya, S

2015-11-01

Activities were introduced in Kashiwa city in the Tokyo metropolitan area to correspond to the elevated environmental radiation level after the disaster of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. These were based on a strong cooperation between local governments and experts. Ambient dose rate and radioactivity of foodstuff produced inside of the city have been monitored. Representative ambient dose rates around living environments have almost already become their original levels of the pre-accident because of the decontamination activity, natural washout and effective half-lives of radioactivity. The internal annual dose due to radioactive cesium under the policy of 'Local Production for Local Consumption' is estimated as extremely low comparing the variation range due to natural radioactivity. Systematic survey around a retention basin has been started. All of these latest monitoring data would be one of the core information for the policy making as well as a cost-benefit discussion and risk communication. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Bangladesh Agro-Climatic Environmental Monitoring Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vermillion, C.; Maurer, H.; Williams, M.; Kamowski, J.; Moore, T.; Maksimovich, W.; Obler, H.; Gilbert, E.

1988-01-01

The Agro-Climatic Environmental Monitoring Project (ACEMP) is based on a Participating Agency Service Agreement (PASA) between the Agency for International Development (AID) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In FY80, the Asia Bureau and Office of Federal Disaster Assistance (OFDA), worked closely to develop a funding mechanism which would meet Bangladesh's needs both for flood and cyclone warning capability and for application of remote sensing data to development problems. In FY90, OFDA provided for a High Resolution Picture Transmission (HRPT) receiving capability to improve their forecasting accuracy for cyclones, flooding and storm surges. That equipment is primarily intended as a disaster prediction and preparedness measure. The ACEM Project was designed to focus on the development applications of remote sensing technology. Through this Project, AID provided to the Bangladesh Government (BDG) the equipment, technical assistance, and training necessary to collect and employ remote sensing data made available by satellites as well as hydrological data obtained from data collection platforms placed in major rivers. The data collected will enable the BDG to improve the management of its natural resources.

Ophiuchus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murdin, P.

2000-11-01

(the Serpent-bearer; abbrev. Oph, gen. Ophiuchi; area 948 sq. deg.) An equatorial constellation which lies between Hercules and Scorpius, and culminates at midnight in mid-June. The ecliptic cuts across the southern part of Ophiuchus, but the constellation is not included among the constellations of the zodiac. Ophiuchus is usually said to represent Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, and is sh...

Constellation Program Update

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-04

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, left, Scott J. Horowitz, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems and Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program Manager, right, announce to NASA employees and members of the media the responsibilities of the NASA centers associated with the Constellation Program for robotic and human Moon and Mars exploration on Wednesday, June 5, 2006, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

International Earth Science Constellation Mission Operations Working Group: Constellation Coordination System (CCS) Status. [Constellation Coordination System (CCS) Status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Skeberdis, Daniel

2016-01-01

This is a presentation at the MOWG fall meeting that will discuss CCS purpose, future status, security enhancements, arbitrary ephemeris mission features, overview of CCS 7.3, approach for the use of NORAD TLEs, account and data security, CCS System virtualization, control box visualization modification and other enhancements.

Constellation Program Press Conference

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-04

Dean Acosta, NASA Deputy Assistant Administrator and Press Secretary, moderates a press conference with NASA Administrator Michael Griffin Scott Horowitz, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems and Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program Manager, outlining specific center responsibilities associated with the Constellation Program for robotic and human Moon and Mars exploration, Monday, June 5, 2006, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Tabitha's One Teacher Rural School: Insights into the Arts through the Use of a Story Constellation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garvis, Susanne

2011-01-01

This paper presents a story constellation about a beginning teacher (who is also the principal) located in a one-teacher school in an isolated community in Queensland, Australia. The constellation documents the teacher's self-efficacy for teaching the arts (music, dance, drama, visual arts and media). Tabitha, the participant, shares insights…

EOS Aqua: Mission Status at the Earth Science Constellation (ESC) Mission Operations Working Group (MOWG) Meeting at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guit, Bill

2017-01-01

This presentation at the Earth Science Constellation Mission Operations Working Group meeting at KSC in December 2017 to discuss EOS (Earth Observing System) Aqua Earth Science Constellation status. Reviewed and approved by Eric Moyer, ESMO (Earth Science Mission Operations) Deputy Project Manager.

Robust GPS autonomous signal quality monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ndili, Awele Nnaemeka

The Global Positioning System (GPS), introduced by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1973, provides unprecedented world-wide navigation capabilities through a constellation of 24 satellites in global orbit, each emitting a low-power radio-frequency signal for ranging. GPS receivers track these transmitted signals, computing position to within 30 meters from range measurements made to four satellites. GPS has a wide range of applications, including aircraft, marine and land vehicle navigation. Each application places demands on GPS for various levels of accuracy, integrity, system availability and continuity of service. Radio frequency interference (RFI), which results from natural sources such as TV/FM harmonics, radar or Mobile Satellite Systems (MSS), presents a challenge in the use of GPS, by posing a threat to the accuracy, integrity and availability of the GPS navigation solution. In order to use GPS for integrity-sensitive applications, it is therefore necessary to monitor the quality of the received signal, with the objective of promptly detecting the presence of RFI, and thus provide a timely warning of degradation of system accuracy. This presents a challenge, since the myriad kinds of RFI affect the GPS receiver in different ways. What is required then, is a robust method of detecting GPS accuracy degradation, which is effective regardless of the origin of the threat. This dissertation presents a new method of robust signal quality monitoring for GPS. Algorithms for receiver autonomous interference detection and integrity monitoring are demonstrated. Candidate test statistics are derived from fundamental receiver measurements of in-phase and quadrature correlation outputs, and the gain of the Active Gain Controller (AGC). Performance of selected test statistics are evaluated in the presence of RFI: broadband interference, pulsed and non-pulsed interference, coherent CW at different frequencies; and non-RFI: GPS signal fading due to physical blockage and multipath. Results are presented which verify the effectiveness of these proposed methods. The benefits of pseudolites in reducing service outages due to interference are demonstrated. Pseudolites also enhance the geometry of the GPS constellation, improving overall system accuracy. Designs for pseudolites signals, to reduce the near-far problem associated with pseudolite use, are also presented.

Adaptive software-defined coded modulation for ultra-high-speed optical transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Djordjevic, Ivan B.; Zhang, Yequn

2013-10-01

In optically-routed networks, different wavelength channels carrying the traffic to different destinations can have quite different optical signal-to-noise ratios (OSNRs) and signal is differently impacted by various channel impairments. Regardless of the data destination, an optical transport system (OTS) must provide the target bit-error rate (BER) performance. To provide target BER regardless of the data destination we adjust the forward error correction (FEC) strength. Depending on the information obtained from the monitoring channels, we select the appropriate code rate matching to the OSNR range that current channel OSNR falls into. To avoid frame synchronization issues, we keep the codeword length fixed independent of the FEC code being employed. The common denominator is the employment of quasi-cyclic (QC-) LDPC codes in FEC. For high-speed implementation, low-complexity LDPC decoding algorithms are needed, and some of them will be described in this invited paper. Instead of conventional QAM based modulation schemes, we employ the signal constellations obtained by optimum signal constellation design (OSCD) algorithm. To improve the spectral efficiency, we perform the simultaneous rate adaptation and signal constellation size selection so that the product of number of bits per symbol × code rate is closest to the channel capacity. Further, we describe the advantages of using 4D signaling instead of polarization-division multiplexed (PDM) QAM, by using the 4D MAP detection, combined with LDPC coding, in a turbo equalization fashion. Finally, to solve the problems related to the limited bandwidth of information infrastructure, high energy consumption, and heterogeneity of optical networks, we describe an adaptive energy-efficient hybrid coded-modulation scheme, which in addition to amplitude, phase, and polarization state employs the spatial modes as additional basis functions for multidimensional coded-modulation.

Alaska Athabascan stellar astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cannon, Christopher M.

2014-01-01

Stellar astronomy is a fundamental component of Alaska Athabascan cultures that facilitates time-reckoning, navigation, weather forecasting, and cosmology. Evidence from the linguistic record suggests that a group of stars corresponding to the Big Dipper is the only widely attested constellation across the Northern Athabascan languages. However, instruction from expert Athabascan consultants shows that the correlation of these names with the Big Dipper is only partial. In Alaska Gwich'in, Ahtna, and Upper Tanana languages the Big Dipper is identified as one part of a much larger circumpolar humanoid constellation that spans more than 133 degrees across the sky. The Big Dipper is identified as a tail, while the other remaining asterisms within the humanoid constellation are named using other body part terms. The concept of a whole-sky humanoid constellation provides a single unifying system for mapping the night sky, and the reliance on body-part metaphors renders the system highly mnemonic. By recognizing one part of the constellation the stargazer is immediately able to identify the remaining parts based on an existing mental map of the human body. The circumpolar position of a whole-sky constellation yields a highly functional system that facilitates both navigation and time-reckoning in the subarctic. Northern Athabascan astronomy is not only much richer than previously described; it also provides evidence for a completely novel and previously undocumented way of conceptualizing the sky---one that is unique to the subarctic and uniquely adapted to northern cultures. The concept of a large humanoid constellation may be widespread across the entire subarctic and have great antiquity. In addition, the use of cognate body part terms describing asterisms within humanoid constellations is similarly found in Navajo, suggesting a common ancestor from which Northern and Southern Athabascan stellar naming strategies derived.

Gun Launch System: efficient and low-cost means of research and real-time monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Degtyarev, Alexander; Ventskovsky, Oleg; Korostelev, Oleg; Yakovenko, Peter; Kanevsky, Valery; Tselinko, Alexander

2005-08-01

The Gun Launch System with a reusable sub-orbital launch vehicle as a central element is proposed by a consortium of several Ukrainian high-tech companies as an effective, fast-response and low-cost means of research and real-time monitoring. The system is described in details, with the emphasis on its most important advantages. Multiple applications of the system are presented, including ones for the purposes of microgravity research; chemical, bacteriological and radiation monitoring and research of atmosphere and ionosphere; operational monitoring of natural and man-made disasters, as well as for some other areas of great practical interest. The current level of the system development is given, and the way ahead towards full system's implementation is prescribed.

Origins of the ancient constellations: I. The Mesopotamian traditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogers, J. H.

1998-02-01

In the sky-map of ancient Babylon, constellations had two different roles, and thus developed into two overlapping traditions. One set of constellations represented the gods and their symbols; the other set represented rustic activities and provided a farming calendar. Many constellations were shared by the two traditions, but in some regions of sky there were alternative divine and rustic figures. These figures developed in stages from ~3200 BC to ~500 BC. Of the divine set, the most important (although the last to be finalised) were the twelve zodiacal signs, plus several associated animals (the serpent, crow, eagle, and fish), which were all transmitted to the classical Greek sky-map that we still use today. Conversely, the rustic constellations of workers and tools and animals were not transmitted to the West. However, a few of them may have survived in Bedouin Arab sky-maps of the first millennium AD.

Constellation labeling optimization for bit-interleaved coded APSK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiang, Xingyu; Mo, Zijian; Wang, Zhonghai; Pham, Khanh; Blasch, Erik; Chen, Genshe

2016-05-01

This paper investigates the constellation and mapping optimization for amplitude phase shift keying (APSK) modulation, which is deployed in Digital Video Broadcasting Satellite - Second Generation (DVB-S2) and Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite services to Handhelds (DVB-SH) broadcasting standards due to its merits of power and spectral efficiency together with the robustness against nonlinear distortion. The mapping optimization is performed for 32-APSK according to combined cost functions related to Euclidean distance and mutual information. A Binary switching algorithm and its modified version are used to minimize the cost function and the estimated error between the original and received data. The optimized constellation mapping is tested by combining DVB-S2 standard Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) codes in both Bit-Interleaved Coded Modulation (BICM) and BICM with iterative decoding (BICM-ID) systems. The simulated results validate the proposed constellation labeling optimization scheme which yields better performance against conventional 32-APSK constellation defined in DVB-S2 standard.

Multiple Autonomous Discrete Event Controllers for Constellations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Esposito, Timothy C.

2003-01-01

The Multiple Autonomous Discrete Event Controllers for Constellations (MADECC) project is an effort within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center's (NASA/GSFC) Information Systems Division to develop autonomous positioning and attitude control for constellation satellites. It will be accomplished using traditional control theory and advanced coordination algorithms developed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL). This capability will be demonstrated in the discrete event control test-bed located at JHU/APL. This project will be modeled for the Leonardo constellation mission, but is intended to be adaptable to any constellation mission. To develop a common software architecture. the controllers will only model very high-level responses. For instance, after determining that a maneuver must be made. the MADECC system will output B (Delta)V (velocity change) value. Lower level systems must then decide which thrusters to fire and for how long to achieve that (Delta)V.

Infant feeding concerns in times of natural disaster: lessons learned from the 2014 flood in Kelantan, Malaysia.

PubMed

Sulaiman, Zaharah; Mohamad, Noraini; Ismail, Tengku Alina Tengku; Johari, Nazirah; Hussain, Nik Hazlina Nik

2016-01-01

The flood that hit Kelantan in December 2014 was the worst in Malaysian history. Women and their infants accounted for a large proportion of the people at risk who were badly affected, as almost half of the population in Kelantan was in the reproductive age group. This report serves to raise awareness that breastfeeding mothers and infants are a special population with unique needs during a disaster. Four of their concerns were identified during this massive flood: first, the negative impact of flood on infant nutritional status and their health; second, open space and lack of privacy for the mothers to breastfeed their babies comfortably at temporary shelters for flood victims; third, uncontrolled donations of infant formula, teats, and feeding bottles that are often received from many sources to promote formula feeding; and lastly, misconceptions related to breastfeeding production and quality that may be affected by the disaster. The susceptibility of women and their infant in a natural disaster enhances the benefits of promoting the breastfeeding rights of women. Women have the right to be supported which enables them to breastfeed. These can be achieved through monitoring the distribution of formula feeding, providing water, electricity and medical care for breastfeeding mothers and their infants. A multifaceted rescue mission team involving various agencies comprising of local government, including the health and nutrition departments, private or non-governmental organizations and individual volunteers have the potential to improve a satisfactory condition of women and infants affected by floods and other potential natural disasters.

Developing the Philippines as a Global Hub for Disaster Risk Reduction - A Health Research Initiative as Presented at the 10th Philippine National Health Research System Week Celebration.

PubMed

Banwell, Nicola; Montoya, Jaime; Opeña, Merlita; IJsselmuiden, Carel; Law, Ronald; Balboa, Gloria J; Rutherford, Shannon; Chu, Cordia; Murray, Virginia

2016-10-25

The recent Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS) Week Celebration highlighted the growing commitment to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in the Philippines. The event was lead by the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Health, and saw the participation of national and international experts in DRR, and numerous research consortia from all over the Philippines. With a central focus on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the DRR related events recognised the significant disaster risks faced in the Philippines. They also illustrated the Philippine strengths and experience in DRR. Key innovations in science and technology showcased at the conference include the web-base hazard mapping applications 'Project NOAH' and 'FaultFinder'. Other notable innovations include 'Surveillance in Post Extreme Emergencies and Disasters' (SPEED) which monitors potential outbreaks through a syndromic reporting system. Three areas noted for further development in DRR science and technology included: integrated national hazard assessment, strengthened collaboration, and improved documentation. Finally, the event saw the proposal to develop the Philippines into a global hub for DRR. The combination of the risk profile of the Philippines, established national structures and experience in DRR, as well as scientific and technological innovation in this field are potential factors that could position the Philippines as a future global leader in DRR. The purpose of this article is to formally document the key messages of the DRR-related events of the PNHRS Week Celebration.

Heart Rhythm Monitoring in the Constellation Lunar and Launch/Landing EVA Suit: Recommendations from an Expert Panel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scheuring, Richard A.; Hamilton, Doug; Jones, Jeffrey A.; Alexander, David

2009-01-01

There are currently several physiological monitoring requirements for EVA in the Human-Systems Interface Requirements (HSIR) document. There are questions as to whether the capability to monitor heart rhythm in the lunar surface space suit is a necessary capability for lunar surface operations. Similarly, there are questions as to whether the capability to monitor heart rhythm during a cabin depressurization scenario in the launch/landing space suit is necessary. This presentation seeks to inform space medicine personnel of recommendations made by an expert panel of cardiovascular medicine specialists regarding in-suit ECG heart rhythm monitoring requirements during lunar surface operations. After a review of demographic information and clinical cases and panel discussion, the panel recommended that ECG monitoring capability as a clinical tool was not essential in the lunar space suit; ECG monitoring was not essential in the launch/landing space suit for contingency scenarios; the current hear rate monitoring capability requirement for both launch/landing and lunar space suits should be maintained; lunar vehicles should be required to have ECG monitoring capability with a minimum of 5-lead ECG for IVA medical assessments; and, exercise stress testing for astronaut selection and retention should be changed from the current 85% maximum heart rate limit to maximal, exhaustive 'symptom-limited' testing to maximize diagnostic utility as a screening tool for evaluating the functional capacity of astronauts and their cardiovascular health.

Implementation of Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chance, K.; Liu, X.; Suleiman, R. M.; Flittner, D. E.; Al-Saadi, J. A.; Janz, S. J.

2014-12-01

The updated status of TEMPO, as it proceeds from formulation phase into implementation phase is presented. TEMPO, the first NASA Earth Venture Instrument, will measure atmospheric pollution for greater North America from space using ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy. TEMPO measures from Mexico City to the Canadian oil sands, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, hourly and at high spatial resolution. TEMPO provides a tropospheric measurement suite that includes the key elements of tropospheric air pollution chemistry. Measurements are from geostationary (GEO) orbit, to capture the inherent high variability in the diurnal cycle of emissions and chemistry. The small product spatial footprint resolves pollution sources at sub-urban scale. Together, this temporal and spatial resolution improves emission inventories, monitors population exposure, and enables effective emission-control strategies. TEMPO takes advantage of a GEO host spacecraft to provide a modest cost mission that measures the spectra required to retrieve O3, NO2, SO2, H2CO, C2H2O2, H2O, aerosols, cloud parameters, and UVB radiation. TEMPO thus measures the major elements, directly or by proxy, in the tropospheric O3 chemistry cycle. Multi-spectral observations provide sensitivity to O3 in the lowermost troposphere, reducing uncertainty in air quality predictions by 50%. TEMPO quantifies and tracks the evolution of aerosol loading. It provides near-real-time air quality products that will be made widely, publicly available. TEMPO provides much of the atmospheric measurement capability recommended for GEO-CAPE in the 2007 National Research Council Decadal Survey, Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond. GEO-CAPE is not planned for implementation this decade. However, instruments from Europe (Sentinel 4) and Asia (GEMS) will form parts of a global GEO constellation for pollution monitoring later this decade, with a major focus on intercontinental pollution transport. TEMPO will launch at a prime time to be a component of this constellation

Harmonized Landsat/Sentinel-2 Reflectance Products for Land Monitoring (Invited)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Masek, Jeffrey G.; Dungan, Jennifer L.; Ju, Junchang; Roger, Jean-Claude; Claverie, Martin P.; Skakun, Sergii; Vermote, Eric; Justice, Christopher Owen

2017-01-01

Many land applications require more frequent observations than can be obtained from a single 'Landsat class'� sensor. Agricultural monitoring, inland water quality assessment, stand-scale phenology, and numerous other applications all require near-daily imagery at better than 1ha resolution. Thus the land science community has begun expressing a desire for a '30-meter MODIS' global monitoring capability. One cost-effective way to achieve this goal is via merging data from multiple, international observatories into a single virtual constellation. The Harmonized Landsat/Sentinel-2 (HLS) project has been working to generate a seamless surface reflectance product by combining observations from USGS/NASA Landsat-8 and ESA Sentinel-2. Harmonization in this context requires a series of radiometric and geometric transforms to create a single surface reflectance time series agnostic to sensor origin. Radiometric corrections include a common atmospheric correction using the Landsat-8 LaSRC/6S approach, a simple BRDF adjustment to constant solar and nadir view angle, and spectral bandpass adjustments to fit the Landsat-8 OLI reference. Data are then resampled to a consistent 30m UTM grid, using the Sentinel-2 global tile system. Cloud and shadow masking are also implemented. Quality assurance (QA) involves comparison of the output 30m HLS products with near-simultaneous MODIS nadir-adjusted observations. Prototoype HLS products have been processed for approximately 7% of the global land area using the NASA Earth Exchange (NEX) compute environment at NASA Ames, and can be downloaded from the HLS web site (https://hls.gsfc.nasa.gov). A wall-to-wall North America data set is being prepared for 2018. This talk will review the objectives and status of the HLS project, and illustrate applications of high-density optical time series data for agriculture and ecology. We also discuss lessons learned from HLS in the general context of implementing virtual constellations.

Harmonized Landsat/Sentinel-2 Reflectance Products for Land Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masek, J. G.; Ju, J.; Claverie, M.; Vermote, E.; Dungan, J. L.; Roger, J. C.; Skakun, S.; Justice, C. O.

2017-12-01

Many land applications require more frequent observations than can be obtained from a single "Landsat class" sensor. Agricultural monitoring, inland water quality assessment, stand-scale phenology, and numerous other applications all require near-daily imagery at better than 1ha resolution. Thus the land science community has begun expressing a desire for a "30-meter MODIS" global monitoring capability. One cost-effective way to achieve this goal is via merging data from multiple, international observatories into a single virtual constellation. The Harmonized Landsat/Sentinel-2 (HLS) project has been working to generate a seamless surface reflectance product by combining observations from USGS/NASA Landsat-8 and ESA Sentinel-2. Harmonization in this context requires a series of radiometric and geometric transforms to create a single surface reflectance time series agnostic to sensor origin. Radiometric corrections include a common atmospheric correction using the Landsat-8 LaSRC/6S approach, a simple BRDF adjustment to constant solar and nadir view angle, and spectral bandpass adjustments to fit the Landsat-8 OLI reference. Data are then resampled to a consistent 30m UTM grid, using the Sentinel-2 global tile system. Cloud and shadow masking are also implemented. Quality assurance (QA) involves comparison of the output 30m HLS products with near-simultaneous MODIS nadir-adjusted observations. Prototoype HLS products have been processed for 7% of the global land area using the NASA Earth Exchange (NEX) compute environment at NASA Ames, and can be downloaded from the HLS web site (https://hls.gsfc.nasa.gov). A wall-to-wall North America data set is being prepared for 2018.This talk will review the objectives and status of the HLS project, and illustrate applications of high-density optical time series data for agriculture and ecology. We also discuss lessons learned from HLS in the general context of implementing virtual constellations.

Exploiting COSMO-Skymed Data and Multi-Temporal Interferometry for Early Detection of Landslide Hazard: A Case of Slope Failure and Train Derailment Near Marina Di Andora, Italy.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wasowski, J.; Chiaradia, M.; Bovenga, F.; Nutricato, R.; Nitti, D. O.; Milillo, G.; Guerriero, L.

2014-12-01

The improving temporal and spatial resolutions of new generation space-borne X-Band SAR sensors such as COSMO-SkyMed (CSK) constellation, and therefore their better monitoring capabilities, will guarantee increasing and more efficient use of multi-temporal interferometry (MTI) in landslide investigations. Thanks to their finer spatial resolution with respect to C-band data, X-band InSAR applications are very promising also for monitoring smaller landslides and single engineering structures sited on potentially unstable slopes. This work is focused on the detection of precursory signals of an impending slope failure from MTI time series of ground deformations obtained by exploiting 3 m resolution CSK data. We show the case of retrospectively captured pre-failure strains related to the landslide which occurred on January 2014 close to the town of Marina di Andora. The landslide caused the derailment of a train and the interruption of the railway line connecting north-western Italy to France. A dataset of 56 images acquired in STRIPMAP HIMAGE mode by CSK constellation from October 2008 to May 2014 was processed through SPINUA algorithm to derive the ground surface deformation map and the time series of displacement rates for each coherent radar target. We show that a cluster of moving targets coincides with the structures (buildings and terraces) affected by the 2014 landslide. The analysis of the MTI time series further shows that the targets had been moving since 2009, and thus could have provided a forewarning signal about ongoing slope or engineering structure instability. Although temporal landslide prediction remains difficult even via in situ monitoring, the presented case study indicates that MTI relying on high resolution radars such as CSK can provide very useful information for slope hazard mapping and possibly for early warning. Acknowledgments DIF provided contribution to data analysis within the framework of CAR-SLIDE project funded by MIUR (PON01_00536).

Stennis all-hazards network adopted throughout NASA

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-10-13

Stennis Space Center employees Mike McKinion (left), with Erica Lane Enterprises, and Luke Scianna, with the Jacobs Facility Operating Services Contract, monitor the facility and surrounding area on the 'all-hazards network' known as HazNet. The HazNet system at Stennis was developed by a local Mississippi company to help facilitate coordinated response during emergency and disaster situations. The system was installed in the new Emergency Operations Center built at Stennis before being implemented throughout NASA. HazNet was designed by NVision Solutions Inc. of Bay St. Louis, Miss., through NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program. In addition to being used at Stennis, it has been installed at other Gulf Coast communities to help coordinate response during emergencies and such natural disasters as hurricanes.

Impact of local and non-local sources of pollution on background US Ozone: synergy of a low-earth orbiting and geostationary sounder constellation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowman, K. W.; Lee, M.

2015-12-01

Dramatic changes in the global distribution of emissions over the last decade have fundamentally altered source-receptor pollution impacts. A new generation of low-earth orbiting (LEO) sounders complimented by geostationary sounders over North America, Europe, and Asia providing a unique opportunity to quantify the current and future trajectory of emissions and their impact on global pollution. We examine the potential of this constellation of air quality sounders to quantify the role of local and non-local sources of pollution on background ozone in the US. Based upon an adjoint sensitivity method, we quantify the role synoptic scale transport of non-US pollution on US background ozone over months representative of different source-receptor relationships. This analysis allows us distinguish emission trajectories from megacities, e.g. Beijing, or regions, e.g., western China, from natural trends on downwind ozone. We subsequently explore how a combination of LEO and GEO observations could help quantify the balance of local emissions against changes in distant sources . These results show how this unprecedented new international ozone observing system can monitor the changing structure of emissions and their impact on global pollution.

SIAM-SERVIR: An Environmental Monitoring and Decision Support System for Mesoamerica

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Irwin, Daniel E.; Sever, Tom; Graves, Sara; Hardin, Danny

2005-01-01

In 2002/2003 NASA, the World Bank and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) joined with the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD) to develop an advanced decision support system for Mesoamerica (named SERVIR) as part of the Mesoamerican Environmental Information System (SIAM). Mesoamerica - composed of the seven Central American countries and the five southernmost states of Mexico - make up only a small fraction of the world s land surface. However, the region is home to seven to eight percent of the planet s biodiversity (14 biosphere reserves, 31 Ramsar sites, 8 world heritage sites, 589 protected areas) and 45 million people including more than 50 different ethnic groups. Today Mesoamerica s biological and cultural diversity is severely threatened by extensive deforestation, illegal logging, water pollution, and uncontrolled slash and burn agriculture. Additionally, Mesoamerica's distinct geology and geography result in disproportionate vulnerability to natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, drought, and volcanic eruptions. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, together with the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and the SIAM-SERVIR partners are developing state-of-the-art decision support tools for environmental monitoring as well as disaster prevention and mitigation in Mesoamerica. These partners are contributing expertise in space-based observation with information management technologies and intimate knowledge of local ecosystems to create a system that is being used by scientists, educators, and policy makers to monitor and forecast ecological changes, respond to natural disasters and better understand both natural and human induced effects. In its first year of development and operation, the SIAM-SERVIR project has already yielded valuable information on Central American fires, weather conditions, and the first ever real-time data on red tides. This paper presents the progress thus far in the development of SIAM-SERVIR and the plans for the future.

Air Quality Applications Based on Space Observations: The Role of the 11 Years OMI Data Record and the Potentials for TROPOMI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levelt, P.; Veefkind, J. P.; Kleipool, Q.; Eskes, H.; A, R. V. D.; Mijling, B.; Tamminen, J.; Joiner, J.; Bhartia, P. K.

2015-12-01

In the last three decades the capabilities of measuring the atmospheric composition from space did grow tremendously with ESA's ENVISAT and NASA's Eos-Aura satellite programmes. The potential to operationally monitor the atmospheric composition, like the meteorological community is doing for the physical parameters, is now within reach. At the same time, the importance for society of operational environmental monitoring, related to the ozone layer, air quality and climate change, became apparent. The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), launched on board of NASA's EOS-Aura spacecraft in on July 15, 2004, provides unique contributions to air quality monitoring from Space. The combination of urban scale resolution (13 x 24 km2 in nadir) and daily global coverage proved to be key features for the air quality community. The OMI data is currently used for improving the air quality forecasts, for inverting high-resolution emission maps, for UV forecast and for volcanic plume warning systems for aviation. Due to its 11 year continuous operation OMI now provides the longest NO2 record from space, which is essential to understand the changes in emissions globally. In 2016 Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), will be launched on board ESA's Sentinel 5 Precursor satellite. TROPOMI will have a spatial resolution of 7x7 km2 in nadir; a more than 6 times improvement over OMI. The high spatial resolution serves two goals: (1) emissions sources can be detected with even better accuracy and (2) the number of cloud-free ground pixels will increase substantially. TROPOMI also adds additional spectral bands that allow for better cloud corrections, as well as the retrieval of carbon monoxide and methane. TROPOMI will be an important satellite mission for the Copernicus atmosphere service. TROPOMI will play a key role in the Air Quality Constellation, being the polar instruments that can link the 3 GEO UVN instruments, Sentinel 4, TEMPO and GEMS. Thus, TROPOMI can serve as a travelling standard that allows intercomparison of the calibration of the geostationary instruments. An overview of air quality applications, emission inversions and trend analyses will be presented, based on the 11 years of OMI data. An outlook will be presented on the potentials of TROPOMI, including its role in the Air Quality Constellation.

FAST TRACK COMMUNICATION: Affine constellations without mutually unbiased counterparts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weigert, Stefan; Durt, Thomas

2010-10-01

It has been conjectured that a complete set of mutually unbiased bases in a space of dimension d exists if and only if there is an affine plane of order d. We introduce affine constellations and compare their existence properties with those of mutually unbiased constellations. The observed discrepancies make a deeper relation between the two existence problems unlikely.

Constellation Program Update

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-04

Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program Manager, right, announces to NASA employees and members of the media the responsibilities of the NASA centers associated with the Constellation Program for robotic and human Moon and Mars exploration on Wednesday, June 5, 2006, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Hanley is joined by Scott J. Horowitz, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems and NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, left. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Constellation Program Update

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-04

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, left, announces to NASA employees and members of the media the responsibilities of the NASA centers associated with the Constellation Program for robotic and human Moon and Mars exploration on Wednesday, June 5, 2006, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. He is joined by Scott J. Horowitz, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems and Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program Manager, right. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Constellation Program Update

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-04

Scott J. Horowitz, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems, center, announces to NASA employees and members of the media the responsibilities of the NASA centers associated with the Constellation Program for robotic and human Moon and Mars exploration on Wednesday, June 5, 2006, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Horowitz was joined by NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, left, and Jeff Hanley, Constellation Program Manager. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Analytical investigation of the dynamics of tethered constellations in Earth orbit (phase 2)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lorenzini, E.; Arnold, D. A.; Grossi, M. D.; Gullahorn, G. E.

1985-01-01

The deployment maneuver of three axis vertical constellations with elastic tethers is analyzed. The deployment strategy devised previously was improved. Dampers were added to the system. Effective algorithms for damping out the fundamental vibrational modes of the system were implemented. Simulations of a complete deployment and a subsequent station keeping phase of a three mass constellation is shown.

Simulating the Liaison Navigation Concept in a Geo + Earth-Moon Halo Constellation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fujimoto, K.; Leonard, J. M.; McGranaghan, R. M.; Parker, J. S.; Anderson, R. L.; Born, G. H.

2012-01-01

Linked Autonomous Interplanetary Satellite Orbit Navigation, or LiAISON, is a novel satellite navigation technique where relative radiometric measurements between two or more spacecraft in a constellation are processed to obtain the absolute state of all spacecraft. The method leverages the asymmetry of the gravity field that the constellation exists in. This paper takes a step forward in developing a high fidelity navigation simulation for the LiAISON concept in an Earth-Moon constellation. In particular, we aim to process two-way Doppler measurements between a satellite in GEO orbit and another in a halo orbit about the Earth-Moon L1 point.

Collaboration pathway(s) using new tools for optimizing operational climate monitoring from space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Helmuth, Douglas B.; Selva, Daniel; Dwyer, Morgan M.

2014-10-01

Consistently collecting the earth's climate signatures remains a priority for world governments and international scientific organizations. Architecting a solution requires transforming scientific missions into an optimized robust `operational' constellation that addresses the needs of decision makers, scientific investigators and global users for trusted data. The application of new tools offers pathways for global architecture collaboration. Recent (2014) rulebased decision engine modeling runs that targeted optimizing the intended NPOESS architecture, becomes a surrogate for global operational climate monitoring architecture(s). This rule-based systems tools provide valuable insight for Global climate architectures, through the comparison and evaluation of alternatives considered and the exhaustive range of trade space explored. A representative optimization of Global ECV's (essential climate variables) climate monitoring architecture(s) is explored and described in some detail with thoughts on appropriate rule-based valuations. The optimization tools(s) suggest and support global collaboration pathways and hopefully elicit responses from the audience and climate science shareholders.

Translational Development and Application of (1→3)-β-d-Glucan for Diagnosis and Therapeutic Monitoring of Invasive Mycoses

PubMed Central

McCarthy, Matthew W.; Petraitiene, Ruta; Walsh, Thomas J.

2017-01-01

Early diagnosis and prompt initiation of appropriate antimicrobial therapy are crucial steps in the management of patients with invasive fungal infections. However, the diagnosis of invasive mycoses remains a major challenge in clinical practice, because presenting symptoms may be subtle and non-invasive diagnostic assays often lack sensitivity and specificity. Diagnosis is often expressed on a scale of probability (proven, probable and possible) based on a constellation of imaging findings, microbiological tools and histopathology, as there is no stand-alone assay for diagnosis. Recent data suggest that the carbohydrate biomarker (1→3)-β-d-glucan may be useful in both the diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of invasive fungal infections due to some yeasts, molds, and dimorphic fungi. In this paper, we review recent advances in the use of (1→3)-β-d-glucan to monitor clinical response to antifungal therapy and explore how this assay may be used in the future. PMID:28538702