A study of remote sensing as applied to regional and small watersheds. Volume 1: Summary report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ambaruch, R.

1974-01-01

The accuracy of remotely sensed measurements to provide inputs to hydrologic models of watersheds is studied. A series of sensitivity analyses on continuous simulation models of three watersheds determined: (1)Optimal values and permissible tolerances of inputs to achieve accurate simulation of streamflow from the watersheds; (2) Which model inputs can be quantified from remote sensing, directly, indirectly or by inference; and (3) How accurate remotely sensed measurements (from spacecraft or aircraft) must be to provide a basis for quantifying model inputs within permissible tolerances.

Strategies for using remotely sensed data in hydrologic models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peck, E. L.; Keefer, T. N.; Johnson, E. R. (Principal Investigator)

1981-01-01

Present and planned remote sensing capabilities were evaluated. The usefulness of six remote sensing capabilities (soil moisture, land cover, impervious area, areal extent of snow cover, areal extent of frozen ground, and water equivalent of the snow cover) with seven hydrologic models (API, CREAMS, NWSRFS, STORM, STANFORD, SSARR, and NWSRFS Snowmelt) were reviewed. The results indicate remote sensing information has only limited value for use with the hydrologic models in their present form. With minor modifications to the models the usefulness would be enhanced. Specific recommendations are made for incorporating snow covered area measurements in the NWSRFS Snowmelt model. Recommendations are also made for incorporating soil moisture measurements in NWSRFS. Suggestions are made for incorporating snow covered area, soil moisture, and others in STORM and SSARR. General characteristics of a hydrologic model needed to make maximum use of remotely sensed data are discussed. Suggested goals for improvements in remote sensing for use in models are also established.

Remote Sensing of Precipitation from Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stocker, Erich Franz

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the use of remote sensing of precipitation from satellite observations. The purpose of the presentation is to introduce the three prime instrument types for measuring precipitation from space, give an overview of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, provides examples of how measurements from space can be used, and provides simple, high level scenarios for how remote sensed precipitation data can be used by planners and managers.

Design and Performance of a Multiwavelength Airborne Polarimetric Lidar for Vegetation Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Songxin; Narayanan, Ram M.

2004-04-01

The University of Nebraska has developed a multiwavelength airborne polarimetric lidar (MAPL) system to support its Airborne Remote Sensing Program for vegetation remote sensing. The MAPL design and instrumentation are described in detail. Characteristics of the MAPL system include lidar waveform capture and polarimetric measurement capabilities, which provide enhanced opportunities for vegetation remote sensing compared with current sensors. Field tests were conducted to calibrate the range measurement. Polarimetric calibration of the system is also discussed. Backscattered polarimetric returns, as well as the cross-polarization ratios, were obtained from a small forested area to validate the system's ability for vegetation canopy detection. The system has been packaged to fly abroad a Piper Saratoga aircraft for airborne vegetation remote sensing applications.

Estimating Aboveground Biomass in Tropical Forests: Field Methods and Error Analysis for the Calibration of Remote Sensing Observations

DOE PAGES

Gonçalves, Fabio; Treuhaft, Robert; Law, Beverly; ...

2017-01-07

Mapping and monitoring of forest carbon stocks across large areas in the tropics will necessarily rely on remote sensing approaches, which in turn depend on field estimates of biomass for calibration and validation purposes. Here, we used field plot data collected in a tropical moist forest in the central Amazon to gain a better understanding of the uncertainty associated with plot-level biomass estimates obtained specifically for the calibration of remote sensing measurements. In addition to accounting for sources of error that would be normally expected in conventional biomass estimates (e.g., measurement and allometric errors), we examined two sources of uncertaintymore » that are specific to the calibration process and should be taken into account in most remote sensing studies: the error resulting from spatial disagreement between field and remote sensing measurements (i.e., co-location error), and the error introduced when accounting for temporal differences in data acquisition. We found that the overall uncertainty in the field biomass was typically 25% for both secondary and primary forests, but ranged from 16 to 53%. Co-location and temporal errors accounted for a large fraction of the total variance (>65%) and were identified as important targets for reducing uncertainty in studies relating tropical forest biomass to remotely sensed data. Although measurement and allometric errors were relatively unimportant when considered alone, combined they accounted for roughly 30% of the total variance on average and should not be ignored. Lastly, our results suggest that a thorough understanding of the sources of error associated with field-measured plot-level biomass estimates in tropical forests is critical to determine confidence in remote sensing estimates of carbon stocks and fluxes, and to develop strategies for reducing the overall uncertainty of remote sensing approaches.« less

Assessing Wetland Hydroperiod and Soil Moisture with Remote Sensing: A Demonstration for the NASA Plum Brook Station Year 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brooks, Colin; Bourgeau-Chavez, Laura; Endres, Sarah; Battaglia, Michael; Shuchman, Robert

2015-01-01

Assist with the evaluation and measuring of wetlands hydroperiod at the Plum Brook Station using multi-source remote sensing data as part of a larger effort on projecting climate change-related impacts on the station's wetland ecosystems. MTRI expanded on the multi-source remote sensing capabilities to help estimate and measure hydroperiod and the relative soil moisture of wetlands at NASA's Plum Brook Station. Multi-source remote sensing capabilities are useful in estimating and measuring hydroperiod and relative soil moisture of wetlands. This is important as a changing regional climate has several potential risks for wetland ecosystem function. The year two analysis built on the first year of the project by acquiring and analyzing remote sensing data for additional dates and types of imagery, combined with focused field work. Five deliverables were planned and completed: (1) Show the relative length of hydroperiod using available remote sensing datasets, (2) Date linked table of wetlands extent over time for all feasible non-forested wetlands, (3) Utilize LIDAR data to measure topographic height above sea level of all wetlands, wetland to catchment area radio, slope of wetlands, and other useful variables (4), A demonstration of how analyzed results from multiple remote sensing data sources can help with wetlands vulnerability assessment; and (5) A MTRI style report summarizing year 2 results.

Coastal High-resolution Observations and Remote Sensing of Ecosystems (C-HORSE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guild, Liane

2016-01-01

Coastal benthic marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs, seagrass beds, and kelp forests are highly productive as well as ecologically and commercially important resources. These systems are vulnerable to degraded water quality due to coastal development, terrestrial run-off, and harmful algal blooms. Measurements of these features are important for understanding linkages with land-based sources of pollution and impacts to coastal ecosystems. Challenges for accurate remote sensing of coastal benthic (shallow water) ecosystems and water quality are complicated by atmospheric scattering/absorption (approximately 80+% of the signal), sun glint from the sea surface, and water column scattering (e.g., turbidity). Further, sensor challenges related to signal to noise (SNR) over optically dark targets as well as insufficient radiometric calibration thwart the value of coastal remotely-sensed data. Atmospheric correction of satellite and airborne remotely-sensed radiance data is crucial for deriving accurate water-leaving radiance in coastal waters. C-HORSE seeks to optimize coastal remote sensing measurements by using a novel airborne instrument suite that will bridge calibration, validation, and research capabilities of bio-optical measurements from the sea to the high altitude remote sensing platform. The primary goal of C-HORSE is to facilitate enhanced optical observations of coastal ecosystems using state of the art portable microradiometers with 19 targeted spectral channels and flight planning to optimize measurements further supporting current and future remote sensing missions.

Bridging the Scales from Field to Region with Practical Tools to Couple Time- and Space-Synchronized Data from Flux Towers and Networks with Proximal and Remote Sensing Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burba, G. G.; Avenson, T.; Burkart, A.; Gamon, J. A.; Guan, K.; Julitta, T.; Pastorello, G.; Sakowska, K.

2017-12-01

Many hundreds of flux towers are presently operational as standalone projects and as parts of regional networks. However, the vast majority of these towers do not allow straightforward coupling with remote sensing (drone, aircraft, satellite, etc.) data, and even fewer have optical sensors for validation of remote sensing products, and upscaling from field to regional levels. In 2016-2017, new tools to collect, process, and share time-synchronized flux data from multiple towers were developed and deployed globally. Originally designed to automate site and data management, and to streamline flux data analysis, these tools allow relatively easy matching of tower data with remote sensing data: GPS-driven PTP time protocol synchronizes instrumentation within the station, different stations with each other, and all of these to remote sensing data to precisely align remote sensing and flux data in time Footprint size and coordinates computed and stored with flux data help correctly align tower flux footprints and drone, aircraft or satellite motion to precisely align optical and flux data in space Full snapshot of the remote sensing pixel can then be constructed, including leaf-level, ground optical sensor, and flux tower measurements from the same footprint area, closely coupled with the remote sensing measurements to help interpret remote sensing data, validate models, and improve upscaling Additionally, current flux towers can be augmented with advanced ground optical sensors and can use standard routines to deliver continuous products (e.g. SIF, PRI, NDVI, etc.) based on automated field spectrometers (e.g., FloX and RoX, etc.) and other optical systems. Several dozens of new towers already operational globally can be readily used for the proposed workflow. Over 500 active traditional flux towers can be updated to synchronize their data with remote sensing measurements. This presentation will show how the new tools are used by major networks, and describe how this approach can be utilized for matching remote sensing and tower data to aid in ground truthing, improve scientific interactions, and promote joint grant writing and other forms of collaboration between the flux and remote sensing communities.

Stratospheric measurement requirements and satellite-borne remote sensing capabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carmichael, J. J.; Eldridge, R. G.; Frey, E. J.; Friedman, E. J.; Ghovanlou, A. H.

1976-01-01

The capabilities of specific NASA remote sensing systems to provide appropriate measurements of stratospheric parameters for potential user needs were assessed. This was used to evaluate the capabilities of the remote sensing systems to perform global monitoring of the stratosphere. The following conclusions were reached: (1) The performance of current remote stratospheric sensors, in some cases, compares quite well with identified measurement requirements. Their ability to measure other species has not been demonstrated. (2) None of the current, in-situ methods have the capability to satisfy the requirements for global monitoring and the temporal constraints derived from the users needs portion of the study. (3) Existing, non-remote techniques will continue to play an important role in stratospheric investigations for both corroboration of remotely collected data and in the evolutionary development of future remote sensors.

Research Advances on Radiation Transfer Modeling and Inversion for Multi-Scale Land Surface Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Q.

2011-09-01

At first, research advances on radiation transfer modeling on multi-scale remote sensing data are presented: after a general overview of remote sensing radiation transfer modeling, several recent research advances are presented, including leaf spectrum model (dPROS-PECT), vegetation canopy BRDF models, directional thermal infrared emission models(TRGM, SLEC), rugged mountains area radiation models, and kernel driven models etc. Then, new methodologies on land surface parameters inversion based on multi-source remote sensing data are proposed. The land surface Albedo, leaf area index, temperature/emissivity, and surface net radiation etc. are taken as examples. A new synthetic land surface parameter quantitative remote sensing product generation system is designed and the software system prototype will be demonstrated. At last, multi-scale field experiment campaigns, such as the field campaigns in Gansu and Beijing, China will be introduced briefly. The ground based, tower based, and airborne multi-angular measurement system have been built to measure the directional reflectance, emission and scattering characteristics from visible, near infrared, thermal infrared and microwave bands for model validation and calibration. The remote sensing pixel scale "true value" measurement strategy have been designed to gain the ground "true value" of LST, ALBEDO, LAI, soil moisture and ET etc. at 1-km2 for remote sensing product validation.

A Review and Analysis of Remote Sensing Capability for Air Quality Measurements as a Potential Decision Support Tool Conducted by the NASA DEVELOP Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, A.; Richards, A.; Keith, K.; Frew, C.; Boseck, J.; Sutton, S.; Watts, C.; Rickman, D.

2007-01-01

This project focused on a comprehensive utilization of air quality model products as decision support tools (DST) needed for public health applications. A review of past and future air quality measurement methods and their uncertainty, along with the relationship of air quality to national and global public health, is vital. This project described current and future NASA satellite remote sensing and ground sensing capabilities and the potential for using these sensors to enhance the prediction, prevention, and control of public health effects that result from poor air quality. The qualitative uncertainty of current satellite remotely sensed air quality, the ground-based remotely sensed air quality, the air quality/public health model, and the decision making process is evaluated in this study. Current peer-reviewed literature suggests that remotely sensed air quality parameters correlate well with ground-based sensor data. A satellite remote-sensed and ground-sensed data complement is needed to enhance the models/tools used by policy makers for the protection of national and global public health communities

Laboratory requirements for in-situ and remote sensing of suspended material

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuo, C. Y.; Cheng, R. Y. K.

1978-01-01

Recommendations for laboratory and in-situ measurements required for remote sensing of suspended material are presented. This study investigates the properties of the suspended materials, factors influencing the upwelling radiance, and the various types of remote sensing techniques. Calibration and correlation procedures are given to obtain the accuracy necessary to quantify the suspended materials by remote sensing. In addition, the report presents a survey of the national need for sediment data, the agencies that deal with and require the data of suspended sediment, and a summary of some recent findings of sediment measurements.

Reconstruction of atmospheric pollutant concentrations from remote sensing data - An application of distributed parameter observer theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koda, M.; Seinfeld, J. H.

1982-01-01

The reconstruction of a concentration distribution from spatially averaged and noise-corrupted data is a central problem in processing atmospheric remote sensing data. Distributed parameter observer theory is used to develop reconstructibility conditions for distributed parameter systems having measurements typical of those in remote sensing. The relation of the reconstructibility condition to the stability of the distributed parameter observer is demonstrated. The theory is applied to a variety of remote sensing situations, and it is found that those in which concentrations are measured as a function of altitude satisfy the conditions of distributed state reconstructibility.

Laboratory requirements for in-situ and remote sensing of suspended material

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuo, C. Y.; Cheng, R. Y. K.

1976-01-01

Recommendations for laboratory and in-situ measurements required for remote sensing of suspended material are presented. This study investigates the properties of the suspended materials, factors influencing the upwelling radiance, and the various types of remote sensing techniques. Calibration and correlation procedures are given to obtain the accuracy necessary to quantify the suspended materials by remote sensing. In addition, the report presents a survey of the national need for sediment data, the agencies that deal with and require the data of suspended sediment, and a summary of some recent findings of sediment measurements.

Prediction of health levels by remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rush, M.; Vernon, S.

1975-01-01

Measures of the environment derived from remote sensing were compared to census population/housing measures in their ability to discriminate among health status areas in two urban communities. Three hypotheses were developed to explore the relationships between environmental and health data. Univariate and multiple step-wise linear regression analyses were performed on data from two sample areas in Houston and Galveston, Texas. Environmental data gathered by remote sensing were found to equal or surpass census data in predicting rates of health outcomes. Remote sensing offers the advantages of data collection for any chosen area or time interval, flexibilities not allowed by the decennial census.

REMOTE SENSING IN OCEANOGRAPHY.

DTIC Science & Technology

remote sensing from satellites. Sensing of oceanographic variables from aircraft began with the photographing of waves and ice. Since then remote measurement of sea surface temperatures and wave heights have become routine. Sensors tested for oceanographic applications include multi-band color cameras, radar scatterometers, infrared spectrometers and scanners, passive microwave radiometers, and radar imagers. Remote sensing has found its greatest application in providing rapid coverage of large oceanographic areas for synoptic and analysis and

Remote sensing of spring phenology in northeastern forests: A comparison of methods, field metrics and sources of uncertainty

Treesearch

Katharine White; Jennifer Pontius; Paul Schaberg

2014-01-01

Current remote sensing studies of phenology have been limited to coarse spatial or temporal resolution and often lack a direct link to field measurements. To address this gap, we compared remote sensing methodologies using Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery to extensive field measurements in a mixed northern hardwood forest. Five vegetation indices, five mathematical...

Remote sensing of vegetation structure using computer vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dandois, Jonathan P.

High-spatial resolution measurements of vegetation structure are needed for improving understanding of ecosystem carbon, water and nutrient dynamics, the response of ecosystems to a changing climate, and for biodiversity mapping and conservation, among many research areas. Our ability to make such measurements has been greatly enhanced by continuing developments in remote sensing technology---allowing researchers the ability to measure numerous forest traits at varying spatial and temporal scales and over large spatial extents with minimal to no field work, which is costly for large spatial areas or logistically difficult in some locations. Despite these advances, there remain several research challenges related to the methods by which three-dimensional (3D) and spectral datasets are joined (remote sensing fusion) and the availability and portability of systems for frequent data collections at small scale sampling locations. Recent advances in the areas of computer vision structure from motion (SFM) and consumer unmanned aerial systems (UAS) offer the potential to address these challenges by enabling repeatable measurements of vegetation structural and spectral traits at the scale of individual trees. However, the potential advances offered by computer vision remote sensing also present unique challenges and questions that need to be addressed before this approach can be used to improve understanding of forest ecosystems. For computer vision remote sensing to be a valuable tool for studying forests, bounding information about the characteristics of the data produced by the system will help researchers understand and interpret results in the context of the forest being studied and of other remote sensing techniques. This research advances understanding of how forest canopy and tree 3D structure and color are accurately measured by a relatively low-cost and portable computer vision personal remote sensing system: 'Ecosynth'. Recommendations are made for optimal conditions under which forest structure measurements should be obtained with UAS-SFM remote sensing. Ultimately remote sensing of vegetation by computer vision offers the potential to provide an 'ecologist's eye view', capturing not only canopy 3D and spectral properties, but also seeing the trees in the forest and the leaves on the trees.

On the Use of Ocean Color Remote Sensing to Measure the Transport of Dissolved Organic Carbon by the Mississippi River Plume

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DelCastillo, Carlos E.; Miller, Richard L.

2007-01-01

We investigated the use of ocean color remote sensing to measure transport of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) by the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. From 2000 to 2005 we recorded surface measurements of DOC, colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), salinity, and water-leaving radiances during five cruises to the Mississippi River Plume. These measurements were used to develop empirical relationships to derive CDOM, DOC, and salinity from monthly composites of SeaWiFS imagery collected from 1998 through 2005. We used river flow data and a two-end-member mixing model to derive DOC concentrations in the river end-member, river flow, and DOC transport using remote sensing data. We compared our remote sensing estimates of river flow and DOC transport with data collected by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from 1998 through 2005. Our remote sensing estimates of river flow and DOC transport correlated well (r2 0.70) with the USGS data. Our remote sensing estimates and USGS field data showed low variability in DOC concentrations in the river end-member (7-11%), and high seasonal variability in river flow (50%). Therefore, changes in river flow control the variability in DOC transport, indicating that the remote sensing estimate of river flow is the most critical element of our DOC transport measurement. We concluded that it is possible to use this method to estimate DOC transport by other large rivers if there are data on the relationship between CDOM, DOC, and salinity in the river plume.

Active/Passive Remote Sensing of the Ocean Surface at Microwave Frequencies

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-09-30

This report summarizes research activities and results obtained under grant N000l4-99-1-0627 "Active/Passive Remote Sensing of the Ocean Surface at...Measurements were completed during April 1999 by the Microwave Remote Sensing Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts.

Prototype simulates remote sensing spectral measurements on fruits and vegetables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hahn, Federico

1998-09-01

A prototype was designed to simulate spectral packinghouse measurements in order to simplify fruit and vegetable damage assessment. A computerized spectrometer is used together with lenses and an externally controlled illumination in order to have a remote sensing simulator. A laser is introduced between the spectrometer and the lenses in order to mark the zone where the measurement is being taken. This facilitates further correlation work and can assure that the physical and remote sensing measurements are taken in the same place. Tomato ripening and mango anthracnose spectral signatures are shown.

Research Advances on Radiation Transfer Modeling and Inversion for Multi-scale Land Surface Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Q.; Li, J.; Du, Y.; Wen, J.; Zhong, B.; Wang, K.

2011-12-01

As the remote sensing data accumulating, it is a challenge and significant issue how to generate high accurate and consistent land surface parameter product from the multi source remote observation and the radiation transfer modeling and inversion methodology are the theoretical bases. In this paper, recent research advances and unresolved issues are presented. At first, after a general overview, recent research advances on multi-scale remote sensing radiation transfer modeling are presented, including leaf spectrum model, vegetation canopy BRDF models, directional thermal infrared emission models, rugged mountains area radiation models, and kernel driven models etc. Then, new methodologies on land surface parameters inversion based on multi-source remote sensing data are proposed, taking the land surface Albedo, leaf area index, temperature/emissivity, and surface net radiation as examples. A new synthetic land surface parameter quantitative remote sensing product generation system is suggested and the software system prototype will be demonstrated. At last, multi-scale field experiment campaigns, such as the field campaigns in Gansu and Beijing, China are introduced briefly. The ground based, tower based, and airborne multi-angular measurement system have been built to measure the directional reflectance, emission and scattering characteristics from visible, near infrared, thermal infrared and microwave bands for model validation and calibration. The remote sensing pixel scale "true value" measurement strategy have been designed to gain the ground "true value" of LST, ALBEDO, LAI, soil moisture and ET etc. at 1-km2 for remote sensing product validation.

Estimation of Snow Parameters Based on Passive Microwave Remote Sensing and Meteorological Information

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsang, Leung; Hwang, Jenq-Neng

1996-01-01

A method to incorporate passive microwave remote sensing measurements within a spatially distributed snow hydrology model to provide estimates of the spatial distribution of Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) as a function of time is implemented. The passive microwave remote sensing measurements are at 25 km resolution. However, in mountain regions the spatial variability of SWE over a 25 km footprint is large due to topographic influences. On the other hand, the snow hydrology model has built-in topographic information and the capability to estimate SWE at a 1 km resolution. In our work, the snow hydrology SWE estimates are updated and corrected using SSM/I passive microwave remote sensing measurements. The method is applied to the Upper Rio Grande River Basin in the mountains of Colorado. The change in prediction of SWE from hydrology modeling with and without updating is compared with measurements from two SNOTEL sites in and near the basin. The results indicate that the method incorporating the remote sensing measurements into the hydrology model is able to more closely estimate the temporal evolution of the measured values of SWE as a function of time.

Frontiers of Remote Sensing of the Oceans and Troposphere from Air and Space Platforms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

Several areas of remote sensing are addressed including: future satellite systems; air-sea interaction/wind; ocean waves and spectra/S.A.R.; atmospheric measurements (particulates and water vapor); synoptic and weather forecasting; topography; bathymetry; sea ice; and impact of remote sensing on synoptic analysis/forecasting.

Calculating Remote Sensing Reflectance Uncertainties Using an Instrument Model Propagated Through Atmospheric Correction via Monte Carlo Simulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karakoylu, E.; Franz, B.

2016-01-01

First attempt at quantifying uncertainties in ocean remote sensing reflectance satellite measurements. Based on 1000 iterations of Monte Carlo. Data source is a SeaWiFS 4-day composite, 2003. The uncertainty is for remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) at 443 nm.

Remote Sensing of Rock Type in the Visible and Near-Infrared,

DTIC Science & Technology

Visible and near-infrared spectra of minerals and rocks have been measured and evaluated in terms of remote sensing applications. The authors...difficult or impossible to use in a generalized remote sensing effort in which the composition of all rocks is to be mapped. Instead, this spectral

Mississippi Sound Remote Sensing Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Atwell, B. H.

1973-01-01

The Mississippi Sound Remote Sensing Study was initiated as part of the research program of the NASA Earth Resources Laboratory. The objective of this study is development of remote sensing techniques to study near-shore marine waters. Included within this general objective are the following: (1) evaluate existing techniques and instruments used for remote measurement of parameters of interest within these waters; (2) develop methods for interpretation of state-of-the-art remote sensing data which are most meaningful to an understanding of processes taking place within near-shore waters; (3) define hardware development requirements and/or system specifications; (4) develop a system combining data from remote and surface measurements which will most efficiently assess conditions in near-shore waters; (5) conduct projects in coordination with appropriate operating agencies to demonstrate applicability of this research to environmental and economic problems.

Remote sensing measurements of real world high exhaust emitters

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-03-12

Remote Sensing measurements were taken at five primary sites in the Denver Area between April 1997 and March 1998 using an RS2000 unit capable of measuring HC, CO, and NO. The RD unit also measures vehicle speed and acceleration to permit determinati...

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

Gonçalves, Fabio; Treuhaft, Robert; Law, Beverly

Mapping and monitoring of forest carbon stocks across large areas in the tropics will necessarily rely on remote sensing approaches, which in turn depend on field estimates of biomass for calibration and validation purposes. Here, we used field plot data collected in a tropical moist forest in the central Amazon to gain a better understanding of the uncertainty associated with plot-level biomass estimates obtained specifically for the calibration of remote sensing measurements. In addition to accounting for sources of error that would be normally expected in conventional biomass estimates (e.g., measurement and allometric errors), we examined two sources of uncertaintymore » that are specific to the calibration process and should be taken into account in most remote sensing studies: the error resulting from spatial disagreement between field and remote sensing measurements (i.e., co-location error), and the error introduced when accounting for temporal differences in data acquisition. We found that the overall uncertainty in the field biomass was typically 25% for both secondary and primary forests, but ranged from 16 to 53%. Co-location and temporal errors accounted for a large fraction of the total variance (>65%) and were identified as important targets for reducing uncertainty in studies relating tropical forest biomass to remotely sensed data. Although measurement and allometric errors were relatively unimportant when considered alone, combined they accounted for roughly 30% of the total variance on average and should not be ignored. Lastly, our results suggest that a thorough understanding of the sources of error associated with field-measured plot-level biomass estimates in tropical forests is critical to determine confidence in remote sensing estimates of carbon stocks and fluxes, and to develop strategies for reducing the overall uncertainty of remote sensing approaches.« less

Role of remote sensing in Bay measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mugler, J. P., Jr.; Godfrey, J. P.; Hickman, G. D.; Hovis, W. G.; Pearson, A. O.; Weaver, K. N.

1978-01-01

Remote measurements of a number of surface or near surface parameters for baseline definition and specialized studies, remote measurements of episodic events, and remote measurements of the Bay lithosphere are considered in terms of characterizing and understanding the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay. Geologic processes and features best suited for information enhancement by remote sensing methods are identified. These include: (1) rates of sedimentation in the Bay; (2) rates of erosion of Bay shorelines; (3) spatial distribution and geometry of aquifers; (4) mapping of Karst terrain (sinkholes); and (5) mapping of fracture patterns. Recommendations for studying problem areas identified are given.

Physics teaching by infrared remote sensing of vegetation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schüttler, Tobias; Maman, Shimrit; Girwidz, Raimund

2018-05-01

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

Predicting risk of invasive species occurrence - remote-sesning strategies

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Remote sensing is a means to describe characteristics of an area without physically sampling the area. Remote sensors can be mounted on a satellite, plane, or other airborne structure. Remotely sensed data allow for landscape perspectives on management issues. Sensors measure the electromagnetic ene...

Microwave remote sensing: Active and passive. Volume 1 - Microwave remote sensing fundamentals and radiometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ulaby, F. T.; Moore, R. K.; Fung, A. K.

1981-01-01

The three components of microwave remote sensing (sensor-scene interaction, sensor design, and measurement techniques), and the applications to geoscience are examined. The history of active and passive microwave sensing is reviewed, along with fundamental principles of electromagnetic wave propagation, antennas, and microwave interaction with atmospheric constituents. Radiometric concepts are reviewed, particularly for measurement problems for atmospheric and terrestrial sources of natural radiation. Particular attention is given to the emission by atmospheric gases, clouds, and rain as described by the radiative transfer function. Finally, the operation and performance characteristics of radiometer receivers are discussed, particularly for measurement precision, calibration techniques, and imaging considerations.

Development of mathematical techniques for the assimilation of remote sensing data into atmospheric models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seinfeld, J. H. (Principal Investigator)

1982-01-01

The problem of the assimilation of remote sensing data into mathematical models of atmospheric pollutant species was investigated. The data assimilation problem is posed in terms of the matching of spatially integrated species burden measurements to the predicted three-dimensional concentration fields from atmospheric diffusion models. General conditions were derived for the reconstructability of atmospheric concentration distributions from data typical of remote sensing applications, and a computational algorithm (filter) for the processing of remote sensing data was developed.

Development of mathematical techniques for the assimilation of remote sensing data into atmospheric models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seinfeld, J. H. (Principal Investigator)

1982-01-01

The problem of the assimilation of remote sensing data into mathematical models of atmospheric pollutant species was investigated. The problem is posed in terms of the matching of spatially integrated species burden measurements to the predicted three dimensional concentration fields from atmospheric diffusion models. General conditions are derived for the "reconstructability' of atmospheric concentration distributions from data typical of remote sensing applications, and a computational algorithm (filter) for the processing of remote sensing data is developed.

Retrieving Leaf Area Index (LAI) Using Remote Sensing: Theories, Methods and Sensors

PubMed Central

Zheng, Guang; Moskal, L. Monika

2009-01-01

The ability to accurately and rapidly acquire leaf area index (LAI) is an indispensable component of process-based ecological research facilitating the understanding of gas-vegetation exchange phenomenon at an array of spatial scales from the leaf to the landscape. However, LAI is difficult to directly acquire for large spatial extents due to its time consuming and work intensive nature. Such efforts have been significantly improved by the emergence of optical and active remote sensing techniques. This paper reviews the definitions and theories of LAI measurement with respect to direct and indirect methods. Then, the methodologies for LAI retrieval with regard to the characteristics of a range of remotely sensed datasets are discussed. Remote sensing indirect methods are subdivided into two categories of passive and active remote sensing, which are further categorized as terrestrial, aerial and satellite-born platforms. Due to a wide variety in spatial resolution of remotely sensed data and the requirements of ecological modeling, the scaling issue of LAI is discussed and special consideration is given to extrapolation of measurement to landscape and regional levels. PMID:22574042

Retrieving Leaf Area Index (LAI) Using Remote Sensing: Theories, Methods and Sensors.

PubMed

Zheng, Guang; Moskal, L Monika

2009-01-01

The ability to accurately and rapidly acquire leaf area index (LAI) is an indispensable component of process-based ecological research facilitating the understanding of gas-vegetation exchange phenomenon at an array of spatial scales from the leaf to the landscape. However, LAI is difficult to directly acquire for large spatial extents due to its time consuming and work intensive nature. Such efforts have been significantly improved by the emergence of optical and active remote sensing techniques. This paper reviews the definitions and theories of LAI measurement with respect to direct and indirect methods. Then, the methodologies for LAI retrieval with regard to the characteristics of a range of remotely sensed datasets are discussed. Remote sensing indirect methods are subdivided into two categories of passive and active remote sensing, which are further categorized as terrestrial, aerial and satellite-born platforms. Due to a wide variety in spatial resolution of remotely sensed data and the requirements of ecological modeling, the scaling issue of LAI is discussed and special consideration is given to extrapolation of measurement to landscape and regional levels.

Studies related to ocean dynamics. Task 3.2: Aircraft Field Test Program to investigate the ability of remote sensing methods to measure current/wind-wave interactions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huang, N. E.; Flood, W. A.; Brown, G. S.

1975-01-01

The feasibility of remote sensing of current flows in the ocean and the remote sensing of ocean currents by backscattering cross section techniques was studied. It was established that for capillary waves, small scale currents could be accurately measured through observation of wave kinematics. Drastic modifications of waves by changing currents were noted. The development of new methods for the measurement of capillary waves are discussed. Improvement methods to resolve data processing problems are suggested.

Estimates of Leaf Relative Water Content from Optical Polarization Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dahlgren, R. P.; Vanderbilt, V. C.; Daughtry, C. S. T.

2017-12-01

Remotely sensing the water status of plant canopies remains a long term goal of remote sensing research. Existing approaches to remotely sensing canopy water status, such as the Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) and the Equivalent Water Thickness (EWT), have limitations. The CWSI, based upon remotely sensing canopy radiant temperature in the thermal infrared spectral region, does not work well in humid regions, requires estimates of the vapor pressure deficit near the canopy during the remote sensing over-flight and, once stomata close, provides little information regarding the canopy water status. The EWT is based upon the physics of water-light interaction in the 900-2000nm spectral region, not plant physiology. Our goal, development of a remote sensing technique for estimating plant water status based upon measurements in the VIS/NIR spectral region, would potentially provide remote sensing access to plant dehydration physiology - to the cellular photochemistry and structural changes associated with water deficits in leaves. In this research, we used optical, crossed polarization filters to measure the VIS/NIR light reflected from the leaf interior, R, as well as the leaf transmittance, T, for 78 corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) leaves having relative water contents (RWC) between 0.60 and 0.98. Our results show that as RWC decreases R increases while T decreases. Our results tie R and T changes in the VIS/NIR to leaf physiological changes - linking the light scattered out of the drying leaf interior to its relative water content and to changes in leaf cellular structure and pigments. Our results suggest remotely sensing the physiological water status of a single leaf - and perhaps of a plant canopy - might be possible in the future.

First observations of tropospheric δD data observed by ground- and space-based remote sensing and surface in-situ measurement techniques at MUSICA's principle reference station (Izaña Observatory, Spain)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González, Yenny; Schneider, Matthias; Christner, Emanuel; Rodríguez, Omaira E.; Sepúlveda, Eliezer; Dyroff, Christoph; Wiegele, Andreas

2013-04-01

The main goal of the project MUSICA (Multiplatform remote Sensing of Isotopologues for investigating the Cycle of Atmospheric water) is the generation of a quasi global tropospheric water vapor isototopologue dataset of a good and well-documented quality. Therefore, new ground- and space-based remote sensing observations (NDACC-FTIR and IASI/METOP) are combined with in-situ measurements. This work presents the first comparison between in-situ and remote sensing observations made at the Izaña Atmospheric Research Centre (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain). The in-situ measurements are made by a Picarro L2120-i water vapor isotopologue analyzer. At Izaña the in-situ data are affected by local small-scale mixing processes: during daylight, the thermally buoyant upslope flow prompts the mixing between the Marine Boundary Layer (MBL) and the low Free Troposphere (FT). However, the remote sensors detect δD values averaged over altitudes that are more representative for the free troposphere. This difference has to be considered for the comparison. In general, a good agreement between the MUSICA remote sensing and the in situ H2O-versus-δD plots is found, which demonstrates that the MUSICA δD remote sensing products add scientifically valuable information to the H2O data.

Scintillometer networks for calibration and validation of energy balance and soil moisture remote sensing algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hendrickx, Jan M. H.; Kleissl, Jan; Gómez Vélez, Jesús D.; Hong, Sung-ho; Fábrega Duque, José R.; Vega, David; Moreno Ramírez, Hernán A.; Ogden, Fred L.

2007-04-01

Accurate estimation of sensible and latent heat fluxes as well as soil moisture from remotely sensed satellite images poses a great challenge. Yet, it is critical to face this challenge since the estimation of spatial and temporal distributions of these parameters over large areas is impossible using only ground measurements. A major difficulty for the calibration and validation of operational remote sensing methods such as SEBAL, METRIC, and ALEXI is the ground measurement of sensible heat fluxes at a scale similar to the spatial resolution of the remote sensing image. While the spatial length scale of remote sensing images covers a range from 30 m (LandSat) to 1000 m (MODIS) direct methods to measure sensible heat fluxes such as eddy covariance (EC) only provide point measurements at a scale that may be considerably smaller than the estimate obtained from a remote sensing method. The Large Aperture scintillometer (LAS) flux footprint area is larger (up to 5000 m long) and its spatial extent better constraint than that of EC systems. Therefore, scintillometers offer the unique possibility of measuring the vertical flux of sensible heat averaged over areas comparable with several pixels of a satellite image (up to about 40 Landsat thermal pixels or about 5 MODIS thermal pixels). The objective of this paper is to present our experiences with an existing network of seven scintillometers in New Mexico and a planned network of three scintillometers in the humid tropics of Panama and Colombia.

Remote sensor response study in the regime of the microwave radiation-induced magnetoresistance oscillations

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

Ye, Tianyu; Mani, R. G.; Wegscheider, W.

2013-11-04

A concurrent remote sensing and magneto-transport study of the microwave excited two dimensional electron system (2DES) at liquid helium temperatures has been carried out using a carbon detector to remotely sense the microwave activity of the 2D electron system in the GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure during conventional magneto-transport measurements. Various correlations are observed and reported between the oscillatory magnetotransport and the remotely sensed reflection. In addition, the oscillatory remotely sensed signal is shown to exhibit a power law type variation in its amplitude, similar to the radiation-induced magnetoresistance oscillations.

Progress in the Development of Practical Remote Detection of Icing Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reehorst, Andrew; Politovich, Marcia K.; Zednik, Stephan; Isaac, George A.; Cober, Stewart

2006-01-01

The NASA Icing Remote Sensing System (NIRSS) has been under definition and development at NASA Glenn Research Center since 1997. The goal of this development activity is to produce and demonstrate the required sensing and data processing technologies required to accurately remotely detect and measure icing conditions aloft. As part of that effort NASA has teamed with NCAR to develop software to fuse data from multiple instruments into a single detected icing condition product. The multiple instrument approach utilizes a X-band vertical staring radar, a multifrequency microwave, and a lidar ceilometer. The radar data determine cloud boundaries, the radiometer determines the sub-freezing temperature heights and total liquid water content, and the ceilometer refines the lower cloud boundary. Data is post-processed with a LabVIEW program with a resultant supercooled liquid water profile and aircraft hazard depiction. Ground-based, remotely-sensed measurements and in-situ measurements from research aircraft were gathered during the international 2003-2004 Alliance Icing Research Study (AIRS II). Comparisons between the remote sensing system s fused icing product and the aircraft measurements are reviewed here. While there are areas where improvement can be made, the cases examined suggest that the fused sensor remote sensing technique appears to be a valid approach.

The Complicate Observations and Multi-Parameter Land Information Constructions on Allied Telemetry Experiment (COMPLICATE)

PubMed Central

Tian, Xin; Li, Zengyuan; Chen, Erxue; Liu, Qinhuo; Yan, Guangjian; Wang, Jindi; Niu, Zheng; Zhao, Shaojie; Li, Xin; Pang, Yong; Su, Zhongbo; van der Tol, Christiaan; Liu, Qingwang; Wu, Chaoyang; Xiao, Qing; Yang, Le; Mu, Xihan; Bo, Yanchen; Qu, Yonghua; Zhou, Hongmin; Gao, Shuai; Chai, Linna; Huang, Huaguo; Fan, Wenjie; Li, Shihua; Bai, Junhua; Jiang, Lingmei; Zhou, Ji

2015-01-01

The Complicate Observations and Multi-Parameter Land Information Constructions on Allied Telemetry Experiment (COMPLICATE) comprises a network of remote sensing experiments designed to enhance the dynamic analysis and modeling of remotely sensed information for complex land surfaces. Two types of experimental campaigns were established under the framework of COMPLICATE. The first was designed for continuous and elaborate experiments. The experimental strategy helps enhance our understanding of the radiative and scattering mechanisms of soil and vegetation and modeling of remotely sensed information for complex land surfaces. To validate the methodologies and models for dynamic analyses of remote sensing for complex land surfaces, the second campaign consisted of simultaneous satellite-borne, airborne, and ground-based experiments. During field campaigns, several continuous and intensive observations were obtained. Measurements were undertaken to answer key scientific issues, as follows: 1) Determine the characteristics of spatial heterogeneity and the radiative and scattering mechanisms of remote sensing on complex land surfaces. 2) Determine the mechanisms of spatial and temporal scale extensions for remote sensing on complex land surfaces. 3) Determine synergist inversion mechanisms for soil and vegetation parameters using multi-mode remote sensing on complex land surfaces. Here, we introduce the background, the objectives, the experimental designs, the observations and measurements, and the overall advances of COMPLICATE. As a result of the implementation of COMLICATE and for the next several years, we expect to contribute to quantitative remote sensing science and Earth observation techniques. PMID:26332035

Monitoring landscape level processes using remote sensing of large plots

Treesearch

Raymond L. Czaplewski

1991-01-01

Global and regional assessaents require timely information on landscape level status (e.g., areal extent of different ecosystems) and processes (e.g., changes in land use and land cover). To measure and understand these processes at the regional level, and model their impacts, remote sensing is often necessary. However, processing massive volumes of remotely sensing...

Assessment of the role of remote sensing in the study of inland and coastal waters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curfman, H. J.; Oberholtzer, J. D.; Schertler, R. J.

1980-01-01

Several problems within Great Lakes, coastal, and continental shelf water were selected and organized under the topical headings of Productivity, Sedimentation, Water Dynamics, Eutrophication, and Hazardous Substances. The measurements required in the study of each of the problems were identified. An assessment was made of the present capability and the potential of remote sensing to make these measurements. The relevant remote-sensing technology for each of these classifications was discussed and needed advancements indicated.

The design of optimum remote-sensing instruments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peckham, G. E.; Flower, D. A.

1983-01-01

Remote-sensing instruments allow values for certain properties of a target to be retrieved from measurements of radiation emitted, reflected or transmitted by the target. The retrieval accuracy is affected by random variations in the many target properties which affect the measurements. A method is described, by which statistical properties of the target and theoretical models of its electromagnetic behavior can be used to choose values for the instrument parameters which maximize the retrieval accuracy. The technique is applicable to a wide range of remote-sensing instruments.

INTERCOMPARISON OF OPTICAL REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS FOR ROADSIDE MEASUREMENTS

EPA Science Inventory

The presentation describes results of an intercomparison of three optical remote sensing systems for measurements of nitric oxide emitted from passenger cars and light-duty trucks. The intercomparison included a standards comparison to establish comparability of standards, follo...

Remote measurement of pollution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1971-01-01

A summary of the major conclusions and recommendations developed by the panels on gaseous air pollution, water pollution, and particulate air pollution is presented. It becomes evident that many of the trace gases are amenable to remote sensing; that certain water pollutants can be measured by remote techniques, but their number is limited; and that a similar approach to the remote measurement of specific particulate pollutants will follow only after understanding of their physical, chemical, and radiative properties is improved. It is also clear that remote sensing can provide essential information in all three categories that can not be obtained by any other means.

High efficient optical remote sensing images acquisition for nano-satellite: reconstruction algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yang; Li, Feng; Xin, Lei; Fu, Jie; Huang, Puming

2017-10-01

Large amount of data is one of the most obvious features in satellite based remote sensing systems, which is also a burden for data processing and transmission. The theory of compressive sensing(CS) has been proposed for almost a decade, and massive experiments show that CS has favorable performance in data compression and recovery, so we apply CS theory to remote sensing images acquisition. In CS, the construction of classical sensing matrix for all sparse signals has to satisfy the Restricted Isometry Property (RIP) strictly, which limits applying CS in practical in image compression. While for remote sensing images, we know some inherent characteristics such as non-negative, smoothness and etc.. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to present a novel measurement matrix that breaks RIP. The new sensing matrix consists of two parts: the standard Nyquist sampling matrix for thumbnails and the conventional CS sampling matrix. Since most of sun-synchronous based satellites fly around the earth 90 minutes and the revisit cycle is also short, lots of previously captured remote sensing images of the same place are available in advance. This drives us to reconstruct remote sensing images through a deep learning approach with those measurements from the new framework. Therefore, we propose a novel deep convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture which takes in undersampsing measurements as input and outputs an intermediate reconstruction image. It is well known that the training procedure to the network costs long time, luckily, the training step can be done only once, which makes the approach attractive for a host of sparse recovery problems.

Satellite remote sensing of surface energy and mass balance - Results from FIFE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, F. G.; Markham, B. J.; Wang, J. R.; Huemmrich, F.; Sellers, P. J.; Strebel, D. E.; Kanemasu, E. T.; Kelly, Robert D.; Blad, Blaine L.

1991-01-01

Results obtained from the FIFE experiments conducted in 1987 and 1989 are summarized. Data analyses indicate that the hypotheses linking energy balance components to surface biology and remote sensing are reasonable at a point level, and that satellite remote sensing can potentially provide useful estimates of the surface energy budget. An investigation of atmospheric scattering and absorption effects on satellite remote sensing of surface radiance shows that the magnitude of atmospheric opacity variations within the FIFE site and with season can have a large effect on satellite measured values of surface radiances. Comparisons of atmospherically corrected TM radiances with surface measured radiances agreed to within about two percent at the visible and near-infrared wavelengths and to 6 percent in the midinfrared.

Measurement of Hydrologic Resource Parameters Through Remote Sensing in the Feather River Headwaters Area

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thorley, G. A.; Draeger, W. C.; Lauer, D. T.; Lent, J.; Roberts, E.

1971-01-01

The four problem are as being investigated are: (1) determination of the feasibility of providing the resource manager with operationally useful information through the use of remote sensing techniques; (2) definition of the spectral characteristics of earth resources and the optimum procedures for calibrating tone and color characteristics of multispectral imagery (3) determination of the extent to which humans can extract useful earth resource information through remote sensing imagery; (4) determination of the extent to which automatic classification and data processing can extract useful information from remote sensing data.

Risk profiling of schistosomiasis using remote sensing: approaches, challenges and outlook.

PubMed

Walz, Yvonne; Wegmann, Martin; Dech, Stefan; Raso, Giovanna; Utzinger, Jürg

2015-03-17

Schistosomiasis is a water-based disease that affects an estimated 250 million people, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. The transmission of schistosomiasis is spatially and temporally restricted to freshwater bodies that contain schistosome cercariae released from specific snails that act as intermediate hosts. Our objective was to assess the contribution of remote sensing applications and to identify remaining challenges in its optimal application for schistosomiasis risk profiling in order to support public health authorities to better target control interventions. We reviewed the literature (i) to deepen our understanding of the ecology and the epidemiology of schistosomiasis, placing particular emphasis on remote sensing; and (ii) to fill an identified gap, namely interdisciplinary research that bridges different strands of scientific inquiry to enhance spatially explicit risk profiling. As a first step, we reviewed key factors that govern schistosomiasis risk. Secondly, we examined remote sensing data and variables that have been used for risk profiling of schistosomiasis. Thirdly, the linkage between the ecological consequence of environmental conditions and the respective measure of remote sensing data were synthesised. We found that the potential of remote sensing data for spatial risk profiling of schistosomiasis is - in principle - far greater than explored thus far. Importantly though, the application of remote sensing data requires a tailored approach that must be optimised by selecting specific remote sensing variables, considering the appropriate scale of observation and modelling within ecozones. Interestingly, prior studies that linked prevalence of Schistosoma infection to remotely sensed data did not reflect that there is a spatial gap between the parasite and intermediate host snail habitats where disease transmission occurs, and the location (community or school) where prevalence measures are usually derived from. Our findings imply that the potential of remote sensing data for risk profiling of schistosomiasis and other neglected tropical diseases has yet to be fully exploited.

NASA Fluid Lensing & MiDAR: Next-Generation Remote Sensing Technologies for Aquatic Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chirayath, Ved

2018-01-01

We present two recent instrument technology developments at NASA, Fluid Lensing and MiDAR, and their application to remote sensing of Earth's aquatic systems. Fluid Lensing is the first remote sensing technology capable of imaging through ocean waves in 3D at sub-cm resolutions. MiDAR is a next-generation active hyperspectral remote sensing and optical communications instrument capable of active fluid lensing. Fluid Lensing has been used to provide 3D multispectral imagery of shallow marine systems from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones), including coral reefs in American Samoa and stromatolite reefs in Hamelin Pool, Western Australia. MiDAR is being deployed on aircraft and underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to enable a new method for remote sensing of living and nonliving structures in extreme environments. MiDAR images targets with high-intensity narrowband structured optical radiation to measure an objectâ€"TM"s non-linear spectral reflectance, image through fluid interfaces such as ocean waves with active fluid lensing, and simultaneously transmit high-bandwidth data. As an active instrument, MiDAR is capable of remotely sensing reflectance at the centimeter (cm) spatial scale with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) multiple orders of magnitude higher than passive airborne and spaceborne remote sensing systems with significantly reduced integration time. This allows for rapid video-frame-rate hyperspectral sensing into the far ultraviolet and VNIR wavelengths. Previously, MiDAR was developed into a TRL 2 laboratory instrument capable of imaging in thirty-two narrowband channels across the VNIR spectrum (400-950nm). Recently, MiDAR UV was raised to TRL4 and expanded to include five ultraviolet bands from 280-400nm, permitting UV remote sensing capabilities in UV A, B, and C bands and enabling mineral identification and stimulated fluorescence measurements of organic proteins and compounds, such as green fluorescent proteins in terrestrial and aquatic organics.

NASA Icing Remote Sensing System Comparisons From AIRS II

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reehorst, Andrew L.; Brinker, David J.; Ratvasky, Thomas P.

2005-01-01

NASA has an on-going activity to develop remote sensing technologies for the detection and measurement of icing conditions aloft. A multiple instrument approach is the current emphasis of this activity. Utilizing radar, radiometry, and lidar, a region of supercooled liquid is identified. If the liquid water content (LWC) is sufficiently high, then the region of supercooled liquid cloud is flagged as being an aviation hazard. The instruments utilized for the current effort are an X-band vertical staring radar, a radiometer that measures twelve frequencies between 22 and 59 GHz, and a lidar ceilometer. The radar data determine cloud boundaries, the radiometer determines the sub-freezing temperature heights and total liquid water content, and the ceilometer refines the lower cloud boundary. Data is post-processed with a LabVIEW program with a resultant supercooled LWC profile and aircraft hazard identification. Individual remotely sensed measurements gathered during the 2003-2004 Alliance Icing Research Study (AIRS II) were compared to aircraft in-situ measurements. Comparisons between the remote sensing system s fused icing product and in-situ measurements from the research aircraft are reviewed here. While there are areas where improvement can be made, the cases examined indicate that the fused sensor remote sensing technique appears to be a valid approach.

Examining fire-induced forest changes using novel remote sensing technique: a case study in a mixed pine-oak forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, R.; Wu, J.; Zhao, F. R.; Cook, B.; Hanavan, R. P.; Serbin, S.

2017-12-01

Fire-induced forest changes has long been a central focus for forest ecology and global carbon cycling studies, and is becoming a pressing issue for global change biologists particularly with the projected increases in the frequency and intensity of fire with a warmer and drier climate. Compared with time-consuming and labor intensive field-based approaches, remote sensing offers a promising way to efficiently assess fire effects and monitor post-fire forest responses across a range of spatial and temporal scales. However, traditional remote sensing studies relying on simple optical spectral indices or coarse resolution imagery still face a number of technical challenges, including confusion or contamination of the signal by understory dynamics and mixed pixels with moderate to coarse resolution data (>= 30 m). As such, traditional remote sensing may not meet the increasing demand for more ecologically-meaningful monitoring and quantitation of fire-induced forest changes. Here we examined the use of novel remote sensing technique (i.e. airborne imaging spectroscopy and LiDAR measurement, very high spatial resolution (VHR) space-borne multi-spectral measurement, and high temporal-spatial resolution UAS-based (Unmanned Aerial System) imagery), in combination with field and phenocam measurements to map forest burn severity across spatial scales, quantify crown-scale post-fire forest recovery rate, and track fire-induced phenology changes in the burned areas. We focused on a mixed pine-oak forest undergoing multiple fire disturbances for the past several years in Long Island, NY as a case study. We demonstrate that (1) forest burn severity mapping from VHR remote sensing measurement can capture crown-scale heterogeneous fire patterns over large-scale; (2) the combination of VHR optical and structural measurements provides an efficient means to remotely sense species-level post-fire forest responses; (3) the UAS-based remote sensing enables monitoring of fire-induced forest phenology changes at unprecedented temporal and spatial resolutions. This work provides the methodological approach monitor fire-induced forest changes in a spatially explicit manner across scales, with important implications for fire-related forest management and for constraining/benchmarking process models.

Development of a portable remote sensing system for measurement of diesel emissions from passing diesel trucks.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-04-08

A wireless remote-sensing system has been developed for measurement of NOx and particulate matters (PM) emissions from passing diesel trucks. The NOx measurement system has a UV light source with quartz fiber optics that focused the light source into...

A preliminary study of the statistical analyses and sampling strategies associated with the integration of remote sensing capabilities into the current agricultural crop forecasting system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sand, F.; Christie, R.

1975-01-01

Extending the crop survey application of remote sensing from small experimental regions to state and national levels requires that a sample of agricultural fields be chosen for remote sensing of crop acreage, and that a statistical estimate be formulated with measurable characteristics. The critical requirements for the success of the application are reviewed in this report. The problem of sampling in the presence of cloud cover is discussed. Integration of remotely sensed information about crops into current agricultural crop forecasting systems is treated on the basis of the USDA multiple frame survey concepts, with an assumed addition of a new frame derived from remote sensing. Evolution of a crop forecasting system which utilizes LANDSAT and future remote sensing systems is projected for the 1975-1990 time frame.

Polarimetric Remote Sensing of Atmospheric Particulate Pollutants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Z.; Zhang, Y.; Hong, J.

2018-04-01

Atmospheric particulate pollutants not only reduce atmospheric visibility, change the energy balance of the troposphere, but also affect human and vegetation health. For monitoring the particulate pollutants, we establish and develop a series of inversion algorithms based on polarimetric remote sensing technology which has unique advantages in dealing with atmospheric particulates. A solution is pointed out to estimate the near surface PM2.5 mass concentrations from full remote sensing measurements including polarimetric, active and infrared remote sensing technologies. It is found that the mean relative error of PM2.5 retrieved by full remote sensing measurements is 35.5 % in the case of October 5th 2013, improved to a certain degree compared to previous studies. A systematic comparison with the ground-based observations further indicates the effectiveness of the inversion algorithm and reliability of results. A new generation of polarized sensors (DPC and PCF), whose observation can support these algorithms, will be onboard GF series satellites and launched by China in the near future.

Remote Sensing based modelling of Annual Surface Mass Balances of Chhota Shigiri Glacier, Western Himalayas, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandrasekharan, Anita; Ramsankaran, Raaj

2017-04-01

The current study aims at modelling glacier mass balances over Chhota Shigiri glacier (32.28o N; 77.58° E) in Himachal Pradesh, India using the Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA) gradient approach proposed by Rabatel et al. (2005). The model requires yearly ELA, average mass balance and mass balance gradient to estimate annual mass balance of a glacier which can be obtained either through field measurements or remote sensing observations. However, in view of the general scenario of lack of field data for Himalayan glaciers, in this study the model has been applied only using the inputs derived through multi-temporal satellite remote sensing observations thus eliminating the need for any field measurements. Preliminary analysis show that the obtained results are comparable with the observed field mass balance. The results also demonstrate that this approach with remote sensing inputs has potential to be used for glacier mass balance estimations provided good quality multi-temporal remote sensing dataset are available.

Development of flight experiments for remote measurement of pollution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keafer, L. S., Jr.; Kopia, L. P.

1973-01-01

The status as of February 1973 of several NASA-sponsored development projects is reported concerning flight experiments for remote measurement of pollution. Eight passive multispectral instruments for remotely sensing air and water pollutants are described, as well as two active (laser radar) measuring techniques. These techniques are expected to add some new dimensions to the remote sensing of water quality, oceanographic parameters, and earth resources. Multiple applications in these fields are generally possible. Successful completion of the flight demonstration tests and comparisons with simultaneously obtained surface truth measurements may establish these techniques as valid water quality monitoring tools.

[Remote sensing of atmospheric trace gas by airborne passive FTIR].

PubMed

Gao, Min-quang; Liu, Wen-qing; Zhang, Tian-shu; Liu, Jian-guo; Lu, Yi-huai; Wang, Ya-ping; Xu, Liang; Zhu, Jun; Chen, Jun

2006-12-01

The present article describes the details of aviatic measurement for remote sensing trace gases in atmosphere under various surface backgrounds with airborne passive FTIR. The passive down viewing and remote sensing technique used in the experiment is discussed. The method of acquiring atmospheric trace gases infrared characteristic spectra in complicated background and the algorithm of concentration retrieval are discussed. The concentrations of CO and N2O of boundary-layer atmosphere in experimental region below 1000 m are analyzed quantitatively. This measurement technique and the data analysis method, which does not require a previously measured background spectrum, allow fast and mobile remote detection and identification of atmosphere trace gas in large area, and also can be used for urgent monitoring of pollution accidental breakout.

Photography and imagery: a clarification of terms

USGS Publications Warehouse

Robinove, Charles J.

1963-01-01

The increased use of pictorial displays of data in the fields of photogrammetry and photo interpretation has led to some confusion of terms, not so much b photogrammetrists as bu users and interpreters of pictorial data. The terms "remote sensing" and "remote sensing of environment" are being used as general terms to describe "the measurement of some property of an object without having the measuring device physically in contact with the object" (Parker, 1962).Measurements of size and shape by photogrammetric and optical means are common examples of remote sensing and therefore require no elaboration. Other techniques of remote sensing of electromagnetic radiation in and beyond the limits of the visible spectrum require some explanation and differentiation from the techniques used in the visible spectrum.The following definitions of "photography" and "imagery" are proposed to clarify these two terms in hope that this will lead to more precise understanding and explanation of the processes.

Hyperspectral absorption and backscattering coefficients of bulk water retrieved from a combination of remote-sensing reflectance and attenuation coefficient.

PubMed

Lin, Junfang; Lee, Zhongping; Ondrusek, Michael; Liu, Xiaohan

2018-01-22

Absorption (a) and backscattering (bb) coefficients play a key role in determining the light field; they also serve as the link between remote sensing and concentrations of optically active water constituents. Here we present an updated scheme to derive hyperspectral a and bb with hyperspectral remote-sensing reflectance (Rrs) and diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd) as the inputs. Results show that the system works very well from clear open oceans to highly turbid inland waters, with an overall difference less than 25% between these retrievals and those from instrument measurements. This updated scheme advocates the measurement and generation of hyperspectral a and bb from hyperspectral Rrs and Kd, as an independent data source for cross-evaluation of in situ measurements of a and bb and for the development and/or evaluation of remote sensing algorithms for such optical properties.

GPS Remote Sensing Measurements Using Aerosonde UAV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grant, Michael S.; Katzberg, Stephen J.; Lawrence, R. W.

2005-01-01

In February 2004, a NASA-Langley GPS Remote Sensor (GPSRS) unit was flown on an Aerosonde unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from the Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) in Virginia. Using direct and surface-reflected 1.575 GHz coarse acquisition (C/A) coded GPS signals, remote sensing measurements were obtained over land and portions of open water. The strength of the surface-reflected GPS signal is proportional to the amount of moisture in the surface, and is also influenced by surface roughness. Amplitude and other characteristics of the reflected signal allow an estimate of wind speed over open water. In this paper we provide a synopsis of the instrument accommodation requirements, installation procedures, and preliminary results from what is likely the first-ever flight of a GPS remote sensing instrument on a UAV. The correct operation of the GPSRS unit on this flight indicates that Aerosonde-like UAV's can serve as platforms for future GPS remote sensing science missions.

Modeling and Validation of Environmental Suitability for Schistosomiasis Transmission Using Remote Sensing

PubMed Central

Walz, Yvonne; Wegmann, Martin; Dech, Stefan; Vounatsou, Penelope; Poda, Jean-Noël; N'Goran, Eliézer K.; Utzinger, Jürg; Raso, Giovanna

2015-01-01

Background Schistosomiasis is the most widespread water-based disease in sub-Saharan Africa. Transmission is governed by the spatial distribution of specific freshwater snails that act as intermediate hosts and human water contact patterns. Remote sensing data have been utilized for spatially explicit risk profiling of schistosomiasis. We investigated the potential of remote sensing to characterize habitat conditions of parasite and intermediate host snails and discuss the relevance for public health. Methodology We employed high-resolution remote sensing data, environmental field measurements, and ecological data to model environmental suitability for schistosomiasis-related parasite and snail species. The model was developed for Burkina Faso using a habitat suitability index (HSI). The plausibility of remote sensing habitat variables was validated using field measurements. The established model was transferred to different ecological settings in Côte d’Ivoire and validated against readily available survey data from school-aged children. Principal Findings Environmental suitability for schistosomiasis transmission was spatially delineated and quantified by seven habitat variables derived from remote sensing data. The strengths and weaknesses highlighted by the plausibility analysis showed that temporal dynamic water and vegetation measures were particularly useful to model parasite and snail habitat suitability, whereas the measurement of water surface temperature and topographic variables did not perform appropriately. The transferability of the model showed significant relations between the HSI and infection prevalence in study sites of Côte d’Ivoire. Conclusions/Significance A predictive map of environmental suitability for schistosomiasis transmission can support measures to gain and sustain control. This is particularly relevant as emphasis is shifting from morbidity control to interrupting transmission. Further validation of our mechanistic model needs to be complemented by field data of parasite- and snail-related fitness. Our model provides a useful tool to monitor the development of new hotspots of potential schistosomiasis transmission based on regularly updated remote sensing data. PMID:26587839

Modeling and Validation of Environmental Suitability for Schistosomiasis Transmission Using Remote Sensing.

PubMed

Walz, Yvonne; Wegmann, Martin; Dech, Stefan; Vounatsou, Penelope; Poda, Jean-Noël; N'Goran, Eliézer K; Utzinger, Jürg; Raso, Giovanna

2015-11-01

Schistosomiasis is the most widespread water-based disease in sub-Saharan Africa. Transmission is governed by the spatial distribution of specific freshwater snails that act as intermediate hosts and human water contact patterns. Remote sensing data have been utilized for spatially explicit risk profiling of schistosomiasis. We investigated the potential of remote sensing to characterize habitat conditions of parasite and intermediate host snails and discuss the relevance for public health. We employed high-resolution remote sensing data, environmental field measurements, and ecological data to model environmental suitability for schistosomiasis-related parasite and snail species. The model was developed for Burkina Faso using a habitat suitability index (HSI). The plausibility of remote sensing habitat variables was validated using field measurements. The established model was transferred to different ecological settings in Côte d'Ivoire and validated against readily available survey data from school-aged children. Environmental suitability for schistosomiasis transmission was spatially delineated and quantified by seven habitat variables derived from remote sensing data. The strengths and weaknesses highlighted by the plausibility analysis showed that temporal dynamic water and vegetation measures were particularly useful to model parasite and snail habitat suitability, whereas the measurement of water surface temperature and topographic variables did not perform appropriately. The transferability of the model showed significant relations between the HSI and infection prevalence in study sites of Côte d'Ivoire. A predictive map of environmental suitability for schistosomiasis transmission can support measures to gain and sustain control. This is particularly relevant as emphasis is shifting from morbidity control to interrupting transmission. Further validation of our mechanistic model needs to be complemented by field data of parasite- and snail-related fitness. Our model provides a useful tool to monitor the development of new hotspots of potential schistosomiasis transmission based on regularly updated remote sensing data.

ESTAR: The Electronically Scanned Thinned Array Radiometer for remote sensing measurement of soil moisture and ocean salinity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swift, C. T.

1993-01-01

The product of a working group assembled to help define the science objectives and measurement requirements of a spaceborne L-band microwave radiometer devoted to remote sensing of surface soil moisture and sea surface salinity is presented. Remote sensing in this long-wavelength portion of the microwave spectrum requires large antennas in low-Earth orbit to achieve acceptable spatial resolution. The proposed radiometer, ESTAR, is unique in that it employs aperture synthesis to reduce the antenna area requirements for a space system.

Remote sensing of Essential Biodiversity Variables: new measurements linking ecosystem structure, function and composition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schimel, D.; Pavlick, R.; Stavros, E. N.; Townsend, P. A.; Ustin, S.; Thompson, D. R.

2017-12-01

Remote sensing can inform a wide variety of essential biodiversity variables, including measurements that define primary productivity, forest structure, biome distribution, plant communities, land use-land cover change and climate drivers of change. Emerging remote sensing technologies can add significantly to remote sensing of EBVs, providing new, large scale insights on plant and habitat diversity itself, as well as causes and consequences of biodiversity change. All current biodiversity assessments identify major data gaps, with insufficient coverage in critical regions, limited observations to monitor change over time, with very limited revisit of sample locations, as well as taxon-specific biased biases. Remote sensing cannot fill many of the gaps in global biodiversity observations, but spectroscopic measurements in terrestrial and marine environments can aid in assessing plant/phytoplankton functional diversity and efficiently reveal patterns in space, as well as changes over time, and, by making use of chlorophyll fluorescence, reveal associated patterns in photosynthesis. LIDAR and RADAR measurements quantify ecosystem structure, and can precisely define changes due to growth, disturbance and land use. Current satellite-based EBVs have taken advantage of the extraordinary time series from LANDSAT and MODIS, but new measurements more directly reveal ecosystem structure, function and composition. We will present results from pre-space airborne studies showing the synergistic ability of a suite of new remote observation techniques to quantify biodiversity and ecosystem function and show how it changes during major disturbance events.

Hyperspectral Remote Sensing and Ecological Modeling Research and Education at Mid America Remote Sensing Center (MARC): Field and Laboratory Enhancement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cetin, Haluk

1999-01-01

The purpose of this project was to establish a new hyperspectral remote sensing laboratory at the Mid-America Remote sensing Center (MARC), dedicated to in situ and laboratory measurements of environmental samples and to the manipulation, analysis, and storage of remotely sensed data for environmental monitoring and research in ecological modeling using hyperspectral remote sensing at MARC, one of three research facilities of the Center of Reservoir Research at Murray State University (MSU), a Kentucky Commonwealth Center of Excellence. The equipment purchased, a FieldSpec FR portable spectroradiometer and peripherals, and ENVI hyperspectral data processing software, allowed MARC to provide hands-on experience, education, and training for the students of the Department of Geosciences in quantitative remote sensing using hyperspectral data, Geographic Information System (GIS), digital image processing (DIP), computer, geological and geophysical mapping; to provide field support to the researchers and students collecting in situ and laboratory measurements of environmental data; to create a spectral library of the cover types and to establish a World Wide Web server to provide the spectral library to other academic, state and Federal institutions. Much of the research will soon be published in scientific journals. A World Wide Web page has been created at the web site of MARC. Results of this project are grouped in two categories, education and research accomplishments. The Principal Investigator (PI) modified remote sensing and DIP courses to introduce students to ii situ field spectra and laboratory remote sensing studies for environmental monitoring in the region by using the new equipment in the courses. The PI collected in situ measurements using the spectroradiometer for the ER-2 mission to Puerto Rico project for the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) Airborne Simulator (MAS). Currently MARC is mapping water quality in Kentucky Lake and vegetation in the Land-Between-the Lakes (LBL) using Landsat-TM data. A Landsat-TM scene of the same day was obtained to relate ground measurements to the satellite data. A spectral library has been created for overstory species in LBL. Some of the methods, such as NPDF and IDFD techniques for spectral unmixing and reduction of effects of shadows in classifications- comparison of hyperspectral classification techniques, and spectral nonlinear and linear unmixing techniques, are being tested using the laboratory.

Remote sensing and urban public health

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rush, M.; Vernon, S.

1975-01-01

The applicability of remote sensing in the form of aerial photography to urban public health problems is examined. Environmental characteristics are analyzed to determine if health differences among areas could be predicted from the visual expression of remote sensing data. The analysis is carried out on a socioeconomic cross-sectional sample of census block groups. Six morbidity and mortality rates are the independent variables while environmental measures from aerial photographs and from the census constitute the two independent variable sets. It is found that environmental data collected by remote sensing are as good as census data in evaluating rates of health outcomes.

The Radio Frequency Environment at 240-270 MHz with Application to Signal-of-Opportunity Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Piepmeier, Jeffrey R.; Vega, Manuel; Fritts, Matthew; Du Toit, Cornelis; Knuble, Joseph; Lin, Yao-Cheng; Nold, Benjamin; Garrison, James

2017-01-01

Low frequency observations are desired for soil moisture and biomass remote sensing. Long wavelengths are needed to penetrate vegetation and Earths land surface. In addition to the technical challenges of developing Earth observing spaceflight instruments operating at low frequencies, the radio frequency spectrum allocated to remote sensing is limited. Signal-of-opportunity remote sensing offers the chance to use existing signals exploiting their allocated spectrum to make Earth science measurements. We have made observations of the radio frequency environment around 240-270 MHz and discuss properties of desired and undesired signals.

An evaluation of the use of remotely sensed parameters for prediction of incidence and risk associated with Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Gulf Coast oysters (Crassostrea virginica).

PubMed

Phillips, A M B; Depaola, A; Bowers, J; Ladner, S; Grimes, D J

2007-04-01

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently published a Vibrio parahaemolyticus risk assessment for consumption of raw oysters that predicts V. parahaemolyticus densities at harvest based on water temperature. We retrospectively compared archived remotely sensed measurements (sea surface temperature, chlorophyll, and turbidity) with previously published data from an environmental study of V. parahaemolyticus in Alabama oysters to assess the utility of the former data for predicting V. parahaemolyticus densities in oysters. Remotely sensed sea surface temperature correlated well with previous in situ measurements (R(2) = 0.86) of bottom water temperature, supporting the notion that remotely sensed sea surface temperature data are a sufficiently accurate substitute for direct measurement. Turbidity and chlorophyll levels were not determined in the previous study, but in comparison with the V. parahaemolyticus data, remotely sensed values for these parameters may explain some of the variation in V. parahaemolyticus levels. More accurate determination of these effects and the temporal and spatial variability of these parameters may further improve the accuracy of prediction models. To illustrate the utility of remotely sensed data as a basis for risk management, predictions based on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration V. parahaemolyticus risk assessment model were integrated with remotely sensed sea surface temperature data to display graphically variations in V. parahaemolyticus density in oysters associated with spatial variations in water temperature. We believe images such as these could be posted in near real time, and that the availability of such information in a user-friendly format could be the basis for timely and informed risk management decisions.

Applying remote sensing and GIS techniques in solving rural county information needs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johannsen, Chris J.; Fernandez, R. Norberto; Lozano-Garcia, D. Fabian

1992-01-01

The project designed was to acquaint county government officials and their clientele with remote sensing and GIS products that contain information about land conditions and land use. Other users determined through the course of this project were federal agencies working at the county level, agricultural businesses and others in need of spatial information. The specific project objectives were: (1) to investigate the feasibility of using remotely sensed data to identify and quantify specific land cover categories and conditions for purposes of tax assessment, cropland area measurements and land use evaluation; (2) to investigate the use of satellite remote sensing data as an aid in assessing soil management practices; and (3) to evaluate the use of remotely sensed data to assess soil resources and conditions which affect productivity.

Local involvement in measuring and governing carbon stocks in China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Laos

Treesearch

Michael Køie Poulsen

2013-01-01

An important element of MRV is to ensure accurate measurements of carbon stocks. Measuring trees on the ground may be needed for ground truthing of remote sensing results. It can also provide more accurate carbon stock monitoring than remote sensing alone. Local involvement in measuring trees for monitoring of carbon stocks may be advantageous in several ways....

Non-Lambertian effects on remote sensing of surface reflectance and vegetation index

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, T. Y.; Kaufman, Y. J.

1986-01-01

This paper discusses the effects of non-Lambertian reflection from a homogeneous surface on remote sensing of the surface reflectance and vegetation index from a satellite. Remote measurement of the surface characteristics is perturbed by atmospheric scattering of sun light. This scattering tends to smooth the angular dependence of non-Lambertian surface reflectances, an effect that is not present in the case of Lambertian surfaces. This effect is calculated to test the validity of a Lambertian assumption used in remote sensing. For the three types of vegetations considered in this study, the assumption of Lambertian surface can be used satisfactorily in the derivation of surface reflectance from remotely measured radiance for a view angle outside the backscattering region. Within the backscattering region, however, the use of the assumption can result in a considerable error in the derived surface reflectance. Accuracy also deteriorates with increasing solar zenith angle. The angular distribution of the surface reflectance derived from remote measurements is smoother than that at the surface. The effect of surface non-Lambertianity on remote sensing of vegetation index is very weak. Since the effect is similiar in the visible and near infrared part of the solar spectrum for the vegetations treated in this study, it is canceled in deriving the vegetation index. The effect of the diffuse skylight on surface reflectance measurements at ground level is also discussed.

Comparing near-earth and satellite remote sensing based phenophase estimates: an analysis using multiple webcams and MODIS (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hufkens, K.; Richardson, A. D.; Migliavacca, M.; Frolking, S. E.; Braswell, B. H.; Milliman, T.; Friedl, M. A.

2010-12-01

In recent years several studies have used digital cameras and webcams to monitor green leaf phenology. Such "near-surface" remote sensing has been shown to be a cost effective means of accurately capturing phenology. Specifically, it allows for accurate tracking of intra- and inter-annual phenological dynamics at high temporal frequency and over broad spatial scales compared to visual observations or tower-based fAPAR and broadband NDVI measurements. Near surface remote sensing measurements therefore show promise for bridging the gap between traditional in-situ measurements of phenology and satellite remote sensing data. For this work, we examined the relationship between phenophase estimates derived from satellite remote sensing (MODIS) and near-earth remote sensing derived from webcams for a select set of sites with high-quality webcam data. A logistic model was used to characterize phenophases for both the webcam and MODIS data. We documented model fit accuracy, phenophase estimates, and model biases for both data sources. Our results show that different vegetation indices (VI's) derived from MODIS produce significantly different phenophase estimates compared to corresponding estimates derived from webcam data. Different VI's showed markedly different radiometric properties, and as a result, influenced phenophase estimates. The study shows that phenophase estimates are not only highly dependent on the algorithm used but also depend on the VI used by the phenology retrieval algorithm. These results highlight the need for a better understanding of how near-earth and satellite remote data relate to eco-physiological and canopy changes during different parts of the growing season.

A Prototype Hydrologic Observatory for the Neuse River Basin Using Remote Sensing Data as a Part of the CUAHSI-HIS Effort

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanwar, R.; Narayan, U.; Lakshmi, V.

2005-12-01

Remote sensing has the potential to immensely advance the science and application of hydrology as it provides multi-scale and multi-temporal measurements of several hydrologic parameters. There is a wide variety of remote sensing data sources available to a hydrologist with a myriad of data formats, access techniques, data quality issues and temporal and spatial extents. It is very important to make data availability and its usage as convenient as possible for potential users. The CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System (HIS) initiative addresses this issue of better data access and management for hydrologists with a focus on in-situ data, that is point measurements of water and energy fluxes which make up the 'more conventional' sources of hydrologic data. This paper explores various sources of remotely sensed hydrologic data available, their data formats and volumes, current modes of data acquisition by end users, metadata associated with data itself, and requirements from potential data models that would allow a seamless integration of remotely sensed hydrologic observations into the Hydrologic Information System. Further, a prototype hydrologic observatory (HO) for the Neuse River Basin is developed using surface temperature, vegetation indices and soil moisture estimates available from remote sensing. The prototype (HO) uses the CUAHSI digital library system (DLS) on the back (server) end. On the front (client) end, a rich visual environment has been developed in order to provide better decision making tools in order to make an optimal choice in the selection of remote sensing data for a particular application. An easy point and click interface to the remote sensing data is also implemented for common users who are just interested in location based query of hydrologic variable values.

The importance of ground truth data in remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoffer, R. M.

1972-01-01

Surface observation data is discussed as an essential part of remote sensing research. One of the most important aspects of ground truth is the collection of measurements and observations about the type, size, condition and other physical or chemical properties of importance concerning the materials on the earth's surface that are being sensed remotely. The use of a variety of sensor systems in combination at different altitudes is emphasized.

A review of surface energy balance models for estimating actual evapotranspiration with remote sensing at high spatiotemporal resolution over large extents

Treesearch

Ryan R. McShane; Katelyn P. Driscoll; Roy Sando

2017-01-01

Many approaches have been developed for measuring or estimating actual evapotranspiration (ETa), and research over many years has led to the development of remote sensing methods that are reliably reproducible and effective in estimating ETa. Several remote sensing methods can be used to estimate ETa at the high spatial resolution of agricultural fields and the large...

Active and Passive Remote Sensing of Ice

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-11-15

To demonstrate the use of polarimetry in passive remote sensing of azimuthally asymmetric features on a terrain surface, an experiment was designed...azimuthal asymmetry on the remotely sensed soil surface. It is also observed from the experiment that the brightness temperatures for all three Stokes...significant implication of this experiment is that the surface asymmetry can be detected with a measurement of U at a single azimuthal angle. -8

A Macroecological Analysis of SERA Derived Forest Heights and Implications for Forest Volume Remote Sensing

PubMed Central

Brolly, Matthew; Woodhouse, Iain H.; Niklas, Karl J.; Hammond, Sean T.

2012-01-01

Individual trees have been shown to exhibit strong relationships between DBH, height and volume. Often such studies are cited as justification for forest volume or standing biomass estimation through remote sensing. With resolution of common satellite remote sensing systems generally too low to resolve individuals, and a need for larger coverage, these systems rely on descriptive heights, which account for tree collections in forests. For remote sensing and allometric applications, this height is not entirely understood in terms of its location. Here, a forest growth model (SERA) analyzes forest canopy height relationships with forest wood volume. Maximum height, mean, H100, and Lorey's height are examined for variability under plant number density, resource and species. Our findings, shown to be allometrically consistent with empirical measurements for forested communities world-wide, are analyzed for implications to forest remote sensing techniques such as LiDAR and RADAR. Traditional forestry measures of maximum height, and to a lesser extent H100 and Lorey's, exhibit little consistent correlation with forest volume across modeled conditions. The implication is that using forest height to infer volume or biomass from remote sensing requires species and community behavioral information to infer accurate estimates using height alone. SERA predicts mean height to provide the most consistent relationship with volume of the height classifications studied and overall across forest variations. This prediction agrees with empirical data collected from conifer and angiosperm forests with plant densities ranging between 102–106 plants/hectare and heights 6–49 m. Height classifications investigated are potentially linked to radar scattering centers with implications for allometry. These findings may be used to advance forest biomass estimation accuracy through remote sensing. Furthermore, Lorey's height with its specific relationship to remote sensing physics is recommended as a more universal indicator of volume when using remote sensing than achieved using either maximum height or H100. PMID:22457800

A macroecological analysis of SERA derived forest heights and implications for forest volume remote sensing.

PubMed

Brolly, Matthew; Woodhouse, Iain H; Niklas, Karl J; Hammond, Sean T

2012-01-01

Individual trees have been shown to exhibit strong relationships between DBH, height and volume. Often such studies are cited as justification for forest volume or standing biomass estimation through remote sensing. With resolution of common satellite remote sensing systems generally too low to resolve individuals, and a need for larger coverage, these systems rely on descriptive heights, which account for tree collections in forests. For remote sensing and allometric applications, this height is not entirely understood in terms of its location. Here, a forest growth model (SERA) analyzes forest canopy height relationships with forest wood volume. Maximum height, mean, H₁₀₀, and Lorey's height are examined for variability under plant number density, resource and species. Our findings, shown to be allometrically consistent with empirical measurements for forested communities world-wide, are analyzed for implications to forest remote sensing techniques such as LiDAR and RADAR. Traditional forestry measures of maximum height, and to a lesser extent H₁₀₀ and Lorey's, exhibit little consistent correlation with forest volume across modeled conditions. The implication is that using forest height to infer volume or biomass from remote sensing requires species and community behavioral information to infer accurate estimates using height alone. SERA predicts mean height to provide the most consistent relationship with volume of the height classifications studied and overall across forest variations. This prediction agrees with empirical data collected from conifer and angiosperm forests with plant densities ranging between 10²-10⁶ plants/hectare and heights 6-49 m. Height classifications investigated are potentially linked to radar scattering centers with implications for allometry. These findings may be used to advance forest biomass estimation accuracy through remote sensing. Furthermore, Lorey's height with its specific relationship to remote sensing physics is recommended as a more universal indicator of volume when using remote sensing than achieved using either maximum height or H₁₀₀.

Evaluation of remote sensing to measure plant stress in Creeping Bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) fairways

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Turfgrass irrigation strategies must be clearly defined in response to increasing concerns over quality water availability. Water conservation may be achieved with technologies such as remote sensing. The objectives of this research were to (i) correlate reflectance measurements from creeping bentgr...

Principles of thermal remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

The remote sensing of temperature is performed by sensing radiation emitted from solids, liquids, and gases in the thermal infrared region of the spectrum, in which thermal emission is dominant over reflected solar energy. For Earth resources applications, thermal sensing of solids and liquids is performed in two ""windows'' of the atmosphere where atmospheric absorption and emission are at a minimum. Temperature measurement, intrinsic thermal properties, factors in interpreting thermal data, the use of thermal inertia, and the measurements obtained by the heat capacity mapping radiometer are discussed.

77 FR 71772 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-04

... is for NASS and the Agricultural Research Service/Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory to make an... with remote sensed data to measure crop residue cover and soil tillage intensity for the entire...

A new simple concept for ocean colour remote sensing using parallel polarisation radiance

PubMed Central

He, Xianqiang; Pan, Delu; Bai, Yan; Wang, Difeng; Hao, Zengzhou

2014-01-01

Ocean colour remote sensing has supported research on subjects ranging from marine ecosystems to climate change for almost 35 years. However, as the framework for ocean colour remote sensing is based on the radiation intensity at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA), the polarisation of the radiation, which contains additional information on atmospheric and water optical properties, has largely been neglected. In this study, we propose a new simple concept to ocean colour remote sensing that uses parallel polarisation radiance (PPR) instead of the traditional radiation intensity. We use vector radiative transfer simulation and polarimetric satellite sensing data to demonstrate that using PPR has two significant advantages in that it effectively diminishes the sun glint contamination and enhances the ocean colour signal at the TOA. This concept may open new doors for ocean colour remote sensing. We suggest that the next generation of ocean colour sensors should measure PPR to enhance observational capability. PMID:24434904

Use of land surface remotely sensed satellite and airborne data for environmental exposure assessment in cancer research

USGS Publications Warehouse

Maxwell, S.K.; Meliker, J.R.; Goovaerts, P.

2010-01-01

In recent years, geographic information systems (GIS) have increasingly been used for reconstructing individual-level exposures to environmental contaminants in epidemiological research. Remotely sensed data can be useful in creating space-time models of environmental measures. The primary advantage of using remotely sensed data is that it allows for study at the local scale (e.g., residential level) without requiring expensive, time-consuming monitoring campaigns. The purpose of our study was to identify how land surface remotely sensed data are currently being used to study the relationship between cancer and environmental contaminants, focusing primarily on agricultural chemical exposure assessment applications. We present the results of a comprehensive literature review of epidemiological research where remotely sensed imagery or land cover maps derived from remotely sensed imagery were applied. We also discuss the strengths and limitations of the most commonly used imagery data (aerial photographs and Landsat satellite imagery) and land cover maps.

Tracking diurnal changes of photosynthesis and evapotranspiration using fluorescence, gas exchange and hyperspectral remote sensing measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, S.; Zhang, L.; Guanter, L.; Huang, C.

2017-12-01

Photosynthesis and evapotranspiration (ET) are the two most important activities of vegetation and make a great contribution to carbon, water and energy exchanges. Remote sensing provides opportunities for monitoring these processes across time and space. This study focuses on tracking diurnal changes of photosynthesis and evapotranspiration over soybean using multiple measurement techniques. Diurnal changes of both remote sensing-based indicators, including active and passive chlorophyll fluorescence and biophysical-related parameters, including photosynthesis rate (photo) and leaf stomatal conductance (cond), were observed. Results showed that both leaf-level steady-state fluorescence (Fs) and canopy-level solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence were linearly correlated to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) during the daytime. A double-peak diurnal change curve was observed for leaf-level photo and cond but not for Fs or SIF. Photo and cond showed a strong nonlinear (second-order) correlation, indicating that photosynthesis, which might be remotely sensed by SIF, has the opportunity to track short-term changes of ET. Results presented in this report will be helpful for better understanding the relationship between remote-sensing-based indices and vegetation's biophysical processes.

Design and construction of a remote sensing apparatus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maples, D.; Hagewood, J. F.

1973-01-01

The methods of identifying plant and soil types using remote sensing techniques are described. The equipment employed consists of a balloon system and a mobile remote sensing laboratory housing a radiometer which is mounted on a turret mechanism. The radiometer is made up of a telescope whose lenses are replaced by mirrors which channel received radiation into a monochromator. The radiation is then focused onto detectors for measurement of the intensity of the electromagnetic energy as a function of wavelength. Measurements from a wavelength of 0.2 microns to 15 microns are obtained with the system. diagrams are provided.

[Combustion temperature measurement of pyrotechnic composition using remote sensing Fourier transform infrared spectrometry].

PubMed

Zhou, Xin-li; Li, Yan; Liu, Zu-liang; Zhu, Chang-jiang; Wang, Jun-de; Lu, Chun-xu

2002-10-01

In this paper, combustion characterization of pyrotechnic composition is investigated using a remote sensing Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. The emission spectra have been recorded between 4,700 and 740 cm-1 with a spectral resolution of 4 cm-1. The combustion temperature can be determined remotely from spectral line intensity distribution of the fine structure of the emission fundamental band of gaseous products such as HF. The relationship between combustion temperature and combustion time has been given. Results show that there is a violent mutative temperature field with bigger temperature gradient near combustion surface. It reveals that the method of temperature measurement using remote sensing FTIR for flame temperature of unstable, violent and short time combustion on real time is a rapid, accurate and sensitive technique without interference the flame temperature field. Potential prospects of temperature measurement, gas product concentration measurement and combustion mechanism are also revealed.

Biogeochemical cycling in terrestrial ecosystems - Modeling, measurement, and remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peterson, D. L.; Matson, P. A.; Lawless, J. G.; Aber, J. D.; Vitousek, P. M.

1985-01-01

The use of modeling, remote sensing, and measurements to characterize the pathways and to measure the rate of biogeochemical cycling in forest ecosystems is described. The application of the process-level model to predict processes in intact forests and ecosystems response to disturbance is examined. The selection of research areas from contrasting climate regimes and sites having a fertility gradient in that regime is discussed, and the sites studied are listed. The use of remote sensing in determining leaf area index and canopy biochemistry is analyzed. Nitrous oxide emission is investigated by using a gas measurement instrument. Future research projects, which include studying the influence of changes on nutrient cycling in ecosystems and the effect of pollutants on the ecosystems, are discussed.

Instrumental sensing of stationary source emissions. [sulphur dioxide remote sensing for coal-burning power plants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herget, W. F.; Conner, W. D.

1977-01-01

A variety of programs have been conducted within EPA to evaluate the capability of various ground-based remote-sensing techniques for measuring the SO2 concentration, velocity, and opacity of effluents from coal-burning power plants. The results of the remote measurements were compared with the results of instack measurements made using EPA reference methods. Attention is given to infrared gas-filter correlation radiometry for SO2 concentration, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy for SO2 concentration, ultraviolet matched-filter correlation spectroscopy for SO2 concentration, infrared and ultraviolet television for velocity and SO2 concentration, infrared laser-Doppler velocimetry for plume velocity, and visible laser radar for plume opacity.

What is a picture worth? A history of remote sensing

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moore, Gerald K.

1979-01-01

Remote sensing is the use of electromagnetic energy to measure the physical properties of distant objects. It includes photography and geophysical surveying as well as newer techniques that use other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. The history of remote sensing begins with photography. The origin of other types of remote sensing can be traced to World War II, with the development of radar, sonar, and thermal infrared detection systems. Since the 1960s, sensors have been designed to operate in virtually all of the electromagnetic spectrum. Today a wide variety of remote sensing instruments are available for use in hydrological studies; satellite data, such as Skylab photographs and Landsat images are particularly suitable for regional problems and studies. Planned future satellites will provide a ground resolution of 10–80 m. Remote sensing is currently used for hydrological applications in most countries of the world. The range of applications includes groundwater exploration determination of physical water quality, snowfield mapping, flood-inundation delineation, and making inventories of irrigated land. The use of remote sensing commonly results in considerable hydrological information at minimal cost. This information can be used to speed-up the development of water resources, to improve management practices, and to monitor environmental problems.

Greenland 1979 microwave remote sensing data catalog report, 14-15 October 1979

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hennigar, H. F.; Hirstein, W. S.; Schaffner, S. K.; Delnore, V. E.; Grantham, W. L.

1983-01-01

Microwave remote sensing measurements were cataloged for active and passive instruments in support of the 1979 Greenland Remote Sensing Experiment. Instruments used in this field experiment include the stepped frequency microwave radiometer (4 to 8 GHz) and the airborne microwave scatterometer (14.6 GHz). The microwave signature data are inventoried and cataloged in a user friendly format and are available on 9 track computer compatible tapes upon request.

EVALUATION OF A FORMER LANDFILL SITE IN FORT COLLINS, COLORADO USING GROUND-BASED OPTICAL REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGY

EPA Science Inventory

This report details a measurement campaign conducted using the Radial Plume Mapping (RPM) method and optical remote sensing technologies to characterize fugitive emissions. This work was funded by EPA′s Monitoring and Measurement for the 21st Century Initiative, or 21M2. The si...

PolarBRDF: A general purpose Python package for visualization and quantitative analysis of multi-angular remote sensing measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Manoj K.; Gautam, Ritesh; Gatebe, Charles K.; Poudyal, Rajesh

2016-11-01

The Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) is a fundamental concept for characterizing the reflectance property of a surface, and helps in the analysis of remote sensing data from satellite, airborne and surface platforms. Multi-angular remote sensing measurements are required for the development and evaluation of BRDF models for improved characterization of surface properties. However, multi-angular data and the associated BRDF models are typically multidimensional involving multi-angular and multi-wavelength information. Effective visualization of such complex multidimensional measurements for different wavelength combinations is presently somewhat lacking in the literature, and could serve as a potentially useful research and teaching tool in aiding both interpretation and analysis of BRDF measurements. This article describes a newly developed software package in Python (PolarBRDF) to help visualize and analyze multi-angular data in polar and False Color Composite (FCC) forms. PolarBRDF also includes functionalities for computing important multi-angular reflectance/albedo parameters including spectral albedo, principal plane reflectance and spectral reflectance slope. Application of PolarBRDF is demonstrated using various case studies obtained from airborne multi-angular remote sensing measurements using NASA's Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR). Our visualization program also provides functionalities for untangling complex surface/atmosphere features embedded in pixel-based remote sensing measurements, such as the FCC imagery generation of BRDF measurements of grasslands in the presence of wildfire smoke and clouds. Furthermore, PolarBRDF also provides quantitative information of the angular distribution of scattered surface/atmosphere radiation, in the form of relevant BRDF variables such as sunglint, hotspot and scattering statistics.

PolarBRDF: A general purpose Python package for visualization and quantitative analysis of multi-angular remote sensing measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poudyal, R.; Singh, M.; Gautam, R.; Gatebe, C. K.

2016-12-01

The Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) is a fundamental concept for characterizing the reflectance property of a surface, and helps in the analysis of remote sensing data from satellite, airborne and surface platforms. Multi-angular remote sensing measurements are required for the development and evaluation of BRDF models for improved characterization of surface properties. However, multi-angular data and the associated BRDF models are typically multidimensional involving multi-angular and multi-wavelength information. Effective visualization of such complex multidimensional measurements for different wavelength combinations is presently somewhat lacking in the literature, and could serve as a potentially useful research and teaching tool in aiding both interpretation and analysis of BRDF measurements. This article describes a newly developed software package in Python (PolarBRDF) to help visualize and analyze multi-angular data in polar and False Color Composite (FCC) forms. PolarBRDF also includes functionalities for computing important multi-angular reflectance/albedo parameters including spectral albedo, principal plane reflectance and spectral reflectance slope. Application of PolarBRDF is demonstrated using various case studies obtained from airborne multi-angular remote sensing measurements using NASA's Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR)- http://car.gsfc.nasa.gov/. Our visualization program also provides functionalities for untangling complex surface/atmosphere features embedded in pixel-based remote sensing measurements, such as the FCC imagery generation of BRDF measurements of grasslands in the presence of wildfire smoke and clouds. Furthermore, PolarBRDF also provides quantitative information of the angular distribution of scattered surface/atmosphere radiation, in the form of relevant BRDF variables such as sunglint, hotspot and scattering statistics.

A Design of a Novel Airborne Aerosol Spectrometer for Remote Sensing Validation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adler, G. A.; Brock, C. A.; Dube, W. P.; Erdesz, F.; Gordon, T.; Law, D. C.; Manfred, K.; Mason, B. J.; McLaughlin, R. J.; Richardson, M.; Wagner, N. L.; Washenfelder, R. A.; Murphy, D. M.

2016-12-01

Aerosols and their effect on the radiative properties of clouds contribute one of the largest sources of uncertainty to the Earth's energy budget. Many current global assessments, of atmospheric aerosol radiative forcing rely heavily on remote sensing observation; therefore, in situ aircraft and ground-based measurements are essential for validation of remote sensing measurements. Cavity ringdown spectrometers (CRD) measure aerosol extinction and are commonly used to validate remote sensing observations. These instruments have been deployed on aircraft based platforms over the years thus providing the opportunity to measure these properties over large areas in various conditions. However, deployment of the CRD on an aircraft platform has drawbacks. Typically, aircraft based CRDs draw sampled aerosol into a cabin based instrument through long lengths of tubing. This limits the ability of the instrument to measure: 1) Course mode aerosols (e.g. dust) 2) Aerosols at high relative humidity (above 90%) Here we describe the design of a novel aircraft based open path CRD. The open path CRD is intended to be mounted external to the cabin and has no sample tubing for aerosol delivery, thus measuring optical properties of all aerosol at the ambient conditions. However, the design of an open path CRD for operation on a wing-mounted aircraft platform has certain design complexities. The instrument's special design features include 2 CRD channels, 2 airfoils around the open Path CRD and a configuration which could be easily aligned and rigid at the same time. This novel implementation of cavity ringdown spectroscopy will provide a better assessment of the accuracy of remote sensing satellite measurements

Polarbrdf: A General Purpose Python Package for Visualization Quantitative Analysis of Multi-Angular Remote Sensing Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, Manoj K.; Gautam, Ritesh; Gatebe, Charles K.; Poudyal, Rajesh

2016-01-01

The Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) is a fundamental concept for characterizing the reflectance property of a surface, and helps in the analysis of remote sensing data from satellite, airborne and surface platforms. Multi-angular remote sensing measurements are required for the development and evaluation of BRDF models for improved characterization of surface properties. However, multi-angular data and the associated BRDF models are typically multidimensional involving multi-angular and multi-wavelength information. Effective visualization of such complex multidimensional measurements for different wavelength combinations is presently somewhat lacking in the literature, and could serve as a potentially useful research and teaching tool in aiding both interpretation and analysis of BRDF measurements. This article describes a newly developed software package in Python (PolarBRDF) to help visualize and analyze multi-angular data in polar and False Color Composite (FCC) forms. PolarBRDF also includes functionalities for computing important multi-angular reflectance/albedo parameters including spectral albedo, principal plane reflectance and spectral reflectance slope. Application of PolarBRDF is demonstrated using various case studies obtained from airborne multi-angular remote sensing measurements using NASA's Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR). Our visualization program also provides functionalities for untangling complex surface/atmosphere features embedded in pixel-based remote sensing measurements, such as the FCC imagery generation of BRDF measurements of grasslands in the presence of wild fire smoke and clouds. Furthermore, PolarBRDF also provides quantitative information of the angular distribution of scattered surface/atmosphere radiation, in the form of relevant BRDF variables such as sunglint, hotspot and scattering statistics.

Aerospace remote sensing of the coastal zone for water quality and biotic productivity applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pritchard, E. B.; Harriss, R. C.

1981-01-01

Remote sensing can provide the wide area synoptic coverage of surface waters which is required for studies of such phenomena as river plume mixing, phytoplankton dynamics, and pollutant transport and fate, but which is not obtainable by conventional oceanographic techniques. The application of several remote sensors (aircraftborne and spacecraftborne multispectral scanners, passive microwave radiometers, and active laser systems) to coastal zone research is discussed. Current measurement capabilities (particulates, chlorophyll a, temperature, salinity, ocean dumped materials, other pollutants, and surface winds and roughness) are defined and the results of recent remote sensing experiments conducted in the North Atlantic coastal zone are presented. The future development of remote sensing must rely on an integrated laboratory research program in optical physics. Recent results indicate the potential for separation of particulates into subsets by remote sensors.

Remote sensing tools to study ocean biogeochemistry: state of the art

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carr, M. E.

2001-01-01

Remote sensing of the world ocean presently provides measurements of sea-surface temperature, sea surface height, wind speed and direction, and ocean color, from which chlorophyll concentration and aerosol optical thickness are obtained.

Simple luminosity normalization of greenness, yellowness and redness/greenness for comparison of leaf spectral profiles in multi-temporally acquired remote sensing images.

PubMed

Doi, Ryoichi

2012-09-01

Observation of leaf colour (spectral profiles) through remote sensing is an effective method of identifying the spatial distribution patterns of abnormalities in leaf colour, which enables appropriate plant management measures to be taken. However, because the brightness of remote sensing images varies with acquisition time, in the observation of leaf spectral profiles in multi-temporally acquired remote sensing images, changes in brightness must be taken into account. This study identified a simple luminosity normalization technique that enables leaf colours to be compared in remote sensing images over time. The intensity values of green and yellow (green+red) exhibited strong linear relationships with luminosity (R2 greater than 0.926) when various invariant rooftops in Bangkok or Tokyo were spectralprofiled using remote sensing images acquired at different time points. The values of the coefficient and constant or the coefficient of the formulae describing the intensity of green or yellow were comparable among the single Bangkok site and the two Tokyo sites, indicating the technique's general applicability. For single rooftops, the values of the coefficient of variation for green, yellow, and red/green were 16% or less (n=6-11), indicating an accuracy not less than those of well-established remote sensing measures such as the normalized difference vegetation index. After obtaining the above linear relationships, raw intensity values were normalized and a temporal comparison of the spectral profiles of the canopies of evergreen and deciduous tree species in Tokyo was made to highlight the changes in the canopies' spectral profiles. Future aspects of this technique are discussed herein.

Cooperative remote sensing and actuation using networked unmanned vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chao, Haiyang

This dissertation focuses on how to design and employ networked unmanned vehicles for remote sensing and distributed control purposes in the current information-rich world. The target scenarios are environmental or agricultural applications such as river/reservoir surveillance, wind profiling measurement, and monitoring/control of chemical leaks, etc. AggieAir, a small and low-cost unmanned aircraft system, is designed based on the remote sensing requirements from environmental monitoring missions. The state estimation problem and the advanced lateral flight controller design problem are further attacked focusing on the small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform. Then the UAV-based remote sensing problem is focused with further flight test results. Given the measurements from unmanned vehicles, the actuation algorithms are needed for missions like the diffusion control. A consensus-based central Voronoi tessellation (CVT) algorithm is proposed for better control of the diffusion process. Finally, the dissertation conclusion and some new research suggestions are presented.

Remote sensing new model for monitoring the east Asian migratory locust infections based on its breeding circle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Xiuzhen; Ma, Jianwen; Bao, Yuhai

2006-12-01

Currently the function of operational locust monitor system mainly focused on after-hazards monitoring and assessment, and to found the way effectively to perform early warning and prediction has more practical meaning. Through 2001, 2002 two years continuously field sample and statistics for locusts eggs hatching, nymph growth, adults 3 phases observation, sample statistics and calculation, spectral measurements as well as synchronically remote sensing data processing we raise the view point of Remote Sensing three stage monitor the locust hazards. Based on the point of view we designed remote sensing monitor in three stages: (1) during the egg hitching phase remote sensing can retrieve parameters of land surface temperature (LST) and soil moisture; (2) during nymph growth phase locust increases appetite greatly and remote sensing can calculate vegetation index, leaf area index, vegetation cover and analysis changes; (3) during adult phase the locust move and assembly towards ponds and water ditches as well as less than 75% vegetation cover areas and remote sensing combination with field data can monitor and predicts potential areas for adult locusts to assembly. In this way the priority of remote sensing technology is elaborated effectively and it also provides technique support for the locust monitor system. The idea and techniques used in the study can also be used as reference for other plant diseases and insect pests.

New developments in satellite oceanography and current measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huang, N. E.

1979-01-01

Principal satellite remote sensing techniques and instruments are described and attention is given to the application of such techniques to ocean current measurement. The use of radiometers, satellite tracking drifters, and altimeters for current measurement is examined. Consideration is also given to other applications of satellite remote sensing in physical oceanography, including measurements of surface wind stress, sea state, tides, ice, sea surface temperature, salinity, ocean color, and oceanic leveling.

Impact of NO2 horizontal heterogeneity on tropospheric NO2 vertical columns retrieved from satellite, multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy, and in situ measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mendolia, D.; D'Souza, R. J. C.; Evans, G. J.; Brook, J.

2013-01-01

Tropospheric NO2 vertical column densities were retrieved for the first time in Toronto, Canada using three methods of differing spatial scales. Remotely-sensed NO2 vertical column densities, retrieved from multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy and satellite remote sensing, were evaluated by comparison with in situ vertical column densities derived using a pair of chemiluminescence monitors situated 0.01 and 0.5 km above ground level. The chemiluminescence measurements were corrected for the influence of NOz, which reduced the NO2 concentrations at 0.01 and 0.5 km by 8 ± 1% and 12 ± 1%, respectively. The average absolute decrease in the chemiluminescence NO2 measurement as a result of this correction was less than 1 ppb. Good correlation was observed between the remotely sensed and in situ NO2 vertical column densities (Pearson R ranging from 0.68 to 0.79), but the in situ vertical column densities were 27% to 55% greater than the remotely-sensed columns. These results indicate that NO2 horizontal heterogeneity strongly impacted the magnitude of the remotely-sensed columns. The in situ columns reflected an urban environment with major traffic sources, while the remotely-sensed NO2 vertical column densities were representative of the region, which included spatial heterogeneity introduced by residential neighbourhoods and Lake Ontario. Despite the difference in absolute values, the reasonable correlation between the vertical column densities determined by three distinct methods increased confidence in the validity of the values provided by each of the methods.

Integrating satellite remote sensing data and field data to predict rangeland structural indicators at the continental scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, J.; Okin, G.

2016-12-01

Rangelands provide a variety of important ecosystem goods and services across drylands globally. They are also the most important emitters of dust across the globe. Field data collection based on points does not represent spatially continuous information about surface variables and, given the vast size of the world's rangelands, cannot cover even a small fraction of their area. Remote sensing is potentially a labor- and time-saving method to observe important rangeland vegetation variables at both temporal and spatial scales. Information on vegetation cover, bare gap size, and plant height provide key rangeland vegetation variables in arid and semiarid rangelands, in part because they strongly impact dust emission and determine wildlife habitat characteristics. This study reports on relationships between remote sensing in the reflected solar spectrum and field measures related to these three variables, and shows how these relationships can be extended to produce spatially and temporally continuous datasets coupled with quantitative estimates of error. Field data for this study included over 3,800 Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM) measurements on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands throughout the western US. Remote sensing data were derived from MODIS nadir BRDF-adjusted reflectance (NBAR) and Landsat 8 OLI surface reflectance. Normalized bare gap size, total foliar cover, herbaceous cover and herbaceous height exhibit the greatest predictability from remote sensing variables with physically-reasonable relationships between remote sensing variables and field measures. Data fields produced using these relationships across the western US exhibit good agreement with independent high-resolution imagery.

Inroads of remote sensing into hydrologic science during the WRR era

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lettenmaier, Dennis P.; Alsdorf, Doug; Dozier, Jeff; Huffman, George J.; Pan, Ming; Wood, Eric F.

2015-09-01

The first issue of WRR appeared eight years after the launch of Sputnik, but by WRR's 25th anniversary, only seven papers that used remote sensing had appeared. Over the journal's second 25 years, that changed remarkably, and remote sensing is now widely used in hydrology and other geophysical sciences. We attribute this evolution to production of data sets that scientists not well versed in remote sensing can use, and to educational initiatives like NASA's Earth System Science Fellowship program that has supported over a thousand scientists, many in hydrology. We review progress in remote sensing in hydrology from a water balance perspective. We argue that progress is primarily attributable to a creative use of existing and past satellite sensors to estimate such variables as evapotranspiration rates or water storage in lakes and reservoirs and to new and planned missions. Recent transforming technologies include the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), the European Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) and U.S. Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) missions, and the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. Future missions include Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) to measure river discharge and lake, reservoir, and wetland storage. Measurement of some important hydrologic variables remains problematic: retrieval of snow water equivalent (SWE) from space remains elusive especially in mountain areas, even though snow cover extent is well observed, and was the topic of 4 of the first 5 remote sensing papers published in WRR. We argue that this area deserves more strategic thinking from the hydrology community.

Remotely monitoring evaporation rate and soil water status using thermal imaging and "three-temperatures model (3T Model)" under field-scale conditions.

PubMed

Qiu, Guo Yu; Zhao, Ming

2010-03-01

Remote monitoring of soil evaporation and soil water status is necessary for water resource and environment management. Ground based remote sensing can be the bridge between satellite remote sensing and ground-based point measurement. The primary object of this study is to provide an algorithm to estimate evaporation and soil water status by remote sensing and to verify its accuracy. Observations were carried out in a flat field with varied soil water content. High-resolution thermal images were taken with a thermal camera; soil evaporation was measured with a weighing lysimeter; weather data were recorded at a nearby meteorological station. Based on the thermal imaging and the three-temperatures model (3T model), we developed an algorithm to estimate soil evaporation and soil water status. The required parameters of the proposed method were soil surface temperature, air temperature, and solar radiation. By using the proposed method, daily variation in soil evaporation was estimated. Meanwhile, soil water status was remotely monitored by using the soil evaporation transfer coefficient. Results showed that the daily variation trends of measured and estimated evaporation agreed with each other, with a regression line of y = 0.92x and coefficient of determination R(2) = 0.69. The simplicity of the proposed method makes the 3T model a potentially valuable tool for remote sensing.

Using GPS Reflections for Satellite Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mickler, David

2000-01-01

GPS signals that have reflected off of the ocean's surface have shown potential for use in oceanographic and atmospheric studies. The research described here investigates the possible deployment of a GPS reflection receiver onboard a remote sensing satellite in low Earth orbit (LEO). The coverage and resolution characteristics of this receiver are calculated and estimated. This mission analysis examines using reflected GPS signals for several remote sensing missions. These include measurement of the total electron content in the ionosphere, sea surface height, and ocean wind speed and direction. Also discussed is the potential test deployment of such a GPS receiver on the space shuttle. Constellations of satellites are proposed to provide adequate spatial and temporal resolution for the aforementioned remote sensing missions. These results provide a starting point for research into the feasibility of augmenting or replacing existing remote sensing satellites with spaceborne GPS reflection-detecting receivers.

Quantitative interpretation of Great Lakes remote sensing data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shook, D. F.; Salzman, J.; Svehla, R. A.; Gedney, R. T.

1980-01-01

The paper discusses the quantitative interpretation of Great Lakes remote sensing water quality data. Remote sensing using color information must take into account (1) the existence of many different organic and inorganic species throughout the Great Lakes, (2) the occurrence of a mixture of species in most locations, and (3) spatial variations in types and concentration of species. The radiative transfer model provides a potential method for an orderly analysis of remote sensing data and a physical basis for developing quantitative algorithms. Predictions and field measurements of volume reflectances are presented which show the advantage of using a radiative transfer model. Spectral absorptance and backscattering coefficients for two inorganic sediments are reported.

NASA applications project in Miami County, Indiana

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johannsen, Chris J.; Fernandez, R. Norberto; Lozano-Garcia, D. Fabian

1990-01-01

This project was designed to acquaint county government officials and their clientele with remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) products that contain information about land conditions and land use. The specific project objectives are: (1) to investigate the feasibility of using remotely sensed data to identify and quantify specific land cover categories and conditions for purposes of tax assessment, cropland area measurements, and land use evaluation; (2) to evaluate the use of remotely sensed data to assess soil resources and conditions which affect productivity; (3) to investigate the use of satellite remote sensing data as an aid in assessing soil management practices; and (4) to evaluate the market potential of products derived from the above projects.

Hyperspectral remote sensing image retrieval system using spectral and texture features.

PubMed

Zhang, Jing; Geng, Wenhao; Liang, Xi; Li, Jiafeng; Zhuo, Li; Zhou, Qianlan

2017-06-01

Although many content-based image retrieval systems have been developed, few studies have focused on hyperspectral remote sensing images. In this paper, a hyperspectral remote sensing image retrieval system based on spectral and texture features is proposed. The main contributions are fourfold: (1) considering the "mixed pixel" in the hyperspectral image, endmembers as spectral features are extracted by an improved automatic pixel purity index algorithm, then the texture features are extracted with the gray level co-occurrence matrix; (2) similarity measurement is designed for the hyperspectral remote sensing image retrieval system, in which the similarity of spectral features is measured with the spectral information divergence and spectral angle match mixed measurement and in which the similarity of textural features is measured with Euclidean distance; (3) considering the limited ability of the human visual system, the retrieval results are returned after synthesizing true color images based on the hyperspectral image characteristics; (4) the retrieval results are optimized by adjusting the feature weights of similarity measurements according to the user's relevance feedback. The experimental results on NASA data sets can show that our system can achieve comparable superior retrieval performance to existing hyperspectral analysis schemes.

Remote sensing of high-latitude ionization profiles by ground-based and spaceborne instrumentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vondrak, R. R.

1981-01-01

Ionospheric specification and modeling are now largely based on data provided by active remote sensing with radiowave techniques (ionosondes, incoherent-scatter radars, and satellite beacons). More recently, passive remote sensing techniques have been developed that can be used to monitor quantitatively the spatial distribution of high-latitude E-region ionization. These passive methods depend on the measurement, or inference, of the energy distribution of precipitating kilovolt electrons, the principal source of the nighttime E-region at high latitudes. To validate these techniques, coordinated measurements of the auroral ionosphere have been made with the Chatanika incoherent-scatter radar and a variety of ground-based and spaceborne sensors

RFI and Remote Sensing of the Earth from Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Le Vine, D. M.; Johnson, J. T.; Piepmeier, J.

2016-01-01

Passive microwave remote sensing of the Earth from space provides information essential for understanding the Earth's environment and its evolution. Parameters such as soil moisture, sea surface temperature and salinity, and profiles of atmospheric temperature and humidity are measured at frequencies determined by the physics (e.g. sensitivity to changes in desired parameters) and by the availability of suitable spectrum free from interference. Interference from manmade sources (radio frequency interference) is an impediment that in many cases limits the potential for accurate measurements from space. A review is presented here of the frequencies employed in passive microwave remote sensing of the Earth from space and the associated experience with RFI.

Airborne Remote Sensing of Trafficability in the Coastal Zone

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-01

validation instruments: Analytical Spectral Devices (ASD) full-range spectrometer; light weight deflectometer ( LWD ), which measures dynamic deflection...liquid water absorption features. The corresponding bearing strength measured by the LWD was high at the shoreline site and low at the backdune site...REVIEW REMOTE SENSING FIGURE 7 Correlation of in situ grain size, moisture, and bearing strength measurements. Scatterplot of percent moisture vs LWD

Secure distribution for high resolution remote sensing images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jin; Sun, Jing; Xu, Zheng Q.

2010-09-01

The use of remote sensing images collected by space platforms is becoming more and more widespread. The increasing value of space data and its use in critical scenarios call for adoption of proper security measures to protect these data against unauthorized access and fraudulent use. In this paper, based on the characteristics of remote sensing image data and application requirements on secure distribution, a secure distribution method is proposed, including users and regions classification, hierarchical control and keys generation, and multi-level encryption based on regions. The combination of the three parts can make that the same remote sensing images after multi-level encryption processing are distributed to different permission users through multicast, but different permission users can obtain different degree information after decryption through their own decryption keys. It well meets user access control and security needs in the process of high resolution remote sensing image distribution. The experimental results prove the effectiveness of the proposed method which is suitable for practical use in the secure transmission of remote sensing images including confidential information over internet.

EVALUATION OF FUGITIVE EMISSIONS AT A FORMER LANDFILL SITE IN COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, USING GROUND-BASED OPTICAL REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGY

EPA Science Inventory

This report details a measurement campaign conducted using the Radial Plume Mapping (RPM) method and optical remote sensing technologies to characterize fugitive emissions. This work was funded by EPAs Monitoring and Measurement for the 21st Century Initiative, or 21M2. The si...

The feasibility of remotely sensed data to estimate urban tree dimensions and biomass

Treesearch

Jun-Hak Lee; Yekang Ko; E. Gregory McPherson

2016-01-01

Accurately measuring the biophysical dimensions of urban trees, such as crown diameter, stem diameter, height, and biomass, is essential for quantifying their collective benefits as an urban forest. However, the cost of directly measuring thousands or millions of individual trees through field surveys can be prohibitive. Supplementing field surveys with remotely sensed...

Target-in-the-loop remote sensing of laser beam and atmospheric turbulence characteristics.

PubMed

Vorontsov, Mikhail A; Lachinova, Svetlana L; Majumdar, Arun K

2016-07-01

A new target-in-the-loop (TIL) atmospheric sensing concept for in situ remote measurements of major laser beam characteristics and atmospheric turbulence parameters is proposed and analyzed numerically. The technique is based on utilization of an integral relationship between complex amplitudes of the counterpropagating optical waves known as overlapping integral or interference metric, whose value is preserved along the propagation path. It is shown that the interference metric can be directly measured using the proposed TIL sensing system composed of a single-mode fiber-based optical transceiver and a remotely located retro-target. The measured signal allows retrieval of key beam and atmospheric turbulence characteristics including scintillation index and the path-integrated refractive index structure parameter.

Satellite remote sensing of landscape freeze/thaw state dynamics for complex Topography and Fire Disturbance Areas Using multi-sensor radar and SRTM digital elevation models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Podest, Erika; McDonald, Kyle; Kimball, John; Randerson, James

2003-01-01

We characterize differences in radar-derived freeze/thaw state, examining transitions over complex terrain and landscape disturbance regimes. In areas of complex terrain, we explore freezekhaw dynamics related to elevation, slope aspect and varying landcover. In the burned regions, we explore the timing of seasonal freeze/thaw transition as related to the recovering landscape, relative to that of a nearby control site. We apply in situ biophysical measurements, including flux tower measurements to validate and interpret the remotely sensed parameters. A multi-scale analysis is performed relating high-resolution SAR backscatter and moderate resolution scatterometer measurements to assess trade-offs in spatial and temporal resolution in the remotely sensed fields.

Observations in the solar spectrum interest for remote sensing purposes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herman, M.; Vanderbilt, V.

1994-01-01

The polarization of the sunlight scattered by atmospheric aerosols or cloud droplets and reflected from ground surfaces or plant canopies may convey much information when used for remote sensing purposes. The typical polarization features of aerosols, cloud droplets, and plant canopies, as observed by ground based and airborne sensors, are investigated, looking especially for those invariant properties amenable to description by simple models when possible. The question of polarization measurements from space is addressed. The interest of such measurements for remote sensing purposes is investigated, and their feasibility is tested by using results obtained during field campaigns of the airborne POLDER instrument, a radiometer designed to measure the directionality and polarization of the sunlight scattered by the ground atmosphere system.

Optical remote measurement of toxic gases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grant, W. B.; Kagann, R. H.; McClenny, W. A.

1992-01-01

Enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990 has resulted in increased ambient air monitoring needs for industry, some of which may be met efficiently using open-path optical remote sensing techniques. These techniques include Fourier transform spectroscopy, differential optical absorption spectroscopy, laser long-path absorption, differential absorption lidar, and gas cell correlation spectroscopy. With this regulatory impetus, it is an opportune time to consider applying these technologies to the remote and/or path-averaged measurement and monitoring of toxic gases covered by the CAAA. This article reviews the optical remote sensing technology and literature for that application.

Monitoring Crop Phenology and Growth Stages from Space: Opportunities and Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, F.; Anderson, M. C.; Mladenova, I. E.; Kustas, W. P.; Alfieri, J. G.

2014-12-01

Crop growth stages in concert with weather and soil moisture conditions can have a significant impact on crop yields. In the U.S., crop growth stages and conditions are reported by farmers at the county level. These reports are somewhat subjective and fluctuate between different reporters, locations and times. Remote sensing data provide an alternative approach to monitoring crop growth over large areas in a more consistent and quantitative way. In the recent years, remote sensing data have been used to detect vegetation phenology at 1-km spatial resolution globally. However, agricultural applications at field scale require finer spatial resolution remote sensing data. Landsat (30-m) data have been successfully used for agricultural applications. There are many medium resolution sensors available today or in near future. These include Landsat, SPOT, RapidEye, ASTER and future Sentinel-2 etc. Approaches have been developed in the past several years to integrate remote sensing data from different sensors which may have different sensor characteristics, and spatial and temporal resolutions. This allows us opportunities today to map crop growth stages and conditions using dense time-series remote sensing at field scales. However, remotely sensed phenology (or phenological metrics) is normally derived based on the mathematical functions of the time-series data. The phenological metrics are determined by either identifying inflection (curvature) points or some pre-defined thresholds in the remote sensing phenology algorithms. Furthermore, physiological crop growth stages may not be directly correlated to the remotely sensed phenology. The relationship between remotely sensed phenology and crop growth stages is likely to vary for specific crop types and varieties, growing stages, conditions and even locations. In this presentation, we will examine the relationship between remotely sensed phenology and crop growth stages using in-situ measurements from Fluxnet sites and crop progress reports from USDA NASS. We will present remote sensing approaches and focus on: 1) integrating multiple sources of remote sensing data; and 2) extracting crop phenology at field scales. An example in the U.S. Corn Belt area will be presented and analyzed. Future directions for mapping crop growth stages will be discussed.

Software Suite to Support In-Flight Characterization of Remote Sensing Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stanley, Thomas; Holekamp, Kara; Gasser, Gerald; Tabor, Wes; Vaughan, Ronald; Ryan, Robert; Pagnutti, Mary; Blonski, Slawomir; Kenton, Ross

2014-01-01

A characterization software suite was developed to facilitate NASA's in-flight characterization of commercial remote sensing systems. Characterization of aerial and satellite systems requires knowledge of ground characteristics, or ground truth. This information is typically obtained with instruments taking measurements prior to or during a remote sensing system overpass. Acquired ground-truth data, which can consist of hundreds of measurements with different data formats, must be processed before it can be used in the characterization. Accurate in-flight characterization of remote sensing systems relies on multiple field data acquisitions that are efficiently processed, with minimal error. To address the need for timely, reproducible ground-truth data, a characterization software suite was developed to automate the data processing methods. The characterization software suite is engineering code, requiring some prior knowledge and expertise to run. The suite consists of component scripts for each of the three main in-flight characterization types: radiometric, geometric, and spatial. The component scripts for the radiometric characterization operate primarily by reading the raw data acquired by the field instruments, combining it with other applicable information, and then reducing it to a format that is appropriate for input into MODTRAN (MODerate resolution atmospheric TRANsmission), an Air Force Research Laboratory-developed radiative transport code used to predict at-sensor measurements. The geometric scripts operate by comparing identified target locations from the remote sensing image to known target locations, producing circular error statistics defined by the Federal Geographic Data Committee Standards. The spatial scripts analyze a target edge within the image, and produce estimates of Relative Edge Response and the value of the Modulation Transfer Function at the Nyquist frequency. The software suite enables rapid, efficient, automated processing of ground truth data, which has been used to provide reproducible characterizations on a number of commercial remote sensing systems. Overall, this characterization software suite improves the reliability of ground-truth data processing techniques that are required for remote sensing system in-flight characterizations.

Remote Sensing Plant Stress Using Combined Fluorescence and Reflectance Measurements for Early Detection of Defoliants within the Battlefield Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-10-02

Sensing Imagery, Instituto de Agricultura Sostenible, Córdoba, Spain Young, D.R. 2007. Leaf to landscape in a barrier island environment.” Workshop...on Vegetation Stress Detection with Remote Sensing Imagery, Instituto de Agricultura Sostenible, Córdoba, Spain Young, D.R. and J.C. Naumann. 2007

Remote sensing of ecosystem health: opportunities, challenges, and future perspectives.

PubMed

Li, Zhaoqin; Xu, Dandan; Guo, Xulin

2014-11-07

Maintaining a healthy ecosystem is essential for maximizing sustainable ecological services of the best quality to human beings. Ecological and conservation research has provided a strong scientific background on identifying ecological health indicators and correspondingly making effective conservation plans. At the same time, ecologists have asserted a strong need for spatially explicit and temporally effective ecosystem health assessments based on remote sensing data. Currently, remote sensing of ecosystem health is only based on one ecosystem attribute: vigor, organization, or resilience. However, an effective ecosystem health assessment should be a comprehensive and dynamic measurement of the three attributes. This paper reviews opportunities of remote sensing, including optical, radar, and LiDAR, for directly estimating indicators of the three ecosystem attributes, discusses the main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system, and provides some future perspectives. The main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system are: (1) scale issue; (2) transportability issue; (3) data availability; and (4) uncertainties in health indicators estimated from remote sensing data. However, the Radarsat-2 constellation, upcoming new optical sensors on Worldview-3 and Sentinel-2 satellites, and improved technologies for the acquisition and processing of hyperspectral, multi-angle optical, radar, and LiDAR data and multi-sensoral data fusion may partly address the current challenges.

Remote sensing of subsurface water temperature by Raman scattering.

PubMed

Leonard, D A; Caputo, B; Hoge, F E

1979-06-01

The application of Raman scattering to remote sensing of subsurface water temperature and salinity is considered, and both theoretical and experimental aspects of the technique are discussed. Recent experimental field measurements obtained in coastal waters and on a trans-Atlantic/Mediterranean research cruise are correlated with theoretical expectations. It is concluded that the Raman technique for remote sensing of subsurface water temperature has been brought from theoretical and laboratory stages to the point where practical utilization can now be developed.

Applications of Microwaves to Remote Sensing of Terrain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Porter, R. A.

1975-01-01

A survey and study was conducted to define the role that microwaves may play in the measurement of a variety of terrain-related parameters. The survey consisted of discussions with many users and researchers in the field of remote sensing. In addition, a survey questionnaire was prepared and replies were solicited from these and other users and researchers. The results of the survey, and associated bibliography, were studied and conclusions were drawn as to the usefulness of radiometric systems for remote sensing of terrain.

Laser And Nonlinear Optical Materials For Laser Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnes, Norman P.

2005-01-01

NASA remote sensing missions involving laser systems and their economic impact are outlined. Potential remote sensing missions include: green house gasses, tropospheric winds, ozone, water vapor, and ice cap thickness. Systems to perform these measurements use lanthanide series lasers and nonlinear devices including second harmonic generators and parametric oscillators. Demands these missions place on the laser and nonlinear optical materials are discussed from a materials point of view. Methods of designing new laser and nonlinear optical materials to meet these demands are presented.

Accessing, Utilizing and Visualizing NASA Remote Sensing Data for Malaria Modeling and Surveillance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kiang, Richard K.; Adimi, Farida; Kempler, Steven

2007-01-01

This poster presentation reviews the use of NASA remote sensing data that can be used to extract environmental information for modeling malaria transmission. The authors discuss the remote sensing data from Landsat, Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), Earth Observing One (EO-1), Advanced Land Imager (ALI) and Seasonal to Interannual Earth Science Information Partner (SIESIP) dataset.

Aircraft remote sensing of soil moisture and hydrologic parameters, Taylor Creek, Florida, and Little River, Georgia, 1979 data report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jackson, T. J.; Schmugge, T. J.; Allen, L. H., Jr.; Oneill, P.; Slack, R.; Wang, J.; Engman, E. T.

1981-01-01

Experiments were conducted to evaluate aircraft remote sensing techniques for hydrology in a wide range of physiographic and climatic regions using several sensor platforms. The data were collected in late 1978 and during 1979 in two humid areas--Taylor Creek, Fla., and Little River, Ga. Soil moisture measurements and climatic observations are presented as well as the remote sensing data collected using thermal infrared, passive microwave, and active microwave systems.

Observations of the global structure of the stratosphere and mesosphere with sounding rockets and with remote sensing techniques from satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heath, D. F.; Hilsenrath, E.; Krueger, A. J.; Nordberg, W.; Prabhakara, C.; Theon, J. S.

1972-01-01

Brief descriptions are given of the techniques involved in determining the global structure of the mesosphere and stratosphere based on sounding rocket observations and satellite remotely sensed measurements.

Remote Sensing of Water Quality in Multipurpose Reservoirs: Case Study Applications in Indonesia, Mexico, and Uruguay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miralles-Wilhelm, F.; Serrat-Capdevila, A.; Rodriguez, D.

2017-12-01

This research is focused on development of remote sensing methods to assess surface water pollution issues, particularly in multipurpose reservoirs. Three case study applications are presented to comparatively analyze remote sensing techniquesforo detection of nutrient related pollution, i.e., Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Chlorophyll, as this is a major water quality issue that has been identified in terms of pollution of major water sources around the country. This assessment will contribute to a better understanding of options for nutrient remote sensing capabilities and needs and assist water agencies in identifying the appropriate remote sensing tools and devise an application strategy to provide information needed to support decision-making regarding the targeting and monitoring of nutrient pollution prevention and mitigation measures. A detailed review of the water quality data available from ground based measurements was conducted in order to determine their suitability for a case study application of remote sensing. In the first case study, the Valle de Bravo reservoir in Mexico City reservoir offers a larger database of water quality which may be used to better calibrate and validate the algorithms required to obtain water quality data from remote sensing raw data. In the second case study application, the relatively data scarce Lake Toba in Indonesia can be useful to illustrate the value added of remote sensing data in locations where water quality data is deficient or inexistent. The third case study in the Paso Severino reservoir in Uruguay offers a combination of data scarcity and persistent development of harmful algae blooms. Landsat-TM data was obteined for the 3 study sites and algorithms for three key water quality parameters that are related to nutrient pollution: Chlorophyll-a, Total Nitrogen, and Total Phosphorus were calibrated and validated at the study sites. The three case study applications were developed into capacity building/training workshops for water resources students, applied scientists, practitioners, reservoir and water quality managers, and other interested stakeholders.

Mapping CDOM Concentration in Waters Influenced by the Mississippi River Plume

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Richard L.; DelCastillo, Carlos E.; Powell, Rodney T.; DSa, Eurico; Spiering, Bruce

2002-01-01

Colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is often an important component of the organic carbon pool in river-dominated coastal margins. CDOM directly influences remote sensing applications through its strong absorption in the UV and blue regions of the spectrum. This effect can complicate the use of chlorophyll a retrieval algorithms and phytoplankton production models that are based on remotely sensed ocean color. As freshwater input is the principle source of CDOM in coastal margins, CDOM distribution can often be described by conservative mixing with open ocean waters and may serve as an optical tracer of riverine water. Hence, there is considerable interest in the ability to accurately measure and map CDOM concentrations as well as understand the processes that govern the optical properties and distribution of CDOM in coastal environments. We are examining CDOM dynamics in the waters influenced by the Mississippi River plume. Our program incorporates discrete samples, flow-through measurements, and remote sensing. CDOM absorption spectra of discrete samples are measured at sea using a portable, multiple pathlength waveguide system. A SAFire multi-spectral fluorescence meter provides spectral characterization of CDOM (fluorescence and absorption) using a ship flow-through system for continuous surface mapping. In situ reflectance spectra are obtained by a hand held spectroradiometer. Remotely sensed images are obtained from the SeaWiFS and CRIS (Coastal Research Imaging Spectrometer) instruments. We describe here the instruments used, sampling protocols employed, and the relationships derived between in situ measurements and remotely sensed data for this optically complex environment.

Mississippi Sound remote sensing study. [NASA Earth Resources Laboratory seasonal experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Atwell, B. H.; Thomann, G. C.

1973-01-01

A study of the Mississippi Sound was initiated in early 1971 by personnel of NASA Earth Resources Laboratory. Four separate seasonal experiments consisting of quasi-synoptic remote and surface measurements over the entire area were planned. Approximately 80 stations distributed throughout Mississippi Sound were occupied. Surface water temperature and secchi extinction depth were measured at each station and water samples were collected for water quality analyses. The surface distribution of three water parameters of interest from a remote sensing standpoint - temperature, salinity and chlorophyll content - are displayed in map form. Areal variations in these parameters are related to tides and winds. A brief discussion of the general problem of radiative measurements of water temperature is followed by a comparison of remotely measured temperatures (PRT-5) to surface vessel measurements.

Ocean experiments and remotely sensed images of chemically dispersed oil spills

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Croswell, W. F.; Fedors, J. C.; Hoge, F. E.; Swift, R. N.; Johnson, J. C.

1983-01-01

A series of experiments was performed at sea where the effectiveness of dispersants applied from a helicopter was tested on fresh and weathered crude oils released from a surface research vessel. In conjunction with these experiments, remote sensing measurements using an array of airborne optical and microwave sensors were performed in order to aid in the interpretation of the dispersant effectiveness and to obtain quantitative images of oil on the sea under controlled conditions. Surface oil thickness and volume are inferred from airborne measurements using a dual-channel microwave imaging radiometer, aerial color photography, and an airborne oceanographic lidar. The remotely sensed measurements are compared with point sampled data obtained using a research vessel. The mass balance computations of surface versus subsurface oil volume using remotely sensed and point sampled data are consistent with each other and with the volumes of oil released. Data collected by the several techniques concur in indicating that, for the oils used and under the sea conditions encountered, the dispersant and application method are primarily useful when applied to fresh oil.

Thermal remote sensing: theory, sensors, and applications

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Applications of thermal infrared remote sensing for Earth science research are both varied and wide in scope. They range from understanding thermal energy responses that drive land-atmosphere energy exchanges in the hydrologic cycle, to measurement of dielectric surface properties for snow, ice, an...

Potential of a New Technique for Remote Sensing of Hydrocarbon Accumulations and Blind Uranium Deposits: Buried Lif Thermoluminescence Dosimeters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Siegel, F. R.; Vaz, J. E.; Lindholm, R. C.

1982-01-01

Buried thermoluminescence dosimeters may be useful in remote sensing of petroleum and natural gas accumulations and blind uranium deposits. They act as integrating detectors that smooth out the effects of environmental variations that affect other measuring systems and result in irregularities and poor repeatability in measurements made during gas and radiometric surveys.

A study to identify research issues in the area of electromagnetic measurements and signal handling of remotely sensed data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

Research issues in the area of electromagnetic measurements and signal handling of remotely sensed data are identified. The following seven issues are discussed; platform/sensor system position and velocity, platform/sensor attitudes and attitude rates, optics and antennas, detectors and associated electronics, sensor calibration, signal handling, and system design.

Challenges of assessing fire and burn severity using field measures, remote sensing and modelling

Treesearch

Penelope Morgan; Robert E. Keane; Gregory K. Dillon; Theresa B. Jain; Andrew T. Hudak; Eva C. Karau; Pamela G. Sikkink; Zachery A. Holden; Eva K. Strand

2014-01-01

Comprehensive assessment of ecological change after fires have burned forests and rangelands is important if we are to understand, predict and measure fire effects. We highlight the challenges in effective assessment of fire and burn severity in the field and using both remote sensing and simulation models. We draw on diverse recent research for guidance on assessing...

How universal is the relationship between remotely sensed vegetation indices and crop leaf area index? A global assessment

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This study aims to assess the relationship between Leaf Area Index (LAI) and remotely sensed Vegetation Indices (VIs) for major crops, based on a globally explicit dataset of in situ LAI measurements over a significant set of locations. We used a total of 1394 LAI measurements from 29 sites spannin...

The NASA Icing Remote Sensing System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reehorst, Andrew L.; Brinker, David J.; Ratvasky, Thomas P.; Ryerson, Charles C.; Koenig, George G.

2005-01-01

NASA and the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) have an on-going activity to develop remote sensing technologies for the detection and measurement of icing conditions aloft. A multiple instrument approach is the current emphasis of this activity. Utilizing radar, radiometry, and lidar, a region of supercooled liquid is identified. If the liquid water content (LWC) is sufficiently high, then the region of supercooled liquid cloud is flagged as being an aviation hazard. The instruments utilized for the current effort are an X-band vertical staring radar, a radiometer that measures twelve frequencies between 22 and 59 GHz, and a lidar ceilometer. The radar data determine cloud boundaries, the radiometer determines the sub-freezing temperature heights and total liquid water content, and the ceilometer refines the lower cloud boundary. Data are post-processed with a LabVIEW program with a resultant supercooled LWC profile and aircraft hazard identification. Remotely sensed measurements gathered during the 2003-2004 Alliance Icing Research Study (AIRS II) were compared to aircraft in-situ measurements. Although the comparison data set is quite small, the cases examined indicate that the remote sensing technique appears to be an acceptable approach.

Quantifying biological integrity of California sage scrub communities using plant life-form cover.

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

Hamada, Y.; Stow, D. A.; Franklin, J.

2010-01-01

The California sage scrub (CSS) community type in California's Mediterranean-type ecosystems supports a large number of rare, threatened, and endangered species, and is critically degraded and endangered. Monitoring ecological variables that provide information about community integrity is vital to conserving these biologically diverse communities. Fractional cover of true shrub, subshrub, herbaceous vegetation, and bare ground should fill information gaps between generalized vegetation type maps and detailed field-based plot measurements of species composition and provide an effective means for quantifying CSS community integrity. Remote sensing is the only tool available for estimating spatially comprehensive fractional cover over large extent, and fractionalmore » cover of plant life-form types is one of the measures of vegetation state that is most amenable to remote sensing. The use of remote sensing does not eliminate the need for either field surveying or vegetation type mapping; rather it will likely require a combination of approaches to reliably estimate life-form cover and to provide comprehensive information for communities. According to our review and synthesis, life-form fractional cover has strong potential for providing ecologically meaningful intermediate-scale information, which is unattainable from vegetation type maps and species-level field measurements. Thus, we strongly recommend incorporating fractional cover of true shrub, subshrub, herb, and bare ground in CSS community monitoring methods. Estimating life-form cover at a 25 m x 25 m spatial scale using remote sensing would be an appropriate approach for initial implementation. Investigation of remote sensing techniques and an appropriate spatial scale; collaboration of resource managers, biologists, and remote sensing specialists, and refinement of protocols are essential for integrating life-form fractional cover mapping into strategies for sustainable long-term CSS community management.« less

Completing the Picture: Importance of Considering Participatory Mapping for REDD+ Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV)

PubMed Central

Rafanoharana, Serge; Boissière, Manuel; Wijaya, Arief; Wardhana, Wahyu

2016-01-01

Remote sensing has been widely used for mapping land cover and is considered key to monitoring changes in forest areas in the REDD+ Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system. But Remote Sensing as a desk study cannot capture the whole picture; it also requires ground checking. Therefore, complementing remote sensing analysis using participatory mapping can help provide information for an initial forest cover assessment, gain better understanding of how local land use might affect changes, and provide a way to engage local communities in REDD+. Our study looked at the potential of participatory mapping in providing complementary information for remotely sensed maps. The research sites were located in different ecological and socio-economic contexts in the provinces of Papua, West Kalimantan and Central Java, Indonesia. Twenty-one maps of land cover and land use were drawn with local community participation during focus group discussions in seven villages. These maps, covering a total of 270,000ha, were used to add information to maps developed using remote sensing, adding 39 land covers to the eight from our initial desk assessment. They also provided additional information on drivers of land use and land cover change, resource areas, territory claims and land status, which we were able to correlate to understand changes in forest cover. Incorporating participatory mapping in the REDD+ MRV protocol would help with initial remotely sensed land classifications, stratify an area for ground checks and measurement plots, and add other valuable social data not visible at the RS scale. Ultimately, it would provide a forum for local communities to discuss REDD+ activities and develop a better understanding of REDD+. PMID:27977685

Comparison of stimulated and spontaneous laser-radar methods for the remote sensing of ocean physical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leonard, Donald A.; Sweeney, Harold E.

1990-09-01

The physical properties of ocean water, in the top few ten meters, are of great interest in the scientific, engineering, and general oceanographic communities. Subsurface profiles of temperature, salinity, and sound speed measured by laser radar in real time on a synoptic basis over a wide area from an airborne platform would provide valuable information complementary to the data that is now readily available. The laser-radar technique specifically applicable to ocean sensing uses spectroscopic analysis of the inelastic backscattered optical signal. Two methods have received considerable attention for remote sensing and both have been demonstrated in field experiments. These are spontaneous Raman1 and spontaneous Brillouin2 scattering. A discussion of these two processes and a comparison of their properties that are useful for remote sensing was presented3 at SPIE Ocean Optics IX. This paper compares ocean remote sensing using stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) processes with better known spontaneous methods. The results of laboratory measurements of temperature using SBS and some preliminary results of SRS are presented with extensions to performance estimates of potential field systems.

Empirical validation and proof of added value of MUSICA's tropospheric δD remote sensing products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, M.; González, Y.; Dyroff, C.; Christner, E.; Wiegele, A.; Barthlott, S.; García, O. E.; Sepúlveda, E.; Hase, F.; Andrey, J.; Blumenstock, T.; Guirado, C.; Ramos, R.; Rodríguez, S.

2014-07-01

The project MUSICA (MUlti-platform remote Sensing of Isotopologues for investigating the Cycle of Atmospheric water) integrates tropospheric water vapour isototopologue remote sensing and in-situ observations. This paper presents a first empirical validation of MUSICA's H2O and δD remote sensing products (generated from ground-based FTIR, Fourier Transform InfraRed, spectrometer and space-based IASI, Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer, observation). As reference we use well calibrated in-situ measurements made aboard an aircraft (between 200 and 6800 m a.s.l.) by the dedicated ISOWAT instrument and on the island of Tenerife at two different altitudes (at Izaña, 2370 m a.s.l., and at Teide, 3550 m a.s.l.) by two commercial Picarro L2120-i water isotopologue analysers. The comparison to the ISOWAT profile measurements shows that the remote sensors can well capture the variations in the water vapour isotopologues and the scatter with respect to the in-situ references suggests a δD random uncertainty for the FTIR product of much better than 45‰ in the lower troposphere and of about 15‰ for the middle troposphere. For the middle tropospheric IASI δD product the study suggests a respective uncertainty of about 15‰. In addition, we find indications for a positive δD bias in the remote sensing products. The δD data are scientifically interesting only if they add information to the H2O observations. We are able to qualitatively demonstrate the added value of the MUSICA δD remote sensing data by comparing δD-vs.-H2O curves. First, we show that the added value of δD as seen in the Picarro data is similarly seen in FTIR data measured in coincidence. Second, we document that the δD-vs.-H2O curves obtained from the different in-situ and remote sensing data sets (ISOWAT, Picarro at Izaña and Teide, FTIR, and IASI) consistently identify two different moisture transport pathways to the subtropical north eastern Atlantic free troposphere.

The investigation of advanced remote sensing techniques for the measurement of aerosol characteristics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deepak, A.; Becher, J.

1979-01-01

Advanced remote sensing techniques and inversion methods for the measurement of characteristics of aerosol and gaseous species in the atmosphere were investigated. Of particular interest were the physical and chemical properties of aerosols, such as their size distribution, number concentration, and complex refractive index, and the vertical distribution of these properties on a local as well as global scale. Remote sensing techniques for monitoring of tropospheric aerosols were developed as well as satellite monitoring of upper tropospheric and stratospheric aerosols. Computer programs were developed for solving multiple scattering and radiative transfer problems, as well as inversion/retrieval problems. A necessary aspect of these efforts was to develop models of aerosol properties.

Remote Sensing, Modeling, and In-Situ Measurements to Study the Spring and Summer Thermal Regime of the Kuparuk River, Northern Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Floyd, A.; Liljedahl, A. K.; Gens, R.; Prakash, A.; Mann, D. H.

2011-12-01

A combined use of remote sensing techniques, modeling and in-situ measurements is a pragmatic approach to study arctic hydrology, given the vastness, complexity, and logistical challenges posed by most arctic watersheds. Remote sensing techniques can provide tools to assess the geospatial variations that form the integrated response of a river system and therefore provide important details to study climate change effects on the remote arctic environment. The proposed study tests the applicability of remote sensing and modeling techniques to map, monitor and compare river temperatures and river break-up in the coastal and foothill sections of the Kuparak River, which is an intensely studied watershed. We co-registered about hundred synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images from RADARSAT-1, ERS-1 and ERS-2 satellites, acquired during the months of May through July for a period between 1999 and 2010. Co-registration involved a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) match of amplitude images. The offsets were then applied to the radiometrically corrected SAR images, converted to dB values, to generate an image stack. We applied a mask to extract pixels representing only the river, and used an adaptive threshold to delineate open water from frozen areas. The variation in river break-up can be bracketed by defining open vs. frozen river conditions. Summer river surface water temperatures will be simulated through the well-established HEC-RAS hydrologic software package and validated with field measurements. The three-pronged approach of using remote sensing, modeling and field measurements demonstrated in this study can be adapted to work for other watersheds across the Arctic.

Biological and remote sensing perspectives of pigmentation in coral reef organisms.

PubMed

Hedley, John D; Mumby, Peter J

2002-01-01

Coral reef communities face unprecedented pressures on local, regional and global scales as a consequence of climate change and anthropogenic disturbance. Optical remote sensing, from satellites or aircraft, is possibly the only means of measuring the effects of such stresses at appropriately large spatial scales (many thousands of square kilometres). To map key variables such as coral community structure, percentages of living coral or percentages of dead coral, a remote sensing instrument must be able to distinguish the reflectance spectra (i.e. "spectral signature", reflected light as a function of wavelength) of each category. For biotic classes, reflectance is a complex function of pigmentation, structure and morphology. Studies of coral "colour" fall into two disparate but potentially complementary types. Firstly, biological studies tend to investigate the structure and significance of pigmentation in reef organisms. These studies often lack details that would be useful from a remote sensing perspective such as intraspecific variation in pigment concentration or the contribution of fluorescence to reflectance. Secondly, remote sensing studies take empirical measurements of spectra and seek wavelengths that discriminate benthic categories. Benthic categories used in remote sensing sometimes consist of species groupings that are biologically or spectrally inappropriate (e.g. merging of algal phyla with distinct pigments). Here, we attempt to bridge the gap between biological and remote sensing perspectives of pigmentation in reef taxa. The aim is to assess the extent to which spectral discrimination can be given a biological foundation, to reduce the ad hoc nature of discriminatory criteria, and to understand the fundamental (biological) limitations in the spectral separability of biotic classes. Sources of pigmentation in reef biota are reviewed together with remote sensing studies where spectral discrimination has been effectively demonstrated between benthic categories. The basis of reflectance is considered as the sum of pigmented components, such as zooxanthellae, host tissues and skeletons of corals. Problems in the empirical in situ measurement of reflectance are identified, such as the differing types of reflectance which can be measured, the interaction of the light field with morphology, and depth-dependent variability of measured reflectance due to fluorescence. The latter is estimated in some cases to introduce an error of up to 20% when depth differs by 8 m. Spectral features useful in discriminating reef benthos are identified and related to pigmentation. The slope in the reflectance spectra between 650 and 690 nm is dependent on chlorophyll-a concentration and can be used to discriminate bare sand with no algal component from chlorophyll-a containing benthos (algae, corals). The slope in reflectance at various locations between 500 and 560 nm can be useful in discriminating bleached and unbleached corals, possibly due to reduced peridinin concentration. Rhodophyta may be discernible by the presence of a dip in reflectance at 570 nm, due to a phycoerythrin absorption peak. However, the utility of some discriminatory criteria in deeper waters is mitigated by the relatively poor transmission of light through water at longer wavelengths (especially > 600 nm). Contrary to suggested categorizations of fluorescent pigments in coral host tissues, it is shown that these pigments form an almost continuous distribution with respect to their excitation and emission peaks. Remote sensing by induced fluorescence is a promising approach, but further details about the variation and distribution of these pigments are required. It is hoped that this review will promote cross-disciplinary collaboration between pigment biologists and the reef remote sensing community. Where possible, the discriminative criteria adopted in remote sensing should be related to biological phenomena, thus lending an intuitive, process-orientated basis for interpreting spectral data. Similarly, remote sensing may provide a novel scaling perspective to biological studies of pigmentation in reef organisms.

Review of Remote Sensing Needs and Applications in Africa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Molly E.

2007-01-01

Remote sensing data has had an important role in identifying and responding to inter-annual variations in the African environment during the past three decades. As a largely agricultural region with diverse but generally limited government capacity to acquire and distribute ground observations of rainfall, temperature and other parameters, remote sensing is sometimes the only reliable measure of crop growing conditions in Africa. Thus, developing and maintaining the technical and scientific capacity to analyze and utilize satellite remote sensing data in Africa is critical to augmenting the continent's local weather/climate observation networks as well as its agricultural and natural resource development and management. The report Review of Remote Sensing Needs and Applications in Africa' has as its central goal to recommend to the US Agency for International Development an appropriate approach to support sustainable remote sensing applications at African regional remote sensing centers. The report focuses on "RS applications" to refer to the acquisition, maintenance and archiving, dissemination, distribution, analysis, and interpretation of remote sensing data, as well as the integration of interpreted data with other spatial data products. The report focuses on three primary remote sensing centers: (1) The AGRHYMET Regional Center in Niamey, Niger, created in 1974, is a specialized institute of the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), with particular specialization in science and techniques applied to agricultural development, rural development, and natural resource management. (2) The Regional Centre for Maiming of Resources for Development (RCMRD) in Nairobi, Kenya, established in 1975 under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union), is an intergovernmental organization, with 15 member states from eastern and southern Africa. (3) The Regional Remote Sensing Unit (RRSU) in Gaborone, Botswana, began work in June 1988 and operates under the Agriculture Information Management System (AIMS), as part of the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR) Directorate, based at the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Secretariat.

Accurate reconstruction of hyperspectral images from compressive sensing measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greer, John B.; Flake, J. C.

2013-05-01

The emerging field of Compressive Sensing (CS) provides a new way to capture data by shifting the heaviest burden of data collection from the sensor to the computer on the user-end. This new means of sensing requires fewer measurements for a given amount of information than traditional sensors. We investigate the efficacy of CS for capturing HyperSpectral Imagery (HSI) remotely. We also introduce a new family of algorithms for constructing HSI from CS measurements with Split Bregman Iteration [Goldstein and Osher,2009]. These algorithms combine spatial Total Variation (TV) with smoothing in the spectral dimension. We examine models for three different CS sensors: the Coded Aperture Snapshot Spectral Imager-Single Disperser (CASSI-SD) [Wagadarikar et al.,2008] and Dual Disperser (CASSI-DD) [Gehm et al.,2007] cameras, and a hypothetical random sensing model closer to CS theory, but not necessarily implementable with existing technology. We simulate the capture of remotely sensed images by applying the sensor forward models to well-known HSI scenes - an AVIRIS image of Cuprite, Nevada and the HYMAP Urban image. To measure accuracy of the CS models, we compare the scenes constructed with our new algorithm to the original AVIRIS and HYMAP cubes. The results demonstrate the possibility of accurately sensing HSI remotely with significantly fewer measurements than standard hyperspectral cameras.

Remote sensing of wildland resources: A state-of-the-art review

Treesearch

Robert C. Aldrich

1979-01-01

A review, with literature citations, of current remote sensing technology, applications, and costs for wildland resource management, including collection, interpretation, and processing of data gathered through photographic and nonphotographic techniques for classification and mapping, interpretive information for specific applications, measurement of resource...

A Physically-Based Drought Product Using Thermal Remote Sensing of Evapotranspiration

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Thermal infrared (TIR) remote sensing of land-surface temperature (LST) provides valuable information about the sub-surface moisture status. While empirical indices measuring anomalies in LST and vegetation amount (e.g., as quantified by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index; NDVI) have demonst...

Pest measurement and management

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Pest scouting, whether it is done only with ground scouting methods or using remote sensing with some ground-truthing, is an important tool to aid site-specific crop management. Different pests may be monitored at different times and using different methods. Remote sensing has the potential to provi...

Remote sensing reflectance simulation of coastal optical complex water in the East China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Shuo; Lou, Xiulin; Zhang, Huaguo; Zheng, Gang

2018-02-01

In this work, remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) spectra of the Zhejiang coastal water in the East China Sea (ECS) were simulated by using the Hydrolight software with field data as input parameters. The seawater along the Zhejiang coast is typical Case II water with complex optical properties. A field observation was conducted in the Zhejiang coastal region in late May of 2016, and the concentration of ocean color constituents (pigment, SPM and CDOM), IOPs (absorption and backscattering coefficients) and Rrs were measured at 24 stations of 3 sections covering the turbid to clear inshore coastal waters. Referring to these ocean color field data, an ocean color model suitable for the Zhejiang coastal water was setup and applied in the Hydrolight. A set of 11 remote sensing reflectance spectra above water surface were modeled and calculated. Then, the simulated spectra were compared with the filed measurements. Finally, the spectral shape and characteristics of the remote sensing reflectance spectra were analyzed and discussed.

Relation of laboratory and remotely sensed spectral signatures of ocean-dumped acid waste

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, B. W.

1978-01-01

Results of laboratory transmission and remotely sensed ocean upwelled spectral signatures of acid waste ocean water solutions are presented. The studies were performed to establish ocean-dumped acid waste spectral signatures and to relate them to chemical and physical interactions occurring in the dump plume. The remotely sensed field measurements and the laboratory measurements were made using the same rapid-scanning spectrometer viewing a dump plume and with actual acid waste and ocean water samples, respectively. Laboratory studies showed that the signatures were produced by soluble ferric iron being precipitated in situ as ferric hydroxide upon dilution with ocean water. Sea-truth water samples were taken and analyzed for pertinent major components of the acid waste. Relationships were developed between the field and laboratory data both for spectral signatures and color changes with concentration. The relationships allow for the estimation of concentration of the indicator iron from remotely sensed spectral data and the laboratory transmission concentration data without sea-truth samples.

Concept for a hyperspectral remote sensing algorithm for floating marine macro plastics.

PubMed

Goddijn-Murphy, Lonneke; Peters, Steef; van Sebille, Erik; James, Neil A; Gibb, Stuart

2018-01-01

There is growing global concern over the chemical, biological and ecological impact of plastics in the ocean. Remote sensing has the potential to provide long-term, global monitoring but for marine plastics it is still in its early stages. Some progress has been made in hyperspectral remote sensing of marine macroplastics in the visible (VIS) to short wave infrared (SWIR) spectrum. We present a reflectance model of sunlight interacting with a sea surface littered with macro plastics, based on geometrical optics and the spectral signatures of plastic and seawater. This is a first step towards the development of a remote sensing algorithm for marine plastic using light reflectance measurements in air. Our model takes the colour, transparency, reflectivity and shape of plastic litter into account. This concept model can aid the design of laboratory, field and Earth observation measurements in the VIS-SWIR spectrum and explain the results. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spatial Irrigation Management Using Remote Sensing Water Balance Modeling and Soil Water Content Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barker, J. Burdette

Spatially informed irrigation management may improve the optimal use of water resources. Sub-field scale water balance modeling and measurement were studied in the context of irrigation management. A spatial remote-sensing-based evapotranspiration and soil water balance model was modified and validated for use in real-time irrigation management. The modeled ET compared well with eddy covariance data from eastern Nebraska. Placement and quantity of sub-field scale soil water content measurement locations was also studied. Variance reduction factor and temporal stability were used to analyze soil water content data from an eastern Nebraska field. No consistent predictor of soil water temporal stability patterns was identified. At least three monitoring locations were needed per irrigation management zone to adequately quantify the mean soil water content. The remote-sensing-based water balance model was used to manage irrigation in a field experiment. The research included an eastern Nebraska field in 2015 and 2016 and a western Nebraska field in 2016 for a total of 210 plot-years. The response of maize and soybean to irrigation using variations of the model were compared with responses from treatments using soil water content measurement and a rainfed treatment. The remote-sensing-based treatment prescribed more irrigation than the other treatments in all cases. Excessive modeled soil evaporation and insufficient drainage times were suspected causes of the model drift. Modifying evaporation and drainage reduced modeled soil water depletion error. None of the included response variables were significantly different between treatments in western Nebraska. In eastern Nebraska, treatment differences for maize and soybean included evapotranspiration and a combined variable including evapotranspiration and deep percolation. Both variables were greatest for the remote-sensing model when differences were found to be statistically significant. Differences in maize yield in 2015 were attributed to random error. Soybean yield was lowest for the remote-sensing-based treatment and greatest for rainfed, possibly because of overwatering and lodging. The model performed well considering that it did not include soil water content measurements during the season. Future work should improve the soil evaporation and drainage formulations, because of excessive precipitation and include aerial remote sensing imagery and soil water content measurement as model inputs.

Propagation Limitations in Remote Sensing.

DTIC Science & Technology

Contents: Multi-sensors and systems in remote sensing ; Radar sensing systems over land; Remote sensing techniques in oceanography; Influence of...propagation media and background; Infrared techniques in remote sensing ; Photography in remote sensing ; Analytical studies in remote sensing .

Remote sensing strategic exploration of large or superlarge gold ore deposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Shouxun; Liu, Qingsheng; Wang, Hongmei; Wang, Zhigang; Liu, Suhong

1998-08-01

To prospect large or superlarge gold ore deposits, blending of remote sensing techniques and modern metallogenitic theories is one of the effective measures. The theory of metallogeny plays a director role before and during remote sensing technique applications. The remote sensing data with different platforms and different resolutions can be respectively applied to detect direct or indirect metallogenic information, and to identify the ore-controlling structure, especially, the ore-controlling structural assemblage, which, conversely, usually are the new conditions to study and to modify the metallogenic model, and to further develop the exploration model of large or superlarge ore deposits. Guidance by an academic idea of 'adjustment structure' which is the conceptual model of transverse structure, an obscured ore- controlling transverse structure has been identified on the refined TM imagery in the Hadamengou gold ore deposit, Setai Hyperspectral Geological Remote Sensing Testing Site (SHGRSTS), Wulashan mountains, Inner Mongolia, China. Meanwhile, The MAIS data has been applied to quickly identify the auriferous alteration rocks with Correspondence Analysis method and Spectral Angle Mapping (SAM) technique. The theoretical system and technical method of remote sensing strategic exploration of large or superlarge gold ore deposits have been demonstrated by the practices in the SHGRSTS.

[Progress in inversion of vegetation nitrogen concentration by hyperspectral remote sensing].

PubMed

Wang, Li-Wen; Wei, Ya-Xing

2013-10-01

Nitrogen is the necessary element in life activity of vegetation, which takes important function in biosynthesis of protein, nucleic acid, chlorophyll, and enzyme etc, and plays a key role in vegetation photosynthesis. The technology about inversion of vegetation nitrogen concentration by hyperspectral remote sensing has been the research hotspot since the 70s of last century. With the development of hyperspectral remote sensing technology in recent years, the advantage of spectral bands subdivision in a certain spectral region provides the powerful technology measure for correlative spectral characteristic research on vegetation nitrogen. In the present paper, combined with the newest research production about monitoring vegetation nitrogen concentration by hyperspectral remote sensing published in main geography science literature in recent several years, the principle and correlated problem about monitoring vegetation nitrogen concentration by hyperspectral remote sensing were introduced. From four aspects including vegetation nitrogen spectral index, vegetation nitrogen content inversion based on chlorophyll index, regression model, and eliminating influence factors to inversion of vegetation nitrogen concentration, main technology methods about inversion of vegetation nitrogen concentration by hyperspectral remote sensing were detailedly introduced. Correlative research conclusions were summarized and analyzed, and research development trend was discussed.

Validation plays the role of a "bridge" in connecting remote sensing research and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhiqiang; Deng, Ying; Fan, Yida

2018-07-01

Remote sensing products contribute to improving earth observations over space and time. Uncertainties exist in products of different levels; thus, validation of these products before and during their applications is critical. This study discusses the meaning of validation in depth and proposes a new definition of reliability for use with such products. In this context, validation should include three aspects: a description of the relevant uncertainties, quantitative measurement results and a qualitative judgment that considers the needs of users. A literature overview is then presented evidencing improvements in the concepts associated with validation. It shows that the root mean squared error (RMSE) is widely used to express accuracy; increasing numbers of remote sensing products have been validated; research institutes contribute most validation efforts; and sufficient validation studies encourage the application of remote sensing products. Validation plays a connecting role in the distribution and application of remote sensing products. Validation connects simple remote sensing subjects with other disciplines, and it connects primary research with practical applications. Based on the above findings, it is suggested that validation efforts that include wider cooperation among research institutes and full consideration of the needs of users should be promoted.

Effects of the Ionosphere on Passive Microwave Remote Sensing of Ocean Salinity from Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LeVine, D. M.; Abaham, Saji; Hildebrand, Peter H. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Among the remote sensing applications currently being considered from space is the measurement of sea surface salinity. The salinity of the open ocean is important for understanding ocean circulation and for modeling energy exchange with the atmosphere. Passive microwave remote sensors operating near 1.4 GHz (L-band) could provide data needed to fill the gap in current coverage and to complement in situ arrays being planned to provide subsurface profiles in the future. However, the dynamic range of the salinity signal in the open ocean is relatively small and propagation effects along the path from surface to sensor must be taken into account. In particular, Faraday rotation and even attenuation/emission in the ionosphere can be important sources of error. The purpose or this work is to estimate the magnitude of these effects in the context of a future remote sensing system in space to measure salinity in L-band. Data will be presented as a function of time location and solar activity using IRI-95 to model the ionosphere. The ionosphere presents two potential sources of error for the measurement of salinity: Rotation of the polarization vector (Faraday rotation) and attenuation/emission. Estimates of the effect of these two phenomena on passive remote sensing over the oceans at L-band (1.4 GHz) are presented.

Satellite Remote Sensing: Aerosol Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kahn, Ralph A.

2013-01-01

Aerosols are solid or liquid particles suspended in the air, and those observed by satellite remote sensing are typically between about 0.05 and 10 microns in size. (Note that in traditional aerosol science, the term "aerosol" refers to both the particles and the medium in which they reside, whereas for remote sensing, the term commonly refers to the particles only. In this article, we adopt the remote-sensing definition.) They originate from a great diversity of sources, such as wildfires, volcanoes, soils and desert sands, breaking waves, natural biological activity, agricultural burning, cement production, and fossil fuel combustion. They typically remain in the atmosphere from several days to a week or more, and some travel great distances before returning to Earth's surface via gravitational settling or washout by precipitation. Many aerosol sources exhibit strong seasonal variability, and most experience inter-annual fluctuations. As such, the frequent, global coverage that space-based aerosol remote-sensing instruments can provide is making increasingly important contributions to regional and larger-scale aerosol studies.

Hydrological Relevant Parameters from Remote Sensing - Spatial Modelling Input and Validation Basis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hochschild, V.

2012-12-01

This keynote paper will demonstrate how multisensoral remote sensing data is used as spatial input for mesoscale hydrological modeling as well as for sophisticated validation purposes. The tasks of Water Resources Management are subject as well as the role of remote sensing in regional catchment modeling. Parameters derived from remote sensing discussed in this presentation will be land cover, topographical information from digital elevation models, biophysical vegetation parameters, surface soil moisture, evapotranspiration estimations, lake level measurements, determination of snow covered area, lake ice cycles, soil erosion type, mass wasting monitoring, sealed area, flash flood estimation. The actual possibilities of recent satellite and airborne systems are discussed, as well as the data integration into GIS and hydrological modeling, scaling issues and quality assessment will be mentioned. The presentation will provide an overview of own research examples from Germany, Tibet and Africa (Ethiopia, South Africa) as well as other international research activities. Finally the paper gives an outlook on upcoming sensors and concludes the possibilities of remote sensing in hydrology.

An investigation of satellite sounding products for the remote sensing of the surface energy balance and soil moisture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diak, George R.

1989-01-01

Improved techniques for the remote sensing of the land surface energy balance (SEB) and soil moisture would greatly improve prediction of climate and weather as well as be of benefit to agriculture, hydrology and many associated fields. Most of the satellite remote sensing methods which were researched to date rely upon satellite-measured infrared surface temperatures or their time changes as a remote sensing signal. Optimistically, only four or five levels of information (wet to dry) in surface heating/evaporation are discernable by surface temperature methods and a good understanding of atmospheric conditions is necessary to bring them to this accuracy level. Skin temperature methods were researched as well as begun work on several new methods for the remote sensing of the SEB, some elements of which are applicable to current and retrospective data sources and some which will rely on instrumentation from the Earth Observing System (EOS) program in the 1990s.

Restoration of color in a remote sensing image and its quality evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zuxun; Li, Zhijiang; Zhang, Jianqing; Wang, Zhihe

2003-09-01

This paper is focused on the restoration of color remote sensing (including airborne photo). A complete approach is recommended. It propose that two main aspects should be concerned in restoring a remote sensing image, that are restoration of space information, restoration of photometric information. In this proposal, the restoration of space information can be performed by making the modulation transfer function (MTF) as degradation function, in which the MTF is obtained by measuring the edge curve of origin image. The restoration of photometric information can be performed by improved local maximum entropy algorithm. What's more, a valid approach in processing color remote sensing image is recommended. That is splits the color remote sensing image into three monochromatic images which corresponding three visible light bands and synthesizes the three images after being processed separately with psychological color vision restriction. Finally, three novel evaluation variables are obtained based on image restoration to evaluate the image restoration quality in space restoration quality and photometric restoration quality. An evaluation is provided at last.

Empirical validation and proof of added value of MUSICA's tropospheric δD remote sensing products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, M.; González, Y.; Dyroff, C.; Christner, E.; Wiegele, A.; Barthlott, S.; García, O. E.; Sepúlveda, E.; Hase, F.; Andrey, J.; Blumenstock, T.; Guirado, C.; Ramos, R.; Rodríguez, S.

2015-01-01

The project MUSICA (MUlti-platform remote Sensing of Isotopologues for investigating the Cycle of Atmospheric water) integrates tropospheric water vapour isotopologue remote sensing and in situ observations. This paper presents a first empirical validation of MUSICA's H2O and δD remote sensing products, generated from ground-based FTIR (Fourier transform infrared), spectrometer and space-based IASI (infrared atmospheric sounding interferometer) observation. The study is made in the area of the Canary Islands in the subtropical northern Atlantic. As reference we use well calibrated in situ measurements made aboard an aircraft (between 200 and 6800 m a.s.l.) by the dedicated ISOWAT instrument and on the island of Tenerife at two different altitudes (at Izaña, 2370 m a.s.l., and at Teide, 3550 m a.s.l.) by two commercial Picarro L2120-i water isotopologue analysers. The comparison to the ISOWAT profile measurements shows that the remote sensors can well capture the variations in the water vapour isotopologues, and the scatter with respect to the in situ references suggests a δD random uncertainty for the FTIR product of much better than 45‰ in the lower troposphere and of about 15‰ for the middle troposphere. For the middle tropospheric IASI δD product the study suggests a respective uncertainty of about 15‰. In both remote sensing data sets we find a positive δD bias of 30-70‰. Complementing H2O observations with δD data allows moisture transport studies that are not possible with H2O observations alone. We are able to qualitatively demonstrate the added value of the MUSICA δD remote sensing data. We document that the δD-H2O curves obtained from the different in situ and remote sensing data sets (ISOWAT, Picarro at Izaña and Teide, FTIR, and IASI) consistently identify two different moisture transport pathways to the subtropical north eastern Atlantic free troposphere.

Remote Sensing of Ecosystem Health: Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Perspectives

PubMed Central

Li, Zhaoqin; Xu, Dandan; Guo, Xulin

2014-01-01

Maintaining a healthy ecosystem is essential for maximizing sustainable ecological services of the best quality to human beings. Ecological and conservation research has provided a strong scientific background on identifying ecological health indicators and correspondingly making effective conservation plans. At the same time, ecologists have asserted a strong need for spatially explicit and temporally effective ecosystem health assessments based on remote sensing data. Currently, remote sensing of ecosystem health is only based on one ecosystem attribute: vigor, organization, or resilience. However, an effective ecosystem health assessment should be a comprehensive and dynamic measurement of the three attributes. This paper reviews opportunities of remote sensing, including optical, radar, and LiDAR, for directly estimating indicators of the three ecosystem attributes, discusses the main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system, and provides some future perspectives. The main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system are: (1) scale issue; (2) transportability issue; (3) data availability; and (4) uncertainties in health indicators estimated from remote sensing data. However, the Radarsat-2 constellation, upcoming new optical sensors on Worldview-3 and Sentinel-2 satellites, and improved technologies for the acquisition and processing of hyperspectral, multi-angle optical, radar, and LiDAR data and multi-sensoral data fusion may partly address the current challenges. PMID:25386759

Remote sensing as a research tool. [sea ice surveillance from aircraft and spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carsey, F. D.; Zwally, H. J.

1986-01-01

The application of aircraft and spacecraft remote sensing techniques to sea ice surveillance is evaluated. The effects of ice in the air-sea-ice system are examined. The measurement principles and characteristics of remote sensing methods for aircraft and spacecraft surveillance of sea ice are described. Consideration is given to ambient visible light, IR, passive microwave, active microwave, and laser altimeter and sonar systems. The applications of these systems to sea ice surveillance are discussed and examples are provided. Particular attention is placed on the use of microwave data and the relation between ice thickness and sea ice interactions. It is noted that spacecraft and aircraft sensing techniques can successfully measure snow cover; ice thickness; ice type; ice concentration; ice velocity field; ocean temperature; surface wind vector field; and air, snow, and ice surface temperatures.

Remote sensing supported surveillance and characterization of tailings behavior at a gold mine site, Finland.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rauhala, Anssi; Tuomela, Anne; Rossi, Pekka M.; Davids, Corine

2017-04-01

The management of vast amounts of tailings produced is one of the key issues in mining operations. The effective and economic disposal of the waste requires knowledge concerning both basic physical properties of the tailings as well as more complex aspects such as consolidation behavior. The behavior of tailings in itself is a very complex issue that can be affected by flocculation, sedimentation, consolidation, segregation, deposition, freeze-thaw, and desiccation phenomena. The utilization of remote sensing in an impoundment-scale monitoring of tailings could benefit the management of tailings, and improve our knowledge on tailings behavior. In order to gain better knowledge of tailings behavior in cold climate, we have utilized both modern remote sensing techniques and more traditional in situ and laboratory measurements in characterizing thickened gold tailings behavior at a Finnish gold mine site, where the production has been halted due to low gold prices. The remote sensing measurements consisted of elevation datasets collected from unmanned aerial vehicles during summers 2015 and 2016, and a further campaign is planned for the summer 2017. The ongoing traditional measurements include for example particle-size distribution, frost heave, frost depth, water retention, temperature profile, and rheological measurements. Initial results from the remote sensing indicated larger than expected settlements on parts of the tailings impoundment, and also highlighted some of the complexities related to data processing. The interpretation of the results and characterization of the behavior is in this case complicated by possible freeze-thaw effects and potential settlement of the impoundment bottom structure consisting of natural peat. Experiments with remote sensing and unmanned aerial vehicles indicate that they could offer potential benefits in frequent mine site monitoring, but there is a need towards more robust and streamlined data acquisition and processing. The gathered data and obtained results form the basis for further modelling efforts which aim at better management of tailings storage facilities.

EMC problems on board the remote sensing and communications satellites equipped with electric propulsions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plokhikh, A.; Vazhenin, N.; Soganova, G.

Wide application of electric propulsions (EP) as attitude control and orbit correction thrusters for a numerous class of satellites (remote sensing and communications satellites including) imposes new problems before the developers in meeting the electromagnetic compatibility requirements on board these satellites. This is connected with the fact that any EP is a source of interference broad-band emission reaching, as a rule, frequency ranges used by on-board radio systems designed for remote sensing and communications. In this case, reliable joint operation should be secured for the highly sensitive on -board radio receiving systems and sensors of remote sensing systems on one hand and EP on the other. In view of this, analysis is rather actual for the influence of EP interference emission upon the parameters and characteristics of modern remote sensing and communications systems. Procedures and results of typical operating characteristics calculation for the radio systems with the presence of operating EP on board are discussed in the paper on the basis of systematic approach with the following characteristics being among them: signal-to-noise ratio, range, data transmission rate, error probability, etc. EP effect is taken into account by the statistical analysis for the results of joint influence of valid signal and interference produced by EP upon the quality indices of communication systems and paths of the sensors being the parts of remote sensing systems. Test data for the measured EP interference characteristics were used for qualitative assessments. All necessary measurements were made by authors on the basis of the test procedure developed by them for assessing self- em ission of EP under ground conditions that may be used as a base for the certification of such measurements. Analysis was made on the basis of test data obtained and calculation procedures developed by authors for the EP influence upon the qualitative characteristics of remote sensing and communications radio systems that revealed the presence of destructive effect resulting in substantial decrease in maximum range and data transmission rate, as well as reduction of sensitivity for the sensors of remote sensing systems. Recommendations are given on the basis of analysis made for the optimization of radio systems and calibration of their sensors at a presence of electric propulsions on board the satellites.

Remote Sensing in Geography in the New Millennium: Prospects, Challenges and Opportunities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quattrochi, Dale A.; Walsh, Stephen J.; Jensen, John R.; Ridd, Merrill K.; Arnold, James E. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

As noted in the first edition of Geography in America, the term remote sensing was coined in the early 1960's by geographers to describe the process of obtaining data by use of both photographic and nonphotographic instruments. Although this is still a working definition today, a more explicit and updated definition as it relates to geography can be phrased as: "remote sensing is the science, art, and technology of identifying, characterizing, measuring, and mapping of Earth surface, and near earth surface, phenomena from some position above using photographic or nonphotographic instruments." Both patterns and processes may be the object of investigation using remote sensing data. The science dimension of geographic remote sensing is rooted in the fact that: a) it is dealing with primary data, wherein the investigator must have an understanding of the environmental phenomena under scrutiny, and b) the investigator must understand something of the physics of the energy involved in the sensing instrument and the atmospheric pathway through which the energy passes from the energy source, to the Earth object to the sensor.

Quantifying cyanobacterial phycocyanin concentration in turbid productive waters: a quasi-analytical approach

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In this research, we present a novel technique to monitor cyanobacterial algal bloom using remote sensing measurements. We have used a multi-band quasi analytical algorithm that determines phytoplankton absorption coefficients, aF('), from above-surface remote sensing reflectance, Rrs('). In situ da...

AN INVESTIGATION OF REMOTE SENSING DEVICES FOR CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE EXHAUST

EPA Science Inventory

The report summarizes results of tests to (1) evaluate the accuracy and precision of two different remote sensing devices (RSDs) for measuring carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HCs), and nitric oxide (NO) and (2) evaluate the capabilities of three RSDs for characterizing fleet ...

Environmental and Landscape Remote Sensing Using Free and Open Source Image Processing Tools

EPA Science Inventory

As global climate change and human activities impact the environment, there is a growing need for scientific tools to monitor and measure environmental conditions that support human and ecological health. Remotely sensed imagery from satellite and airborne platforms provides a g...

Unmanned aircraft missions for rangeland remote sensing applications in the US National Airspace

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In recent years, civilian applications of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have increased considerably due to their greater availability and the miniaturization of sensors, GPS, inertial measurement units, and other hardware. UAS are well suited for rangeland remote sensing applications, because of the...

Measuring grassland structure for recovery of grassland species at risk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Xulin; Gao, Wei; Wilmshurst, John

2005-09-01

An action plan for recovering species at risk (SAR) depends on an understanding of the plant community distribution, vegetation structure, quality of the food source and the impact of environmental factors such as climate change at large scale and disturbance at small scale, as these are fundamental factors for SAR habitat. Therefore, it is essential to advance our knowledge of understanding the SAR habitat distribution, habitat quality and dynamics, as well as developing an effective tool for measuring and monitoring SAR habitat changes. Using the advantages of non-destructive, low cost, and high efficient land surface vegetation biophysical parameter characterization, remote sensing is a potential tool for helping SAR recovery action. The main objective of this paper is to assess the most suitable techniques for using hyperspectral remote sensing to quantify grassland biophysical characteristics. The challenge of applying remote sensing in semi-arid and arid regions exists simply due to the lower biomass vegetation and high soil exposure. In conservation grasslands, this problem is enhanced because of the presence of senescent vegetation. Results from this study demonstrated that hyperspectral remote sensing could be the solution for semi-arid grassland remote sensing applications. Narrow band raw data and derived spectral vegetation indices showed stronger relationships with biophysical variables compared to the simulated broad band vegetation indices.

[Review of estimation on oceanic primary productivity by using remote sensing methods.

PubMed

Xu, Hong Yun; Zhou, Wei Feng; Ji, Shi Jian

2016-09-01

Accuracy estimation of oceanic primary productivity is of great significance in the assessment and management of fisheries resources, marine ecology systems, global change and other fields. The traditional measurement and estimation of oceanic primary productivity has to rely on in situ sample data by vessels. Satellite remote sensing has advantages of providing dynamic and eco-environmental parameters of ocean surface at large scale in real time. Thus, satellite remote sensing has increasingly become an important means for oceanic primary productivity estimation on large spatio-temporal scale. Combining with the development of ocean color sensors, the models to estimate the oceanic primary productivity by satellite remote sensing have been developed that could be mainly summarized as chlorophyll-based, carbon-based and phytoplankton absorption-based approach. The flexibility and complexity of the three kinds of models were presented in the paper. On this basis, the current research status for global estimation of oceanic primary productivity was analyzed and evaluated. In view of these, four research fields needed to be strengthened in further stu-dy: 1) Global oceanic primary productivity estimation should be segmented and studied, 2) to dee-pen the research on absorption coefficient of phytoplankton, 3) to enhance the technology of ocea-nic remote sensing, 4) to improve the in situ measurement of primary productivity.

Remote Sensing of Environmental Pollution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

North, G. W.

1971-01-01

Environmental pollution is a problem of international scope and concern. It can be subdivided into problems relating to water, air, or land pollution. Many of the problems in these three categories lend themselves to study and possible solution by remote sensing. Through the use of remote sensing systems and techniques, it is possible to detect and monitor, and in some cases, identify, measure, and study the effects of various environmental pollutants. As a guide for making decisions regarding the use of remote sensors for pollution studies, a special five-dimensional sensor/applications matrix has been designed. The matrix defines an environmental goal, ranks the various remote sensing objectives in terms of their ability to assist in solving environmental problems, lists the environmental problems, ranks the sensors that can be used for collecting data on each problem, and finally ranks the sensor platform options that are currently available.

Survey of in-situ and remote sensing methods for soil moisture determination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmugge, T. J.; Jackson, T. J.; Mckim, H. L.

1981-01-01

General methods for determining the moisture content in the surface layers of the soil based on in situ or point measurements, soil water models and remote sensing observations are surveyed. In situ methods described include gravimetric techniques, nuclear techniques based on neutron scattering or gamma-ray attenuation, electromagnetic techniques, tensiometric techniques and hygrometric techniques. Soil water models based on column mass balance treat soil moisture contents as a result of meteorological inputs (precipitation, runoff, subsurface flow) and demands (evaporation, transpiration, percolation). The remote sensing approaches are based on measurements of the diurnal range of surface temperature and the crop canopy temperature in the thermal infrared, measurements of the radar backscattering coefficient in the microwave region, and measurements of microwave emission or brightness temperature. Advantages and disadvantages of the various methods are pointed out, and it is concluded that a successful monitoring system must incorporate all of the approaches considered.

A feasibility study of using remotely sensed data for water resource models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruff, J. F.

1973-01-01

Remotely sensed data were collected to demonstrate the feasibility of applying the results to water resource problems. Photographs of the Wolf Creek watershed in southwestern Colorado were collected over a one year period. Cloud top temperatures were measured using a radiometer. Thermal imagery of the Wolf Creek Pass area was obtained during one pre-dawn flight. Remote sensing studies of water resource problems for user agencies were also conducted. The results indicated that: (1) remote sensing techniques could be used to assist in the solution of water resource problems; (2) photogrammetric determination of snow depths is feasible; (3) changes in turbidity or suspended material concentration can be observed; and (4) surface turbulence can be related to bed scour; and (5) thermal effluents into rivers can be monitored.

LIDAR Remote Sensing of Particulate Matter Emissions from On-Road Vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keislar, R. E.; Kuhns, H.; Mazzoleni, C.; Moosmuller, H.; Watson, J.

2002-12-01

DRI has developed a remote sensing method for on-road particulate matter emissions from gasoline-powered and diesel-powered vehicles called the Vehicle Emissions Remote Sensing System (VERSS). Remote sensing of gaseous pollutants in vehicle exhaust is a well-established, economical way to determine on-road emissions for thousands of vehicles per day. The VERSS adds a particulate matter channel to complement gaseous pollutant measurements. The VERSS uses 266-nm ultraviolet laser light to achieve greater sensitivity than visible light to sub-micrometer particles, where the greatest mass fraction has been reported. The VERSS system integrates the lidar channel with a commercial remote sensing device (RSD) for gaseous pollutants, and the RSD CO2 measurement can be used to estimate fuel-based particle mass emissions. We describe the interpretation and processing of lidar returns from field measurements taken by the combined VERSS during the Southern Nevada Air Quality Study (SNAQS), conducted in the Las Vegas area. With suitable assumptions regarding size distribution and particle composition, the lidar backscatter signal and the RSD yield three basic measurements of particulate matter in the exhaust plume. For each passing vehicle, these three channels are: 1) Columnar extinction in the infrared (IR at 3.9 micrometers) 2) Columnar extinction in the ultraviolet (UV at 266 nm) 3) Range-resolved backscatter at 266 nm (horizontal spatial resolution of 20-25 cm) The 3.9-micrometer channel is a good surrogate for absorption by elemental carbon (EC) in tailpipe emissions and has been utilized in previous studies. Opacity measurements at 266 nm provide optical extinction due to scattering from tailpipe organic carbon (OC) and EC emissions.

Use of an ecologically relevant modelling approach to improve remote sensing-based schistosomiasis risk profiling.

PubMed

Walz, Yvonne; Wegmann, Martin; Leutner, Benjamin; Dech, Stefan; Vounatsou, Penelope; N'Goran, Eliézer K; Raso, Giovanna; Utzinger, Jürg

2015-11-30

Schistosomiasis is a widespread water-based disease that puts close to 800 million people at risk of infection with more than 250 million infected, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. Transmission is governed by the spatial distribution of specific freshwater snails that act as intermediate hosts and the frequency, duration and extent of human bodies exposed to infested water sources during human water contact. Remote sensing data have been utilized for spatially explicit risk profiling of schistosomiasis. Since schistosomiasis risk profiling based on remote sensing data inherits a conceptual drawback if school-based disease prevalence data are directly related to the remote sensing measurements extracted at the location of the school, because the disease transmission usually does not exactly occur at the school, we took the local environment around the schools into account by explicitly linking ecologically relevant environmental information of potential disease transmission sites to survey measurements of disease prevalence. Our models were validated at two sites with different landscapes in Côte d'Ivoire using high- and moderate-resolution remote sensing data based on random forest and partial least squares regression. We found that the ecologically relevant modelling approach explained up to 70% of the variation in Schistosoma infection prevalence and performed better compared to a purely pixel-based modelling approach. Furthermore, our study showed that model performance increased as a function of enlarging the school catchment area, confirming the hypothesis that suitable environments for schistosomiasis transmission rarely occur at the location of survey measurements.

The HydroColor App: Above Water Measurements of Remote Sensing Reflectance and Turbidity Using a Smartphone Camera

PubMed Central

Leeuw, Thomas; Boss, Emmanuel

2018-01-01

HydroColor is a mobile application that utilizes a smartphone’s camera and auxiliary sensors to measure the remote sensing reflectance of natural water bodies. HydroColor uses the smartphone’s digital camera as a three-band radiometer. Users are directed by the application to collect a series of three images. These images are used to calculate the remote sensing reflectance in the red, green, and blue broad wavelength bands. As with satellite measurements, the reflectance can be inverted to estimate the concentration of absorbing and scattering substances in the water, which are predominately composed of suspended sediment, chlorophyll, and dissolved organic matter. This publication describes the measurement method and investigates the precision of HydroColor’s reflectance and turbidity estimates compared to commercial instruments. It is shown that HydroColor can measure the remote sensing reflectance to within 26% of a precision radiometer and turbidity within 24% of a portable turbidimeter. HydroColor distinguishes itself from other water quality camera methods in that its operation is based on radiometric measurements instead of image color. HydroColor is one of the few mobile applications to use a smartphone as a completely objective sensor, as opposed to subjective user observations or color matching using the human eye. This makes HydroColor a powerful tool for crowdsourcing of aquatic optical data. PMID:29337917

The HydroColor App: Above Water Measurements of Remote Sensing Reflectance and Turbidity Using a Smartphone Camera.

PubMed

Leeuw, Thomas; Boss, Emmanuel

2018-01-16

HydroColor is a mobile application that utilizes a smartphone's camera and auxiliary sensors to measure the remote sensing reflectance of natural water bodies. HydroColor uses the smartphone's digital camera as a three-band radiometer. Users are directed by the application to collect a series of three images. These images are used to calculate the remote sensing reflectance in the red, green, and blue broad wavelength bands. As with satellite measurements, the reflectance can be inverted to estimate the concentration of absorbing and scattering substances in the water, which are predominately composed of suspended sediment, chlorophyll, and dissolved organic matter. This publication describes the measurement method and investigates the precision of HydroColor's reflectance and turbidity estimates compared to commercial instruments. It is shown that HydroColor can measure the remote sensing reflectance to within 26% of a precision radiometer and turbidity within 24% of a portable turbidimeter. HydroColor distinguishes itself from other water quality camera methods in that its operation is based on radiometric measurements instead of image color. HydroColor is one of the few mobile applications to use a smartphone as a completely objective sensor, as opposed to subjective user observations or color matching using the human eye. This makes HydroColor a powerful tool for crowdsourcing of aquatic optical data.

Measurement of Oil and Natural Gas Well Pad Enclosed Combustor Emissions Using Optical Remote Sensing Technologies

EPA Science Inventory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Research and Development (ORD) and EPA Region 8 are collaborating under the EPA’s Regional Applied Research Effort (RARE) program to evaluate ground-based remote sensing technologies that could be used to characterize emis...

THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF PHYTOPLANKTON CHLOROPHYLL CONCENTRATIONS IN NARRAGANSETT BAY USING AIRCRAFT REMOTE SENSING

EPA Science Inventory

During the summer of 2002, phytoplankton chlorophyll concentrations were determined in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island using a light aircraft equipped with the MicroSAS remote sensing system. From an altitude of 300 m, the three sensor system measured sea surface radiance (Lt), sk...

Estimating the relative water content of leaves in a cotton canopy.

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Remotely sensing plant canopy water status remains a long term goal of remote sensing research. Established approaches to estimating canopy water status — the Crop Water Stress Index, the Water Deficit Index, the Equivalent Water Thickness and the many other indices — involve measurements in the the...

Identification of expansive soils using remote sensing and in-situ field measurements : phase I.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-10-01

Researchers at the University of Arkansas have conducted research on the suitability of using remote sensing techniques (radar and LIDAR) to monitor the shrink-swell behavior of an expansive clay material in a field test site as part of the Mack Blac...

Breaking the barriers to adopting satellite remote sensing for water quality management: ?monitoring cyanobacteria blooms

EPA Science Inventory

Remote sensing technology has the potential to inform and accelerate the engagement of communities and managers in the implementation and performance of best management practices. Over the last few decades, satellite technology has allowed measurements on a global scale over long...

40 CFR 51.371 - On-road testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... inspection; notification may be by mailing in the case of remote sensing on-road testing or through immediate... information about the performance of in-use vehicles, by measuring on-road emissions through the use of remote sensing devices or by assessing vehicle emission performance through roadside pullovers including tailpipe...

40 CFR 51.371 - On-road testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... inspection; notification may be by mailing in the case of remote sensing on-road testing or through immediate... information about the performance of in-use vehicles, by measuring on-road emissions through the use of remote sensing devices or by assessing vehicle emission performance through roadside pullovers including tailpipe...

40 CFR 51.371 - On-road testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... inspection; notification may be by mailing in the case of remote sensing on-road testing or through immediate... information about the performance of in-use vehicles, by measuring on-road emissions through the use of remote sensing devices or by assessing vehicle emission performance through roadside pullovers including tailpipe...

40 CFR 51.371 - On-road testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... inspection; notification may be by mailing in the case of remote sensing on-road testing or through immediate... information about the performance of in-use vehicles, by measuring on-road emissions through the use of remote sensing devices or by assessing vehicle emission performance through roadside pullovers including tailpipe...

Rangeland remote sensing applications with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in the national airspace: challenges and experiences

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In recent years, civilian applications of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have increased considerably due to their greater availability and the miniaturization of sensors, GPS, inertial measurement units, and other hardware. UAS are well suited for rangeland remote sensing applications, because of the...

Earth view: A business guide to orbital remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bishop, Peter C.

1990-01-01

The following subject areas are covered: Earth view - a guide to orbital remote sensing; current orbital remote sensing systems (LANDSAT, SPOT image, MOS-1, Soviet remote sensing systems); remote sensing satellite; and remote sensing organizations.

Development of data processing, interpretation and analysis system for the remote sensing of trace atmospheric gas species

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Casas, Joseph C.; Saylor, Mary S.; Kindle, Earl C.

1987-01-01

The major emphasis is on the advancement of remote sensing technology. In particular, the gas filter correlation radiometer (GFCR) technique was applied to the measurement of trace gas species, such as carbon monoxide (CO), from airborne and Earth orbiting platforms. Through a series of low altitude aircraft flights, high altitude aircraft flights, and orbiting space platform flights, data were collected and analyzed, culminating in the first global map of carbon monoxide concentration in the middle troposphere and stratosphere. The four major areas of this remote sensing program, known as the Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellites (MAPS) experiment, are: (1) data acquisition, (2) data processing, analysis, and interpretation algorithms, (3) data display techniques, and (4) information processing.

Novel Technique and Technologies for Active Optical Remote Sensing of Greenhouse Gases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, Upendra N.; Refaat, Tamer F.; Petros, Mulugeta

2017-01-01

The societal benefits of understanding climate change through identification of global carbon dioxide sources and sinks led to the desired NASA's active sensing of carbon dioxide emissions over nights, days, and seasons (ASCENDS) space-based missions of global carbon dioxide measurements. For more than 15 years, NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) have developed several carbon dioxide active remote sensors using the differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technique operating at the two-micron wavelength. Currently, an airborne two-micron triple-pulse integrated path differential absorption (IPDA) lidar is under development. This IPDA lidar measures carbon dioxide as well as water vapor, the dominant interfering molecule on carbon dioxide remote sensing. Advancement of this triple-pulse IPDA lidar development is presented.

Automobile gross emitter screening with remote sensing data using objective-oriented neural network.

PubMed

Chen, Ho-Wen; Yang, Hsi-Hsien; Wang, Yu-Sheng

2009-11-01

One of the costs of Taiwan's massive economic development has been severe air pollution problems in many parts of the island. Since vehicle emissions are the major source of air pollution in most of Taiwan's urban areas, Taiwan's government has implemented policies to rectify the degrading air quality, especially in areas with high population density. To reduce vehicle pollution emissions an on-road remote sensing and monitoring system is used to check the exhaust emissions from gasoline engine automobiles. By identifying individual vehicles with excessive emissions for follow-up inspection and testing, air quality in the urban environment is expected to improve greatly. Because remote sensing is capable of measuring a large number of moving vehicles in a short period, it has been considered as an assessment technique in place of the stationary emission-sampling techniques. However, inherent measurement uncertainty of remote sensing instrumentation, compounded by the indeterminacy of monitoring site selection, plus the vagaries of weather, causes large errors in pollution discrimination and limits the application of the remote sensing. Many governments are still waiting for a novel data analysis methodology to clamp down on heavily emitting vehicles by using remote sensing data. This paper proposes an artificial neural network (ANN), with vehicle attributes embedded, that can be trained by genetic algorithm (GA) based on different strategies to predict vehicle emission violation. Results show that the accuracy of predicting emission violation is as high as 92%. False determinations tend to occur for vehicles aged 7-13 years, peaking at 10 years of age.

Hyperspectral remote sensing of coral reefs: Deriving bathymetry, aquatic optical properties and a benthic spectral unmixing classification using AVIRIS data in the Hawaiian Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodman, James Ansell

My research focuses on the development and application of hyperspectral remote sensing as a valuable component in the assessment and management of coral ecosystems. Remote sensing provides an important quantitative ability to investigate the spatial dynamics of coral health and evaluate the impacts of local, regional and global change on this important natural resource. Furthermore, advances in detector capabilities and analysis methods, particularly with respect to hyperspectral remote sensing, are also increasing the accuracy and level of effectiveness of the resulting data products. Using imagery of Kaneohe Bay and French Frigate Shoals in the Hawaiian Islands, acquired in 2000 by NASA's Airborne Visible InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS), I developed, applied and evaluated algorithms for analyzing coral reefs using hyperspectral remote sensing data. Research included developing methods for acquiring in situ underwater reflectance, collecting spectral measurements of the dominant bottom components in Kaneohe Bay, applying atmospheric correction and sunglint removal algorithms, employing a semianalytical optimization model to derive bathymetry and aquatic optical properties, and developing a linear unmixing approach for deriving bottom composition. Additionally, algorithm development focused on using fundamental scientific principles to facilitate the portability of methods to diverse geographic locations and across variable environmental conditions. Assessments of this methodology compared favorably with available field measurements and habitat information, and the overall analysis demonstrated the capacity to derive information on water properties, bathymetry and habitat composition. Thus, results illustrated a successful approach for extracting environmental information and habitat composition from a coral reef environment using hyperspectral remote sensing.

Distribution of chlorophyll and harmful algal blooms (HABs): A review on space based studies in the coastal environments of Chinese marginal seas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Guifeng; Tang, Danling; Wang, Sufen

Monitoring of spatial and temporal distribution of chlorophyll (Chl-a) concentrations in the aquatic milieu is always challenging and often interesting. However, the recent advancements in satellite digital data play a significant role in providing outstanding results for the marine environmental investigations. The present paper is aimed to review ‘remote sensing research in Chinese seas’ within the period of 24 years from 1978 to 2002. Owing to generalized distributional pattern, the Chl-a concentrations are recognized high towards northern Chinese seas than the southern. Moreover, the coastal waters, estuaries, and upwelling zones always exhibit relatively high Chl-a concentrations compared with offshore waters. On the basis of marine Chl-a estimates obtained from satellite and other field measured environmental parameters, we have further discussed on the applications of satellite remote sensing in the fields of harmful algal blooms (HABs), primary production and physical oceanographic currents of the regional seas. Concerned with studies of HABs, satellite remote sensing proved more advantageous than any other conventional methods for large-scale applications. Probably, it may be the only source of authentic information responsible for the evaluation of new research methodologies to detect HABs. At present, studies using remote sensing methods are mostly confined to observe algal bloom occurrences, hence, it is essential to coordinate the mechanism of marine ecological and oceanographic dynamic processes of HABs using satellite remote sensing data with in situ measurements of marine environmental parameters. The satellite remote sensing on marine environment and HABs is believed to have a great improvement with popular application of technology.

Spatial Heterogeneity of Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Its Temporal Course on Arable Land: Combining Field Measurements, Remote Sensing and Simulation in a Comprehensive Data Analysis Approach (CDAA).

PubMed

Reichenau, Tim G; Korres, Wolfgang; Montzka, Carsten; Fiener, Peter; Wilken, Florian; Stadler, Anja; Waldhoff, Guido; Schneider, Karl

2016-01-01

The ratio of leaf area to ground area (leaf area index, LAI) is an important state variable in ecosystem studies since it influences fluxes of matter and energy between the land surface and the atmosphere. As a basis for generating temporally continuous and spatially distributed datasets of LAI, the current study contributes an analysis of its spatial variability and spatial structure. Soil-vegetation-atmosphere fluxes of water, carbon and energy are nonlinearly related to LAI. Therefore, its spatial heterogeneity, i.e., the combination of spatial variability and structure, has an effect on simulations of these fluxes. To assess LAI spatial heterogeneity, we apply a Comprehensive Data Analysis Approach that combines data from remote sensing (5 m resolution) and simulation (150 m resolution) with field measurements and a detailed land use map. Test area is the arable land in the fertile loess plain of the Rur catchment on the Germany-Belgium-Netherlands border. LAI from remote sensing and simulation compares well with field measurements. Based on the simulation results, we describe characteristic crop-specific temporal patterns of LAI spatial variability. By means of these patterns, we explain the complex multimodal frequency distributions of LAI in the remote sensing data. In the test area, variability between agricultural fields is higher than within fields. Therefore, spatial resolutions less than the 5 m of the remote sensing scenes are sufficient to infer LAI spatial variability. Frequency distributions from the simulation agree better with the multimodal distributions from remote sensing than normal distributions do. The spatial structure of LAI in the test area is dominated by a short distance referring to field sizes. Longer distances that refer to soil and weather can only be derived from remote sensing data. Therefore, simulations alone are not sufficient to characterize LAI spatial structure. It can be concluded that a comprehensive picture of LAI spatial heterogeneity and its temporal course can contribute to the development of an approach to create spatially distributed and temporally continuous datasets of LAI.

Spatial Heterogeneity of Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Its Temporal Course on Arable Land: Combining Field Measurements, Remote Sensing and Simulation in a Comprehensive Data Analysis Approach (CDAA)

PubMed Central

Korres, Wolfgang; Montzka, Carsten; Fiener, Peter; Wilken, Florian; Stadler, Anja; Waldhoff, Guido; Schneider, Karl

2016-01-01

The ratio of leaf area to ground area (leaf area index, LAI) is an important state variable in ecosystem studies since it influences fluxes of matter and energy between the land surface and the atmosphere. As a basis for generating temporally continuous and spatially distributed datasets of LAI, the current study contributes an analysis of its spatial variability and spatial structure. Soil-vegetation-atmosphere fluxes of water, carbon and energy are nonlinearly related to LAI. Therefore, its spatial heterogeneity, i.e., the combination of spatial variability and structure, has an effect on simulations of these fluxes. To assess LAI spatial heterogeneity, we apply a Comprehensive Data Analysis Approach that combines data from remote sensing (5 m resolution) and simulation (150 m resolution) with field measurements and a detailed land use map. Test area is the arable land in the fertile loess plain of the Rur catchment on the Germany-Belgium-Netherlands border. LAI from remote sensing and simulation compares well with field measurements. Based on the simulation results, we describe characteristic crop-specific temporal patterns of LAI spatial variability. By means of these patterns, we explain the complex multimodal frequency distributions of LAI in the remote sensing data. In the test area, variability between agricultural fields is higher than within fields. Therefore, spatial resolutions less than the 5 m of the remote sensing scenes are sufficient to infer LAI spatial variability. Frequency distributions from the simulation agree better with the multimodal distributions from remote sensing than normal distributions do. The spatial structure of LAI in the test area is dominated by a short distance referring to field sizes. Longer distances that refer to soil and weather can only be derived from remote sensing data. Therefore, simulations alone are not sufficient to characterize LAI spatial structure. It can be concluded that a comprehensive picture of LAI spatial heterogeneity and its temporal course can contribute to the development of an approach to create spatially distributed and temporally continuous datasets of LAI. PMID:27391858

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

Newman, Jennifer; Clifton, Andrew; Bonin, Timothy

As wind turbine sizes increase and wind energy expands to more complex and remote sites, remote-sensing devices such as lidars are expected to play a key role in wind resource assessment and power performance testing. The switch to remote-sensing devices represents a paradigm shift in the way the wind industry typically obtains and interprets measurement data for wind energy. For example, the measurement techniques and sources of uncertainty for a remote-sensing device are vastly different from those associated with a cup anemometer on a meteorological tower. Current IEC standards for quantifying remote sensing device uncertainty for power performance testing considermore » uncertainty due to mounting, calibration, and classification of the remote sensing device, among other parameters. Values of the uncertainty are typically given as a function of the mean wind speed measured by a reference device and are generally fixed, leading to climatic uncertainty values that apply to the entire measurement campaign. However, real-world experience and a consideration of the fundamentals of the measurement process have shown that lidar performance is highly dependent on atmospheric conditions, such as wind shear, turbulence, and aerosol content. At present, these conditions are not directly incorporated into the estimated uncertainty of a lidar device. In this presentation, we describe the development of a new dynamic lidar uncertainty framework that adapts to current flow conditions and more accurately represents the actual uncertainty inherent in lidar measurements under different conditions. In this new framework, sources of uncertainty are identified for estimation of the line-of-sight wind speed and reconstruction of the three-dimensional wind field. These sources are then related to physical processes caused by the atmosphere and lidar operating conditions. The framework is applied to lidar data from a field measurement site to assess the ability of the framework to predict errors in lidar-measured wind speed. The results show how uncertainty varies over time and can be used to help select data with different levels of uncertainty for different applications, for example, low uncertainty data for power performance testing versus all data for plant performance monitoring.« less

Turbid water measurements of remote sensing penetration depth at visible and near-infrared wavelength

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, W. D.; Witte, W. G.; Whitlock, C. H.

1980-01-01

Remote sensing of water quality is dicussed. Remote sensing penetration depth is a function both of water type and wavelength. Results of three tests to help demonstrate the magnitude of this dependence are presented. The water depth to which the remote-sensor data was valid was always less than that of the Secchi disk depth, although not always the same fraction of that depth. The penetration depths were wavelength dependent and showed the greatest variation for the water type with largest Secchi depth. The presence of a reflective plate, simulating a reflective subsurface, increased the apparent depth of light penetration from that calculated for water of infinite depth.

Physical Characteristics of Arctic Clouds from Ground-based Remote-sensing with a Polarized Micro-Pulse Lidar and a 95-GHz Cloud Radar in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shiobara, M.; Takano, T.; Okamoto, H.; Yabuki, M.

2015-12-01

Clouds and aerosols are key elements having a potential to change climate by their radiative effects on the energy balance in the global climate system. In the Arctic, we have been continuing ground-based remote-sensing measurements for clouds and aerosols using a sky-radiometer, a micro-pulse lidar (MPL) and an all-sky camera in Ny-Ålesund (78.9N, 11.9E), Svalbard since early 2000's. In addition to such regular operations, several new measurements have been performed with a polarization MPL since August 2013, a 95GHz Doppler cloud radar since September 2013, and a dual frequency microwave radiometer since June 2014. An intensive field experiment for cloud-aerosol-radiation interaction study named A-CARE (PI: J. Ukita) was conducted for water clouds in the period of 23 June - 13 July 2014 and for mixed phase clouds in the period of 30 March - 23 April 2015 in Ny-Alesund. The experiment consisted of ground-based remote-sensing and in-situ cloud microphysics measurements. In this paper, preliminary results from these remote-sensing measurements will be presented, particularly in regard to physical characteristics of Arctic clouds based on radar-lidar collocated observation in Ny-Ålesund.

Technology study of quantum remote sensing imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bi, Siwen; Lin, Xuling; Yang, Song; Wu, Zhiqiang

2016-02-01

According to remote sensing science and technology development and application requirements, quantum remote sensing is proposed. First on the background of quantum remote sensing, quantum remote sensing theory, information mechanism, imaging experiments and prototype principle prototype research situation, related research at home and abroad are briefly introduced. Then we expounds compress operator of the quantum remote sensing radiation field and the basic principles of single-mode compression operator, quantum quantum light field of remote sensing image compression experiment preparation and optical imaging, the quantum remote sensing imaging principle prototype, Quantum remote sensing spaceborne active imaging technology is brought forward, mainly including quantum remote sensing spaceborne active imaging system composition and working principle, preparation and injection compression light active imaging device and quantum noise amplification device. Finally, the summary of quantum remote sensing research in the past 15 years work and future development are introduced.

Assessing Wetland Hydroperiod and Soil Moisture With Remote Sensing: A Demonstration for the NASA Plum Brook Station Year 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brooks, Colin; Bourgeau-Chavez, Laura; Endres, Sarah; Battaglia, Michael; Shuchman, Robert

2015-01-01

Primary Goal: Assist with the evaluation and measuring of wetlands hydroperiod at the PlumBrook Station using multi-source remote sensing data as part of a larger effort on projecting climate change-related impacts on the station's wetland ecosystems. MTRI expanded on the multi-source remote sensing capabilities to help estimate and measure hydroperiod and the relative soil moisture of wetlands at NASA's Plum Brook Station. Multi-source remote sensing capabilities are useful in estimating and measuring hydroperiod and relative soil moisture of wetlands. This is important as a changing regional climate has several potential risks for wetland ecosystem function. The year two analysis built on the first year of the project by acquiring and analyzing remote sensing data for additional dates and types of imagery, combined with focused field work. Five deliverables were planned and completed: 1) Show the relative length of hydroperiod using available remote sensing datasets 2) Date linked table of wetlands extent over time for all feasible non-forested wetlands 3) Utilize LIDAR data to measure topographic height above sea level of all wetlands, wetland to catchment area radio, slope of wetlands, and other useful variables 4) A demonstration of how analyzed results from multiple remote sensing data sources can help with wetlands vulnerability assessment 5) A MTRI style report summarizing year 2 results. This report serves as a descriptive summary of our completion of these our deliverables. Additionally, two formal meetings were held with Larry Liou and Amanda Sprinzl to provide project updates and receive direction on outputs. These were held on 2/26/15 and 9/17/15 at the Plum Brook Station. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a multivariate statistical technique used to identify dominant spatial and temporal backscatter signatures. PCA reduces the information contained in the temporal dataset to the first few new Principal Component (PC) images. Some advantages of PCA include the ability to filter out temporal autocorrelation and reduce speckle to the higher order PC images. A PCA was performed using ERDAS Imagine on a time series of PALSAR dates. Hydroperiod maps were created by separating the PALSAR dates into two date ranges, 2006-2008 and 2010, and performing an unsupervised classification on the PCAs.

Remote sensing of water quality and contaminants in the California Bay-Delta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fichot, C. G.; Downing, B. D.; Windham-Myers, L.; Marvin-DiPasquale, M. C.; Bergamaschi, B. A.; Thompson, D. R.; Gierach, M. M.

2014-12-01

The California Bay-Delta is a highly altered ecosystem largely reclaimed from wetlands for agriculture, and millions of acres of farmland and Californians rely on the Bay-Delta for their water supply. The Bay-Delta also harbors important habitats for many organisms, including commercial and endangered species. Recently, the Delta Stewardship Council developed a two component mission (coequal goals) to 1) provide a more reliable water supply for California while 2) protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Bay-Delta ecosystem. Dissolved organic carbon, turbidity, and contaminants such as methylmercury represent important water quality issues for water management and in the context of wetland restoration in the Bay-Delta, and can threaten the achievement of the coequal goals. Here, we use field measurements of optical properties, chemical analyses, and remotely sensed data acquired with the airborne Portable Remote Imaging SpectroMeter (PRISM ; http://prism.jpl.nasa.gov/index.html) to demonstrate these water quality parameters and the study of their dynamics in the Bay-Delta are amenable to remote sensing. PRISM provides high signal-to-noise, high spatial resolution (~2 m), hyperspectral measurements of remote-sensing reflectance in the 350-1050 nm range, and therefore has the adequate resolutions for water quality monitoring in inland, optically complex waters. Remote sensing of water quality will represent a valuable complement to existing in situ water quality monitoring programs in this region and will help with decision-making to achieve the co-equal goals.

[The progress in retrieving land surface temperature based on thermal infrared and microwave remote sensing technologies].

PubMed

Zhang, Jia-Hua; Li, Xin; Yao, Feng-Mei; Li, Xian-Hua

2009-08-01

Land surface temperature (LST) is an important parameter in the study on the exchange of substance and energy between land surface and air for the land surface physics process at regional and global scales. Many applications of satellites remotely sensed data must provide exact and quantificational LST, such as drought, high temperature, forest fire, earthquake, hydrology and the vegetation monitor, and the models of global circulation and regional climate also need LST as input parameter. Therefore, the retrieval of LST using remote sensing technology becomes one of the key tasks in quantificational remote sensing study. Normally, in the spectrum bands, the thermal infrared (TIR, 3-15 microm) and microwave bands (1 mm-1 m) are important for retrieval of the LST. In the present paper, firstly, several methods for estimating the LST on the basis of thermal infrared (TIR) remote sensing were synthetically reviewed, i. e., the LST measured with an ground-base infrared thermometer, the LST retrieval from mono-window algorithm (MWA), single-channel algorithm (SCA), split-window techniques (SWT) and multi-channels algorithm(MCA), single-channel & multi-angle algorithm and multi-channels algorithm & multi-angle algorithm, and retrieval method of land surface component temperature using thermal infrared remotely sensed satellite observation. Secondly, the study status of land surface emissivity (epsilon) was presented. Thirdly, in order to retrieve LST for all weather conditions, microwave remotely sensed data, instead of thermal infrared data, have been developed recently, and the LST retrieval method from passive microwave remotely sensed data was also introduced. Finally, the main merits and shortcomings of different kinds of LST retrieval methods were discussed, respectively.

A review of the remote sensing of lower tropospheric thermodynamic profiles and its indispensable role for the understanding and the simulation of water and energy cycles: REMOTE SENSING OF THERMODYNAMIC PROFILES

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

Wulfmeyer, Volker; Hardesty, R. Michael; Turner, David D.

A review of remote sensing technology for lower tropospheric thermodynamic (TD) profiling is presented with focus on high accuracy and high temporal-vertical resolution. The contributions of these instruments to the understanding of the Earth system are assessed with respect to radiative transfer, land surface-atmosphere feedback, convection initiation, and data assimilation. We demonstrate that for progress in weather and climate research, TD profilers are essential. These observational systems must resolve gradients of humidity and temperature in the stable or unstable atmospheric surface layer close to the ground, in the mixed layer, in the interfacial layer—usually characterized by an inversion—and the lowermore » troposphere. A thorough analysis of the current observing systems is performed revealing significant gaps that must be addressed to fulfill existing needs. We analyze whether current and future passive and active remote sensing systems can close these gaps. A methodological analysis and demonstration of measurement capabilities with respect to bias and precision is executed both for passive and active remote sensing including passive infrared and microwave spectroscopy, the global navigation satellite system, as well as water vapor and temperature Raman lidar and water vapor differential absorption lidar. Whereas passive remote sensing systems are already mature with respect to operational applications, active remote sensing systems require further engineering to become operational in networks. However, active remote sensing systems provide a smaller bias as well as higher temporal and vertical resolutions. For a suitable mesoscale network design, TD profiler system developments should be intensified and dedicated observing system simulation experiments should be performed.« less

Accessing and Utilizing Remote Sensing Data for Vectorborne Infectious Diseases Surveillance and Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kiang, Richard; Adimi, Farida; Kempler, Steven

2008-01-01

Background: The transmission of vectorborne infectious diseases is often influenced by environmental, meteorological and climatic parameters, because the vector life cycle depends on these factors. For example, the geophysical parameters relevant to malaria transmission include precipitation, surface temperature, humidity, elevation, and vegetation type. Because these parameters are routinely measured by satellites, remote sensing is an important technological tool for predicting, preventing, and containing a number of vectorborne infectious diseases, such as malaria, dengue, West Nile virus, etc. Methods: A variety of NASA remote sensing data can be used for modeling vectorborne infectious disease transmission. We will discuss both the well known and less known remote sensing data, including Landsat, AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer), MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer), TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission), ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer), EO-1 (Earth Observing One) ALI (Advanced Land Imager), and SIESIP (Seasonal to Interannual Earth Science Information Partner) dataset. Giovanni is a Web-based application developed by the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center. It provides a simple and intuitive way to visualize, analyze, and access vast amounts of Earth science remote sensing data. After remote sensing data is obtained, a variety of techniques, including generalized linear models and artificial intelligence oriented methods, t 3 can be used to model the dependency of disease transmission on these parameters. Results: The processes of accessing, visualizing and utilizing precipitation data using Giovanni, and acquiring other data at additional websites are illustrated. Malaria incidence time series for some parts of Thailand and Indonesia are used to demonstrate that malaria incidences are reasonably well modeled with generalized linear models and artificial intelligence based techniques. Conclusions: Remote sensing data relevant to the transmission of vectorborne infectious diseases can be conveniently accessed at NASA and some other websites. These data are useful for vectorborne infectious disease surveillance and modeling.

Photogrammetry - Remote Sensing and Geoinformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazaridou, M. A.; Patmio, E. N.

2012-07-01

Earth and its environment are studied by different scientific disciplines as geosciences, science of engineering, social sciences, geography, etc. The study of the above, beyond pure scientific interest, is useful for the practical needs of man. Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (defined by Statute II of ISPRS) is the art, science, and technology of obtaining reliable information from non-contact imaging and other sensor systems about the Earth and its environment, and other physical objects and of processes through recording, measuring, analyzing and representation. Therefore, according to this definition, photogrammetry and remote sensing can support studies of the above disciplines for acquisition of geoinformation. This paper concerns basic concepts of geosciences (geomorphology, geology, hydrology etc), and the fundamentals of photogrammetry-remote sensing, in order to aid the understanding of the relationship between photogrammetry-remote sensing and geoinformation and also structure curriculum in a brief, concise and coherent way. This curriculum can represent an appropriate research and educational outline and help to disseminate knowledge in various directions and levels. It resulted from our research and educational experience in graduate and post-graduate level (post-graduate studies relative to the protection of environment and protection of monuments and historical centers) in the Lab. of Photogrammetry - Remote Sensing in Civil Engineering Faculty of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Remote sensing, hydrological modeling and in situ observations in snow cover research: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Chunyu

2018-06-01

Snow is an important component of the hydrological cycle. As a major part of the cryosphere, snow cover also represents a valuable terrestrial water resource. In the context of climate change, the dynamics of snow cover play a crucial role in rebalancing the global energy and water budgets. Remote sensing, hydrological modeling and in situ observations are three techniques frequently utilized for snow cover investigations. However, the uncertainties caused by systematic errors, scale gaps, and complicated snow physics, among other factors, limit the usability of these three approaches in snow studies. In this paper, an overview of the advantages, limitations and recent progress of the three methods is presented, and more effective ways to estimate snow cover properties are evaluated. The possibility of improving remotely sensed snow information using ground-based observations is discussed. As a rapidly growing source of volunteered geographic information (VGI), web-based geotagged photos have great potential to provide ground truth data for remotely sensed products and hydrological models and thus contribute to procedures for cloud removal, correction, validation, forcing and assimilation. Finally, this review proposes a synergistic framework for the future of snow cover research. This framework highlights the cross-scale integration of in situ and remotely sensed snow measurements and the assimilation of improved remote sensing data into hydrological models.

Development of a Cost-Effective Airborne Remote Sensing System for Coastal Monitoring

PubMed Central

Kim, Duk-jin; Jung, Jungkyo; Kang, Ki-mook; Kim, Seung Hee; Xu, Zhen; Hensley, Scott; Swan, Aaron; Duersch, Michael

2015-01-01

Coastal lands and nearshore marine areas are productive and rapidly changing places. However, these areas face many environmental challenges related to climate change and human-induced impacts. Space-borne remote sensing systems may be restricted in monitoring these areas because of their spatial and temporal resolutions. In situ measurements are also constrained from accessing the area and obtaining wide-coverage data. In these respects, airborne remote sensing sensors could be the most appropriate tools for monitoring these coastal areas. In this study, a cost-effective airborne remote sensing system with synthetic aperture radar and thermal infrared sensors was implemented to survey coastal areas. Calibration techniques and geophysical model algorithms were developed for the airborne system to observe the topography of intertidal flats, coastal sea surface current, sea surface temperature, and submarine groundwater discharge. PMID:26437413

Development of a Cost-Effective Airborne Remote Sensing System for Coastal Monitoring.

PubMed

Kim, Duk-jin; Jung, Jungkyo; Kang, Ki-mook; Kim, Seung Hee; Xu, Zhen; Hensley, Scott; Swan, Aaron; Duersch, Michael

2015-09-30

Coastal lands and nearshore marine areas are productive and rapidly changing places. However, these areas face many environmental challenges related to climate change and human-induced impacts. Space-borne remote sensing systems may be restricted in monitoring these areas because of their spatial and temporal resolutions. In situ measurements are also constrained from accessing the area and obtaining wide-coverage data. In these respects, airborne remote sensing sensors could be the most appropriate tools for monitoring these coastal areas. In this study, a cost-effective airborne remote sensing system with synthetic aperture radar and thermal infrared sensors was implemented to survey coastal areas. Calibration techniques and geophysical model algorithms were developed for the airborne system to observe the topography of intertidal flats, coastal sea surface current, sea surface temperature, and submarine groundwater discharge.

Remote sensing of water quality in reservoirs and lakes in semi-arid climates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, H. M.; Horne, A. J.

1975-01-01

Overlake measurements using aerial cameras (remote sensing) combined with water truth collected from boats most economically provided wide-band photographs rather than precise spectra. With use of false color infrared film (400-950 nm), the reflected spectral signatures seen from hundreds to thousands of meters above the lake merged to produce various color tones. Such colors were easily and inexpensively obtained and could be recognized by lake management personnel without any prior training. The characteristic spectral signatures of various algal types were also recognizable in part by the color tone produced by remote sensing.

Research and Practice of Uav Remote Sensing in the Monitoring and Management of Construction Projects in Riparian Areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, J.; Gan, Z.; Zhong, L.; Deng, L.

2018-04-01

The objective of this paper is to investigate the use of UAV remote sensing in the monitoring and management of construction projects in riparian areas through the case study of embankment construction projects' monitoring in the Three Gorges Reservoir area. A three-step approach is proposed to address the problem: data acquisition with UAV, data processing, and monitoring information extraction. The results of the case study demonstrate that UAV remote sensing is capable of providing fast and accurate measurements and calculations for the needs of monitoring of riparian constructions.

A study of Minnesota land and water resources using remote sensing, volume 13

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

Progress in the use of LANDSAT data to classify wetlands in the Upper Mississippi River Valley and efforts to evaluate stress in corn and soybean crops are described. Satellite remote sensing data was used to measure particle concentrations in Lake Superior and several different kinds of remote sensing data were synergistically combined in order to identify near surface bedrock in Minnesota. Data analysis techniques which separate those activities requiring extensive computing form those involving a great deal of user interaction were developed to allow the latter to be done in the user's office or in the field.

Remote Sensing of Aerosol and Aerosol Radiative Forcing of Climate from EOS Terra MODIS Instrument

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaufman, Yoram; Tanre, Didier; Remer, Lorraine; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

The recent launch of EOS-Terra into polar orbit has begun to revolutionize remote sensing of aerosol and their effect on climate. Terra has five instruments, two of them,Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Multiangle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer (MISR) are designed to monitor global aerosol in two different complementary ways. Here we shall discuss the use of the multispectral measurements of MODIS to derive: (1) the global distribution of aerosol load (and optical thickness) over ocean and land; (2) to measure the impact of aerosol on reflection of sunlight to space; and (3) to measure the ability of aerosol to absorb solar radiation. These measurements have direct applications on the understanding of the effect of aerosol on climate, the ability to predict climate change, and on the monitoring of dust episodes and man-made pollution. Principles of remote sensing of aerosol from MODIS will be discussed and first examples of measurements from MODIS will be provided.

Remote Sensing of Aerosol and their Radiative Forcing of Climate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaufman, Yoram J.; Tanre, Didier; Remer, Lorraine A.

1999-01-01

Remote sensing of aerosol and aerosol radiative forcing of climate is going through a major transformation. The launch in next few years of new satellites designed specifically for remote sensing of aerosol is expected to further revolutionized aerosol measurements: until five years ago satellites were not designed for remote sensing of aerosol. Aerosol optical thickness was derived as a by product, only over the oceans using one AVHRR channel with errors of approx. 50%. However it already revealed a very important first global picture of the distribution and sources of aerosol. In the last 5 years we saw the introduction of polarization and multi-view observations (POLDER and ATSR) for satellite remote sensing of aerosol over land and ocean. Better products are derived from AVHRR using its two channels. The new TOMS aerosol index shows the location and transport of aerosol over land and ocean. Now we anticipate the launch of EOS-Terra with MODIS, MISR and CERES on board for multi-view, multi-spectral remote sensing of aerosol and its radiative forcing. This will allow application of new techniques, e.g. using a wide spectral range (0.55-2.2 microns) to derive precise optical thickness, particle size and mass loading. Aerosol is transparent in the 2.2 microns channel, therefore this channel can be used to detect surface features that in turn are used to derive the aerosol optical thickness in the visible part of the spectrum. New techniques are developed to derive the aerosol single scattering albedo, a measure of absorption of sunlight, and techniques to derive directly the aerosol forcing at the top of the atmosphere. In the last 5 years a global network of sun/sky radiometers was formed, designed to communicate in real time the spectral optical thickness from 50-80 locations every day, every 15 minutes. The sky angular and spectral information is also measured and used to retrieve the aerosol size distribution, refractive index, single scattering albedo and the spectral flux reaching the surface. Effort to introduce remote sensing from lidars will literally additional dimension to aerosol remote sensing. The vertical dimension is a critical link between the global satellite observations and modeling of aerosol transport. Lidars are also critical to study aerosol impact on cloud microphysics and reflectance. Both lidar ground networks and satellite systems are in development. This new capability is expected to put remote sensing in the forefront of aerosol and climate studies. Together with field experiments, chemical analysis and chemical transport models we anticipate, in the next decade, to be able to resolve some of the outstanding questions regarding the role of aerosol in climate, in atmospheric chemistry and its influence on human health and life on this planet.

Spaceborne Microwave Instrument for High Resolution Remote Sensing of the Earth's Surface Using a Large-Aperture Mesh Antenna

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Njoku, E.; Wilson, W.; Yueh, S.; Freeland, R.; Helms, R.; Edelstein, W.; Sadowy, G.; Farra, D.; West, R.; Oxnevad, K.

2001-01-01

This report describes a two-year study of a large-aperture, lightweight, deployable mesh antenna system for radiometer and radar remote sensing of the Earth from space. The study focused specifically on an instrument to measure ocean salinity and Soil moisture. Measurements of ocean salinity and soil moisture are of critical . importance in improving knowledge and prediction of key ocean and land surface processes, but are not currently obtainable from space. A mission using this instrument would be the first demonstration of deployable mesh antenna technology for remote sensing and could lead to potential applications in other remote sensing disciplines that require high spatial resolution measurements. The study concept features a rotating 6-m-diameter deployable mesh antenna, with radiometer and radar sensors, to measure microwave emission and backscatter from the Earth's surface. The sensors operate at L and S bands, with multiple polarizations and a constant look angle, scanning across a wide swath. The study included detailed analyses of science requirements, reflector and feedhorn design and performance, microwave emissivity measurements of mesh samples, design and test of lightweight radar electronic., launch vehicle accommodations, rotational dynamics simulations, and an analysis of attitude control issues associated with the antenna and spacecraft, The goal of the study was to advance the technology readiness of the overall concept to a level appropriate for an Earth science emission.

Cropland measurement using Thematic Mapper data and radiometric model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lyon, John G.; Khuwaiter, I. H. S.

1989-01-01

To halt erosion and desertification, it is necessary to quantify resources that are affected. Necessary information includes inventory of croplands and desert areas as they change over time. Several studies indicate the value of remote sensor data as input to inventories. In this study, the radiometric modeling of spectral characteristics of soil and vegetation provides the theoretical basis for the remote sensing approach. Use of Landsat Thematic Mapper images allows measurement of croplands in Saudi Arabia, demonstrating the capability of the approach. The inventory techniques and remote sensing approach presented are potentially useful in developing countries.

Quantitative comparison of airborne remote-sensed and in situ Rhodamine WT dye and temperature during RIVET & IB09

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lenain, L.; Clark, D. B.; Guza, R. T.; Hally-Rosendahl, K.; Statom, N.; Feddersen, F.

2012-12-01

The transport and evolution of temperature, sediment, chlorophyll, fluorescent dye, and other tracers is of significant oceanographic interest, particularly in complex coastal environments such as the nearshore, river mouths, and tidal inlets. Remote sensing improves spatial coverage over in situ observations, and ground truthing remote sensed observations is critical for its use. Here, we present remotely sensed observations of Rhodamine WT dye and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) using the SIO Modular Aerial Sensing System (MASS) and compare them with in situ observations from the IB09 (0-300 m seaward of the surfzone, Imperial Beach, CA, October 2009) and RIVET (New River Inlet, NC, May 2012) field experiments. Dye concentrations are estimated from a unique multispectral camera system that measures the emission and absorption wavelengths of Rhodamine WT dye. During RIVET, dye is also characterized using a pushbroom hyperspectral imaging system (SPECIM AISAEagle VNIR 400-990 nm) while SST is estimated using a long-wave infrared camera (FLIR SC6000HS) coupled with an infrared pyrometer (Heitronics KT19.85II). Repeated flight passes over the dye plume were conducted approximately every 5 min for up to 4.5 hr in duration with a swath width ranging from 400 to 2000 m (altitude dependent), and provided a unique spatio-temporal depiction of the plume. A dye proxy is developed using the measured radiance at the emission and absorption wavelengths of the Rhodamine WT dye. During IB09 and RIVET, in situ dye and temperature were measured with two GPS-tracked jet skis, a small boat, and moored observations. The in situ observations are compared with the remotely sensed data in these two complex coastal environments. Funding was provided by the Office of Naval Research.

Spatial and Temporal Scaling of Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quattrochi, Dale A.; Goel, Narendra S.

1995-01-01

Although remote sensing has a central role to play in the acquisition of synoptic data obtained at multiple spatial and temporal scales to facilitate our understanding of local and regional processes as they influence the global climate, the use of thermal infrared (TIR) remote sensing data in this capacity has received only minimal attention. This results from some fundamental challenges that are associated with employing TIR data collected at different space and time scales, either with the same or different sensing systems, and also from other problems that arise in applying a multiple scaled approach to the measurement of surface temperatures. In this paper, we describe some of the more important problems associated with using TIR remote sensing data obtained at different spatial and temporal scales, examine why these problems appear as impediments to using multiple scaled TIR data, and provide some suggestions for future research activities that may address these problems. We elucidate the fundamental concept of scale as it relates to remote sensing and explore how space and time relationships affect TIR data from a problem-dependency perspective. We also describe how linearity and non-linearity observation versus parameter relationships affect the quantitative analysis of TIR data. Some insight is given on how the atmosphere between target and sensor influences the accurate measurement of surface temperatures and how these effects will be compounded in analyzing multiple scaled TIR data. Last, we describe some of the challenges in modeling TIR data obtained at different space and time scales and discuss how multiple scaled TIR data can be used to provide new and important information for measuring and modeling land-atmosphere energy balance processes.

An intercomparison of available soil moisture estimates from thermal-infrared and passive microwave remote sensing and land-surface modeling

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Remotely-sensed soil moisture studies have mainly focused on retrievals using active and passive microwave (MW) sensors whose measurements provided a direct relationship to soil moisture (SM). MW sensors present obvious advantages such as the ability to retrieve through non-precipitating cloud cover...

High spatial resolution three-dimensional mapping of vegetation spectral dynamics using computer vision

Treesearch

Jonathan P. Dandois; Erle C. Ellis

2013-01-01

High spatial resolution three-dimensional (3D) measurements of vegetation by remote sensing are advancing ecological research and environmental management. However, substantial economic and logistical costs limit this application, especially for observing phenological dynamics in ecosystem structure and spectral traits. Here we demonstrate a new aerial remote sensing...

Satellite Calibration and Verification of Remotely Sensed Cloud and Radiation Properties Using ARM UAV Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Minnis, Patrick; Charlock, Thomas P.

1998-01-01

The work proposed under this agreement was designed to validate and improve remote sensing of cloud and radiation properties in the atmosphere for climate studies with special emphasis on the use of satellites for monitoring these parameters to further the goals of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program.

Quantification of terrestrial ecosystem carbon dynamics in the conterminous United States combining a process-based biogeochemical model and MODIS and AmeriFlux data

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Satellite remote sensing provides continuous temporal and spatial information of terrestrial ecosystems. Using these remote sensing data and eddy flux measurements and biogeochemical models, such as the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (TEM), should provide a more adequate quantification of carbon dynami...

An assessment of the differences between spatial resolution and grid size for the SMAP enhanced soil moisture product over homogeneous sites

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Satellite-based passive microwave remote sensing typically involves a scanning antenna that makes measurements at irregularly spaced locations. These locations can change on a day to day basis. Soil moisture products derived from satellite-based passive microwave remote sensing are usually resampled...

Selective logging in the Brazilian Amazon.

Treesearch

G. P. Asner; D. E. Knapp; E. N. Broadbent; P. J. C. Oliveira; M Keller; J. N. Silva

2005-01-01

Amazon deforestation has been measured by remote sensing for three decades. In comparison, selective logging has been mostly invisible to satellites. We developed a large-scale, high-resolution, automated remote-sensing analysis of selective logging in the top five timber-producing states of the Brazilian Amazon. Logged areas ranged from 12,075 to 19,823 square...

Comparison of Balloonsonde and Remote Sensing Atmospheric Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brinker, David J.; Reehorst, Andrew L.; Power, Jack

2006-01-01

As part of its aircraft icing research program, the NASA Glenn Research Center is conducting a program to develop technologies for the remote sensing of atmospheric conditions. A suite of instruments, currently ground-based, are used to identify a region of supercooled liquid water which is labeled as hazardous if its liquid water content is sufficiently high. During the recently completed Alliance Icing Research Study (AIRS II), these instruments were deployed in conjunction with those of other U.S. and Canadian researchers at the Mirabel Airport near Montreal. As part of the study, balloonsondes were employed to provide in-situ measurement of the atmospheric conditions that were being concurrently remotely sensed. Balloonsonde launches occurred daily at 1200 GMT to provide AIRS forecasters with local data and additionally when research aircraft were present in the airspace. In this paper, we compare the processed data from the NASA remote sensing instruments, which included an X-band radar, lidar and two radiometers, to the data gathered from the 70 soundings conducted while the NASA instruments were active. Among the parameters compared are cloud upper and lower boundaries, temperature and humidity profiles and freezing levels.

A high throughput geocomputing system for remote sensing quantitative retrieval and a case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Yong; Chen, Ziqiang; Xu, Hui; Ai, Jianwen; Jiang, Shuzheng; Li, Yingjie; Wang, Ying; Guang, Jie; Mei, Linlu; Jiao, Xijuan; He, Xingwei; Hou, Tingting

2011-12-01

The quality and accuracy of remote sensing instruments have been improved significantly, however, rapid processing of large-scale remote sensing data becomes the bottleneck for remote sensing quantitative retrieval applications. The remote sensing quantitative retrieval is a data-intensive computation application, which is one of the research issues of high throughput computation. The remote sensing quantitative retrieval Grid workflow is a high-level core component of remote sensing Grid, which is used to support the modeling, reconstruction and implementation of large-scale complex applications of remote sensing science. In this paper, we intend to study middleware components of the remote sensing Grid - the dynamic Grid workflow based on the remote sensing quantitative retrieval application on Grid platform. We designed a novel architecture for the remote sensing Grid workflow. According to this architecture, we constructed the Remote Sensing Information Service Grid Node (RSSN) with Condor. We developed a graphic user interface (GUI) tools to compose remote sensing processing Grid workflows, and took the aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrieval as an example. The case study showed that significant improvement in the system performance could be achieved with this implementation. The results also give a perspective on the potential of applying Grid workflow practices to remote sensing quantitative retrieval problems using commodity class PCs.

Optical Remote Sensing Measurements of Air Pollution in Mexico City During MCMA- 2006

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galle, B.; Mellqvist, J.; Johansson, M.; Rivera, C.; Samuelsson, J.; Zhang, Y.

2007-05-01

During March 2006 the Optical Remote sensing group at Chalmers University of Technology participated in the MCMA-2006 field campaign in Mexico City, performing measurements of air pollution using a set of different optical remote sensing instruments. This poster gives an overview of the techniques applied and results obtained. The techniques applied were: Solar Occultation FTIR and UV spectroscopy from fixed locations throughout the MCMA area, yielding total columns of CO, CH2O, SO2 and NO2. Long Path FTIR measurements from site T0 located in the north part of central Mexico City. With this instrument line-averaged concentration measurements of CO and CO2 was obtained in parallel with DOAS measurements performed by other partners. MAX-DOAS measurements from site T0, yielding total column and spatial distributions of SO2 and NO2. Mobile DOAS scattered Sunlight measurements of total columns of SO2 and NO2 in and around the MCMA area. Mobile and stationary DOAS measurements in the vicinity of Tula and Popocatépetl in order to quantify emissions from industry and volcano.

Estimation of Soil Moisture Profile using a Simple Hydrology Model and Passive Microwave Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soman, Vishwas V.; Crosson, William L.; Laymon, Charles; Tsegaye, Teferi

1998-01-01

Soil moisture is an important component of analysis in many Earth science disciplines. Soil moisture information can be obtained either by using microwave remote sensing or by using a hydrologic model. In this study, we combined these two approaches to increase the accuracy of profile soil moisture estimation. A hydrologic model was used to analyze the errors in the estimation of soil moisture using the data collected during Huntsville '96 microwave remote sensing experiment in Huntsville, Alabama. Root mean square errors (RMSE) in soil moisture estimation increase by 22% with increase in the model input interval from 6 hr to 12 hr for the grass-covered plot. RMSEs were reduced for given model time step by 20-50% when model soil moisture estimates were updated using remotely-sensed data. This methodology has a potential to be employed in soil moisture estimation using rainfall data collected by a space-borne sensor, such as the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite, if remotely-sensed data are available to update the model estimates.

An analytical model for subsurface irradiance and remote sensing reflectance in deep and shallow case-2 waters.

PubMed

Albert, A; Mobley, C

2003-11-03

Subsurface remote sensing signals, represented by the irradiance re fl ectance and the remote sensing re fl ectance, were investigated. The present study is based on simulations with the radiative transfer program Hydrolight using optical properties of Lake Constance (German: Bodensee) based on in-situ measurements of the water constituents and the bottom characteristics. Analytical equations are derived for the irradiance re fl ectance and remote sensing re fl ectance for deep and shallow water applications. The input of the parameterization are the inherent optical properties of the water - absorption a(lambda) and backscattering bb(lambda). Additionally, the solar zenith angle thetas, the viewing angle thetav , and the surface wind speed u are considered. For shallow water applications the bottom albedo RB and the bottom depth zB are included into the parameterizations. The result is a complete set of analytical equations for the remote sensing signals R and Rrs in deep and shallow waters with an accuracy better than 4%. In addition, parameterizations of apparent optical properties were derived for the upward and downward diffuse attenuation coefficients Ku and Kd.

Remote sensing: a tool for park planning and management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Draeger, William C.; Pettinger, Lawrence R.

1981-01-01

Remote sensing may be defined as the science of imaging or measuring objects from a distance. More commonly, however, the term is used in reference to the acquisition and use of photographs, photo-like images, and other data acquired from aircraft and satellites. Thus, remote sensing includes the use of such diverse materials as photographs taken by hand from a light aircraft, conventional aerial photographs obtained with a precision mapping camera, satellite images acquired with sophisticated scanning devices, radar images, and magnetic and gravimetric data that may not even be in image form. Remotely sensed images may be color or black and white, can vary in scale from those that cover only a few hectares of the earth's surface to those that cover tens of thousands of square kilometers, and they may be interpreted visually or with the assistance of computer systems. This article attempts to describe several of the commonly available types of remotely sensed data, to discuss approaches to data analysis, and to demonstrate (with image examples) typical applications that might interest managers of parks and natural areas.

Detecting submerged features in water: modeling, sensors, and measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bostater, Charles R., Jr.; Bassetti, Luce

2004-11-01

It is becoming more important to understand the remote sensing systems and associated autonomous or semi-autonomous methodologies (robotic & mechatronics) that may be utilized in freshwater and marine aquatic environments. This need comes from several issues related not only to advances in our scientific understanding and technological capabilities, but also from the desire to insure that the risk associated with UXO (unexploded ordnance), related submerged mines, as well as submerged targets (such as submerged aquatic vegetation) and debris left from previous human activities are remotely sensed and identified followed by reduced risks through detection and removal. This paper will describe (a) remote sensing systems, (b) platforms (fixed and mobile, as well as to demonstrate (c) the value of thinking in terms of scalability as well as modularity in the design and application of new systems now being constructed within our laboratory and other laboratories, as well as future systems. New remote sensing systems - moving or fixed sensing systems, as well as autonomous or semi-autonomous robotic and mechatronic systems will be essential to secure domestic preparedness for humanitarian reasons. These remote sensing systems hold tremendous value, if thoughtfully designed for other applications which include environmental monitoring in ambient environments.

The micron- to kilometer-scale Moon: linking samples to orbital observations, Apollo to LRO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crites, S.; Lucey, P. G.; Taylor, J.; Martel, L.; Sun, L.; Honniball, C.; Lemelin, M.

2017-12-01

The Apollo missions have shaped the field of lunar science and our understanding of the Moon, from global-scale revelations like the magma ocean hypothesis, to providing ground truth for compositional remote sensing and absolute ages to anchor cratering chronologies. While lunar meteorite samples can provide a global- to regional-level view of the Moon, samples returned from known locations are needed to directly link orbital-scale observations with laboratory measurements-a link that can be brought to full fruition with today's extremely high spatial resolution observations from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and other recent missions. Korotev et al. (2005) described a scenario of the Moon without Apollo to speculate about our understanding of the Moon if our data were confined to lunar meteorites and remote sensing. I will review some of the major points discussed by Korotev et al. (2005), and focus on some of the ways in which spectroscopic remote sensing in particular has benefited from the Apollo samples. For example, could the causes and effects of lunar-style space weathering have been unraveled without the Apollo samples? What would be the limitations on remote sensing compositional measurements that rely on Apollo samples for calibration and validation? And what new opportunities to bring together orbital and sample analyses now exist, in light of today's high spatial and spectral resolution remote sensing datasets?

Remote-sensing reflectance determinations in the coastal ocean environment: impact of instrumental characteristics and environmental variability.

PubMed

Toole, D A; Siegel, D A; Menzies, D W; Neumann, M J; Smith, R C

2000-01-20

Three independent ocean color sampling methodologies are compared to assess the potential impact of instrumental characteristics and environmental variability on shipboard remote-sensing reflectance observations from the Santa Barbara Channel, California. Results indicate that under typical field conditions, simultaneous determinations of incident irradiance can vary by 9-18%, upwelling radiance just above the sea surface by 8-18%, and remote-sensing reflectance by 12-24%. Variations in radiometric determinations can be attributed to a variety of environmental factors such as Sun angle, cloud cover, wind speed, and viewing geometry; however, wind speed is isolated as the major source of uncertainty. The above-water approach to estimating water-leaving radiance and remote-sensing reflectance is highly influenced by environmental factors. A model of the role of wind on the reflected sky radiance measured by an above-water sensor illustrates that, for clear-sky conditions and wind speeds greater than 5 m/s, determinations of water-leaving radiance at 490 nm are undercorrected by as much as 60%. A data merging procedure is presented to provide sky radiance correction parameters for above-water remote-sensing reflectance estimates. The merging results are consistent with statistical and model findings and highlight the importance of multiple field measurements in developing quality coastal oceanographic data sets for satellite ocean color algorithm development and validation.

Quantitative Infrared Spectroscopy in Challenging Environments: Applications to Passive Remote Sensing and Process Monitoring

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-12-01

IR remote sensing o ers a measurement method to detect gaseous species in the outdoor environment. Two major obstacles limit the application of this... method in quantitative analysis : (1) the e ect of both temperature and concentration on the measured spectral intensities and (2) the di culty and...crucial. In this research, particle swarm optimization, a population- based optimization method was applied. Digital ltering and wavelet processing methods

Fundamental remote sensing science research program. Part 1: Status report of the mathematical pattern recognition and image analysis project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heydorn, R. D.

1984-01-01

The Mathematical Pattern Recognition and Image Analysis (MPRIA) Project is concerned with basic research problems related to the study of the Earth from remotely sensed measurement of its surface characteristics. The program goal is to better understand how to analyze the digital image that represents the spatial, spectral, and temporal arrangement of these measurements for purposing of making selected inference about the Earth.

The Use of Remote Sensing to Resolve the Aerosol Radiative Forcing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaufman, Y. J.; Tanre, D.; Remer, Lorraine

1999-01-01

Satellites are used for remote sensing of aerosol optical thickness and optical properties in order to derive the aerosol direct and indirect radiative forcing of climate. Accuracy of the derived aerosol optical thickness is used as a measure of the accuracy in deriving the aerosol radiative forcing. Several questions can be asked to challenge this concept. Is the accuracy of the satellite-derived aerosol direct forcing limited to the accuracy of the measured optical thickness? What are the spectral bands needed to derive the total aerosol forcing? Does most of the direct or indirect aerosol forcing of climate originate from regions with aerosol concentrations that are high enough to be detected from space? What should be the synergism ground-based and space-borne remote sensing to solve the problem? We shall try to answer some of these questions, using AVIRIS airborne measurements and simulations.

Remote sensing of snow using bistatic radar reflectometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Komanduru, Abi

Snow and ice processes are a critical part of the Earth's hydrological and climate cycles. These processes can serve as an important source of fresh water as well as a cause of flooding. Various missions have been proposed by NASA and ESA for the purpose of remote sensing of snow. This research looks at applying bistatic radar reflectometry to the remote sensing of snow water equivalent. The resulting phase offset from changes in optical path length due to reflection through snow are the primary measurements made. The research uses data from a field campaign in Fraser, CO, involving an instrument collecting direct and reflected from S band during Jan 2015 - Apr 2015. Phase measurements from the field data are made from the two signals and compared to theoretical phase computed from a forward model using in situ data. A moderate correlation (>0.6) is found between the measured and modeled phase.

Remotely Sensed Information and Field Data are both Essential to Assess Biodiversity CONDITION!

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sparrow, B.; Schaefer, M.; Scarth, P.; Phinn, S. R.; Christensen, R.; Lowe, A. J.; O'Neill, S.; Thurgate, N.; Wundke, D.

2015-12-01

Over the past year the TERN Ausplots facility has hosted a process to determine the definition of Biodiversity Condition in an Australian Continental Context, and conducted a wide collaborative process to determine which environmental attributes are required to be measures to accurately inform on biodiversity condition. A major output from this work was the acknowledgement that good quality data from both remotely sensed sources and good quality field collected data are both essential to provide the best information possible on biodiversity condition. This poster details some background to the project, the assesment of which attributes to measure, and if the are sources primarily from field based or remotely sensed measures. It then proceeds to provide three examples of ways in which the combination of data types provides a superior product as output, with one example being provided for the three cornerstone areas of condition: Structure, Function and Composition.

Remote sensing of the boundary layer over the oceans. [by IRIS measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prabhakara, C.; Dalu, G.; Nath, N. R.; Lo, R.

1978-01-01

The paper explores the possibility of remotely sensing the boundary layer structure over the oceans by means of the Nimbus 4 IR Interferometric Spectrometer (IRIS) measurements in the water vapor bands. It is found from theoretical considerations that the moderately strong spectral lines in the 9-micron water vapor window region contain useful information about the lowest layers in the atmosphere. The difference between the observed line strength and the theoretically predicted line strength provides information about the departure in the atmospheric temperature and water vapor profiles from standard conditions. The observations of METEOR oceanographic expedition over the North and South Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean expedition make it possible to model the inversion conditions. It is concluded that significant characteristics of the temperature and water vapor profiles in the boundary layer of the atmosphere can be remotely sensed using the water vapor spectral measurements over the oceans.

Overview of the NASA tropospheric environmental quality remote sensing program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allario, F.; Ayers, W. G.; Hoell, J. M.

1979-01-01

This paper will summarize the current NASA Tropospheric Environmental Quality Remote Sensing Program for studying the global and regional troposphere from space, airborne and ground-based platforms. As part of the program to develop remote sensors for utilization from space, NASA has developed a series of passive and active remote sensors which have undergone field test measurements from airborne and ground platforms. Recent measurements with active lidar and passive gas filter correlation and infrared heterodyne techniques will be summarized for measurements of atmospheric aerosols, CO, SO2, O3, and NH3. These measurements provide the data base required to assess the sensitivity of remote sensors for applications to urban and regional field measurement programs. Studies of Earth Observation Satellite Systems are currently being performed by the scientific community to assess the capability of satellite imagery to detect regions of elevated pollution in the troposphere. The status of NASA sponsored research efforts in interpreting satellite imagery for determining aerosol loadings over land and inland bodies of water will be presented, and comments on the potential of these measurements to supplement in situ and airborne remote sensors in detecting regional haze will be made.

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.

Remote measurement of atmospheric pollutants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allario, F.; Hoell, J.; Seals, R. K.

1979-01-01

The concentration and vertical distribution of atmospheric ammonia and ozone are remotely sensed, using dual-C02-laser multichannel infrared Heterodyne Spectrometer (1HS). Innovation makes atmospheric pollution measurements possible with nearly-quantum-noise-limited sensitivity and ultrafine spectral resolution.

Remotely Sensed Data for High Resolution Agro-Environmental Policy Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Welle, Paul

Policy analyses of agricultural and environmental systems are often limited due to data constraints. Measurement campaigns can be costly, especially when the area of interest includes oceans, forests, agricultural regions or other dispersed spatial domains. Satellite based remote sensing offers a way to increase the spatial and temporal resolution of policy analysis concerning these systems. However, there are key limitations to the implementation of satellite data. Uncertainty in data derived from remote-sensing can be significant, and traditional methods of policy analysis for managing uncertainty on large datasets can be computationally expensive. Moreover, while satellite data can increasingly offer estimates of some parameters such as weather or crop use, other information regarding demographic or economic data is unlikely to be estimated using these techniques. Managing these challenges in practical policy analysis remains a challenge. In this dissertation, I conduct five case studies which rely heavily on data sourced from orbital sensors. First, I assess the magnitude of climate and anthropogenic stress on coral reef ecosystems. Second, I conduct an impact assessment of soil salinity on California agriculture. Third, I measure the propensity of growers to adapt their cropping practices to soil salinization in agriculture. Fourth, I analyze whether small-scale desalination units could be applied on farms in California in order mitigate the effects of drought and salinization as well as prevent agricultural drainage from entering vulnerable ecosystems. And fifth, I assess the feasibility of satellite-based remote sensing for salinity measurement at global scale. Through these case studies, I confront both the challenges and benefits associated with implementing satellite based-remote sensing for improved policy analysis.

Can we infer plant facilitation from remote sensing? A test across global drylands

PubMed Central

Xu, Chi; Holmgren, Milena; Van Nes, Egbert H.; Maestre, Fernando T.; Soliveres, Santiago; Berdugo, Miguel; Kéfi, Sonia; Marquet, Pablo A.; Abades, Sebastian; Scheffer, Marten

2016-01-01

Facilitation is a major force shaping the structure and diversity of plant communities in terrestrial ecosystems. Detecting positive plant-plant interactions relies on the combination of field experimentation and the demonstration of spatial association between neighboring plants. This has often restricted the study of facilitation to particular sites, limiting the development of systematic assessments of facilitation over regional and global scales. Here we explore whether the frequency of plant spatial associations detected from high-resolution remotely-sensed images can be used to infer plant facilitation at the community level in drylands around the globe. We correlated the information from remotely-sensed images freely available through Google Earth™ with detailed field assessments, and used a simple individual-based model to generate patch-size distributions using different assumptions about the type and strength of plant-plant interactions. Most of the patterns found from the remotely-sensed images were more right-skewed than the patterns from the null model simulating a random distribution. This suggests that the plants in the studied drylands show stronger spatial clustering than expected by chance. We found that positive plant co-occurrence, as measured in the field, was significantly related to the skewness of vegetation patch-size distribution measured using Google Earth™ images. Our findings suggest that the relative frequency of facilitation may be inferred from spatial pattern signals measured from remotely-sensed images, since facilitation often determines positive co-occurrence among neighboring plants. They pave the road for a systematic global assessment of the role of facilitation in terrestrial ecosystems. PMID:26552256

Accomplishments of the MUSICA project to provide accurate, long-term, global and high-resolution observations of tropospheric {H2O,δD} pairs - a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, Matthias; Wiegele, Andreas; Barthlott, Sabine; González, Yenny; Christner, Emanuel; Dyroff, Christoph; García, Omaira E.; Hase, Frank; Blumenstock, Thomas; Sepúlveda, Eliezer; Mengistu Tsidu, Gizaw; Takele Kenea, Samuel; Rodríguez, Sergio; Andrey, Javier

2016-07-01

In the lower/middle troposphere, {H2O,δD} pairs are good proxies for moisture pathways; however, their observation, in particular when using remote sensing techniques, is challenging. The project MUSICA (MUlti-platform remote Sensing of Isotopologues for investigating the Cycle of Atmospheric water) addresses this challenge by integrating the remote sensing with in situ measurement techniques. The aim is to retrieve calibrated tropospheric {H2O,δD} pairs from the middle infrared spectra measured from ground by FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectrometers of the NDACC (Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change) and the thermal nadir spectra measured by IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer) aboard the MetOp satellites. In this paper, we present the final MUSICA products, and discuss the characteristics and potential of the NDACC/FTIR and MetOp/IASI {H2O,δD} data pairs. First, we briefly resume the particularities of an {H2O,δD} pair retrieval. Second, we show that the remote sensing data of the final product version are absolutely calibrated with respect to H2O and δD in situ profile references measured in the subtropics, between 0 and 7 km. Third, we reveal that the {H2O,δD} pair distributions obtained from the different remote sensors are consistent and allow distinct lower/middle tropospheric moisture pathways to be identified in agreement with multi-year in situ references. Fourth, we document the possibilities of the NDACC/FTIR instruments for climatological studies (due to long-term monitoring) and of the MetOp/IASI sensors for observing diurnal signals on a quasi-global scale and with high horizontal resolution. Fifth, we discuss the risk of misinterpreting {H2O,δD} pair distributions due to incomplete processing of the remote sensing products.

Evaluating the potential of image fusion of multispectral and radar remote sensing data for the assessment of water body structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hunger, Sebastian; Karrasch, Pierre; Wessollek, Christine

2016-10-01

The European Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC) is a mandatory agreement that guides the member states of the European Union in the field of water policy to fulfill the requirements for reaching the aim of the good ecological status of water bodies. In the last years several workflows and methods were developed to determine and evaluate the characteristics and the status of the water bodies. Due to their area measurements remote sensing methods are a promising approach to constitute a substantial additional value. With increasing availability of optical and radar remote sensing data the development of new methods to extract information from both types of remote sensing data is still in progress. Since most limitations of these data sets do not agree the fusion of both data sets to gain data with higher spectral resolution features the potential to obtain additional information in contrast to the separate processing of the data. Based thereupon this study shall research the potential of multispectral and radar remote sensing data and the potential of their fusion for the assessment of the parameters of water body structure. Due to the medium spatial resolution of the freely available multispectral Sentinel-2 data sets especially the surroundings of the water bodies and their land use are part of this study. SAR data is provided by the Sentinel-1 satellite. Different image fusion methods are tested and the combined products of both data sets are evaluated afterwards. The evaluation of the single data sets and the fused data sets is performed by means of a maximum-likelihood classification and several statistical measurements. The results indicate that the combined use of different remote sensing data sets can have an added value.

Optical Remote Sensing Algorithm Validation using High-Frequency Underway Biogeochemical Measurements in Three Large Global River Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuhn, C.; Richey, J. E.; Striegl, R. G.; Ward, N.; Sawakuchi, H. O.; Crawford, J.; Loken, L. C.; Stadler, P.; Dornblaser, M.; Butman, D. E.

2017-12-01

More than 93% of the world's river-water volume occurs in basins impacted by large dams and about 43% of river water discharge is impacted by flow regulation. Human land use also alters nutrient and carbon cycling and the emission of carbon dioxide from inland reservoirs. Increased water residence times and warmer temperatures in reservoirs fundamentally alter the physical settings for biogeochemical processing in large rivers, yet river biogeochemistry for many large systems remains undersampled. Satellite remote sensing holds promise as a methodology for responsive regional and global water resources management. Decades of ocean optics research has laid the foundation for the use of remote sensing reflectance in optical wavelengths (400 - 700 nm) to produce satellite-derived, near-surface estimates of phytoplankton chlorophyll concentration. Significant improvements between successive generations of ocean color sensors have enabled the scientific community to document changes in global ocean productivity (NPP) and estimate ocean biomass with increasing accuracy. Despite large advances in ocean optics, application of optical methods to inland waters has been limited to date due to their optical complexity and small spatial scale. To test this frontier, we present a study evaluating the accuracy and suitability of empirical inversion approaches for estimating chlorophyll-a, turbidity and temperature for the Amazon, Columbia and Mississippi rivers using satellite remote sensing. We demonstrate how riverine biogeochemical measurements collected at high frequencies from underway vessels can be used as in situ matchups to evaluate remotely-sensed, near-surface temperature, turbidity, chlorophyll-a derived from the Landsat 8 (NASA) and Sentinel 2 (ESA) satellites. We investigate the use of remote sensing water reflectance to infer trophic status as well as tributary influences on the optical characteristics of the Amazon, Mississippi and Columbia rivers.

Predicting Near-Term Water Quality from Satellite Observations of Watershed Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weiss, W. J.; Wang, L.; Hoffman, K.; West, D.; Mehta, A. V.; Lee, C.

2017-12-01

Despite the strong influence of watershed conditions on source water quality, most water utilities and water resource agencies do not currently have the capability to monitor watershed sources of contamination with great temporal or spatial detail. Typically, knowledge of source water quality is limited to periodic grab sampling; automated monitoring of a limited number of parameters at a few select locations; and/or monitoring relevant constituents at a treatment plant intake. While important, such observations are not sufficient to inform proactive watershed or source water management at a monthly or seasonal scale. Satellite remote sensing data on the other hand can provide a snapshot of an entire watershed at regular, sub-monthly intervals, helping analysts characterize watershed conditions and identify trends that could signal changes in source water quality. Accordingly, the authors are investigating correlations between satellite remote sensing observations of watersheds and source water quality, at a variety of spatial and temporal scales and lags. While correlations between remote sensing observations and direct in situ measurements of water quality have been well described in the literature, there are few studies that link remote sensing observations across a watershed with near-term predictions of water quality. In this presentation, the authors will describe results of statistical analyses and discuss how these results are being used to inform development of a desktop decision support tool to support predictive application of remote sensing data. Predictor variables under evaluation include parameters that describe vegetative conditions; parameters that describe climate/weather conditions; and non-remote sensing, in situ measurements. Water quality parameters under investigation include nitrogen, phosphorus, organic carbon, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity.

Remotely-sensed and in-situ observations of Greenland firn aquifers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forster, R. R.; Miège, C.; Koenig, L.; Solomon, D. K.; Schmerr, N. C.; Miller, O. L.; Ligtenberg, S.; Montgomery, L. N.; Brucker, L.; Miller, J.; Legchenko, A.

2017-12-01

In 2011, prior to seasonal melt, our research team drilled into an unknown firn aquifer system in Southeast Greenland. Since 2013, we have conducted four field seasons, complemented with modeling and remote sensing to gain knowledge regarding firn aquifers and surrounding snow/firn/ice. We aim to provide a more complete picture of the system including formation conditions, controlling mechanisms, spatial and temporal changes, and connections with the larger ice sheet hydrologic system. This work summarizes remote sensing data since 1993 showing the spatial and temporal evolution of the aquifer extent. To complement the remote sensing and better characterize the firn aquifer in the field, we use a combination of three different geophysics methods. Ground penetrating radar provides us knowledge of the water table elevation and its variations, magnetic-resonance soundings give us the water volume held in the aquifer and the active seismic data allow us to locate the bottom of the aquifer. In addition, firn/ice-core stratigraphy suggests that the timing and evolution of the aquifer bottom is controlled by thermodynamics. Our compilation of remote sensing measurements point to a dynamic and expanding aquifer system. We found that firn aquifers have existed at least since 1993 (dataset start) in the high melt and high accumulation region of the South Eastern Greenland ice sheet. Firn aquifers are now growing toward the interior related to the warming air temperatures in the Arctic and more intense melt during summers. These remotely sensed observations and in-situ measurements are required to validate improved ice sheet mass balance models that incorporate firn aquifers. They are also needed to further investigate the potential of firn aquifer discharge to the glacier bed via crevasse hydrofracturing influencing ice dynamics.

Beaufort/Bering 1979 microwave remote sensing data catalog report, 14-24 March 1979

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hirstein, W. S.; Hennigar, H. F.; Schaffner, S. K.; Delnore, V. E.; Grantham, W. L.

1983-01-01

The airborne microwave remote sending measurements obtained by the Langley Research Center in support of the 1979 Sea-Ice Radar Experiment (SIRE) in the Beaufort and Bering Seas are discussed. The remote sensing objective of SIRE was to define correlations between both active and passive microwave signatures and ice phenomena assocated with practical applications in the Arctic. The instruments used by Langley during SIRE include the stepped frequency microwave radiometer (SFMR), the airborne microwave scatterometer (AMSCAT), the precision radiation thermometer (PRT-5), and metric aerial photography. Remote sensing data are inventoried and cataloged in a user-friendly format. The data catalog is presented as time-history plots when and where data were obtained as well as the sensor configuration.

The remote sensing image segmentation mean shift algorithm parallel processing based on MapReduce

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xi; Zhou, Liqing

2015-12-01

With the development of satellite remote sensing technology and the remote sensing image data, traditional remote sensing image segmentation technology cannot meet the massive remote sensing image processing and storage requirements. This article put cloud computing and parallel computing technology in remote sensing image segmentation process, and build a cheap and efficient computer cluster system that uses parallel processing to achieve MeanShift algorithm of remote sensing image segmentation based on the MapReduce model, not only to ensure the quality of remote sensing image segmentation, improved split speed, and better meet the real-time requirements. The remote sensing image segmentation MeanShift algorithm parallel processing algorithm based on MapReduce shows certain significance and a realization of value.

Analyzing Forest Inventory Data from Geo-Located Photographs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toivanen, Timo; Tergujeff, Renne; Andersson, Kaj; Molinier, Matthieu; Häme, Tuomas

2015-04-01

Forests are widely monitored using a variety of remote sensing data and techniques. Remote sensing offers benefits compared to traditional in-situ forest inventories made by experts. One of the main benefits is that the number of ground reference plots can be significantly reduced. Remote sensing of forests can provide reduced costs and time requirement compared to full forest inventories. The availability of ground reference data has been a bottleneck in remote sensing analysis over wide forested areas, as the acquisition of this data is an expensive and slow process. In this paper we present a tool for estimating forest inventory data from geo-located photographs. The tool can be used to estimate in-situ forest inventory data including estimated biomass, tree species, tree height and diameter. The collected in-situ forest measurements can be utilized as a ground reference material for spaceborne or airborne remote sensing data analysis. The GPS based location information with measured forest data makes it possible to introduce measurements easily as in-situ reference data. The central projection geometry of digital photographs allows the use of the relascope principle [1] to measure the basal area of stems per area unit, a variable very closely associated with tree biomass. Relascope is applied all over the world for forest inventory. Experiments with independent ground reference data have shown that in-situ data analysed from photographs can be utilised as reference data for satellite image analysis. The concept was validated by comparing mobile measurements with 54 independent ground reference plots from the Hyytiälä forest research station in Finland [2]. Citizen scientists could provide the manpower for analysing photographs from forests on a global level and support researchers working on tasks related to forests. This low-cost solution can also increase the coverage of forest management plans, particularly in regions where possibilities to invest on expensive planning work are limited. References [1] Bitterlich, W. (1984) The Relascope Idea: Relative Measurements in Forestry, Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Farnham Royal, 1984. [2] Molinier, M., Hame, T., Toivanen, T., Andersson, K., Mutanen, T., Relasphone -- Mobile phone and interactive applications to collect ground reference biomass data for satellite image analysis, Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), 2014 IEEE International, pp. 836-839, 13-18 July 2014, doi: 10.1109/IGARSS.2014.6946554

Visible-infrared remote-sensing model and applications for ocean waters. Ph.D. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Zhongping

1994-01-01

Remote sensing has become important in the ocean sciences, especially for research involving large spatial scales. To estimate the in-water constituents through remote sensing, whether carried out by satellite or airplane, the signal emitted from beneath the sea surface, the so called water-leaving radiance (L(w)), is of prime importance. The magnitude of L(w) depends on two terms: one is the intensity of the solar input, and the other is the reflectance of the in-water constituents. The ratio of the water-leaving radiance to the downwelling irradiance (E(d)) above the sear surface (remote-sensing reflectance, R(sub rs)) is independent of the intensity of the irradiance input, and is largely a function of the optical properties of the in-water constituents. In this work, a model is developed to interpret r(sub rs) for ocean water in the visible-infrared range. In addition to terms for the radiance scattered from molecules and particles, the model includes terms that describe contributions from bottom reflectance, fluorescence of gelbstoff or colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), and water Raman scattering. By using this model, the measured R(sub rs) of waters from the West Florida Shelf to the Mississippi River plume, which covered a (concentration of chlorophyll a) range of 0.07 - 50 mg/cu m, were well interpreted. The average percentage difference (a.p.d.) between the measured and modeled R(sub rs) is 3.4%, and, for the shallow waters, the model-required water depth is within 10% of the chart depth. Simple mathematical simulations for the phytoplankton pigment absorption coefficient (a(sub theta)) are suggested for using the R(sub rs) model. The inverse problem of R(sub rs), which is to analytically derive the in-water constituents from R(sub rs) data alone, can be solved using the a(sub theta) functions without prior knowledge of the in-water optical properties. More importantly, this method avoids problems associated with a need for knowledge of the shape and value of the chlorophyll-specific absorption coefficient. The simulation was tested for a wide range of water types, including waters from Monterey Bay, the West Florida Shelf, and the Mississippi River plume. Using the simulation, the R(sub rs)-derived in-water absorption coefficients were consistent with the values from in-water measurements (r(exp 2) greater than 0.94, slope approximately 1.0). In the remote-sensing applications, a new approach is suggested for the estimation of primary production based on remote sensing. Using this approach, the calculated primary production (PP) values based upon remotely sensed data were very close to the measured values for the euphotic zone (r(exp 2) = 0.95, slope 1.26, and 32% average difference), while traditional, pigment-based PP model provided values only one-third the size of the measured data. This indicates a potential to significantly improve the accuracy of the estimation of primary production based upon remote sensing.

REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGIES APPLICATIONS RESEARCH

EPA Science Inventory

Remote sensing technologies applications research supports the ORD Landscape Sciences Program (LSP) in two separate areas: operational remote sensing, and remote sensing research and development. Operational remote sensing is provided to the LSP through the use of current and t...

Comparison of tropospheric NO2 vertical columns in an urban environment using satellite, multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy, and in situ measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mendolia, D.; D'Souza, R. J. C.; Evans, G. J.; Brook, J.

2013-10-01

Tropospheric NO2 vertical column densities have been retrieved and compared for the first time in Toronto, Canada, using three methods of differing spatial scales. Remotely sensed NO2 vertical column densities, retrieved from multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy and satellite remote sensing, were evaluated by comparison with in situ vertical column densities estimated using a pair of chemiluminescence monitors situated 0.01 and 0.5 km a.g.l. (above ground level). The chemiluminescence measurements were corrected for the influence of NOz, which reduced the NO2 concentrations at 0.01 and 0.5 km by an average of 8 ± 1% and 12 ± 1%, respectively. The average absolute decrease in the chemiluminescence NO2 measurement as a result of this correction was less than 1 ppb. The monthly averaged ratio of the NO2 concentration at 0.5 to 0.01 km varied seasonally, and exhibited a negative linear dependence on the monthly average temperature, with Pearson's R = 0.83. During the coldest month, February, this ratio was 0.52 ± 0.04, while during the warmest month, July, this ratio was 0.34 ± 0.04, illustrating that NO2 is not well mixed within 0.5 km above ground level. Good correlation was observed between the remotely sensed and in situ NO2 vertical column densities (Pearson's R value ranging from 0.72 to 0.81), but the in situ vertical column densities were 52 to 58% greater than the remotely sensed columns. These results indicate that NO2 horizontal heterogeneity strongly impacted the magnitude of the remotely sensed columns. The in situ columns reflected an urban environment with major traffic sources, while the remotely sensed NO2 vertical column densities were representative of the region, which included spatial heterogeneity introduced by residential neighbourhoods and Lake Ontario. Despite the difference in absolute values, the reasonable correlation between the vertical column densities determined by three distinct methods increased confidence in the validity of the values provided by each measurement technique.

Quantification of Glacier Depletion in the Central Tibetan Plateau by Using Integrated Satellite Remote Sensing and Gravimetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tseng, K.-H.; Liu, K. T.; Shum, C. K.; Jia, Y.; Shang, K.; Dai, C.

2016-06-01

Glaciers over the Tibetan Plateau have experienced accelerated depletion in the last few decades due primarily to the global warming. The freshwater drained into brackish lakes is also observed by optical remote sensing and altimetry satellites. However, the actual water storage change is difficult to be quantified since the altimetry or remote sensing only provide data in limited dimensions. The altimetry data give an elevation change of surface while the remote sensing images provide an extent variation in horizontal plane. Hence a data set used to describe the volume change is needed to measure the exact mass transition in a time span. In this study, we utilize GRACE gravimetry mission to quantify the total column mass change in the central Tibetan Plateau, especially focused on the lakes near Tanggula Mountains. By removing these factors, the freshwater storage change of glacier system at study area can be potentially isolated.

Geometric correction of synchronous scanned Operational Modular Imaging Spectrometer II hyperspectral remote sensing images using spatial positioning data of an inertial navigation system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Xiaohu; Neubauer, Franz; Zhao, Dong; Xu, Shichao

2015-01-01

The high-precision geometric correction of airborne hyperspectral remote sensing image processing was a hard nut to crack, and conventional methods of remote sensing image processing by selecting ground control points to correct the images are not suitable in the correction process of airborne hyperspectral image. The optical scanning system of an inertial measurement unit combined with differential global positioning system (IMU/DGPS) is introduced to correct the synchronous scanned Operational Modular Imaging Spectrometer II (OMIS II) hyperspectral remote sensing images. Posture parameters, which were synchronized with the OMIS II, were first obtained from the IMU/DGPS. Second, coordinate conversion and flight attitude parameters' calculations were conducted. Third, according to the imaging principle of OMIS II, mathematical correction was applied and the corrected image pixels were resampled. Then, better image processing results were achieved.

American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing and ACSM, Fall Convention, Reno, NV, Oct. 4-9, 1987, ASPRS Technical Papers

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

Not Available

1987-01-01

Recent advances in remote-sensing technology and applications are examined in reviews and reports. Topics addressed include the use of Landsat TM data to assess suspended-sediment dispersion in a coastal lagoon, the use of sun incidence angle and IR reflectance levels in mapping old-growth coniferous forests, information-management systems, Large-Format-Camera soil mapping, and the economic potential of Landsat TM winter-wheat crop-condition assessment. Consideration is given to measurement of ephemeral gully erosion by airborne laser ranging, the creation of a multipurpose cadaster, high-resolution remote sensing and the news media, the role of vegetation in the global carbon cycle, PC applications in analytical photogrammetry,more » multispectral geological remote sensing of a suspected impact crater, fractional calculus in digital terrain modeling, and automated mapping using GP-based survey data.« less

Presence in Video-Mediated Interactions: Case Studies at CSIRO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alem, Leila

Although telepresence and a sense of connectedness with others are frequently mentioned in media space studies, as far as we know, none of these studies report attempts at assessing this critical aspect of user experience. While some attempts have been made to measure presence in virtual reality or augmented reality, (a comprehensive review of existing measures is available in Baren and Ijsselsteijn [2004]), very little work has been reported in measuring presence in video-mediated collaboration systems. Traditional studies of video-mediated collaboration have mostly focused their evaluation on measures of task performance and user satisfaction. Videoconferencing systems can be seen as a type of media space; they rely on technologies of audio, video, and computing put together to create an environment extending the embodied mind. This chapter reports on a set of video-mediated collaboration studies conducted at CSIRO in which different aspects of presence are being investigated. The first study reports the sense of physical presence a specialist doctor experiences when engaged in a remote consultation of a patient using the virtual critical care unit (Alem et al., 2006). The Viccu system is an “always-on” system connecting two hospitals (Li et al., 2006). The presence measure focuses on the extent to which users of videoconferencing systems feel physically present in the remote location. The second study reports the sense of social presence users experience when playing a game of charades with remote partners using a video conference link (Kougianous et al., 2006). In this study the presence measure focuses on the extent to which users feel connected with their remote partners. The third study reports the sense of copresence users experience when building collaboratively a piece of Lego toy (Melo and Alem, 2007). The sense of copresence is the extent to which users feel present with their remote partner. In this final study the sense of copresence is investigated by looking at the word used by users when referring to the physical objects they are manipulating during their interaction as well as when referring to locations in the collaborative workspace. We believe that such efforts provide a solid stepping stone for evaluating and analyzing future media spaces.

An intercomparison of three remote sensing-based energy balance models using large aperture scintillometer measurements over a wheat-corn production region

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This paper compares three remote sensing-based models for estimating evapotranspiration (ET), namely the Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS), the Two-Source Energy Balance (TSEB) model, and the surface Temperature-Vegetation index Triangle (TVT). The models used as input MODIS/TERRA products and gr...

Lidar remote sensing of above-ground biomass in three biomes.

Treesearch

Michael A. Lefsky; Warren B. Cohen; David J. Harding; Geoffrey G. Parkers; Steven A. Acker; S. Thomas Gower

2002-01-01

Estimation of the amount of carbon stored in forests is a key challenge for understanding the global carbon cycle, one which remote sensing is expected to help address. However, estimation of carbon storage in moderate to high biomass forests is difficult for conventional optical and radar sensors. Lidar (light detection and ranging) instruments measure the vertical...

Remote sensing of volcanos and volcanic terrains

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mouginis-Mark, Peter J.; Francis, Peter W.; Wilson, Lionel; Pieri, David C.; Self, Stephen; Rose, William I.; Wood, Charles A.

1989-01-01

The possibility of using remote sensing to monitor potentially dangerous volcanoes is discussed. Thermal studies of active volcanoes are considered along with using weather satellites to track eruption plumes and radar measurements to study lava flow morphology and topography. The planned use of orbiting platforms to study emissions from volcanoes and the rate of change of volcanic landforms is considered.

Implication of remotely sensed data to incorporate land cover effect into a linear reservoir-based rainfall-runoff model

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This study investigates the effect of land use on the Geomorphological Cascade of unequal Linear Reservoirs (GCUR) model. We use the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) derived from remotely sensed data as a measure of land use. Our approach has two important aspects: (i) it considers the ...

Application of remote sensing for prediction and detection of thermal pollution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Veziroglu, T. N.; Lee, S. S.

1974-01-01

The first phase is described of a three year project for the development of a mathematical model for predicting thermal pollution by use of remote sensing measurements. A rigid-lid model was developed, and results were obtained for different wind conditions at Biscayne Bay in South Florida. The design of the measurement system was completed, and instruments needed for the first stage of experiment were acquired, tested, and calibrated. A preliminary research flight was conducted.

Convergence of Chahine's nonlinear relaxation inversion method used for limb viewing remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chu, W. P.

1985-01-01

The application of Chahine's (1970) inversion technique to remote sensing problems utilizing the limb viewing geometry is discussed. The problem considered here involves occultation-type measurements and limb radiance-type measurements from either spacecraft or balloon platforms. The kernel matrix of the inversion problem is either an upper or lower triangular matrix. It is demonstrated that the Chahine inversion technique always converges, provided the diagonal elements of the kernel matrix are nonzero.

Interinstrument comparison of remote-sensing devices and a new method for calculating on-road nitrogen oxides emissions and validation of vehicle-specific power.

PubMed

Rushton, Christopher E; Tate, James E; Shepherd, Simon P; Carslaw, David C

2018-02-01

Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) by vehicles in real driving environments are only partially understood. This has been brought to the attention of the world with recent revelations of the cheating of the type of approval tests exposed in the dieselgate scandal. Remote-sensing devices offer investigators an opportunity to directly measure in situ real driving emissions of tens of thousands of vehicles. Remote-sensing NO 2 measurements are not as widely available as would be desirable. The aim of this study is to improve the ability of investigators to estimate the NO 2 emissions and to improve the confidence of the total NOx results calculated from standard remote-sensing device (RSD) measurements. The accuracy of the RSD speed and acceleration module was also validated using state-of-the-art onboard global positioning system (GPS) tracking. Two RSDs used in roadside vehicle emissions surveys were tested side by side under off-carriageway conditions away from transient pollution sources to ascertain the consistency of their measurements. The speed correlation was consistent across the range of measurements at 95% confidence and the acceleration correlation was consistent at 95% confidence intervals for all but the most extreme acceleration cases. VSP was consistent at 95% confidence across all measurements except for those at VSP ≥ 15 kW t -1 , which show a small underestimate. The controlled distribution gas nitric oxide measurements follow a normal distribution with 2σ equal to 18.9% of the mean, compared to 15% observed during factory calibration indicative of additional error introduced into the system. Systematic errors of +84 ppm were observed but within the tolerance of the control gas. Interinstrument correlation was performed, with the relationship between the FEAT and the RSD4600 being linear with a gradient of 0.93 and an R 2 of 0.85, indicating good correlation. A new method to calculate NOx emissions using fractional NO 2 combined with NO measurements made by the RSD4600 was constructed, validated, and shown to be more accurate than previous methods. Synchronized remote-sensing measurements of NO were taken using two different remote-sensing devices in an off-road study. It was found that the measurements taken by both instruments were well correlated. Fractional NO 2 measurements from a prior study, measurable on only one device, were used to create new NO x emission factors for the device that could not be measured by the second device. These estimates were validated against direct measurement of total NO x emission factors and shown to be an improvement on previous methodologies. Validation of vehicle-specific power was performed with good correlation observed.

Sensing our Environment: Remote sensing in a physics classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isaacson, Sivan; Schüttler, Tobias; Cohen-Zada, Aviv L.; Blumberg, Dan G.; Girwidz, Raimund; Maman, Shimrit

2017-04-01

Remote sensing is defined as data acquisition of an object, deprived physical contact. Fundamentally, most remote sensing applications are referred to as the use of satellite- or aircraft-based sensor technologies to detect and classify objects mainly on Earth or other planets. In the last years there have been efforts to bring the important subject of remote sensing into schools, however, most of these attempts focused on geography disciplines - restricting to the applications of remote sensing and to a less extent the technique itself and the physics behind it. Optical remote sensing is based on physical principles and technical devices, which are very meaningful from a theoretical point of view as well as for "hands-on" teaching. Some main subjects are radiation, atom and molecular physics, spectroscopy, as well as optics and the semiconductor technology used in modern digital cameras. Thus two objectives were outlined for this project: 1) to investigate the possibilities of using remote sensing techniques in physics teaching, and 2) to identify its impact on pupil's interest in the field of natural sciences. This joint project of the DLR_School_Lab, Oberpfaffenhofen of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Earth and Planetary Image Facility (EPIF) at BGU, was conducted in 2016. Thirty teenagers (ages 16-18) participated in the project and were exposed to the cutting edge methods of earth observation. The pupils on both sides participated in the project voluntarily, knowing that at least some of the project's work had to be done in their leisure time. The pupil's project started with a day at EPIF and DLR respectively, where the project task was explained to the participants and an introduction to remote sensing of vegetation was given. This was realized in lectures and in experimental workshops. During the following two months both groups took several measurements with modern optical remote sensing systems in their home region with a special focus on flora. The teams then processed their data and presented it to their foreign partners for evaluation in a video conference call. Alongside exciting insights about their respective environments and living conditions, the young scientists had daily access to live satellite sensors and remote sensing through the DLR_School_Lab in Germany and the Earth and Planetary Image Facility in Israel. This paper provides an overview regarding the project, the techniques used and the evaluation results following a pre-past-questionnaire design, and above all demonstrates the use of remote sensing as an application for physics teaching in a significant learning environment.

A practical CO2 flux remote sensing technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Queisser, Manuel; Burton, Mike

2017-04-01

An accurate quantification of CO2 flux from both natural and anthropogenic sources is of great interest in various areas of the Earth, environmental and atmospheric sciences. As emitted excess CO2 quickly dilutes into the 400 ppm ambient CO2 concentration and degassing often occurs diffusively, measuring CO2 fluxes is challenging. Therefore, fluxes are usually derived from grids of in-situ measurements, which are labour intensive measurements. Other than a safe measurement distance, remote sensing offers quick, spatially integrated and thus a more thorough measurement of gas fluxes. Active remote sensing combines these merits with operation independent of sunlight or clear sky conditions. Due to their weight and size, active remote sensing platforms for CO2, such as LIDAR, cannot easily be applied in the field or transported overseas. Moreover, their complexity requires a rather lengthy setup procedure to be undertaken by skilled personal. To meet the need for a rugged, practical CO2 remote sensing technique to scan volcanic plumes, we have developed the CO2 LIDAR. It measures 1-D column densities of CO2 with sufficient sensitivity to reveal the contribution of magmatic CO2. The CO2 LIDAR has been mounted inside a small aircraft and used to measure atmospheric column CO2 concentrations between the aircraft and the ground. It was further employed on the ground, measuring CO2 emissions from mud volcanism. During the measurement campaign the CO2 LIDAR demonstrated reliability, portability, quick set-up time (10 to 15 min) and platform independence. This new technique opens the possibility of rapid, comprehensive surveys of point source, open-vent CO2 emissions, as well as emissions from more diffuse sources such as lakes and fumarole fields. Currently, within the proof-of-concept ERC project CarbSens, a further reduction in size, weight and operational complexity is underway with the goal to commercialize the platform. Areas of potential applications include fugitive CO2 detection at carbon capture and storage sites, volcano monitoring and bottom-up quantification of CO2 fluxes, such as from urban areas or natural sources.

Remote rainfall sensing for landslide hazard analysis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wieczorek, Gerald F.; McWreath, Harry; Davenport, Clay

2001-01-01

Methods of assessing landslide hazards and providing warnings are becoming more advanced as remote sensing of rainfall provides more detailed temporal and spatial data on rainfall distribution. Two recent landslide disasters are examined noting the potential for using remotely sensed rainfall data for landslide hazard analysis. For the June 27, 1995, storm in Madison County, Virginia, USA, National Weather Service WSR-88D Doppler radar provided rainfall estimates based on a relation between cloud reflectivity and moisture content on a 1 sq. km. resolution every 6 minutes. Ground-based measurements of rainfall intensity and precipitation total, in addition to landslide timing and distribution, were compared with the radar-derived rainfall data. For the December 14-16, 1999, storm in Vargas State, Venezuela, infrared sensing from the GOES-8 satellite of cloud top temperatures provided the basis for NOAA/NESDIS rainfall estimates on a 16 sq. km. resolution every 30 minutes. These rainfall estimates were also compared with ground-based measurements of rainfall and landslide distribution. In both examples, the remotely sensed data either overestimated or underestimated ground-based values by up to a factor of 2. The factors that influenced the accuracy of rainfall data include spatial registration and map projection, as well as prevailing wind direction, cloud orientation, and topography.

Passive remote sensing of large-scale methane emissions from Oil Fields in California's San Joaquin Valley and validation by airborne in-situ measurements - Results from COMEX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerilowski, Konstantin; Krautwurst, Sven; Thompson, David R.; Thorpe, Andrew K.; Kolyer, Richard W.; Jonsson, Haflidi; Krings, Thomas; Frankenberg, Christian; Horstjann, Markus; Leifer, Ira; Eastwood, Michael; Green, Robert O.; Vigil, Sam; Fladeland, Matthew; Schüttemeyer, Dirk; Burrows, John P.; Bovensmann, Heinrich

2016-04-01

The CO2 and MEthane EXperiment (COMEX) was a NASA and ESA funded campaign in support of the HyspIRI and CarbonSat mission definition activities. As a part of this effort, seven flights were performed between June 3 and September 4, 2014 with the Methane Airborne MAPper (MAMAP) remote sensing instrument (operated by the University of Bremen in cooperation with the German Research Centre for Geosciences - GFZ) over the Kern River, Kern Front, and Poso Creek Oil Fields located in California's San Joaquin Valley. MAMAP was installed for the flights aboard the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) Twin Otter aircraft, together with: a Picarro fast in-situ greenhouse gas (GHG) analyzer operated by the NASA Ames Research Center, ARC; a 5-hole turbulence probe; and an atmospheric measurement package operated by CIRPAS measuring aerosols, temperature, dew-point, and other atmospheric parameters. Three of the flights were accompanied by the Next Generation Airborne Visual InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS-NG), operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology, installed aboard a second Twin Otter aircraft. Large-scale, high-concentration CH4 plumes were detected by the MAMAP instrument over the fields and tracked over several kilometers. The spatial distribution of the MAMAP observed plumes was compared to high spatial resolution CH4 anomaly maps derived by AVIRIS-NG imaging spectroscopy data. Remote sensing data collected by MAMAP was used to infer CH4 emission rates and their distributions over the three fields. Aggregated emission estimates for the three fields were compared to aggregated emissions inferred by subsequent airborne in-situ validation measurements collected by the Picarro instrument. Comparison of remote sensing and in-situ flux estimates will be presented, demonstrating the ability of airborne remote sensing data to provide accurate emission estimates for concentrations above the detection limit. This opens new applications of airborne atmospheric remote sensing in the area of anthropogenic top-down emission monitoring as well as for atmospheric CH4 leakage monitoring during accidents like the Elgin blow-out (March 2012) in the North Sea or the recent Aliso Canyon gas leak incident (2015/2016) in California.

Portable Laser Spectrometer for Airborne and Ground-Based Remote Sensing of Geological CO2 Emissions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Queisser, Manuel; Burton, Mike; Allan, Graham R.; Chiarugi, Antonio

2017-01-01

A 24 kilogram, suitcase-sized, CW (Continuous Wave) Laser Remote Sensing Spectrometer (LARSS) with an approximately 2-kilometer range has been developed. It has demonstrated its flexibility in measuring both atmospheric CO2 from an airborne platform and terrestrial emission of CO2 from a remote mud volcano, Bledug Kuwu, Indonesia, from a ground-based sight. This system scans the CO2 absorption line with 20 discrete wavelengths, as opposed to the typical two-wavelength online-offline instrument. This multi-wavelength approach offers an effective quality control, bias control, and confidence estimate of measured CO2 concentrations via spectral fitting. The simplicity, ruggedness, and flexibility in the design allow for easy transportation and use on different platforms with a quick setup in some of the most challenging climatic conditions. While more refinement is needed, the results represent a stepping stone towards widespread use of active one-sided gas remote sensing in the earth sciences.

Portable laser spectrometer for airborne and ground-based remote sensing of geological CO₂ emissions.

PubMed

Queisser, Manuel; Burton, Mike; Allan, Graham R; Chiarugi, Antonio

2017-07-15

A 24 kg, suitcase sized, CW laser remote sensing spectrometer (LARSS) with a ~2 km range has been developed. It has demonstrated its flexibility in measuring both atmospheric CO₂ from an airborne platform and terrestrial emission of CO₂ from a remote mud volcano, Bledug Kuwu, Indonesia, from a ground-based sight. This system scans the CO₂ absorption line with 20 discrete wavelengths, as opposed to the typical two-wavelength online offline instrument. This multi-wavelength approach offers an effective quality control, bias control, and confidence estimate of measured CO₂ concentrations via spectral fitting. The simplicity, ruggedness, and flexibility in the design allow for easy transportation and use on different platforms with a quick setup in some of the most challenging climatic conditions. While more refinement is needed, the results represent a stepping stone towards widespread use of active one-sided gas remote sensing in the earth sciences.

Assimilation of remote sensing observations into a sediment transport model of China's largest freshwater lake: spatial and temporal effects.

PubMed

Zhang, Peng; Chen, Xiaoling; Lu, Jianzhong; Zhang, Wei

2015-12-01

Numerical models are important tools that are used in studies of sediment dynamics in inland and coastal waters, and these models can now benefit from the use of integrated remote sensing observations. This study explores a scheme for assimilating remotely sensed suspended sediment (from charge-coupled device (CCD) images obtained from the Huanjing (HJ) satellite) into a two-dimensional sediment transport model of Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China. Optimal interpolation is used as the assimilation method, and model predictions are obtained by combining four remote sensing images. The parameters for optimal interpolation are determined through a series of assimilation experiments evaluating the sediment predictions based on field measurements. The model with assimilation of remotely sensed sediment reduces the root-mean-square error of the predicted sediment concentrations by 39.4% relative to the model without assimilation, demonstrating the effectiveness of the assimilation scheme. The spatial effect of assimilation is explored by comparing model predictions with remotely sensed sediment, revealing that the model with assimilation generates reasonable spatial distribution patterns of suspended sediment. The temporal effect of assimilation on the model's predictive capabilities varies spatially, with an average temporal effect of approximately 10.8 days. The current velocities which dominate the rate and direction of sediment transport most likely result in spatial differences in the temporal effect of assimilation on model predictions.

Overall design of imaging spectrometer on-board light aircraft

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

Zhongqi, H.; Zhengkui, C.; Changhua, C.

1996-11-01

Aerial remote sensing is the earliest remote sensing technical system and has gotten rapid development in recent years. The development of aerial remote sensing was dominated by high to medium altitude platform in the past, and now it is characterized by the diversity platform including planes of high-medium-low flying altitude, helicopter, airship, remotely controlled airplane, glider, and balloon. The widely used and rapidly developed platform recently is light aircraft. Early in the close of 1970s, Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology began aerial photography and geophysical survey using light aircraft, and put forward the overall design scheme of light aircraftmore » imaging spectral application system (LAISAS) in 19905. LAISAS is comprised of four subsystem. They are called measuring platform, data acquiring subsystem, ground testing and data processing subsystem respectively. The principal instruments of LAISAS include measuring platform controlled by inertia gyroscope, aerial spectrometer with high spectral resolution, imaging spectrometer, 3-channel scanner, 128-channel imaging spectrometer, GPS, illuminance-meter, and devices for atmospheric parameters measuring, ground testing, data correction and processing. LAISAS has the features of integrity from data acquisition to data processing and to application; of stability which guarantees the image quality and is comprised of measuring, ground testing device, and in-door data correction system; of exemplariness of integrated the technology of GIS, GPS, and Image Processing System; of practicality which embodied LAISAS with flexibility and high ratio of performance to cost. So, it can be used in the fields of fundamental research of Remote Sensing and large-scale mapping for resource exploration, environmental monitoring, calamity prediction, and military purpose.« less

Remote sensing for oceanography, hydrology and agriculture; Proceedings of Symposia A5, A3 and A9 of the COSPAR 29th Plenary Meeting, Washington, Aug. 28-Sept. 5, 1992

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gower, J. F. R. (Editor); Salomonson, V. V. (Editor); Engman, E. T. (Editor); Ormsby, J. P. (Editor); Gupta, R. K. (Editor)

1993-01-01

New results from satellite studies of the ocean and radar mapping of the earth are presented. Atttention is given to data from the ERS-1 satellite. Synthetic aperture radar mapping of land surface features and sea ice, radar backscatter measurements, and orbit altitude measurements are discussed. The use of remote sensing in hydrology, soil moisture determination, precipitation measurement, agricultural meteorology, and crop growth estimation is reviewed.

Comparison of Measured Galactic Background Radiation at L-Band with Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LeVine, David M.; Abraham, Saji; Kerr, Yann H.; Wilson, William J.; Skou, Niels; Sobjaerg, Sten

2004-01-01

Radiation from the celestial sky in the spectral window at 1.413 GHz is strong and an accurate accounting of this background radiation is needed for calibration and retrieval algorithms. Modern radio astronomy measurements in this window have been converted into a brightness temperature map of the celestial sky at L-band suitable for such applications. This paper presents a comparison of the background predicted by this map with the measurements of several modern L-band remote sensing radiometer Keywords-Galactic background, microwave radiometry; remote sensing;

Thermal Remote Sensing and the Thermodynamics of Ecosystem Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luvall, Jeffrey C.; Kay, James J.; Fraser, Roydon F.

2000-01-01

Thermal remote sensing can provide environmental measuring tools with capabilities for measuring ecosystem development and integrity. Recent advances in applying principles of nonequilibrium thermodynamics to ecology provide fundamental insights into energy partitioning in ecosystems. Ecosystems are nonequilibrium systems, open to material and energy flows, which grow and develop structures and processes to increase energy degradation. More developed terrestrial ecosystems will be more effective at dissipating the solar gradient (degrading its energy content). This can be measured by the effective surface temperature of the ecosystem on a landscape scale.

Remote Sensing of Vegetation Nitrogen Content for Spatially Explicit Carbon and Water Cycle Estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Y. L.; Miller, J. R.; Chen, J. M.

2009-05-01

Foliage nitrogen concentration is a determinant of photosynthetic capacity of leaves, thereby an important input to ecological models for estimating terrestrial carbon and water budgets. Recently, spectrally continuous airborne hyperspectral remote sensing imagery has proven to be useful for retrieving an important related parameter, total chlorophyll content at both leaf and canopy scales. Thus remote sensing of vegetation biochemical parameters has promising potential for improving the prediction of global carbon and water balance patterns. In this research, we explored the feasibility of estimating leaf nitrogen content using hyperspectral remote sensing data for spatially explicit estimation of carbon and water budgets. Multi-year measurements of leaf biochemical contents of seven major boreal forest species were carried out in northeastern Ontario, Canada. The variation of leaf chlorophyll and nitrogen content in response to various growth conditions, and the relationship between them,were investigated. Despite differences in plant type (deciduous and evergreen), leaf age, stand growth conditions and developmental stages, leaf nitrogen content was strongly correlated with leaf chlorophyll content on a mass basis during the active growing season (r2=0.78). With this general correlation, leaf nitrogen content was estimated from leaf chlorophyll content at an accuracy of RMSE=2.2 mg/g, equivalent to 20.5% of the average measured leaf nitrogen content. Based on this correlation and a hyperspectral remote sensing algorithm for leaf chlorophyll content retrieval, the spatial variation of leaf nitrogen content was inferred from the airborne hyperspectral remote sensing imagery acquired by Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI). A process-based ecological model Boreal Ecosystem Productivity Simulator (BEPS) was used for estimating terrestrial carbon and water budgets. In contrast to the scenario with leaf nitrogen content assigned as a constant value without differentiation between and within vegetation types for calculating the photosynthesis rate, we incorporated the spatial distribution of leaf nitrogen content in the model to estimate net primary productivity and evaportranspiration of boreal ecosystem. These regional estimates of carbon and water budgets with and without N mapping are compared, and the importance of this leaf biochemistry information derived from hyperspectral remote sensing in regional mapping of carbon and water fluxes is quantitatively assessed. Keywords: Remote Sensing, Leaf Nitrogen Content, Spatial Distribution, Carbon and Water Budgets, Estimation

Remote real-time monitoring of subsurface landfill gas migration.

PubMed

Fay, Cormac; Doherty, Aiden R; Beirne, Stephen; Collins, Fiachra; Foley, Colum; Healy, John; Kiernan, Breda M; Lee, Hyowon; Maher, Damien; Orpen, Dylan; Phelan, Thomas; Qiu, Zhengwei; Zhang, Kirk; Gurrin, Cathal; Corcoran, Brian; O'Connor, Noel E; Smeaton, Alan F; Diamond, Dermot

2011-01-01

The cost of monitoring greenhouse gas emissions from landfill sites is of major concern for regulatory authorities. The current monitoring procedure is recognised as labour intensive, requiring agency inspectors to physically travel to perimeter borehole wells in rough terrain and manually measure gas concentration levels with expensive hand-held instrumentation. In this article we present a cost-effective and efficient system for remotely monitoring landfill subsurface migration of methane and carbon dioxide concentration levels. Based purely on an autonomous sensing architecture, the proposed sensing platform was capable of performing complex analytical measurements in situ and successfully communicating the data remotely to a cloud database. A web tool was developed to present the sensed data to relevant stakeholders. We report our experiences in deploying such an approach in the field over a period of approximately 16 months.

Remote-sensing reflectance of turbid sediment-dominated waters. Reduction of sediment type variations and changing illumination conditions effects by use of reflectance ratios.

PubMed

Doxaran, David; Froidefond, Jean-Marie; Castaing, Patrice

2003-05-20

Variations of sediment type (grain size and refractive index) and changing illumination conditions affect the reflectance signal of coastal waters and limit the accuracy of sediment-concentration estimations from remote-sensing measurements. These effects are analyzed from numerous in situ remote-sensing measurements carried out in the Gironde and Loire Estuaries and then reduced and partly eliminated when reflectance ratios between the near infrared and the visible are considered. These ratios showed high correlation with the sediment concentration. On the basis of the obtained relationships, performing correspondence functions were established that allow an accurate estimation of suspended sediments in the estuaries from Système Probatoire d'Observation de la Terre, Landsat, and Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor data, independently of the date of acquisition.

The science benefits of and the antenna requirements for microwave remote sensing from geostationary orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stutzman, Warren L. (Editor); Brown, Gary S. (Editor)

1991-01-01

The primary objective of the Large Space Antenna (LSA) Science Panel was to evaluate the science benefits that can be realized with a 25-meter class antenna in a microwave/millimeter wave remote sensing system in geostationary orbit. The panel concluded that a 25-meter or larger antenna in geostationary orbit can serve significant passive remote sensing needs in the 10 to 60 GHz frequency range, including measurements of precipitation, water vapor, atmospheric temperature profile, ocean surface wind speed, oceanic cloud liquid water content, and snow cover. In addition, cloud base height, atmospheric wind profile, and ocean currents can potentially be measured using active sensors with the 25-meter antenna. Other environmental parameters, particularly those that do not require high temporal resolution, are better served by low Earth orbit based sensors.

Remote Real-Time Monitoring of Subsurface Landfill Gas Migration

PubMed Central

Fay, Cormac; Doherty, Aiden R.; Beirne, Stephen; Collins, Fiachra; Foley, Colum; Healy, John; Kiernan, Breda M.; Lee, Hyowon; Maher, Damien; Orpen, Dylan; Phelan, Thomas; Qiu, Zhengwei; Zhang, Kirk; Gurrin, Cathal; Corcoran, Brian; O’Connor, Noel E.; Smeaton, Alan F.; Diamond, Dermot

2011-01-01

The cost of monitoring greenhouse gas emissions from landfill sites is of major concern for regulatory authorities. The current monitoring procedure is recognised as labour intensive, requiring agency inspectors to physically travel to perimeter borehole wells in rough terrain and manually measure gas concentration levels with expensive hand-held instrumentation. In this article we present a cost-effective and efficient system for remotely monitoring landfill subsurface migration of methane and carbon dioxide concentration levels. Based purely on an autonomous sensing architecture, the proposed sensing platform was capable of performing complex analytical measurements in situ and successfully communicating the data remotely to a cloud database. A web tool was developed to present the sensed data to relevant stakeholders. We report our experiences in deploying such an approach in the field over a period of approximately 16 months. PMID:22163975

Remote Sensing Proxies for Vector-borne Disease Risk Assessment (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anyamba, A.

2010-12-01

The spread of re-emerging vector-borne diseases such Rift Valley fever (RVF) and Chikungunya (CHIK) is a major issue of global public health concern. This combined with a variable climate regime has opened an avenue for satellite remote sensing to contribute towards a comprehensive understanding of some of the drivers influencing such vector-borne disease outbreaks. Satellite derived measurements such as vegetation indices, rainfall estimates, and land-surface temperature; can be used to infer the complex mosaic of factors that influence ecology and habitat suitability, emergence and population dynamics of disease vectors. However, there are still some gaps in application including appropriate temporal resolution of remote sensing measurements, the complexity of the virus-vector-disease-ecology system and human components that contribute to disease risk that need to be addressed. Geographic Distribution of Recent Rift Valley fever oubreaks

Wind erosion in semiarid landscapes: Predictive models and remote sensing methods for the influence of vegetation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Musick, H. Brad

1993-01-01

The objectives of this research are: to develop and test predictive relations for the quantitative influence of vegetation canopy structure on wind erosion of semiarid rangeland soils, and to develop remote sensing methods for measuring the canopy structural parameters that determine sheltering against wind erosion. The influence of canopy structure on wind erosion will be investigated by means of wind-tunnel and field experiments using structural variables identified by the wind-tunnel and field experiments using model roughness elements to simulate plant canopies. The canopy structural variables identified by the wind-tunnel and field experiments as important in determining vegetative sheltering against wind erosion will then be measured at a number of naturally vegetated field sites and compared with estimates of these variables derived from analysis of remotely sensed data.

Tunnel-Site Selection by Remote Sensing Techniques

DTIC Science & Technology

A study of the role of remote sensing for geologic reconnaissance for tunnel-site selection was commenced. For this study, remote sensing was defined...conventional remote sensing . Future research directions are suggested, and the extension of remote sensing to include airborne passive microwave

A New Framework for Quantifying Lidar Uncertainty

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

Newman, Jennifer, F.; Clifton, Andrew; Bonin, Timothy A.

2017-03-24

As wind turbine sizes increase and wind energy expands to more complex and remote sites, remote sensing devices such as lidars are expected to play a key role in wind resource assessment and power performance testing. The switch to remote sensing devices represents a paradigm shift in the way the wind industry typically obtains and interprets measurement data for wind energy. For example, the measurement techniques and sources of uncertainty for a remote sensing device are vastly different from those associated with a cup anemometer on a meteorological tower. Current IEC standards discuss uncertainty due to mounting, calibration, and classificationmore » of the remote sensing device, among other parameters. Values of the uncertainty are typically given as a function of the mean wind speed measured by a reference device. However, real-world experience has shown that lidar performance is highly dependent on atmospheric conditions, such as wind shear, turbulence, and aerosol content. At present, these conditions are not directly incorporated into the estimated uncertainty of a lidar device. In this presentation, we propose the development of a new lidar uncertainty framework that adapts to current flow conditions and more accurately represents the actual uncertainty inherent in lidar measurements under different conditions. In this new framework, sources of uncertainty are identified for estimation of the line-of-sight wind speed and reconstruction of the three-dimensional wind field. These sources are then related to physical processes caused by the atmosphere and lidar operating conditions. The framework is applied to lidar data from an operational wind farm to assess the ability of the framework to predict errors in lidar-measured wind speed.« less

System and method for evaluating wind flow fields using remote sensing devices

DOEpatents

Schroeder, John; Hirth, Brian; Guynes, Jerry

2016-12-13

The present invention provides a system and method for obtaining data to determine one or more characteristics of a wind field using a first remote sensing device and a second remote sensing device. Coordinated data is collected from the first and second remote sensing devices and analyzed to determine the one or more characteristics of the wind field. The first remote sensing device is positioned to have a portion of the wind field within a first scanning sector of the first remote sensing device. The second remote sensing device is positioned to have the portion of the wind field disposed within a second scanning sector of the second remote sensing device.

Snowpack spatial variability: Towards understanding its effect on remote sensing measurements and snow slope stability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshall, Hans-Peter

The distribution of water in the snow-covered areas of the world is an important climate change indicator, and it is a vital component of the water cycle. At local and regional scales, the snow water equivalent (SWE), the amount of liquid water a given area of the snowpack represents, is very important for water resource management, flood forecasting, and prediction of available hydropower energy. Measurements from only a few automatic weather stations, such as the SNOTEL network, or sparse manual snowpack measurements are typically extrapolated for estimating SWE over an entire basin. Widespread spatial variability in the distribution of SWE and snowpack stratigraphy at local scales causes large errors in these basin estimates. Remote sensing measurements offer a promising alternative, due to their large spatial coverage and high temporal resolution. Although snow cover extent can currently be estimated from remote sensing data, accurately quantifying SWE from remote sensing measurements has remained difficult, due to a high sensitivity to variations in grain size and stratigraphy. In alpine snowpacks, the large degree of spatial variability of snowpack properties and geometry, caused by topographic, vegetative, and microclimatic effects, also makes prediction of snow avalanches very difficult. Ground-based radar and penetrometer measurements can quickly and accurately characterize snowpack properties and SWE in the field. A portable lightweight radar was developed, and allows a real-time estimate of SWE to within 10%, as well as measurements of depths of all major density transitions within the snowpack. New analysis techniques developed in this thesis allow accurate estimates of mechanical properties and an index of grain size to be retrieved from the SnowMicroPenetrometer. These two tools together allow rapid characterization of the snowpack's geometry, mechanical properties, and SWE, and are used to guide a finite element model to study the stress distribution on a slope. The ability to accurately characterize snowpack properties at much higher resolutions and spatial extent than previously possible will hopefully help lead to a more complete understanding of spatial variability, its effect on remote sensing measurements and snow slope stability, and result in improvements in avalanche prediction and accuracy of SWE estimates from space.

Exploring Models and Data for Remote Sensing Image Caption Generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Xiaoqiang; Wang, Binqiang; Zheng, Xiangtao; Li, Xuelong

2018-04-01

Inspired by recent development of artificial satellite, remote sensing images have attracted extensive attention. Recently, noticeable progress has been made in scene classification and target detection.However, it is still not clear how to describe the remote sensing image content with accurate and concise sentences. In this paper, we investigate to describe the remote sensing images with accurate and flexible sentences. First, some annotated instructions are presented to better describe the remote sensing images considering the special characteristics of remote sensing images. Second, in order to exhaustively exploit the contents of remote sensing images, a large-scale aerial image data set is constructed for remote sensing image caption. Finally, a comprehensive review is presented on the proposed data set to fully advance the task of remote sensing caption. Extensive experiments on the proposed data set demonstrate that the content of the remote sensing image can be completely described by generating language descriptions. The data set is available at https://github.com/201528014227051/RSICD_optimal

Laboratory analysis of techniques for remote sensing of estuarine parameters using laser excitation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Exton, R. J.; Houghton, W. M.; Esaias, W.; Harriss, R. C.; Farmer, F. H.; White, H. H.

1983-01-01

The theoretical concepts underlying remote sensing of estuarine parameters using laser excitation are examined. The concepts are extended to include Mie scattering as a measure of the total suspended solids and to develop the water Raman signal as an internal standard. Experimental validation of the theory was performed using backscattered laser light from a laboratory tank to simulate a remote-sensing geometry. Artificially prepared sediments and biological cultures were employed to check specific aspects of the theory under controlled conditions. Natural samples gathered from a variety of water types were also analyzed in the tank to further enhance the simulation. The results indicate that it should be possible to remotely quantify total suspended solids, dissolved organics, attenuation coefficient, chlorophyll a, and phycoerythrin in estuarine water using laser excitation.

The MUSICA MetOp/IASI H2O and δD products: characterisation and long-term comparison to NDACC/FTIR data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiegele, A.; Schneider, M.; Hase, F.; Barthlott, S.; García, O. E.; Sepúlveda, E.; González, Y.; Blumenstock, T.; Raffalski, U.; Gisi, M.; Kohlhepp, R.

2014-04-01

Within the project MUSICA (MUlti-platform remote Sensing of Isotopologues for investigating the Cycle of Atmospheric water) ground- and space-based remote sensing as well as in-situ datasets of tropospheric water vapour isotopologues are provided. The space-based remote-sensing dataset is produced from spectra measured by the IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer) sensor and is potentially available on a global scale. Here, we present the MUSICA IASI data for three different geophysical locations (subtropics, mid-latitudes, and arctic) and we provide a comprehensive characterisation of the complex nature of such space-based isotopologue remote sensing products. The quality assessment study is complemented by a comparison to MUSICA's ground-based FTIR (Fourier-Transform InfraRed) remote sensing data retrieved from the spectra recorded at three different locations within the framework of NDACC (Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change). We confirm that IASI is able to measure tropospheric H2O profiles with a vertical resolution of about 4 km and a random error of about 10%. In addition IASI can observe middle tropospheric δD that adds complementary value to IASI's middle tropospheric H2O observations. Our study is both, a theoretical and an empirical proof that IASI has the capability for a global observation of middle tropospheric water vapour isotopologues on a daily timescale and at a quality that is sufficiently high for water cycle research purposes.

The MUSICA MetOp/IASI H2O and δD products: characterisation and long-term comparison to NDACC/FTIR data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiegele, A.; Schneider, M.; Hase, F.; Barthlott, S.; García, O. E.; Sepúlveda, E.; González, Y.; Blumenstock, T.; Raffalski, U.; Gisi, M.; Kohlhepp, R.

2014-08-01

Within the project MUSICA (MUlti-platform remote Sensing of Isotopologues for investigating the Cycle of Atmospheric water) ground- and space-based remote sensing as well as in situ data sets of tropospheric water vapour isotopologues are provided. The space-based remote-sensing data set is produced from spectra measured by the IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer) sensor and is potentially available on a global scale. Here, we present the MUSICA IASI data for three different geophysical locations (subtropics, midlatitudes, and Arctic), and we provide a comprehensive characterisation of the complex nature of such space-based isotopologue remote-sensing products. The quality assessment study is complemented by a comparison to MUSICA's ground-based FTIR (Fourier Transform InfraRed) remote-sensing data retrieved from the spectra recorded at three different locations within the framework of NDACC (Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change). We confirm that IASI is able to measure tropospheric H2O profiles with a vertical resolution of about 4 km and a random error of about 10%. In addition IASI can observe middle tropospheric δD that adds complementary value to IASI's middle tropospheric H2O observations. Our study presents theoretical and empirical proof that IASI has the capability for a global observation of middle tropospheric water vapour isotopologues on a daily timescale and at a quality that is sufficiently high for water cycle research purposes.

Research on active imaging information transmission technology of satellite borne quantum remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bi, Siwen; Zhen, Ming; Yang, Song; Lin, Xuling; Wu, Zhiqiang

2017-08-01

According to the development and application needs of Remote Sensing Science and technology, Prof. Siwen Bi proposed quantum remote sensing. Firstly, the paper gives a brief introduction of the background of quantum remote sensing, the research status and related researches at home and abroad on the theory, information mechanism and imaging experiments of quantum remote sensing and the production of principle prototype.Then, the quantization of pure remote sensing radiation field, the state function and squeezing effect of quantum remote sensing radiation field are emphasized. It also describes the squeezing optical operator of quantum light field in active imaging information transmission experiment and imaging experiments, achieving 2-3 times higher resolution than that of coherent light detection imaging and completing the production of quantum remote sensing imaging prototype. The application of quantum remote sensing technology can significantly improve both the signal-to-noise ratio of information transmission imaging and the spatial resolution of quantum remote sensing .On the above basis, Prof.Bi proposed the technical solution of active imaging information transmission technology of satellite borne quantum remote sensing, launched researches on its system composition and operation principle and on quantum noiseless amplifying devices, providing solutions and technical basis for implementing active imaging information technology of satellite borne Quantum Remote Sensing.

Introduction to the physics and techniques of remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elachi, Charles

1987-01-01

This book presents a comprehensive overview of the basics behind remote-sensing physics, techniques, and technology. The physics of wave/matter interactions, techniques of remote sensing across the electromagnetic spectrum, and the concepts behind remote sensing techniques now established and future ones under development are discussed. Applications of remote sensing are described for a wide variety of earth and planetary atmosphere and surface sciences. Solid surface sensing across the electromagnetic spectrum, ocean surface sensing, basic principles of atmospheric sensing and radiative transfer, and atmospheric remote sensing in the microwave, millimeter, submillimeter, and infrared regions are examined.

Remote sensing and disease control in China: past, present and future

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Satellite measurements have distinct advantages over conventional ground measurements because they can collect the information repeatedly and automatically. Since 1970 globally and 1985 in China, the availability of remote sensing (RS) techniques has steadily grown and they are becoming increasingly important to improve our understanding of human health. This paper gives the first detailed overview on the developments of RS applications for disease control in China. The problems, challenges and future directions are also discussed with an aim of guiding prospective studies. PMID:23311958

Experimental validation of a millimeter wave radar technique to remotely sense atmospheric pressure at the Earth's surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flower, D. A.; Peckham, G. E.; Bradford, W. J.

1984-01-01

Experiments with a millimeter wave radar operating on the NASA CV-990 aircraft which validate the technique for remotely sensing atmospheric pressure at the Earth's surface are described. Measurements show that the precise millimeter wave observations needed to deduce pressure from space with an accuracy of 1 mb are possible, that sea surface reflection properties agree with theory and that the measured variation of differential absorption with altitude corresponds to that expected from spectroscopic models.

Remote Sensing Measurements of the Corona with the Solar Probe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Habbal, Shadia Rifai; Woo, Richard

1996-01-01

Remote sensing measurements of the solar corona are indespensible for the exploration of the source and acceleration regions of the solar wind which are inaccessible to in situ plasma, paritcles and field experiments.Furthermore, imaging the solar disk and coronal from the unique vantage point of the trajectory and the proximity of the Solar Probe spacecraft, will provide the first ever opportunity to explore the small scale structures within coronal holes and streamers from viewing angles and with spatial resolutions never attained before.

Studies on mineral dust using airborne lidar, ground-based remote sensing, and in situ instrumentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marenco, Franco; Ryder, Claire; Estellés, Victor; Segura, Sara; Amiridis, Vassilis; Proestakis, Emmanouil; Marinou, Eleni; Tsekeri, Alexandra; Smith, Helen; Ulanowski, Zbigniew; O'Sullivan, Debbie; Brooke, Jennifer; Pradhan, Yaswant; Buxmann, Joelle

2018-04-01

In August 2015, the AER-D campaign made use of the FAAM research aircraft based in Cape Verde, and targeted mineral dust. First results will be shown here. The campaign had multiple objectives: (1) lidar dust mapping for the validation of satellite and model products; (2) validation of sunphotometer remote sensing with airborne measurements; (3) coordinated measurements with the CATS lidar on the ISS; (4) radiative closure studies; and (5) the validation of a new model of dustsonde.

Observing and modeling dynamics in terrestrial gross primary productivity and phenology from remote sensing: An assessment using in-situ measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verma, Manish K.

Terrestrial gross primary productivity (GPP) is the largest and most variable component of the carbon cycle and is strongly influenced by phenology. Realistic characterization of spatio-temporal variation in GPP and phenology is therefore crucial for understanding dynamics in the global carbon cycle. In the last two decades, remote sensing has become a widely-used tool for this purpose. However, no study has comprehensively examined how well remote sensing models capture spatiotemporal patterns in GPP, and validation of remote sensing-based phenology models is limited. Using in-situ data from 144 eddy covariance towers located in all major biomes, I assessed the ability of 10 remote sensing-based methods to capture spatio-temporal variation in GPP at annual and seasonal scales. The models are based on different hypotheses regarding ecophysiological controls on GPP and span a range of structural and computational complexity. The results lead to four main conclusions: (i) at annual time scale, models were more successful capturing spatial variability than temporal variability; (ii) at seasonal scale, models were more successful in capturing average seasonal variability than interannual variability; (iii) simpler models performed as well or better than complex models; and (iv) models that were best at explaining seasonal variability in GPP were different from those that were best able to explain variability in annual scale GPP. Seasonal phenology of vegetation follows bounded growth and decay, and is widely modeled using growth functions. However, the specific form of the growth function affects how phenological dynamics are represented in ecosystem and remote sensing-base models. To examine this, four different growth functions (the logistic, Gompertz, Mirror-Gompertz and Richards function) were assessed using remotely sensed and in-situ data collected at several deciduous forest sites. All of the growth functions provided good statistical representation of in-situ and remote sensing time series. However, the Richards function captured observed asymmetric dynamics that were not captured by the other functions. The timing of key phenophase transitions derived using the Richards function therefore agreed best with observations. This suggests that ecosystem models and remote-sensing algorithms would benefit from using the Richards function to represent phenological dynamics.

Development of a highly automated system for the remote evaluation of individual tree parameters

Treesearch

Richard Pollock

2000-01-01

A highly-automated procedure for remotely estimating individual tree location, crown diameter, species class, and height has been developed. This procedure will involve the use of a multimodal airborne sensing system that consists of a digital frame camera, a scanning laser rangefinder, and a position and orientation measurement system. Data from the multimodal sensing...

Remote Sensing Contributions to Prediction and Risk Assessment of Natural Diasters Caused by Large Scale Rift Valley fever Outbreaks

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Remotely sensed vegetation measurements for the last 30 years combined with other climate data sets such as rainfall and sea surface temperatures have come to play an important role in the study of the ecology of vector-borne diseases. We show that episodic outbreaks of Rift Valley fever are influen...

Watermarking techniques for electronic delivery of remote sensing images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barni, Mauro; Bartolini, Franco; Magli, Enrico; Olmo, Gabriella

2002-09-01

Earth observation missions have recently attracted a growing interest, mainly due to the large number of possible applications capable of exploiting remotely sensed data and images. Along with the increase of market potential, the need arises for the protection of the image products. Such a need is a very crucial one, because the Internet and other public/private networks have become preferred means of data exchange. A critical issue arising when dealing with digital image distribution is copyright protection. Such a problem has been largely addressed by resorting to watermarking technology. A question that obviously arises is whether the requirements imposed by remote sensing imagery are compatible with existing watermarking techniques. On the basis of these motivations, the contribution of this work is twofold: assessment of the requirements imposed by remote sensing applications on watermark-based copyright protection, and modification of two well-established digital watermarking techniques to meet such constraints. More specifically, the concept of near-lossless watermarking is introduced and two possible algorithms matching such a requirement are presented. Experimental results are shown to measure the impact of watermark introduction on a typical remote sensing application, i.e., unsupervised image classification.

A revised surface resistance parameterisation for estimating latent heat flux from remotely sensed data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Yi; Wang, Jiemin; Yang, Kun; Ma, Mingguo; Li, Xin; Zhang, Zhihui; Wang, Xufeng

2012-07-01

Estimating evapotranspiration (ET) is required for many environmental studies. Remote sensing provides the ability to spatially map latent heat flux. Many studies have developed approaches to derive spatially distributed surface energy fluxes from various satellite sensors with the help of field observations. In this study, remote-sensing-based λE mapping was conducted using a Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) image and an Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) image. The remotely sensed data and field observations employed in this study were obtained from Watershed Allied Telemetry Experimental Research (WATER). A biophysics-based surface resistance model was revised to account for water stress and temperature constraints. The precision of the results was validated using 'ground truth' data obtained by eddy covariance (EC) system. Scale effects play an important role, especially for parameter optimisation and validation of the latent heat flux (λE). After considering the footprint of EC, the λE derived from the remote sensing data was comparable to the EC measured value during the satellite's passage. The results showed that the revised surface resistance parameterisation scheme was useful for estimating the latent heat flux over cropland in arid regions.

An overview of mesoscale aerosol processes, comparisons, and validation studies from DRAGON networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holben, Brent N.; Kim, Jhoon; Sano, Itaru; Mukai, Sonoyo; Eck, Thomas F.; Giles, David M.; Schafer, Joel S.; Sinyuk, Aliaksandr; Slutsker, Ilya; Smirnov, Alexander; Sorokin, Mikhail; Anderson, Bruce E.; Che, Huizheng; Choi, Myungje; Crawford, James H.; Ferrare, Richard A.; Garay, Michael J.; Jeong, Ukkyo; Kim, Mijin; Kim, Woogyung; Knox, Nichola; Li, Zhengqiang; Lim, Hwee S.; Liu, Yang; Maring, Hal; Nakata, Makiko; Pickering, Kenneth E.; Piketh, Stuart; Redemann, Jens; Reid, Jeffrey S.; Salinas, Santo; Seo, Sora; Tan, Fuyi; Tripathi, Sachchida N.; Toon, Owen B.; Xiao, Qingyang

2018-01-01

Over the past 24 years, the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) program has provided highly accurate remote-sensing characterization of aerosol optical and physical properties for an increasingly extensive geographic distribution including all continents and many oceanic island and coastal sites. The measurements and retrievals from the AERONET global network have addressed satellite and model validation needs very well, but there have been challenges in making comparisons to similar parameters from in situ surface and airborne measurements. Additionally, with improved spatial and temporal satellite remote sensing of aerosols, there is a need for higher spatial-resolution ground-based remote-sensing networks. An effort to address these needs resulted in a number of field campaign networks called Distributed Regional Aerosol Gridded Observation Networks (DRAGONs) that were designed to provide a database for in situ and remote-sensing comparison and analysis of local to mesoscale variability in aerosol properties. This paper describes the DRAGON deployments that will continue to contribute to the growing body of research related to meso- and microscale aerosol features and processes. The research presented in this special issue illustrates the diversity of topics that has resulted from the application of data from these networks.

Active landslide monitoring using remote sensing data, GPS measurements and cameras on board UAV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolakopoulos, Konstantinos G.; Kavoura, Katerina; Depountis, Nikolaos; Argyropoulos, Nikolaos; Koukouvelas, Ioannis; Sabatakakis, Nikolaos

2015-10-01

An active landslide can be monitored using many different methods: Classical geotechnical measurements like inclinometer, topographical survey measurements with total stations or GPS and photogrammetric techniques using airphotos or high resolution satellite images. As the cost of the aerial photo campaign and the acquisition of very high resolution satellite data is quite expensive the use of cameras on board UAV could be an identical solution. Small UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) have started their development as expensive toys but they currently became a very valuable tool in remote sensing monitoring of small areas. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate a cheap but effective solution for an active landslide monitoring. We present the first experimental results of the synergistic use of UAV, GPS measurements and remote sensing data. A six-rotor aircraft with a total weight of 6 kg carrying two small cameras has been used. Very accurate digital airphotos, high accuracy DSM, DGPS measurements and the data captured from the UAV are combined and the results are presented in the current study.

Airborne and satellite remote sensing of the mid-infrared water vapour continuum.

PubMed

Newman, Stuart M; Green, Paul D; Ptashnik, Igor V; Gardiner, Tom D; Coleman, Marc D; McPheat, Robert A; Smith, Kevin M

2012-06-13

Remote sensing of the atmosphere from space plays an increasingly important role in weather forecasting. Exploiting observations from the latest generation of weather satellites relies on an accurate knowledge of fundamental spectroscopy, including the water vapour continuum absorption. Field campaigns involving the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements research aircraft have collected a comprehensive dataset, comprising remotely sensed infrared radiance observations collocated with accurate measurements of the temperature and humidity structure of the atmosphere. These field measurements have been used to validate the strength of the infrared water vapour continuum in comparison with the latest laboratory measurements. The recent substantial changes to self-continuum coefficients in the widely used MT_CKD (Mlawer-Tobin-Clough-Kneizys-Davies) model between 2400 and 3200 cm(-1) are shown to be appropriate and in agreement with field measurements. Results for the foreign continuum in the 1300-2000 cm(-1) band suggest a weak temperature dependence that is not currently included in atmospheric models. A one-dimensional variational retrieval experiment is performed that shows a small positive benefit from using new laboratory-derived continuum coefficients for humidity retrievals.

PIXELS: Using field-based learning to investigate students' concepts of pixels and sense of scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pope, A.; Tinigin, L.; Petcovic, H. L.; Ormand, C. J.; LaDue, N.

2015-12-01

Empirical work over the past decade supports the notion that a high level of spatial thinking skill is critical to success in the geosciences. Spatial thinking incorporates a host of sub-skills such as mentally rotating an object, imagining the inside of a 3D object based on outside patterns, unfolding a landscape, and disembedding critical patterns from background noise. In this study, we focus on sense of scale, which refers to how an individual quantified space, and is thought to develop through kinesthetic experiences. Remote sensing data are increasingly being used for wide-reaching and high impact research. A sense of scale is critical to many areas of the geosciences, including understanding and interpreting remotely sensed imagery. In this exploratory study, students (N=17) attending the Juneau Icefield Research Program participated in a 3-hour exercise designed to study how a field-based activity might impact their sense of scale and their conceptions of pixels in remotely sensed imagery. Prior to the activity, students had an introductory remote sensing lecture and completed the Sense of Scale inventory. Students walked and/or skied the perimeter of several pixel types, including a 1 m square (representing a WorldView sensor's pixel), a 30 m square (a Landsat pixel) and a 500 m square (a MODIS pixel). The group took reflectance measurements using a field radiometer as they physically traced out the pixel. The exercise was repeated in two different areas, one with homogenous reflectance, and another with heterogeneous reflectance. After the exercise, students again completed the Sense of Scale instrument and a demographic survey. This presentation will share the effects and efficacy of the field-based intervention to teach remote sensing concepts and to investigate potential relationships between students' concepts of pixels and sense of scale.

Linking chlorophyll a fluorescence to photosynthesis for remote sensing applications: mechanisms and challenges.

PubMed

Porcar-Castell, Albert; Tyystjärvi, Esa; Atherton, Jon; van der Tol, Christiaan; Flexas, Jaume; Pfündel, Erhard E; Moreno, Jose; Frankenberg, Christian; Berry, Joseph A

2014-08-01

Chlorophyll a fluorescence (ChlF) has been used for decades to study the organization, functioning, and physiology of photosynthesis at the leaf and subcellular levels. ChlF is now measurable from remote sensing platforms. This provides a new optical means to track photosynthesis and gross primary productivity of terrestrial ecosystems. Importantly, the spatiotemporal and methodological context of the new applications is dramatically different compared with most of the available ChlF literature, which raises a number of important considerations. Although we have a good mechanistic understanding of the processes that control the ChlF signal over the short term, the seasonal link between ChlF and photosynthesis remains obscure. Additionally, while the current understanding of in vivo ChlF is based on pulse amplitude-modulated (PAM) measurements, remote sensing applications are based on the measurement of the passive solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF), which entails important differences and new challenges that remain to be solved. In this review we introduce and revisit the physical, physiological, and methodological factors that control the leaf-level ChlF signal in the context of the new remote sensing applications. Specifically, we present the basis of photosynthetic acclimation and its optical signals, we introduce the physical and physiological basis of ChlF from the molecular to the leaf level and beyond, and we introduce and compare PAM and SIF methodology. Finally, we evaluate and identify the challenges that still remain to be answered in order to consolidate our mechanistic understanding of the remotely sensed SIF signal. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Ground-based Remote Sensing for Quantifying Subsurface and Surface Co-variability to Scale Arctic Ecosystem Functioning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oktem, R.; Wainwright, H. M.; Curtis, J. B.; Dafflon, B.; Peterson, J.; Ulrich, C.; Hubbard, S. S.; Torn, M. S.

2016-12-01

Predicting carbon cycling in Arctic requires quantifying tightly coupled surface and subsurface processes including permafrost, hydrology, vegetation and soil biogeochemistry. The challenge has been a lack of means to remotely sense key ecosystem properties in high resolution and over large areas. A particular challenge has been characterizing soil properties that are known to be highly heterogeneous. In this study, we exploit tightly-coupled above/belowground ecosystem functioning (e.g., the correlations among soil moisture, vegetation and carbon fluxes) to estimate subsurface and other key properties over large areas. To test this concept, we have installed a ground-based remote sensing platform - a track-mounted tram system - along a 70 m transect in the ice-wedge polygonal tundra near Barrow, Alaska. The tram carries a suite of near-surface remote sensing sensors, including sonic depth, thermal IR, NDVI and multispectral sensors. Joint analysis with multiple ground-based measurements (soil temperature, active layer soil moisture, and carbon fluxes) was performed to quantify correlations and the dynamics of above/belowground processes at unprecedented resolution, both temporally and spatially. We analyzed the datasets with particular focus on correlating key subsurface and ecosystem properties with surface properties that can be measured by satellite/airborne remote sensing over a large area. Our results provided several new insights about system behavior and also opens the door for new characterization approaches. We documented that: (1) soil temperature (at >5 cm depth; critical for permafrost thaw) was decoupled from soil surface temperature and was influenced strongly by soil moisture, (2) NDVI and greenness index were highly correlated with both soil moisture and gross primary productivity (based on chamber flux data), and (3) surface deformation (which can be measured by InSAR) was a good proxy for thaw depth dynamics at non-inundated locations.

[Thematic Issue: Remote Sensing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howkins, John, Ed.

1978-01-01

Four of the articles in this publication discuss the remote sensing of the Earth and its resources by satellites. Among the topics dealt with are the development and management of remote sensing systems, types of satellites used for remote sensing, the uses of remote sensing, and issues involved in using information obtained through remote…

75 FR 65304 - Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES); Request for Nominations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-22

... Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES); Request for Nominations AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric... Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES). SUMMARY: The Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES) was... Atmosphere, on matters relating to the U.S. commercial remote sensing industry and NOAA's activities to carry...

Investigation of remote sensing techniques of measuring soil moisture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Newton, R. W. (Principal Investigator); Blanchard, A. J.; Nieber, J. L.; Lascano, R.; Tsang, L.; Vanbavel, C. H. M.

1981-01-01

Major activities described include development and evaluation of theoretical models that describe both active and passive microwave sensing of soil moisture, the evaluation of these models for their applicability, the execution of a controlled field experiment during which passive microwave measurements were acquired to validate these models, and evaluation of previously acquired aircraft microwave measurements. The development of a root zone soil water and soil temperature profile model and the calibration and evaluation of gamma ray attenuation probes for measuring soil moisture profiles are considered. The analysis of spatial variability of soil information as related to remote sensing is discussed as well as the implementation of an instrumented field site for acquisition of soil moisture and meteorologic information for use in validating the soil water profile and soil temperature profile models.

Remote Sensing of Surficial Process Responses to Extreme Meteorological Events

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brakenridge, G. Robert

1997-01-01

Changes in the frequency and magnitude of extreme meteorological events are associated with changing environmental means. Such events are important in human affairs, and can also be investigated by orbital remote sensing. During the course of this project, we applied ERS-1, ERS-2, Radarsat, and an airborne sensor (AIRSAR-TOPSAR) to measure flood extents, flood water surface profiles, and flood depths. We established a World Wide Web site (the Dartmouth Flood Observatory) for publishing remote sensing-based maps of contemporary floods worldwide; this is also an online "active archive" that presently constitutes the only global compilation of extreme flood events. We prepared an article for EOS concerning SAR imaging of the Mississippi Valley flood; an article for the International Journal of Remote Sensing on measurement of a river flood wave using ERS-2, began work on an article (since completed and published) on the Flood Observatory for a Geoscience Information Society Proceedings volume, and presented lectures at several Geol. Soc. of America Natl. Meetings, an Assoc. of Amer. Geographers Natl. Meeting, and a Binghamton Geomorphology Symposium (all on SAR remote sensing of the Mississippi Valley flood). We expanded in-house modeling capabilities by installing the latest version of the Army Corps of Engineers RMA two-dimensional hydraulics software and BYU Engineering Graphics Lab's Surface Water Modeling System (finite elements based pre- and post-processors for RMA work) and also added watershed modeling software. We are presently comparing the results of the 2-d flow models with SAR image data. The grant also supported several important upgrades of pc-based remote sensing infrastructure at Dartmouth. During work on this grant, we collaborated with several workers at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Remote Sensing/GIS laboratory (for flood inundation mapping and modeling; particularly of the Illinois River using the AIRSAR/TOPSAR/ERS-2 combined data), with Dr. Karen Prestegaard at the University of Maryland (geomorphological responses to the extreme 1993 flood along the Raccoon drainage in central Iowa), and with Mr Tim Scrom of the Albany National Weather Service River Forecast Center (initial planning for the use of Radarsat and ERS-2 for flood warning). The work thus initiated with this proposal is continuing.

Remote sensing science for the Nineties; Proceedings of IGARSS '90 - 10th Annual International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, University of Maryland, College Park, May 20-24, 1990. Vols. 1, 2, & 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

Various papers on remote sensing (RS) for the nineties are presented. The general topics addressed include: subsurface methods, radar scattering, oceanography, microwave models, atmospheric correction, passive microwave systems, RS in tropical forests, moderate resolution land analysis, SAR geometry and SNR improvement, image analysis, inversion and signal processing for geoscience, surface scattering, rain measurements, sensor calibration, wind measurements, terrestrial ecology, agriculture, geometric registration, subsurface sediment geology, radar modulation mechanisms, radar ocean scattering, SAR calibration, airborne radar systems, water vapor retrieval, forest ecosystem dynamics, land analysis, multisensor data fusion. Also considered are: geologic RS, RS sensor optical measurements, RS of snow, temperature retrieval, vegetation structure, global change, artificial intelligence, SAR processing techniques, geologic RS field experiment, stochastic modeling, topography and Digital Elevation model, SAR ocean waves, spaceborne lidar and optical, sea ice field measurements, millimeter waves, advanced spectroscopy, spatial analysis and data compression, SAR polarimetry techniques. Also discussed are: plant canopy modeling, optical RS techniques, optical and IR oceanography, soil moisture, sea ice back scattering, lightning cloud measurements, spatial textural analysis, SAR systems and techniques, active microwave sensing, lidar and optical, radar scatterometry, RS of estuaries, vegetation modeling, RS systems, EOS/SAR Alaska, applications for developing countries, SAR speckle and texture.

Applications of synergistic combination of remote sensing and in-situ measurements on urban monitoring of air quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diaz, Adrian; Dominguez, Victor; Campmier, Mark; Wu, Yonghua; Arend, Mark; Vladutescu, Daniela Viviana; Gross, Barry; Moshary, Fred

2017-08-01

In this study, multiple remote sensing and in-situ measurements are combined in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the aerosol distribution in New York City. Measurement of the horizontal distribution of aerosols is performed using a scanning eye-safe elastic-backscatter micro-pulse lidar. Vertical distribution of aerosols is measured with a co-located ceilometer. Furthermore, our analysis also includes in-situ measurements of particulate matter and wind speed and direction. These observations combined show boundary layer dynamics as well as transport and inhomogeneous spatial distribution of aerosols, which are of importance for air quality monitoring.

A review of the remote sensing of lower-tropospheric thermodynamic profiles and its indispensable role for the understanding and the simulation of water and energy cycles

DOE PAGES

Wulfmeyer, Volker; Hardesty, Mike; Turner, David D.; ...

2015-07-08

A review of remote sensing technology for lower-tropospheric thermodynamic (TD) profiling is presented with focus on high accuracy and high temporal-vertical resolution. The contributions of these instruments to the understanding of the Earth system are assessed with respect to radiative transfer, land-surface-atmosphere feedback, convection initiation, and data assimilation. We demonstrate that for progress in weather and climate research, TD profilers are essential. These observational systems must resolve gradients of humidity and temperature in the stable or unstable atmospheric surface layer close to the ground, in the mixed layer, in the interfacial layer – usually characterized by an inversion – andmore » the lower troposphere. A thorough analysis of the current observing systems is performed revealing significant gaps that must be addressed to fulfill existing needs. We analyze whether current and future passive and active remote sensing systems can close these gaps. A methodological analysis and demonstration of measurement capabilities with respect to bias and precision is executed both for passive and active remote sensing including passive infrared and microwave spectroscopy, the global positioning system as well as water-vapor and temperature Raman lidar and water-vapor differential absorption lidar. Whereas passive remote sensing systems are already mature with respect to operational applications, active remote sensing systems require further engineering to become operational in networks. However, active remote sensing systems provide a smaller bias as well as higher temporal and vertical resolutions. For a suitable mesoscale network design, TD profiler system developments should be intensified and dedicated observing system simulation experiments should be performed.« less

A review of the remote sensing of lower-tropospheric thermodynamic profiles and its indispensable role for the understanding and the simulation of water and energy cycles

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

Wulfmeyer, Volker; Hardesty, Mike; Turner, David D.

A review of remote sensing technology for lower-tropospheric thermodynamic (TD) profiling is presented with focus on high accuracy and high temporal-vertical resolution. The contributions of these instruments to the understanding of the Earth system are assessed with respect to radiative transfer, land-surface-atmosphere feedback, convection initiation, and data assimilation. We demonstrate that for progress in weather and climate research, TD profilers are essential. These observational systems must resolve gradients of humidity and temperature in the stable or unstable atmospheric surface layer close to the ground, in the mixed layer, in the interfacial layer – usually characterized by an inversion – andmore » the lower troposphere. A thorough analysis of the current observing systems is performed revealing significant gaps that must be addressed to fulfill existing needs. We analyze whether current and future passive and active remote sensing systems can close these gaps. A methodological analysis and demonstration of measurement capabilities with respect to bias and precision is executed both for passive and active remote sensing including passive infrared and microwave spectroscopy, the global positioning system as well as water-vapor and temperature Raman lidar and water-vapor differential absorption lidar. Whereas passive remote sensing systems are already mature with respect to operational applications, active remote sensing systems require further engineering to become operational in networks. However, active remote sensing systems provide a smaller bias as well as higher temporal and vertical resolutions. For a suitable mesoscale network design, TD profiler system developments should be intensified and dedicated observing system simulation experiments should be performed.« less

Algal Accessory Pigment Detection Using AVIRIS Image-Derived Spectral Radiance Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richardson, Laurie L.; Ambrosia, Vincent G.

1996-01-01

Visual and derivative analyses of AVIRIS spectral data can be used to detect algal accessory pigments in aquatic communities. This capability extends the use of remote sensing for the study of aquatic ecosystems by allowing detection of taxonomically significant pigment signatures which yield information about the type of algae present. Such information allows remote sensing-based assessment of aquatic ecosystem health, as in the detection of nuisance blooms of cyanobacteria or toxic blooms of dinoflagellates. Remote sensing of aquatic systems has traditionally focused on quantification of chlorophyll a, a photoreactive (and light-harvesting) pigment which is common to all algae as well as cyanobacteria (bluegreen algae). Due to the ubiquitousness of this pigment within algae, chl a is routinely measured to estimate algal biomass both during ground-truthing and using various airborne or satellite based sensors, including AVIRIS. Within the remote sensing and aquatic sciences communities, ongoing research has been performed to detect algal accessory pigments for assessment of algal population composition. This research is based on the fact that many algal accessory pigments are taxonomically significant, and all are spectrally unique. Aquatic scientists have been refining pigment analysis techniques, primarily high performance liquid chromatography, or HPLC, to detect specific pigments as a time-saving alternative to individual algal cell identifications and counts. Remote sensing scientists are investigating the use of pigment signatures to construct pigment libraries analogous to mineral spectral libraries used in geological remote sensing applications. The accessory pigment approach has been used successfully in remote sensing using data from the Thematic Mapper, low-altitude, multiple channel scanners, field spectroradiometers and the AVIRIS hyperspectral scanner. Due to spectral and spatial resolution capabilities, AVIRIS is the sensor of choice for such studies. We present here our results on detection of algal accessory pigments using AVIRIS data.

Modeling river discharge and sediment transport in the Wax Lake-Atchafalaya basin with remote sensing parametrization.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simard, M.; Liu, K.; Denbina, M. W.; Jensen, D.; Rodriguez, E.; Liao, T. H.; Christensen, A.; Jones, C. E.; Twilley, R.; Lamb, M. P.; Thomas, N. A.

2017-12-01

Our goal is to estimate the fluxes of water and sediments throughout the Wax Lake-Atchafalaya basin. This was achieved by parametrization of a set of 1D (HEC-RAS) and 2D (DELFT3D) hydrology models with state of the art remote sensing measurements of water surface elevation, water surface slope and total suspended sediment (TSS) concentrations. The model implementations are spatially explicit, simulating river currents, lateral flows to distributaries and marshes, and spatial variations of sediment concentrations. Three remote sensing instruments were flown simultaneously to collect data over the Wax Lake-Atchafalaya basin, and along with in situ field data. A Riegl Lidar was used to measure water surface elevation and slope, while the UAVSAR L-band radar collected data in repeat-pass interferometric mode to measure water level change within adjacent marshes and islands. These data were collected several times as the tide rose and fell. AVRIS-NG instruments measured water surface reflectance spectra, used to estimate TSS. Bathymetry was obtained from sonar transects and water level changes were recorded by 19 water level pressure transducers. We used several Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) transects to estimate river discharge. The remotely sensed measurements of water surface slope were small ( 1cm/km) and varied slightly along the channel, especially at the confluence with bayous and the intra-coastal waterway. The slope also underwent significant changes during the tidal cycle. Lateral fluxes to island marshes were mainly observed by UAVSAR close to the distributaries. The extensive remote sensing measurements showed significant disparity with the hydrology model outputs. Observed variations in water surface slopes were unmatched by the model and tidal wave propagation was much faster than gauge measurements. The slope variations were compensated for in the models by tuning local lateral fluxes, bathymetry and riverbed friction. Overall, the simpler 1D model could best simulate observed tidal wave propagation and water surface slope. The complexity of the 2D model requires further quantification of parameter sensitivity and improvement of the parametrization routine.

Remote sensing of surface currents with single shipborne high-frequency surface wave radar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhongbao; Xie, Junhao; Ji, Zhenyuan; Quan, Taifan

2016-01-01

High-frequency surface wave radar (HFSWR) is a useful technology for remote sensing of surface currents. It usually requires two (or more) stations spaced apart to create a two-dimensional (2D) current vector field. However, this method can only obtain the measurements within the overlapping coverage, which wastes most of the data from only one radar observation. Furthermore, it increases observation's costs significantly. To reduce the number of required radars and increase the ocean area that can be measured, this paper proposes an economical methodology for remote sensing of the 2D surface current vector field using single shipborne HFSWR. The methodology contains two parts: (1) a real space-time multiple signal classification (MUSIC) based on sparse representation and unitary transformation techniques is developed for measuring the radial currents from the spreading first-order spectra, and (2) the stream function method is introduced to obtain the 2D surface current vector field. Some important conclusions are drawn, and simulations are included to validate the correctness of them.

The economic impact of remote sensing data as the source of nonpoint pollution monitoring and control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, W. L.

1974-01-01

Nonpoint pollution of streams with sediment as a result of runoff from alternative uses of land has become a socially unacceptable product of economic activity. This report describes a research approach to economically achieve correction of the nonpoint pollution problem. The research approach integrates the economic model with those data which may be obtainable from remotely sensed sources. The economic problem involves measurement of the direct benefits and costs associated with the changes in land management activities necessary to reduce the level of nonpoint pollution. Remotely sensed data from ERTS-1 may provide some of the information required for the economic model which indicates efficient solutions to the nonpoint pollution problem. Three classes of data (i.e., soil categories, vegetative cover, and water turbidity) have the potential to be measured by ERTS-1 systems. There is substantial research which indicates the ability of ERTS-1 to measure these classes of data under selected conditions.

Optical characterization of Chinese hybrid rice using laser-induced fluorescence techniques-laboratory and remote-sensing measurements.

PubMed

Duan, Zheng; Peng, Ting; Zhu, Shiming; Lian, Ming; Li, Yiyun; Wei, Fu; Xiong, Jiabao; Svanberg, Sune; Zhao, Quanzhi; Hu, Jiandong; Zhao, Guangyu

2018-05-01

Chinese hybrid rice of different varieties, growing in paddies in the Pingqiao district, north of Xinyang city, Henan province, China, was studied in detailed spectroscopic characteristics using laser-induced fluorescence. The base for the studies was the new South China Normal University mobile lidar laboratory, which was dispatched on site, providing facilities both for laboratory studies using a 405 nm excitation source as well as remote sensing measurements at ranges from around 40 m-120 m, mostly employing the 532 nm output from a Nd:YAG laser. We, in particular, studied the spectral influence of the species varieties as well as the level of nitrogen fertilization supplied. Specially developed contrast functions as well as multivariate techniques with principal components and Fisher's discriminate analyses were applied, and useful characterization of the rice could be achieved. The chlorophyll content mapping of the 30 zones was obtained with the remote sensing measurements.

Learning Methods of Remote Sensing In the 2013 Curriculum of Secondary School

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lili Somantri, Nandi

2016-11-01

The new remote sensing material included in the subjects of geography in the curriculum of 1994. For geography teachers generation of 90s and over who in college do not get the material remote sensing, for teaching is a tough matter. Most teachers only give a theoretical matter, and do not carry out practical reasons in the lack of facilities and infrastructure of computer laboratories. Therefore, in this paper studies the importance about the method or manner of teaching remote sensing material in schools. The purpose of this paper is 1) to explain the position of remote sensing material in the study of geography, 2) analyze the Geography Curriculum 2013 Subjects related to remote sensing material, 3) describes a method of teaching remote sensing material in schools. The method used in this paper is a descriptive analytical study supported by the literature. The conclusion of this paper that the position of remote sensing in the study of geography is a method or a way to obtain spatial data earth's surface. In the 2013 curriculum remote sensing material has been applied to the study of land use and transportation. Remote sensing methods of teaching must go through a practicum, which starts from the introduction of the theory of remote sensing, data extraction phase of remote sensing imagery to produce maps, both visually and digitally, field surveys, interpretation of test accuracy, and improved maps.

Remote Distributed Vibration Sensing Through Opaque Media Using Permanent Magnets

DOE PAGES

Chen, Yi; Mazumdar, Anirban; Brooks, Carlton F.; ...

2018-04-05

Vibration sensing is critical for a variety of applications from structural fatigue monitoring to understanding the modes of airplane wings. In particular, remote sensing techniques are needed for measuring the vibrations of multiple points simultaneously, assessing vibrations inside opaque metal vessels, and sensing through smoke clouds and other optically challenging environments. Here, in this paper, we propose a method which measures high-frequency displacements remotely using changes in the magnetic field generated by permanent magnets. We leverage the unique nature of vibration tracking and use a calibrated local model technique developed specifically to improve the frequency-domain estimation accuracy. The results showmore » that two-dimensional local models surpass the dipole model in tracking high-frequency motions. A theoretical basis for understanding the effects of electronic noise and error due to correlated variables is generated in order to predict the performance of experiments prior to implementation. Simultaneous measurements of up to three independent vibrating components are shown. The relative accuracy of the magnet-based displacement tracking with respect to the video tracking ranges from 40 to 190 μm when the maximum displacements approach ±5 mm and when sensor-to-magnet distances vary from 25 to 36 mm. Finally, vibration sensing inside an opaque metal vessel and mode shape changes due to damage on an aluminum beam are also studied using the wireless permanent-magnet vibration sensing scheme.« less

Remote Distributed Vibration Sensing Through Opaque Media Using Permanent Magnets

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

Chen, Yi; Mazumdar, Anirban; Brooks, Carlton F.

Vibration sensing is critical for a variety of applications from structural fatigue monitoring to understanding the modes of airplane wings. In particular, remote sensing techniques are needed for measuring the vibrations of multiple points simultaneously, assessing vibrations inside opaque metal vessels, and sensing through smoke clouds and other optically challenging environments. Here, in this paper, we propose a method which measures high-frequency displacements remotely using changes in the magnetic field generated by permanent magnets. We leverage the unique nature of vibration tracking and use a calibrated local model technique developed specifically to improve the frequency-domain estimation accuracy. The results showmore » that two-dimensional local models surpass the dipole model in tracking high-frequency motions. A theoretical basis for understanding the effects of electronic noise and error due to correlated variables is generated in order to predict the performance of experiments prior to implementation. Simultaneous measurements of up to three independent vibrating components are shown. The relative accuracy of the magnet-based displacement tracking with respect to the video tracking ranges from 40 to 190 μm when the maximum displacements approach ±5 mm and when sensor-to-magnet distances vary from 25 to 36 mm. Finally, vibration sensing inside an opaque metal vessel and mode shape changes due to damage on an aluminum beam are also studied using the wireless permanent-magnet vibration sensing scheme.« less

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,

Measurement Sets and Sites Commonly Used for High Spatial Resolution Image Product Characterization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pagnutti, Mary

2006-01-01

Scientists within NASA's Applied Sciences Directorate have developed a well-characterized remote sensing Verification & Validation (V&V) site at the John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC). This site has enabled the in-flight characterization of satellite high spatial resolution remote sensing system products form Space Imaging IKONOS, Digital Globe QuickBird, and ORBIMAGE OrbView, as well as advanced multispectral airborne digital camera products. SSC utilizes engineered geodetic targets, edge targets, radiometric tarps, atmospheric monitoring equipment and their Instrument Validation Laboratory to characterize high spatial resolution remote sensing data products. This presentation describes the SSC characterization capabilities and techniques in the visible through near infrared spectrum and examples of calibration results.

Space-Based Remote Sensing of the Earth: A Report to the Congress

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

The commercialization of the LANDSAT Satellites, remote sensing research and development as applied to the Earth and its atmosphere as studied by NASA and NOAA is presented. Major gaps in the knowledge of the Earth and its atmosphere are identified and a series of space based measurement objectives are derived. The near-term space observations programs of the United States and other countries are detailed. The start is presented of the planning process to develop an integrated national program for research and development in Earth remote sensing for the remainder of this century and the many existing and proposed satellite and sensor systems that the program may include are described.

Bringing the Coastal Zone into Finer Focus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guild, L. S.; Hooker, S. B.; Kudela, R. M.; Morrow, J. H.; Torres-Perez, J. L.; Palacios, S. L.; Negrey, K.; Dungan, J. L.

2015-12-01

Measurements over extents from submeter to 10s of meters are critical science requirements for the design and integration of remote sensing instruments for coastal zone research. Various coastal ocean phenomena operate at different scales (e.g. meters to kilometers). For example, river plumes and algal blooms have typical extents of 10s of meters and therefore can be resolved with satellite data, however, shallow benthic ecosystem (e.g., coral, seagrass, and kelp) biodiversity and change are best studied at resolutions of submeter to meter, below the pixel size of typical satellite products. The delineation of natural phenomena do not fit nicely into gridded pixels and the coastal zone is complicated by mixed pixels at the land-sea interface with a range of bio-optical signals from terrestrial and water components. In many standard satellite products, these coastal mixed pixels are masked out because they confound algorithms for the ocean color parameter suite. In order to obtain data at the land/sea interface, finer spatial resolution satellite data can be achieved yet spectral resolution is sacrificed. This remote sensing resolution challenge thwarts the advancement of research in the coastal zone. Further, remote sensing of benthic ecosystems and shallow sub-surface phenomena are challenged by the requirements to sense through the sea surface and through a water column with varying light conditions from the open ocean to the water's edge. For coastal waters, >80% of the remote sensing signal is scattered/absorbed due to the atmospheric constituents, sun glint from the sea surface, and water column components. In addition to in-water measurements from various platforms (e.g., ship, glider, mooring, and divers), low altitude aircraft outfitted with high quality bio-optical radiometer sensors and targeted channels matched with in-water sensors and higher altitude platform sensors for ocean color products, bridge the sea-truth measurements to the pixels acquired from satellite and high altitude platforms. We highlight a novel NASA airborne calibration, validation, and research capability for addressing the coastal remote sensing resolution challenge.

Determination of phytoplankton chlorophyll concentrations in the Chesapeake Bay with aircraft remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harding, Lawrence W., Jr.; Itsweire, Eric C.; Esaias, Wayne E.

1992-01-01

Remote sensing measurements of the distribution of phytoplankton chlorophyll concentrations in Chesapeake Bay during 1989 are described. It is shown that remote sensing from light aircraft can complement and extend measurements made from traditional platforms and provide data of improved temporal and spatial resolution, leading to a better understanding of phytoplankton dynamics in the estuary. The developments of the winter-spring diatom bloom in the polyhaline to mesohaline regions of the estuary and of the late-spring and summer dinoflagellate blooms in oligohaline and mesohaline regions are traced. The study presents the local chlorophyll algorithm developed using the NASA Ocean Data Acquisition System data and in situ chlorophyll data, interpolated maps of chlorophyll concentration generated by applying the algorithm to aircraft radiance data, ancillary in situ data on nutrients, turbidity, streamflow, and light availability, and an interpretation of phytoplankton dynamics in terms of the chlorophyll distribution in Chesapeake Bay during 1989.

Characterizing water resources of the Nile Basin using remotely sensed data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mekonnen, Z. T.; Gebremichael, M.; Demissie, S. S.

2015-12-01

The Nile is one of the largest river basin in the world with a rich biodiversity as well supporting the lives of 450 million people residing within the 11 riparian countries. This vital resource is under a growing stress due to population growth, rapid development and climate change. In this work, we explore the use of the latest various remote sensing products to capture the water resource of the basin: rainfall from GPM and TRMM, soil moisture from SMAP and SMOS, evapotranspiration from MODIS and EUMETSAT LSA-SAF, and total water storage variations from GRACE. The satellite estimates were supplemented and checked by ground measurements whenever possible. Our results show that spatiotemporal variations of the basin's water resources characteristics are well captured by remote sensing products rather than the scarce point measurements that currently exist. Several aspects of our results will be presented and discussed.

NORSEX 1979 microwave remote sensing data report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hennigar, H. F.; Schaffner, S. K.

1982-01-01

Airborne microwave remote sensing measurements obtained by NASA Langley Research Center in support of the 1979 Norwegian Remote Sensing Experiment (NORSEX) are summarized. The objectives of NORSEX were to investigate the capabilities of an active/passive microwave system to measure ice concentration and type in the vicinity of the marginal ice zone near Svalbard, Norway and to apply microwave techniques to the investigation of a thermal oceanic front near Bear Island, Norway. The instruments used during NORSEX include the stepped frequency microwave radiometer, airborne microwave scatterometer, precision radiation thermometer and metric aerial photography. The data are inventoried, summarized, and presented in a user-friendly format. Data summaries are presented as time-history plots which indicate when and where data were obtained as well as the sensor configuration. All data are available on nine-track computer tapes in card-image format upon request to the NASA Langley Technical Library.

Chirped Laser Dispersion Spectroscopy for Remote Open-Path Trace-Gas Sensing

PubMed Central

Nikodem, Michal; Wysocki, Gerard

2012-01-01

In this paper we present a prototype instrument for remote open-path detection of nitrous oxide. The sensor is based on a 4.53 μm quantum cascade laser and uses the chirped laser dispersion spectroscopy (CLaDS) technique for molecular concentration measurements. To the best of our knowledge this is the first demonstration of open-path laser-based trace-gas detection using a molecular dispersion measurement. The prototype sensor achieves a detection limit down to the single-ppbv level and exhibits excellent stability and robustness. The instrument characterization, field deployment performance, and the advantages of applying dispersion sensing to sensitive trace-gas detection in a remote open-path configuration are presented. PMID:23443389

Chirped laser dispersion spectroscopy for remote open-path trace-gas sensing.

PubMed

Nikodem, Michal; Wysocki, Gerard

2012-11-28

In this paper we present a prototype instrument for remote open-path detection of nitrous oxide. The sensor is based on a 4.53 μm quantum cascade laser and uses the chirped laser dispersion spectroscopy (CLaDS) technique for molecular concentration measurements. To the best of our knowledge this is the first demonstration of open-path laser-based trace-gas detection using a molecular dispersion measurement. The prototype sensor achieves a detection limit down to the single-ppbv level and exhibits excellent stability and robustness. The instrument characterization, field deployment performance, and the advantages of applying dispersion sensing to sensitive trace-gas detection in a remote open-path configuration are presented.

Mapping and monitoring carbon stocks with satellite observations: a comparison of methods.

PubMed

Goetz, Scott J; Baccini, Alessandro; Laporte, Nadine T; Johns, Tracy; Walker, Wayne; Kellndorfer, Josef; Houghton, Richard A; Sun, Mindy

2009-03-25

Mapping and monitoring carbon stocks in forested regions of the world, particularly the tropics, has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years as deforestation and forest degradation account for up to 30% of anthropogenic carbon emissions, and are now included in climate change negotiations. We review the potential for satellites to measure carbon stocks, specifically aboveground biomass (AGB), and provide an overview of a range of approaches that have been developed and used to map AGB across a diverse set of conditions and geographic areas. We provide a summary of types of remote sensing measurements relevant to mapping AGB, and assess the relative merits and limitations of each. We then provide an overview of traditional techniques of mapping AGB based on ascribing field measurements to vegetation or land cover type classes, and describe the merits and limitations of those relative to recent data mining algorithms used in the context of an approach based on direct utilization of remote sensing measurements, whether optical or lidar reflectance, or radar backscatter. We conclude that while satellite remote sensing has often been discounted as inadequate for the task, attempts to map AGB without satellite imagery are insufficient. Moreover, the direct remote sensing approach provided more coherent maps of AGB relative to traditional approaches. We demonstrate this with a case study focused on continental Africa and discuss the work in the context of reducing uncertainty for carbon monitoring and markets.

FerryBox and MERIS Assessment of coastal and shelf sea ecosystems by combining in situ and remotely sensed data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petersen, W.; Wehde, H.; Krasemann, H.; Colijn, F.; Schroeder, F.

2008-04-01

An automatic measuring system called " FerryBox" was installed in the North Sea on a ferry travelling between Germany (Cuxhaven) and Great Britain (Harwich), enabling online oceanographic and biological measurements such as salinity, temperature, fluorescence, turbidity, oxygen, pH, and nutrient concentrations. Observations made along the ferry transect reveal characteristic phenomena such as high salinity inflow through the Channel into the Southern Bight, algal bloom dynamics and related oxygen and pH changes. Combination of these online observations with remote sensing enhances the spatial resolution of the transect related measurements. Several examples of the synergy between these two measuring strategies are shown, both for large-scale algal blooms in the North Sea as well as for local intense but short-term blooms in the German Bight. Coherence of the data sets can be gained and improved by using water transport models in order to obtain synoptic overviews of the remotely sensed and FerryBox related parameters. Limitations of the currently used algorithms for deriving chlorophyll- a from remote sensing images for coastal and shelf seas (Case-2 water) are discussed, as well as depth related processes which cannot be properly resolved on the basis of water intake at a fixed point. However, in unstratified coastal waters under normal conditions FerryBox data represent average conditions. The importance of future applications of this combination of methods for monitoring of coastal waters is emphasized.

[A review on polarization information in the remote sensing detection].

PubMed

Gong, Jie-Qiong; Zhan, Hai-Gang; Liu, Da-Zhao

2010-04-01

Polarization is one of the inherent characteristics. Because the surface of the target structure, internal structure, and the angle of incident light are different, the earth's surface and any target in atmosphere under optical interaction process will have their own characteristic nature of polarization. Polarimetric characteristics of radiation energy from the targets are used in polarization remote sensing detection as detective information. Polarization remote sensing detection can get the seven-dimensional information of targets in complicated backgrounds, detect well-resolved outline of targets and low-reflectance region of objectives, and resolve the problems of atmospheric detection and identification camouflage detection which the traditional remote sensing detection can not solve, having good foreground in applications. This paper introduces the development of polarization information in the remote sensing detection from the following four aspects. The rationale of polarization remote sensing detection is the base of polarization remote sensing detection, so it is firstly introduced. Secondly, the present researches on equipments that are used in polarization remote sensing detection are particularly and completely expatiated. Thirdly, the present exploration of theoretical simulation of polarization remote sensing detection is well detailed. Finally, the authors present the applications research home and abroad of the polarization remote sensing detection technique in the fields of remote sensing, atmospheric sounding, sea surface and underwater detection, biology and medical diagnosis, astronomical observation and military, summing up the current problems in polarization remote sensing detection. The development trend of polarization remote sensing detection technology in the future is pointed out in order to provide a reference for similar studies.

Sea surface and remotely sensed temperatures off Cape Mendocino, California

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Breaker, L. C.; Arvesen, J. C.; Frydenlund, D.; Myers, J. S.; Short, K.

1985-01-01

During September 3 to 5, 1979, a multisensor oceanographic experiment was conducted off Cape Mendocino, California. The purpose of this experiment was to validate the use of remote sensing techniques over an area along the U.S. west coast where coasted upwelling is known to be intense. Remotely sensed mutlispectral data, including thermal infrared imagery, were collected above an upwelling feature off Cape Mendocino. Data were acquired from the TIRNOS-N and NOAA-6 polar orbiting satellites, the NASA Ames Research Center's high altitude U-2 aircraft, and a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 aircraft. Supporting surface truth data over the same feature were collected aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ship, OCEANOGRAPHER. Atmospheric soundings were also taken aboard the ship. The results indicate that shipboard measurements of sea surface temperatures can be reproduction within 1 C or better through remote observation of absolute infrared radiance values (whether measured aboard the NOAA polar orbiting satellite, the U-2 aircraft, or the Coast Guard aircraft) by using appropriate atmospheric corrections. Also, the patterns of sea surface temperature which were derived independently from the various remote platforms provide a consistent interpretation of the surface temperature field.

Chemical-biological defense remote sensing: what's happening

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrico, John P.

1998-08-01

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) continues to be a serious threat to the security of the US. Proliferation of chemical and biological (CB) weapons is particularly disturbing, and the threats posed can be devastating. Critical elements of the US efforts to reduce and counter WMD proliferation include: (1) the location and characterization of WMD facilities and capabilities worldwide; (2) the ability to rapidly detect and identify the use of CB weapons for expeditious warning and reporting on the battlefield; and (3) the capability to mitigate deleterious consequences of a CB incident through effective protective and medical treatment measures. Remote sensing has been touted as a key technology in these efforts. Historically, the role of remote sensing in CB defense has been to provide early warning of an attack from an extended distance. However, additional roles for remote sensing in CB defense, as well as applications in related missions, are possible and should be pursued. This paper examines what has been happening in remote sensing over the past decade to address needs in this area. Accomplishments, emerging technologies, programmatic issues, and opportunities for the future are covered. The Department of Defence chemical- biological, the Department of Energy's Chemical Analysis by Laser Interrogation of Proliferation Effluents, and other agency related programs are examined. Also, the status of remote sensing in the commercial market arena for environmental monitoring, its relevance to the WMD counterproliferation program, and opportunities for technology transfer are discussed. A course of action for the future is recommended.

Combining remote sensing and water-balance evapotranspiration estimates for the conterminous United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reitz, Meredith; Senay, Gabriel; Sanford, Ward E.

2017-01-01

Evapotranspiration (ET) is a key component of the hydrologic cycle, accounting for ~70% of precipitation in the conterminous U.S. (CONUS), but it has been a challenge to predict accurately across different spatio-temporal scales. The increasing availability of remotely sensed data has led to significant advances in the frequency and spatial resolution of ET estimates, derived from energy balance principles with variables such as temperature used to estimate surface latent heat flux. Although remote sensing methods excel at depicting spatial and temporal variability, estimation of ET independently of other water budget components can lead to inconsistency with other budget terms. Methods that rely on ground-based data better constrain long-term ET, but are unable to provide the same temporal resolution. Here we combine long-term ET estimates from a water-balance approach with the SSEBop (operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance) remote sensing-based ET product for 2000–2015. We test the new combined method, the original SSEBop product, and another remote sensing ET product (MOD16) against monthly measurements from 119 flux towers. The new product showed advantages especially in non-irrigated areas where the new method showed a coefficient of determination R2 of 0.44, compared to 0.41 for SSEBop or 0.35 for MOD16. The resulting monthly data set will be a useful, unique contribution to ET estimation, due to its combination of remote sensing-based variability and ground-based long-term water balance constraints.

Measurement Sets and Sites Commonly Used for Characterization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pagnutti, Mary; Holekamp, Kara; Ryan, Robert; Sellers, Richard; Davis, Bruce; Zanoni, Vicki

2002-01-01

Scientists at NASA's Earth Science Applications Directorate are creating a well-characterized Verification & Validation (V&V) site at the Stennis Space Center. This site enables the in-flight characterization of remote sensing systems and the data they acquire. The data are predominantly acquired by commercial, high spatial resolution satellite systems, such as IKONOS and QuickBird 2, and airborne systems. The smaller scale of these newer high resolution remote sensing systems allows scientists to characterize the geometric, spatial, and radiometric data properties using a single V&V site. The targets and techniques used to characterize data from these newer systems can differ significantly from the techniques used to characterize data from the earlier, coarser spatial resolution systems. Scientists are also using the SSC V&V site to characterize thermal infrared systems and active LIDAR systems. SSC employs geodetic targets, edge targets, radiometric tarps, and thermal calibration ponds to characterize remote sensing data products. This paper presents a proposed set of required measurements for visible through long-wave infrared remote sensing systems and a description of the Stennis characterization. Other topics discussed include: 1) The use of ancillary atmospheric and solar measurements taken at SSC that support various characterizations; 2) Additional sites used for radiometric, geometric, and spatial characterization in the continental United States; 3) The need for a standardized technique to be adopted by CEOS and other organizations.

Measurement Sets and Sites Commonly used for Characterizations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pagnutti, Mary; Holekamp, Kara; Ryan, Robert; Blonski, Slawomir; Sellers, Richard; Davis, Bruce; Zanoni, Vicki

2002-01-01

Scientists with NASA's Earth Science Applications Directorate are creating a well-characterized Verification & Validation (V&V) site at the Stennis Space Center (SSC). This site enables the in-flight characterization of remote sensing systems and the data that they require. The data are predominantly acquired by commercial, high-spatial resolution satellite systems, such as IKONOS and QuickBird 2, and airborne systems. The smaller scale of these newer high-resolution remote sensing systems allows scientists to characterize the geometric, spatial, and radiometric data properties using a single V&V site. The targets and techniques used to characterize data from these newer systems can differ significantly from the earlier, coarser spatial resolution systems. Scientists are also using the SSC V&V site to characterize thermal infrared systems and active Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) systems. SSC employs geodetic targets, edge targets, radiometric tarps, and thermal calibration ponds to characterize remote sensing data products. This paper presents a proposed set of required measurements for visible-through-longwave infrared remote sensing systems, and a description of the Stennis characterization. Other topics discussed inslude: 1) use of ancillary atmospheric and solar measurements taken at SSC that support various characterizations, 2) other sites used for radiometric, geometric, and spatial characterization in the continental United States,a nd 3) the need for a standardized technique to be adopted by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and other organizations.

Remote Sensing of Vegetation Recovery from Disturbance in Drylands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poitras, T. B.; Villarreal, M. L.; Waller, E.; Duniway, M.; Nauman, T.

2016-12-01

Characteristics of dryland ecosystems such as climatic extremes and water limitations render semi-arid regions vulnerable to disturbance and slow to recover. Land surface monitoring over time through the use of remote sensing may have potential for identifying dryland ecosystem recovery after anthropogenic and natural disturbance. However, semi-arid vegetation cover is challenging to measure using remote sensing techniques due to low vegetation cover and confusion between bright and variable soils and non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV). We therefore evaluated the ability of various multispectral indices to distinguish bare ground from total vegetation cover, in order to determine those that can detect changes over time in heavily disturbed sites. We calculated nine spectral indices from Landsat TM using Google Earth Engine (March through October, 2006 through 2008) and tested relationships between index values and ground measurements from long-term monitoring data collected in and around Canyonlands National Park in Utah. We also tested multivariate models, with some showing improvement under cross-validation. We found that indices that included shortwave infrared bands and soil brightness were important for capturing gradients in bare ground, and vegetation cover was best quantified with near-infrared bands. These results will be used to help assess the landscape-scale impacts of oil and gas development in dryland ecosystems and to measure response to restoration efforts. Keywords: remote sensing, landsat, drylands

A new photometric ozone reference in the Huggins bands: the absolute ozone absorption cross section at the 325 nm HeCd laser wavelength

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janssen, Christof; Elandaloussi, Hadj; Gröbner, Julian

2018-03-01

The room temperature (294.09 K) absorption cross section of ozone at the 325 nm HeCd wavelength has been determined under careful consideration of possible biases. At the vacuum wavelength of 325.126 nm, thus in a region used by a variety of ozone remote sensing techniques, an absorption cross-section value of σ = 16.470×10-21 cm2 was measured. The measurement provides the currently most accurate direct photometric absorption value of ozone in the UV with an expanded (coverage factor k = 2) standard uncertainty u(σ) = 31×10-24 cm2, corresponding to a relative level of 2 ‰. The measurements are most compatible with a relative temperature coefficient cT = σ-1 ∂ Tσ = 0.0031 K-1 at 294 K. The cross section and its uncertainty value were obtained using generalised linear regression with correlated uncertainties. It will serve as a reference for ozone absorption spectra required for the long-term remote sensing of atmospheric ozone in the Huggins bands. The comparison with commonly used absorption cross-section data sets for remote sensing reveals a possible bias of about 2 %. This could partly explain a 4 % discrepancy between UV and IR remote sensing data and indicates that further studies will be required to reach the accuracy goal of 1 % in atmospheric reference spectra.

Atmospheric Effect on Remote Sensing of the Earth's Surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fraser, R. S.; Kaufman, Y. J. (Principal Investigator)

1985-01-01

Radiative transfer theory (RT) for an atmosphere with a nonuniform surface is the basis for understanding and correcting for the atmospheric effect on remote sensing of surface properties. In the present work the theory is generalized and tested successfully against laboratory and field measurements. There is still a need to generalize the RT approximation for off-nadir directions and to take into account anisotropic reflectance at the surface. The reflectance at the surface. The adjacency effect results in a significant modification of spectral signatures of the surface, and therefore results in modification of classifications, of separability of field classes, and of spatial resolution. For example, the 30 m resolution of the Thematic Mapper is reduced to 100 m by a hazy atmosphere. The adjacency effect depends on several optical parameters of aerosols: optical thickness, depth of aerosol layer, scattering phase function, and absorption. Remote sensing in general depends on these parameter, not just adjacency effects, but they are not known well enough for making accurate atmospheric corrections. It is important to establish methods for estimating these parameters in order to develop correction methods for atmospheric effects. Such estimations can be based on climatological data, which are not available yet, correlations between the optical parameters and meteorological data, and the same satellite measurements of radiances that are used for estimating surface properties. Knowledge about the atmospheric parameters important for remote sensing is being enlarged with current measurements of them.

Onboard utilization of ground control points for image correction. Volume 2: Analysis and simulation results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

An approach to remote sensing that meets future mission requirements was investigated. The deterministic acquisition of data and the rapid correction of data for radiometric effects and image distortions are the most critical limitations of remote sensing. The following topics are discussed: onboard image correction systems, GCP navigation system simulation, GCP analysis, and image correction analysis measurement.

High Efficiency, 100 mJ per pulse, Nd:YAG Oscillator Optimized for Space-Based Earth and Planetary Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coyle, D. Barry; Stysley, Paul R.; Poulios, Demetrios; Fredrickson, Robert M.; Kay, Richard B.; Cory, Kenneth C.

2014-01-01

We report on a newly solid state laser transmitter, designed and packaged for Earth and planetary space-based remote sensing applications for high efficiency, low part count, high pulse energy scalability/stability, and long life. Finally, we have completed a long term operational test which surpassed 2 Billion pulses with no measured decay in pulse energy.

Remote sensing of selective logging in Amazonia Assessing limitations based on detailed field observations, Landsat ETM+, and textural analysis.

Treesearch

Gregory P. Asner; Michael Keller; Rodrigo Pereira; Johan C. Zweede

2002-01-01

We combined a detailed field study of forest canopy damage with calibrated Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) reflectance data and texture analysis to assess the sensitivity of basic broadband optical remote sensing to selective logging in Amazonia. Our field study encompassed measurements of ground damage and canopy gap fractions along a chronosequence of...

A Constrained-Clustering Approach to the Analysis of Remote Sensing Data.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-01-01

One old and two new clustering methods were applied to the constrained-clustering problem of separating different agricultural fields based on multispectral remote sensing satellite data. (Constrained-clustering involves double clustering in multispectral measurement similarity and geographical location.) The results of applying the three methods are provided along with a discussion of their relative strengths and weaknesses and a detailed description of their algorithms.

Remote sensing of the seasonal variation of coniferous forest structure and function

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spanner, Michael; Waring, Richard

1991-01-01

One of the objectives of the Oregon Transect Ecosystem Research (OTTER) project is the remotely sensed determination of the seasonal variation of leaf area index (LAI) and absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR). These measurements are required for input into a forest ecosystem model which predicts net primary production evapotranspiration, and photosynthesis of coniferous forests. Details of the study are given.

Specific sensors for special roles in oil spill remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Carl E.; Fingas, Mervin F.

1997-01-01

Remote sensing is becoming an increasingly important tool for the effective direction of oil spill countermeasures. Cleanup personnel have recognized that remote sensing can increase spill cleanup efficiency. The general public expects that the government and/or the spiller know the location and the extent of the contamination. The Emergencies Science Division (ESD) of Environment Canada, is responsible for remote sensing during oil spill emergencies along Canada's three coastlines, extensive inland waterways, as well as over the entire land mass. In addition to providing operational remote sensing, ESD conducts research into the development of airborne oil spill remote sensors, including the Scanning Laser Environmental Airborne Fluorosensor (SLEAF) and the Laser Ultrasonic Remote SEnsing of Oil Thickness (LURSOT) sensor. It has long been recognized that there is not one sensor or 'magic bullet' which is capable of detecting oil and related petroleum products in all environments and spill scenarios. There are sensors which possess a wide filed-of-view and can therefore be used to map the overall extent of the spill. These sensors, however lack the specificity required to positively identify oil and related products. This is even more of a problem along complicated beach and shoreline environments where several substrates are present. The specific laser- based sensors under development by Environment Canada are designed to respond to special roles in oil spill response. In particular, the SLEAF is being developed to unambiguously detect and map oil and related petroleum products in complicated marine and shoreline environments where other non-specific sensors experience difficulty. The role of the SLEAF would be to confirm or reject suspected oil contamination sites that have been targeted by the non- specific sensors. This confirmation will release response crews from the time consuming task of physically inspecting each site, and direct crews to sites that require remediation. The LURSOT sensor will provide an absolute measurement of oil thickness form an airborne platform. There are presently no sensors available, either airborne or in the laboratory which can provide an absolute measurement of oil thickness. This information is necessary for the effective direction of spill countermeasures such as dispersant application and in-situ burning. This paper will describe the development of laser-based airborne oil spill remote sensing instrumentation at Environment Canada and identify the anticipated benefits of the use of this technology to the oil spill response community.

Optimizing a remote sensing instrument to measure atmospheric surface pressure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peckham, G. E.; Gatley, C.; Flower, D. A.

1983-01-01

Atmospheric surface pressure can be remotely sensed from a satellite by an active instrument which measures return echoes from the ocean at frequencies near the 60 GHz oxygen absorption band. The instrument is optimized by selecting its frequencies of operation, transmitter powers and antenna size through a new procedure baesd on numerical simulation which maximizes the retrieval accuracy. The predicted standard deviation error in the retrieved surface pressure is 1 mb. In addition the measurements can be used to retrieve water vapor, cloud liquid water and sea state, which is related to wind speed.

Remote sensing of the atmosphere from environmental satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allison, L. J.; Wexler, R.; Laughlin, C. R.; Bandeen, W. R.

1977-01-01

Various applications of satellite remote sensing of the earth are reviewed, including (1) the use of meteorological satellites to obtain photographic and radiometric data for determining weather conditions; (2) determination of the earth radiation budget from measurements of reflected solar radiation and emitted long wave terrestrial radiation; (3) the use of microwave imagery for measuring ice and snow cover; (4) LANDSAT visual and near infrared observation of floods and crop growth; and (5) the use of the Nimbus 4 backscatter ultraviolet instrument to measure total ozone and vertical ozone distribution. Plans for future activities are also discussed.

Airborne remote sensing and in situ measurements of atmospheric CO2 to quantify point source emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krings, Thomas; Neininger, Bruno; Gerilowski, Konstantin; Krautwurst, Sven; Buchwitz, Michael; Burrows, John P.; Lindemann, Carsten; Ruhtz, Thomas; Schüttemeyer, Dirk; Bovensmann, Heinrich

2018-02-01

Reliable techniques to infer greenhouse gas emission rates from localised sources require accurate measurement and inversion approaches. In this study airborne remote sensing observations of CO2 by the MAMAP instrument and airborne in situ measurements are used to infer emission estimates of carbon dioxide released from a cluster of coal-fired power plants. The study area is complex due to sources being located in close proximity and overlapping associated carbon dioxide plumes. For the analysis of in situ data, a mass balance approach is described and applied, whereas for the remote sensing observations an inverse Gaussian plume model is used in addition to a mass balance technique. A comparison between methods shows that results for all methods agree within 10 % or better with uncertainties of 10 to 30 % for cases in which in situ measurements were made for the complete vertical plume extent. The computed emissions for individual power plants are in agreement with results derived from emission factors and energy production data for the time of the overflight.

Radar-based dynamic testing of the cable-suspended bridge crossing the Ebro River at Amposta, Spain

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

Gentile, Carmelo; Luzi, Guido

2014-05-27

Microwave remote sensing is the most recent experimental methodology suitable to the non-contact measurement of deflections on large structures, in static or dynamic conditions. After a brief description of the radar measurement system, the paper addresses the application of microwave remote sensing to ambient vibration testing of a cable-suspended bridge. The investigated bridge crosses the Ebro River at Amposta, Spain and consists of two steel stiffening trusses and a series of equally spaced steel floor beams; the main span is supported by inclined stay cables and two series of 8 suspension cables. The dynamic tests were performed in operational conditions,more » with the sensor being placed in two different positions so that the response of both the steel deck and the arrays of suspension elements was measured. The experimental investigation confirms the simplicity of use of the radar and the accuracy of the results provided by the microwave remote sensing as well as the issues often met in the clear localization of measurement points.« less

Nasa's Land Remote Sensing Plans for the 1980's

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Higg, H. C.; Butera, K. M.; Settle, M.

1985-01-01

Research since the launch of LANDSAT-1 has been primarily directed to the development of analysis techniques and to the conduct of applications studies designed to address resource information needs in the United States and in many other countries. The current measurement capabilities represented by MSS, TM, and SIR-A and B, coupled with the present level of remote sensing understanding and the state of knowledge in the discipline earth sciences, form the foundation for NASA's Land Processes Program. Science issues to be systematically addressed include: energy balance, hydrologic cycle, biogeochemical cycles, biological productivity, rock cycle, landscape development, geological and botanical associations, and land surface inventory, monitoring, and modeling. A global perspective is required for using remote sensing technology for problem solving or applications context. A successful model for this kind of activity involves joint research with a user entity where the user provides a test site and ground truth and NASA provides the remote sensing techniques to be tested.

A Remote Sensing-Based Tool for Assessing Rainfall-Driven Hazards

PubMed Central

Wright, Daniel B.; Mantilla, Ricardo; Peters-Lidard, Christa D.

2018-01-01

RainyDay is a Python-based platform that couples rainfall remote sensing data with Stochastic Storm Transposition (SST) for modeling rainfall-driven hazards such as floods and landslides. SST effectively lengthens the extreme rainfall record through temporal resampling and spatial transposition of observed storms from the surrounding region to create many extreme rainfall scenarios. Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) curves are often used for hazard modeling but require long records to describe the distribution of rainfall depth and duration and do not provide information regarding rainfall space-time structure, limiting their usefulness to small scales. In contrast, RainyDay can be used for many hazard applications with 1-2 decades of data, and output rainfall scenarios incorporate detailed space-time structure from remote sensing. Thanks to global satellite coverage, RainyDay can be used in inaccessible areas and developing countries lacking ground measurements, though results are impacted by remote sensing errors. RainyDay can be useful for hazard modeling under nonstationary conditions. PMID:29657544

Forest Attributes from Radar Interferometric Structure and its Fusion with Optical Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Treuhaft, Robert N.; Law, Beverly E.; Asner, Gregory P.

2004-01-01

The possibility of global, three-dimensional remote sensing of forest structure with interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) bears on important forest ecological processes, particularly the carbon cycle. InSAR supplements two-dimensional remote sensing with information in the vertical dimension. Its strengths in potential for global coverage complement those of lidar (light detecting and ranging), which has the potential for high-accuracy vertical profiles over small areas. InSAR derives its sensitivity to forest vertical structure from the differences in signals received by two, spatially separate radar receivers. Estimation of parameters describing vertical structure requires multiple-polarization, multiple-frequency, or multiple-baseline InSAR. Combining InSAR with complementary remote sensing techniques, such as hyperspectral optical imaging and lidar, can enhance vertical-structure estimates and consequent biophysical quantities of importance to ecologists, such as biomass. Future InSAR experiments will supplement recent airborne and spaceborne demonstrations, and together with inputs from ecologists regarding structure, they will suggest designs for future spaceborne strategies for measuring global vegetation structure.

High resolution remote sensing information identification for characterizing uranium mineralization setting in Namibia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jie-Lin; Wang, Jun-hu; Zhou, Mi; Huang, Yan-ju; Xuan, Yan-xiu; Wu, Ding

2011-11-01

The modern Earth Observation System (EOS) technology takes important role in the uranium geological exploration, and high resolution remote sensing as one of key parts of EOS is vital to characterize spectral and spatial information of uranium mineralization factors. Utilizing satellite high spatial resolution and hyperspectral remote sensing data (QuickBird, Radarsat2, ASTER), field spectral measurement (ASD data) and geological survey, this paper established the spectral identification characteristics of uranium mineralization factors including six different types of alaskite, lower and upper marble of Rössing formation, dolerite, alkali metasomatism, hematization and chloritization in the central zone of Damara Orogen, Namibia. Moreover, adopted the texture information identification technology, the geographical distribution zones of ore-controlling faults and boundaries between the different strata were delineated. Based on above approaches, the remote sensing geological anomaly information and image interpretation signs of uranium mineralization factors were extracted, the metallogenic conditions were evaluated, and the prospective areas have been predicted.

Small unmanned aircraft systems for remote sensing and Earth science research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hugenholtz, Chris H.; Moorman, Brian J.; Riddell, Kevin; Whitehead, Ken

2012-06-01

To understand and predict Earth-surface dynamics, scientists often rely on access to the latest remote sensing data. Over the past several decades, considerable progress has been made in the development of specialized Earth observation sensors for measuring a wide range of processes and features. Comparatively little progress has been made, however, in the development of new platforms upon which these sensors can be deployed. Conventional platforms are still almost exclusively restricted to piloted aircraft and satellites. For many Earth science research questions and applications these platforms do not yet have the resolution or operational flexibility to provide answers affordably. The most effective remote sensing data match the spatiotemporal scale of the process or feature of interest. An emerging technology comprising unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), is poised to offer a viable alternative to conventional platforms for acquiring high-resolution remote sensing data with increased operational flexibility, lower cost, and greater versatility (Figure 1).

[Contribution of remote sensing to malaria control].

PubMed

Machault, V; Pages, F; Rogier, C

2009-04-01

Despite national and international efforts, malaria remains a major public health problem and the fight to control the disease is confronted by numerous hurdles. Study of space and time dynamics of malaria is necessary as a basis for making appropriate decision and prioritizing intervention including in areas where field data are rare and sanitary information systems are inadequate. Evaluation of malarial risk should also help anticipate the risk of epidemics as a basis for early warning systems. Since 1960-70 civilian satellites launched for earth observation have been providing information for the measuring or evaluating geo-climatic and anthropogenic factors related to malaria transmission and burden. Remotely sensed data gathered for several civilian or military studies have allowed setup of entomological, parasitological, and epidemiological risk models and maps for rural and urban areas. Mapping of human populations at risk has also benefited from remotely sensing. The results of the published studies show that remote sensing is a suitable tool for optimizing planning, efficacy and efficiency of malaria control.

Demonstration of versatile whispering-gallery micro-lasers for remote refractive index sensing.

PubMed

Wan, Lei; Chandrahalim, Hengky; Zhou, Jian; Li, Zhaohui; Chen, Cong; Cho, Sangha; Zhang, Hui; Mei, Ting; Tian, Huiping; Oki, Yuji; Nishimura, Naoya; Fan, Xudong; Guo, L Jay

2018-03-05

We developed chip-scale remote refractive index sensors based on Rhodamine 6G (R6G)-doped polymer micro-ring lasers. The chemical, temperature, and mechanical sturdiness of the fused-silica host guaranteed a flexible deployment of dye-doped polymers for refractive index sensing. The introduction of the dye as gain medium demonstrated the feasibility of remote sensing based on the free-space optics measurement setup. Compared to the R6G-doped TZ-001, the lasing behavior of R6G-doped SU-8 polymer micro-ring laser under an aqueous environment had a narrower spectrum linewidth, producing the minimum detectable refractive index change of 4 × 10 -4 RIU. The maximum bulk refractive index sensitivity (BRIS) of 75 nm/RIU was obtained for SU-8 laser-based refractive index sensors. The economical, rapid, and simple realization of polymeric micro-scale whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) laser-based refractive index sensors will further expand pathways of static and dynamic remote environmental, chemical, biological, and bio-chemical sensing.

A stochastic atmospheric model for remote sensing applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turner, R. E.

1983-01-01

There are many factors which reduce the accuracy of classification of objects in the satellite remote sensing of Earth's surface. One important factor is the variability in the scattering and absorptive properties of the atmospheric components such as particulates and the variable gases. For multispectral remote sensing of the Earth's surface in the visible and infrared parts of the spectrum the atmospheric particulates are a major source of variability in the received signal. It is difficult to design a sensor which will determine the unknown atmospheric components by remote sensing methods, at least to the accuracy needed for multispectral classification. The problem of spatial and temporal variations in the atmospheric quantities which can affect the measured radiances are examined. A method based upon the stochastic nature of the atmospheric components was developed, and, using actual data the statistical parameters needed for inclusion into a radiometric model was generated. Methods are then described for an improved correction of radiances. These algorithms will then result in a more accurate and consistent classification procedure.

A Remote Sensing-Based Tool for Assessing Rainfall-Driven Hazards.

PubMed

Wright, Daniel B; Mantilla, Ricardo; Peters-Lidard, Christa D

2017-04-01

RainyDay is a Python-based platform that couples rainfall remote sensing data with Stochastic Storm Transposition (SST) for modeling rainfall-driven hazards such as floods and landslides. SST effectively lengthens the extreme rainfall record through temporal resampling and spatial transposition of observed storms from the surrounding region to create many extreme rainfall scenarios. Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) curves are often used for hazard modeling but require long records to describe the distribution of rainfall depth and duration and do not provide information regarding rainfall space-time structure, limiting their usefulness to small scales. In contrast, RainyDay can be used for many hazard applications with 1-2 decades of data, and output rainfall scenarios incorporate detailed space-time structure from remote sensing. Thanks to global satellite coverage, RainyDay can be used in inaccessible areas and developing countries lacking ground measurements, though results are impacted by remote sensing errors. RainyDay can be useful for hazard modeling under nonstationary conditions.

A Remote Sensing-Based Tool for Assessing Rainfall-Driven Hazards

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, Daniel B.; Mantilla, Ricardo; Peters-Lidard, Christa D.

2017-01-01

RainyDay is a Python-based platform that couples rainfall remote sensing data with Stochastic Storm Transposition (SST) for modeling rainfall-driven hazards such as floods and landslides. SST effectively lengthens the extreme rainfall record through temporal resampling and spatial transposition of observed storms from the surrounding region to create many extreme rainfall scenarios. Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) curves are often used for hazard modeling but require long records to describe the distribution of rainfall depth and duration and do not provide information regarding rainfall space-time structure, limiting their usefulness to small scales. In contrast, Rainy Day can be used for many hazard applications with 1-2 decades of data, and output rainfall scenarios incorporate detailed space-time structure from remote sensing. Thanks to global satellite coverage, Rainy Day can be used in inaccessible areas and developing countries lacking ground measurements, though results are impacted by remote sensing errors. Rainy Day can be useful for hazard modeling under nonstationary conditions.

Quantitative mapping of particulate iron in an ocean dump using remotely sensed data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ohlhorst, C. W.; Bahn, G. S.

1978-01-01

A remote sensing experiment was conducted at the industrial acid waste ocean dump site located approximately 38 n mi SE of Cape Henlopen, Delaware, to see if there was a relationship between aircraft remotely sensed spectral signatures and the iron concentration measured in the plume. Results are presented which show that aircraft remotely sensed spectral data can be used to quantify and map an acid waste dump in terms of its particulate iron concentration. A single variable equation using the ratio of band 2 (440-490 nm) radiance to band 4 (540-580 nm) radiance was used to quantify the acid plume and the surrounding water. The acid waste varied in age from freshly dumped to 3 1/2 hours old. Particulate iron concentrations in the acid waste were estimated to range up to 1.1 mg/liter at the 0.46 meter depth. A classification technique was developed to remove sunglitter-affected pixels from the data set.

Cybernetic Basis and System Practice of Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, X.; Jing, X.; Chen, R.; Ming, Z.; He, L.; Sun, Y.; Sun, X.; Yan, L.

2017-09-01

Cybernetics provides a new set of ideas and methods for the study of modern science, and it has been fully applied in many areas. However, few people have introduced cybernetics into the field of remote sensing. The paper is based on the imaging process of remote sensing system, introducing cybernetics into the field of remote sensing, establishing a space-time closed-loop control theory for the actual operation of remote sensing. The paper made the process of spatial information coherently, and improved the comprehensive efficiency of the space information from acquisition, procession, transformation to application. We not only describes the application of cybernetics in remote sensing platform control, sensor control, data processing control, but also in whole system of remote sensing imaging process control. We achieve the information of output back to the input to control the efficient operation of the entire system. This breakthrough combination of cybernetics science and remote sensing science will improve remote sensing science to a higher level.

Assessing the effectiveness of Landsat 8 chlorophyll a retrieval algorithms for regional freshwater monitoring.

PubMed

Boucher, Jonah; Weathers, Kathleen C; Norouzi, Hamid; Steele, Bethel

2018-06-01

Predicting algal blooms has become a priority for scientists, municipalities, businesses, and citizens. Remote sensing offers solutions to the spatial and temporal challenges facing existing lake research and monitoring programs that rely primarily on high-investment, in situ measurements. Techniques to remotely measure chlorophyll a (chl a) as a proxy for algal biomass have been limited to specific large water bodies in particular seasons and narrow chl a ranges. Thus, a first step toward prediction of algal blooms is generating regionally robust algorithms using in situ and remote sensing data. This study explores the relationship between in-lake measured chl a data from Maine and New Hampshire, USA lakes and remotely sensed chl a retrieval algorithm outputs. Landsat 8 images were obtained and then processed after required atmospheric and radiometric corrections. Six previously developed algorithms were tested on a regional scale on 11 scenes from 2013 to 2015 covering 192 lakes. The best performing algorithm across data from both states had a 0.16 correlation coefficient (R 2 ) and P ≤ 0.05 when Landsat 8 images within 5 d, and improved to R 2 of 0.25 when data from Maine only were used. The strength of the correlation varied with the specificity of the time window in relation to the in-situ sampling date, explaining up to 27% of the variation in the data across several scenes. Two previously published algorithms using Landsat 8's Bands 1-4 were best correlated with chl a, and for particular late-summer scenes, they accounted for up to 69% of the variation in in-situ measurements. A sensitivity analysis revealed that a longer time difference between in situ measurements and the satellite image increased uncertainty in the models, and an effect of the time of year on several indices was demonstrated. A regional model based on the best performing remote sensing algorithm was developed and was validated using independent in situ measurements and satellite images. These results suggest that, despite challenges including seasonal effects and low chl a thresholds, remote sensing could be an effective and accessible regional-scale tool for chl a monitoring programs in lakes. © 2018 The Authors. Ecological Applications published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Ecological Society of America.

Developing spectral, structural, and phenological diversity proxies for monitoring biodiversity change across space and time using ESA's Sentinel satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, X.; Mahecha, M. D.; Migliavacca, M.; Luo, Y.; Urban, M.; Bohn, F. J.; Huth, A.; Reichstein, M.

2017-12-01

A key challenge for monitoring biodiversity change is the lack of consistent measures of biodiversity across space and time. This challenge may be addressed by exploring the potentials provided by novel remote sensing observations. By continuously observing broad-scale patterns of vegetation and land surface parameters, remote sensing can complement the restricted coverage afforded by field measurements. Here we develop methods to infer spatial patterns of biodiversity at ecosystem level from ESA's next-generation Sentinel sensors (Sentinel-1: C-band radar & Sentinel-2: multispectral). Both satellites offer very high spatial (10 m) and temporal resolutions (5 days) measurements with global coverage. We propose and test several ecosystem biodiversity proxies, including landscape spectral diversity, phenological diversity, and canopy structural diversity. These diversity proxies are highly related to some key aspects of essential biodiversity variables (EBVs) as defined by GEO-BON, such as habitat structure, community composition, ecosystem function and structure. We verify spaceborne retrievals of these biodiversity proxies with in situ measurements from drone (spectral diversity), phenocam (phenological diversity), and airborne LiDAR (canopy structural diversity) over multiple flux tower sites within the Mediterranean region. We further compare our remote sensing retrievals of biodiversity proxies against several biodiversity indices as derived from field measurements (incl. ⍺-/β- diversity and Shannon-index) to explore the limitations and potentials of extending the RS proxies to a greater spatial extent. We expect the new concept as to maximize the potential of remote sensing information might help to monitor key aspects of EBVs on a global scale.

Estimation of sulphur dioxide emission rate from a power plant based on the remote sensing measurement with an imaging-DOAS instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chong, Jihyo; Kim, Young J.; Baek, Jongho; Lee, Hanlim

2016-10-01

Major anthropogenic sources of sulphur dioxide in the troposphere include point sources such as power plants and combustion-derived industrial sources. Spatially resolved remote sensing of atmospheric trace gases is desirable for better estimation and validation of emission from those sources. It has been reported that Imaging Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (I-DOAS) technique can provide the spatially resolved two-dimensional distribution measurement of atmospheric trace gases. This study presents the results of I-DOAS observations of SO2 from a large power plant. The stack plume from the Taean coal-fired power plant was remotely sensed with an I-DOAS instrument. The slant column density (SCD) of SO2 was derived by data analysis of the absorption spectra of the scattered sunlight measured by an I-DOAS over the power plant stacks. Two-dimensional distribution of SO2 SCD was obtained over the viewing window of the I-DOAS instrument. The measured SCDs were converted to mixing ratios in order to estimate the rate of SO2 emission from each stack. The maximum mixing ratio of SO2 was measured to be 28.1 ppm with a SCD value of 4.15×1017 molecules/cm2. Based on the exit velocity of the plume from the stack, the emission rate of SO2 was estimated to be 22.54 g/s. Remote sensing of SO2 with an I-DOAS instrument can be very useful for independent estimation and validation of the emission rates from major point sources as well as area sources.

The Science and Application of Satellite Based Fire Radiative Energy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ellicott, Evan; Vermote, Eric (Editor)

2012-01-01

The accurate measurement of ecosystem biomass is of great importance in scientific, resource management and energy sectors. In particular, biomass is a direct measurement of carbon storage within an ecosystem and of great importance for carbon cycle science and carbon emission mitigation. Remote Sensing is the most accurate tool for global biomass measurements because of the ability to measure large areas. Current biomass estimates are derived primarily from ground-based samples, as compiled and reported in inventories and ecosystem samples. By using remote sensing technologies, we are able to scale up the sample values and supply wall to wall mapping of biomass.

Downhole steam quality measurement

DOEpatents

Lee, D.O.; Montoya, P.C.; Muir, J.F.; Wayland, J.R. Jr.

1985-06-19

The present invention relates to an empirical electrical method for remote sensing of steam quality utilizing flow-through grids which allow measurement of the electrical properties of a flowing two-phase mixture. The measurement of steam quality in the oil field is important to the efficient application of steam assisted recovery of oil. Because of the increased energy content in higher quality steam it is important to maintain the highest possible steam quality at the injection sandface. The effectiveness of a steaming operation without a measure of steam quality downhole close to the point of injection would be difficult to determine. Therefore, a need exists for the remote sensing of steam quality.

Potential Pitfalls Related to Space-Based Lidar Remote Sensing of the Earth With an Emphasis on Wind Measurement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kavaya, Michael J.; Spiers, Gary D.; Frehlich, Rod G.

2000-01-01

A collection of issues is discussed that are potential pitfalls, if handled incorrectly, for earth-orbiting lidar remote sensing instruments. These issues arise due to the long target ranges, high lidar-to-target relative velocities, low signal levels, use of laser scanners, and other unique aspects of using lasers in earth orbit. Consequences of misunderstanding these topics range from minor inconvenience to improper calibration to total failure. We will focus on wind measurement using coherent detection Doppler lidar, but many of the potential pitfalls apply also to noncoherent lidar wind measurement, and to measurement of parameters other than wind.

Remote Sensing of In-Flight Icing Conditions: Operational, Meteorological, and Technological Considerations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ryerson, Charles C.

2000-01-01

Remote-sensing systems that map aircraft icing conditions in the flight path from airports or aircraft would allow icing to be avoided and exited. Icing remote-sensing system development requires consideration of the operational environment, the meteorological environment, and the technology available. Operationally, pilots need unambiguous cockpit icing displays for risk management decision-making. Human factors, aircraft integration, integration of remotely sensed icing information into the weather system infrastructures, and avoid-and-exit issues need resolution. Cost, maintenance, power, weight, and space concern manufacturers, operators, and regulators. An icing remote-sensing system detects cloud and precipitation liquid water, drop size, and temperature. An algorithm is needed to convert these conditions into icing potential estimates for cockpit display. Specification development requires that magnitudes of cloud microphysical conditions and their spatial and temporal variability be understood at multiple scales. The core of an icing remote-sensing system is the technology that senses icing microphysical conditions. Radar and microwave radiometers penetrate clouds and can estimate liquid water and drop size. Retrieval development is needed; differential attenuation and neural network assessment of multiple-band radar returns are most promising to date. Airport-based radar or radiometers are the most viable near-term technologies. A radiometer that profiles cloud liquid water, and experimental techniques to use radiometers horizontally, are promising. The most critical operational research needs are to assess cockpit and aircraft system integration, develop avoid-and-exit protocols, assess human factors, and integrate remote-sensing information into weather and air traffic control infrastructures. Improved spatial characterization of cloud and precipitation liquid-water content, drop-size spectra, and temperature are needed, as well as an algorithm to convert sensed conditions into a measure of icing potential. Technology development also requires refinement of inversion techniques. These goals can be accomplished with collaboration among federal agencies including NASA, the FAA, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, NOAA, and the Department of Defense. This report reviews operational, meteorological, and technological considerations in developing the capability to remotely map in-flight icing conditions from the ground and from the air.

Two Optical Atmospheric Remote Sensing Techniques and AN Associated Analytic Solution to a Class of Integral Equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manning, Robert Michael

This work concerns itself with the analysis of two optical remote sensing methods to be used to obtain parameters of the turbulent atmosphere pertinent to stochastic electromagnetic wave propagation studies, and the well -posed solution to a class of integral equations that are central to the development of these remote sensing methods. A remote sensing technique is theoretically developed whereby the temporal frequency spectrum of the scintillations of a stellar source or a point source within the atmosphere, observed through a variable radius aperture, is related to the space-time spectrum of atmospheric scintillation. The key to this spectral remote sensing method is the spatial filtering performed by a finite aperture. The entire method is developed without resorting to a priori information such as results from stochastic wave propagation theory. Once the space-time spectrum of the scintillations is obtained, an application of known results of atmospheric wave propagation theory and simple geometric considerations are shown to yield such important information such as the spectrum of atmospheric turbulence, the cross-wind velocity, and the path profile of the atmospheric refractive index structure parameter. A method is also developed to independently verify the Taylor frozen flow hypothesis. The success of the spectral remote sensing method relies on the solution to a Fredholm integral equation of the first kind. An entire class of such equations, that are peculiar to inverse diffraction problems, is studied and a well-posed solution (in the sense of Hadamard) is obtained and probed. Conditions of applicability are derived and shown not to limit the useful operating range of the spectral remote sensing method. The general integral equation solution obtained is then applied to another remote sensing problem having to do with the characterization of the particle size distribution to atmospheric aerosols and hydrometeors. By measuring the diffraction pattern in the focal plane of a lens created by the passage of a laser beam through a distribution of particles, it is shown that the particle-size distribution of the particles can be obtained. An intermediate result of the analysis also gives the total volume concentration of the particles.

Research activity of the greenhouse gas measurements using optical remote sensing in Japan (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asai, K.

2009-12-01

Japan might be one of the most active countries dedicating themselves to studying the greenhouse gas (GHG) measurements using optical remote sensing not only on the ground but also from space. There are two reasons; one of them ascends to the Kyoto Protocol, agreed in December 1997 in Kyoto, an ancient city of Japan until 19th centuries, was designed to address the international response to serious climate change due to greenhouse gases. The other reason is due to a revision of the Basic Environment Law of Japan in order to meet the Kyoto Protocol in 1998. The State makes efforts to ensure international collaboration so as to effectively promote the monitoring, observation and measurement of the environmental situation with regard to global warming. Main activities are listed in a Table1. They are divided into two categories, i.e. the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT), launched on Jan.23, 2009 and active remote sensing using lidar technology. In case of GOSAT, an initial analysis of carbon dioxide and methane concentrations was obtained for clear-sky scenes over land. In the future, after further calibration and validation of the data, observation data and corresponding analyzed products will be made available. On the other hand, studies of the laser remote sensing for measuring GHG have been actively carrying out to achieve reliable data with a higher accuracy at wavelengths of 1.6micron meter (Tokyo Metropolitan University, JAXA, Mitsubishi Electric Co.) and 2 micron meter (National Institute of Information and Communications Technology). As well-known, one of the most interests regarding atmospheric CO2 measurements is that carbon dioxide molecule measured are due to anthropological emission from fossil fuel burning or due to natural one from forest fires etc. We proposed a newly advanced CO2/CO DIAL using a hybrid of pulsed Tm,Ho:YLF and pulsed OPO pumped by it for better understanding them. Now, our effort is directed to find out the most suitable wavelength pairs to be selected.Activities of optical remote sensing for GHG in Japan

A comparison of airborne evapotranspiration maps and sapflow measurements in oak and beech forest stands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schlerf, M.; Mallick, K.; Hassler, S. K.; Blume, T.; Ronellenfitsch, F.; Gerhards, M.; Udelhoven, T.; Weiler, M.

2017-12-01

Accurate estimations of spatially explicit daily Evapotranspiration (ET) may help water managers quantifying the water requirements of agricultural crops or trees. Airborne remote sensing may provide suitable ET maps, but uncertainties need to be better understood. In this study we compared high spatial resolution remotely sensed ET maps for 7 July 2016 with sap flow measurements over 32 forest stands located in the Attert catchment, Luxembourg. Forest stands differed in terms of species (Quercus robur, Fagus sylvatica), geology (schist, marl, sandstone), and geomorphology (slope position, plain, valley). Within each plot, at 1-3 trees the sap flow velocity (cm per hour) was measured between 8 am and 8 pm in 10 min intervals and averaged into a single value per plot and converted into values of volume flux (litres per day). Remotely sensed ET maps were derived by integrating airborne thermal infrared (TIR) images with an analytical surface energy balance model, Surface Temperature Initiated Closure (STIC1.2, Mallick et al. 2016). Airborne TIR images were acquired under clear sky conditions at 9:12, 10:08, 13:56, 14:50, 15:54, and 18:41 local time using a hyperspectral-thermal instrument. Images were geometrically corrected, calibrated, mosaicked, and converted to surface radiometric temperature. Surface temperature maps in conjunction with meteorological measurements recorded in the forest plots (air temperature, global radiation, relative humidity) were used as input to STIC1.2, for simultaneously estimating ET, sensible heat flux as well as surface and aerodynamic conductances. Instantaneous maps of ET were converted into daily ET maps and compared with the sap flow measurements. Results reveal a significant correspondence between remote sensing and field measured ET. The differences in the magnitude of predicted versus observed ET was found to be associated the biophysical conductances, radiometric surface temperature, and ecohydrological characteristics of the underlying landscape. Forest plots reveal differences in ET depending on the underlying geology and the slope position. Airborne remote sensing offers new ways of estimating the diurnal course of plant transpiration over entire landscapes and is an important bridging technology before high resolution TIR sensors will come into space.

Measuring Environmental Stress

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, John E.; Dahm, Douglas B.

1975-01-01

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

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

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

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

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

PubMed

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

2012-03-23

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

Estimating Gross Primary Production in Cropland with High Spatial and Temporal Scale Remote Sensing Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, S.; Li, J.; Liu, Q.

2018-04-01

Satellite remote sensing data provide spatially continuous and temporally repetitive observations of land surfaces, and they have become increasingly important for monitoring large region of vegetation photosynthetic dynamic. But remote sensing data have their limitation on spatial and temporal scale, for example, higher spatial resolution data as Landsat data have 30-m spatial resolution but 16 days revisit period, while high temporal scale data such as geostationary data have 30-minute imaging period, which has lower spatial resolution (> 1 km). The objective of this study is to investigate whether combining high spatial and temporal resolution remote sensing data can improve the gross primary production (GPP) estimation accuracy in cropland. For this analysis we used three years (from 2010 to 2012) Landsat based NDVI data, MOD13 vegetation index product and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) geostationary data as input parameters to estimate GPP in a small region cropland of Nebraska, US. Then we validated the remote sensing based GPP with the in-situ measurement carbon flux data. Results showed that: 1) the overall correlation between GOES visible band and in-situ measurement photosynthesis active radiation (PAR) is about 50 % (R2 = 0.52) and the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts ERA-Interim reanalysis data can explain 64 % of PAR variance (R2 = 0.64); 2) estimating GPP with Landsat 30-m spatial resolution data and ERA daily meteorology data has the highest accuracy(R2 = 0.85, RMSE < 3 gC/m2/day), which has better performance than using MODIS 1-km NDVI/EVI product import; 3) using daily meteorology data as input for GPP estimation in high spatial resolution data would have higher relevance than 8-day and 16-day input. Generally speaking, using the high spatial resolution and high frequency satellite based remote sensing data can improve GPP estimation accuracy in cropland.

Need for expanded environmental measurement capabilities in geosynchronous Earth orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mercanti, Enrico P.

1991-01-01

The proliferation of environmental satellites in low altitude earth orbit (LEO) has demonstrated the usefulness of earth remote sensing from space. As use of the technology grows, the limitations of LEO missions become more apparent. Many inadequacies can be met by remote sensing from geosynchronous earth orbits (GEO) that can provide high temporal resolution, consistent viewing of specific earth targets, long sensing dwell times with varying sun angles, stereoscopic coverage, and correlative measurements with ground and LEO observations. An environmental platform in GEO is being studied by NASA. Small research satellite missions in GEO were studied (1990) at GSFC. Some recent independent assessments of NASA Earth Science Programs recommend accelerating the earlier deployment of smaller missions.

Comparision of Bathymetry and Bottom Characteristics From Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Data and Shipborne Acoustic Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McIntyre, M. L.; Naar, D. F.; Carder, K. L.; Howd, P. A.; Lewis, J. M.; Donahue, B. T.; Chen, F. R.

2002-12-01

There is growing interest in applying optical remote sensing techniques to shallow-water geological applications such as bathymetry and bottom characterization. Model inversions of hyperspectral remote-sensing reflectance imagery can provide estimates of bottom albedo and depth. This research was conducted in support of the HyCODE (Hyperspectral Coupled Ocean Dynamics Experiment) project in order to test optical sensor performance and the use of a hyperspectral remote-sensing reflectance algorithm for shallow waters in estimating bottom depths and reflectance. The objective of this project was to compare optically derived products of bottom depths and reflectance to shipborne acoustic measurements of bathymetry and backscatter. A set of three high-resolution, multibeam surveys within an 18 km by 1.5 km shore-perpendicular transect 5 km offshore of Sarasota, Florida were collected at water depths ranging from 8 m to 16 m. These products are compared to bottom depths derived from aircraft remote-sensing data collected with the AVIRIS (Airborne Visible-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer) instrument data by means of a semi-analytical remote sensing reflectance model. The pixel size of the multibeam bathymetry and AVIRIS data are 0.25 m and 10 m, respectively. When viewed at full resolution, the multibeam bathymetry data show small-scale sedimentary bedforms (wavelength ~10m, amplitude ~1m) that are not observed in the lower resolution hyperspectral bathymetry. However, model-derived bottom depths agree well with a smoothed version of the multibeam bathymetry. Depths derived from shipborne hyperspectral measurements were accurate within 13%. In areas where diver observations confirmed biological growth and bioturbation, derived bottom depths were less accurate. Acoustic backscatter corresponds well with the aircraft hyperspectral imagery and in situ measurements of bottom reflectance. Acoustic backscatter was used to define the distribution of different bottom types. Acoustic backscatter imagery corresponds well with the AVIRIS data in the middle to outer study area, implying a close correspondence between seafloor character and optical reflectance. AVIRIS data in the inner study area show poorer correspondence with the acoustic facies, indicating greater water column effects (turbidity). Acoustic backscatter as a proxy for bottom albedo, in conjunction with multibeam bathymetry data, will allow for more precise modeling of the optical signal in coastal environments.

Investigating the relationship between tree heights derived from SIBBORK forest model and remote sensing measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osmanoglu, B.; Feliciano, E. A.; Armstrong, A. H.; Sun, G.; Montesano, P.; Ranson, K.

2017-12-01

Tree heights are one of the most commonly used remote sensing parameters to measure biomass of a forest. In this project, we investigate the relationship between remotely sensed tree heights (e.g. G-LiHT lidar and commercially available high resolution satellite imagery, HRSI) and the SIBBORK modeled tree heights. G-LiHT is a portable, airborne imaging system that simultaneously maps the composition, structure, and function of terrestrial ecosystems using lidar, imaging spectroscopy and thermal mapping. Ground elevation and canopy height models were generated using the lidar data acquired in 2012. A digital surface model was also generated using the HRSI technique from the commercially available WorldView data in 2016. The HRSI derived height and biomass products are available at the plot (10x10m) level. For this study, we parameterized the SIBBORK individual-based gap model for Howland forest, Maine. The parameterization was calibrated using field data for the study site and results show that the simulated forest reproduces the structural complexity of Howland old growth forest, based on comparisons of key variables including, aboveground biomass, forest height and basal area. Furthermore carbon cycle and ecosystem observational capabilities will be enhanced over the next 6 years via the launch of two LiDAR (NASA's GEDI and ICESAT 2) and two SAR (NASA's ISRO NiSAR and ESA's Biomass) systems. Our aim is to present the comparison of canopy height models obtained with SIBBORK forest model and remote sensing techniques, highlighting the synergy between individual-based forest modeling and high-resolution remote sensing.

Scalability Issues for Remote Sensing Infrastructure: A Case Study.

PubMed

Liu, Yang; Picard, Sean; Williamson, Carey

2017-04-29

For the past decade, a team of University of Calgary researchers has operated a large "sensor Web" to collect, analyze, and share scientific data from remote measurement instruments across northern Canada. This sensor Web receives real-time data streams from over a thousand Internet-connected sensors, with a particular emphasis on environmental data (e.g., space weather, auroral phenomena, atmospheric imaging). Through research collaborations, we had the opportunity to evaluate the performance and scalability of their remote sensing infrastructure. This article reports the lessons learned from our study, which considered both data collection and data dissemination aspects of their system. On the data collection front, we used benchmarking techniques to identify and fix a performance bottleneck in the system's memory management for TCP data streams, while also improving system efficiency on multi-core architectures. On the data dissemination front, we used passive and active network traffic measurements to identify and reduce excessive network traffic from the Web robots and JavaScript techniques used for data sharing. While our results are from one specific sensor Web system, the lessons learned may apply to other scientific Web sites with remote sensing infrastructure.

Passive microwave remote sensing of salinity in coastal zones

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swift, Calvin T.; Blume, Hans-Juergen C.; Kendall, Bruce M.

1987-01-01

The theory of measuring coastal-zone salinity from airborne microwave radiometers is developed. The theory, as presented, shows that precision measurements of salinity favor the lower microwave frequencies. To this end, L- and S-Band systems were built, and the flight results have shown that accuracies of at least one part per thousand were achieved.The aircraft results focus on flights conducted over the Chesapeake Bay and the mouth of the Savanna River off the Georgia Coast. This paper presents no new work, but rather summarizes the capabilities of the remote sensing technique.

Evapotranspiration from combined reflected solar and emitted terrestrial radiation - Preliminary FIFE results from AVHRR data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goward, S. N.; Hope, A. S.

1989-01-01

The relation between remotely sensed spectral vegetation indices and thermal IR measurements is studied. Land surface evapotranspiration is evaluated based on this relationship. Analysis of the AVHRR data, obtained in Kansas in 1987, reveal a strong correlation between the spectral vegetation indices and surface temperature and this relation covaries with surface moisture conditions. It is noted that the relation between remotely sensed measurements of canopy green foliage and surface temperature is useful for examining variations in the interface thermal inertia and energy balance Bowen ratio.

NASA's Future Active Remote Sensing Missing for Earth Science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartley, Jonathan B.

2000-01-01

Since the beginning of space remote sensing of the earth, there has been a natural progression widening the range of electromagnetic radiation used to sense the earth, and slowly, steadily increasing the spatial, spectral, and radiometric resolution of the measurements. There has also been a somewhat slower trend toward active measurements across the electromagnetic spectrum, motivated in part by increased resolution, but also by the ability to make new measurements. Active microwave instruments have been used to measure ocean topography, to study the land surface. and to study rainfall from space. Future NASA active microwave missions may add detail to the topographical studies, sense soil moisture, and better characterize the cryosphere. Only recently have active optical instruments been flown in space by NASA; however, there are currently several missions in development which will sense the earth with lasers and many more conceptual active optical missions which address the priorities of NASA's earth science program. Missions are under development to investigate the structure of the terrestrial vegetation canopy, to characterize the earth's ice caps, and to study clouds and aerosols. Future NASA missions may measure tropospheric vector winds and make vastly improved measurements of the chemical components of the earth's atmosphere.

Near-earth orbital guidance and remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Powers, W. F.

1972-01-01

The curriculum of a short course in remote sensing and parameter optimization is presented. The subjects discussed are: (1) basics of remote sensing and the user community, (2) multivariant spectral analysis, (3) advanced mathematics and physics of remote sensing, (4) the atmospheric environment, (5) imaging sensing, and (6)nonimaging sensing. Mathematical models of optimization techniques are developed.

LIFES: Laser Induced Fluorescence and Environmental Sensing. [remote sensing technique for marine environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Houston, W. R.; Stephenson, D. G.; Measures, R. M.

1975-01-01

A laboratory investigation has been conducted to evaluate the detection and identification capabilities of laser induced fluorescence as a remote sensing technique for the marine environment. The relative merits of fluorescence parameters including emission and excitation profiles, intensity and lifetime measurements are discussed in relation to the identification of specific targets of the marine environment including crude oils, refined petroleum products, fish oils and algae. Temporal profiles displaying the variation of lifetime with emission wavelength have proven to add a new dimension of specificity and simplicity to the technique.

Real-Time and Post-Processed Georeferencing for Hyperpspectral Drone Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliveira, R. A.; Khoramshahi, E.; Suomalainen, J.; Hakala, T.; Viljanen, N.; Honkavaara, E.

2018-05-01

The use of drones and photogrammetric technologies are increasing rapidly in different applications. Currently, drone processing workflow is in most cases based on sequential image acquisition and post-processing, but there are great interests towards real-time solutions. Fast and reliable real-time drone data processing can benefit, for instance, environmental monitoring tasks in precision agriculture and in forest. Recent developments in miniaturized and low-cost inertial measurement systems and GNSS sensors, and Real-time kinematic (RTK) position data are offering new perspectives for the comprehensive remote sensing applications. The combination of these sensors and light-weight and low-cost multi- or hyperspectral frame sensors in drones provides the opportunity of creating near real-time or real-time remote sensing data of target object. We have developed a system with direct georeferencing onboard drone to be used combined with hyperspectral frame cameras in real-time remote sensing applications. The objective of this study is to evaluate the real-time georeferencing comparing with post-processing solutions. Experimental data sets were captured in agricultural and forested test sites using the system. The accuracy of onboard georeferencing data were better than 0.5 m. The results showed that the real-time remote sensing is promising and feasible in both test sites.

Information Extraction of High Resolution Remote Sensing Images Based on the Calculation of Optimal Segmentation Parameters

PubMed Central

Zhu, Hongchun; Cai, Lijie; Liu, Haiying; Huang, Wei

2016-01-01

Multi-scale image segmentation and the selection of optimal segmentation parameters are the key processes in the object-oriented information extraction of high-resolution remote sensing images. The accuracy of remote sensing special subject information depends on this extraction. On the basis of WorldView-2 high-resolution data, the optimal segmentation parameters methodof object-oriented image segmentation and high-resolution image information extraction, the following processes were conducted in this study. Firstly, the best combination of the bands and weights was determined for the information extraction of high-resolution remote sensing image. An improved weighted mean-variance method was proposed andused to calculatethe optimal segmentation scale. Thereafter, the best shape factor parameter and compact factor parameters were computed with the use of the control variables and the combination of the heterogeneity and homogeneity indexes. Different types of image segmentation parameters were obtained according to the surface features. The high-resolution remote sensing images were multi-scale segmented with the optimal segmentation parameters. Ahierarchical network structure was established by setting the information extraction rules to achieve object-oriented information extraction. This study presents an effective and practical method that can explain expert input judgment by reproducible quantitative measurements. Furthermore the results of this procedure may be incorporated into a classification scheme. PMID:27362762

Accounting for ecosystem assets using remote sensing in the Colombian Orinoco River Basin lowlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vargas, Leonardo; Hein, Lars; Remme, Roy P.

2017-04-01

Worldwide, ecosystem change compromises the supply of ecosystem services (ES). Better managing ecosystems requires detailed information on these changes and their implications for ES supply. Ecosystem accounting has been developed as an environmental-economic accounting system using concepts aligned with the System of National Accounts. Ecosystem accounting requires spatial information from a local to national scale. The objective of this paper is to explore how remote sensing can be used to analyze ecosystems using an accounting approach in the Orinoco River Basin. We assessed ecosystem assets in terms of extent, condition, and capacity to supply ES. We focus on four specific ES: grasslands grazed by cattle, timber harvesting, oil palm fresh fruit bunches harvesting, and carbon sequestration. We link ES with six ecosystem assets: savannahs, woody grasslands, mixed agroecosystems, very dense forests, dense forest, and oil palm plantations. We used remote sensing vegetation and productivity indexes to measure ecosystem assets. We found that remote sensing is a powerful tool to estimate ecosystem extent. The enhanced vegetation index can be used to assess ecosystems condition, and net primary productivity can be used for the assessment of ecosystem assets capacity to supply ES. Integrating remote sensing and ecological information facilitates efficient monitoring of ecosystem assets.

Information Extraction of High Resolution Remote Sensing Images Based on the Calculation of Optimal Segmentation Parameters.

PubMed

Zhu, Hongchun; Cai, Lijie; Liu, Haiying; Huang, Wei

2016-01-01

Multi-scale image segmentation and the selection of optimal segmentation parameters are the key processes in the object-oriented information extraction of high-resolution remote sensing images. The accuracy of remote sensing special subject information depends on this extraction. On the basis of WorldView-2 high-resolution data, the optimal segmentation parameters methodof object-oriented image segmentation and high-resolution image information extraction, the following processes were conducted in this study. Firstly, the best combination of the bands and weights was determined for the information extraction of high-resolution remote sensing image. An improved weighted mean-variance method was proposed andused to calculatethe optimal segmentation scale. Thereafter, the best shape factor parameter and compact factor parameters were computed with the use of the control variables and the combination of the heterogeneity and homogeneity indexes. Different types of image segmentation parameters were obtained according to the surface features. The high-resolution remote sensing images were multi-scale segmented with the optimal segmentation parameters. Ahierarchical network structure was established by setting the information extraction rules to achieve object-oriented information extraction. This study presents an effective and practical method that can explain expert input judgment by reproducible quantitative measurements. Furthermore the results of this procedure may be incorporated into a classification scheme.

Operational programs in forest management and priority in the utilization of remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Douglass, R. W.

1978-01-01

A speech is given on operational remote sensing programs in forest management and the importance of remote sensing in forestry is emphasized. Forest service priorities in using remote sensing are outlined.

Remote tire pressure sensing technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robinson, Howard H. (Inventor); Mcginnis, Timothy A. (Inventor); Daugherty, Robert H. (Inventor)

1993-01-01

A remote tire pressure sensing technique is provided which uses vibration frequency to determine tire pressure. A vibration frequency measuring device is attached to the external surface of a tire which is then struck with an object, causing the tire to vibrate. The frequency measuring device measures the vibrations and converts the vibrations into corresponding electrical impulses. The electrical impulses are then fed into the frequency analyzing system which uses the electrical impulses to determine the relative peaks of the vibration frequencies as detected by the frequency measuring device. The measured vibration frequency peaks are then compared to predetermined data describing the location of vibration frequency peaks for a given pressure, thereby determining the air pressure of the tire.

Remote sensing, land use, and demography - A look at people through their effects on the land

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paul, C. K.; Landini, A. J.

1976-01-01

Relevant causes of failure by the remote sensing community in the urban scene are analyzed. The reasons for the insignificant role of remote sensing in urban land use data collection are called the law of realism, the incompatibility of remote sensing and urban management system data formats is termed the law of nominal/ordinal systems compatibility, and the land use/population correlation dilemma is referred to as the law of missing persons. The study summarizes the three laws of urban land use information for which violations, avoidance, or ignorance have caused the decline of present remote sensing research. Particular attention is given to the rationale for urban land use information and for remote sensing. It is shown that remote sensing of urban land uses compatible with the three laws can be effectively developed by realizing the 10 percent contribution of remote sensing to urban land use planning data collection.

Thematic Conference on Geologic Remote Sensing, 8th, Denver, CO, Apr. 29-May 2, 1991, Proceedings. Vols. 1 & 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

The proceedings contain papers discussing the state-of-the-art exploration, engineering, and environmental applications of geologic remote sensing, along with the research and development activities aimed at increasing the future capabilities of this technology. The following topics are addressed: spectral geology, U.S. and international hydrocarbon exporation, radar and thermal infrared remote sensing, engineering geology and hydrogeology, mineral exploration, remote sensing for marine and environmental applications, image processing and analysis, geobotanical remote sensing, and data integration and geographic information systems. Particular attention is given to spectral alteration mapping with imaging spectrometers, mapping the coastal plain of the Congo with airborne digital radar, applications of remote sensing techniques to the assessment of dam safety, remote sensing of ferric iron minerals as guides for gold exploration, principal component analysis for alteration mappping, and the application of remote sensing techniques for gold prospecting in the north Fujian province.

Methods of training the graduate level and professional geologist in remote sensing technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kolm, K. E.

1981-01-01

Requirements for a basic course in remote sensing to accommodate the needs of the graduate level and professional geologist are described. The course should stress the general topics of basic remote sensing theory, the theory and data types relating to different remote sensing systems, an introduction to the basic concepts of computer image processing and analysis, the characteristics of different data types, the development of methods for geological interpretations, the integration of all scales and data types of remote sensing in a given study, the integration of other data bases (geophysical and geochemical) into a remote sensing study, and geological remote sensing applications. The laboratories should stress hands on experience to reinforce the concepts and procedures presented in the lecture. The geologist should then be encouraged to pursue a second course in computer image processing and analysis of remotely sensed data.

Remote sensing of Earth terrain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kong, J. A.

1993-01-01

Progress report on remote sensing of Earth terrain covering the period from Jan. to June 1993 is presented. Areas of research include: radiative transfer model for active and passive remote sensing of vegetation canopy; polarimetric thermal emission from rough ocean surfaces; polarimetric passive remote sensing of ocean wind vectors; polarimetric thermal emission from periodic water surfaces; layer model with tandom spheriodal scatterers for remote sensing of vegetation canopy; application of theoretical models to active and passive remote sensing of saline ice; radiative transfer theory for polarimetric remote sensing of pine forest; scattering of electromagnetic waves from a dense medium consisting of correlated mie scatterers with size distributions and applications to dry snow; variance of phase fluctuations of waves propagating through a random medium; polarimetric signatures of a canopy of dielectric cylinders based on first and second order vector radiative transfer theory; branching model for vegetation; polarimetric passive remote sensing of periodic surfaces; composite volume and surface scattering model; and radar image classification.

A potential hyperspectral remote sensing imager for water quality measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zur, Yoav; Braun, Ofer; Stavitsky, David; Blasberger, Avigdor

2003-04-01

Utilization of Pan Chromatic and Multi Spectral Remote Sensing Imagery is wide spreading and becoming an established business for commercial suppliers of such imagery like ISI and others. Some emerging technologies are being used to generate Hyper-Spectral imagery (HSI) by aircraft as well as other platforms. The commercialization of such technology for Remote Sensing from space is still questionable and depends upon several parameters including maturity, cost, market reception and many others. HSI can be used in a variety of applications in agriculture, urban mapping, geology and others. One outstanding potential usage of HSI is for water quality monitoring, a subject studied in this paper. Water quality monitoring is becoming a major area of interest in HSI due to the increase in water demand around the globe. The ability to monitor water quality in real time having both spatial and temporal resolution is one of the advantages of Remote Sensing. This ability is not limited only for measurements of oceans and inland water, but can be applied for drinking and irrigation water reservoirs as well. HSI in the UV-VNIR has the ability to measure a wide range of constituents that define water quality. Among the constituents that can be measured are the pigment concentration of various algae, chlorophyll a and c, carotenoids and phycocyanin, thus enabling to define the algal phyla. Other parameters that can be measured are TSS (Total Suspended Solids), turbidity, BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand), hydrocarbons, oxygen demand. The study specifies the properties of such a space borne device that results from the spectral signatures and the absorption bands of the constituents in question. Other parameters considered are the repetition of measurements, the spatial aspects of the sensor and the SNR of the sensor in question.

Recent Progress in the Remote Detection of Vapours and Gaseous Pollutants.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moffat, A. J.; And Others

Work has been continuing on the correlation spectrometry techniques described at previous remote sensing symposiums. Advances in the techniques are described which enable accurate quantitative measurements of diffused atmospheric gases to be made using controlled light sources, accurate quantitative measurements of gas clouds relative to…

Remote sensing by satellite - Technical and operational implications for international cooperation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doyle, S. E.

1976-01-01

International cooperation in the U.S. Space Program is discussed and related to the NASA program for remote sensing of the earth. Satellite remote sensing techniques are considered along with the selection of the best sensors and wavelength bands. The technology of remote sensing satellites is considered with emphasis on the Landsat system configuration. Future aspects of remote sensing satellites are considered.

Six-Port Based Interferometry for Precise Radar and Sensing Applications.

PubMed

Koelpin, Alexander; Lurz, Fabian; Linz, Sarah; Mann, Sebastian; Will, Christoph; Lindner, Stefan

2016-09-22

Microwave technology plays a more important role in modern industrial sensing applications. Pushed by the significant progress in monolithic microwave integrated circuit technology over the past decades, complex sensing systems operating in the microwave and even millimeter-wave range are available for reasonable costs combined with exquisite performance. In the context of industrial sensing, this stimulates new approaches for metrology based on microwave technology. An old measurement principle nearly forgotten over the years has recently gained more and more attention in both academia and industry: the six-port interferometer. This paper reviews the basic concept, investigates promising applications in remote, as well as contact-based sensing and compares the system with state-of-the-art metrology. The significant advantages will be discussed just as the limitations of the six-port architecture. Particular attention will be paid to impairment effects and non-ideal behavior, as well as compensation and linearization concepts. It will be shown that in application fields, like remote distance sensing, precise alignment measurements, as well as interferometrically-evaluated mechanical strain analysis, the six-port architecture delivers extraordinary measurement results combined with high measurement data update rates for reasonable system costs. This makes the six-port architecture a promising candidate for industrial metrology.

Exploration of Data Fusion between Polarimetric Radar and Multispectral Image Data

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-01

target decomposition theorems in radar polarimetry . Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 34(2), 498–518. Cloude, S. R. (1985). Target...Proceedings of the Journees Internationales De La Polarimetrie Radar (JIPR ‘90), Nantes, France. Huynen, J. R. (1965). Measurement of theTarget scattering...J. A. (2006). Review of passive imaging polarimetry for remote sensing applications. Applied Optics, 45(22), 5453–5469. Vanzyl, J., Zebker, H

Earth Resources. A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-11-01

Airborne microwave Doppler measurements of ocean of Guinea according to ground-based and satellite Coral reef remote sensing applications wave directional...understanding of internal Coral reef remote sensing applications an earth-to-satellite Hadamard transform laser long-path waves in the ocean p 20 A87-32951...classifications of coral reefs , and an are provided and new topographic features that are revealed are autocorrelation technique is being developed to

[Algorithms of multiband remote sensing for coastal red tide waters].

PubMed

Mao, Xianmou; Huang, Weigen

2003-07-01

The spectral characteristics of the coastal waters in East China Sea was studied using in situ measurements, and the multiband algorithms of remote sensing for bloom waters was discussed and developed. Examples of red tide detection using the algorithms in the East China Sea were presented. The results showed that the algorithms could provide information about the location and the area coverage of the red tide events.

Ocean Remote Sensing Using Ambient Noise

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-30

and other adaptive array processing methods. OBJECTIVES Work on this project has focused on noise interferometry – the process by which an...measured at xA and xB. In that context, our objective is to investigate and identify the limitations of noise interferometry for remote sensing...and 6 is ongoing. 1. Demonstration of noise interferometry at 10 km range in a shallow water environment Recently conducted experiments in the

Prediction of forest canopy and surface fuels from lidar and satellite time series data in a bark beetle-affected forest

Treesearch

Benjamin C. Bright; Andrew T. Hudak; Arjan J. H. Meddens; Todd J. Hawbaker; Jennifer S. Briggs; Robert E. Kennedy

2017-01-01

Wildfire behavior depends on the type, quantity, and condition of fuels, and the effect that bark beetle outbreaks have on fuels is a topic of current research and debate. Remote sensing can provide estimates of fuels across landscapes, although few studies have estimated surface fuels from remote sensing data. Here we predicted and mapped field-measured canopy and...

Application of airborne hyperspectral remote sensing for the retrieval of forest inventory parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dmitriev, Yegor V.; Kozoderov, Vladimir V.; Sokolov, Anton A.

2016-04-01

Collecting and updating forest inventory data play an important part in the forest management. The data can be obtained directly by using exact enough but low efficient ground based methods as well as from the remote sensing measurements. We present applications of airborne hyperspectral remote sensing for the retrieval of such important inventory parameters as the forest species and age composition. The hyperspectral images of the test region were obtained from the airplane equipped by the produced in Russia light-weight airborne video-spectrometer of visible and near infrared spectral range and high resolution photo-camera on the same gyro-stabilized platform. The quality of the thematic processing depends on many factors such as the atmospheric conditions, characteristics of measuring instruments, corrections and preprocessing methods, etc. An important role plays the construction of the classifier together with methods of the reduction of the feature space. The performance of different spectral classification methods is analyzed for the problem of hyperspectral remote sensing of soil and vegetation. For the reduction of the feature space we used the earlier proposed stable feature selection method. The results of the classification of hyperspectral airborne images by using the Multiclass Support Vector Machine method with Gaussian kernel and the parametric Bayesian classifier based on the Gaussian mixture model and their comparative analysis are demonstrated.

An investigation of current and future satellite and in-situ data for the remote sensing of the land surface energy balance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diak, George R.

1994-01-01

This final report from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) summarizes a research program designed to improve our knowledge of the water and energy balance of the land surface through the application of remote sensing and in-situ data sources. The remote sensing data source investigations to be detailed involve surface radiometric ('skin') temperatures and also high-spectral-resolution infrared radiance data from atmospheric sounding instruments projected to be available at the end of the decade, which have shown promising results for evaluating the land-surface water and energy budget. The in-situ data types to be discussed are measurements of the temporal changes of the height of the planetary boundary layer and measurements of air temperature within the planetary boundary layer. Physical models of the land surface, planetary boundary layer and free atmosphere have been used as important tools to interpret the in-situ and remote sensing signals of the surface energy balance. A prototype 'optimal' system for combining multiple data sources into a three-dimensional estimate of the surface energy balance was developed and first results from this system will be detailed. Potential new sources of data for this system and suggested continuation research will also be discussed.

Scaling from instantaneous remote-sensing-based latent heat flux to daytime integrated value with the help of SiB2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Yi; Ma, Mingguo; Li, Xin; Wang, Xufeng

2011-11-01

This research dealt with a daytime integration method with the help of Simple Biosphere Model, Version 2 (SiB2). The field observations employed in this study were obtained at the Yingke (YK) oasis super-station, which includes an Automatic Meteorological Station (AMS), an eddy covariance (EC) system and a Soil Moisture and Temperature Measuring System (SMTMS). This station is located in the Heihe River Basin, the second largest inland river basin in China. The remotely sensed data and field observations employed in this study were derived from Watershed Allied Telemetry Experimental Research (WATER). Daily variations of EF in temporal and spatial scale would be detected by using SiB2. An instantaneous midday EF was calculated based on a remote-sensing-based estimation of surface energy budget. The invariance of daytime EF was examined using the instantaneous midday EF calculated from a remote-sensing-based estimation. The integration was carried out using the constant EF method in the intervals with a steady EF. Intervals with an inconsistent EF were picked up and ET in these intervals was integrated separately. The truth validation of land Surface ET at satellite pixel scale was carried out using the measurement of eddy covariance (EC) system.

Remote sensing in operational range management programs in Western Canada

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, M. D.

1977-01-01

A pilot program carried out in Western Canada to test remote sensing under semi-operational conditions and display its applicability to operational range management programs was described. Four agencies were involved in the program, two in Alberta and two in Manitoba. Each had different objectives and needs for remote sensing within its range management programs, and each was generally unfamiliar with remote sensing techniques and their applications. Personnel with experience and expertise in the remote sensing and range management fields worked with the agency personnel through every phase of the pilot program. Results indicate that these agencies have found remote sensing to be a cost effective tool and will begin to utilize remote sensing in their operational work during ensuing seasons.

State resource management and role of remote sensing. [California

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, H. D.

1981-01-01

Remote sensing by satellite can provide valuable information to state officials when making decisions regarding resources management. Portions of California's investment for Prosperity program which seem likely candidates for remote sensing include: (1) surveying vegetation type, age, and density in forests and wildlife habitats; (2) controlling fires through chaparal management; (3) monitoring wetlands and measuring ocean biomass; (4) eliminating ground water overdraught; (5) locating crops in overdraught areas, assessing soil erosion and the areas of poorly drained soils and those affected by salt; (6) monitoring coastal lands and resources; (7) changes in landscapes for recreational purposes; (8) inventorying irrigated lands; (9) classifying ground cover; (10) monitoring farmland conversion; and (11) supplying data for a statewide computerized farmlands data base.

Atmospheric Radiative Transfer for Satellite Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marshak, Alexander

2008-01-01

I will discuss the science of satellite remote sensing which involves the interpretation and inversion of radiometric measurements made from space. The goal of remote sensing is to retrieve some physical aspects of the medium which are sensitive to the radiation at specific wavelengths. This requires the use of fundamentals of atmospheric radiative transfer. I will talk about atmospheric radiation or, more specifically, about the interactions of solar radiation with aerosols and cloud particles. The focus will be more on cloudy atmospheres. I will also show how a standard one-dimensional approach, that is traced back at least 100 years, can fail to interpret the complexity of real clouds. I n these cases, three-dimensional radiative transfer should be used. Examples of satellite retrievals will illustrate the cases.

Remote measurement of energy and carbon flux from wildfires in Brazil

Treesearch

P.J. Riggan; R.G. Tissell; R.N. Lockwood; J.A. Brass; J.A.R. Pereira; H.S. Miranda; A.C. Miranda; T. Campos; R. Higgins

2004-01-01

Temperature, intensity, spread, and dimensions of fires burning in tropical savanna and slashed tropical forest in central Brazil were measured for the first time by remote sensing with an infrared imaging spectrometer that was designed to accommodate the high radiances of wildland fires. Furthermore, the first in situ airborne measurements of sensible heat and carbon...

a New Approach for Accuracy Improvement of Pulsed LIDAR Remote Sensing Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, G.; Huang, W.; Zhou, X.; He, C.; Li, X.; Huang, Y.; Zhang, L.

2018-05-01

In remote sensing applications, the accuracy of time interval measurement is one of the most important parameters that affect the quality of pulsed lidar data. The traditional time interval measurement technique has the disadvantages of low measurement accuracy, complicated circuit structure and large error. A high-precision time interval data cannot be obtained in these traditional methods. In order to obtain higher quality of remote sensing cloud images based on the time interval measurement, a higher accuracy time interval measurement method is proposed. The method is based on charging the capacitance and sampling the change of capacitor voltage at the same time. Firstly, the approximate model of the capacitance voltage curve in the time of flight of pulse is fitted based on the sampled data. Then, the whole charging time is obtained with the fitting function. In this method, only a high-speed A/D sampler and capacitor are required in a single receiving channel, and the collected data is processed directly in the main control unit. The experimental results show that the proposed method can get error less than 3 ps. Compared with other methods, the proposed method improves the time interval accuracy by at least 20 %.

Remote Assessment of Lunar Resource Potential

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, G. Jeffrey

1992-01-01

Assessing the resource potential of the lunar surface requires a well-planned program to determine the chemical and mineralogical composition of the Moon's surface at a range of scales. The exploration program must include remote sensing measurements (from both Earth's surface and lunar orbit), robotic in situ analysis of specific places, and eventually, human field work by trained geologists. Remote sensing data is discussed. Resource assessment requires some idea of what resources will be needed. Studies thus far have concentrated on oxygen and hydrogen production for propellant and life support, He-3 for export as fuel for nuclear fusion reactors, and use of bulk regolith for shielding and construction materials. The measurement requirements for assessing these resources are given and discussed briefly.

[Investigation on remote measurement of air pollution by a method of infrared passive scanning imaging].

PubMed

Jiao, Yang; Xu, Liang; Gao, Min-Guang; Feng, Ming-Chun; Jin, Ling; Tong, Jing-Jing; Li, Sheng

2012-07-01

Passive remote sensing by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry allows detection of air pollution. However, for the localization of a leak and a complete assessment of the situation in the case of the release of a hazardous cloud, information about the position and the distribution of a cloud is essential. Therefore, an imaging passive remote sensing system comprising an interferometer, a data acquisition and processing software, scan system, a video system, and a personal computer has been developed. The remote sensing of SF6 was done. The column densities of all directions in which a target compound has been identified may be retrieved by a nonlinear least squares fitting algorithm and algorithm of radiation transfer, and a false color image is displayed. The results were visualized by a video image, overlaid by false color concentration distribution image. The system has a high selectivity, and allows visualization and quantification of pollutant clouds.

Remote optical stethoscope and optomyography sensing device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golberg, Mark; Polani, Sagi; Ozana, Nisan; Beiderman, Yevgeny; Garcia, Javier; Ruiz-Rivas Onses, Joaquin; Sanz Sabater, Martin; Shatsky, Max; Zalevsky, Zeev

2017-02-01

In this paper we present the usage of photonic remote laser based device for sensing nano-vibrations for detection of muscle contraction and fatigue, eye movements and in-vivo estimation of glucose concentration. The same concept is also used to realize a remote optical stethoscope. The advantage of doing the measurements from a distance is in preventing passage of infections as in the case of optical stethoscope or in the capability to monitor e.g. sleep quality without disturbing the patient. The remote monitoring of glucose concentration in the blood stream and the capability to perform opto-myography for the Messer muscles (chewing) is very useful for nutrition and weight control. The optical configuration for sensing the nano-vibrations is based upon analyzing the statistics of the secondary speckle patterns reflected from various tissues along the body of the subjects. Experimental results present the preliminary capability of the proposed configuration for the above mentioned applications.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE FOURTH SYMPOSIUM ON REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT; 12, 13, 14 APRIL 1966.

DTIC Science & Technology

The symposium was conducted as part of a continuing program investigating the field of remote sensing , its potential in scientific research and...information on all aspects of remote sensing , with special emphasis on such topics as needs for remotely sensed data, data management, and the special... remote sensing programs, data acquisition, data analysis and application, and equipment design, were presented. (Author)

Remote sensing and image interpretation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lillesand, T. M.; Kiefer, R. W. (Principal Investigator)

1979-01-01

A textbook prepared primarily for use in introductory courses in remote sensing is presented. Topics covered include concepts and foundations of remote sensing; elements of photographic systems; introduction to airphoto interpretation; airphoto interpretation for terrain evaluation; photogrammetry; radiometric characteristics of aerial photographs; aerial thermography; multispectral scanning and spectral pattern recognition; microwave sensing; and remote sensing from space.

CO2 exchange coefficients from remotely-sensed wind speed measurements: SSM/I versus QuikSCAT in 2000

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carr, M.; Tang, W.; Liu, W. T.

2002-01-01

We compare here the air-sea exchange coefficient for C02 estimated with monthly mean wind speed measured by the Special Sensing Microwave Imager (SSM/I), Ks , and by the scatterometer QuikSCAT, Kq, for the year 2000.

Remote Sensing Applications to Water Quality Management in Florida

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lehrter, J. C.; Schaeffer, B. A.; Hagy, J.; Spiering, B.; Barnes, B.; Hu, C.; Le, C.; McEachron, L.; Underwood, L. W.; Ellis, C.; Fisher, B.

2013-12-01

Optical datasets from estuarine and coastal systems are increasingly available for remote sensing algorithm development, validation, and application. With validated algorithms, the data streams from satellite sensors can provide unprecedented spatial and temporal data for local and regional coastal water quality management. Our presentation will highlight two recent applications of optical data and remote sensing to water quality decision-making in coastal regions of the state of Florida; (1) informing the development of estuarine and coastal nutrient criteria for the state of Florida and (2) informing the rezoning of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. These efforts involved building up the underlying science to demonstrate the applicability of satellite data as well as an outreach component to educate decision-makers about the use, utility, and uncertainties of remote sensing data products. Scientific developments included testing existing algorithms and generating new algorithms for water clarity and chlorophylla in case II (CDOM or turbidity dominated) estuarine and coastal waters and demonstrating the accuracy of remote sensing data products in comparison to traditional field based measurements. Including members from decision-making organizations on the research team and interacting with decision-makers early and often in the process were key factors for the success of the outreach efforts and the eventual adoption of satellite data into the data records and analyses used in decision-making. Florida coastal water bodies (black boxes) for which remote sensing imagery were applied to derive numeric nutrient criteria and in situ observations (black dots) used to validate imagery. Florida ocean color applied to development of numeric nutrient criteria

Potential of remote sensing of cirrus optical thickness by airborne spectral radiance measurements at different sideward viewing angles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolf, Kevin; Ehrlich, André; Hüneke, Tilman; Pfeilsticker, Klaus; Werner, Frank; Wirth, Martin; Wendisch, Manfred

2017-03-01

Spectral radiance measurements collected in nadir and sideward viewing directions by two airborne passive solar remote sensing instruments, the Spectral Modular Airborne Radiation measurement sysTem (SMART) and the Differential Optical Absorption Spectrometer (mini-DOAS), are used to compare the remote sensing results of cirrus optical thickness τ. The comparison is based on a sensitivity study using radiative transfer simulations (RTS) and on data obtained during three airborne field campaigns: the North Atlantic Rainfall VALidation (NARVAL) mission, the Mid-Latitude Cirrus Experiment (ML-CIRRUS) and the Aerosol, Cloud, Precipitation, and Radiation Interactions and Dynamics of Convective Cloud Systems (ACRIDICON) campaign. Radiative transfer simulations are used to quantify the sensitivity of measured upward radiance I with respect to τ, ice crystal effective radius reff, viewing angle of the sensor θV, spectral surface albedo α, and ice crystal shape. From the calculations it is concluded that sideward viewing measurements are generally better suited than radiance data from the nadir direction to retrieve τ of optically thin cirrus, especially at wavelengths larger than λ = 900 nm. Using sideward instead of nadir-directed spectral radiance measurements significantly improves the sensitivity and accuracy in retrieving τ, in particular for optically thin cirrus of τ ≤ 2. The comparison of retrievals of τ based on nadir and sideward viewing radiance measurements from SMART, mini-DOAS and independent estimates of τ from an additional active remote sensing instrument, the Water Vapor Lidar Experiment in Space (WALES), shows general agreement within the range of measurement uncertainties. For the selected example a mean τ of 0.54 ± 0.2 is derived from SMART, and 0.49 ± 0.2 by mini-DOAS nadir channels, while WALES obtained a mean value of τ = 0.32 ± 0.02 at 532 nm wavelength, respectively. The mean of τ derived from the sideward viewing mini-DOAS channels is 0.26 ± 0.2. For the few simultaneous measurements, the mini-DOAS sideward channel measurements systematically underestimate (-17.6 %) the nadir observations from SMART and mini-DOAS. The agreement between mini-DOAS sideward viewing channels and WALES is better, showing the advantage of using sideward viewing measurements for cloud remote sensing for τ ≤ 1. Therefore, we suggest sideward viewing measurements for retrievals of τ of thin cirrus because of the significantly enhanced capability of sideward viewing compared to nadir measurements.

Geotechnical applications of remote sensing and remote data transmission; Proceedings of the Symposium, Cocoa Beach, FL, Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 1986

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

Johnson, A.I.; Pettersson, C.B.

1988-01-01

Papers and discussions concerning the geotechnical applications of remote sensing and remote data transmission, sources of remotely sensed data, and glossaries of remote sensing and remote data transmission terms, acronyms, and abbreviations are presented. Aspects of remote sensing use covered include the significance of lineaments and their effects on ground-water systems, waste-site use and geotechnical characterization, the estimation of reservoir submerging losses using CIR aerial photographs, and satellite-based investigation of the significance of surficial deposits for surface mining operations. Other topics presented include the location of potential ground subsidence and collapse features in soluble carbonate rock, optical Fourier analysis ofmore » surface features of interest in geotechnical engineering, geotechnical applications of U.S. Government remote sensing programs, updating the data base for a Geographic Information System, the joint NASA/Geosat Test Case Project, the selection of remote data telemetry methods for geotechnical applications, the standardization of remote sensing data collection and transmission, and a comparison of airborne Goodyear electronic mapping system/SAR with satelliteborne Seasat/SAR radar imagery.« less

Education in Environmental Remote Sensing: Potentials and Problems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kiefer, Ralph W.; Lillesand, Thomas M.

1983-01-01

Discusses remote sensing principles and applications and the status and needs of remote sensing education in the United States. A summary of the fundamental policy issues that will determine remote sensing's future role in environmental and resource managements is included. (Author/BC)

THE EPA REMOTE SENSING ARCHIVE

EPA Science Inventory

What would you do if you were faced with organizing 30 years of remote sensing projects that had been haphazardly stored at two separate locations for years then combined? The EPA Remote Sensing Archive, currently located in Las Vegas, Nevada. contains the remote sensing data and...

Accuracy Dimensions in Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barsi, Á.; Kugler, Zs.; László, I.; Szabó, Gy.; Abdulmutalib, H. M.

2018-04-01

The technological developments in remote sensing (RS) during the past decade has contributed to a significant increase in the size of data user community. For this reason data quality issues in remote sensing face a significant increase in importance, particularly in the era of Big Earth data. Dozens of available sensors, hundreds of sophisticated data processing techniques, countless software tools assist the processing of RS data and contributes to a major increase in applications and users. In the past decades, scientific and technological community of spatial data environment were focusing on the evaluation of data quality elements computed for point, line, area geometry of vector and raster data. Stakeholders of data production commonly use standardised parameters to characterise the quality of their datasets. Yet their efforts to estimate the quality did not reach the general end-user community running heterogeneous applications who assume that their spatial data is error-free and best fitted to the specification standards. The non-specialist, general user group has very limited knowledge how spatial data meets their needs. These parameters forming the external quality dimensions implies that the same data system can be of different quality to different users. The large collection of the observed information is uncertain in a level that can decry the reliability of the applications. Based on prior paper of the authors (in cooperation within the Remote Sensing Data Quality working group of ISPRS), which established a taxonomy on the dimensions of data quality in GIS and remote sensing domains, this paper is aiming at focusing on measures of uncertainty in remote sensing data lifecycle, focusing on land cover mapping issues. In the paper we try to introduce how quality of the various combination of data and procedures can be summarized and how services fit the users' needs. The present paper gives the theoretic overview of the issue, besides selected, practice-oriented approaches are evaluated too, finally widely-used dimension metrics like Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) or confusion matrix are discussed. The authors present data quality features of well-defined and poorly defined object. The central part of the study is the land cover mapping, describing its accuracy management model, presented relevance and uncertainty measures of its influencing quality dimensions. In the paper theory is supported by a case study, where the remote sensing technology is used for supporting the area-based agricultural subsidies of the European Union, in Hungarian administration.

NIST activities in support of space-based radiometric remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rice, Joseph P.; Johnson, B. Carol

2001-06-01

We provide an historical overview of NIST research and development in radiometry for space-based remote sensing. The applications in this field can be generally divided into two areas: environmental and defense. In the environmental remote sensing area, NIST has had programs with agencies such as the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to verify and improve traceability of the radiometric calibration of sensors that fly on board Earth-observing satellites. These produce data used in climate models and weather prediction. Over the years, the scope of activities has expanded from existing routine calibration services for artifacts such as lamps, diffusers, and filters, to development and off-site deployment of portable radiometers for radiance- and irradiance-scale intercomparisons. In the defense remote sensing area, NIST has had programs with agencies such as the Department of Defense (DOD) for support of calibration of small, low-level infrared sources in a low infrared background. These are used by the aerospace industry to simulate ballistic missiles in a cold space background. Activities have evolved from calibration of point-source cryogenic blackbodies at NIST to measurement of irradiance in off-site calibration chambers by a portable vacuum/cryogenic radiometer. Both areas of application required measurements on the cutting edge of what was technically feasible, thus compelling NIST to develop a state-of-the-art radiometric measurement infrastructure to meet the needs. This infrastructure has led to improved dissemination of the NIST spectroradiometric quantities.

Airborne in situ vertical profiling of HDO/H216O in the subtropical troposphere during the MUSICA remote sensing validation campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dyroff, C.; Sanati, S.; Christner, E.; Zahn, A.; Balzer, M.; Bouquet, H.; McManus, J. B.; González-Ramos, Y.; Schneider, M.

2015-01-01

Vertical profiles of water vapor (H2O) and its isotope ratio D / H expressed as δ D(H2O were measured in situ by the ISOWAT II diode-laser spectrometer during the MUlti-platform remote Sensing of Isotopologues for investigating the Cycle of Atmospheric water (MUSICA) airborne campaign. We present recent modifications of the instrument design. The instrument calibration on the ground as well as in flight is described. Based on the calibration measurements, the humidity-dependent uncertainty of our airborne data is determined. For the majority of the airborne data we achieved an accuracy (uncertainty of the mean) of Δ(δ D) ≈ 10‰. Vertical profiles between 150 and ~7000 m were obtained during 7 days in July and August 2013 over the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean near Tenerife. The flights were coordinated with ground-based (Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change, NDACC) and space-based (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer, IASI) FTIR remote-sensing measurements of δ D(H2O) as a means to validate the remote sensing humidity and δ D(H2O) data products. The results of the validation are presented in detail in a separate paper (Schneider et al., 2014). The profiles were obtained with a high vertical resolution of around 3 m. By analyzing humidity and δ D(H2O) correlations we were able to identify different layers of airmasses with specific isotopic signatures. The results are discussed.

Remote sensing of aerosols in the Arctic for an evaluation of global climate model simulations

PubMed Central

Glantz, Paul; Bourassa, Adam; Herber, Andreas; Iversen, Trond; Karlsson, Johannes; Kirkevåg, Alf; Maturilli, Marion; Seland, Øyvind; Stebel, Kerstin; Struthers, Hamish; Tesche, Matthias; Thomason, Larry

2014-01-01

In this study Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Aqua retrievals of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) at 555 nm are compared to Sun photometer measurements from Svalbard for a period of 9 years. For the 642 daily coincident measurements that were obtained, MODIS AOT generally varies within the predicted uncertainty of the retrieval over ocean (ΔAOT = ±0.03 ± 0.05 · AOT). The results from the remote sensing have been used to examine the accuracy in estimates of aerosol optical properties in the Arctic, generated by global climate models and from in situ measurements at the Zeppelin station, Svalbard. AOT simulated with the Norwegian Earth System Model/Community Atmosphere Model version 4 Oslo global climate model does not reproduce the observed seasonal variability of the Arctic aerosol. The model overestimates clear-sky AOT by nearly a factor of 2 for the background summer season, while tending to underestimate the values in the spring season. Furthermore, large differences in all-sky AOT of up to 1 order of magnitude are found for the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 model ensemble for the spring and summer seasons. Large differences between satellite/ground-based remote sensing of AOT and AOT estimated from dry and humidified scattering coefficients are found for the subarctic marine boundary layer in summer. Key Points Remote sensing of AOT is very useful in validation of climate models PMID:25821664

Research on remote sensing image pixel attribute data acquisition method in AutoCAD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xiaoyang; Sun, Guangtong; Liu, Jun; Liu, Hui

2013-07-01

The remote sensing image has been widely used in AutoCAD, but AutoCAD lack of the function of remote sensing image processing. In the paper, ObjectARX was used for the secondary development tool, combined with the Image Engine SDK to realize remote sensing image pixel attribute data acquisition in AutoCAD, which provides critical technical support for AutoCAD environment remote sensing image processing algorithms.

Bibliography of Remote Sensing Techniques Used in Wetland Research.

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-01-01

remote sensing technology for detecting changes in wetland environments. This report documents a bibliographic search conducted as part of that work unit on applications of remote sensing techniques in wetland research. Results were used to guide research efforts on the use of remote sensing technology for wetland change detection and assessment. The citations are presented in three appendixes, organized by wetland type, sensor type, and author.... Change detection, Wetland assessment, Remote sensing ,

Potential Pitfalls Related to Space-Based Lidar Remote Sensing of the Earth with an Emphasis on Wind Measurement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kavaya, Michael J.; Spiers, Gary D.; Frehlich, Rod G.; Arnold, James E. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

A collection of issues is discussed that are potential pitfalls, if handled incorrectly, for earth-orbiting lidar remote sensing instruments. These issues arise due to the long target ranges, high lidar-to-target relative velocities, low signal levels, use of laser scanners, and other unique aspects of using lasers in earth orbit. Consequences of misunderstanding these topics range from minor inconvenience to improper calibration to total failure. We will focus on wind measurement using coherent detection Doppler lidar, but many of the potential pitfalls apply also to noncoherent lidar wind measurement, and to measurement of parameters other than wind. Each area will be identified as to its applicability.

Microwave remote sensing of sea ice in the AIDJEX Main Experiment. [Arctic Ice Dynamics Joint Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Campbell, W. J.; Wayenberg, J.; Ramseyer, J. B.; Ramseier, R. O.; Vant, M. R.; Weaver, R.; Redmond, A.; Arsenault, L.; Gloersen, P.; Zwally, H. J.

1978-01-01

A microwave remote sensing program of sea ice in the Beaufort Sea was conducted during the Arctic Ice Dynamics Joint Experiment (AIDJEX). Several types of both passive and active sensors were used to perform surface and aircraft measurements during all seasons of the year. In situ observations were made of physical properties (salinity, temperature, density, surface roughness), dielectric properties, and passive microwave measurements were made of first-year, multiyear, and first-year/multiyear mixtures. Airborne passive microwave measurements were performed with the electronically scanning microwave radiometer while airborne active microwave measurements were performed by synthetic aperture radar, X- and L-band radar, and a scatterometer.

Remote monitoring of a thermal plume

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuo, C. Y.; Talay, T. A.

1979-01-01

A remote-sensing experiment conducted on May 17, 1977, over the Surry nuclear power station on the James River, Virginia is discussed. Isotherms of the thermal plume from the power station were derived from remotely sensed data and compared with in situ water temperature measurements provided by the Virginia Electric and Power Company, VEPCO. The results of this study were also qualitatively compared with those from other previous studies under comparable conditions of the power station's operation and the ambient flow. These studies included hydraulic model predictions carried out by Pritchard and Carpenter and a 5-year in situ monitoring program based on boat surveys.

Remote measurement of river discharge using thermal particle image velocimetry (PIV) and various sources of bathymetric information

USGS Publications Warehouse

Legleiter, Carl; Kinzel, Paul J.; Nelson, Jonathan M.

2017-01-01

Although river discharge is a fundamental hydrologic quantity, conventional methods of streamgaging are impractical, expensive, and potentially dangerous in remote locations. This study evaluated the potential for measuring discharge via various forms of remote sensing, primarily thermal imaging of flow velocities but also spectrally-based depth retrieval from passive optical image data. We acquired thermal image time series from bridges spanning five streams in Alaska and observed strong agreement between velocities measured in situ and those inferred by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), which quantified advection of thermal features by the flow. The resulting surface velocities were converted to depth-averaged velocities by applying site-specific, calibrated velocity indices. Field spectra from three clear-flowing streams provided strong relationships between depth and reflectance, suggesting that, under favorable conditions, spectrally-based bathymetric mapping could complement thermal PIV in a hybrid approach to remote sensing of river discharge; this strategy would not be applicable to larger, more turbid rivers, however. A more flexible and efficient alternative might involve inferring depth from thermal data based on relationships between depth and integral length scales of turbulent fluctuations in temperature, captured as variations in image brightness. We observed moderately strong correlations for a site-aggregated data set that reduced station-to-station variability but encompassed a broad range of depths. Discharges calculated using thermal PIV-derived velocities were within 15% of in situ measurements when combined with depths measured directly in the field or estimated from field spectra and within 40% when the depth information also was derived from thermal images. The results of this initial, proof-of-concept investigation suggest that remote sensing techniques could facilitate measurement of river discharge.

Kite Aerial Photography as a Tool for Remote Sensing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sallee, Jeff; Meier, Lesley R.

2010-01-01

As humans, we perform remote sensing nearly all the time. This is because we acquire most of our information about our surroundings through the senses of sight and hearing. Whether viewed by the unenhanced eye or a military satellite, remote sensing is observing objects from a distance. With our current technology, remote sensing has become a part…

Remote sensing for detecting and mapping whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) infestations

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Remote sensing technology has long been used for detecting insect infestations on agricultural crops. With recent advances in remote sensing sensors and other spatial information technologies such as Global Position Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing is finding mo...

Remote-Sensing Practice and Potential

DTIC Science & Technology

1974-05-01

Six essential processes that must be accomplished if use of a remote - sensing system is to result in useful information are defined as problem...to be useful in remote - sensing projects are described. An overview of the current state-of-the-art of remote sensing is presented.

History and future of remote sensing technology and education

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colwell, R. N.

1980-01-01

A historical overview of the discovery and development of photography, related sciences, and remote sensing technology is presented. The role of education to date in the development of remote sensing is discussed. The probable future and potential of remote sensing and training is described.

Remote Sensing of Cryosphere: Estimation of Mass Balance Change in Himalayan Glaciers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ambinakudige, Shrinidhi; Joshi, Kabindra

2012-07-01

Glacial changes are an important indicator of climate change. Our understanding mass balance change in Himalayan glaciers is limited. This study estimates mass balance of some major glaciers in the Sagarmatha National Park (SNP) in Nepal using remote sensing applications. Remote sensing technique to measure mass balance of glaciers is an important methodological advance in the highly rugged Himalayan terrain. This study uses ASTER VNIR, 3N (nadir view) and 3B (backward view) bands to generate Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) for the SNP area for the years 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Glacier boundaries were delineated using combination of boundaries available in the Global land ice measurement (GLIMS) database and various band ratios derived from ASTER images. Elevation differences, glacial area, and ice densities were used to estimate the change in mass balance. The results indicated that the rate of glacier mass balance change was not uniform across glaciers. While there was a decrease in mass balance of some glaciers, some showed increase. This paper discusses how each glacier in the SNP area varied in its annual mass balance measurement during the study period.

Development of EOS-aided procedures for the determination of the water balance of hydrologic budget of a large watershed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Congalton, Russell G.; Thomas, Randall W.; Zinke, Paul J.

1986-01-01

Work focused on the acquisition of remotely sensed data for the 1985 to 1986 hydrogolic year; continuation of the field measurement program; continued acquisition and construction of passive microwave remote sensing instruments; a compilation of data necessary for an initial water balance computation; and participation with the EOS Simulataneity Team in reviewing the Feather River watershed as a possible site for a simultaneity experiment.

Remote sensing in biological oceanography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Esaias, W. E.

1981-01-01

The main attribute of remote sensing is seen as its ability to measure distributions over large areas on a synoptic basis and to repeat this coverage at required time periods. The way in which the Coastal Zone Color Scanner, by showing the distribution of chlorophyll a, can locate areas productive in both phytoplankton and fishes is described. Lidar techniques are discussed, and it is pointed out that lidar will increase the depth range for observations.

Wide-area remote-sensing system of pollution and gas dispersal by near-infrared absorption based on low-loss optical fiber network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Inaba, H.

1986-01-01

An all optical remote sensing system utilizing long distance, ultralow loss optical fiber networks is studied and discussed for near infrared absorption measurements of combustible and/or explosive gases such as CH4 and C3H8 in our environment, including experimental results achieved in a diameter more than 20 km. The use of a near infrared wavelength range is emphasized.

Space-Based Remote Sensing of Atmospheric Aerosols: The Multi-Angle Spectro-Polarimetric Frontier

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kokhanovsky, A. A.; Davis, A. B.; Cairns, B.; Dubovik, O.; Hasekamp, O. P.; Sano, I.; Mukai, S.; Rozanov, V. V.; Litvinov, P.; Lapyonok, T.;

Remote sensing of methane emissions by combining optical similitude absorption spectroscopy (OSAS) and lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galtier, Sandrine; Anselmo, Christophe; Welschinger, Jean-Yves; Cariou, Jean-Pierre; Sivignon, Jean-François; Miffre, Alain; Rairoux, Patrick

2018-04-01

Monitoring the emission of gases is difficult to achieve in industrial sites and in environments presenting poor infrastructures. Hence, robust methodologies should be developed and coupled to Lidar technology to allow remote sensing of gas emission. OSAS is a new methodology to evaluate gas concentration emission from spectrally integrated differential absorption measurements. Proof of concept of OSAS-Lidar for CH4 emission monitoring is here presented.

Ten ways remote sensing can contribute to conservation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rose, Robert A.; Byler, Dirck; Eastman, J. Ron; Fleishman, Erica; Geller, Gary; Goetz, Scott; Guild, Liane; Hamilton, Healy; Hansen, Matt; Headley, Rachel; Hewson, Jennifer; Horning, Ned; Kaplin, Beth A.; Laporte, Nadine; Leidner, Allison K.; Leimgruber, Peter; Morisette, Jeffrey T.; Musinsky, John; Pintea, Lilian; Prados, Ana; Radeloff, Volker C.; Rowen, Mary; Saatchi, Sassan; Schill, Steve; Tabor, Karyn; Turner, Woody; Vodacek, Anthony; Vogelmann, James; Wegmann, Martin; Wilkie, David; Wilson, Cara

2014-01-01

In an effort to increase conservation effectiveness through the use of Earth observation technologies, a group of remote sensing scientists affiliated with government and academic institutions and conservation organizations identified 10 questions in conservation for which the potential to be answered would be greatly increased by use of remotely sensed data and analyses of those data. Our goals were to increase conservation practitioners’ use of remote sensing to support their work, increase collaboration between the conservation science and remote sensing communities, identify and develop new and innovative uses of remote sensing for advancing conservation science, provide guidance to space agencies on how future satellite missions can support conservation science, and generate support from the public and private sector in the use of remote sensing data to address the 10 conservation questions. We identified a broad initial list of questions on the basis of an email chain-referral survey. We then used a workshop-based iterative and collaborative approach to whittle the list down to these final questions (which represent 10 major themes in conservation): How can global Earth observation data be used to model species distributions and abundances? How can remote sensing improve the understanding of animal movements? How can remotely sensed ecosystem variables be used to understand, monitor, and predict ecosystem response and resilience to multiple stressors? How can remote sensing be used to monitor the effects of climate on ecosystems? How can near real-time ecosystem monitoring catalyze threat reduction, governance and regulation compliance, and resource management decisions? How can remote sensing inform configuration of protected area networks at spatial extents relevant to populations of target species and ecosystem services? How can remote sensing-derived products be used to value and monitor changes in ecosystem services? How can remote sensing be used to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of conservation efforts? How does the expansion and intensification of agriculture and aquaculture alter ecosystems and the services they provide? How can remote sensing be used to determine the degree to which ecosystems are being disturbed or degraded and the effects of these changes on species and ecosystem functions?

Ten ways remote sensing can contribute to conservation.

PubMed

Rose, Robert A; Byler, Dirck; Eastman, J Ron; Fleishman, Erica; Geller, Gary; Goetz, Scott; Guild, Liane; Hamilton, Healy; Hansen, Matt; Headley, Rachel; Hewson, Jennifer; Horning, Ned; Kaplin, Beth A; Laporte, Nadine; Leidner, Allison; Leimgruber, Peter; Morisette, Jeffrey; Musinsky, John; Pintea, Lilian; Prados, Ana; Radeloff, Volker C; Rowen, Mary; Saatchi, Sassan; Schill, Steve; Tabor, Karyn; Turner, Woody; Vodacek, Anthony; Vogelmann, James; Wegmann, Martin; Wilkie, David; Wilson, Cara

2015-04-01

In an effort to increase conservation effectiveness through the use of Earth observation technologies, a group of remote sensing scientists affiliated with government and academic institutions and conservation organizations identified 10 questions in conservation for which the potential to be answered would be greatly increased by use of remotely sensed data and analyses of those data. Our goals were to increase conservation practitioners' use of remote sensing to support their work, increase collaboration between the conservation science and remote sensing communities, identify and develop new and innovative uses of remote sensing for advancing conservation science, provide guidance to space agencies on how future satellite missions can support conservation science, and generate support from the public and private sector in the use of remote sensing data to address the 10 conservation questions. We identified a broad initial list of questions on the basis of an email chain-referral survey. We then used a workshop-based iterative and collaborative approach to whittle the list down to these final questions (which represent 10 major themes in conservation): How can global Earth observation data be used to model species distributions and abundances? How can remote sensing improve the understanding of animal movements? How can remotely sensed ecosystem variables be used to understand, monitor, and predict ecosystem response and resilience to multiple stressors? How can remote sensing be used to monitor the effects of climate on ecosystems? How can near real-time ecosystem monitoring catalyze threat reduction, governance and regulation compliance, and resource management decisions? How can remote sensing inform configuration of protected area networks at spatial extents relevant to populations of target species and ecosystem services? How can remote sensing-derived products be used to value and monitor changes in ecosystem services? How can remote sensing be used to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of conservation efforts? How does the expansion and intensification of agriculture and aquaculture alter ecosystems and the services they provide? How can remote sensing be used to determine the degree to which ecosystems are being disturbed or degraded and the effects of these changes on species and ecosystem functions? © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

Effective application of optical sensing technology for sustainable liquid level sensing and rainfall measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afzal, Muhammad Hassan Bin

2015-05-01

Rainfall measurement is performed on regular basis to facilitate effectively the weather stations and local inhabitants. Different types of rain gauges are available with different measuring principle for rainfall measurement. In this research work, a novel optical rain sensor is designed, which precisely calculate the rainfall level according to rainfall intensity. This proposed optical rain sensor model introduced in this paper, which is basically designed for remote sensing of rainfall and it designated as R-ORMS (Remote Optical Rainfall Measurement sensor). This sensor is combination of some improved method of tipping bucket rain gauge and most of the optical hydreon rain sensor's principle. This optical sensor can detect the starting time and ending time of rain, rain intensity and rainfall level. An infrared beam from Light Emitting Diode (LED) through powerful convex lens can accurately determines the diameter of each rain drops by total internal reflection principle. Calculations of these accumulative results determine the rain intensity and rainfall level. Accurate rainfall level is determined by internal optical LED based sensor which is embedded in bucket wall. This internal sensor is also following the total internal reflection (TIR) principle and the Fresnel's law. This is an entirely novel design of optical sensing principle based rain sensor and also suitable for remote sensing rainfall level. The performance of this proposed sensor has been comprehensively compared with other sensors with similar attributes and it showed better and sustainable result. Future related works have been proposed at the end of this paper, to provide improved and enhanced performance of proposed novel rain sensor.

Commercial future: making remote sensing a media event

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lurie, Ian

1999-12-01

The rapid growth of commercial remote sensing has made high quality digital sensing data widely available -- now, remote sensing must become and remain a strong, commercially viable industry. However, this new industry cannot survive without an educated consumer base. To access markets, remote sensing providers must make their product more accessible, both literally and figuratively: Potential customers must be able to find the data they require, when they require it, and they must understand the utility of the information available to them. The Internet and the World Wide Web offer the perfect medium to educate potential customers and to sell remote sensing data to those customers. A well-designed web presence can provide both an information center and a market place for companies offering their data for sale. A very high potential web-based market for remote sensing lies in media. News agencies, web sites, and a host of other visual media services can use remote sensing data to provide current, relevant information regarding news around the world. This paper will provide a model for promotion and sale of remote sensing data via the Internet.

Geospatial Analysis and Remote Sensing from Airplanes and Satellites for Cultural Resources Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Giardino, Marco J.; Haley, Bryan S.

2005-01-01

Cultural resource management consists of research to identify, evaluate, document and assess cultural resources, planning to assist in decision-making, and stewardship to implement the preservation, protection and interpretation of these decisions and plans. One technique that may be useful in cultural resource management archaeology is remote sensing. It is the acquisition of data and derivative information about objects or materials (targets) located on the Earth's surface or in its atmosphere by using sensor mounted on platforms located at a distance from the targets to make measurements on interactions between the targets and electromagnetic radiation. Included in this definition are systems that acquire imagery by photographic methods and digital multispectral sensors. Data collected by digital multispectral sensors on aircraft and satellite platforms play a prominent role in many earth science applications, including land cover mapping, geology, soil science, agriculture, forestry, water resource management, urban and regional planning, and environmental assessments. Inherent in the analysis of remotely sensed data is the use of computer-based image processing techniques. Geographical information systems (GIS), designed for collecting, managing, and analyzing spatial information, are also useful in the analysis of remotely sensed data. A GIS can be used to integrate diverse types of spatially referenced digital data, including remotely sensed and map data. In archaeology, these tools have been used in various ways to aid in cultural resource projects. For example, they have been used to predict the presence of archaeological resources using modern environmental indicators. Remote sensing techniques have also been used to directly detect the presence of unknown sites based on the impact of past occupation on the Earth's surface. Additionally, remote sensing has been used as a mapping tool aimed at delineating the boundaries of a site or mapping previously unknown features. All of these applications are pertinent to the goals of site discovery and assessment in cultural resource management.

Investigation of Arctic mixed-phase clouds by combining airborne remote sensing and in situ observations during VERDI, RACEPAC and ACLOUD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ehrlich, André; Bierwirth, Eike; Borrmann, Stephan; Crewell, Susanne; Herber, Andreas; Hoor, Peter; Jourdan, Olivier; Krämer, Martina; Lüpkes, Christof; Mertes, Stephan; Neuber, Roland; Petzold, Andreas; Schnaiter, Martin; Schneider, Johannes; Weigel, Ralf; Weinzierl, Bernadett; Wendisch, Manfred

2016-04-01

To improve our understanding of Arctic mixed-phase clouds a series of airborne research campaigns has been initiated by a collaboration of German research institutes. Clouds in areas dominated by a close sea-ice cover were observed during the research campaign Vertical distribution of ice in Arctic mixed-phase clouds (VERDI, April/May 2012) and the Radiation-Aerosol-Cloud Experiment in the Arctic Circle (RACEPAC, April/May 2014) which both were based in Inuvik, Canada. The aircraft (Polar 5 & 6, Basler BT-67) operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Germany did cover a wide area above the Canadian Beaufort with in total 149 flight hours (62h during VERDI, 87h during RACEPAC). For May/June 2017 a third campaign ACLOUD (Arctic Clouds - Characterization of Ice, aerosol Particles and Energy fluxes) with base in Svalbard is planned within the Transregional Collaborative Research Centre TR 172 ArctiC Amplification: Climate Relevant Atmospheric and SurfaCe Processes, and Feedback Mechanisms (AC)3 to investigate Arctic clouds in the transition zone between open ocean and sea ice. The aim of all campaigns is to combine remote sensing and in-situ cloud, aerosol and trace gas measurements to investigate interactions between radiation, cloud and aerosol particles. While during VERDI remote sensing and in-situ measurements were performed by one aircraft subsequently, for RACEPAC and ACLOUD two identical aircraft are coordinated at different altitudes to horizontally collocate both remote sensing and in-situ measurements. The campaign showed that in this way radiative and microphysical processes in the clouds can by studied more reliably and remote sensing methods can be validated efficiently. Here we will illustrate the scientific strategy of the projects including the progress in instrumentation. Differences in the general synoptic and sea ice situation and related changes in cloud properties at the different locations and seasons will be addressed to illustrate the broad spectrum of the observations. Exemplary results will be highlighted.

Optical sampling of the flux tower footprint

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gamon, J. A.

2015-03-01

The purpose of this review is to address the reasons and methods for conducting optical remote sensing within the flux tower footprint. Fundamental principles and conclusions gleaned from over two decades of proximal remote sensing at flux tower sites are reviewed. An organizing framework is the light-use efficiency (LUE) model, both because it is widely used, and because it provides a useful theoretical construct for integrating optical remote sensing with flux measurements. Multiple ways of driving this model, ranging from meteorological measurements to remote sensing, have emerged in recent years, making it a convenient conceptual framework for comparative experimental studies. New interpretations of established optical sampling methods, including the Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI) and Solar-Induced Fluorescence (SIF), are discussed within the context of the LUE model. Multi-scale analysis across temporal and spatial axes is a central theme, because such scaling can provide links between ecophysiological mechanisms detectable at the level of individual organisms and broad patterns emerging at larger scales, enabling evaluation of emergent properties and extrapolation to the flux footprint and beyond. Proper analysis of sampling scale requires an awareness of sampling context that is often essential to the proper interpretation of optical signals. Additionally, the concept of optical types, vegetation exhibiting contrasting optical behavior in time and space, is explored as a way to frame our understanding of the controls on surface-atmosphere fluxes. Complementary NDVI and PRI patterns across ecosystems are offered as an example of this hypothesis, with the LUE model and light-response curve providing an integrating framework. We conclude that experimental approaches allowing systematic exploration of plant optical behavior in the context of the flux tower network provides a unique way to improve our understanding of environmental constraints and ecophysiological function. In addition to an enhanced mechanistic understanding of ecosystem processes, this integration of remote sensing with flux measurements offers many rich opportunities for upscaling, satellite validation, and informing practical management objectives ranging form assessing ecosystem health and productivity to quantifying biospheric carbon sequestration.

Laser-based sensors for oil spill remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Carl E.; Fingas, Mervin F.; Mullin, Joseph V.

1997-07-01

Remote sensing is becoming an increasingly important tool for the effective direction of oil spill countermeasures. Cleanup personnel have recognized that remote sensing can increase spill cleanup efficiency. It has long been recognized that there is no one sensor which is capable of detecting oil and related petroleum products in all environments and spill scenarios. There are sensors which possess a wide field-of- view and can therefore be used to map the overall extent of the spill. These sensors, however lack the capability to positively identify oil and related products, especially along complicated beach and shoreline environments where several substrates are present. The laser-based sensors under development by the Emergencies Science Division of Environment Canada are designed to fill specific roles in oil spill response. The scanning laser environmental airborne fluorosensor (SLEAF) is being developed to detect and map oil and related petroleum products in complex marine and shoreline environments where other non-specific sensors experience difficulty. The role of the SLEAF would be to confirm or reject suspected oil contamination sites that have been targeted by the non-specific sensors. This confirmation will release response crews from the time-consuming task of physically inspecting each site, and direct crews to sites that require remediation. The laser ultrasonic remote sensing of oil thickness (LURSOT) sensor will provide an absolute measurement of oil thickness from an airborne platform. There are presently no sensors available, either airborne or in the laboratory which can provide an absolute measurement of oil thickness. This information is necessary for the effective direction of spill countermeasures such as dispersant application and in-situ burning. This paper describes the development of laser-based airborne oil spill remote sensing instrumentation at Environment Canada and identifies the anticipated benefits of the use of this technology to the oil spill response community.

Malaria Modeling using Remote Sensing and GIS Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kiang, Richard

2004-01-01

Malaria has been with the human race since the ancient time. In spite of the advances of biomedical research and the completion of genomic mapping of Plasmodium falciparum, the exact mechanisms of how the various strains of parasites evade the human immune system and how they have adapted and become resistant to multiple drugs remain elusive. Perhaps because of these reasons, effective vaccines against malaria are still not available. Worldwide, approximately one to three millions deaths are attributed to malaria annually. With the increased availability of remotely sensed data, researchers in medical entomology, epidemiology and ecology have started to associate environmental and ecological variables with malaria transmission. In several studies, it has been shown that transmission correlates well with certain environmental and ecological parameters, and that remote sensing can be used to measure these determinants. In a NASA project, we have taken a holistic approach to examine how remote sensing and GIs can contribute to vector and malaria controls. To gain a better understanding of the interactions among the possible promoting factors, we have been developing a habitat model, a transmission model, and a risk prediction model, all using remote sensing data as input. Our objectives are: 1) To identify the potential breeding sites of major vector species and the locations for larvicide and insecticide applications in order to reduce costs, lessen the chance of developing pesticide resistance, and minimize the damage to the environment; 2) To develop a malaria transmission model characterizing the interactions among hosts, vectors, parasites, landcover and environment in order to identify the key factors that sustain or intensify malaria transmission, and 3) To develop a risk model to predict the occurrence of malaria and its transmission intensity using epidemiological data and satellite-derived or ground-measured environmental and meteorological data.

Remote sensing for restoration ecology: Application for restoring degraded, damaged, transformed, or destroyed ecosystems.

PubMed

Reif, Molly K; Theel, Heather J

2017-07-01

Restoration monitoring is generally perceived as costly and time consuming, given the assumptions of successfully restoring ecological functions and services of a particular ecosystem or habitat. Opportunities exist for remote sensing to bolster the restoration science associated with a wide variety of injured resources, including resources affected by fire, hydropower operations, chemical releases, and oil spills, among others. In the last decade, the role of remote sensing to support restoration monitoring has increased, in part due to the advent of high-resolution satellite sensors as well as other sensor technology, such as lidar. Restoration practitioners in federal agencies require monitoring standards to assess restoration performance of injured resources. This review attempts to address a technical need and provides an introductory overview of spatial data and restoration metric considerations, as well as an in-depth review of optical (e.g., spaceborne, airborne, unmanned aerial vehicles) and active (e.g., radar, lidar) sensors and examples of restoration metrics that can be measured with remotely sensed data (e.g., land cover, species or habitat type, change detection, quality, degradation, diversity, and pressures or threats). To that end, the present article helps restoration practitioners assemble information not only about essential restoration metrics but also about the evolving technological approaches that can be used to best assess them. Given the need for monitoring standards to assess restoration success of injured resources, a universal monitoring framework should include a range of remote sensing options with which to measure common restoration metrics. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:614-630. Published 2016. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Published 2016. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

77 FR 39220 - Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES); Charter Renewal

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-02

... Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES); Charter Renewal AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration... Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES) was renewed on March 14, 2012. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In... Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES) is in the public interest in connection with the performance of duties...

76 FR 66042 - Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES); Request for Nominations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-25

... Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES); Request for Nominations ACTION: Notice requesting nominations for the Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES). SUMMARY: The Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES) was established to advise the Secretary of Commerce, through the Under Secretary...

An introduction to quantitative remote sensing. [data processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindenlaub, J. C.; Russell, J.

1974-01-01

The quantitative approach to remote sensing is discussed along with the analysis of remote sensing data. Emphasis is placed on the application of pattern recognition in numerically oriented remote sensing systems. A common background and orientation for users of the LARS computer software system is provided.

Remote Sensing of Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation: A Review from the Perspective of Remote Sensing Specialists

PubMed Central

Wang, Kai; Franklin, Steven E.; Guo, Xulin; Cattet, Marc

2010-01-01

Remote sensing, the science of obtaining information via noncontact recording, has swept the fields of ecology, biodiversity and conservation (EBC). Several quality review papers have contributed to this field. However, these papers often discuss the issues from the standpoint of an ecologist or a biodiversity specialist. This review focuses on the spaceborne remote sensing of EBC from the perspective of remote sensing specialists, i.e., it is organized in the context of state-of-the-art remote sensing technology, including instruments and techniques. Herein, the instruments to be discussed consist of high spatial resolution, hyperspectral, thermal infrared, small-satellite constellation, and LIDAR sensors; and the techniques refer to image classification, vegetation index (VI), inversion algorithm, data fusion, and the integration of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS). PMID:22163432

Remote sensing of ecology, biodiversity and conservation: a review from the perspective of remote sensing specialists.

PubMed

Wang, Kai; Franklin, Steven E; Guo, Xulin; Cattet, Marc

2010-01-01

Remote sensing, the science of obtaining information via noncontact recording, has swept the fields of ecology, biodiversity and conservation (EBC). Several quality review papers have contributed to this field. However, these papers often discuss the issues from the standpoint of an ecologist or a biodiversity specialist. This review focuses on the spaceborne remote sensing of EBC from the perspective of remote sensing specialists, i.e., it is organized in the context of state-of-the-art remote sensing technology, including instruments and techniques. Herein, the instruments to be discussed consist of high spatial resolution, hyperspectral, thermal infrared, small-satellite constellation, and LIDAR sensors; and the techniques refer to image classification, vegetation index (VI), inversion algorithm, data fusion, and the integration of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS).

Remote Sensing and Reflectance Profiling in Entomology.

PubMed

Nansen, Christian; Elliott, Norman

2016-01-01

Remote sensing describes the characterization of the status of objects and/or the classification of their identity based on a combination of spectral features extracted from reflectance or transmission profiles of radiometric energy. Remote sensing can be benchtop based, and therefore acquired at a high spatial resolution, or airborne at lower spatial resolution to cover large areas. Despite important challenges, airborne remote sensing technologies will undoubtedly be of major importance in optimized management of agricultural systems in the twenty-first century. Benchtop remote sensing applications are becoming important in insect systematics and in phenomics studies of insect behavior and physiology. This review highlights how remote sensing influences entomological research by enabling scientists to nondestructively monitor how individual insects respond to treatments and ambient conditions. Furthermore, novel remote sensing technologies are creating intriguing interdisciplinary bridges between entomology and disciplines such as informatics and electrical engineering.

Ten year change in forest succession and composition measured by remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Forrest G.; Botkin, Daniel B.; Strebel, Donald E.; Woods, Kerry K.; Goetz, Scott J.

1987-01-01

Vegetation dynamics and changes in ecological patterns were measured by remote sensing over a 10 year period (1973 to 1983) for 148,406 landscape elements, covering more than 500 sq km in a protected forested wilderness. Quantitative measurements were made possible by methods to detect ecologically meaningful landscape units; these allowed measurement of ecological transition frequencies and calculation of expected recurrence times. Measured ecological transition frequencies reveal boreal forest wilderness as spatially heterogeneous and highly dynamic, with one-sixth of the area in clearings and early successional stages, consistent with recent postulates about the spatial and temporal patterns of natural ecosystems. Differences between managed forest areas and a protected wilderness allow assessment of different management regimes.

Singularity Analysis: a powerful image processing tool in remote sensing of the oceans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turiel, A.; Umbert, M.; Hoareau, N.; Ballabrera-Poy, J.; Portabella, M.

2012-04-01

The study of fully developed turbulence has given rise to the development of new methods to describe real data of scalars submitted to the action of a turbulent flow. The application of this brand of methodologies (known as Microcanonical Multifractal Formalism, MMF) on remote sensing ocean maps open new ways to exploit those data for oceanographic purposes. The main technique in MMF is that of Singularity Analysis (SA). By means of SA a singularity exponents is assigned to each point of a given image. The singularity exponent of a given point is a dimensionless measure of the regularity or irregularity of the scalar at that point. Singularity exponents arrange in singularity lines, which accurately track the flow streamlines from any scalar, as we have verified with remote sensing and simulated data. Applications of SA include quality assessment of different products, the estimation of surface velocities, the development of fusion techniques for different types of scalars, comparison with measures of ocean mixing, and improvement in assimilation schemes.

Radiative transfer model for aerosols in infrared wavelengths for passive remote sensing applications.

PubMed

Ben-David, Avishai; Embury, Janon F; Davidson, Charles E

2006-09-10

A comprehensive analytical radiative transfer model for isothermal aerosols and vapors for passive infrared remote sensing applications (ground-based and airborne sensors) has been developed. The theoretical model illustrates the qualitative difference between an aerosol cloud and a chemical vapor cloud. The model is based on two and two/four stream approximations and includes thermal emission-absorption by the aerosols; scattering of diffused sky radiances incident from all sides on the aerosols (downwelling, upwelling, left, and right); and scattering of aerosol thermal emission. The model uses moderate resolution transmittance ambient atmospheric radiances as boundary conditions and provides analytical expressions for the information on the aerosol cloud that is contained in remote sensing measurements by using thermal contrasts between the aerosols and diffused sky radiances. Simulated measurements of a ground-based sensor viewing Bacillus subtilis var. niger bioaerosols and kaolin aerosols are given and discussed to illustrate the differences between a vapor-only model (i.e., only emission-absorption effects) and a complete model that adds aerosol scattering effects.

The interaction of light with phytoplankton in the marine environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carder, Kendall L.; Collins, Donald J.; Perry, Mary Jane; Clark, H. Lawrence; Mesias, Jorge M.

1986-01-01

In many regions of the ocean, the phytoplankton population dominates both the attenuation and scattering of light. In other regions, non-phytoplankton contributions to the absorption and scattering may change the remote sensing reflectance and thus affect the ability to interpret remotely sensed ocean color. Hence, variations in the composition of both the phytoplankton population and of the non-phytoplankton material in the water can affect the optical properties of the sea. The effects of these contributions to the remote sensing reflectance and the submarine light field are modeled using scattering and absorption measurements of phytoplankton cultures obtained at the Friday Harbor Laboratory of the University of Washington. These measurements are used to develop regional chlorophyll algorithms specific to the summer waters of Puget Sound for the Coastal Zone Color Scanner, Thematic Mapper and future Ocean Color Imager, and their accuracies are compared for high chlorophyll waters with little or no Gelbstoff, but with variable detrital and suspended material.

Remote Sensing in Geography in the New Millennium: Prospects, Challenges, and Opportunities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quattrochi, Dale A.; Jensen, John R.; Morain, Stanley A.; Walsh, Stephen J.; Ridd, Merrill K.

1999-01-01

Remote sensing science contributes greatly to our understanding of the Earth's ecosystems and cultural landscapes. Almost all the natural and social sciences, including geography, rely heavily on remote sensing to provide quantitative, and indispensable spatial information. Many geographers have made significant contributions to remote sensing science since the 1970s, including the specification of advanced remote sensing systems, improvements in analog and digital image analysis, biophysical modeling, and terrain analysis. In fact, the Remote Sensing Specialty Group (RSSG) is one of the largest specialty groups within the AAG with over 500 members. Remote sensing in concert with a geographic information systems, offers much value to geography as both an incisive spatial-analytical tool and as a scholarly pursuit that adds to the body of geographic knowledge on the whole. The "power" of remote sensing as a research endeavor in geography lies in its capabilities for obtaining synoptic, near-real time data at many spatial and temporal scales, and in many regions of the electromagnetic spectrum - from microwave, to RADAR, to visible, and reflective and thermal infrared. In turn, these data present a vast compendium of information for assessing Earth attributes and characte6stics that are at the very core of geography. Here we revisit how remote sensing has become a fundamental and important tool for geographical research, and how with the advent of new and improved sensing systems to be launched in the near future, remote sensing will further advance geographical analysis in the approaching New Millennium.

Model for the Interpretation of Hyperspectral Remote-Sensing Reflectance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Zhongping; Carder, Kendall L.; Hawes, Steve K.; Steward, Robert G.; Peacock, Thomas G.; Davis, Curtiss O.

1994-01-01

Remote-sensing reflectance is easier to interpret for the open ocean than for coastal regions because the optical signals are highly coupled to the phytoplankton (e.g., chlorophyll) concentrations. For estuarine or coastal waters, variable terrigenous colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), suspended sediments, and bottom reflectance, all factors that do not covary with the pigment concentration, confound data interpretation. In this research, remote-sensing reflectance models are suggested for coastal waters, to which contributions that are due to bottom reflectance, CDOM fluorescence, and water Raman scattering are included. Through the use of two parameters to model the combination of the backscattering coefficient and the Q factor, excellent agreement was achieved between the measured and modeled remote-sensing reflectance for waters from the West Florida Shelf to the Mississippi River plume. These waters cover a range of chlorophyll of 0.2-40 mg/cu m and gelbstoff absorption at 440 nm from 0.02-0.4/m. Data with a spectral resolution of 10 nm or better, which is consistent with that provided by the airborne visible and infrared imaging spectrometer (AVIRIS) and spacecraft spectrometers, were used in the model evaluation.