Remote sensing of multi-level wind fields with high-energy airborne scanning coherent Doppler lidar.

PubMed

Rothermel, J; Olivier, L; Banta, R; Hardesty, R M; Howell, J; Cutten, D; Johnson, S; Menzies, R; Tratt, D M

1998-01-19

The atmospheric lidar remote sensing groups of NOAA Environmental Technology Laboratory, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory have developed and flown a scanning, 1 Joule per pulse, CO2 coherent Doppler lidar capable of mapping a three-dimensional volume of atmospheric winds and aerosol backscatter in the planetary boundary layer, free troposphere, and lower stratosphere. Applications include the study of severe and non-severe atmospheric flows, intercomparisons with other sensors, and the simulation of prospective satellite Doppler lidar wind profilers. Examples of wind measurements are given for the marine boundary layer and near the coastline of the western United States.

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.

Wind Streaks on Earth; Exploration and Interpretation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen-Zada, Aviv Lee; Blumberg, Dan G.; Maman, Shimrit

2015-04-01

Wind streaks, one of the most common aeolian features on planetary surfaces, are observable on the surface of the planets Earth, Mars and Venus. Due to their reflectance properties, wind streaks are distinguishable from their surroundings, and they have thus been widely studied by remote sensing since the early 1970s, particularly on Mars. In imagery, these streaks are interpreted as the presence - or lack thereof - of small loose particles on the surface deposited or eroded by wind. The existence of wind streaks serves as evidence for past or present active aeolian processes. Therefore, wind streaks are thought to represent integrative climate processes. As opposed to the comprehensive and global studies of wind streaks on Mars and Venus, wind streaks on Earth are understudied and poorly investigated, both geomorphologically and by remote sensing. The aim of this study is, thus, to fill the knowledge gap about the wind streaks on Earth by: generating a global map of Earth wind streaks from modern high-resolution remotely sensed imagery; incorporating the streaks in a geographic information system (GIS); and overlaying the GIS layers with boundary layer wind data from general circulation models (GCMs) and data from the ECMWF Reanalysis Interim project. The study defines wind streaks (and thereby distinguishes them from other aeolian features) based not only on their appearance in imagery but more importantly on their surface appearance. This effort is complemented by a focused field investigation to study wind streaks on the ground and from a variety of remotely sensed images (both optical and radar). In this way, we provide a better definition of the physical and geomorphic characteristics of wind streaks and acquire a deeper knowledge of terrestrial wind streaks as a means to better understand global and planetary climate and climate change. In a preliminary study, we detected and mapped over 2,900 wind streaks in the desert regions of Earth distributed in approximately 500 sites. Most terrestrial wind streaks are formed on a relatively young geological surface and are concentrated along the equator (± 30°). They are categorized by the combination of their planform and reflectance; with linear-bright and dark are the most common. A site-specific examination of remote-sensing effects on wind streaks identification has been conducted. The results thus far, indicate that in images with varying spatial and spectral specifications some wind streaks are actually composed of other aeolian bedforms, especially dunes. Specific regions of the Earth were then compared qualitatively to surface wind data extracted from a general circulation model. Understanding the mechanism and spatial and temporal distribution of wind streak formation is important not only for understanding surface modifications in the geomorphological context but also for shedding light on past and present climatic processes and atmospheric circulation on Earth. This study yields an explanation for wind streaks as a geomorphological feature. Moreover, it is in this planet-wide geomorphological research ability to lay down the foundations for comparative planetary research.

The energy balance of wind waves and the remote sensing problem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hasselmann, K.

1972-01-01

Measurements of wave growth indicate an energy balance of the wave spectrum governed primarily by input from the atmosphere, nonlinear transfer to shorter and longer waves, and advection. The pronounced spectral peak and sharp low frequency cut-off characteristic of fetch-limited spectra are explained as a self-stabilizing feature of the nonlinear wave-wave interactions. The momentum transferred from the atmosphere to the wind waves accounts for a large part of the wind drag. These findings are relevant for remote microwave sensing of the sea surface by backscatter and passive radiometry methods.

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.

Southern hemisphere low level wind circulation statistics from the Seasat scatterometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levy, Gad

1994-01-01

Analyses of remotely sensed low-level wind vector data over the Southern Ocean are performed. Five-day averages and monthly means are created and the month-to-month variability during the winter (July-September) of 1978 is investigated. The remotely sensed winds are compared to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (ABM) and the National Meteorological Center (NMC) surface analyses. In southern latitudes the remotely sensed winds are stronger than what the weather services' analyses suggest, indicating under-estimation by ABM and NMC in these regions. The evolution of the low-level jet and the major stormtracks during the season are studied and different flow regimes are identified. The large-scale variability of the meridional flow is studied with the aid of empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis. The dominance of quasi-stationary wave numbers 3,4, and 5 in the winter flows is evident in both the EOF analysis and the mean flow. The signature of an exceptionally strong blocking situation is evident in July and the special conditions leading to it are discussed. A very large intraseasonal variability with different flow regimes at different months is documented.

Remote Sensing Marine Ecology: Wind-driven algal blooms in the open oceans and their ecological impacts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, DanLing

2016-07-01

Algal bloom not only can increase the primary production but also could result in negative ecological consequence, e.g., Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). According to the classic theory for the formation of algal blooms "critical depth" and "eutrophication", oligotrophic sea area is usually difficult to form a large area of algal blooms, and actually the traditional observation is only sporadic capture to the existence of algal blooms. Taking full advantage of multiple data of satellite remote sensing, this study: 1), introduces "Wind-driven algal blooms in open oceans: observation and mechanisms" It explained except classic coastal Ekman transport, the wind through a variety of mechanisms affecting the formation of algal blooms. Proposed a conceptual model of "Strong wind -upwelling-nutrient-phytoplankton blooms" in Western South China Sea (SCS) to assess role of wind-induced advection transport in phytoplankton bloom formation. It illustrates the nutrient resources that support long-term offshore phytoplankton blooms in the western SCS; 2), Proposal of the theory that "typhoons cause vertical mixing, induce phytoplankton blooms", and quantify their important contribution to marine primary production; Proposal a new ecological index for typhoon. Proposed remote sensing inversion models. 3), Finding of the spatial and temporaldistributions pattern of harmful algal bloom (HAB)and species variations of HAB in the South Yellow Sea and East China Sea, and in the Pearl River estuary, and their oceanic dynamic mechanisms related with monsoon; The project developed new techniques and generated new knowledge, which significantly improved understanding of the formation mechanisms of algal blooms. 1), It proposed "wind-pump" mechanism integrates theoretical system combing "ocean dynamics, development of algal blooms, and impact on primary production", which will benefit fisheries management. 2), A new interdisciplinary subject "Remote Sensing Marine Ecology"(RSME) has been developed via these achievements.

Removing Ambiguities In Remotely Sensed Winds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaffer, Scott J.; Dunbar, Roy S.; Hsiao, Shuchi V.; Long, David G.

1991-01-01

Algorithm removes ambiguities in choices of candidate ocean-surface wind vectors estimated from measurements of radar backscatter from ocean waves. Increases accuracies of estimates of winds without requiring new instrumentation. Incorporates vector-median filtering function.

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.

On the sensitivity of numerical weather prediction to remotely sensed marine surface wind data - A simulation study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cane, M. A.; Cardone, V. J.; Halem, M.; Halberstam, I.

1981-01-01

The reported investigation has the objective to assess the potential impact on numerical weather prediction (NWP) of remotely sensed surface wind data. Other investigations conducted with similar objectives have not been satisfactory in connection with a use of procedures providing an unrealistic distribution of initial errors. In the current study, care has been taken to duplicate the actual distribution of information in the conventional observing system, thus shifting the emphasis from accuracy of the data to the data coverage. It is pointed out that this is an important consideration in assessing satellite observing systems since experience with sounder data has shown that improvements in forecasts due to satellite-derived information is due less to a general error reduction than to the ability to fill data-sparse regions. The reported study concentrates on the evaluation of the observing system simulation experimental design and on the assessment of the potential of remotely sensed marine surface wind data.

Examples of, reasons for, and consequences of the poor quality of wind data from ships for the marine boundary layer: Implications for remote sensing

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

Pierson, W.J. Jr.

1990-08-15

Wind reports by data buoys are used to demonstrate that these reports have in the past provided useful values for the synoptic scale winds and that at present these reports provide very reliable values for the synoptic scale winds. Past studies of wind reports by ships have revealed that the data are of poor quality, but the causes for this poor quality are not identified. Examples of the poor quality of wind data from ships are obtained by comparing ship reports with buoy reports and comparing reports of different kinds of ships with each other. These comparisons identify many differentmore » reasons for the poor quality of wind data from ships. Suggestions are made for improving the quality of ship data. The consequences of the poor quality of ship winds are described in terms of the effects on weather and wave forecasts. The implications for remotely sensed winds are discussed.« less

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.

New Observational Technologies Scientific and Societal Impacts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fabry, F.; Zawadzki, I.

INTRODUCTION REMOTE SENSING OF THE ATMOSPHERE REMOTE SENSORS AND THEIR SCIENTIFIC IMPACTS Air Temperature and Moisture Clouds and Precipitation Wind Others Related Scientific Considerations SOCIETAL IMPACTS CONCLUSIONS REFERENCES

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 Sensing of the Solar Wind Density, Speed, and Temperature in the Region between the Sun and Parker Solar Probe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davila, J. M.; Reginald, N. L.

2017-12-01

A coronagraph is the tool of choice to understand and observe the structure of the corona from space. The novel coronagraph concept presented her provides a new scientific capability that will allow the measurement of density, temperature, and flow velocity in the solar atmosphere. This instrument will provide the first remote sensing measurement of the global solar wind temperature, density, and flow speed in the regions between 3 and 8 Rsun. It is in this region that the manority of the solar wind acceleration takes place, and where the ion compsition of the solar wind is "frozen in". This is also the region of the corona that links the surface of the Sun to the Parker Solar Probe and to Solar Orbiter. The observations suggested here would dramatically improve our understanding of solar wind formation and evolution in this critical region.

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.

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.

Verification of Wind Measurement to 450-Meter Altitude with Mobile Laser Doppler System

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1977-12-01

The Lockheed mobile atmospheric unit is a laser Doppler velocimeter system designed for the remote sensing of winds. The capability of the laser Doppler velocimeter accurately to measure winds to 150-meter altitude has been previously demonstrated. T...

Remote Sensing Analysis of Forest Disturbances

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asner, Gregory P. (Inventor)

2015-01-01

The present invention provides systems and methods to automatically analyze Landsat satellite data of forests. The present invention can easily be used to monitor any type of forest disturbance such as from selective logging, agriculture, cattle ranching, natural hazards (fire, wind events, storms), etc. The present invention provides a large-scale, high-resolution, automated remote sensing analysis of such disturbances.

Remote sensing analysis of forest disturbances

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asner, Gregory P. (Inventor)

2012-01-01

The present invention provides systems and methods to automatically analyze Landsat satellite data of forests. The present invention can easily be used to monitor any type of forest disturbance such as from selective logging, agriculture, cattle ranching, natural hazards (fire, wind events, storms), etc. The present invention provides a large-scale, high-resolution, automated remote sensing analysis of such disturbances.

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.

Lagrangian drifter design for the determination of surface currents by remote sensing. [for pollution trajectory determination in estuaries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gordon, H. H.; Munday, J. C., Jr.

1977-01-01

In estuaries, the interaction of wind, tidal current, and mixing of fresh and saline water produces a variable depth profile of current, with foam lines and convergence zones between water types. Careful measurement of surface currents via Lagrangian drifters requires a drifter design appropriate to both the depth of current to be measured and the tide and wind conditions of interest. The use of remote sensing to track drifters contributes additional constraints on drifter design. Several designs of biodegradable drifters which emit uranine dye plumes, resolvable in aerial imagery to 1:60,000 scale, were tested for wind drag in field conditions against data from calibrated current meters. A 20 cm-vaned wooden drifter and a window shade drifter set to 1.5 m depth had negligible wind drag in winds to 8 m/sec. Prediction of oil slick trajectories using surface current data and a wind factor should be approached cautiously, as surface current data may be wind-contaminated, while the usual 3.5% wind factor is appropriate only for currents measured at depth.

Boundary Layer Remote Sensing with Combined Active and Passive Techniques: GPS Radio Occultation and High-Resolution Stereo Imaging (WindCam) Small Satellite Concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mannucci, A.J.; Wu, D.L.; Teixeira, J.; Ao, C.O.; Xie, F.; Diner, D.J.; Wood, R.; Turk, Joe

2012-01-01

Objective: significant progress in understanding low-cloud boundary layer processes. This is the Single largest uncertainty in climate projections. Radio occultation has unique features suited to boundary layer remote sensing (1) Cloud penetrating (2) Very high vertical resolution (approximately 50m-100m) (3) Sensitivity to thermodynamic variables

Laser applications in meteorology and earth and atmospheric remote sensing; Proceedings of the Meeting, Los Angeles, CA, Jan. 16-18, 1989

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sokoloski, Martin M. (Editor)

1989-01-01

Various papers on laser applications in meteorology and earth and atmospheric remote sensing are presented. The individual topics addressed include: solid state lasers for the mid-IR region, tunable chromium lasers, GaInAsSb/AlGaAsSb injection lasers for remote sensing applications, development and design of an airborne autonomous wavemeter for laser tuning, fabrication of lightweight Si/SiC lidar mirrors, low-cost double heterostructure and quantum-well laser array development, nonlinear optical processes for the mid-IR region, simulated space-based Doppler lidar performance in regions of backscatter inhomogeneities, design of CO2 recombination catalysts for closed-cycle CO2 lasers, density measurements with combined Raman-Rayleigh lidar, geodynamics applications of spaceborne laser ranging, use of aircraft laser ranging data for forest mensuration, remote active spectrometer, multiwavelngth and triple CO2 lidars for trace gas detection, analysis of laser diagnostics in plumes, laser atmospheric wind sounder, compact Doppler lidar system using commercial off-the-shelf components, and preliminary design for a laser atmospheric wind sounder.

Paleogene Vertebrate Paleontology, Geology and Remote Sensing in the Wind River Basin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stucky, R. K.; Krishtalka, L.

1985-01-01

Biostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic studies were used to correlate different events in the geologic evolution of the northeastern part of the Wind River Basin and have suggested several conclusions. Laterally equivalent exposures of the Lysite member from Cedar Ridge to Bridger Creek show a gradation in lithology from interbedded boulder conglomerates and sandstones to interbedded lenticular sandstones and mudstones to interbedded carbonaceous shales, coals and tabular sandstones. This gradation suggests a shift from alluvial fan to braided stream to paludal or lacustrine sedimentary environments during the late early Eocene. The Lysite and Lost Cabin members of the Wind River Formation are in fault contact in the Bridger Creek area and may intertongue to the east along Cedar Ridge. Ways in which remote sensing could be used in these studies are discussed.

Wind turbine extraction from high spatial resolution remote sensing images based on saliency detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jingbo; Yue, Anzhi; Wang, Chengyi; Huang, Qingqing; Chen, Jiansheng; Meng, Yu; He, Dongxu

2018-01-01

The wind turbine is a device that converts the wind's kinetic energy into electrical power. Accurate and automatic extraction of wind turbine is instructive for government departments to plan wind power plant projects. A hybrid and practical framework based on saliency detection for wind turbine extraction, using Google Earth image at spatial resolution of 1 m, is proposed. It can be viewed as a two-phase procedure: coarsely detection and fine extraction. In the first stage, we introduced a frequency-tuned saliency detection approach for initially detecting the area of interest of the wind turbines. This method exploited features of color and luminance, was simple to implement, and was computationally efficient. Taking into account the complexity of remote sensing images, in the second stage, we proposed a fast method for fine-tuning results in frequency domain and then extracted wind turbines from these salient objects by removing the irrelevant salient areas according to the special properties of the wind turbines. Experiments demonstrated that our approach consistently obtains higher precision and better recall rates. Our method was also compared with other techniques from the literature and proves that it is more applicable and robust.

Targets Mask U-Net for Wind Turbines Detection in Remote Sensing Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, M.; Wang, H.; Wang, G.; Liu, Y.

2018-04-01

To detect wind turbines precisely and quickly in very high resolution remote sensing images (VHRRSI) we propose target mask U-Net. This convolution neural network (CNN), which is carefully designed to be a wide-field detector, models the pixel class assignment to wind turbines and their context information. The shadow, which is the context information of the target in this study, has been regarded as part of a wind turbine instance. We have trained the target mask U-Net on training dataset, which is composed of down sampled image blocks and instance mask blocks. Some post-processes have been integrated to eliminate wrong spots and produce bounding boxes of wind turbine instances. The evaluation metrics prove the reliability and effectiveness of our method for the average F1-score of our detection method is up to 0.97. The comparison of detection accuracy and time consuming with the weakly supervised targets detection method based on CNN illustrates the superiority of our method.

Potential of Future Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) Ocean Surface Wind Observations for Determining Tropical Storm Vortex Intensity and Structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Atlas, Robert; Bailey, M. C.; Black, Peter; James, Mark; Johnson, James; Jones, Linwood; Miller, Timothy; Ruf, Christopher; Uhlhorn, Eric

2008-01-01

The Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) is an innovative technology development, which offers the potential of new and unique remotely sensed observations of both extreme oceanic wind events and strong precipitation from either UAS or satellite platforms. It is based on the airborne Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR), which is a proven aircraft remote sensing technique for observing tropical cyclone ocean surface wind speeds and rain rates, including those of major hurricane intensity. The proposed HIRAD instrument advances beyond the current nadir viewing SFMR to an equivalent wide-swath SFMR imager using passive microwave synthetic thinned aperture radiometer technology. This sensor will operate over 4-7 GHz (C-band frequencies) where the required tropical cyclone remote sensing physics has been validated by both SFMR and WindSat radiometers. HIRAD incorporates a unique, technologically advanced array antenna and several other technologies successfully demonstrated by the NASA's Instrument Incubator Program. A brassboard version of the instrument is complete and has been successfully tested in an anechoic chamber, and development of the aircraft instrument is well underway. HIRAD will be a compact, lightweight, low-power instrument with no moving parts that will produce wide-swath imagery of ocean vector winds and rain during hurricane conditions when existing microwave sensors (radiometers or scatterometers) are hindered. Preliminary studies show that HIRAD will have a significant positive impact on analyses as either a new aircraft or satellite sensor.

Ground-Based Remote or In Situ Measurement of Vertical Profiles of Wind in the Lower Troposphere

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

Clifton, Andrew; Newman, Jennifer

Knowledge of winds in the lower troposphere is essential for a range of applications, including weather forecasting, transportation, natural hazards, and wind energy. This presentation focuses on the measurement of vertical profiles of wind in the lower troposphere for wind energy applications. This presentation introduces the information that wind energy site development and operations require, how it used, and the benefits and problems of current measurements from in-situ measurements and remote sensing. The development of commercial Doppler wind lidar systems over the last 10 years are shown, along with the lessons learned from this experience. Finally, potential developments in windmore » profiling aimed at reducing uncertainty and increasing data availability are introduced.« less

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.

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.

Arctic Ice-Ocean Coupling and Gyre Equilibration Observed With Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dewey, Sarah; Morison, James; Kwok, Ronald; Dickinson, Suzanne; Morison, David; Andersen, Roger

2018-02-01

Model and observational evidence has shown that ocean current speeds in the Beaufort Gyre have increased and recently stabilized. Because these currents rival ice drift speeds, we examine the potential for the Beaufort Gyre's shift from a system in which the wind drives the ice and the ice drives a passive ocean to one in which the ocean often, in the absence of high winds, drives the ice. The resultant stress exerted on the ocean by the ice and the resultant Ekman pumping are reversed, without any change in average wind stress curl. Through these curl reversals, the ice-ocean stress provides a key feedback in Beaufort Gyre stabilization. This manuscript constitutes one of the first observational studies of ice-ocean stress inclusive of geostrophic ocean currents, by making use of recently available remote sensing data.

Yb:YAG master oscillator power amplifier for remote wind sensing.

PubMed

Sridharan, A K; Saraf, S; Byer, R L

2007-10-20

We have demonstrated key advances towards a solid-state laser amplifier at 1.03 microm for global remote wind sensing. We designed end-pumped zig-zag slab amplifiers to achieve high gain. We overcame parasitic oscillation limitations using claddings on the slab's total internal reflection (TIR) and edge surfaces to confine the pump and signal light by TIR and allow leakage of amplified spontaneous emission rays that do not meet the TIR condition. This enables e3, e5, and e8 single-, double-, and quadruple-pass small-signal amplifier gain, respectively. The stored energy density is 15.6 J/cm3, a record for a laser-diode end-pumped Yb:YAG zig-zag slab amplifier.

Remote sensing of the marginal ice zone during Marginal Ice Zone Experiment (MIZEX) 83

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shuchman, R. A.; Campbell, W. J.; Burns, B. A.; Ellingsen, E.; Farrelly, B. A.; Gloersen, P.; Grenfell, T. C.; Hollinger, J.; Horn, D.; Johannessen, J. A.

1984-01-01

The remote sensing techniques utilized in the Marginal Ice Zone Experiment (MIZEX) to study the physical characteristics and geophysical processes of the Fram Strait Region of the Greenland Sea are described. The studies, which utilized satellites, aircraft, helicopters, and ship and ground-based remote sensors, focused on the use of microwave remote sensors. Results indicate that remote sensors can provide marginal ice zone characteristics which include ice edge and ice boundary locations, ice types and concentration, ice deformation, ice kinematics, gravity waves and swell (in the water and the ice), location of internal wave fields, location of eddies and current boundaries, surface currents and sea surface winds.

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.

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.

The EDOP radar system on the high-altitude NASA ER-2 aircraft

USGS Publications Warehouse

Heymsfield, G.M.; Bidwell, S.W.; Caylor, I.J.; Ameen, S.; Nicholson, S.; Boncyk, W.; Miller, L.; Vandemark, D.; Racette, P.E.; Dod, L.R.

1996-01-01

The NASA ER-2 high-altitude (20 km) aircraft that emulates a satellite view of precipitation systems carries a variety of passive and active (lidar) remote sensing instruments. A new Doppler weather radar system at X band (9.6 GHz) called the ER-2 Doppler radar (EDOP) has been developed and flown on the ER-2 aircraft. EDOP is a fully coherent Doppler weather radar with fixed nadir and forward pointing (33?? off nadir) beams that map out Doppler winds and reflectivities in the vertical plane along the aircraft motion vector. Doppler winds from the two beams can be used to derive vertical and along-track air motions. In addition, the forward beam provides linear depolarization measurements that are useful in discriminating microphysical characteristics of the precipitation. This paper deals with a general description of the EDOP instrument including the measurement concept, the system configuration and hardware, and recently obtained data examples from the instrument. The combined remote sensing package on the ER-2, along with EDOP, provides a unique platform for simulating spaceborne remote sensing of precipitation.

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.

Simulation of the Impact of New Aircraft and Satellite-Based Ocean Surface Wind Measurements on H*Wind Analyses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, TImothy L.; Atlas, R. M.; Black, P. G.; Case, J. L.; Chen, S. S.; Hood, R. E.; Johnson, J. W.; Jones, L.; Ruf, C. S.; Uhlborn, E. W.

2008-01-01

Accurate observations of surface ocean vector winds (OVW) with high spatial and temporal resolution are required for understanding and predicting tropical cyclones. As NASA's QuikSCAT and Navy's WindSat operate beyond their design life, many members of the weather and climate science communities recognize the importance of developing new observational technologies and strategies to meet the essential need for OVW information to improve hurricane intensity and location forecasts. The Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) is an innovative technology development which offers new and unique remotely sensed satellite observations of both extreme oceanic wind events and strong precipitation. It is based on the airborne Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR), which is the only proven remote sensing technique for observing tropical cyclone (TC) ocean surface wind speeds and rain rates. The proposed HIRAD instrument advances beyond the current nadir viewing SFMR to an equivalent wide-swath SFMR imager using passive microwave synthetic thinned aperture radiometer (STAR) technology. This sensor will operate over 4-7 GHz (C-band frequencies) where the required TC remote sensing physics has been validated by both SFMR and WindSat radiometers. The instrument is described in more detail in a paper by Jones et al. presented to the Tropical Meteorology Special Symposium at this AMS Annual Meeting. Simulated HIRAD passes through a simulation of hurricane Frances are being developed to demonstrate HIRAD estimation of surface wind speed over a wide swath in the presence of heavy rain. These are currently being used in "quick" OSSEs (Observing System Simulation Experiments) with H'Wind analyses as the discriminating tool. The H'Wind analysis, a product of the Hurricane Research Division of NOAA's Atlantic , Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, brings together wind measurements from a variety of observation platforms into an objective analysis of the distribution of wind speeds in a tropical cyclone. This product is designed to improve understanding of the extent and strength of the wind field, and to improve the assessment of hurricane intensity. See http://www.aoml.noaa._ov/hrd/data sub/wind.html. Observations have been simulated from both aircraft altitudes and space. The simulated flight patterns for the aircraft platform cases have been designed to duplicate the timing and flight patterns used in routine NOAA and USAF hurricane surveillance flights, and the spaceborne case simulates a TRMM orbit and altitude.

Airborne and spaceborne lasers for terrestrial geophysical sensing; Proceedings of the Meeting, Los Angeles, CA, Jan. 14, 15, 1988

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allario, Frank (Editor)

1988-01-01

The present conference on airborne and spaceborne remote sensing laser applications discusses topics in atmospheric and geophysical sciences-related sensors, lidar and DIAL component and subsystem technologies, and coherent laser experiments and semiconductor laser technologies. Attention is given to airborne lidar measurement of aerosols, a ground-based injection-locked pulsed TEA laser for wind measurements, chemical/biological agent standoff detection methods, lidars for wind shear erosion, laser tuning to selected gas absorption lines in the atmosphere, the NASA lidar-in-space technology experiment, and the Laser Atmospheric Wind Sounder.

Microwave Remote Sensing of Ocean Surface Wind Speed and Rain Rates over Tropical Storms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swift, C. T.; Dehority, D. C.; Black, P. G.; Chien, J. Z.

1984-01-01

The value of using narrowly spaced frequencies within a microwave band to measure wind speeds and rain rates over tropical storms with radiometers is reviewed. The technique focuses on results obtained in the overflights of Hurricane Allen during 5 and 8 of August, 1980.

Estimation of the CO2 fluxes between the ocean and atmosphere for the hurricane wind forces using remote sensing data.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sergeev, Daniil; Soustova, Irina; Balandina, Galina

2017-04-01

CO2 transfer between the hydrosphere and atmosphere in the boundary layer is an important part of the global cycle of the main greenhouse gas. Gas flux is determined by the difference of the partial pressures of the gas between the atmosphere and hydrosphere, near the border, as well as to a large extent processes involving turbulent boundary layer. The last is usually characterized by power dependence on the equivalent wind speed (10-m height). Hurricane-force winds lead to intensive wave breaking, with formation of spray in the air, and bubbles in the water. Such multiphase turbulent processes at the interface strongly intensify gas transfer. Currently, data characterizing the dependence of the gas exchange of the wind speed for the hurricane conditions demonstrate a strong variation. On the other hand there is an obvious problem of obtaining reliable data on the wind speed. Widely used reanalysis data typically underestimate wind speed, due to the low spatial and temporal resolution One of the most promising ways to measure near water wind speed is the use of the data of remote sensing. The present study used technique to obtain near water wind speed based on the processing of remote sensing of the ocean surface data obtained with C-band scattermeter of RADARSAT using geophysical model function, developed in a laboratory conditions for a wide range of wind speeds, including hurricanes (see [1]). This function binds wind speed with effective radar cross-section in cross-polarized mode. We used two different parameterizations of gas transfer velocity of the wind speed. Widely used in [2], and obtained by processing results of recent experiment in modeling winds up to hurricane on wind-wave facility [3]. The new method of calculating was tested by the example of hurricane Earl image (09.2010). Estimates showed 13-18 times excess CO2 fluxes rates in comparison with monitoring data NOAA (see. [4]). 1. Troitskaya Yu., Abramov V., Ermoshkin A., Zuikova E., Kazakov V., Sergeev D., Kandaurov A., Ermakova O. Laboratory study of cross-polarized radar return under gale-force wind conditions // Int. J. Remote Sens. 2016a. T. 37. № 9. C. 1981-1989. 2. Kanamitsu, M.,Ebisuzaki,W.,Woollen,J.,Yang,S.-K.,Hnilo,J.J.,Fiorino,M.,Potter, G.L.,.NCEP-DOEAMIP-IIreanalysis(R-2) // Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 2002, 83, 1631-1643. 3. K. E. Krall and B. Jahne First laboratory study of air-sea gas exchange at hurricane wind speeds // Ocean Sci., 2014, 10, 257-265. 4. ERDDAP EXPERIMENTAL. AOML Monthly Global Carbon Fluxes dataset. - ИнTepнeT-pecypc. Peжin дocTyпa: http://cwcgom.aoml.noaa.gov/erddap/griddap/aomlcarbonfluxes.graph.

The potential of using remote sensing data to estimate air-sea CO2 exchange in the Baltic Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parard, Gaëlle; Rutgersson, Anna; Parampil, Sindu Raj; Alexandre Charantonis, Anastase

2017-12-01

In this article, we present the first climatological map of air-sea CO2 flux over the Baltic Sea based on remote sensing data: estimates of pCO2 derived from satellite imaging using self-organizing map classifications along with class-specific linear regressions (SOMLO methodology) and remotely sensed wind estimates. The estimates have a spatial resolution of 4 km both in latitude and longitude and a monthly temporal resolution from 1998 to 2011. The CO2 fluxes are estimated using two types of wind products, i.e. reanalysis winds and satellite wind products, the higher-resolution wind product generally leading to higher-amplitude flux estimations. Furthermore, the CO2 fluxes were also estimated using two methods: the method of Wanninkhof et al. (2013) and the method of Rutgersson and Smedman (2009). The seasonal variation in fluxes reflects the seasonal variation in pCO2 unvaryingly over the whole Baltic Sea, with high winter CO2 emissions and high pCO2 uptakes. All basins act as a source for the atmosphere, with a higher degree of emission in the southern regions (mean source of 1.6 mmol m-2 d-1 for the South Basin and 0.9 for the Central Basin) than in the northern regions (mean source of 0.1 mmol m-2 d-1) and the coastal areas act as a larger sink (annual uptake of -4.2 mmol m-2 d-1) than does the open sea (-4 mmol m-2 d-1). In its entirety, the Baltic Sea acts as a small source of 1.2 mmol m-2 d-1 on average and this annual uptake has increased from 1998 to 2012.

DAWN Coherent Wind Profiling Lidar Flights on NASA's DC-8 During GRIP

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kavaya, Michael J.; Beyon, Jeffrey Y.; Creary, Garfield A.; Koch, Grady J.; Petros, Mulugeta; Petzar, Paul J.; Singh, Upendra N.; Trieu, Bo C.; Yu, Jirong

2011-01-01

Almost from their invention, lasers have been used to measure the velocity of wind and objects; over distances of cm to 10s of km. Long distance (remote) sensing of wind has been accomplished with continuous-wave (CW), focused pulsed, and collimated pulsed lasers; with direct and coherent (heterodyne) optical detection; and with a multitude of laser wavelengths. Airborne measurement of wind with pulsed, coherent-detection lidar was first performed in 1971 with a CW CO2 laser1, in 1972 with a pulsed CO2 laser2, in 1993 with a pulsed 2-micron laser3, and in 1999 with a pulsed CO2 laser and nadir-centered conical scanning4. Of course there were many other firsts and many other groups doing lidar wind remote sensing with coherent and direct detection. A very large FOM coherent wind lidar has been built by LaRC and flown on a DC-8. However a burn on the telescope secondary mirror prevented the full demonstration of high FOM. Both the GRIP science product and the technology and technique demonstration from aircraft are important to NASA. The technology and technique demonstrations contribute to our readiness for the 3D Winds space mission. The data analysis is beginning and we hope to present results at the conference.

Objective Interpolation of Scatterometer Winds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tang, Wenquing; Liu, W. Timothy

1996-01-01

Global wind fields are produced by successive corrections that use measurements by the European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS-1) scatterometer. The methodology is described. The wind fields at 10-meter height provided by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) are used to initialize the interpolation process. The interpolated wind field product ERSI is evaluated in terms of its improvement over the initial guess field (ECMWF) and the bin-averaged ERS-1 wind field (ERSB). Spatial and temporal differences between ERSI, ECMWF and ERSB are presented and discussed.

GPS: A New Tool for Ocean Science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Komjathy, Attila; Garrison, James L.; Zavorotny, Valery

2001-01-01

In this article, we demonstrate wind retrieval (estimate its speed) from reflected signals obtained by a GPS receiver on board an aircraft to illustrate the potential of using GPS for remote-sensing applications. Before showing those results, we provide some background on radar remote sensing and discuss the theoretical model we used to interpret reflection data. This model describes the power and correlation properties of the reflected GPS signals as a function of scattering geometry and environmental parameters related to the reflecting surface.

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.

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.

A Combined Experimental and Modeling Program to Study the Impact of Solar Wind Ions on the Surface and Exosphere of Mercury

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savin, D. W.; Bostick, B. C.; Domingue, D. L.; Ebel, D. S.; Harlow, G. E.; Killen, R. M.

2018-05-01

We aim to improve the interpretation of in-situ and remote-sensing data of Mercury. We will use updated exosphere and spectrophotometric models incorporating new data from lab simulations of solar wind ion irradiation of Mercury’s regolith surface.

Remotely sensed wind speed predicts soaring behaviour in a wide-ranging pelagic seabird.

PubMed

Gibb, Rory; Shoji, Akiko; Fayet, Annette L; Perrins, Chris M; Guilford, Tim; Freeman, Robin

2017-07-01

Global wind patterns affect flight strategies in many birds, including pelagic seabirds, many of which use wind-powered soaring to reduce energy costs during at-sea foraging trips and migration. Such long-distance movement patterns are underpinned by local interactions between wind conditions and flight behaviour, but these fine-scale relationships are far less well understood. Here we show that remotely sensed ocean wind speed and direction are highly significant predictors of soaring behaviour in a migratory pelagic seabird, the Manx shearwater ( Puffinus puffinus ). We used high-frequency GPS tracking data (10 Hz) and statistical behaviour state classification to identify two energetic modes in at-sea flight, corresponding to flap-like and soar-like flight. We show that soaring is significantly more likely to occur in tailwinds and crosswinds above a wind speed threshold of around 8 m s -1 , suggesting that these conditions enable birds to reduce metabolic costs by preferentially soaring over flapping. Our results suggest a behavioural mechanism by which wind conditions may shape foraging and migration ecology in pelagic seabirds, and thus indicate that shifts in wind patterns driven by climate change could impact this and other species. They also emphasize the emerging potential of high-frequency GPS biologgers to provide detailed quantitative insights into fine-scale flight behaviour in free-living animals. © 2017 The Author(s).

The Multi-Center Airborne Coherent Atmospheric Wind Sensor: Recent Measurements and Future Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rothermel, Jeffry; Cutten, Dean R.; Hardesty, R. Michael; Howell, James N.; Darby, Lisa S.; Tratt, David M.; Menzies, Robert T.

1999-01-01

The coherent Doppler lidar, when operated from an airborne platform, offers a unique measurement capability for study of atmospheric dynamical and physical properties. This is especially true for scientific objectives requiring measurements in optically-clear air, where other remote sensing technologies such as Doppler radar are at a disadvantage in terms of spatial resolution and coverage. Recent experience suggests airborne coherent Doppler lidar can yield unique wind measurements of--and during operation within--extreme weather phenomena. This paper presents the first airborne coherent Doppler lidar measurements of hurricane wind fields. The lidar atmospheric remote sensing groups of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Environmental Technology Laboratory, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory jointly developed an airborne lidar system, the Multi-center Airborne Coherent Atmospheric Wind Sensor (MACAWS). The centerpiece of MACAWS is the lidar transmitter from the highly successful NOAA Windvan. Other field-tested lidar components have also been used, when feasible, to reduce costs and development time. The methodology for remotely sensing atmospheric wind fields with scanning coherent Doppler lidar was demonstrated in 1981; enhancements were made and the system was reflown in 1984. MACAWS has potentially greater scientific utility, compared to the original airborne scanning lidar system, owing to a factor of approx. 60 greater energy-per-pulse from the NOAA transmitter. MACAWS development was completed and the system was first flown in 1995. Following enhancements to improve performance, the system was re-flown in 1996 and 1998. The scientific motivation for MACAWS is three-fold: obtain fundamental measurements of subgrid scale (i.e., approx. 2-200 km) processes and features which may be used to improve parameterizations in hydrological, climate, and general/regional circulation models; obtain similar datasets to improve understanding and predictive capabilities for similarly-scaled processes and features; and simulate and validate the performance of prospective satellite Doppler lidars for global tropospheric wind measurement.

Remote Sensing of Wind Fields and Aerosol Distribution with Airborne Scanning Doppler Lidar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rothermel, Jeffry; Cutten, Dean R.; Johnson, Steven C.; Jazembski, Maurice; Arnold, James E. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The coherent Doppler laser radar (lidar), when operated from an airborne platform, is a unique tool for the study of atmospheric and surface processes and features. This is especially true for scientific objectives requiring measurements in optically-clear air, where other remote sensing technologies such as Doppler radar are typically at a disadvantage. The atmospheric lidar remote sensing groups of several US institutions, led by Marshall Space Flight Center, have developed an airborne coherent Doppler lidar capable of mapping the wind field and aerosol structure in three dimensions. The instrument consists of an eye-safe approx. 1 Joule/pulse lidar transceiver, telescope, scanner, inertial measurement unit, and flight computer system to orchestrate all subsystem functions and tasks. The scanner is capable of directing the expanded lidar beam in a variety of ways, in order to extract vertically-resolved wind fields. Horizontal resolution is approx. 1 km; vertical resolution is even finer. Winds are obtained by measuring backscattered, Doppler-shifted laser radiation from naturally-occurring aerosol particles (of order 1 micron diameter). Measurement coverage depends on aerosol spatial distribution and composition. Velocity accuracy has been verified to be approx. 1 meter per second. A variety of applications have been demonstrated during the three flight campaigns conducted during 1995-1998. Examples will be shown during the presentation. In 1995, boundary layer winds over the ocean were mapped with unprecedented resolution. In 1996, unique measurements were made of. flow over the complex terrain of the Aleutian Islands; interaction of the marine boundary layer jet with the California coastal mountain range; a weak dry line in Texas - New Mexico; the angular dependence of sea surface scattering; and in-flight radiometric calibration using the surface of White Sands National Monument. In 1998, the first measurements of eyewall and boundary layer winds within a hurricane were made with the airborne Doppler lidar. Potential applications and plans for improvement will also be described.

Wind-driven marine phytoplank blooms: Satellite observation and analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, DanLing

2016-07-01

Algal bloom is defined as a rapid increase or accumulation in biomass in an aquatic system. It not only can increase the primary production but also could result in negative ecological consequence, e.g.,Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). According to the classic theory for the formation of algal blooms "critical depth" and "eutrophication", oligotrophic sea area is usually difficult to form a large area of algal blooms, and actuallythe traditional observation is only sporadic capture to the existence of algal blooms.Taking full advantage of multiple data of satellite remote sensing , this study introduces "Wind-driven algal blooms in open oceans: observation and mechanisms" It explained except classic coastal Ekman transport, the wind through a variety of mechanisms affecting the formation of algal blooms. Proposed a conceptual model of "Strong wind -upwelling-nutrient-phytoplankton blooms" in Western South China Sea (SCS) to assess role of wind-induced advection transport in phytoplankton bloom formation. It illustrates the nutrient resources that support long-term offshore phytoplankton blooms in the western SCS; (2)Proposal of the theory that "typhoons cause vertical mixing, induce phytoplankton blooms", and quantify their important contribution to marine primary production; Proposal a new ecological index for typhoon. Proposed remote sensing inversion models. (3)Finding of the spatial and temporaldistributions pattern of harmful algal bloom (HAB)and species variations of HAB in the South Yellow Sea and East China Sea, and in the Pearl River estuary, and their oceanic dynamic mechanisms related with monsoon; The project developed new techniques and generated new knowledge, which significantly improved understanding of the formation mechanisms of algal blooms. The proposed "wind-pump" mechanism integrates theoretical system combined "ocean dynamics, development of algal blooms, and impact on primary production", which will benefit fisheries management. These achievements led to the development of a new interdisciplinary subject "Remote Sensing Marine Ecology"(RSME).

Application of Remote Sensing to Assess the Impact of Short Term Climate Variability on Coastal Sedimentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moeller, Christopher C.; Gunshor, Mathew M.; Menzel, W. Paul; Huh, Oscar K.; Walker, Nan D.; Rouse, Lawrence J.; Frey, Herbert V. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The University of Wisconsin and Louisiana State University have teamed to study the forcing of winter season cold frontal wind systems on sediment distribution patterns and geomorphology in the Louisiana coastal zone. Wind systems associated with cold fronts have been shown to modify coastal circulation and resuspend sediments along the microtidal Louisiana coast. The assessment includes quantifying the influence of cumulative winter season atmospheric forcing (through surface wind observations) from year to year in response to short term climate variability, such as El Nino events. A correlation between winter cyclone frequency and the strength of El Nino events has been suggested. The atmospheric forcing data are being correlated to geomorphic measurements along western Louisiana's prograding muddy coast. Remote sensing data is being used to map and track sediment distribution patterns for various wind conditions. Transferring a suspended sediment concentration (SSC) algorithm to EOS MODIS observations will enable estimates of SSC in case 2 waters over the global domain. Progress in Year 1 of this study has included data collection and analysis of wind observations for atmospheric forcing characterization, a field activity (TX-2001) to collect in situ water samples with co-incident remote sensing measurements from the NASA ER-2 based MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) and the EOS Terra based MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments, aerial photography and of sediment burial pipe field measurements along the prograding muddy Chenier Plain coast of western Louisiana for documenting coastal change in that dynamic region, and routine collection of MODIS 250 in resolution data for monitoring coastal sediment patterns. The data sets are being used in a process to transfer an SSC estimation algorithm to the MODIS platform. Work is underway on assessing coastal transport for the winter 2000-01 season. Water level data for use in a Geomorphic Impact Index, which relates wind energy, water level conditions, and geomorphic change along the microtidal western Louisiana coastline is being assembled.

Estimation of the remote-sensing reflectance from above-surface measurements.

PubMed

Mobley, C D

1999-12-20

The remote-sensing reflectance R(rs) is not directly measurable, and various methodologies have been employed in its estimation. I review the radiative transfer foundations of several commonly used methods for estimating R(rs), and errors associated with estimating R(rs) by removal of surface-reflected sky radiance are evaluated using the Hydrolight radiative transfer numerical model. The dependence of the sea surface reflectance factor rho, which is not an inherent optical property of the surface, on sky conditions, wind speed, solar zenith angle, and viewing geometry is examined. If rho is not estimated accurately, significant errors can occur in the estimated R(rs) for near-zenith Sun positions and for high wind speeds, both of which can give considerable Sun glitter effects. The numerical simulations suggest that a viewing direction of 40 deg from the nadir and 135 deg from the Sun is a reasonable compromise among conflicting requirements. For this viewing direction, a value of rho approximately 0.028 is acceptable only for wind speeds less than 5 m s(-1). For higher wind speeds, curves are presented for the determination of rho as a function of solar zenith angle and wind speed. If the sky is overcast, a value of rho approximately 0.028 is used at all wind speeds.

Solar Polar ORbit Telescope (SPORT): A Potential Space Weather Mission of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y. D.; Xiong, M.; Wu, J.; Liu, H.; Zheng, J.; Li, B.; Zhang, C.; Sun, W.

2013-12-01

We describe a spacecraft mission, named Solar Polar ORbit Telescope (SPORT), which is currently under a scientific and engineering background study in China. SPORT was originally proposed in 2004 by the National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences. It will carry a suite of remote-sensing and in-situ instruments to observe coronal mass ejections (CMEs), solar high-latitude magnetism, and the fast solar wind from a polar orbit around the Sun. It is intended to be the first mission that carries remote-sensing instruments from a high-latitude orbit around the Sun, the first mission that could image interplanetary CMEs at radio wavelengths from space, and the first mission that could measure solar high-latitude magnetism leading to eruptions and the fast solar wind. The first extended view of the polar region of the Sun and the ecliptic plane enabled by SPORT will provide a unique opportunity to study CME propagation through the inner heliosphere and solar high-latitude magnetism giving rise to eruptions and the fast solar wind.

Flux Calculation Using CARIBIC DOAS Aircraft Measurements: SO2 Emission of Norilsk

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walter, D.; Heue, K.-P.; Rauthe-Schoech, A.; Brenninkmeijer, C. A. M.; Lamsal, L. N.; Krotkov, N. A.; Platt, U.

2012-01-01

Based on a case-study of the nickel smelter in Norilsk (Siberia), the retrieval of trace gas fluxes using airborne remote sensing is discussed. A DOAS system onboard an Airbus 340 detected large amounts of SO2 and NO2 near Norilsk during a regular passenger flight within the CARIBIC project. The remote sensing data were combined with ECMWF wind data to estimate the SO2 output of the Norilsk industrial complex to be around 1 Mt per year, which is in agreement with independent estimates. This value is compared to results using data from satellite remote sensing (GOME, OMI). The validity of the assumptions underlying our estimate is discussed, including the adaptation of this method to other gases and sources like the NO2 emissions of large industries or cities.

Demonstration of synchronised scanning Lidar measurements of 2D velocity fields in a boundary-layer wind tunnel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Dooren, M. F.; Kühn, M.; PetroviĆ, V.; Bottasso, C. L.; Campagnolo, F.; Sjöholm, M.; Angelou, N.; Mikkelsen, T.; Croce, A.; Zasso, A.

2016-09-01

This paper combines the currently relevant research methodologies of scaled wind turbine model experiments in wind tunnels with remote-sensing short-range WindScanner Lidar measurement technology. The wind tunnel of the Politecnico di Milano was equipped with three wind turbine models and two short-range WindScanner Lidars to demonstrate the benefits of synchronised scanning Lidars in such experimental surroundings for the first time. The dual- Lidar system can provide fully synchronised trajectory scans with sampling time scales ranging from seconds to minutes. First, staring mode measurements were compared to hot wire probe measurements commonly used in wind tunnels. This yielded goodness of fit coefficients of 0.969 and 0.902 for the 1 Hz averaged u- and v-components of the wind speed, respectively, validating the 2D measurement capability of the Lidar scanners. Subsequently, the measurement of wake profiles on a line as well as wake area scans were executed to illustrate the applicability of Lidar scanning to measuring small scale wind flow effects. The downsides of Lidar with respect to the hot wire probes are the larger measurement probe volume and the loss of some measurements due to moving blades. In contrast, the benefits are the high flexibility in conducting both point measurements and area scanning, and the fact that remote sensing techniques do not disturb the flow while measuring. The research campaign revealed a high potential for using short-range WindScanner Lidar for accurately measuring small scale flow structures in a wind tunnel.

High-Energy 2-Micrometers Doppler Lidar for Wind Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koch, Grady J.; Beyon, Jeffrey Y.; Barnes, Bruce W.; Petros, Mulugeta; Yu, Jirong; Amzajerdian, Farzin; Kavaya, Michael J.; Singh, Upendra N.

2006-01-01

High-energy 2-micrometer wavelength lasers have been incorporated in a prototype coherent Doppler lidar to test component technologies and explore applications for remote sensing of the atmosphere. Design of the lidar is presented including aspects in the laser transmitter, receiver, photodetector, and signal processing. Calibration tests and sample atmospheric data are presented on wind and aerosol profiling.

Analysis of measurements for solid state laser remote lidar system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amzajerdian, Farzin

1995-01-01

The merits of using lidar systems for remote measurements of various atmospheric processes such as wind, turbulence, moisture, and aerosol concentration are widely recognized. Although the lidar technology has progressed considerably over the past two decades, significant research particularly in the area of solid state lidars remains to be conducted in order to fully exploit this technology. The work performed by the UAH (University of Alabama in Huntsville) personnel under this Delivery Order concentrated on analyses of measurements required in support of solid state laser remote sensing lidar systems which are to be designed, deployed, and used to measure atmospheric processes and constituents. UAH personnel has studied and recommended to NASA/MSFC the requirements of the optical systems needed to characterize the detection devices suitable for solid state wavelengths and to evaluate various heterodyne detection schemes. The 2-micron solid state laser technology was investigated and several preliminary laser designs were developed and their performance for remote sensing of atmospheric winds and clouds from a spaceborne platform were specified. In addition to the laser source and the detector, the other critical technologies necessary for global wind measurements by a spaceborne solid state coherent lidar systems were identified to be developed and demonstrated. As part of this work, an analysis was performed to determine the atmospheric wind velocity estimation accuracy using the line-of-sight measurements of a scanning coherent lidar. Under this delivery order, a computer database of materials related to the theory, development, testing, and operation of lidar systems was developed to serve as a source of information for lidar research and development.

Propagation and Evolution of CMEs in the Interplanetary Medium: Analysis of Remote Sensing and In situ Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Figueroa-Vinas, Adolfo; Nieves-Chinchilla, Teresa; Vourlidas, Angelos; Gomez-Herrero, Raul; Malandraki, Olga; Szabo, Adam; Dresing, Nina; Davila, Joseph M.

2010-01-01

EUV disk imagers and white light coronagraphs have provided for many years information on the early formation and evolution of corona) mass ejections (CMEs). More recently, the novel heliospheric imaging instruments aboard the STEREO mission are providing crucial remote sensing information on the interplanetary evolution of these events while in situ instruments complete the overall characterization of the interplanetary CMEs. In this work, we present an analysis of CMEs from the Sun to the interplanetary medium using combined data from THE SOHO, STEREO, WIND, and ACE spacecraft. The events were selected to cover the widest possible spectrum of different ambient solar wind, magnetic field configurations, plasma parameters, etc. to allow uncovering those aspects that are important in understanding the propagation and evolution mechanisms of CMEs in the interplanetary medium.

An Integrated Approach To Offshore Wind Energy Assessment: Great Lakes 3D Wind Experiment

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

Barthelmie, R. J.; Pryor, S. C.

This grant supported fundamental research into the characterization of flow parameters of relevance to the wind energy industry focused on offshore and the coastal zone. A major focus of the project was application of the latest generation of remote sensing instrumentation and also integration of measurements and numerical modeling to optimize characterization of time-evolving atmospheric flow parameters in 3-D. Our research developed a new data-constrained Wind Atlas for the Great Lakes, and developed new insights into flow parameters in heterogeneous environments. Four experiments were conducted during the project: At a large operating onshore wind farm in May 2012; At themore » National Renewable Energy Laboratory National Wind Technology Center (NREL NWTC) during February 2013; At the shoreline of Lake Erie in May 2013; and At the Wind Energy Institute of Canada on Prince Edward Island in May 2015. The experiment we conducted in the coastal zone of Lake Erie indicated very complex flow fields and the frequent presence of upward momentum fluxes and resulting distortion of the wind speed profile at turbine relevant heights due to swells in the Great Lakes. Additionally, our data (and modeling) indicate the frequent presence of low level jets at 600 m height over the Lake and occasions when the wind speed profile across the rotor plane may be impacted by this phenomenon. Experimental data and modeling of the fourth experiment on Prince Edward Island showed that at 10-14 m escarpment adjacent to long-overseas fetch the zone of wind speed decrease before the terrain feature and the increase at (and slightly downwind of) the escarpment is ~3–5% at turbine hub-heights. Additionally, our measurements were used to improve methods to compute the uncertainty in lidar-derived flow properties and to optimize lidar-scanning strategies. For example, on the basis of the experimental data we collected plus those from one of our research partners we advanced a new methodology to estimate a priori the uncertainty in wind speed retrievals from arc scans based on site characteristics such as wind velocity, turbulence intensity and proposed scan geometry. Insights regarding use of remote sensing technologies deriving from project experiments were used to compile a best practice document http://doi.org/10.7298/X4QV3JGF for measuring wind speeds and turbulence offshore through in-situ and remote sensing technologies. A project-specific web-site was developed and is available at: http://www.geo.cornell.edu/eas/PeoplePlaces/Faculty/spryor/DoE_AIATOWEA/index.html« less

The promise of remote sensing in the atmospheric sciences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Atlas, D.

1981-01-01

The applications and advances in remote sensing technology for weather prediction, mesoscale meteorology, severe storms, and climate studies are discussed. Doppler radar permits tracking of the three-dimensional field of motion within storms, thereby increasing the accuracy of convective storm modeling. Single Doppler units are also employed for detecting mesoscale storm vortices and tornado vortex signatures with lead times of 30 min. Clear air radar in pulsed and high resolution FM-CW forms reveals boundary layer convection, Kelvin-Helmoltz waves, shear layer turbulence, and wave motions. Lidar is successfully employed for stratospheric aerosol measurements, while Doppler lidar provides data on winds from the ground and can be based in space. Sodar is useful for determining the structure of the PBL. Details and techniques of satellite-based remote sensing are presented, and results from the GWE and FGGE experiments are discussed.

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.

Surface Wind Field Analyses of Tropical Cyclones During TCS-08: Relative Impacts of Aircraft and Remotely-Sensed Observations

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-09-01

Campaign (T- PARC ). Rare aircraft measurements in the western North Pacific are utilized to define surface wind distributions of TY Nuri, TY Sinlaku...The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment (THORPEX) Pacific Asian Regional Campaign (T- PARC ). Rare aircraft measurements in the...3 C. TCS08/T- PARC ................................................................................................... 4 D

Continuous Water Vapor Profiles from Operational Ground-Based Active and Passive Remote Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turner, D. D.; Feltz, W. F.; Ferrare, R. A.

2000-01-01

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program's Southern Great Plains Cloud and Radiation Testbed site central facility near Lamont, Oklahoma, offers unique operational water vapor profiling capabilities, including active and passive remote sensors as well as traditional in situ radiosonde measurements. Remote sensing technologies include an automated Raman lidar and an automated Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI), which are able to retrieve water vapor profiles operationally through the lower troposphere throughout the diurnal cycle. Comparisons of these two water vapor remote sensing methods to each other and to radiosondes over an 8-month period are presented and discussed, highlighting the accuracy and limitations of each method. Additionally, the AERI is able to retrieve profiles of temperature while the Raman lidar is able to retrieve aerosol extinction profiles operationally. These data, coupled with hourly wind profiles from a 915-MHz wind profiler, provide complete specification of the state of the atmosphere in noncloudy skies. Several case studies illustrate the utility of these high temporal resolution measurements in the characterization of mesoscale features within a 3-day time period in which passage of a dryline, warm air advection, and cold front occurred.

A Wireless Sensor Network for the Real-Time Remote Measurement of Aeolian Sand Transport on Sandy Beaches and Dunes

PubMed Central

Cappelli, Irene; Mecocci, Alessandro; Alquini, Fernanda

2018-01-01

Direct measurements of aeolian sand transport on coastal dunes and beaches is of paramount importance to make correct decisions about coast management. As most of the existing studies are mainly based on a statistical approach, the solution presented in this paper proposes a sensing structure able to orient itself according to wind direction and directly calculate the amount of wind-transported sand by collecting it and by measuring its weight. Measurements are performed remotely without requiring human action because the structure is equipped with a ZigBee radio module, which periodically sends readings to a local gateway. Here data are processed by a microcontroller and then transferred to a remote data collection centre, through GSM technology. The ease of installation, the reduced power consumption and the low maintenance required, make the proposed solution able to work independently, limiting human intervention, for all the duration of the expected experimental campaign. In order to analyze the cause-effect relationship between the transported sand and the wind, the sensing structure is integrated with a multi-layer anemoscope-anemometer structure. The overall sensor network has been developed and tested in the laboratory, and its operation has been validated in field through a 48 h measurement campaign. PMID:29518060

A Wireless Sensor Network for the Real-Time Remote Measurement of Aeolian Sand Transport on Sandy Beaches and Dunes.

PubMed

Pozzebon, Alessandro; Cappelli, Irene; Mecocci, Alessandro; Bertoni, Duccio; Sarti, Giovanni; Alquini, Fernanda

2018-03-08

Direct measurements of aeolian sand transport on coastal dunes and beaches is of paramount importance to make correct decisions about coast management. As most of the existing studies are mainly based on a statistical approach, the solution presented in this paper proposes a sensing structure able to orient itself according to wind direction and directly calculate the amount of wind-transported sand by collecting it and by measuring its weight. Measurements are performed remotely without requiring human action because the structure is equipped with a ZigBee radio module, which periodically sends readings to a local gateway. Here data are processed by a microcontroller and then transferred to a remote data collection centre, through GSM technology. The ease of installation, the reduced power consumption and the low maintenance required, make the proposed solution able to work independently, limiting human intervention, for all the duration of the expected experimental campaign. In order to analyze the cause-effect relationship between the transported sand and the wind, the sensing structure is integrated with a multi-layer anemoscope-anemometer structure. The overall sensor network has been developed and tested in the laboratory, and its operation has been validated in field through a 48 h measurement campaign.

The solar wind in the third dimension

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neugebauer, M.

1995-01-01

For many years, solar-wind physicists have been using plasma and field data acquired near the ecliptic plane together with data on the scintillation of radio sources and remote sensing of structures in the solar corona to estimate the properties of the high-latitude solar wind, Because of the highly successful Ulysses mission, the moment of truth is now here. This talk summarizes the principal differences between the high and low latitude solar winds at the declining phase of the solar-activity cycle and between the Ulysses observations and expectations.

Combining Remote and In Situ Observations with MHD models to Understand the Formation of the Slow Solar Wind

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viall, N. M.; Kepko, L.; Antiochos, S. K.; Lepri, S. T.; Vourlidas, A.; Linker, J.

2017-12-01

Connecting the structure and variability in the solar corona to the Heliosphere and solar wind is one of the main goals of Heliophysics and space weather research. The instrumentation and viewpoints of the Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter missions will provide an unprecedented opportunity to combine remote sensing with in situ data to determine how the corona drives the Heliosphere, especially as it relates to the origin of the slow solar wind. We present analysis of STEREO coronagraph and heliospheric imager observations and of in situ ACE and Wind measurements that reveal an important connection between the dynamics of the corona and of the solar wind. We show observations of quasi-periodic release of plasma into the slow solar wind occurring throughout the corona - including regions away from the helmet streamer and heliospheric current sheet - and demonstrate that these observations place severe constraints on the origin of the slow solar wind. We build a comprehensive picture of the dynamic evolution by combining remote imaging data, in situ composition and magnetic connectivity information, and MHD models of the solar wind. Our results have critical implications for the magnetic topology involved in slow solar wind formation and magnetic reconnection dynamics. Crucially, this analysis pushes the limits of current instrument resolution and sensitivity, showing the enormous potential science to be accomplished with the Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter missions.

Ground-based remote sensing observation of the complex behaviour of the Marseille boundary layer during ESCOMPTE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delbarre, H.; Augustin, P.; Saïd, F.; Campistron, B.; Bénech, B.; Lohou, F.; Puygrenier, V.; Moppert, C.; Cousin, F.; Fréville, P.; Fréjafon, E.

2005-03-01

Ground-based remote sensing systems have been used during the ESCOMPTE campaign, to continuously characterize the boundary-layer behaviour through many atmospheric parameters (wind, extinction and ozone concentration distribution, reflectivity, turbulence). This analysis is focused on the comparison of the atmospheric stratification retrieved from a UV angular ozone lidar, an Ultra High Frequency wind profiler and a sodar, above the area of Marseille, on June 26th 2001 (Intensive Observation Period 2b). The atmospheric stratification is shown to be very complex including two superimposed sea breezes, with an important contribution of advection. The temporal and spatial evolution of the stratification observed by the UV lidar and by the UHF radar are in good agreement although the origin of the echoes of these systems is quite different. The complexity of the dynamic situation has only partially been retrieved by a non-hydrostatic mesoscale model used with a 3 km resolution.

Tertiary and Quaternary Research with Remote Sensing Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Conel, J. E.

1985-01-01

Problems encountered in mapping the Quaternary section of the Wind River Region using remote sensing methods are discussed. Analysis of the stratigraphic section is a fundamental aspect of the geologic study of sedimentary basins. Stratigraphic analysis of post-Cretaceous rocks in the Wind River Basin encounters problems of a distinctly different character from those involved in studying the pre-Cretaceous section. The interior of the basin is predominantly covered by Tertiary and Quaternary sediments. These rocks, except on the basin margin to the north, are mostly flat lying or gently dipping. The Tertiary section consists of sandstones, siltstones, and tuffaceous sediments, some variegated, but in general poorly bedded and of great lithologic similarity. The Quaternary sediments consist of terrace, fan, and debris tongue deposits, unconsolidated alluvium occupying the bottoms of modern watercourses, deposits of eolian origin and tufa. Terrace and fan deposits are compositionally diverse and reflect the lithologic diversity of the source terranes.

Solar Polar ORbit Telescope (SPORT): A Potential Heliophysics Mission of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Ying

We describe a spacecraft mission, named Solar Polar ORbit Telescope (SPORT), which is currently under a scientific and engineering background study in China. SPORT was originally proposed in 2004 by the National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences. It will carry a suite of remote-sensing and in-situ instruments to observe coronal mass ejections (CMEs), solar high-latitude magnetism, and the fast solar wind from a polar orbit around the Sun. It is intended to be the first mission that carries remote-sensing instruments from a high-latitude orbit around the Sun and the first mission that could measure solar high-latitude magnetism. The first extended view of the polar region of the Sun and the ecliptic plane enabled by SPORT will provide a unique opportunity to study CME propagation through the inner heliosphere and solar high-latitude magnetism giving rise to eruptions and the fast solar wind.

A propagation tool to connect remote-sensing observations with in-situ measurements of heliospheric structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rouillard, A. P.; Lavraud, B.; Génot, V.; Bouchemit, M.; Dufourg, N.; Plotnikov, I.; Pinto, R. F.; Sanchez-Diaz, E.; Lavarra, M.; Penou, M.; Jacquey, C.; André, N.; Caussarieu, S.; Toniutti, J.-P.; Popescu, D.; Buchlin, E.; Caminade, S.; Alingery, P.; Davies, J. A.; Odstrcil, D.; Mays, L.

2017-11-01

The remoteness of the Sun and the harsh conditions prevailing in the solar corona have so far limited the observational data used in the study of solar physics to remote-sensing observations taken either from the ground or from space. In contrast, the 'solar wind laboratory' is directly measured in situ by a fleet of spacecraft measuring the properties of the plasma and magnetic fields at specific points in space. Since 2007, the solar-terrestrial relations observatory (STEREO) has been providing images of the solar wind that flows between the solar corona and spacecraft making in-situ measurements. This has allowed scientists to directly connect processes imaged near the Sun with the subsequent effects measured in the solar wind. This new capability prompted the development of a series of tools and techniques to track heliospheric structures through space. This article presents one of these tools, a web-based interface called the 'Propagation Tool' that offers an integrated research environment to study the evolution of coronal and solar wind structures, such as Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs) and Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs). These structures can be propagated from the Sun outwards to or alternatively inwards from planets and spacecraft situated in the inner and outer heliosphere. In this paper, we present the global architecture of the tool, discuss some of the assumptions made to simulate the evolution of the structures and show how the tool connects to different databases.

Air-sea interaction with SSM/I and altimeter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

A number of important developments in satellite remote sensing techniques have occurred recently which offer the possibility of studying over vast areas of the ocean the temporally evolving energy exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere. Commencing in spring of 1985, passive and active microwave sensors that can provide valuable data for scientific utilization will start to become operational on Department of Defense (DOD) missions. The passive microwave radiometer can be used to estimate surface wind speed, total air column humidity, and rain rate. The active radar, or altimeter, senses surface gravity wave height and surface wind speed.

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.

Development of a computer model to predict platform station keeping requirements in the Gulf of Mexico using remote sensing data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barber, Bryan; Kahn, Laura; Wong, David

1990-01-01

Offshore operations such as oil drilling and radar monitoring require semisubmersible platforms to remain stationary at specific locations in the Gulf of Mexico. Ocean currents, wind, and waves in the Gulf of Mexico tend to move platforms away from their desired locations. A computer model was created to predict the station keeping requirements of a platform. The computer simulation uses remote sensing data from satellites and buoys as input. A background of the project, alternate approaches to the project, and the details of the simulation are presented.

Decision Support Tool Evaluation Report for General NOAA Oil Modeling Environment(GNOME) Version 2.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spruce, Joseph P.; Hall, Callie; Zanoni, Vicki; Blonski, Slawomir; D'Sa, Eurico; Estep, Lee; Holland, Donald; Moore, Roxzana F.; Pagnutti, Mary; Terrie, Gregory

2004-01-01

NASA's Earth Science Applications Directorate evaluated the potential of NASA remote sensing data and modeling products to enhance the General NOAA Oil Modeling Environment (GNOME) decision support tool. NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) Response Division is interested in enhancing GNOME with near-realtime (NRT) NASA remote sensing products on oceanic winds and ocean circulation. The NASA SeaWinds sea surface wind and Jason-1 sea surface height NRT products have potential, as do sea surface temperature and reflectance products from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and sea surface reflectance products from Landsat and the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflectance Radiometer. HAZMAT is also interested in the Advanced Circulation model and the Ocean General Circulation Model. Certain issues must be considered, including lack of data continuity, marginal data redundancy, and data formatting problems. Spatial resolution is an issue for near-shore GNOME applications. Additional work will be needed to incorporate NASA inputs into GNOME, including verification and validation of data products, algorithms, models, and NRT data.

Direct Global Measurements of Tropspheric Winds Employing a Simplified Coherent Laser Radar using Fully Scalable Technology and Technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kavaya, Michael J.; Spiers, Gary D.; Lobl, Elena S.; Rothermel, Jeff; Keller, Vernon W.

1996-01-01

Innovative designs of a space-based laser remote sensing 'wind machine' are presented. These designs seek compatibility with the traditionally conflicting constraints of high scientific value and low total mission cost. Mission cost is reduced by moving to smaller, lighter, more off-the-shelf instrument designs which can be accommodated on smaller launch vehicles.

Biogeography of the Oceans: a Review of Development of Knowledge of Currents, Fronts and Regional Boundaries from Sailing Ships in the Sixteenth Century to Satellite Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Priede, Imants G.

2014-06-01

The development of knowledge of global biogeography of the oceans from sixteenthcentury European voyages of exploration to present-day use of satellite remote sensing is reviewed in three parts; the pre-satellite era (1513-1977), the satellite era leading to a first global synthesis (1978-1998), and more recent studies since 1998. The Gulf Stream was first identified as a strong open-ocean feature in 1513 and by the eighteenth century, regular transatlantic voyages by sailing ships had established the general patterns of winds and circulation, enabling optimisation of passage times. Differences in water temperature, water colour and species of animals were recognised as important cues for navigation. Systematic collection of information from ships' logs enabled Maury (The Physical Geography of the Sea Harper and Bros. New York 1855) to produce a chart of prevailing winds across the entire world's oceans, and by the early twentieth century the global surface ocean circulation that defines the major biogeographic regions was well-known. This information was further supplemented by data from large-scale plankton surveys. The launch of the Coastal Zone Color Scanner, specifically designed to study living marine resources on board the Nimbus 7 polar orbiting satellite in 1978, marked the advent of the satellite era. Over subsequent decades, correlation of satellite-derived sea surface temperature and chlorophyll data with in situ measurements enabled Longhurst (Ecological Geography of the Sea. Academic Press, New York 1998) to divide the global ocean into 51 ecological provinces with Polar, Westerly Wind, Trade Wind and Coastal Biomes clearly recognisable from earlier subdivisions of the oceans. Satellite imagery with semi-synoptic images of large areas of the oceans greatly aided definition of boundaries between provinces. However, ocean boundaries are dynamic, varying from season to season and year to year. More recent work has focused on the study of variability of currents, fronts and eddies, which are often the focus of high biological productivity. Direct tracking of animals using satellite-based systems has helped resolve the biological function of such features and indeed animals instrumented in this way have helped the study of such features in three dimensions, including depths beyond the reach of conventional satellite remote sensing. Patterns of surface productivity detected by satellite remote sensing are reflected in deep sea life on the sea floor at abyssal depths >3,000 m. Satellite remote sensing has played a major role in overcoming the problems of large spatial scales and variability in ocean dynamics and is now an essential tool for monitoring global change.

Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely (SMART) Documents: Utilized in Assessing Socioeconomic Impacts of Cascading Infrastructure Disruptions

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-02-01

wind turbines . The following questions focus on determining how a local population uses the available electrical network, and what aspects of normal...panels, wind turbines , propane tanks, or gas tanks visible in pictures? • Direct Observation – What equipment is used to generate power? • Local...the grid may not be a high priority. Data Collection: • Remote Sensing – Are solar panels, wind turbines , propane tanks, or gas tanks visible in

Review of oil spill remote sensing.

PubMed

Fingas, Merv; Brown, Carl

2014-06-15

Remote-sensing for oil spills is reviewed. The use of visible techniques is ubiquitous, however it gives only the same results as visual monitoring. Oil has no particular spectral features that would allow for identification among the many possible background interferences. Cameras are only useful to provide documentation. In daytime oil absorbs light and remits this as thermal energy at temperatures 3-8K above ambient, this is detectable by infrared (IR) cameras. Laser fluorosensors are useful instruments because of their unique capability to identify oil on backgrounds that include water, soil, weeds, ice and snow. They are the only sensor that can positively discriminate oil on most backgrounds. Radar detects oil on water by the fact that oil will dampen water-surface capillary waves under low to moderate wave/wind conditions. Radar offers the only potential for large area searches, day/night and foul weather remote sensing. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The measurement of the synoptic scale wind over the ocean

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pierson, W. J.

1982-01-01

Mesoscale and microscale features of the turbulent winds over the ocean are related to the synoptic scale winds in terms of published spectral forms for the microscale, a mesoscale valley and published values of U*, VAR u', VAR v' and z/L, as defined in the text and as obtained for moderate to gale force winds. The frequencies involved correspond to periods longer than 1 hour and extend to the microscale, which starts at a period near 2 minutes, or so, and continues to the Kolmogorov inertial range. Nondimensional spectra that span both the mesoscale and the microscale are derived as a function of u, f(= n z/u) and z/L, where z is 10 meters, L is the Monin Obukov stability length and u is evaluated at 10 meters. For the same u, different values of z/L produce a range of values of u which in turn result in variations of the eddy structure of the mesoscale and microscale spectra. Both conventional anemometer averages and remotely sensed winds contain a random component of the mesoscale wind in their values. These components are differnces and not errors when winds are compared, and quantitative values for these differences are given. Ways to improve the measurement of the synoptic scale wind by transient ships, data buoys and scatterometers on future spacecraft are described. These ways are loner averaging times for ships and data buoys, depending on the synoptic conditions, and pooling spacecraft to form super observations. Design considerations for future remote sensing systems are given.

The influence of the surface roughness parameterization on remote sensing-based estimates of evapotranspiration from vineyards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alfieri, J. G.; Kustas, W. P.; Gao, F.; Nieto, H.; Prueger, J. H.; Hipps, L.

2017-12-01

Because the judicious application of water is key to ensuring berry quality, information regarding evapotranspiration (ET) is critical when making irrigation and other crop management decisions for vineyards. Increasingly, wine grape producers seek to use remote sensing-based models to monitor ET and inform management decisions. However, the parameterization schemes used by these models do not fully account for the effects of the highly-structured canopy architecture on either the roughness characteristics of the vineyard or the turbulent transport and exchange within and above the vines. To investigate the effects of vineyard structure on the roughness length (zo) and displacement height (do) of vineyards, data collected from 2013 to 2016 as a part of the Grape Remote Sensing Atmospheric Profiling and Evapotranspiration Experiment (GRAPEX), an ongoing multi-agency field campaign conducted in the Central Valley of California, was used. Specifically, vertical profiles (2.5 m, 3.75 m, 5 m, and 8 m, agl) of wind velocity collected under near-neutral conditions were used to estimate do and zo and characterize how these roughness parameters vary in response changing environmental conditions. The roughness length was found to vary as a function of wind direction. It increased sigmoidally from a minimum near 0.15 m when the wind direction was parallel to the vine rows to a maximum between 0.3 m and 0.4 m when the winds were perpendicularly to the rows. Similarly, do was found responds strongly to changes in vegetation density as measured via leaf area index (LAI). Although the maximum varied from year-to-year, do increased rapidly after bud break in all cases and then remained constant for the remainder of the growing season. A comparison of the model output from the remote sensing-based two-source energy balance (TSEB) model using the standard roughness parameterization scheme and the empirical relationships derived from observations indicates a that the modeled ET estimates decrease by 10% to 40%. These results not only demonstrate the unique effects of highly-structured canopies on aerodynamic characteristics, they also provide well-behaved relationships that may be used to improve the accuracy of the model parameterization of do and zo, thus the turbulent fluxes including ET, within vineyards.

Desert winds: Monitoring wind-related surface processes in Arizona, New Mexico, and California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Breed, Carol S.; Reheis, Marith C.

1999-01-01

The 18-year Desert Winds Project established instrumented field sites in the five major regions of the North American Desert to obtain meteorological, geological, and vegetation data for natural desert sites affected by wind erosion. The eight chapters in this volume describe the settings and operation of the stations and summarize eolian-related research to date around the stations. The report includes studies of the sand-moving effectiveness of storm winds, wind-erosion susceptibility of different ground-surface types, relations of dust storms to meteorological conditions, mediation of wind erosion by vegetation, remote sensing to detect vegetation changes related to climate change, and comparison of regional dust deposition to that near Owens (dry) Lake.

Nimbus 7 SMMR Derived Seasonal Variations in the Water Vapor, Liquid Water and Surface Winds over the Global Oceans

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prabhakara, C.; Short, D. A.

1984-01-01

Monthly mean distributions of water vapor and liquid water contained in a vertical column of the atmosphere and the surface wind speed were derived from Nimbus Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) observations over the global oceans for the period November 1978 to November 1979. The remote sensing techniques used to estimate these parameters from SMMR are presented to reveal the limitations, accuracies, and applicability of the satellite-derived information for climate studies. On a time scale of the order of a month, the distribution of atmospheric water vapor over the oceans is controlled by the sea surface temperature and the large scale atmospheric circulation. The monthly mean distribution of liquid water content in the atmosphere over the oceans closely reflects the precipitation patterns associated with the convectively and baroclinically active regions. Together with the remotely sensed surface wind speed that is causing the sea surface stress, the data collected reveal the manner in which the ocean-atmosphere system is operating. Prominent differences in the water vapor patterns from one year to the next, or from month to month, are associated with anomalies in the wind and geopotential height fields. In association with such circulation anomalies the precipitation patterns deduced from the meteorological network over adjacent continents also reveal anomalous distributions.

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.

Application of Remote Sensing to Assess the Impact of Short Term Climate Variability on Coastal Sedimentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Menzel, W. Paul; Huh, Oscar K.; Walker, Nan

2004-01-01

The purpose of this joint University of Wisconsin (UW) and Louisiana State University (LSU) project has been to relate short term climate variation to response in the coastal zone of Louisiana in an attempt to better understand how the coastal zone is shaped by climate variation. Climate variation in this case largely refers to variation in surface wind conditions that affect wave action and water currents in the coastal zone. The primary region of focus was the Atchafalaya Bay and surrounding bays in the central coastal region of Louisiana. Suspended solids in the water column show response to wind systems both in quantity (through resuspension) and in the pattern of dispersement or transport. Wind systems associated with cold fronts are influenced by short term climate variation. Wind energy was used as the primary signature of climate variation in this study because winds are a significant influence on sediment transport in the micro-tidal Gilf of Mexico coastal zone. Using case studies, the project has been able to investigate the influence of short term climate variation on sediment transport. Wind energy data, collected daily for National Weather Service (NWS) stations at Lake Charles and New Orleans, LA, were used as an indicator of short term climate variation influence on seasonal time scales. A goal was to relate wind energy to coastal impact through sediment transport. This goal was partially accomplished by combining remote sensing and wind energy data. Daily high resolution remote sensing observations are needed to monitor the complex coastal zone environment, where winds, tides, and water level all interact to influence sediment transport. The NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) era brings hope for documenting and revealing response of the complex coastal transport mosaic through regular high spatial resolution observations from the Moderate resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) instrument. MODIS observations were sampled in this project for information content and should continue to be viewed as a resource for coastal zone monitoring. The project initialized the effort to transfer a suspended sediment concentration (SSC) algorithm to the MODIS platform for case 2 waters. MODIS enables monitoring of turbid coastal zones around the globe. The MODIS SSC algorithm requires refinements in the atmospheric aerosol contribution, sun glint influence, and designation of the sediment inherent optical properties (IOPs); the framework for continued development is in place with a plan to release the algorithm to the MODIS direct broadcast community.

Vector wind, horizontal divergence, wind stress and wind stress curl from SEASAT-SASS at one degree resolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pierson, W. J., Jr.; Sylvester, W. B.; Salfi, R. E.

1984-01-01

Conventional data obtained in 1983 are contrasted with SEASAT-A scatterometer and scanning multichannel microwave radiometer (SMMR) data to show how observations at a single station can be extended to an area of about 150,000 square km by means of remotely sensed data obtained in nine minutes. Superobservations at a one degree resolution for the vector winds were estimated along with their standard deviations. From these superobservations, the horizontal divergence, vector wind stress, and the curl of the wind stress can be found. Weather forecasting theory is discussed and meteorological charts of the North Pacific Ocean are presented. Synoptic meteorology as a technique is examined.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Musick, H. Brad; Truman, C. Randall; Trujillo, Steven M.

1992-01-01

Wind erosion in semi-arid regions is a significant problem for which the sheltering effect of rangeland vegetation is poorly understood. Individual plants may be considered as porous roughness elements which absorb or redistribute the wind's momentum. The saltation threshold is the minimum wind velocity at which soil movement begins. The dependence of the saltation threshold on geometrical parameters of a uniform roughness array was studied in a wind tunnel. Both solid and porous elements were used to determine relationships between canopy structure and the threshold velocity for soil transport. The development of a predictive relation for the influence of vegetation canopy structure on wind erosion of soil is discussed.

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.

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.

Using remote sensing data for exploitation of integrated renewable energy at coastal site in South Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calaudi, Rosamaria; Lo Feudo, Teresa; Calidonna, Claudia Roberta; Sempreviva, Anna Maria

2016-04-01

Renewable energy sources are major components of the strategy to reduce harmful emissions and to replace depleting fossil energy resources. Data from Remote Sensing can provide detailed information for analysis for sources of renewable energy and to determine the potential energy and socially acceptability of suggested location. Coastal sites of Southern Italy have the advantage of favorable climatic conditions to use renewable energy, such us cloud free days and local breeze phenomena. Many ports are located where they have opportunities for exploitation of renewable energy, by using existing port area and by taking advantage of their coastal locations. Policies of European-Committee and Global-Navigation-PIANC for a better use of energy and an efficient supply from renewable sources are also focused on the construction of port facilities in zero emissions. Using data from Remote Sensing, can reduce the financial resources currently required for finding and assessing suitable areas, we defined an integrated methodology for potential wind and solar energy in harbor areas. In this study we compared the hourly solar power energy using MSG-SEVIRI (Meteosat Second Generation Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared) data products DSSF (Down-welling Surface Short-wave-Flux), and PV-Plant measurements with Nominal Power Peak of 19,85 kWp. The PV Plant is situated at a coastal site in Calabrian region, located near Vibo Valentia harbor area. We estimate potential energy by using input solar radiation of Satellite data, with same characteristics of the PV-plant. The RMSE and BIAS for hourly averaged solar electrical reproducibility are estimated including clear and sky conditions. Comparison between energy reproducibility by using DSSF product and PV-plant measurements, made over the period October 2013-June 2014, showed a good agreement in our costal site and generally overestimate (RMSE(35W/m2) and BIAS(4W/m2)) electrical reproducibility from a PV-plant. For wind resource estimation we used Synthetic-Aperture-Radar (SAR) images from March 2002 to April 2012 for a total of 3269 ENVISAT-ASAR scenes acquired in Wide-Swath-Mode (WSM). Wind speed in the Mediterranean is retrieved using the Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU-APL) software APL-NOAA-SAR Wind Retrieval System. The ASAR is a C-band VV and HH instrument with a 405 km swath with 150 m and 1 km resolution in wide-swath mode. With a 35-day repeat orbit the revisit frequency will give daily coverage near the poles and weekly at the equator. We performed statistical analyses for wind parameters. The SAR-based wind results at the location test near Vibo Valentia show that the average of wind speed is U= 5.63 ms-1, the Weibull parameters are A=6.3 ms-1 and k=1.70. The power density of the wind is E=245 Wm-2.The high spatial resolution of the gridded SAR data is particularly relevant to study coastal sites, where most part of human activities is located. In order to create a zero emissions' harbor area, remote sensing satellite data, can be used for smart grid which employed renewable energies.

ENVIRONMENTAL REMOTE SENSING ANALYSIS USING OPEN SOURCE VIRTUAL EARTHS AND PUBLIC DOMAIN IMAGERY

EPA Science Inventory

Human activities increasingly impact natural environments. Globally, many ecosystems are stressed to unhealthy limits, leading to loss of valuable ecosystem services- economic, ecologic and intrinsic. Virtual earths (virtual globes) (-e.g., NASA World Wind, ossimPlanet, ArcGIS...

Interplanetary Propagation of Coronal Mass Ejections

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gopalswamy, Nat

2011-01-01

Although more than ten thousand coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are produced during each solar cycle at the Sun, only a small fraction hits the Earth. Only a small fraction of the Earth-directed CMEs ultimately arrive at Earth depending on their interaction with the solar wind and other large-scale structures such as coronal holes and CMEs. The interplanetary propagation is essentially controlled by the drag force because the propelling force and the solar gravity are significant only near the Sun. Combined remote-sensing and in situ observations have helped us estimate the influence of the solar wind on the propagation of CMEs. However, these measurements have severe limitations because the remote-sensed and in-situ observations correspond to different portions of the CME. Attempts to overcome this problem are made in two ways: the first is to model the CME and get the space speed of the CME, which can be compared with the in situ speed. The second method is to use stereoscopic observation so that the remote-sensed and in-situ observations make measurements on the Earth-arriving part of CMEs. The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) mission observed several such CMEs, which helped understand the interplanetary evolution of these CMEs and to test earlier model results. This paper discusses some of these issues and updates the CME/shock travel time estimates for a number of CMEs.

Moving Beyond 2% Uncertainty: A New Framework for Quantifying Lidar Uncertainty

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

Newman, Jennifer F.; Clifton, Andrew

2017-03-08

Remote sensing of wind using lidar is revolutionizing wind energy. However, current generations of wind lidar are ascribed a climatic value of uncertainty, which is based on a poor description of lidar sensitivity to external conditions. In this presentation, we show how it is important to consider the complete lidar measurement process to define the measurement uncertainty, which in turn offers the ability to define a much more granular and dynamic measurement uncertainty. This approach is a progression from the 'white box' lidar uncertainty method.

Biological response to coastal upwelling and dust deposition in the area off Northwest Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohde, T.; Siegel, H.

2010-05-01

Nutrient supply in the area off Northwest Africa is mainly regulated by two processes, coastal upwelling and deposition of Saharan dust. In the present study, both processes were analyzed and evaluated by different methods, including cross-correlation, multiple correlation, and event statistics, using remotely sensed proxies of the period from 2000 to 2008 to investigate their influence on the marine environment. The remotely sensed chlorophyll- a concentration was used as a proxy for the phytoplankton biomass stimulated by nutrient supply into the euphotic zone from deeper water layers and from the atmosphere. Satellite-derived alongshore wind stress and sea-surface temperature were applied as proxies for the strength and reflection of coastal upwelling processes. The westward wind and the dust component of the aerosol optical depth describe the transport direction of atmospheric dust and the atmospheric dust column load. Alongshore wind stress and induced upwelling processes were most significantly responsible for the surface chlorophyll- a variability, accounting for about 24% of the total variance, mainly in the winter and spring due to the strong north-easterly trade winds. The remotely sensed proxies allowed determination of time lags between biological response and its forcing processes. A delay of up to 16 days in the surface chlorophyll- a concentration due to the alongshore wind stress was determined in the northern winter and spring. Although input of atmospheric iron by dust storms can stimulate new phytoplankton production in the study area, only 5% of the surface chlorophyll- a variability could be ascribed to the dust component in the aerosol optical depth. All strong desert storms were identified by an event statistics in the time period from 2000 to 2008. The 57 strong storms were studied in relation to their biological response. Six events were clearly detected in which an increase of chlorophyll- a was caused by Saharan dust input and not by coastal upwelling processes. Time lags of <8 days, 8 days, and 16 days were determined. An increase in surface chlorophyll- a concentration of up to 2.4 mg m -3 after dust storms in which the dust component of the aerosol optical depth was up to 0.9 was observed.

Solid State Laser Technology Development for Atmospheric Sensing Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnes, James C.

1998-01-01

NASA atmospheric scientists are currently planning active remote sensing missions that will enable global monitoring of atmospheric ozone, water vapor, aerosols and clouds as well as global wind velocity. The measurements of these elements and parameters are important because of the effects they have on climate change, atmospheric chemistry and dynamics, atmospheric transport and, in general, the health of the planet. NASA will make use of Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) and backscatter lidar techniques for active remote sensing of molecular constituents and atmospheric phenomena from advanced high-altitude aircraft and space platforms. This paper provides an overview of NASA Langley Research Center's (LaRC's) development of advanced solid state lasers, harmonic generators, and wave mixing techniques aimed at providing the broad range of wavelengths necessary to meet measurement goals of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise.

Simulation of Helium-3 Extraction from Lunar Ilmenite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuhlman, K. R.; Kulcinski, G. L.; Schmitt, H. H.

2004-01-01

Knowledge of the trapping mechanisms and diffusion characteristics of solar-wind implanted isotopes in the minerals of the lunar regolith will enable the optimization of the processes to extract solar wind gases from regolith particles. Extraction parameters include the temperature and duration of extraction, particle size, and gas yield. Diffusion data will increase the efficiency and profitability of future mining ventures. This data will also assist in optimizing the evaluations of various potential mining sites based on remote sensing data. For instance, if magnesian ilmenite (Mg,Fel.,Ti03) is found to retain He better than stoichiometric ilmenite (FeTi03), remote sensing data for Mg could be considered in addition to Ti and maturity data. The context of the currently discussed work is the mining of helium-3 for potential use as a fuel for fusion energy generation. However, the potential resources deposited by the solar wind include hydrogen (and derived water), helium-4, nitrogen and carbon. Implantation experiments such as those performed for helium isotopes in ilmenite are important for the optimized extraction of these additional resources. These experiments can easily be reproduced for most elements or isotopes of interest.

What can be Learned from X-ray Spectroscopy Concerning Hot Gas in Local Bubble and Charge Exchange Processes?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Snowden, Steve

2007-01-01

What can be learned from x-ray spectroscopy in observing hot gas in local bubble and charge exchange processes depends on spectral resolution, instrumental grasp, instrumental energy band, signal-to-nose, field of view, angular resolution and observatory location. Early attempts at x-ray spectroscopy include ROSAT; more recently, astronomers have used diffuse x-ray spectrometers, XMM Newton, sounding rocket calorimeters, and Suzaku. Future observations are expected with calorimeters on the Spectrum Roentgen Gamma mission, and the Solar Wind Charge Exchange (SWCX). The Geospheric SWCX may provide remote sensing of the solar wind and magnetosheath and remote observations of solar CMEs moving outward from the sun.

High pressure gas laser technology for atmospheric remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Javan, A.

1980-01-01

The development of a fixed frequency chirp-free and highly stable intense pulsed laser made for Doppler wind velocity measurements with accurate ranging is described. Energy extraction from a high pressure CO2 laser at a tunable single mode frequency is also examined.

Spatiotemporal chlorophyll-a dynamics on the Louisiana continental shelf derived from a dual satellite imagery algorithm

EPA Science Inventory

A monthly time series of remotely sensed chlorophyll-a (Chlars) over the Louisiana continental shelf (LCS) was developed and examined for its relationship to river discharge, nitrate concentration, total phosphorus concentration, photosynthetically available radiation (PAR), wind...

Tracking and Monitoring Oil Slicks Using remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klemas, V. V.

2011-12-01

Tracking and Monitoring Oil Slicks Using Remote Sensing Victor Klemas, Ph.D. , College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 Abstract Oil spills can harm marine life in the ocean, estuaries and wetlands. To limit the damage by a spill and facilitate cleanup efforts, emergency managers need information on spill location, size and extent, direction and speed of oil movement, wind, current, and wave information for predicting oil drift and dispersion. The main operational data requirements are fast turn-around time and frequent imaging to monitor the dynamics of the spill. Radar and multispectral remote sensors on satellites and aircraft meet most of these requirements by tracking the spilled oil at various resolutions, over wide areas and at frequent intervals. They also provide key inputs to drift prediction models and facilitate targeting of skimming and booming efforts. Satellite data are frequently supplemented by information provided by aircraft, ships and remotely controlled underwater robots. The Sea Princess tanker grounding off the coast of Wales and the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico provide two representative, yet different, scenarios for evaluating the effectiveness of remote sensors during oil spill emergencies. Session NH17: Remote Sensing of Natural Hazards Session Chair: Ramesh P. Singh Sponsor: Natural Hazards (NH)

Estimating evapotranspiration and drought stress with ground-based thermal remote sensing in agriculture: a review.

PubMed

Maes, W H; Steppe, K

2012-08-01

As evaporation of water is an energy-demanding process, increasing evapotranspiration rates decrease the surface temperature (Ts) of leaves and plants. Based on this principle, ground-based thermal remote sensing has become one of the most important methods for estimating evapotranspiration and drought stress and for irrigation. This paper reviews its application in agriculture. The review consists of four parts. First, the basics of thermal remote sensing are briefly reviewed. Second, the theoretical relation between Ts and the sensible and latent heat flux is elaborated. A modelling approach was used to evaluate the effect of weather conditions and leaf or vegetation properties on leaf and canopy temperature. Ts increases with increasing air temperature and incoming radiation and with decreasing wind speed and relative humidity. At the leaf level, the leaf angle and leaf dimension have a large influence on Ts; at the vegetation level, Ts is strongly impacted by the roughness length; hence, by canopy height and structure. In the third part, an overview of the different ground-based thermal remote sensing techniques and approaches used to estimate drought stress or evapotranspiration in agriculture is provided. Among other methods, stress time, stress degree day, crop water stress index (CWSI), and stomatal conductance index are discussed. The theoretical models are used to evaluate the performance and sensitivity of the most important methods, corroborating the literature data. In the fourth and final part, a critical view on the future and remaining challenges of ground-based thermal remote sensing is presented.

Advancing Reflectrometry

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-21

13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT Reflectometry , a microwave remote sensing technique to extract geophysical data from scattered satellite...transmissions, was first demonstrated using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) reflections. Recently, reflectometry has been extended to digital...potential missions. a 15. SUBJECT TERMS Reflectometry , Ocean Winds, Global Navigation Satellites, Communication Satellites 16. SECURITY

Wind Retrieval using Marine Radars

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-30

utilized to remove the 180° directional ambiguity in SAR wave retrieval ( Engen and Johnson, 1995). We have observed a strong dependency of the...1629–1642, Sep 2007. Engen , G., and H. Johnson, “SAR ocean wave inversion using image cross spectra”, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sensing, vol. 33

An Error-Reduction Algorithm to Improve Lidar Turbulence Estimates for Wind Energy

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

Newman, Jennifer F.; Clifton, Andrew

2016-08-01

Currently, cup anemometers on meteorological (met) towers are used to measure wind speeds and turbulence intensity to make decisions about wind turbine class and site suitability. However, as modern turbine hub heights increase and wind energy expands to complex and remote sites, it becomes more difficult and costly to install met towers at potential sites. As a result, remote sensing devices (e.g., lidars) are now commonly used by wind farm managers and researchers to estimate the flow field at heights spanned by a turbine. While lidars can accurately estimate mean wind speeds and wind directions, there is still a largemore » amount of uncertainty surrounding the measurement of turbulence with lidars. This uncertainty in lidar turbulence measurements is one of the key roadblocks that must be overcome in order to replace met towers with lidars for wind energy applications. In this talk, a model for reducing errors in lidar turbulence estimates is presented. Techniques for reducing errors from instrument noise, volume averaging, and variance contamination are combined in the model to produce a corrected value of the turbulence intensity (TI), a commonly used parameter in wind energy. In the next step of the model, machine learning techniques are used to further decrease the error in lidar TI estimates.« less

Development of tunable high pressure CO2 laser for lidar measurements of pollutants and wind velocities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levine, J. S.; Guerra, M.; Javan, A.

1980-01-01

The problem of laser energy extraction at a tunable monochromatic frequency from an energetic high pressure CO2 pulsed laser plasma, for application to remote sensing of atmospheric pollutants by Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) and of wind velocities by Doppler Lidar, was investigated. The energy extraction principle analyzed is based on transient injection locking (TIL) at a tunable frequency. Several critical experiments for high gain power amplification by TIL are presented.

Monitoring Snow Using Geostationary Satellite Retrievals During the SAAWSO Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rabin, Robert M.; Gultepe, Ismail; Kuligowski, Robert J.; Heidinger, Andrew K.

2016-09-01

The SAAWSO (Satellite Applications for Arctic Weather and SAR (Search And Rescue) Operations) field programs were conducted by Environment Canada near St. Johns, NL and Goose Bay, NL in the winters of 2012-13 and 2013-14, respectively. The goals of these programs were to validate satellite-based nowcasting products, including snow amount, wind intensity, and cloud physical parameters (e.g., cloud cover), over northern latitudes with potential applications to Search And Rescue (SAR) operations. Ground-based in situ sensors and remote sensing platforms were used to measure microphysical properties of precipitation, clouds and fog, radiation, temperature, moisture and wind profiles. Multi-spectral infrared observations obtained from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-13 provided estimates of cloud top temperature and height, phase (water, ice), hydrometer size, extinction, optical depth, and horizontal wind patterns at 15 min intervals. In this work, a technique developed for identifying clouds capable of producing high snowfall rates and incorporating wind information from the satellite observations is described. The cloud top physical properties retrieved from operational satellite observations are validated using measurements obtained from the ground-based in situ and remote sensing platforms collected during two precipitation events: a blizzard heavy snow storm case and a moderate snow event. The retrieved snow precipitation rates are found to be comparable to those of ground-based platform measurements in the heavy snow event.

Near Real Time Applications for Maritime Situational Awareness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwarz, E.; Krause, D.; Berg, M.; Daedelow, H.; Maass, H.

2015-04-01

Applications to derive maritime value added products like oil spill and ship detection based on remote sensing SAR image data are being developed and integrated at the Ground Station Neustrelitz, part of the German Remote Sensing Data Center. Products of meteo-marine parameters like wind and wave will complement the product portfolio. Research and development aim at the implementation of highly automated services for operational use. SAR images are being used because of the possibility to provide maritime products with high spatial resolution over wide swaths and under all weather conditions. In combination with other information like Automatic Identification System (AIS) data fusion products are available to support the Maritime Situational Awareness.

Application of Coastal Remote Sensing to Rhincodon Typus Habitat Monitoring Northeast of the Yucatán Peninsula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leben, R. R.; Shannon, M. R.

2013-05-01

Whale sharks, Rhincodon Typus, congregate annually in the coastal waters northeast of the Yucatán Peninsula from May through mid-September, with peak abundance in occurring between late July and the middle of August. This coincides with seasonal upwelling along the northern Yucatán coast and the eastern margin of the Yucatán shelf. Remote sensing data, including ocean color, sea surface temperature, ocean vector winds, and satellite altimetry, are used to characterize the physical environment supporting this unique coastal ecology, which also has important economic ramifications for the region because of increasing ecotourism activities focused on whale shark aggregations.

Neutral winds in the polar thermosphere as measured from Dynamics Explorer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Killeen, T. L.; Hays, P. B.; Spencer, N. W.; Wharton, L. E.

1982-01-01

Remote sensing measurements of the meridional thermospheric neutral wind using the Fabry-Perot Interferometer on Dynamics Explorer have been combined with in-situ measurements of the zonal component using the Wind and Temperature Spectrometer on the same spacecraft. The two data sets with appropriate spatial phasing and averaging determine the vector wind along the track of the polar orbiting spacecraft. A study of fifty-eight passes over the Southern (sunlit) pole has enabled the average Universal Time dependence of the wind field to be determined for essentially a single solar local time cut. The results show the presence of a 'back-ground' wind field driven by solar EUV heating upon which is superposed a circulating wind field driven by high latitude momentum and energy sources.

Remote sensing detection of atmospheric pollutants using lidar, sodar and correlation with air quality data in an industrial area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steffens, Juliana; da Costa, Renata F.; Landulfo, Eduardo; Guardani, Roberto; Moreira, Paulo F., Jr.; Held, Gerhard

2011-11-01

Optical remote sensing techniques have obvious advantages for monitoring gas and aerosol emissions, since they enable the operation over large distances, far from hostile environments, and fast processing of the measured signal. In this study two remote sensing devices, namely a Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) for monitoring the vertical profile of backscattered light intensity, and a Sodar (Acoustic Radar, Sound Detection and Ranging) for monitoring the vertical profile of the wind vector were operated during specific periods. The acquired data were processed and compared with data of air quality obtained from ground level monitoring stations, in order to verify the possibility of using the remote sensing techniques to monitor industrial emissions. The campaigns were carried out in the area of the Environmental Research Center (Cepema) of the University of Sao Paulo, in the city of Cubatao, Brazil, a large industrial site, where numerous different industries are located, including an oil refinery, a steel plant, as well as fertilizer, cement and chemical/petrochemical plants. The local environmental problems caused by the industrial activities are aggravated by the climate and topography of the site, unfavorable to pollutant dispersion. Results of a campaign are presented for a 24- hour period, showing data of a Lidar, an air quality monitoring station and a Sodar.

Hurricane Imaging Radiometer Wind Speed and Rain Rate Retrievals during the 2010 GRIP Flight Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sahawneh, Saleem; Farrar, Spencer; Johnson, James; Jones, W. Linwood; Roberts, Jason; Biswas, Sayak; Cecil, Daniel

2014-01-01

Microwave remote sensing observations of hurricanes, from NOAA and USAF hurricane surveillance aircraft, provide vital data for hurricane research and operations, for forecasting the intensity and track of tropical storms. The current operational standard for hurricane wind speed and rain rate measurements is the Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR), which is a nadir viewing passive microwave airborne remote sensor. The Hurricane Imaging Radiometer, HIRAD, will extend the nadir viewing SFMR capability to provide wide swath images of wind speed and rain rate, while flying on a high altitude aircraft. HIRAD was first flown in the Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes, GRIP, NASA hurricane field experiment in 2010. This paper reports on geophysical retrieval results and provides hurricane images from GRIP flights. An overview of the HIRAD instrument and the radiative transfer theory based, wind speed/rain rate retrieval algorithm is included. Results are presented for hurricane wind speed and rain rate for Earl and Karl, with comparison to collocated SFMR retrievals and WP3D Fuselage Radar images for validation purposes.

AXIOM: Advanced X-ray Imaging of the Magnetosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Branduardi-Raymont, G.; Sembay, S. F.; Eastwood, J. P.; Sibeck, D. G.; Abbey, A.; Brown, P.; Carter, J. A.; Carr, C. M.; Forsyth, C.; Kataria, D.;

AXIOM: Advanced X-Ray Imaging of the Magnetosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Branduardi-Raymont, G.; Sembay, S. F.; Eastwood, J. P.; Sibeck, D. G.; Abbey, A.; Brown, P.; Carter, J. A.; Carr, C. M.; Forsyth, C.; Kataria, D.;

The impact of in-canopy wind profile formulations on heat flux estimation using the remote sensing-based two-source model for an open orchard canopy in southern Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cammalleri, C.; Anderson, M. C.; Ciraolo, G.; D'Urso, G.; Kustas, W. P.; La Loggia, G.; Minacapilli, M.

2010-07-01

For open orchard and vineyard canopies containing significant fractions of exposed soil (>50%), typical of Mediterranean agricultural regions, the energy balance of the vegetation elements is strongly influenced by heat exchange with the bare soil/substrate. For these agricultural systems a "two-source" approach, where radiation and turbulent exchange between the soil and canopy elements are explicitly modelled, appears to be the only suitable methodology for reliably assessing energy fluxes. In strongly clumped canopies, the effective wind speed profile inside and below the canopy layer can highly influence the partitioning of energy fluxes between the soil and vegetation components. To assess the impact of in-canopy wind profile on model flux estimates, an analysis of three different formulations is presented, including algorithms from Goudriaan (1977), Massman (1987) and Lalic et al. (2003). The in-canopy wind profile formulations are applied to the thermal-based Two-Source Energy Balance (TSEB) model developed by Norman et al. (1995) and modified by Kustas and Norman (1999). High resolution airborne remote sensing images, collected over an agricultural area located in the western part of Sicily (Italy) comprised primarily of vineyards, olive and citrus orchards, are used to derive all the input parameters need to apply the TSEB. The images were acquired from June to October 2008 and include a relatively wide range of meteorological and soil moisture conditions. A preliminary sensitivity analysis of the three wind profile algorithms highlight the dependence of wind speed just above the soil/substrate to leaf area index and canopy height over the typical canopy properties range of these agricultural area. It is found that differences in wind just above surface among the models is most significant under sparse and medium fractional cover conditions (20-60%). The TSEB model heat flux estimates are compared with micrometeorological measurements from a small aperture scintillometer and an eddy covariance tower collected over an olive orchard characterized by moderate fractional vegetation cover (≈35%) and relatively tall crop height (≈3.5 m). TSEB fluxes for the 7 image acquisition dates generated using both the Massman and Goudriaan in-canopy wind profile formulations give close agreement with measured fluxes, while the Lalic et al. equations yield poor results. The Massman wind profile scheme slightly outperforms that of Goudriaan, but it requires an additional parameter describing the roughness of the underlying vegetative surface. This parameter is not directly obtainable using remote sensing, hence this study suggests that the Goudriaan formulation for landscape applications is most suitable when detailed site-specific information regarding canopy architecture is unavailable.

Antennas Lower Cost of Satellite Access

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2009-01-01

Whether for scientific inquiry, weather forecasting, or public safety, the world relies upon the data gathered by satellite remote sensing. Some of NASA s most valuable work is in its remote sensing capabilities - the ability to retrieve data acquired at great distances - affording a height and scope not available from the ground. NASA satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) monitor ocean health by taking large-scale pictures of phytoplankton blooms and measuring surface temperatures; snap photographs of full hurricanes from above, teaching researchers about how these giant storms form; and capture images of cloud formation and air pollution, all allowing researchers to further develop understanding of the planet s health. NASA remote sensing satellites also monitor shifts in the Earth s crust, analyze wind patterns around the world to develop efficient wind energy, help people around the world recover from natural disasters, and monitor diminishing sea ice levels. Just as researchers are more heavily relying on this data from space to conduct their work, the instruments carried on satellites are getting more sophisticated and capable of capturing increasingly complex and accurate measurements. The satellites are covering larger areas, from farther away, and generating more and more valuable data. The ground-based receivers for this wealth of satellite data have grown increasingly capable of handling greater bandwidth and higher power levels. They have also become less expensive, through a NASA research partnership, with the creation of a high-rate X-band data receiver system that is now in widespread use around the globe.

On estimating total daily evapotranspiration from remote surface temperature measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carlson, Toby N.; Buffum, Martha J.

1989-01-01

A method for calculating daily evapotranspiration from the daily surface energy budget using remotely sensed surface temperature and several meteorological variables is presented. Vaules of the coefficients are determined from simulations with a one-dimensional boundary layer model with vegetation cover. Model constants are obtained for vegetation and bare soil at two air temperature and wind speed levels over a range of surface roughness and wind speeds. A different means of estimating the daily evapotranspiration based on the time rate of increase of surface temperature during the morning is also considered. Both the equations using our model-derived constants and field measurements are evaluated, and a discussion of sources of error in the use of the formulation is given.

Comparison of surface wind stress measurements - Airborne radar scatterometer versus sonic anemometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brucks, J. T.; Leming, T. D.; Jones, W. L.

1980-01-01

Sea surface wind stress measurements recorded by a sonic anemometer are correlated with airborne scatterometer measurements of ocean roughness (cross section of radar backscatter) to establish the accuracy of remotely sensed data and assist in the definition of geophysical algorithms for the scatterometer sensor aboard Seasat A. Results of this investigation are as follows: Comparison of scatterometer and sonic anemometer wind stress measurements are good for the majority of cases; however, a tendency exists for scatterometer wind stress to be somewhat high for higher wind conditions experienced in this experiment (6-9 m/s). The scatterometer wind speed algorithm tends to overcompute the higher wind speeds by approximately 0.5 m/s. This is a direct result of the scatterometer overestimate of wind stress from which wind speeds are derived. Algorithmic derivations of wind speed and direction are, in most comparisons, within accuracies defined by Seasat A scatterometer sensor specifications.

Organization of the 1993 Optical Remote Sensing Topical Meeteing held in Salt Lake City, UT, 8-12 Mar 1993

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-06-01

S.C. 1992. Simulated Retrieval of Atmospheric Ozone from Aircraft ,A Interferometer Observations. Masters 7.5 thesis . University of Wisconsin...laser-based sensor system for long-path ab- presented. (p. 72) sorption measurements of atmospheric concentration and near-ir molecular spectral...performance of satellite- borne lidar-based wind sensors. (p. 247) 2:30 pm-3:00 pm COFFEE BREAK 11:20 am WB5 Simulation of space-based Doppler lidar wind SALON

Surface Wind Vector and Rain Rate Observation Capability of Future Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Timothy; Atlas, Robert; Bailey, M. C.; Black, Peter; El-Nimri, Salem; Hood, Robbie; James, Mark; Johnson, James; Jones, Linwood; Ruf, Christopher;

Satellites as Shared Resources for Caribbean Climate and Health Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maynard, Nancy G.

2002-01-01

Remotely-sensed data and observations are providing powerful new tools for addressing climate and environment-related human health problems through increased capabilities for monitoring, risk mapping, and surveillance of parameters useful to such problems as vector-borne and infectious diseases, air and water quality, harmful algal blooms, UV (ultraviolet) radiation, contaminant and pathogen transport in air and water, and thermal stress. Remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), global positioning systems (GPS), improved computational capabilities, and interdisciplinary research between the Earth and health science communities are being combined in rich collaborative efforts resulting in more rapid problem-solving, early warning, and prevention in global health issues. Collaborative efforts among scientists from health and Earth sciences together with local decision-makers are enabling increased understanding of the relationships between changes in temperature, rainfall, wind, soil moisture, solar radiation, vegetation, and the patterns of extreme weather events and the occurrence and patterns of diseases (especially, infectious and vector-borne diseases) and other health problems. This increased understanding through improved information and data sharing, in turn, empowers local health and environmental officials to better predict health problems, take preventive measure, and improve response actions. This paper summarizes the remote sensing systems most useful for climate, environment and health studies of the Caribbean region and provides several examples of interdisciplinary research projects in the Caribbean currently using remote sensing technologies. These summaries include the use of remote sensing of algal blooms, pollution transport, coral reef monitoring, vectorborne disease studies, and potential health effects of African dust on Trinidad and Barbados.

The potential impact of scatterometry on oceanography - A wave forecasting case

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cane, M. A.; Cardone, V. J.

1981-01-01

A series of observing system simulation experiments have been performed in order to assess the potential impact of marine surface wind data on numerical weather prediction. In addition to conventional data, the experiments simulated the time-continuous assimilation of remotely sensed marine surface wind or temperature sounding data. The wind data were fabricated directly for model grid points intercepted by a Seasat-1 scatterometer swath and were assimilated into the lowest active level (945 mb) of the model using a localized successive correction method. It is shown that Seasat wind data can greatly improve numerical weather forecasts due to better definition of specific features. The case of the QE II storm is examined.

Non-Topographic Space-Based Laser Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yu, Anthony W.; Abshire, James B.; Riris, Haris; Purucker, Michael; Janches, Diego; Getty, Stephanie; Krainak, Michael A.; Stephen, Mark A.; Chen, Jeffrey R.; Li, Steve X.;

Recent Progresses of Microwave Marine Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jingsong; Ren, Lin; Zheng, Gang; Wang, He; He, Shuangyan; Wang, Juan; Li, Xiaohui

2016-08-01

It is presented in this paper the recent progresses of Dragon 3 Program (ID. 10412) in the field of microwave marine remote sensing including (1) ocean surface wind fields from full polarization synthetic aperture radars (SAR), (2) joint retrieval of directional ocean wave spectra from SAR and wave spectrometer, (3) error analysis on ENVISAT ASAR wave mode significant wave height (SWH) retrievals using triple collocation model, (4) typhoon observation from SAR and optical sensors, (5) ocean internal wave observation from SAR and optical sensors, (6) ocean eddy observation from SAR and optical sensors, (7) retrieval models of water vapor and wet tropospheric path delay for the HY-2A calibration microwave radiometer, (8) calibration of SWH from HY-2A satellite altimeter.

Remote sensing of the Fram Strait marginal ice zone

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shuchman, R.A.; Burns, B.A.; Johannessen, O.M.; Josberger, E.G.; Campbell, W.J.; Manley, T.O.; Lannelongue, N.

1987-01-01

Sequential remote sensing images of the Fram Strait marginal ice zone played a key role in elucidating the complex interactions of the atmosphere, ocean, and sea ice. Analysis of a subset of these images covering a 1-week period provided quantitative data on the mesoscale ice morphology, including ice edge positions, ice concentrations, floe size distribution, and ice kinematics. The analysis showed that, under light to moderate wind conditions, the morphology of the marginal ice zone reflects the underlying ocean circulation. High-resolution radar observations showed the location and size of ocean eddies near the ice edge. Ice kinematics from sequential radar images revealed an ocean eddy beneath the interior pack ice that was verified by in situ oceanographic measurements.

Lidar Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McGill, Matthew J.; Starr, David OC. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The laser radar, or lidar (for light detection and ranging) is an important tool for atmospheric studies. Lidar provides a unique and powerful method for unobtrusively profiling aerosols, wind, water vapor, temperature, and other atmospheric parameters. This brief overview of lidar remote sensing is focused on atmospheric applications involving pulsed lasers. The level of technical detail is aimed at the educated non-lidar expert and references are provided for further investigation of specific topics. The article is divided into three main sections. The first describes atmospheric scattering processes and the physics behind laser-atmosphere interactions. The second section highlights some of the primary lidar applications, with brief descriptions of each measurement capability. The third section describes the practical aspects of lidar operation, including the governing equation and operational considerations.

Spaceborne studies of ocean circulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patzert, W. C.

1984-01-01

The history and near-term future of ocean remote sensing to study ocean circulation are examined. Seasat provided the first-ever global data sets of sea surface topography (altimeter) and marine winds (scatterometer) and laid the foundation for the next generation of satellite missions planned for the late 1980s. The future missions are the next generation of altimeter and scatterometer to be flown aboard TOPEX (TOPography EXperiment) and NROSS (Navy Remote Sensing System), respectively. The data from these satellites will be coordinated with measurements made at sea to determine the driving forces of ocean circulation and to study the oceans' role in climate variability. The significance of such studies to such matters as climatic changes, fisheries, commerce, waste disposal, and national defense is noted.

An Optical Model for Estimating the Underwater Light Field from Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Cheng-Chien; Miller, Richard L.

2002-01-01

A model of the wavelength-integrated scalar irradiance for a vertically homogeneous water column is developed. It runs twenty thousand times faster than simulations obtained using full Hydrolight code and limits the percentage error to less than 3.7%. Both the distribution of incident sky radiance and a wind-roughened surface are integrated in the model. Our model removes common limitations of earlier models and can be applied to waters with any composition of the inherent optical properties. Implementation of this new model, as well as the ancillary information required for processing global-scale satellite data, is discussed. This new model is fast, accurate, and flexible and therefore provides important information of the underwater light field from remote sensing.

Remote sensing of rain over the ocean

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

Computer models of the microwave emission from the earth's atmosphere were used to study the problem of retrieving meteorological information from the SMMR instrument that will be flown on NIMBUS-G. Methods for retrieving rain rate, wind speed, cloud height, and ocean temperature are described for the case when the satellite is over the ocean.

Vegetation water content of crops and woodlands for improving soil moisture retrievals from Coriolis WindSat

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Estimation of vegetation water content (VWC) by shortwave infrared remote sensing improves soil moisture retrievals. The largest unknown for predicting VWC is stem water content; for woodlands, stem water content is expected to be proportional to stem height. Airborne imagery were acquired and photo...

Vegetation water content of crops and woodlands for improving soil moisture retrievals from Coriolis WindSat

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Estimation of vegetation water content (VWC) by shortwave infrared remote sensing improves soil moisture retrievals. The largest unknown for predicting VWC is stem water content, which is assumed to be allometrically related to canopy water content. From forest science, stem volume is linearly relat...

Remote sensing of atmospheric winds using a coherent, CW lidar and speckle-turbulence interaction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holmes, J. F.; Amzajerdian, F.; Gudimetla, V. S. R.; Hunt, J. M.

1986-01-01

Speckle turbulence interaction has the potential for allowing single ended remote sensing of the path averaged vector crosswind in a plane perpendicular to the line of sight to a target. If a laser transmitter is used to illuminate a target, the resultant speckle field generated by the target is randomly perturbed by the atmospheric turbulence as it propagates back to the location of the transmitter-receiver. When a cross wind is present, this scintillation pattern will move with time across the receiver. A continuous wave (cw) laser transmitter of modest power level in conjunction with optical heterodyne detection was used to exploit the speckel turbulence interaction and measure the crosswind. The use of a cw transmitter at 10.6 microns and optical heterodyne detection has many advantages over direct detection and a double pulsed source in the visible or near infrared. These advantages include the availability of compact, reliable and inexpensive transmitters, better penetration of smoke, dust and fog; stable output power; low beam pointing jitter; and considerably reduced complexity in the receiver electronics.

On wind-wave-current interactions during the Shoaling Waves Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Fei W.; Drennan, William M.; Haus, Brian K.; Graber, Hans C.

2009-01-01

This paper presents a case study of wind-wave-current interaction during the Shoaling Waves Experiment (SHOWEX). Surface current fields off Duck, North Carolina, were measured by a high-frequency Ocean Surface Current Radar (OSCR). Wind, wind stress, and directional wave data were obtained from several Air Sea Interaction Spar (ASIS) buoys moored in the OSCR scanning domain. At several times during the experiment, significant coastal currents entered the experimental area. High horizontal shears at the current edge resulted in the waves at the peak of wind-sea spectra (but not those in the higher-frequency equilibrium range) being shifted away from the mean wind direction. This led to a significant turning of the wind stress vector away from the mean wind direction. The interactions presented here have important applications in radar remote sensing and are discussed in the context of recent radar imaging models of the ocean surface.

Forest Fires and Post - Fire Regeneration in Algeria Analysis with Satellite Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zegrar, Ahmed

2016-07-01

The Algerian forests are characterized by a particularly flammable material and fuel. The wind, the relief and the slope facilitates the propagation of fire. The use of remote sensing data multi-­dates, combined with other types of data of various kinds on the environment and forest burned, opens up interesting perspectives for the management of post-­fire regeneration. In this study the use of multi-­temporal remote sensing image Alsat-­1 and Landsat combined with other types of data concerning both background and burned down forest appears to be promising in evaluating and spatial and temporal effects of post fire regeneration. A spatial analysis taking into consideration the characteristics of the burned down site in the North West of Algeria, allowed to better account new factors to explain the regeneration and its temporal and spatial variation. We intended to show the potential use of remote sensing data from satellite ALSAT-­1, of spatial resolution of 32 m. . This approach allows showing the contribution of the data of Algerian satellite ALSAT in the detection and the well attended some forest fires in Algeria.

Optimizing Lidar Scanning Strategies for Wind Energy Measurements (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newman, J. F.; Bonin, T. A.; Klein, P.; Wharton, S.; Chilson, P. B.

2013-12-01

Environmental concerns and rising fossil fuel prices have prompted rapid development in the renewable energy sector. Wind energy, in particular, has become increasingly popular in the United States. However, the intermittency of available wind energy makes it difficult to integrate wind energy into the power grid. Thus, the expansion and successful implementation of wind energy requires accurate wind resource assessments and wind power forecasts. The actual power produced by a turbine is affected by the wind speeds and turbulence levels experienced across the turbine rotor disk. Because of the range of measurement heights required for wind power estimation, remote sensing devices (e.g., lidar) are ideally suited for these purposes. However, the volume averaging inherent in remote sensing technology produces turbulence estimates that are different from those estimated by a sonic anemometer mounted on a standard meteorological tower. In addition, most lidars intended for wind energy purposes utilize a standard Doppler beam-swinging or Velocity-Azimuth Display technique to estimate the three-dimensional wind vector. These scanning strategies are ideal for measuring mean wind speeds but are likely inadequate for measuring turbulence. In order to examine the impact of different lidar scanning strategies on turbulence measurements, a WindCube lidar, a scanning Halo lidar, and a scanning Galion lidar were deployed at the Southern Great Plains Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) site in Summer 2013. Existing instrumentation at the ARM site, including a 60-m meteorological tower and an additional scanning Halo lidar, were used in conjunction with the deployed lidars to evaluate several user-defined scanning strategies. For part of the experiment, all three scanning lidars were pointed at approximately the same point in space and a tri-Doppler analysis was completed to calculate the three-dimensional wind vector every 1 second. In another part of the experiment, one of the scanning lidars ran a Doppler beam-swinging technique identical to that used by the WindCube lidar while another scanning lidar used a novel six-beam technique that has been presented in the literature as a better alternative for measuring turbulence. In this presentation, turbulence measurements from these techniques are compared to turbulence measured by the WindCube lidar and sonic anemometers on the 60-m meteorological tower. In addition, recommendations are made for lidar measurement campaigns for wind energy applications.

Spacecraft Radio Scintillation and Solar System Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woo, Richard

1993-01-01

When a wave propagates through a turbulent medium, scattering by the random refractive index inhomogeneities can lead to a wide variety of phenomena that have been the subject of extensive study. The observed scattering effects include amplitude or intensity scintillation, phase scintillation, angular broadening, and spectral broadening, among others. In this paper, I will refer to these scattering effects collectively as scintillation. Although the most familiar example is probably the twinkling of stars (light wave intensity scintillation by turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere), scintillation has been encountered and investigated in such diverse fields as ionospheric physics, oceanography, radio astronomy, and radio and optical communications. Ever since planetary spacecraft began exploring the solar system, scintillation has appeared during the propagation of spacecraft radio signals through planetary atmospheres, planetary ionospheres, and the solar wind. Early studies of these phenomena were motivated by the potential adverse effects on communications and navigation, and on experiments that use the radio link to conduct scientific investigations. Examples of the latter are radio occultation measurements (described below) of planetary atmospheres to deduce temperature profiles, and the search for gravitational waves. However,these concerns soon gave way to the emergence of spacecraft radio scintillation as a new scientific tool for exploring small-scale dynamics in planetary atmospheres and structure in the solar wind, complementing in situ and other remote sensing spacecraft measurements, as well as scintillation measurements using natural (celestial) radio sources. The purpose of this paper is to briefly describe and review the solar system spacecraft radio scintillation observations, to summarize the salient features of wave propagation analyses employed in interpreting them, to underscore the unique remote sensing capabilities and scientific relevance of the scintillation measurements, and to highlight some of the scientific results obtained to date. Special emphasis is placed on comparing the remote sensing features of planetary and terrestrial scintillation measurements, and on contrasting spacecraft and natural radio source scintillation measurements. I will first discuss planetary atmospheres and ionospheres, and then the solar wind.

Remote Sensing the Phytoplankton Seasonal Succession of the Red Sea

PubMed Central

Brewin, Robert J. W.; Stenchikov, Georgiy; Hoteit, Ibrahim

2013-01-01

The Red Sea holds one of the most diverse marine ecosystems, primarily due to coral reefs. However, knowledge on large-scale phytoplankton dynamics is limited. Analysis of a 10-year high resolution Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) dataset, along with remotely-sensed sea surface temperature and wind, provided a detailed description of the spatiotemporal seasonal succession of phytoplankton biomass in the Red Sea. Based on MODIS (Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data, four distinct Red Sea provinces and seasons are suggested, covering the major patterns of surface phytoplankton production. The Red Sea Chl-a depicts a distinct seasonality with maximum concentrations seen during the winter time (attributed to vertical mixing in the north and wind-induced horizontal intrusion of nutrient-rich water in the south), and minimum concentrations during the summer (associated with strong seasonal stratification). The initiation of the seasonal succession occurs in autumn and lasts until early spring. However, weekly Chl-a seasonal succession data revealed that during the month of June, consistent anti-cyclonic eddies transfer nutrients and/or Chl-a to the open waters of the central Red Sea. This phenomenon occurs during the stratified nutrient depleted season, and thus could provide an important source of nutrients to the open waters. Remotely-sensed synoptic observations highlight that Chl-a does not increase regularly from north to south as previously thought. The Northern part of the Central Red Sea province appears to be the most oligotrophic area (opposed to southern and northern domains). This is likely due to the absence of strong mixing, which is apparent at the northern end of the Red Sea, and low nutrient intrusion in comparison with the southern end. Although the Red Sea is considered an oligotrophic sea, sporadic blooms occur that reach mesotrophic levels. The water temperature and the prevailing winds control the nutrient concentrations within the euphotic zone and enable the horizontal transportation of nutrients. PMID:23755161

Clouds, Wind and the Biogeography of Central American Cloud Forests: Remote Sensing, Atmospheric Modeling, and Walking in the Jungle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawton, R.; Nair, U. S.

2011-12-01

Cloud forests stand at the core of the complex of montane ecosystems that provide the backbone to the multinational Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, which seeks to protect a biodiversity conservation "hotspot" of global significance in an area of rapidly changing land use. Although cloud forests are generally defined by frequent and prolonged immersion in cloud, workers differ in their feelings about "frequent" and "prolonged", and quantitative assessments are rare. Here we focus on the dry season, in which the cloud and mist from orographic cloud plays a critical role in forest water relations, and discuss remote sensing of orographic clouds, and regional and atmospheric modeling at several scales to quantitatively examine the distribution of the atmospheric conditions that characterize cloud forests. Remote sensing using data from GOES reveals diurnal and longer scale patterns in the distribution of dry season orographic clouds in Central America at both regional and local scales. Data from MODIS, used to calculate the base height of orographic cloud banks, reveals not only the geographic distributon of cloud forest sites, but also striking regional variation in the frequency of montane immersion in orographic cloud. At a more local scale, wind is known to have striking effects on forest structure and species distribution in tropical montane ecosystems, both as a general mechanical stress and as the major agent of ecological disturbance. High resolution regional atmospheric modeling using CSU RAMS in the Monteverde cloud forests of Costa Rica provides quantitative information on the spatial distribution of canopy level winds, insight into the spatial structure and local dynamics of cloud forest communities. This information will be useful in not only in local conservation planning and the design of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, but also in assessments of the sensitivity of cloud forests to global and regional climate changes.

Remote sensing the phytoplankton seasonal succession of the Red Sea.

PubMed

Raitsos, Dionysios E; Pradhan, Yaswant; Brewin, Robert J W; Stenchikov, Georgiy; Hoteit, Ibrahim

2013-01-01

The Red Sea holds one of the most diverse marine ecosystems, primarily due to coral reefs. However, knowledge on large-scale phytoplankton dynamics is limited. Analysis of a 10-year high resolution Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) dataset, along with remotely-sensed sea surface temperature and wind, provided a detailed description of the spatiotemporal seasonal succession of phytoplankton biomass in the Red Sea. Based on MODIS (Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data, four distinct Red Sea provinces and seasons are suggested, covering the major patterns of surface phytoplankton production. The Red Sea Chl-a depicts a distinct seasonality with maximum concentrations seen during the winter time (attributed to vertical mixing in the north and wind-induced horizontal intrusion of nutrient-rich water in the south), and minimum concentrations during the summer (associated with strong seasonal stratification). The initiation of the seasonal succession occurs in autumn and lasts until early spring. However, weekly Chl-a seasonal succession data revealed that during the month of June, consistent anti-cyclonic eddies transfer nutrients and/or Chl-a to the open waters of the central Red Sea. This phenomenon occurs during the stratified nutrient depleted season, and thus could provide an important source of nutrients to the open waters. Remotely-sensed synoptic observations highlight that Chl-a does not increase regularly from north to south as previously thought. The Northern part of the Central Red Sea province appears to be the most oligotrophic area (opposed to southern and northern domains). This is likely due to the absence of strong mixing, which is apparent at the northern end of the Red Sea, and low nutrient intrusion in comparison with the southern end. Although the Red Sea is considered an oligotrophic sea, sporadic blooms occur that reach mesotrophic levels. The water temperature and the prevailing winds control the nutrient concentrations within the euphotic zone and enable the horizontal transportation of nutrients.

Remote wind sensing with a CW diode laser lidar beyond the coherence regime.

PubMed

Hu, Qi; Rodrigo, Peter John; Pedersen, Christian

2014-08-15

We experimentally demonstrate for the first time (to our knowledge) a coherent CW lidar system capable of wind speed measurement at a probing distance beyond the coherence regime of the light source. A side-by-side wind measurement was conducted on the field using two lidar systems with identical optical designs but different laser linewidths. While one system was operating within the coherence regime, the other was measuring at least 2.4 times the coherence range. The probing distance of both lidars is 85 m and the radial wind speed correlation was measured to be r2=0.965 between the two lidars at a sampling rate of 2 Hz. Based on our experimental results, we describe a practical guideline for designing a wind lidar operating beyond the coherence regime.

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

Kassianov, Evgueni I.; Riley, Erin A.; Kleiss, Jessica

Cloud amount is an essential and extensively used macrophysical parameter of cumulus clouds. It is commonly defined as a cloud fraction (CF) from zenith-pointing ground-based active and passive remote sensing. However, conventional retrievals of CF from the remote sensing data with very narrow field-of-view (FOV) may not be representative of the surrounding area. Here we assess its representativeness using an integrated dataset collected at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program's Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in Oklahoma, USA. For our assessment with focus on selected days with single-layer cumulus clouds (2005-2016), we include the narrow-FOVmore » ARM Active Remotely Sensed Clouds Locations (ARSCL) and large-FOV Total Sky Imager (TSI) cloud products, the 915-MHz Radar Wind Profiler (RWP) measurements of wind speed and direction, and also high-resolution satellite images from Landsat and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). We demonstrate that a root-mean-square difference (RMSD) between the 15-min averaged ARSCL cloud fraction (CF) and the 15-min averaged TSI fractional sky cover (FSC) is large (up to 0.3). We also discuss how the horizontal distribution of clouds can modify the obtained large RMSD using a new uniformity metric. The latter utilizes the spatial distribution of the FSC over the 100° FOV TSI images obtained with high temporal resolution (30 sec sampling). We demonstrate that cases with more uniform spatial distribution of FSC show better agreement between the narrow-FOV CF and large-FOV FSC, reducing the RMSD by up to a factor of 2.« less

Upwelling-Induced Primary Productivity in Coastal Waters of the Black Sea: Impact on Algorithms for Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldman, Joel C.; Brink, Kenneth K.; Gawarkiewicz, Glen; Sosik, Heidi M.

1997-01-01

This research program was a collaborative effort to investigate the impact of rapid changes in the water column during coastal upwelling, on biological and optical properties. These properties are important for constructing region or event-specific algorithms for remote sensing of pigment concentration and primary productivity and for comparing these algorithms with those used for the development of large scale maps from ocean color. We successfully achieved the primary objective of this research project which was to study in situ the dynamics of rapid spatial and temporal changes in properties of the water column during, coastal upwelling off the Crimean Coast in the Black Sea. The work was a collaborative effort between a group of biological and physical oceanographers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and from two oceanographic research institutions in the Crimea, Ukraine, located near the study site, the Marine Hydrophysical Institute (MHI) and the Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas (IBSS). The site was an ideal experimental model, both from a technical and economic standpoint, because of the predictable summer upwelling that occurs in the region and because of the availability of both a ship on call and laboratory and remote sensing facilities at the nearby marine institutes. We used a combination of shipboard measurements and remote sensing to investigate the physical evolution of rapid upwelling events and their impact on photoplankton and water column optical properties. The field work involved a two day cruise for mooring, deployment and a three day baseline survey cruise, followed by an eleven day primary cruise during, a summer upwelling event (anticipated by monitoring local winds and tracked by remote sensing imaging). An MHI ship was outfitted and used for these purposes.

Applications of Earth Remote Sensing for Identifying Tornado and Severe Weather Damage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burks, J. E.; Molthan, A.; Schultz, L. A.; McGrath, K.; Bell, J. R.; Cole, T.; Angle, K.

2014-12-01

In 2014, collaborations between the Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, the National Weather Service (NWS), and the USGS led to the incorporation of Earth remote sensing imagery within the NOAA/NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit (DAT). The DAT is a smartphone, tablet, and web-based application that allows NWS meteorologists to acquire, quality control, and manage various storm damage indicators following a severe weather event, such as a tornado, occurrence of widespread damaging winds, or significant hail. Earth remote sensing supports the damage assessment process by providing a broad overview of how various acquired damage indicators relate to scarring visible from space, ranging from high spatial resolution commercial imagery (~1-4m) acquired via USGS and in collaboration with other federal and private sector partners, to moderate resolution imaging from NASA sensors (~15-30m) such as those aboard Landsat 7 and 8 and Terra's ASTER, to lower resolution but routine imaging from NASA's Terra and Aqua MODIS, or the Suomi-NPP VIIRS instrument. In several cases, the acquisition and delivery of imagery in the days after a severe weather event has proven helpful in confirming or in some cases adjusting the preliminary damage track acquired during a ground survey. For example, limited road networks and access to private property may make it difficult to observe the entire length of a tornado track, while satellite imagery can fill in observation gaps to complete a more detailed damage track assessment. This presentation will highlight successful applications of Earth remote sensing for the improvement of damage surveys, discuss remaining challenges, and provide direction on future efforts that will improve the delivery of remote sensing data and use through new automation processes and training opportunities.

Applications of Earth Remote Sensing for Identifying Tornado and Severe Weather Damage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burks, J. E.; Molthan, A.; Schultz, L. A.; McGrath, K.; Bell, J. R.; Cole, T.; Angle, K.

2015-12-01

In 2014, collaborations between the Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, the National Weather Service (NWS), and the USGS led to the incorporation of Earth remote sensing imagery within the NOAA/NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit (DAT). The DAT is a smartphone, tablet, and web-based application that allows NWS meteorologists to acquire, quality control, and manage various storm damage indicators following a severe weather event, such as a tornado, occurrence of widespread damaging winds, or significant hail. Earth remote sensing supports the damage assessment process by providing a broad overview of how various acquired damage indicators relate to scarring visible from space, ranging from high spatial resolution commercial imagery (~1-4m) acquired via USGS and in collaboration with other federal and private sector partners, to moderate resolution imaging from NASA sensors (~15-30m) such as those aboard Landsat 7 and 8 and Terra's ASTER, to lower resolution but routine imaging from NASA's Terra and Aqua MODIS, or the Suomi-NPP VIIRS instrument. In several cases, the acquisition and delivery of imagery in the days after a severe weather event has proven helpful in confirming or in some cases adjusting the preliminary damage track acquired during a ground survey. For example, limited road networks and access to private property may make it difficult to observe the entire length of a tornado track, while satellite imagery can fill in observation gaps to complete a more detailed damage track assessment. This presentation will highlight successful applications of Earth remote sensing for the improvement of damage surveys, discuss remaining challenges, and provide direction on future efforts that will improve the delivery of remote sensing data and use through new automation processes and training opportunities.

An overview of the NSCAT/N-ROSS program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, B. D.; Freilich, Michael H.; Li, F. K.; Callahan, Phillip S.

1986-01-01

The NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT) to fly on the U.S. Navy Remote Ocean Sensing System (N-ROSS) mission is presented. The overall N-ROSS mission, the NSCAT flight instrument and groundbased data processing/distribution system, and NASA-supported science and verification activities are described. The N-ROSS system is designed to provide measurements of near-surface wind, ocean topography, wave height, sea-surface temperature, and atmospheric water content over the global oceans. The NSCAT is an improved version of the Seasat scatterometer. It will measure near surface vector winds.

A decametric wavelength radio telescope for interplanetary scintillation observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cronyn, W. M.; Shawhan, S. D.

1975-01-01

A phased array, electrically steerable radio telescope (with a total collecting area of 18 acres), constructed for the purpose of remotely sensing electron density irregularity structure in the solar wind, is presented. The radio telescope is able to locate, map, and track large scale features of the solar wind, such as streams and blast waves, by monitoring a large grid of natural radio sources subject to rapid intensity fluctuation (interplanetary scintillation) caused by the irregularity structure. Observations verify the performance of the array, the receiver, and the scintillation signal processing circuitry of the telescope.

A technique for determining cloud free versus cloud contaminated pixels in satellite imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wohlman, Richard A.

1994-01-01

Weather forecasting has been called the second oldest profession. To do so accurately and with some consistency requires an ability to understand the processes which create the clouds, drive the winds, and produce the ever changing atmospheric conditions. Measurement of basic parameters such as temperature, water vapor content, pressure, windspeed and wind direction throughout the three dimensional atmosphere form the foundation upon which a modern forecast is created. Doppler radar, and space borne remote sensing have provided forecasters the new tools with which to ply their trade.

Aerial sketchmapping for monitoring forest conditions in Southern Brazil

Treesearch

Y. M. Malheiros de Oliveira; M. A. Doetzer Rosot; N. B. da Luz; W. M. Ciesla; E.W. Johnson; R. Rhea; J.F. Jr. Penteado

2006-01-01

Aerial sketchmapping is a simple, low cost remote sensing method used for detection and mapping of forest damage caused by biotic agents (insects, pathogens and other pests) and abiotic agents (wind, fire, storms, hurricane, ice storms) in North America. This method was introduced to Brazil in 2001/2002 via a USDA Forest Service/EMBRAPA technical exchange program,...

Blowing dust and highway safety in the southwestern United States: Characteristics of dust emission "hotspots" and management implications

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Despite the widespread media attention of chain-reaction traffic incidents and property damage caused by windblown dust in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world, very few studies have provided in-depth analysis on this issue. Remote sensing and field observations reveal that wind erosion in the southw...

European Space Agency lidar development programs for remote sensing of the atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Armandillo, Errico

1992-12-01

Active laser remote sensing from space is considered an important step forward in the understanding of the processes which regulate weather and climate changes. The planned launching into polar orbit in the late 1990s of a series of dedicated Earth observation satellites offer new possibilities for flying lidar in space. Among the various lidar candidates, ESA has recognized in the backscattering lidar and Doppler wind lidar the instruments which can most contribute to the Earth observation program. To meet the schedule of the on-coming flight opportunities, ESA has been engaged over the past years in a preparatory program aimed to define the instruments and ensure timely availability of the critical components. This paper reviews the status of the ongoing developments and highlights the critical issues addressed.

Developing a framework for integrating turbulence measurements and modeling of ecosystem-atmosphere interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markfort, C. D.

2017-12-01

Aquatic ecosystems are integrators of nutrient and carbon from their watersheds. The effects of climate change in many cases will enhance the rate of these inputs and change the thermodynamics within aquatic environments. It is unclear the extent these changes will have on water quality and carbon assimilation, but the drivers of these processes will be determined by the complex interactions at the land-water and air-water interfaces. For example, flow over and beneath wind-driven surface waves generate turbulence that plays an important role in aquatic ecology and biogeochemistry, exchange of gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, and it is important for the transfer of energy and controlling evaporation. Energy transferred from the atmosphere promotes the generation and maintenance of waves. A fraction of the energy is transferred to the surface mixed layer through the generation of turbulence. Energy is also transferred back to the atmosphere by waves. There is a need to quantify the details of the coupled boundary layers of the air-water system to better understand how turbulence plays a role in the interactions. We have developed capabilities to conduct field and laboratory experiments using eddy covariance on tall-towers and rafts, UAS platforms integrated with remote sensing, and detailed wind-wave measurements with time-resolved PIV in a new boundary layer wind-wave tunnel. We will show measurements of the detailed structure of the air and water boundary layers under varying wind and wave conditions in the newly developed IIHR Boundary-Layer Wind-Wave Tunnel. The facility combines a 30-m long recirculating water channel with an open-return boundary layer wind tunnel. A thick turbulent boundary layer is developed in the 1 m high air channel, over the water surface, allowing for the study of boundary layer turbulence interacting with a wind-driven wave field. Results will help interpret remote sensing, energy budget measurements, and turbulence transport models for sheltered lakes influenced by terrain and tall trees.

Remote sensing of land use/cover changes and its effect on wind erosion potential in southern Iran

PubMed Central

Sameni, Abdolmajid; Fallah Shamsi, Seyed Rashid; Bartholomeus, Harm

2016-01-01

Wind erosion is a complex process influenced by different factors. Most of these factors are stable over time, but land use/cover and land management practices are changing gradually. Therefore, this research investigates the impact of changing land use/cover and land management on wind erosion potential in southern Iran. We used remote sensing data (Landsat ETM+ and Landsat 8 imagery of 2004 and 2013) for land use/cover mapping and employed the Iran Research Institute of Forest and Rangeland (IRIFR) method to estimate changes in wind erosion potential. For an optimal mapping, the performance of different classification algorithms and input layers was tested. The amount of changes in wind erosion and land use/cover were quantified using cross-tabulation between the two years. To discriminate land use/cover related to wind erosion, the best results were obtained by combining the original spectral bands with synthetic bands and using Maximum Likelihood classification algorithm (Kappa Coefficient of 0.8 and 0.9 for Landsat ETM+ and Landsat 8, respectively). The IRIFR modelling results indicate that the wind erosion potential has increased over the last decade. The areas with a very high sediment yield potential have increased, whereas the areas with a low, medium, and high sediment yield potential decreased. The area with a very low sediment yield potential have remained constant. When comparing the change in erosion potential with land use/cover change, it is evident that soil erosion potential has increased mostly in accordance with the increase of the area of agricultural practices. The conversion of rangeland to agricultural land was a major land-use change which lead to more agricultural practices and associated soil loss. Moreover, results indicate an increase in sandification in the study area which is also a clear evidence of increasing in soil erosion. PMID:27547511

From SOHO to STEREO: Understanding Propagation of Coronal Mass Ejections

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gopalswamy, Natchimuthuk

2011-01-01

Direct comparison between coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from near the Sun and their solar wind counterparts became possible roughly a decade after the discovery of CMEs (Lindsay et aL 1999). This comparison revealed that fast CMEs decelerate and slow CMEs accelerate due to the interaction with the solar wind. Gopalswamy et al (2000) quantified this interaction as an interplanetary acceleration which is useful in predicting the arrival time and speed of CMEs at 1 AU. The interplanetary acceleration is essentially due to the aerodynamic drag between the CME and the solar wind because the propelling force and the solar gravity are effective only near the Sun. Combined remote-sensing and in situ observations from SOHO and Wind/ACE have helped us estimate the influence of the solar wind on the propagation of CMEs. However, these measurements have severe limitations because the remote sensed and in-situ observations correspond to different portions of the CME. Furthermore, the true speeds of Earth-directed CMEs cannot be measured accurately from a spacecraft located along the Sun-Earth line. There have been attempts to model the CME as a cone and get the space speed of the CME, which did improve the travel time predictions. Instruments on board the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) mission were able to provide observations of Earth-arriving CMEs without projection effects, while the same CMEs were observed at Sun-Earth L1 by Wind and ACE spacecraft. The quadrature between STEREO and L1 spacecraft presented an ideal situation to study the interplanetary evolution of CMEs and test earlier model results. The quadrature observations did improve the CME travel time predictions, but additional factors such as the unusually slow solar wind, CME cannibalism, and coronal-hole deflection need to be considered to reconcile the difference between observed and predicted travel times. This point is illustrated using the 2011 February 15 CME

Nocturnal Reversed Flows Above Parallel Ridges in Perdigão, Portugal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krishnamurthy, R.; Fernando, H. J.; Leo, L. S.; Vassallo, D.; Hocut, C. M.; Creegan, E.; Rodriguez, C. V.; Palma, J. L.

2017-12-01

Prediction of topographically forced or induced wind events is extremely important for dispersion modeling and wind energy studies in complex terrain. To improve the current understanding of micro-scale processes over complex terrain, a large-scale field experiment was conducted in Perdigão, Portugal from May 1st, 2017 to June 15th, 2017. Measurements over a periodic valley were performed using 52 meteorological met-masts, 30 Doppler Lidars (scanning & vertical profilers), 2 tethered lifting systems and other remote sensing instruments (Sodar-rass, wind profilers & radiometer), and radiosondes were released every 6 hours over the period of study. The observations showed several cases of flow reversals confined to a thin layer of 70 - 100 m above the ridge under stably stratified conditions. These flow reversals were mostly observed during the lee wave formation over the periodic valley. It was observed that the flow reversal occurs predominantly under two atmospheric conditions: a) presence of large recirculation zones on the lee side of the hill causing a pressure gradient between the lee-side floor and the mountain ridge, and b) local change in the horizontal pressure gradient due to differential heating rates of the neighboring valley atmospheres. Microscale flow simulations could capture these observed flow reversals. Based on the network of tower instruments and remote sensing devices, the development, structure and occurrences of the flow reversals are being analyzed and quantified. Since these flow reversals are observed within the rotor swept area of modern wind turbines, they would drastically increase the fatigue loads on wind turbine blades. This presentation will include reversed flow observations from several synchronized scanning Doppler Lidars and meteorological towers and a theoretical framework for reverse flow over parallel valleys.

Spaceborne Studies Of Ocean Circulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patzert, William C.

1984-08-01

The global view of the oceans seen by Seasat during its 1978 flight demonstrated the feasibility of ocean remote sensing. These first-ever global data sets of sea surface topography (altimeter) and marine winds (scatterometer) laid the foundation for two satellite missions planned for the late 1980's. The future missions are the next generation of altimeter and scatterometer to be flown aboard TOPEX (Topography Experiment) and NROSS (Navy Remote Ocean Sensing System), respectively. The data from these satellites will be coordinated with measurements made at sea to determine the driving forces of ocean circulation and to study the oceans role in climate variability. Sea surface winds (calculated from scatterometer measurements) are the fundamental driving force for ocean waves and currents (estimated from altimeter measurements). On a global scale, the winds and currents are approximately equal partners in redistributing the excess heat gained in the tropics from solar radiation to the cooler polar regions. Small perturbations in this system can dramatically alter global weather, such as the El Niho event of 1982-83. During an El Ni?io event, global wind patterns and ocean currents are perturbed causing unusual ocean warming in the tropical Pacfic Ocean. These ocean events are coupled to complex fluctuations in global weather. Only with satellites will we be able to collect the global data sets needed to study events such as El Ni?o. When TOPEX and NROSS fly, oceanographers will have the equivalent of meteorological high and low pressure charts of ocean topography as well as the surface winds to study ocean "weather." This ability to measure ocean circulation and its driving forces is a critical element in understanding the influence of oceans on society. Climatic changes, fisheries, commerce, waste disposal, and national defense are all involved.

Downscaling hydrodynamics features to depict causes of major productivity of Sicilian-Maltese area and implications for resource management.

PubMed

Capodici, Fulvio; Ciraolo, Giuseppe; Cosoli, Simone; Maltese, Antonino; Mangano, M Cristina; Sarà, Gianluca

2018-07-01

Chlorophyll-a (CHL-a) and sea surface temperature (SST) are generally accepted as proxies for water quality. They can be easily retrieved in a quasi-near real time mode through satellite remote sensing and, as such, they provide an overview of the water quality on a synoptic scale in open waters. Their distributions evolve in space and time in response to local and remote forcing, such as winds and currents, which however have much finer temporal and spatial scales than those resolvable by satellites in spite of recent advances in satellite remote-sensing techniques. Satellite data are often characterized by a moderate temporal resolution to adequately catch the actual sub-grid physical processes. Conventional pointwise measurements can resolve high-frequency motions such as tides or high-frequency wind-driven currents, however they are inadequate to resolve their spatial variability over wide areas. We show in this paper that a combined use of near-surface currents, available through High-Frequency (HF) radars, and satellite data (e.g., TERRA and AQUA/MODIS), can properly resolve the main oceanographic features in both coastal and open-sea regions, particularly at the coastal boundaries where satellite imageries fail, and are complementary tools to interpret ocean productivity and resource management in the Sicily Channel. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

New fiber laser for lidar developments in disaster management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Besson, C.; Augere, B.; Canat, G.; Cezard, N.; Dolfi-Bouteyre, A.; Fleury, D.; Goular, D.; Lombard, L.; Planchat, C.; Renard, W.; Valla, M.

2014-10-01

Recent progress in fiber technology has enabled new laser designs along with all fiber lidar architectures. Their asset is to avoid free-space optics, sparing lengthy alignment procedures and yielding compact setups that are well adapted for field operations and on board applications thanks to their intrinsic vibration-resistant architectures. We present results in remote sensing for disaster management recently achieved with fiber laser systems. Field trials of a 3-paths lidar vibrometer for the remote study of modal parameters of buildings has shown that application-related constraints were fulfilled and that the obtained results are consistent with simultaneous in situ seismic sensors measurements. Remote multi-gas detection can be obtained using broadband infrared spectroscopy. Results obtained on methane concentration measurement using an infrared supercontinuum fiber laser and analysis in the 3-4 μm band are reported. For gas flux retrieval, air velocity measurement is also required. Long range scanning all-fiber wind lidars are now available thanks to innovative laser architectures. High peak power highly coherent pulses can be extracted from Er3+:Yb3+ and Tm3+ active fibers using methods described in the paper. The additional laser power provides increased coherent lidar capability in range and scanning of large areas but also better system resistance to adverse weather conditions. Wind sensing at ranges beyond 10 km have been achieved and on-going tests of a scanning system dedicated to airport safety is reported.

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.

Acoustic sounding of wind velocity profiles in a stratified moving atmosphere.

PubMed

Ostashev, V E; Georges, T M; Clifford, S F; Goedecke, G H

2001-06-01

The paper deals with analytical and numerical studies of the effects of atmospheric stratification on acoustic remote sensing of wind velocity profiles by sodars. Both bistatic and monostatic schemes are considered. Formulas for the Doppler shift of an acoustic echo signal scattered by atmospheric turbulence advected with the mean wind in a stratified moving atmosphere are derived. Numerical studies of these formulas show that errors in retrieving wind velocity can be of the order of 1 m/s if atmospheric stratification is ignored. Formulas for the height at which wind velocity is retrieved are also derived. Approaches are proposed which allow one to take into account the effects of atmospheric stratification when restoring the wind velocity profile from measured values of the Doppler shift and the time interval of acoustic impulse propagation from a sodar to the scattering volume and back to the ground.

Remote sensing of mesospheric winds with the High-Resolution Doppler Imager

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hays, Paul B.; Abreu, V. J.; Burrage, M. D.; Gell, D. A.; Grassi, H. J.; Marshall, A. R.; Morton, Y. T.; Ortland, D. A.; Skinner, W. R.; Wu, D. L.

1992-01-01

Observations of the winds in the upper atmosphere obtained with the High-Resolution Doppler Imager (HRDI) on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) are discussed. This instrument is a very stable high-resolution triple-etalon Fabry-Perot interferometer, which is used to observe the slight Doppler shifts of absorption and emission lines in the O2 Atmospheric bands induced by atmospheric motions. Preliminary observations indicate that the winds in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere are a mixture of migrating and non-migrating tides, and planetary-scale waves. The mean meridional winds are dominated by the 1,1 diurnal tide which is easily extracted from the daily zonal means of the satellite observations. The daily mean zonal winds are a mixture of the diurnal tide and a zonal flow which is consistent with theoretical expectations.

Characterization Of Ocean Wind Vector Retrievals Using ERS-2 High-Resolution Long-Term Dataset And Buoy Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polverari, F.; Talone, M.; Crapolicchio, R. Levy, G.; Marzano, F.

2013-12-01

The European Remote-sensing Satellite (ERS)-2 scatterometer provides wind retrievals over Ocean. To satisfy the needs of high quality and homogeneous set of scatterometer measurements, the European Space Agency (ESA) has developed the project Advanced Scatterometer Processing System (ASPS) with which a long-term dataset of new ERS-2 wind products, with an enhanced resolution of 25km square, has been generated by the reprocessing of the entire ERS mission. This paper presents the main results of the validation work of such new dataset using in situ measurements provided by the Prediction and Research Moored Array in the Tropical Atlantic (PIRATA). The comparison indicates that, on average, the scatterometer data agree well with buoys measurements, however the scatterometer tends to overestimates lower winds and underestimates higher winds.

Assessing the accuracy of microwave radiometers and radio acoustic sounding systems for wind energy applications

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

Bianco, Laura; Friedrich, Katja; Wilczak, James M.

To assess current remote-sensing capabilities for wind energy applications, a remote-sensing system evaluation study, called XPIA (eXperimental Planetary boundary layer Instrument Assessment), was held in the spring of 2015 at NOAA's Boulder Atmospheric Observatory (BAO) facility. Several remote-sensing platforms were evaluated to determine their suitability for the verification and validation processes used to test the accuracy of numerical weather prediction models.The evaluation of these platforms was performed with respect to well-defined reference systems: the BAO's 300 m tower equipped at six levels (50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 m) with 12 sonic anemometers and six temperature ( T) andmore » relative humidity (RH) sensors; and approximately 60 radiosonde launches.In this study we first employ these reference measurements to validate temperature profiles retrieved by two co-located microwave radiometers (MWRs) as well as virtual temperature ( T v) measured by co-located wind profiling radars equipped with radio acoustic sounding systems (RASSs). Results indicate a mean absolute error (MAE) in the temperature retrieved by the microwave radiometers below 1.5 K in the lowest 5?km of the atmosphere and a mean absolute error in the virtual temperature measured by the radio acoustic sounding systems below 0.8 K in the layer of the atmosphere covered by these measurements (up to approximately 1.6-2 km). We also investigated the benefit of the vertical velocity correction applied to the speed of sound before computing the virtual temperature by the radio acoustic sounding systems. We find that using this correction frequently increases the RASS error, and that it should not be routinely applied to all data.Water vapor density (WVD) profiles measured by the MWRs were also compared with similar measurements from the soundings, showing the capability of MWRs to follow the vertical profile measured by the sounding and finding a mean absolute error below 0.5 g m -3 in the lowest 5 km of the atmosphere. However, the relative humidity profiles measured by the microwave radiometer lack the high-resolution details available from radiosonde profiles. Furthermore, an encouraging and significant finding of this study was that the coefficient of determination between the lapse rate measured by the microwave radiometer and the tower measurements over the tower levels between 50 and 300 m ranged from 0.76 to 0.91, proving that these remote-sensing instruments can provide accurate information on atmospheric stability conditions in the lower boundary layer.« less

Assessing the accuracy of microwave radiometers and radio acoustic sounding systems for wind energy applications

DOE PAGES

Bianco, Laura; Friedrich, Katja; Wilczak, James M.; ...

2017-05-09

To assess current remote-sensing capabilities for wind energy applications, a remote-sensing system evaluation study, called XPIA (eXperimental Planetary boundary layer Instrument Assessment), was held in the spring of 2015 at NOAA's Boulder Atmospheric Observatory (BAO) facility. Several remote-sensing platforms were evaluated to determine their suitability for the verification and validation processes used to test the accuracy of numerical weather prediction models.The evaluation of these platforms was performed with respect to well-defined reference systems: the BAO's 300 m tower equipped at six levels (50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 m) with 12 sonic anemometers and six temperature ( T) andmore » relative humidity (RH) sensors; and approximately 60 radiosonde launches.In this study we first employ these reference measurements to validate temperature profiles retrieved by two co-located microwave radiometers (MWRs) as well as virtual temperature ( T v) measured by co-located wind profiling radars equipped with radio acoustic sounding systems (RASSs). Results indicate a mean absolute error (MAE) in the temperature retrieved by the microwave radiometers below 1.5 K in the lowest 5?km of the atmosphere and a mean absolute error in the virtual temperature measured by the radio acoustic sounding systems below 0.8 K in the layer of the atmosphere covered by these measurements (up to approximately 1.6-2 km). We also investigated the benefit of the vertical velocity correction applied to the speed of sound before computing the virtual temperature by the radio acoustic sounding systems. We find that using this correction frequently increases the RASS error, and that it should not be routinely applied to all data.Water vapor density (WVD) profiles measured by the MWRs were also compared with similar measurements from the soundings, showing the capability of MWRs to follow the vertical profile measured by the sounding and finding a mean absolute error below 0.5 g m -3 in the lowest 5 km of the atmosphere. However, the relative humidity profiles measured by the microwave radiometer lack the high-resolution details available from radiosonde profiles. Furthermore, an encouraging and significant finding of this study was that the coefficient of determination between the lapse rate measured by the microwave radiometer and the tower measurements over the tower levels between 50 and 300 m ranged from 0.76 to 0.91, proving that these remote-sensing instruments can provide accurate information on atmospheric stability conditions in the lower boundary layer.« less

Assessing the accuracy of microwave radiometers and radio acoustic sounding systems for wind energy applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bianco, Laura; Friedrich, Katja; Wilczak, James M.; Hazen, Duane; Wolfe, Daniel; Delgado, Ruben; Oncley, Steven P.; Lundquist, Julie K.

2017-05-01

To assess current remote-sensing capabilities for wind energy applications, a remote-sensing system evaluation study, called XPIA (eXperimental Planetary boundary layer Instrument Assessment), was held in the spring of 2015 at NOAA's Boulder Atmospheric Observatory (BAO) facility. Several remote-sensing platforms were evaluated to determine their suitability for the verification and validation processes used to test the accuracy of numerical weather prediction models.The evaluation of these platforms was performed with respect to well-defined reference systems: the BAO's 300 m tower equipped at six levels (50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 m) with 12 sonic anemometers and six temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) sensors; and approximately 60 radiosonde launches.In this study we first employ these reference measurements to validate temperature profiles retrieved by two co-located microwave radiometers (MWRs) as well as virtual temperature (Tv) measured by co-located wind profiling radars equipped with radio acoustic sounding systems (RASSs). Results indicate a mean absolute error (MAE) in the temperature retrieved by the microwave radiometers below 1.5 K in the lowest 5 km of the atmosphere and a mean absolute error in the virtual temperature measured by the radio acoustic sounding systems below 0.8 K in the layer of the atmosphere covered by these measurements (up to approximately 1.6-2 km). We also investigated the benefit of the vertical velocity correction applied to the speed of sound before computing the virtual temperature by the radio acoustic sounding systems. We find that using this correction frequently increases the RASS error, and that it should not be routinely applied to all data.Water vapor density (WVD) profiles measured by the MWRs were also compared with similar measurements from the soundings, showing the capability of MWRs to follow the vertical profile measured by the sounding and finding a mean absolute error below 0.5 g m-3 in the lowest 5 km of the atmosphere. However, the relative humidity profiles measured by the microwave radiometer lack the high-resolution details available from radiosonde profiles. An encouraging and significant finding of this study was that the coefficient of determination between the lapse rate measured by the microwave radiometer and the tower measurements over the tower levels between 50 and 300 m ranged from 0.76 to 0.91, proving that these remote-sensing instruments can provide accurate information on atmospheric stability conditions in the lower boundary layer.

Observing Planets and Small Bodies in Sputtered High Energy Atom (SHEA) Fluxes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Milillo, A.; Orsini, S.; Hsieh, K. C.; Baragiola, R.; Fama, M.; Johnson, R.; Mura, A.; Plainaki, Ch.; Sarantos, M.; Cassidy, T. A.;

A remotely piloted aircraft system in major incident management: concept and pilot, feasibility study.

PubMed

Abrahamsen, Håkon B

2015-06-10

Major incidents are complex, dynamic and bewildering task environments characterised by simultaneous, rapidly changing events, uncertainty and ill-structured problems. Efficient management, communication, decision-making and allocation of scarce medical resources at the chaotic scene of a major incident is challenging and often relies on sparse information and data. Communication and information sharing is primarily voice-to-voice through phone or radio on specified radio frequencies. Visual cues are abundant and difficult to communicate between teams and team members that are not co-located. The aim was to assess the concept and feasibility of using a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) system to support remote sensing in simulated major incident exercises. We carried out an experimental, pilot feasibility study. A custom-made, remotely controlled, multirotor unmanned aerial vehicle with vertical take-off and landing was equipped with digital colour- and thermal imaging cameras, a laser beam, a mechanical gripper arm and an avalanche transceiver. We collected data in five simulated exercises: 1) mass casualty traffic accident, 2) mountain rescue, 3) avalanche with buried victims, 4) fisherman through thin ice and 5) search for casualties in the dark. The unmanned aerial vehicle was remotely controlled, with high precision, in close proximity to air space obstacles at very low levels without compromising work on the ground. Payload capacity and tolerance to wind and turbulence were limited. Aerial video, shot from different altitudes, and remote aerial avalanche beacon search were streamed wirelessly in real time to a monitor at a ground base. Electromagnetic interference disturbed signal reception in the ground monitor. A small remotely piloted aircraft can be used as an effective tool carrier, although limited by its payload capacity, wind speed and flight endurance. Remote sensing using already existing remotely piloted aircraft technology in pre-hospital environments is feasible and can be used to support situation assessment and information exchange at a major incident scene. Regulations are needed to ensure the safe use of unmanned aerial vehicles in major incidents. Ethical issues are abundant.

Remote sensing to detect the movement of wheat curl mites through the spatial spread of virus symptoms, and identification of thrips as predators of wheat curl mites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stilwell, Abby R.

The wheat curl mite (WCM), Aceria tosichella Keifer, transmits three viruses to winter wheat: wheat streak mosaic virus, High Plains virus, and Triticum mosaic virus. This virus complex causes yellowing of the foliage and stunting of plants. WCMs disperse by wind, and an increased understanding of mite movement and subsequent virus spread is necessary in determining the risk of serious virus infections in winter wheat. These risk parameters will help growers make better decisions regarding WCM management. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the capabilities of remote sensing to identify virus infected plants and to establish the potential of using remote sensing to track virus spread and consequently, mite movement. Although the WCM is small and very hard to track, the viruses it vectors produce symptoms that can be detected with remote sensing. Field plots of simulated volunteer wheat were established between 2006 and 2009, infested with WCMs, and spread mites and virus into adjacent winter wheat. The virus gradients created by WCM movement allowed for the measurement of mite movement potential with both proximal and aerial remote sensing instruments. The ability to detect WCM-vectored viruses with remote sensing was investigated by comparing vegetation indices calculated from proximal remote sensing data to ground truth data obtained in the field. Of the ten vegetation indices tested, the red edge position (REP) index had the best relationship with ground truth data. The spatial spread of virus from WCM source plots was modeled with cokriging. Virus symptoms predicted by cokriging occurred in an oval pattern displaced to the southeast. Data from the spatial spread in small plots of this study were used to estimate the potential sphere of influence for volunteer wheat fields. The impact of thrips on WCM populations was investigated by a series of greenhouse, field, and observational studies. WCM populations in winter wheat increased more slowly when thrips populations were higher, both in the field and in the greenhouse. Two species of thrips, Thrips tabaci Lindeman and Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) were observed to feed directly on WCMs. The collective results from this study identify thrips as a regulating factor for WCM populations.

Upper-Tropospheric Winds Derived from Geostationary Satellite Water Vapor Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Velden, Christopher S.; Hayden, Christopher M.; Nieman, Steven J.; Menzel, W. Paul; Wanzong, Steven; Goerss, James S.

1997-01-01

The coverage and quality of remotely sensed upper-tropospheric moisture parameters have improved considerably with the deployment of a new generation of operational geostationary meteorological satellites: GOES-8/9 and GMS-5. The GOES-8/9 water vapor imaging capabilities have increased as a result of improved radiometric sensitivity and higher spatial resolution. The addition of a water vapor sensing channel on the latest GMS permits nearly global viewing of upper-tropospheric water vapor (when joined with GOES and Meteosat) and enhances the commonality of geostationary meteorological satellite observing capabilities. Upper-tropospheric motions derived from sequential water vapor imagery provided by these satellites can be objectively extracted by automated techniques. Wind fields can be deduced in both cloudy and cloud-free environments. In addition to the spatially coherent nature of these vector fields, the GOES-8/9 multispectral water vapor sensing capabilities allow for determination of wind fields over multiple tropospheric layers in cloud-free environments. This article provides an update on the latest efforts to extract water vapor motion displacements over meteorological scales ranging from subsynoptic to global. The potential applications of these data to impact operations, numerical assimilation and prediction, and research studies are discussed.

Remote Sensing of Selected Water-Quality Indicators with the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) Sensor

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

monitoring wind -driven re-suspension events (Chen 2006), a predictive factor for patho- gens such as E. coli (Nevers and Whitman 2005), and a...properties where HICO imagery could be acquired as well as along the major salinity gradients of each estuary (Figure 2). A Sea- Bird 25 CTD (Sea- Bird

Abstracts for the International Conference on Asteroids, Comets, Meteors 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

Topics addressed include: chemical abundances; asteroidal belt evolution; sources of meteors and meteorites; cometary spectroscopy; gas diffusion; mathematical models; cometary nuclei; cratering records; imaging techniques; cometary composition; asteroid classification; radio telescopes and spectroscopy; magnetic fields; cosmogony; IUE observations; orbital distribution of asteroids, comets, and meteors; solar wind effects; computerized simulation; infrared remote sensing; optical properties; and orbital evolution.

The impact of in-canopy wind attenuation formulations onheat flux estimation using the remote sensing-based two-source model for an open orchard canopy in southern Italy

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

For open orchard and vineyard canopies containing significant fractions of exposed soil (>50%), typical of Mediterranean agricultural regions, the energy balance of the vegetation elements is strongly influenced by heat exchange with the bare soil/substrate. For these agricultural systems a “two-sou...

Software for a GPS-Reflection Remote-Sensing System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lowe, Stephen

2003-01-01

A special-purpose software Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver designed for remote sensing with reflected GPS signals is described in Delay/Doppler-Mapping GPS-Reflection Remote-Sensing System (NPO-30385), which appears elsewhere in this issue of NASA Tech Briefs. The input accepted by this program comprises raw (open-loop) digitized GPS signals sampled at a rate of about 20 MHz. The program processes the data samples to perform the following functions: detection of signals; tracking of phases and delays; mapping of delay, Doppler, and delay/Doppler waveforms; dual-frequency processing; coherent integrations as short as 125 s; decoding of navigation messages; and precise time tagging of observable quantities. The software can perform these functions on all detectable satellite signals without dead time. Open-loop data collected over water, land, or ice and processed by this software can be further processed to extract geophysical information. Possible examples include mean sea height, wind speed and direction, and significant wave height (for observations over the ocean); bistatic-radar terrain images and measures of soil moisture and biomass (for observations over land); and estimates of ice age, thickness, and surface density (for observations over ice).

Semantic Catalog of Things, Services, and Data to Support a Wind Data Management Facility

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

Stephan, E. G.; Elsethagen, T. O.; Berg, L. K.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how community vocabularies and linked open data best practices are being used to seamlessly link things, data, and off the shelf services to support scientific offshore wind energy research for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Wind and Water Power Program. This is largely made possible by leveraging collaborative advances in the Internet of Things (IoT), Semantic Web, Linked Services, Linked Open Data (LOD), and RDF vocabulary communities, which provide the foundation for our design. By adapting these linked community best practices, we designed amore » wind characterization data management facility capable of continually collecting, processing, and preservation of in situ and remote sensing instrume« less

Husbandry Emissions Estimation: Fusion of Mobile Surface and Airborne Remote Sensing and Mobile Surface In Situ Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leifer, I.; Hall, J. L.; Melton, C.; Tratt, D. M.; Chang, C. S.; Buckland, K. N.; Frash, J.; Leen, J. B.; Van Damme, M.; Clarisse, L.

2017-12-01

Emissions of methane and ammonia from intensive animal husbandry are important drivers of climate and photochemical and aerosol pollution. Husbandry emission estimates are somewhat uncertain because of their dependence on practices, temperature, micro-climate, and other factors, leading to variations in emission factors up to an order-of-magnitude. Mobile in situ measurements are increasingly being applied to derive trace gas emissions by Gaussian plume inversion; however, inversion with incomplete information can lead to erroneous emissions and incorrect source location. Mobile in situ concentration and wind data and mobile remote sensing column data from the Chino Dairy Complex in the Los Angeles Basin were collected near simultaneously (within 1-10 s, depending on speed) while transecting plumes, approximately orthogonal to winds. This analysis included airborne remote sensing trace gas information. MISTIR collected vertical column FTIR data simultaneously with in situ concentration data acquired by the AMOG-Surveyor while both vehicles traveled in convoy. The column measurements are insensitive to the turbulence characterization needed in Gaussian plume inversion of concentration data and thus provide a flux reference for evaluating in situ data inversions. Four different approaches were used on inversions for a single dairy, and also for the aggregate dairy complex plume. Approaches were based on differing levels of "knowledge" used in the inversion from solely the in situ platform and a single gas to a combination of information from all platforms and multiple gases. Derived dairy complex fluxes differed significantly from those estimated by other studies of the Chino complex. Analysis of long term satellite data showed that this most likely results from seasonality effects, highlighting the pitfalls of applying annualized extensions of flux measurements to a single campaign instantiation.

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.

Technology assessment of high pulse energy CO(2) lasers for remote sensing from satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hess, R. V.; Brockman, P.; Schryer, D. R.; Miller, I. M.; Bair, C. H.; Sidney, B. D.; Wood, G. M.; Upchurch, B. T.; Brown, K. G.

1985-01-01

Developments and needs for research to extend the lifetime and optimize the configuration of CO2 laser systems for satellite based on remote sensing of atmospheric wind velocities and trace gases are reviewed. The CO2 laser systems for operational satellite application will require lifetimes which exceed 1 year. Progress in the development of efficient low temperature catalysts and gas mixture modifications for extending the lifetime of high pulse energy closed cycle common and rare isotope CO2 lasers and of sealed CW CO2 lasers is reviewed. Several CO2 laser configurations are under development to meet the requirements including: unstable resonators, master oscillator power amplifiers and telescopic stable resonators, using UV or E-beam preionization. Progress in the systems is reviewed and tradeoffs in the system parameters are discussed.

A project to evaluate moisture stress in corn and soybean areas of western and southwestern Minnesota

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rust, R. H.; Robert, P. (Principal Investigator)

1980-01-01

Remote sensing techniques, particularly LANDSAT data, were used to assess soil moisture stress through crop signature in southwestern Minnesota. Related objectives were: localization of droughty, well drained, and poorly drained soils; detection of stress from hail, wind, and disease damage; and the use of remote sensing data for agricultural management. Since the amount and distribution of precipitation were adequate during the 1977 and 1978 growing seasons, no significant stress occurred. Crop conditions were very favorable. As a result, crop signatures were too uniform to reflect soilscape variations and crop condition changes. In 1979 precipitation was again adequate to excess, particularly in June and August. In some cases, poorly drained sites especially, stress conditions developed as a result of excess of water and could be identified on color infrared photographs.

Submillimeter Remote Sensing of Planetary and Cometary Atmospheres and LRO/LCROSS Observations of the Moon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chin, Gordon

2011-01-01

Submillimeter remote sensing of planetary and cometary atmospheres have been proposed for Venus and Mars while MIRO on Rosetta will observe the coma of Comet 67P/Churyumov - Cierasimenko in December 2015, UARS and AURA MLS have observed millimeter and submillimeter molecule emissions in the Earth's stratosphere for many decades, Observations of submillimeter wave molecular emissions provide a wealth of information not obtainable by alternative techniques. Submillimeter line emissions exhibit linear temperature dependence, insensitivity to aerosol scattering, extinction, and have separated transitions with well determined line-shapes. These observations have high sensitivities to trace chemical species and can; 1) Fully resolve the line profiles of molecules with high resolution, 2) Provide deterministic retrievals of species abundance, temperature, and pressure, and 3) Measure Doppler shifts of detected molecules for wind velocities.

Yb:YAG Lasers for Space Based Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ewing, J.J.; Fan, T. Y.

1998-01-01

Diode pumped solid state lasers will play a prominent role in future remote sensing missions because of their intrinsic high efficiency and low mass. Applications including altimetry, cloud and aerosol measurement, wind velocity measurement by both coherent and incoherent methods, and species measurements, with appropriate frequency converters, all will benefit from a diode pumped primary laser. To date the "gold standard" diode pumped Nd laser has been the laser of choice for most of these concepts. This paper discusses an alternate 1 micron laser, the YB:YAG laser, and its potential relevance for lidar applications. Conceptual design analysis and, to the extent possible at the time of the conference, preliminary experimental data on the performance of a bread board YB:YAG oscillator will be presented. The paper centers on application of YB:YAG for altimetry, but extension to other applications will be discussed.

Limited change in dune mobility in response to a large decrease in wind power in semi-arid northern China since the 1970s

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mason, J.A.; Swinehart, J.B.; Lu, H.; Miao, X.; Cha, P.; Zhou, Y.

2008-01-01

The climatic controls on dune mobility, especially the relative importance of wind strength, remain incompletely understood. This is a key research problem in semi-arid northern China, both for interpreting past dune activity as evidence of paleoclimate and for predicting future environmental change. Potential eolian sand transport, which is approximately proportional to wind power above the threshold for sand entrainment, has decreased across much of northern China since the 1970s. Over the same period, effective moisture (ratio of precipitation to potential evapotranspiration) has not changed significantly. This "natural experiment" provides insight on the relative importance of wind power as a control on dune mobility in three dunefields of northern China (Mu Us, Otindag, and Horqin), although poorly understood and potentially large effects of human land use complicate interpretation. Dune forms in these three regions are consistent with sand transport vectors inferred from weather station data, suggesting that wind directions have remained stable and the stations adequately represent winds that shaped the dunes. The predicted effect of weaker winds since the 1970s would be dune stabilization, with lower sand transport rates allowing vegetation cover to expand. Large portions of all three dunefields remained stabilized by vegetation in the 1970s despite high wind power. Since the 1970s, trends in remotely sensed vegetation greenness and change in mobile dune area inferred from sequential Landsat images do indicate widespread dune stabilization in the eastern Mu Us region. On the other hand, expansion of active dunes took place farther west in the Mu Us dunefield and especially in the central Otindag dunefield, with little overall change in two parts of the Horqin dunes. Better ground truth is needed to validate the remote sensing analyses, but results presented here place limits on the relative importance of wind strength as a control on dune mobility in the study areas. High wind power alone does not completely destabilize these dunes. A large decrease in wind power either has little short-term effect on the dunes, or more likely its effect is sufficiently small that it is obscured by human impacts on dune stability in many parts of the study areas. ?? 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Wind Turbine Gust Prediction Using Remote Sensing Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Towers, Paul; Jones, Bryn

2013-11-01

Offshore wind energy is a growing energy source as governments around the world look for environmentally friendly solutions to potential future energy shortages. In order to capture more energy from the wind, larger turbines are being designed, leading to the structures becoming increasingly vulnerable to damage caused by violent gusts of wind. Advance knowledge of such gusts will enable turbine control systems to take preventative action, reducing turbine maintenance costs. We present a system which can accurately forecast the velocity profile of an oncoming wind, given only limited spatial measurements from light detection and ranging (LiDAR) units, which are currently operational in industry. Our method combines nonlinear state estimation techniques with low-order models of atmospheric boundary-layer flows to generate flow-field estimates. We discuss the accuracy of our velocity profile predictions by direct comparison to data derived from large eddy simulations of the atmospheric boundary layer.

Simulations of snow distribution and hydrology in a mountain basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hartman, Melannie D.; Baron, Jill S.; Lammers, Richard B.; Cline, Donald W.; Band, Larry E.; Liston, Glen E.; Tague, Christina L.

1999-01-01

We applied a version of the Regional Hydro-Ecologic Simulation System (RHESSys) that implements snow redistribution, elevation partitioning, and wind-driven sublimation to Loch Vale Watershed (LVWS), an alpine-subalpine Rocky Mountain catchment where snow accumulation and ablation dominate the hydrologic cycle. We compared simulated discharge to measured discharge and the simulated snow distribution to photogrammetrically rectified aerial (remotely sensed) images. Snow redistribution was governed by a topographic similarity index. We subdivided each hillslope into elevation bands that had homogeneous climate extrapolated from observed climate. We created a distributed wind speed field that was used in conjunction with daily measured wind speeds to estimate sublimation. Modeling snow redistribution was critical to estimating the timing and magnitude of discharge. Incorporating elevation partitioning improved estimated timing of discharge but did not improve patterns of snow cover since wind was the dominant controller of areal snow patterns. Simulating wind-driven sublimation was necessary to predict moisture losses.

Radar - ARL Wind Profilerwith RASS, Boardman - Raw Data

DOE Data Explorer

Gottas, Daniel

2017-10-23

**Winds** A radar wind profiler measures the Doppler shift of electromagnetic energy scattered back from atmospheric turbulence and hydrometeors along 3-5 vertical and off-vertical point beam directions. Back-scattered signal strength and radial-component velocities are remotely sensed along all beam directions and combined to derive the horizontal wind field over the radar. These data typically are sampled and averaged hourly and usually have 6-m and/or 100-m vertical resolutions up to 4 km for the 915 MHz and 8 km for the 449 MHz systems. **Temperature** To measure atmospheric temperature, a radio acoustic sound system (RASS) is used in conjunction with the wind profile. These data typically are sampled and averaged for five minutes each hour and have a 60-m vertical resolution up to 1.5 km for the 915 MHz and 60-m up to 3.5k m for the 449 MHz.

Radar - ANL Wind Profiler with RASS, Yakima - Raw Data

DOE Data Explorer

Gottas, Daniel

2017-10-23

**Winds** A radar wind profiler measures the Doppler shift of electromagnetic energy scattered back from atmospheric turbulence and hydrometeors along 3-5 vertical and off-vertical point beam directions. Back-scattered signal strength and radial-component velocities are remotely sensed along all beam directions and combined to derive the horizontal wind field over the radar. These data typically are sampled and averaged hourly and usually have 6-m and/or 100-m vertical resolutions up to 4 km for the 915 MHz and 8 km for the 449 MHz systems. **Temperature** To measure atmospheric temperature, a radio acoustic sound system (RASS) is used in conjunction with the wind profile. These data typically are sampled and averaged for five minutes each hour and have a 60-m vertical resolution up to 1.5 km for the 915 MHz and 60-m up to 3.5k m for the 449 MHz.

Radar - ESRL Wind Profiler with RASS, Condon - Raw Data

DOE Data Explorer

Gottas, Daniel

2017-10-23

**Winds** A radar wind profiler measures the Doppler shift of electromagnetic energy scattered back from atmospheric turbulence and hydrometeors along 3-5 vertical and off-vertical point beam directions. Back-scattered signal strength and radial-component velocities are remotely sensed along all beam directions and combined to derive the horizontal wind field over the radar. These data typically are sampled and averaged hourly and usually have 6-m and/or 100-m vertical resolutions up to 4 km for the 915 MHz and 8 km for the 449 MHz systems. **Temperature** To measure atmospheric temperature, a radio acoustic sound system (RASS) is used in conjunction with the wind profile. These data typically are sampled and averaged for five minutes each hour and have a 60-m vertical resolution up to 1.5 km for the 915 MHz and 60-m up to 3.5k m for the 449 MHz.

Radar - ANL Wind Profiler with RASS, Walla Walla - Raw Data

DOE Data Explorer

Gottas, Daniel

2017-10-23

**Winds** A radar wind profiler measures the Doppler shift of electromagnetic energy scattered back from atmospheric turbulence and hydrometeors along 3-5 vertical and off-vertical point beam directions. Back-scattered signal strength and radial-component velocities are remotely sensed along all beam directions and combined to derive the horizontal wind field over the radar. These data typically are sampled and averaged hourly and usually have 6-m and/or 100-m vertical resolutions up to 4 km for the 915 MHz and 8 km for the 449 MHz systems. **Temperature** To measure atmospheric temperature, a radio acoustic sound system (RASS) is used in conjunction with the wind profile. These data typically are sampled and averaged for five minutes each hour and have a 60-m vertical resolution up to 1.5 km for the 915 MHz and 60-m up to 3.5k m for the 449 MHz.

Radar - ESRL Wind Profiler with RASS, Prineville - Raw Data

DOE Data Explorer

Gottas, Daniel

2017-10-23

**Winds** A radar wind profiler measures the Doppler shift of electromagnetic energy scattered back from atmospheric turbulence and hydrometeors along 3-5 vertical and off-vertical point beam directions. Back-scattered signal strength and radial-component velocities are remotely sensed along all beam directions and combined to derive the horizontal wind field over the radar. These data typically are sampled and averaged hourly and usually have 6-m and/or 100-m vertical resolutions up to 4 km for the 915 MHz and 8 km for the 449 MHz systems. **Temperature** To measure atmospheric temperature, a radio acoustic sound system (RASS) is used in conjunction with the wind profile. These data typically are sampled and averaged for five minutes each hour and have a 60-m vertical resolution up to 1.5 km for the 915 MHz and 60-m up to 3.5k m for the 449 MHz.

Radar - ESRL Wind Profiler with RASS, Troutdale - Raw Data

DOE Data Explorer

Gottas, Daniel

2017-10-23

**Winds** A radar wind profiler measures the Doppler shift of electromagnetic energy scattered back from atmospheric turbulence and hydrometeors along 3-5 vertical and off-vertical point beam directions. Back-scattered signal strength and radial-component velocities are remotely sensed along all beam directions and combined to derive the horizontal wind field over the radar. These data typically are sampled and averaged hourly and usually have 6-m and/or 100-m vertical resolutions up to 4 km for the 915 MHz and 8 km for the 449 MHz systems. **Temperature** To measure atmospheric temperature, a radio acoustic sound system (RASS) is used in conjunction with the wind profile. These data typically are sampled and averaged for five minutes each hour and have a 60-m vertical resolution up to 1.5 km for the 915 MHz and 60-m up to 3.5k m for the 449 MHz.

Radar - ANL Wind Profiler with RASS, Goldendale - Raw Data

DOE Data Explorer

Gottas, Daniel

2017-10-23

**Winds** A radar wind profiler measures the Doppler shift of electromagnetic energy scattered back from atmospheric turbulence and hydrometeors along 3-5 vertical and off-vertical point beam directions. Back-scattered signal strength and radial-component velocities are remotely sensed along all beam directions and combined to derive the horizontal wind field over the radar. These data typically are sampled and averaged hourly and usually have 6-m and/or 100-m vertical resolutions up to 4 km for the 915 MHz and 8 km for the 449 MHz systems. **Temperature** To measure atmospheric temperature, a radio acoustic sound system (RASS) is used in conjunction with the wind profile. These data typically are sampled and averaged for five minutes each hour and have a 60-m vertical resolution up to 1.5 km for the 915 MHz and 60-m up to 3.5k m for the 449 MHz.

Radar - ESRL Wind Profiler with RASS, Wasco Airport - Raw Data

DOE Data Explorer

Gottas, Daniel

2017-10-23

**Winds** A radar wind profiler measures the Doppler shift of electromagnetic energy scattered back from atmospheric turbulence and hydrometeors along 3-5 vertical and off-vertical point beam directions. Back-scattered signal strength and radial-component velocities are remotely sensed along all beam directions and combined to derive the horizontal wind field over the radar. These data typically are sampled and averaged hourly and usually have 6-m and/or 100-m vertical resolutions up to 4 km for the 915 MHz and 8 km for the 449 MHz systems. **Temperature** To measure atmospheric temperature, a radio acoustic sound system (RASS) is used in conjunction with the wind profile. These data typically are sampled and averaged for five minutes each hour and have a 60-m vertical resolution up to 1.5 km for the 915 MHz and 60-m up to 3.5k m for the 449 MHz.

Launch flexibility using NLP guidance and remote wind sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cramer, Evin J.; Bradt, Jerre E.; Hardtla, John W.

1990-01-01

This paper examines the use of lidar wind measurements in the implementation of a guidance strategy for a nonlinear programming (NLP) launch guidance algorithm. The NLP algorithm uses B-spline command function representation for flexibility in the design of the guidance steering commands. Using this algorithm, the guidance system solves a two-point boundary value problem at each guidance update. The specification of different boundary value problems at each guidance update provides flexibility that can be used in the design of the guidance strategy. The algorithm can use lidar wind measurements for on pad guidance retargeting and for load limiting guidance steering commands. Examples presented in the paper use simulated wind updates to correct wind induced final orbit errors and to adjust the guidance steering commands to limit the product of the dynamic pressure and angle-of-attack for launch vehicle load alleviation.

A Novel Low-Power-Consumption All-Fiber-Optic Anemometer with Simple System Design.

PubMed

Zhang, Yang; Wang, Fang; Duan, Zhihui; Liu, Zexu; Liu, Zigeng; Wu, Zhenlin; Gu, Yiying; Sun, Changsen; Peng, Wei

2017-09-14

A compact and low-power consuming fiber-optic anemometer based on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) coated tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) is presented. TFBG as a near infrared in-fiber sensing element is able to excite a number of cladding modes and radiation modes in the fiber and effectively couple light in the core to interact with the fiber surrounding mediums. It is an ideal in-fiber device used in a fiber hot-wire anemometer (HWA) as both coupling and sensing elements to simplify the sensing head structure. The fabricated TFBG was immobilized with an SWCNT film on the fiber surface. SWCNTs, a kind of innovative nanomaterial, were utilized as light-heat conversion medium instead of traditional metallic materials, due to its excellent infrared light absorption ability and competitive thermal conductivity. When the SWCNT film strongly absorbs the light in the fiber, the sensor head can be heated and form a "hot wire". As the sensor is put into wind field, the wind will take away the heat on the sensor resulting in a temperature variation that is then accurately measured by the TFBG. Benefited from the high coupling and absorption efficiency, the heating and sensing light source was shared with only one broadband light source (BBS) without any extra pumping laser complicating the system. This not only significantly reduces power consumption, but also simplifies the whole sensing system with lower cost. In experiments, the key parameters of the sensor, such as the film thickness and the inherent angle of the TFBG, were fully investigated. It was demonstrated that, under a very low BBS input power of 9.87 mW, a 0.100 nm wavelength response can still be detected as the wind speed changed from 0 to 2 m/s. In addition, the sensitivity was found to be -0.0346 nm/(m/s) under the wind speed of 1 m/s. The proposed simple and low-power-consumption wind speed sensing system exhibits promising potential for future long-term remote monitoring and on-chip sensing in practical applications.

First Results of the Land Atmosphere Feedback Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wulfmeyer, V.; Turner, D. D.

2017-12-01

The Land-Atmosphere Feedback Experiment (LAFE) deployed several state-of-the-art scanning lidar and remote sensing systems to the ARM SGP site during August 2017. A novel synergy of remote sensing systems was applied for simultaneous measurements of land-surface fluxes and horizontal and vertical transport processes in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). The impact of spatial inhomogeneities of the soil-vegetation continuum on LA feedback was studied using the scanning capability of the instrumentation as well as soil, vegetation, and surface flux measurements. The synergy of remote sensing and in-situ instruments consisted of three components: 1) The SGP water-vapor and temperature Raman lidar, the SGP Doppler lidar, the University of Hohenheim (UHOH) Doppler lidar, and the NCAR water-vapor DIAL to measure mean profiles and gradients of moisture, temperature, and horizontal wind. Due to their high vertical and temporal resolutions, also profiles of higher-order turbulent moments in the water vapor and wind fields as well as of profiles of the latent heat flux, the sensible heat flux, TKE, and momentum flux were observed. 2) A novel scanning lidar system synergy consisting of the NOAA High-Resolution Doppler lidar, the UHOH water-vapor differential absorption lidar, and the UHOH temperature rotational Raman lidar. These systems performed coordinated range-height indicator (RHI) scans from just above the canopy level to the lower troposphere including the interfacial layer at the ABL top. This component was augmented by three energy balance closure towers of NOAA and one EBC station of UHOH. 3) The University of Wisconsin SPARC and the University of Oklahoma CLAMPS systems operating two vertically pointing atmospheric emitted radiance interferometers and two Doppler lidar systems scanning cross track to the central RHI for determining the surface friction velocity and the horizontal variability of temperature, moisture, and wind. NOAA ARL also provided UAS and aircraft measurements (Navajo Piper) in accordance with the surface scans. Thus, both the variability of surface fluxes and CBL dynamics and thermodynamics over the SGP site was studied for the first time. This is essential for advanced observation and understanding of LA feedback. First results are presented at the conference.

Combining active and passive remote sensing from research aircraft with atmospheric models to evaluate NOx emission fluxes and O3 formation in the Los Angeles Megacity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baidar, Sunil; Oetjen, Hilke; Senff, Christoph; Alvarez, Raul, II; Hardesty, Michael; Langford, Andrew; Kim, Si-Wan; Trainer, Michael; Volkamer, Rainer

2013-04-01

Ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are two important components of air pollution. We have measured vertical column amounts of NO2, and vertical profiles of O3 and wind speed by means of measurements of solar stray light by CU Airborne MAX-DOAS, and active remote sensing using the NOAA TOPAZ lidar, and the University of Leeds Doppler lidar aboard the NOAA Twin Otter research aircraft. A total of 52 flights (up to 4 hours each) were carried out between May 19 and July 19 2010 during the CalNex and CARES field campaigns. These flights cover most of California. The boundary layer height was measured by TOPAZ lidar, and trace gas concentrations of NO2 and O3 were integrated over boundary layer height. These column integrated quantities are then combined with direct wind speed measurements to quantify directly the pollutant flux across the boundary, as defined by the flight track. By tracking the pollution fluxes during transects that are flown upwind and in various distances downwind of a NOx emission source, the NOx emission rate, and the ozone formation rate are quantified. These pollutant fluxes are calculated here for the first time exclusively based on measurements (i.e., without need to infer wind speed from a model). These fluxes provide constraints to quantify localized NOx emissions, and are being compared with WRF-Chem model simulations.

Satellite observations of turbidity in the Dead Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nehorai, R.; Lensky, I. M.; Hochman, L.; Gertman, I.; Brenner, S.; Muskin, A.; Lensky, N. G.

2013-06-01

A methodology to attain daily variability of turbidity in the Dead Sea by means of remote sensing was developed. 250 m/pixel moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) surface reflectance data were used to characterize the seasonal cycle of turbidity and plume spreading generated by flood events in the lake. Fifteen minutes interval images from meteosat second generation 1.6 km/pixel high-resolution visible (HRV) channel were used to monitor daily variations of turbidity. The HRV reflectance was normalized throughout the day to correct for the changing geometry and then calibrated against available MODIS surface reflectance. Finally, hourly averaged reflectance maps are presented for summer and winter. The results show that turbidity is concentrated along the silty shores of the lake and the southern embayments, with a gradual decrease of turbidity values from the shoreline toward the center of the lake. This pattern is most pronounced following the nighttime hours of intense winds. A few hours after winds calm the concentric turbidity pattern fades. In situ and remote sensing observations show a clear relation between wind intensity, wave amplitude and water turbidity. In summer and winter similar concentric turbidity patterns are observed but with a much narrower structure in winter. A simple Lagrangain trajectory model suggests that the combined effects of horizontal transport and vertical mixing of suspended particles leads to more effective mixing in winter. The dynamics of suspended matter contributions from winter desert floods are also presented in terms of hourly turbidity maps showing the spreading of the plumes and their decay.

Remote Sensing of Three-dimensional Winds with Elastic Lidar: Explanation of Maximum Cross-correlation Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buttler, William T.; Soriano, Cecilia; Baldasano, Jose M.; Nickel, George H.

Maximum cross-correlation provides a method toremotely de-ter-mine high-lyre-solved three-dimensional fields of horizontalwinds with e-las-tic li-darthrough-out large volumes of the planetaryboundary layer (PBL). This paperdetails the technique and shows comparisonsbetween elastic lidar winds, remotelysensed laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV) windprofiles, and radiosonde winds.Radiosonde wind data were acquired at Barcelona,Spain, during the BarcelonaAir-Quality Initiative (1992), and the LDVwind data were acquired at SunlandPark, New Mexico during the 1994 Border AreaAir-Quality Study. Comparisonsshow good agreement between the differentinstruments, and demonstrate the methoduseful for air pollution management at thelocal/regional scale. Elastic lidar windscould thus offer insight into aerosol andpollution transport within the PBL. Lidarwind fields might also be used to nudge orimprove initialization and evaluation ofatmospheric meteorological models.

Free and Forced Rossby Waves in the Western South China Sea Inferred from Jason-1 Satellite Altimetry Data

PubMed Central

Wu, Xiangyu; Xie, Qiang; He, Zhigang; Wang, Dongxiao

2008-01-01

Data from a subsurface mooring deployed in the western South China Sea shows clear intra-seasonal oscillations (ISO) at the period of 40∼70 days. Analysis of remotely-sensed sea surface height (SSH) anomalies in the same area indicates that these ISO signals propagate both eastward and westward. Time-longitude diagrams of ISO signals in SSH anomalies and wind-stress curl indicate that the eastward propagating SSH anomalies is forced by wind-stress curl. This is also confirmed by lag correlation between SSH anomalies and the wind-stress-curl index (wind stress curl averaged over 109.5°E -115°E and 12°N -13.5°N). Lag correlation of SSH anomaly suggests that the westward propagating signals are free Rossby waves. PMID:27879897

Characteristics of nocturnal coastal boundary layer in Ahtopol based on averaged SODAR profiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barantiev, Damyan; Batchvarova, Ekaterina; Novitzky, Mikhail

2014-05-01

The ground-based remote sensing instruments allow studying the wind regime and the turbulent characteristics of the atmosphere with height, achieving new knowledge and solving practical problems, such as air quality assessments, mesoscale models evaluation with high resolution data, characterization of the exchange processes between the surface and the atmosphere, the climate comfort conditions and the risk for extreme events, etc. Very important parameter in such studies is the height of the atmospheric boundary layer. Acoustic remote sensing data of the coastal atmospheric boundary layer were explored based on over 4-years continuous measurements at the meteorological observatory of Ahtopol (Bulgarian Southern Black Sea Coast) under Bulgarian - Russian scientific agreement. Profiles of 12 parameters from a mid-range acoustic sounding instrument type SCINTEC MFAS are derived and averaged up to about 600 m according filtering based on wind direction (land or sea type of night fowls). From the whole investigated period of 1454 days with 10-minute resolution SODAR data 2296 profiles represented night marine air masses and 1975 profiles represented the night flow from land during the months May to September. Graphics of averaged profiles of 12 SODAR output parameters with different availability of data in height are analyzed for both cases. A marine boundary-layer height of about 300 m is identified in the profiles of standard deviation of vertical wind speed (σw), Turbulent Kinetic Energy (TKE) and eddy dissipation rate (EDR). A nocturnal boundary-layer height of about 420 m was identified from the profiles of the same parameters under flows from land condition. In addition, the Buoyancy Production (BP= σw3/z) profiles were calculated from the standard deviation of the vertical wind speed and the height z above ground.

Comments on the Synergism Between the Analytic Planetary Boundary-Layer Model and Remote Sensing Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, R. A.

2005-08-01

This paper is adapted from a presentation at the session of the European Geophysical Society meeting in 2002 honouring Joost Businger. It documents the interaction of the non-linear planetary boundary-layer (PBL) model (UW-PBL) and satellite remote sensing of marine surface winds from verification and calibration studies for the sensor model function to the current state of verification of the model by satellite data. It is also a personal history where Joost Businger had seminal input to this research at several critical junctures. The first scatterometer in space was on SeaSat in 1978, while currently in orbit there are the QuikSCAT and ERS-2 scatterometers and the WindSat radiometer. The volume and detail of data from the scatterometers during the past decade are unprecedented, though the value of these data depends on a careful interpretation of the PBL dynamics. The model functions (algorithms) that relate surface wind to sensor signal have evolved from straight empirical correlation with simple surface-layer 10-m winds to satellite sensor model functions for surface pressure fields. A surface stress model function is also available. The validation data for the satellite model functions depended crucially on the PBL solution. The non-linear solution for the flow of fluid in the boundary layer of a rotating coordinate system was completed in 1969. The implications for traditional ways of measuring and modelling the PBL were huge and continue to this day. Unfortunately, this solution replaced an elegant one by Ekman with a stability/finite perturbation equilibrium solution. Consequently, there has been great reluctance to accept this solution. The verification of model predictions has been obtained from the satellite data.

Assessing State-of-the-Art Capabilities for Probing the Atmospheric Boundary Layer: The XPIA Field Campaign

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

Lundquist, Julie K.; Wilczak, James M.; Ashton, Ryan

The synthesis of new measurement technologies with advances in high performance computing provides an unprecedented opportunity to advance our understanding of the atmosphere, particularly with regard to the complex flows in the atmospheric boundary layer. To assess current measurement capabilities for quantifying features of atmospheric flow within wind farms, the U.S. Dept. of Energy sponsored the eXperimental Planetary boundary layer Instrumentation Assessment (XPIA) campaign at the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory (BAO) in spring 2015. Herein, we summarize the XPIA field experiment design, highlight novel approaches to boundary-layer measurements, and quantify measurement uncertainties associated with these experimental methods. Line-of-sight velocities measured bymore » scanning lidars and radars exhibit close agreement with tower measurements, despite differences in measurement volumes. Virtual towers of wind measurements, from multiple lidars or dual radars, also agree well with tower and profiling lidar measurements. Estimates of winds over volumes,conducted with rapid lidar scans, agree with those from scanning radars, enabling assessment of spatial variability. Microwave radiometers provide temperature profiles within and above the boundary layer with approximately the same uncertainty as operational remote sensing measurements. Using a motion platform, we assess motion-compensation algorithms for lidars to be mounted on offshore platforms. Finally, we highlight cases that could be useful for validation of large-eddy simulations or mesoscale numerical weather prediction, providing information on accessing the archived dataset. We conclude that modern remote Lundquist et al. XPIA BAMS Page 4 of 81 sensing systems provide a generational improvement in observational capabilities, enabling resolution of refined processes critical to understanding 61 inhomogeneous boundary-layer flows such as those found in wind farms.« less

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 .

Development and testing of a rural credit supervision system at the level of counties and rural properties utilizing remote sensing techniqes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Batista, G. T. (Principal Investigator); Delima, A. M.; Tardin, A. T.; Rudorff, B. F. T.; Mendonca, F. J.; Dosanjosferreirapinto, S.; Chen, S. C.; Duarte, V.

1984-01-01

Remote sensing techniques for supporting the rural credit supervision system were developed and tested. The test area comprised the counties of Aracatuba and Guararapes, located in the State of Sao Paulo. Aerial photography, LANDSAT images and topographic charts were used. Aerial photographs were extremely useful for the out lining of properties boundaries with financing of sugarcane plantations by the Banco do Brasil S.A.. The percentage of correctly interpreted sugarcane on LANDSAT images, considering the 85 analyzed properties, was of 63.12%. The occurrence of atypical conditions such as excessive raining, sugarcane in bloom, and wind damaged sugarcane and sugarcane not harvested due to planning failures verified during the period the images were obtained, were some of the contributing factors associated with a low interpretation performance. An alternative approach was developed using several LANDSAT overpasses and auxiliary field data, which resulted in 91.77 percent correct.

Fates, Budgets, and Health Implications of Macondo Spill Volatile Hydrocarbons in the Ocean and Atmosphere of the Gulf of Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leifer, I.; Barletta, B.; Blake, D. R.; Blake, N. J.; Bradley, E. S.; Meinardi, S.; Lehr, B.; Luyendyk, B. P.; Roberts, D. A.; Rowland, F. S.

2010-12-01

The Macondo Oil Spill released unprecedented oil and gas to the ocean, estimated at 63000 bbl/day, which dispersed and dissolved during rise (Technical Flow Rate Team Report, 2010); yet, most of the oil reached the sea surface as oil slicks that then evolved due to weathering and dispersant application (Mass Balance Report, 2010). Remote sensing (near infrared imaging spectrometry) allowed quantification of thick surface oil, values of which were incorporated into an overall oil budget calculation. Remote sensing data, atmospheric samples, and numerical modeling, strongly suggest significant volatile loss during rise, yet measured atmospheric concentrations were high. Scaling atmospheric measurements to the total oil spill implies very high, extensive, and persistent levels of atmospheric petroleum hydrocarbon exposure with strong health implications to on-site workers and to coastal residents from wind advection.

Comparative and Combinative Study of Urban Heat island in Wuhan City with Remote Sensing and CFD Simulation

PubMed Central

Li, Kun; Yu, Zhuang

2008-01-01

Urban heat islands are one of the most critical urban environment heat problems. Landsat ETM+ satellite data were used to investigate the land surface temperature and underlying surface indices such as NDVI and NDBI. A comparative study of the urban heat environment at different scales, times and locations was done to verify the heat island characteristics. Since remote sensing technology has limitations for dynamic flow analysis in the study of urban spaces, a CFD simulation was used to validate the improvement of the heat environment in a city by means of wind. CFD technology has its own shortcomings in parameter setting and verification, while RS technology is helpful to remedy this. The city of Wuhan and its climatological condition of being hot in summer and cold in winter were chosen to verify the comparative and combinative application of RS with CFD in studying the urban heat island. PMID:27873893

IOCCG Report Number 16, 2015 Ocean Colour Remote Sensing in Polar Seas . Chapter 2; The Polar Environment: Sun, Clouds, and Ice

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Comiso, Josefino C.; Perovich, Don; Stamnes, Knut; Stuart, Venetia (Editor)

2015-01-01

The polar regions are places of extremes. There are months when the regions are enveloped in unending darkness, and months when they are in continuous daylight. During the daylight months the sun is low on the horizon and often obscured by clouds. In the dark winter months temperatures are brutally cold, and high winds and blowing snow are common. Even in summer, temperatures seldom rise above 0degC. The cold winter temperatures cause the ocean to freeze, forming sea ice. This sea ice cover acts as a barrier limiting the transfer of heat, moisture, and momentum between the atmosphere and the ocean. It also greatly complicates the optical signature of the surface. Taken together, these factors make the polar regions a highly challenging environment for optical remote sensing of the ocean.

Ion Irradiation Experiments on the Murchison CM2 Carbonaceous Chondrite: Simulating Space Weathering of Primitive Asteroids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keller, L. P.; Christoffersen, R.; Dukes, C. A.; Baragiola, R. A.; Rahman, Z.

2015-01-01

Remote sensing observations show that space weathering processes affect all airless bodies in the Solar System to some degree. Sample analyses and lab experiments provide insights into the chemical, spectroscopic and mineralogic effects of space weathering and aid in the interpretation of remote- sensing data. For example, analyses of particles returned from the S-type asteroid Itokawa by the Hayabusa mission revealed that space-weathering on that body was dominated by interactions with the solar wind acting on LL ordinary chondrite-like materials [1, 2]. Understanding and predicting how the surface regoliths of primitive carbonaceous asteroids respond to space weathering processes is important for future sample return missions (Hayabusa 2 and OSIRIS-REx) that are targeting objects of this type. Here, we report the results of our preliminary ion irradiation experiments on a hydrated carbonaceous chondrite with emphasis on microstructural and infrared spectral changes.

An atlas of monthly mean distributions of SSMI surface wind speed, AVHRR/2 sea surface temperature, AMI surface wind velocity, TOPEX/POSEIDON sea surface height, and ECMWF surface wind velocity during 1993

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halpern, D.; Fu, L.; Knauss, W.; Pihos, G.; Brown, O.; Freilich, M.; Wentz, F.

1995-01-01

The following monthly mean global distributions for 1993 are presented with a common color scale and geographical map: 10-m height wind speed estimated from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSMI) on a United States (U.S.) Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft; sea surface temperature estimated from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR/2) on a U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite; 10-m height wind speed and direction estimated from the Active Microwave Instrument (AMI) on the European Space Agency (ESA) European Remote Sensing (ERS-1) satellite; sea surface height estimated from the joint U.S.-France Topography Experiment (TOPEX)/POSEIDON spacecraft; and 10-m height wind speed and direction produced by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF). Charts of annual mean, monthly mean, and sampling distributions are displayed.

Polar Applications of Spaceborne Scatterometers.

PubMed

Long, David G

2017-05-01

Wind scatterometers were originally developed for observation of near-surface winds over the ocean. They retrieve wind indirectly by measuring the normalized radar cross section ( σ o ) of the surface, and estimating the wind via a geophysical model function relating σ o to the vector wind. The σ o measurements have proven to be remarkably capable in studies of the polar regions where they can map snow cover; detect the freeze/thaw state of forest, tundra, and ice; map and classify sea ice; and track icebergs. Further, a long time series of scatterometer σ o observations is available to support climate studies. In addition to fundamental scientific research, scatterometer data are operationally used for sea-ice mapping to support navigation. Scatterometers are, thus, invaluable tools for monitoring the polar regions. In this paper, a brief review of some of the polar applications of spaceborne wind scatterometer data is provided. The paper considers both C-band and Ku-band scatterometers, and the relative merits of fan-beam and pencil-beam scatterometers in polar remote sensing are discussed.

Application of fuzzy logic approach for wind erosion hazard mapping in Laghouat region (Algeria) using remote sensing and GIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saadoud, Djouher; Hassani, Mohamed; Martin Peinado, Francisco José; Guettouche, Mohamed Saïd

2018-06-01

Wind erosion is one of the most serious environmental problems in Algeria that threatens human activities and socio-economic development. The main goal of this study is to apply a fuzzy logic approach to wind erosion sensitivity mapping in the Laghouat region, Algeria. Six causative factors, obtained by applying fuzzy membership functions to each used parameter, are considered: soil, vegetation cover, wind factor, soil dryness, land topography and land cover sensitivity. Different fuzzy operators (AND, OR, SUM, PRODUCT, and GAMMA) are applied to generate wind-erosion hazard map. Success rate curves reveal that the fuzzy gamma (γ) operator, with γ equal to 0.9, gives the best prediction accuracy with an area under curve of 85.2%. The resulting wind-erosion sensitivity map delineates the area into different zones of five relative sensitivity classes: very high, high, moderate, low and very low. The estimated result was verified by field measurements and the high statistically significant value of a chi-square test.

Polar Applications of Spaceborne Scatterometers

PubMed Central

Long, David G.

2017-01-01

Wind scatterometers were originally developed for observation of near-surface winds over the ocean. They retrieve wind indirectly by measuring the normalized radar cross section (σo) of the surface, and estimating the wind via a geophysical model function relating σo to the vector wind. The σo measurements have proven to be remarkably capable in studies of the polar regions where they can map snow cover; detect the freeze/thaw state of forest, tundra, and ice; map and classify sea ice; and track icebergs. Further, a long time series of scatterometer σo observations is available to support climate studies. In addition to fundamental scientific research, scatterometer data are operationally used for sea-ice mapping to support navigation. Scatterometers are, thus, invaluable tools for monitoring the polar regions. In this paper, a brief review of some of the polar applications of spaceborne wind scatterometer data is provided. The paper considers both C-band and Ku-band scatterometers, and the relative merits of fan-beam and pencil-beam scatterometers in polar remote sensing are discussed. PMID:28919936

Topological Origins of the Slow Solar Wind

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Antiochos, Spiro

2008-01-01

Although the slow solar wind has been studied for decades with both in situ and remote sensing observations, its origin is still a matter of intense debate. In the standard quasi-steady model, the slow wind is postulated to originate near coronal hole boundaries that define topologically well-behaved separatrices between open and closed field regions. In the interchange model, on the other hand, the slow wind is postulated to originate on open flux that is dynamically diffusing throughout the seemingly closed-field corona. We argue in favor of the quasi-steady scenario and propose that the slow wind is due to two effects: First, the open-closed boundary is highly complex due to the complexity of the photospheric flux distribution. Second, this boundary is continuously driven by the transport of magnetic helicity from the closed field region into the open. The implications of this model for the structure and dynamics of the corona and slow wind are discussed, and observational tests of the mode

Mapping of sea bottom topography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calkoen, C. J.; Wensink, G. J.; Hesselmans, G. H. F. M.

1992-01-01

Under suitable conditions the bottom topography of shallow seas is visible in remote sensing radar imagery. Two experiments were performed to establish which remote sensing technique or combination yields optimal imaging of bottom topography and which hydro-meteorological conditions are favorable. A further goal is to gain experience with these techniques. Two experiments were performed over an area in the North Sea near the measuring platform Meetpost Noordwijk (MPN). The bottom topography in the test area is dominated by sand waves. The crests of the sand waves are perpendicular to the coast line and the dominating (tidal-)current direction. A 4x4 sq km wide section of the test area was studied in more detail. The first experiment was undertaken on 16 Aug. 1989. During the experiment the following remote sensing instruments were used: Landsat-Thematic Mapper, and NASA/JPL Airborne Imaging Radar (AIR). The hydro-meteorological conditions; current, wind, wave, and air and water temperature were monitored by MPN, a ship of Rijkswaterstaat (the OCTANS), and a pitch-and-roll WAVEC-buoy. The second experiment took place on 12 July 1992. During this experiment data were collected with the NASA/JPL polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and a five-band helicopter-borne scatterometer. Again the hydro-meteorological conditions were monitored at MPN and the OCTANS. Furthermore, interferometric radar data were collected.

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.

Verification of satellite radar remote sensing based estimates of boreal and subalpine growing seasons using an ecosystem process model and surface biophysical measurement network information

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McDonald, K. C.; Kimball, J. S.; Zimmerman, R.

2002-01-01

We employ daily surface Radar backscatter data from the SeaWinds Ku-band Scatterometer onboard Quikscat to estimate landscape freeze-thaw state and associated length of the seasonal non-frozen period as a surrogate for determining the annual growing season across boreal and subalpine regions of North America for 2000 and 2001.

Advanced image processing approach for ET estimation with remote sensing data of varying spectral, spatial and temporal resolutions

Treesearch

Sudhanshu Panda; Devendra Amatya; Young Kim; Ge Sun

2016-01-01

Evapotranspiration (ET) is one of the most important hydrologic parameters for vegetation growth, carbon sequestration, and other associated biodiversity study and analysis. Plant stomatal conductance, leaf area index, canopy temperature, soil moisture, and wind speed values generally correlate well with ET. It is difficult to estimate these hydrologic parameters of...

Micro weather stations for in situ measurements in the Martian planetary boundary layer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crisp, D.; Kaiser, W. J.; Kenny, T. W.; Vanzandt, T. R.; Tillman, J. E.

1992-01-01

Viking Lander meteorology measurements show that the Martian planetary boundary layer (PBL) has large diurnal and seasonal variations in pressure, wind velocity, relative humidity, and airborne dust loading. An even larger range of conditions was inferred from remote sensing observations acquired by the Mariner 9 and Viking orbiters. Numerical models indicate that these changes may be accompanied by dramatic vertical and horizontal wind shears (100 m/s/km) and rapid changes in the static stability. In-situ measurements from a relatively small number surface stations could yield global constraints on the Martian climate and atmospheric general circulation by providing ground truth for remote sensing instruments on orbiters. A more complete understanding of the meteorology of the PBL is an essential precursor to manned missions to Mars because this will be their working environment. In-situ measurements are needed for these studies because the spatial and temporal scales that characterize the important meteorological processes near the surface cannot be resolved from orbit. The Mars Environmental Survey (MESUR) Program will provide the first opportunity to deploy a network of surface weather stations for a comprehensive investigation of the Martian PBL. The feasibility and utility of a network of micro-weather stations for making in-situ meteorological measurements in the Martian PBL are assessed.

ModObs: Atmospheric modelling for wind energy, climate and environment applications: exploring added value from new observation technique. Work in progress within a FP6 Marie Curie Research Training Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sempreviva, A. M.

2009-09-01

The EC FP6 Marie Curie Training Network "ModObs” http://www.modobs.windeng.net addresses the improvement of atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) models to investigate the interplay of processes at different temporal and spatial scales, and to explore the added value from new observation techniques. The overall goal is to bring young scientists to work ogether with experienced researchers in developing a better interaction amongst scientific communities of modelers and experimentalists, using a comprehensive approach to "Climate Change”, "Clean Energy assessment” and "Environmental Policies”, issues. This poster describes the work in progress of ten students, funded by the network, under the supervision of a team of scientists within atmospheric physics, engineering and satellite remote sensing and end-users such as companies in the private sector, all with the appropriate expertise to integrate the most advanced research methods and techniques in the following topics. MODELING: GLOBAL-TO-MESO SCALE: Analytical and process oriented numerical models will be used to study the interaction between the atmosphere and the ocean on a regional scale. Initial results indicate an interaction between the intensity of polar lows and the subsurface warm core often present in the Nordic Seas (11). The presence of waves, mainly swell, influence the MABL fluxes and turbulence structure. The regional and global wave effect on the atmosphere will be also studied and quantified (7) MESO-SCALE: Applicability of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) parametrizations in the meso-scale WRF model to marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) over the North Sea is investigated. The most suitable existing PBL parametrization will be additionally improved and used for downscaling North Sea past and future climates (2). Application of the meso-scale model (MM5 and WRF) for the wind energy in off-shore and coastal area. Set-up of the meso-scale model, post-processing and verification of the data from the long simulation. Research of meso-scale phenomena for meteorological case study in Gulf of Finland (3). MICRO-SCALE: Large eddy simulation (LES) is used to study the planetary boundary layer under different complex effects: (a) Forcing from general circulation model (GCM): Comparison between GCM outputs and GCM-forced LES for maritime boundary layer (MBL) cases, namely the LASIE campaign (5). (b) Heterogeneity of the Marine Surface Layer (MSL ): Investigation of the air-sea turbulent exchange mechanisms under the effects of coastal discontinuity and horizontal gradient of temperature (1)(6). (c) Heterogeneity of land surface: Turbulence self-organization and its interaction with complex earth topography is studied (8). (d) Wind farm complexity: Wind site assessment as well as turbulent effects for terrains with different complexity are studied (2). OBSERVATIONS: CONTRIBUTION OF SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS FOR THE STUDY AND PARAMETRIZATION OF MARINE BOUNDARY LAYER: Evaluate the added-value of observations from the current generation of satellite with emphasis on the potential of remote sensing data in describing temporal and spatial structures. Foreseen applications include: improvement of MBL description on coastal areas, identification of areas of interest for wind energy applications, gain of information of temporal and spatial scales of variability useful for numerical model parameterizations (6). LIDAR, SODAR: REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES APPLIED FOR WIND ENERGY. According to aeroelastic simulations, the production of the power curve of a large wind turbine (rotor diameter larger than 100m) requires wind speed measurements at several heights within the rotor disc. Suitable wind profiles can be measured by LiDARs and SoDARs (1). EVOLUTION OF THE VERTICAL STRUCTURE OF THE ATMOSPHERIC MARINE BOUNDARY LAYER:The evolution of the vertical structure of the MABL following the change of surface conditions in a sequence of onshore - offshore - onshore flow, was observed by both ceilometer and radiosoundings during the LASIE (Ligurian Air-Sea Interaction Experiment) campaign sponsored by NATO in the Mediterranean Sea. In-situ and remote-sensing measurements were performed from two measuring platforms, A buoy ODAS, Italia1 and a ship N/O URANIA from the Italian National Council of Research CNR (1), (6) and (7).

ModObs: Atmospheric modelling for wind energy, climate and environment applications : exploring added value from new observation technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sempreviva, A. M.

2009-04-01

The EC FP6 Marie Curie Training Network "ModObs" http://www.modobs.windeng.net addresses the improvement of atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) models to investigate the interplay of processes at different temporal and spatial scales, and to explore the added value from new observation techniques. The overall goal is to bring young scientists to work together with experienced researchers in developing a better interaction amongst scientific communities of modelers and experimentalists, using a comprehensive approach to "Climate Change", "Clean Energy assessment" and "Environmental Policies", issues. This poster describes the work in progress of ten students, funded by the network, under the supervision of a team of scientists within atmospheric physics, engineering and satellite remote sensing and end-users such as companies in the private sector, all with the appropriate expertise to integrate the most advanced research methods and techniques in the following topics. MODELING: GLOBAL-TO-MESO SCALE: Analytical and process oriented numerical models will be used to study the interaction between the atmosphere and the ocean on a regional scale. Initial results indicate an interaction between the intensity of polar lows and the subsurface warm core often present in the Nordic Seas (11). The presence of waves, mainly swell, influence the MABL fluxes and turbulence structure. The regional and global wave effect on the atmosphere will be also studied and quantified (7) MESO-SCALE: Applicability of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) parametrizations in the meso-scale WRF model to marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) over the North Sea is investigated. The most suitable existing PBL parametrization will be additionally improved and used for downscaling North Sea past and future climates (2). Application of the meso-scale model (MM5 and WRF) for the wind energy in off-shore and coastal area. Set-up of the meso-scale model, post-processing and verification of the data from the long simulation. Research of meso-scale phenomena for meteorological case study in Gulf of Finland (3). MICRO-SCALE: Large eddy simulation (LES) is used to study the planetary boundary layer under different complex effects: (a) Forcing from general circulation model (GCM): Comparison between GCM outputs and GCM-forced LES for maritime boundary layer (MBL) cases, namely the LASIE campaign (5). (b) Heterogeneity of the Marine Surface Layer (MSL ): Investigation of the air-sea turbulent exchange mechanisms under the effects of coastal discontinuity and horizontal gradient of temperature (1)(6). (c) Heterogeneity of land surface: Turbulence self-organization and its interaction with complex earth topography is studied (8). (d) Wind farm complexity: Wind site assessment as well as turbulent effects for terrains with different complexity are studied (2). OBSERVATIONS: CONTRIBUTION OF SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS FOR THE STUDY AND PARAMETRIZATION OF MARINE BOUNDARY LAYER: Evaluate the added-value of observations from the current generation of satellite with emphasis on the potential of remote sensing data in describing temporal and spatial structures. Foreseen applications include: improvement of MBL description on coastal areas, identification of areas of interest for wind energy applications, gain of information of temporal and spatial scales of variability useful for numerical model parameterizations (6). LIDAR, SODAR: REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES APPLIED FOR WIND ENERGY. According to aeroelastic simulations, the production of the power curve of a large wind turbine (rotor diameter larger than 100m) requires wind speed measurements at several heights within the rotor disc. Suitable wind profiles can be measured by LiDARs and SoDARs (1). EVOLUTION OF THE VERTICAL STRUCTURE OF THE ATMOSPHERIC MARINE BOUNDARY LAYER:The evolution of the vertical structure of the MABL following the change of surface conditions in a sequence of onshore - offshore - onshore flow, was observed by both ceilometer and radiosoundings during the LASIE (Ligurian Air-Sea Interaction Experiment) campaign sponsored by NATO in the Mediterranean Sea. In-situ and remote-sensing measurements were performed from two measuring platforms, A buoy ODAS, Italia1 and a ship N/O URANIA from the Italian National Council of Research CNR (1), (6) and (7).

Comparison of aerodynamically and model-derived roughness lengths (zo) over diverse surfaces, central Mojave Desert, California, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

MacKinnon, D.J.; Clow, G.D.; Tigges, R.K.; Reynolds, R.L.; Chavez, P.S.

2004-01-01

The vulnerability of dryland surfaces to wind erosion depends importantly on the absence or the presence and character of surface roughness elements, such as plants, clasts, and topographic irregularities that diminish wind speed near the surface. A model for the friction velocity ratio has been developed to account for wind sheltering by many different types of co-existing roughness elements. Such conditions typify a monitored area in the central Mojave Desert, California, that experiences frequent sand movement and dust emission. Two additional models are used to convert the friction velocity ratio to the surface roughness length (zo) for momentum. To calculate roughness lengths from these models, measurements were made at 11 sites within the monitored area to characterize the surface roughness element. Measurements included (1) the number of roughness species (e.g., plants, small-scale topography, clasts), and their associated heights and widths, (2) spacing among species, and (3) vegetation porosity (a measurement of the spatial distribution of woody elements of a plant). Documented or estimated values of drag coefficients for different species were included in the modeling. At these sites, wind-speed profiles were measured during periods of neutral atmospheric stability using three 9-m towers with three or four calibrated anemometers on each. Modeled roughness lengths show a close correspondence (correlation coefficient, 0.84-0.86) to the aerodynamically determined values at the field sites. The geometric properties of the roughness elements in the model are amenable to measurement at much higher temporal and spatial resolutions using remote-sensing techniques than can be accomplished through laborious ground-based methods. A remote-sensing approach to acquire values of the modeled roughness length is particularly important for the development of linked surface/atmosphere wind-erosion models sensitive to climate variability and land-use changes in areas such as the southwestern United States, where surface roughness has large spatial and temporal variations. ?? 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Solar Corona/Wind Composition and Origins of the Solar Wind

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lepri, S. T.; Gilbert, J. A.; Landi, E.; Shearer, P.; von Steiger, R.; Zurbuchen, T.

2014-12-01

Measurements from ACE and Ulysses have revealed a multifaceted solar wind, with distinctly different kinetic and compositional properties dependent on the source region of the wind. One of the major outstanding issues in heliophysics concerns the origin and also predictability of quasi-stationary slow solar wind. While the fast solar wind is now proven to originate within large polar coronal holes, the source of the slow solar wind remains particularly elusive and has been the subject of long debate, leading to models that are stationary and also reconnection based - such as interchange or so-called S-web based models. Our talk will focus on observational constraints of solar wind sources and their evolution during the solar cycle. In particular, we will point out long-term variations of wind composition and dynamic properties, particularly focused on the abundance of elements with low First Ionization Potential (FIP), which have been routinely measured on both ACE and Ulysses spacecraft. We will use these in situ observations, and remote sensing data where available, to provide constraints for solar wind origin during the solar cycle, and on their correspondence to predictions for models of the solar wind.

The CASA Dallas Fort Worth Remote Sensing Network ICT for Urban Disaster Mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandrasekar, Venkatachalam; Chen, Haonan; Philips, Brenda; Seo, Dong-jun; Junyent, Francesc; Bajaj, Apoorva; Zink, Mike; Mcenery, John; Sukheswalla, Zubin; Cannon, Amy; Lyons, Eric; Westbrook, David

2013-04-01

The dual-polarization X-band radar network developed by the U.S. National Science Foundation Engineering Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA) has shown great advantages for observing and prediction of hazardous weather events in the lower atmosphere (1-3 km above ground level). The network is operating though a scanning methodology called DCAS, distributed collaborative adaptive sensing, which is designed to focus on particular interesting regions of the atmosphere and disseminate information for decision-making to multiple end-users, such as emergency managers and policy analysts. Since spring 2012, CASA and the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) have embarked the development of Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) urban remote sensing network, including 8-node of dual-polarization X-band radars, in the populous DFW Metroplex (pop. 6.3 million in 2010). The main goal of CASA DFW urban demonstration network is to protect the safety and prosperity of humans and ecosystems through research activities that include: 1) to demonstrate the DCAS operation paradigm developed by CASA; 2) to create high-resolution, three-dimensional mapping of the meteorological conditions; 3) to help the local emergency managers issue impacts-based warnings and forecasts for severe wind, tornado, hail, and flash flood hazards. The products of this radar network will include single and multi-radar data, vector wind retrieval, quantitative precipitation estimation and nowcasting, and numerical weather predictions. In addition, the high spatial and temporal resolution rainfall products from CASA can serve as a reliable data input for distributed hydrological models in urban area. This paper presents the information and communication link between radars, rainfall product generation, hydrologic model link and end user community in the Dallas Fort Worth Urban Network. Specific details of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) between the various subsystems are presented.

NASA Tech Briefs, April 2012

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2012-01-01

Topics include: Computational Ghost Imaging for Remote Sensing; Digital Architecture for a Trace Gas Sensor Platform; Dispersed Fringe Sensing Analysis - DFSA; Indium Tin Oxide Resistor-Based Nitric Oxide Microsensors; Gas Composition Sensing Using Carbon Nanotube Arrays; Sensor for Boundary Shear Stress in Fluid Flow; Model-Based Method for Sensor Validation; Qualification of Engineering Camera for Long-Duration Deep Space Missions; Remotely Powered Reconfigurable Receiver for Extreme Environment Sensing Platforms; Bump Bonding Using Metal-Coated Carbon Nanotubes; In Situ Mosaic Brightness Correction; Simplex GPS and InSAR Inversion Software; Virtual Machine Language 2.1; Multi-Scale Three-Dimensional Variational Data Assimilation System for Coastal Ocean Prediction; Pandora Operation and Analysis Software; Fabrication of a Cryogenic Bias Filter for Ultrasensitive Focal Plane; Processing of Nanosensors Using a Sacrificial Template Approach; High-Temperature Shape Memory Polymers; Modular Flooring System; Non-Toxic, Low-Freezing, Drop-In Replacement Heat Transfer Fluids; Materials That Enhance Efficiency and Radiation Resistance of Solar Cells; Low-Cost, Rugged High-Vacuum System; Static Gas-Charging Plug; Floating Oil-Spill Containment Device; Stemless Ball Valve; Improving Balance Function Using Low Levels of Electrical Stimulation of the Balance Organs; Oxygen-Methane Thruster; Lunar Navigation Determination System - LaNDS; Launch Method for Kites in Low-Wind or No-Wind Conditions; Supercritical CO2 Cleaning System for Planetary Protection and Contamination Control Applications; Design and Performance of a Wideband Radio Telescope; Finite Element Models for Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication Process Autonomous Information Unit for Fine-Grain Data Access Control and Information Protection in a Net-Centric System; Vehicle Detection for RCTA/ANS (Autonomous Navigation System); Image Mapping and Visual Attention on the Sensory Ego-Sphere; HyDE Framework for Stochastic and Hybrid Model-Based Diagnosis; and IMAGESEER - IMAGEs for Education and Research.

The polarization of light in coastal and open oceans: Reflection and transmission by the air-sea interface and application for the retrieval of water optical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foster, Robert

For decades, traditional remote sensing retrieval methods that rely solely on the spectral intensity of the water-leaving light have provided indicators of aquatic ecosystem health. With the increasing demand for new water quality indicators and improved accuracy of existing ones, the limits of traditional remote sensing approaches are becoming apparent. Use of the additional information intrinsic to the polarization state of light is therefore receiving more attention. One of the major challenges inherent in any above-surface determination of the water-leaving radiance, scalar or vector, is the removal of extraneous light which has not interacted with the water body and is therefore not useful for remote sensing of the water itself. Due in-part to the lack of a proven alternative, existing polarimeter installations have thus far assumed that such light was reflected by a flat sea surface, which can lead to large inaccuracies in the water-leaving polarization signal. This dissertation rigorously determines the full Mueller matrices for both surface-reflected skylight and upwardly transmitted light by a wind-driven ocean surface. A Monte Carlo code models the surface in 3D and performs polarized ray-tracing, while a vector radiative transfer (VRT) simulation generates polarized light distributions from which the initial Stokes vector for each ray is inferred. Matrices are computed for the observable range of surface wind speeds, viewing and solar geometries, and atmospheric aerosol loads. Radiometer field-of-view effects are also assessed. Validation of the results is achieved using comprehensive VRT simulations of the atmosphere-ocean system based on several oceanographic research cruises and specially designed polarimeters developed by the City College of New York: one submerged beneath the surface and one mounted on a research vessel. When available, additional comparisons are made at 9 km altitude with the NASA Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP). Excellent agreement is achieved between all instrumentation, demonstrating the accuracy of the modeling approach and validating the computed Mueller matrices. Further, the results are used to demonstrate the feasibility for polarimetric retrieval of the total attenuation coefficient for Case II waters, a feat which is not possible using scalar remote sensing methods.

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.

A modeling study of the radar signatures of rip currents with comparisons to data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Dea, A.; Haller, M. C.

2016-12-01

Rip currents are important components of nearshore circulation systems and can pose serious dangers to swimmers. In recent years, X-band imaging radar has been shown to be an effective remote sensor of rip currents over large spatial scales, for long durations, and with high temporal resolution. In contrast to remote sensing methods that infer rip location through the identification of morphological features (i.e. rip channels), rip detection in radar arises directly from the backscatter characteristics of the rip current flow field, thus offering the potential of direct extraction of quantitative information on rip current hydrodynamics. In this study, we present a model for the radar imaging of rip currents based on the wave action balance equation and the changes to the wind-wave spectrum at Bragg (capillary) wavelengths induced by the underlying rip current field. Model results are compared to field data (both in situ and remote sensing) from a 10-day experiment at Duck, NC conducted in September 2010. The model/data comparisons are then used to assess the physical mechanisms contributing to the radar imaging of rip currents including the role of rip current strength, wind speed, wind direction, and very short-scale wave breaking in rip current imaging. Following the methodology of Rascle et al. (J. Phys. Oceanography, 2014), the radar imaging model uses a relaxation approach that models perturbations to the equilibrium wave action spectrum induced by gradients in the underlying current field (specifically, the divergence and strain components of the deformation tensor). From the perturbed wind-wave spectrum, changes in the mean square slope (MSS) are then calculated and taken as a proxy for the change in radar backscatter intensity due to rip currents. Model simulations of rip current velocity fields for the field experiments were developed previously by Wilson et al. (J. Geophys. Res., 2014) using ROMS. The modeled velocities are used as input into the backscatter model and the predicted changes in MSS are compared with the radar observations. Modeled changes in MSS are shown to compare well with the observed occurrence and spatial scales of the rips, including their oblique orientation and their offshore extent. Remaining questions include the effect of wind direction and fetch on the imaging of rips.

Field programmable gate array processing of eye-safe all-fiber coherent wind Doppler lidar return signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdelazim, S.; Santoro, D.; Arend, M.; Moshary, F.; Ahmed, S.

2011-11-01

A field deployable all-fiber eye-safe Coherent Doppler LIDAR is being developed at the Optical Remote Sensing Lab at the City College of New York (CCNY) and is designed to monitor wind fields autonomously and continuously in urban settings. Data acquisition is accomplished by sampling lidar return signals at 400 MHz and performing onboard processing using field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The FPGA is programmed to accumulate signal information that is used to calculate the power spectrum of the atmospherically back scattered signal. The advantage of using FPGA is that signal processing will be performed at the hardware level, reducing the load on the host computer and allowing for 100% return signal processing. An experimental setup measured wind speeds at ranges of up to 3 km.

The Measurement of Unsteady Surface Pressure Using a Remote Microphone Probe.

PubMed

Guan, Yaoyi; Berntsen, Carl R; Bilka, Michael J; Morris, Scott C

2016-12-03

Microphones are widely applied to measure pressure fluctuations at the walls of solid bodies immersed in turbulent flows. Turbulent motions with various characteristic length scales can result in pressure fluctuations over a wide frequency range. This property of turbulence requires sensing devices to have sufficient sensitivity over a wide range of frequencies. Furthermore, the small characteristic length scales of turbulent structures require small sensing areas and the ability to place the sensors in very close proximity to each other. The complex geometries of the solid bodies, often including large surface curvatures or discontinuities, require the probe to have the ability to be set up in very limited spaces. The development of a remote microphone probe, which is inexpensive, consistent, and repeatable, is described in the present communication. It allows for the measurement of pressure fluctuations with high spatial resolution and dynamic response over a wide range of frequencies. The probe is small enough to be placed within the interior of typical wind tunnel models. The remote microphone probe includes a small, rigid, and hollow tube that penetrates the model surface to form the sensing area. This tube is connected to a standard microphone, at some distance away from the surface, using a "T" junction. An experimental method is introduced to determine the dynamic response of the remote microphone probe. In addition, an analytical method for determining the dynamic response is described. The analytical method can be applied in the design stage to determine the dimensions and properties of the RMP components.

Whitecap coverage from aerial photography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Austin, R. W.

1970-01-01

A program for determining the feasibility of deriving sea surface wind speeds by remotely sensing ocean surface radiances in the nonglitter regions is discussed. With a knowledge of the duration and geographical extent of the wind field, information about the conventional sea state may be derived. The use of optical techniques for determining sea state has obvious limitations. For example, such means can be used only in daylight and only when a clear path of sight is available between the sensor and the surface. However, sensors and vehicles capable of providing the data needed for such techniques are planned for the near future; therefore, a secondary or backup capability can be provided with little added effort. The information currently being sought regarding white water coverage is also of direct interest to those working with passive microwave systems, the study of energy transfer between winds and ocean currents, the aerial estimation of wind speeds, and many others.

Estimation of regional differences in wind erosion sensitivity in Hungary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mezősi, G.; Blanka, V.; Bata, T.; Kovács, F.; Meyer, B.

2015-01-01

In Hungary, wind erosion is one of the most serious natural hazards. Spatial and temporal variation in the factors that determine the location and intensity of wind erosion damage are not well known, nor are the regional and local sensitivities to erosion. Because of methodological challenges, no multi-factor, regional wind erosion sensitivity map is available for Hungary. The aim of this study was to develop a method to estimate the regional differences in wind erosion sensitivity and exposure in Hungary. Wind erosion sensitivity was modelled using the key factors of soil sensitivity, vegetation cover and wind erodibility as proxies. These factors were first estimated separately by factor sensitivity maps and later combined by fuzzy logic into a regional-scale wind erosion sensitivity map. Large areas were evaluated by using publicly available data sets of remotely sensed vegetation information, soil maps and meteorological data on wind speed. The resulting estimates were verified by field studies and examining the economic losses from wind erosion as compensated by the state insurance company. The spatial resolution of the resulting sensitivity map is suitable for regional applications, as identifying sensitive areas is the foundation for diverse land development control measures and implementing management activities.

Regional modeling of wind erosion in the North West and South West of Iran

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirmousavi, S. H.

2016-08-01

About two-thirds of the Iran's area is located in the arid and semiarid region. Lack of soil moisture and vegetation is poor in most areas can lead to soil erosion caused by wind. So that the annual suffered severe damage to large areas of rich soils. Modeling studies of wind erosion in Iran is very low and incomplete. Therefore, this study aimed to wind erosion modeling, taking into three factors: wind speed, vegetation and soil types have been done. Wind erosion sensitivity was modeled using the key factors of soil sensitivity, vegetation cover and wind erodibility as proxies. These factors were first estimated separately by factor sensitivity maps and later combined by fuzzy logic into a regional-scale wind erosion sensitivity map. Large areas were evaluated by using publicly available datasets of remotely sensed vegetation information, soil maps and meteorological data on wind speed. The resulting estimates were verified by field studies and examining the economic losses from wind erosion as compensated by the state insurance company. The spatial resolution of the resulting sensitivity map is suitable for regional applications, as identifying sensitive areas is the foundation for diverse land development control measures and implementing management activities.

SQuAd - Approach for the Spatial Quantification of the Advection influence on the balance closure of greenhouse gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuetze, C.; Barth, M.; Hehn, M.; Ziemann, A.

2016-12-01

The eddy-covariance (EC) method can provide information about turbulent fluxes of energy and greenhouse gases (GHG) accurately if all necessary corrections and conversions are applied to the measured raw data and all boundary conditions for the method are satisfied. Nevertheless and even in flat terrain, advection can occur leading to a closing gap of energy and matter balances. Without accounting for advection, annual estimates of CO2 sink strength are overestimated, because advection usually results in underestimation of nocturnal CO2 flux. Advection is produced by low-frequent exchange processes, which can occur due to the surface heterogeneity. To measure advective fluxes there is still and strongly a need for ground-based remote sensing techniques which provide the relevant GHG concentration together with wind components spatially resolved within the same voxel structure. The SQuAd-approach applies an integrated method combination of acoustic tomography and open-path optical remote sensing based on infrared spectroscopy with the aim to obtain spatially and temporally resolved information about wind components and GHG concentration. The monitoring approach focuses on the validation of the joint application of the two independent, non-intrusive methods concerning the ability to close the existent gap in GHG balance. The innovative combination of acoustic travel-time tomography (A-TOM) and open-path Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (OP-FTIR) together with atmospheric modelling will enable an upscaling and enhancement of EC measurements. OP-FTIR instrumentation has the significant advantage of real-time simultaneous measurements of line-averaged concentrations for CO2 and other GHG with high precision. A-TOM is a scalable method to remotely resolve 3D wind and temperature fields. The presentation will give an overview about the proposed method combination and results of experimental validation tests at an ICOS site (flat grassland) in Eastern Germany.

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.

A model of air-sea gas exchange incorporating the physics of the turbulent boundary layer and the properties of the sea surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soloviev, Alexander; Schluessel, Peter

The model presented contains interfacial, bubble-mediated, ocean mixed layer, and remote sensing components. The interfacial (direct) gas transfer dominates under conditions of low and—for quite soluble gases like CO2—moderate wind speeds. Due to the similarity between the gas and heat transfer, the temperature difference, ΔT, across the thermal molecular boundary layer (cool skin of the ocean) and the interfacial gas transfer coefficient, Kint are presumably interrelated. A coupled parameterization for ΔT and Kint has been derived in the context of a surface renewal model [Soloviev and Schluessel, 1994]. In addition to the Schmidt, Sc, and Prandtl, Pr, numbers, the important parameters are the surface Richardson number, Rƒ0, and the Keulegan number, Ke. The more readily available cool skin data are used to determine the coefficients that enter into both parameterizations. At high wind speeds, the Ke-number dependence is further verified with the formula for transformation of the surface wind stress to form drag and white capping, which follows from the renewal model. A further extension of the renewal model includes effects of solar radiation and rainfall. The bubble-mediated component incorporates the Merlivat et al. [1993] parameterization with the empirical coefficients estimated by Asher and Wanninkhof [1998]. The oceanic mixed layer component accounts for stratification effects on the air-sea gas exchange. Based on the example of GasEx-98, we demonstrate how the results of parameterization and modeling of the air-sea gas exchange can be extended to the global scale, using remote sensing techniques.

A comparison of selected vertical wind measurement techniques on basis of the EUCAARI IMPACT observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arabas, S.; Baehr, C.; Boquet, M.; Dufournet, Y.; Pawlowska, H.; Siebert, H.; Unal, C.

2009-04-01

The poster presents a comparison of selected methods for determination of the vertical wind in the boundary layer used during the EUCAARI IMPACT campaign that took place in May 2008 in The Netherlands. The campaign covered a monthlong intensified ground-based and airborne measurements in the vicinity of the CESAR observatory in Cabauw. Ground-based vertical wind remote sensing was carried out using the Leosphere WindCube WLS70 IR Doppler lidar, Vaisala LAP3000 radar wind-profiler and the TUDelft TARA S-band radar. In-situ airborne measurements were performed using an ultrasonic anemometer (on the ACTOS helicopter underhung platform) and a 5-hole pressure probe (on the SAFIRE ATR-42 airplane radome). Several in-situ anemometers were deployed on the 200-meter high tower of the CESAR observatory. A summary of the characteristics and principles of the considered techniques is presented. A comparison of the results obtained from different platforms depicts the capabilities of each technique and highlights the time, space and velocity resolutions.

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

Debnath, Mithu; Iungo, Giacomo Valerio; Brewer, W. Alan

During the eXperimental Planetary boundary layer Instrumentation Assessment (XPIA) campaign, which was carried out at the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory (BAO) in spring 2015, multiple-Doppler scanning strategies were carried out with scanning wind lidars and Ka-band radars. Specifically, step–stare measurements were collected simultaneously with three scanning Doppler lidars, while two scanning Ka-band radars carried out simultaneous range height indicator (RHI) scans. The XPIA experiment provided the unique opportunity to compare directly virtual-tower measurements performed simultaneously with Ka-band radars and Doppler wind lidars. Furthermore, multiple-Doppler measurements were assessed against sonic anemometer data acquired from the meteorological tower (met-tower) present at the BAOmore » site and a lidar wind profiler. As a result, this survey shows that – despite the different technologies, measurement volumes and sampling periods used for the lidar and radar measurements – a very good accuracy is achieved for both remote-sensing techniques for probing horizontal wind speed and wind direction with the virtual-tower scanning technique.« less

Use of Ocean Remote Sensing Data to Enhance Predictions with a Coupled General Circulation Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rienecker, Michele M.

1999-01-01

Surface height, sea surface temperature and surface wind observations from satellites have given a detailed time sequence of the initiation and evolution of the 1997/98 El Nino. The data have beet complementary to the subsurface TAO moored data in their spatial resolution and extent. The impact of satellite observations on seasonal prediction in the tropical Pacific using a coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model will be presented.

Potential Observing Systems for Tropical Cyclone Motion Studies.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-05-01

Relatively good coverage exists along the island chain between Taiwan and Japan. Although a number of stations occur along 10N east of the Philippines...shipboard CLASS units for use in GALE. A shipboard CLASS unit will be taking observations during the Taiwan Mesoscale Experiment (TAMEX) in May 1987. f...experiment. Another wind profiler (50 Mhz) is permanently located on the northern tip of Taiwan . Personnel of the Center for Space and Remote Sensing

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.

Comparison of evaporative fluxes from porous surfaces resolved by remotely sensed and in-situ temperature and soil moisture data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallen, B.; Trautz, A.; Smits, K. M.

2014-12-01

The estimation of evaporation has important implications in modeling climate at the regional and global scale, the hydrological cycle and estimating environmental stress on agricultural systems. In field and laboratory studies, remote sensing and in-situ techniques are used to collect thermal and soil moisture data of the soil surface and subsurface which is then used to estimate evaporative fluxes, oftentimes using the sensible heat balance method. Nonetheless, few studies exist that compare the methods due to limited data availability and the complexity of many of the techniques, making it difficult to understand flux estimates. This work compares different methods used to quantify evaporative flux based on remotely sensed and in-situ temperature and soil moisture data. A series of four laboratory experiments were performed under ambient and elevated air temperature conditions with homogeneous and heterogeneous soil configurations in a small two-dimensional soil tank interfaced with a small wind tunnel apparatus. The soil tank and wind tunnel were outfitted with a suite of sensors that measured soil temperature (surface and subsurface), air temperature, soil moisture, and tank weight. Air and soil temperature measurements were obtained using infrared thermography, heat pulse sensors and thermistors. Spatial and temporal thermal data were numerically inverted to obtain the evaporative flux. These values were then compared with rates of mass loss from direct weighing of the samples. Results demonstrate the applicability of different methods under different surface boundary conditions; no one method was deemed most applicable under every condition. Infrared thermography combined with the sensible heat balance method was best able to determine evaporative fluxes under stage 1 conditions while distributed temperature sensing combined with the sensible heat balance method best determined stage 2 evaporation. The approaches that appear most promising for determining the surface energy balance incorporates soil moisture rate of change over time and atmospheric conditions immediately above the soil surface. An understanding of the fidelity regarding predicted evaporation rates based upon stages of evaporation enables a more deliberate selection of the suite of sensors required for data collection.

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.

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...

Proceedings of the 39th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

Sessions with oral presentations include: A SPECIAL SESSION: MESSENGER at Mercury, Mars: Pingos, Polygons, and Other Puzzles, Solar Wind and Genesis: Measurements and Interpretation, Asteroids, Comets, and Small Bodies, Mars: Ice On the Ground and In the Ground, SPECIAL SESSION: Results from Kaguya (SELENE) Mission to the Moon, Outer Planet Satellites: Not Titan, Not Enceladus, SPECIAL SESSION: Lunar Science: Past, Present, and Future, Mars: North Pole, South Pole - Structure and Evolution, Refractory Inclusions, Impact Events: Modeling, Experiments, and Observations, Mars Sedimentary Processes from Victoria Crater to the Columbia Hills, Formation and Alteration of Carbonaceous Chondrites, New Achondrite GRA 06128/GRA 06129 - Origins Unknown, The Science Behind Lunar Missions, Mars Volcanics and Tectonics, From Dust to Planets (Planetary Formation and Planetesimals):When, Where, and Kaboom! Astrobiology: Biosignatures, Impacts, Habitability, Excavating a Comet, Mars Interior Dynamics to Exterior Impacts, Achondrites, Lunar Remote Sensing, Mars Aeolian Processes and Gully Formation Mechanisms, Solar Nebula Shake and Bake: Mixing and Isotopes, Lunar Geophysics, Meteorites from Mars: Shergottite and Nakhlite Invasion, Mars Fluvial Geomorphology, Chondrules and Chondrule Formation, Lunar Samples: Chronology, Geochemistry, and Petrology, Enceladus, Venus: Resurfacing and Topography (with Pancakes!), Overview of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission, Mars Sulfates, Phyllosilicates, and Their Aqueous Sources, Ordinary and Enstatite Chondrites, Impact Calibration and Effects, Comparative Planetology, Analogs: Environments and Materials, Mars: The Orbital View of Sediments and Aqueous Mineralogy, Planetary Differentiation, Titan, Presolar Grains: Still More Isotopes Out of This World, Poster sessions include: Education and Public Outreach Programs, Early Solar System and Planet Formation, Solar Wind and Genesis, Asteroids, Comets, and Small Bodies, Carbonaceous Chondrites, Chondrules and Chondrule Formation, Chondrites, Refractory Inclusions, Organics in Chondrites, Meteorites: Techniques, Experiments, and Physical Properties, MESSENGER and Mercury, Lunar Science Present: Kaguya (SELENE) Results, Lunar Remote Sensing: Basins and Mapping of Geology and Geochemistry, Lunar Science: Dust and Ice, Lunar Science: Missions and Planning, Mars: Layered, Icy, and Polygonal, Mars Stratigraphy and Sedimentology, Mars (Peri)Glacial, Mars Polar (and Vast), Mars, You are Here: Landing Sites and Imagery, Mars Volcanics and Magmas, Mars Atmosphere, Impact Events: Modeling, Experiments, and Observation, Ice is Nice: Mostly Outer Planet Satellites, Galilean Satellites, The Big Giant Planets, Astrobiology, In Situ Instrumentation, Rocket Scientist's Toolbox: Mission Science and Operations, Spacecraft Missions, Presolar Grains, Micrometeorites, Condensation-Evaporation: Stardust Ties, Comet Dust, Comparative Planetology, Planetary Differentiation, Lunar Meteorites, Nonchondritic Meteorites, Martian Meteorites, Apollo Samples and Lunar Interior, Lunar Geophysics, Lunar Science: Geophysics, Surface Science, and Extralunar Components, Mars, Remotely, Mars Orbital Data - Methods and Interpretation, Mars Tectonics and Dynamics, Mars Craters: Tiny to Humongous, Mars Sedimentary Mineralogy, Martian Gullies and Slope Streaks, Mars Fluvial Geomorphology, Mars Aeolian Processes, Mars Data and Mission,s Venus Mapping, Modeling, and Data Analysis, Titan, Icy Dwarf Satellites, Rocket Scientist's Toolbox: In Situ Analysis, Remote Sensing Approaches, Advances, and Applications, Analogs: Sulfates - Earth and Lab to Mars, Analogs: Remote Sensing and Spectroscopy, Analogs: Methods and Instruments, Analogs: Weird Places!. Print Only Early Solar System, Solar Wind, IDPs, Presolar/Solar Grains, Stardust, Comets, Asteroids, and Phobos, Venus, Mercury, Moon, Meteorites, Mars, Astrobiology, Impacts, Outer Planets, Satellites, and Rings, Support for Mission Operations, Analog Education and Public Outreach.

Solid-state coherent laser radar wind shear measuring systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huffaker, R. Milton

1992-01-01

Coherent Technologies, Inc. (CTI) was established in 1984 to engage in the development of coherent laser radar systems and subsystems with applications in atmospheric remote sensing, and in target tracking, ranging and imaging. CTI focuses its capabilities in three major areas: (1) theoretical performance and design of coherent laser radar system; (2) development of coherent laser radar systems for government agencies such as DoD and NASA; and (3) development of coherent laser radar systems for commercial markets. The topics addressed are: (1) 1.06 micron solid-state coherent laser radar system; (2) wind measurement using 1.06 micron system; and flashlamp-pumped 2.09 micron solid-state coherent laser radar system.

Ocean Remote Sensing from Chinese Spaceborne Microwave Sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, J.

2017-12-01

GF-3 (GF stands for GaoFen, which means High Resolution in Chinese) is the China's first C band multi-polarization high resolution microwave remote sensing satellite. It was successfully launched on Aug. 10, 2016 in Taiyuan satellite launch center. The synthetic aperture radar (SAR) on board GF-3 works at incidence angles ranging from 20 to 50 degree with several polarization modes including single-polarization, dual-polarization and quad-polarization. GF-3 SAR is also the world's most imaging modes SAR satellite, with 12 imaging modes consisting of some traditional ones like stripmap and scanSAR modes and some new ones like spotlight, wave and global modes. GF-3 SAR is thus a multi-functional satellite for both land and ocean observation by switching the different imaging modes. TG-2 (TG stands for TianGong, which means Heavenly Palace in Chinese) is a Chinese space laboratory which was launched on 15 Sep. 2016 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre aboard a Long March 2F rocket. The onboard Interferometric Imaging Radar Altimeter (InIRA) is a new generation radar altimeter developed by China and also the first on orbit wide swath imaging radar altimeter, which integrates interferometry, synthetic aperture, and height tracking techniques at small incidence angles and a swath of 30 km. The InIRA was switch on to acquire data during this mission on 22 September. This paper gives some preliminary results for the quantitative remote sensing of ocean winds and waves from the GF-3 SAR and the TG-2 InIRA. The quantitative analysis and ocean wave spectra retrieval have been given from the SAR imagery. The image spectra which contain ocean wave information are first estimated from image's modulation using fast Fourier transform. Then, the wave spectra are retrieved from image spectra based on Hasselmann's classical quasi-linear SAR-ocean wave mapping model and the estimation of three modulation transfer functions (MTFs) including tilt, hydrodynamic and velocity bunching modulation. The wind speed is retrieved from InIRA data using a Ku-band low incidence backscatter model (KuLMOD), which relates the backscattering coefficients to the wind speeds and incidence angles. The ocean wave spectra are retrieved linearly from image spectra which extracted first from InIRA data, using a similar procedure for GF-3 SAR data.

Fusion of mobile in situ and satellite remote sensing observations of chemical release emissions to improve disaster response

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

Leifer, Ira; Melton, Christopher; Frash, Jason

Chemical release disasters have serious consequences, disrupting ecosystems, society, and causing significant loss of life. Mitigating the destructive impacts relies on identification and mapping, monitoring, and trajectory forecasting. Improvements in sensor capabilities are enabling airborne and space-based remote sensing to support response activities. Key applications are improving transport models in complex terrain and improved disaster response. Understanding urban atmospheric transport in the Los Angeles Basin, where topographic influences on transport patterns are significant, was improved by leveraging the Aliso Canyon leak as an atmospheric tracer. Plume characterization data was collected by the AutoMObile trace Gas (AMOG) Surveyor, a commuter carmore » modified for science. Mobile surface in situ CH 4 and winds were measured by AMOG Surveyor under Santa Ana conditions to estimate an emission rate of 365±30% Gg yr -1. Vertical profiles were collected by AMOG Surveyor by leveraging local topography for vertical profiling to identify the planetary boundary layer at ~700 m. Topography significantly constrained plume dispersion by up to a factor of two. The observed plume trajectory was used to validate satellite aerosol optical depth-inferred atmospheric transport, which suggested the plume first was driven offshore, but then veered back towards land. Numerical long-range transport model predictions confirm this interpretation. Lastly, this study demonstrated a novel application of satellite aerosol remote sensing for disaster response.« less

Fusion of mobile in situ and satellite remote sensing observations of chemical release emissions to improve disaster response

DOE PAGES

Leifer, Ira; Melton, Christopher; Frash, Jason; ...

2016-09-22

Chemical release disasters have serious consequences, disrupting ecosystems, society, and causing significant loss of life. Mitigating the destructive impacts relies on identification and mapping, monitoring, and trajectory forecasting. Improvements in sensor capabilities are enabling airborne and space-based remote sensing to support response activities. Key applications are improving transport models in complex terrain and improved disaster response. Understanding urban atmospheric transport in the Los Angeles Basin, where topographic influences on transport patterns are significant, was improved by leveraging the Aliso Canyon leak as an atmospheric tracer. Plume characterization data was collected by the AutoMObile trace Gas (AMOG) Surveyor, a commuter carmore » modified for science. Mobile surface in situ CH 4 and winds were measured by AMOG Surveyor under Santa Ana conditions to estimate an emission rate of 365±30% Gg yr -1. Vertical profiles were collected by AMOG Surveyor by leveraging local topography for vertical profiling to identify the planetary boundary layer at ~700 m. Topography significantly constrained plume dispersion by up to a factor of two. The observed plume trajectory was used to validate satellite aerosol optical depth-inferred atmospheric transport, which suggested the plume first was driven offshore, but then veered back towards land. Numerical long-range transport model predictions confirm this interpretation. Lastly, this study demonstrated a novel application of satellite aerosol remote sensing for disaster response.« less

Slow Solar Wind: Observations and Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbo, L.; Ofman, L.; Antiochos, S. K.; Hansteen, V. H.; Harra, L.; Ko, Y.-K.; Lapenta, G.; Li, B.; Riley, P.; Strachan, L.;

Recent Monitoring of Suspended Sediment Patterns along Louisiana's Coastal Zone using ER-2 based MAS Data and Terra Based MODIS Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moeller, Christopher C.; Gunshor, M. M.; Menzel, W. P.; Huh, O. K.; Walker, N. D.; Rouse, L. J.

2001-01-01

The University nf Wisconsin and Louisiana State University have teamed to study the forcing of winter season cold frontal wind systems on sediment distribution patterns and geomorphology in the Louisiana coastal zone. Wind systems associated with cold fronts have been shown to model coastal circulation and resuspend sediments along the micro tidal Louisiana coast (Roberts et at. 1987, Moeller et al. 1993). Remote sensing data is being used to map and track sediment distribution patterns for various wind conditions. Suspended sediment is a building material for coastal progradation and wetlands renewal, but also restricts access to marine nursery environments and impacts oyster bed health. Transferring a suspended sediment concentration (SSC) algorithm to EOS MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS; Barnes et al. 1998) observations may enable estimates of SSC globally.

Remote sensing of thermal radiation from an aircraft - An analysis and evaluation of crop-freeze protection methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sutherland, R. A.; Hannah, H. E.; Cook, A. F.; Martsolf, J. D.

1981-01-01

Thermal images from an aircraft-mounted scanner are used to evaluate the effectiveness of crop-freeze protection devices. Data from flights made while using fuel oil heaters, a wind machine and an undercanopy irrigation system are compared. Results show that the overall protection provided by irrigation (at approximately 2 C) is comparable to the less energy-efficient heater-wind machine combination. Protection provided by the wind machine alone (at approximately 1 C) was found to decrease linearly with distance from the machine by approximately 1 C/100 m. The flights were made over a 1.5 hectare citrus grove at an altitude of 450 m with an 8-14 micron detector. General meteorological conditions during the experiments, conducted during the nighttime, were cold (at approximately -6 C) and calm with clear skies.

Surface energy balance estimates at local and regional scales using optical remote sensing from an aircraft platform and atmospheric data collected over semiarid rangelands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kustas, William P.; Moran, M.S.; Humes, K.S.; Stannard, D.I.; Pinter, P. J.; Hipps, L.E.; Swiatek, E.; Goodrich, D.C.

1994-01-01

Remotely sensed data in the visible, near-infrared, and thermal-infrared wave bands were collected from a low-flying aircraft during the Monsoon '90 field experiment. Monsoon '90 was a multidisciplinary experiment conducted in a semiarid watershed. It had as one of its objectives the quantification of hydrometeorological fluxes during the “monsoon” or wet season. The remote sensing observations along with micrometeprological and atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) data were used to compute the surface energy balance over a range of spatial scales. The procedure involved averaging multiple pixels along transects flown over the meteorological and flux (METFLUX) stations. Average values of the spectral reflectance and thermal-infrared temperatures were computed for pixels of order 10−1 to 101 km in length and were used with atmospheric data for evaluating net radiation (Rn), soil heat flux (G), and sensible (H) and latent (LE) heat fluxes at these same length scales. The model employs a single-layer resistance approach for estimating H that requires wind speed and air temperature in the ABL and a remotely sensed surface temperature. The values of Rn and G are estimated from remote sensing information together with near-surface observations of air temperature, relative humidity, and solar radiation. Finally, LE is solved as the residual term in the surface energy balance equation. Model calculations were compared to measurements from the METFLUX network for three days having different environmental conditions. Average percent differences for the three days between model and the METFLUX estimates of the local fluxes were about 5% for Rn, 20% for Gand H, and 15% for LE. Larger differences occurred during partly cloudy conditions because of errors in interpreting the remote sensing data and the higher spatial and temporal variation in the energy fluxes. Minor variations in modeled energy fluxes were observed when the pixel size representing the remote sensing inputs changed from 0.2 to 2 km. Regional scale estimates of the surface energy balance using bulk ABL properties for the model parameters and input variables and the 10-km pixel data differed from the METFLUX network averages by about 4% for Rn, 10% for G and H, and 15% for LE. Model sensitivity in calculating the turbulent fluxes H and LE to possible variations in key model parameters (i.e., the roughness lengths for heat and momentum) was found to be fairly significant. Therefore the reliability of the methods for estimating key model parameters and potential errors needs further testing over different ecosystems and environmental conditions.

The WindStar project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCandless, Samuel W.; Jones, W. Linwood; Huxtable, Barton D.; Jones, Lawrence P.

1996-03-01

The ``WindStar'' project is a cooperative, cost-sharing venture between NASA's Earth Observations Commercial Applications Program (EOCAP), directed by the Stennis Space Center (SSC), and User Systems, Incorporated (USI), a Virginia-based remote sensing technology development company. The project seeks to establish the commercial viability of using twice-a-day satellite scatterometer data to produce marine wind forecasts for commercial television weather broadcasts. The WindStar product will be an animated, two dimensional map of wind speed and direction that evolves in time from the observed ``nowcast'' every 12 hours to a projected ``forecast''. Commercial television stations in coastal areas will incorporate this video into the weather segment of their news broadcasts to advise viewers, with both commercial and recreational interests, of coastal and off-shore conditions. While contributing to improved near shore marine operations for both recreational and commercial boaters, the proposed product would also be of use to commercial fishermen, coastal shipping operations, search and rescue operations, state and local governments, the Coast Guard, and the Navy. Projected new business plans include establishing and maintaining a ``Global Wind History'' archive that can be accessed on Internet.

Observations of Near-Surface Relative Humidity in a Wind Turbine Array Boundary Layer Using an Instrumented Unmanned Aerial System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adkins, K. A.; Sescu, A.

2016-12-01

Simulation and modeling have shown that wind farms have an impact on the near-surface atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) as turbulent wakes generated by the turbines enhance vertical mixing. These changes alter downstream atmospheric properties. With a large portion of wind farms hosted within an agricultural context, changes to the environment can potentially have secondary impacts such as to the productivity of crops. With the exception of a few observational data sets that focus on the impact to near-surface temperature, little to no observational evidence exists. These few studies also lack high spatial resolution due to their use of a limited number of meteorological towers or remote sensing techniques. This study utilizes an instrumented small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) to gather in-situ field measurements from two Midwest wind farms, focusing on the impact that large utility-scale wind turbines have on relative humidity. Wind turbines are found to differentially alter the relative humidity in the downstream, spanwise and vertical directions under a variety of atmospheric stability conditions.

Assessment of virtual towers performed with scanning wind lidars and Ka-band radars during the XPIA experiment

DOE PAGES

Debnath, Mithu; Iungo, Giacomo Valerio; Brewer, W. Alan; ...

2017-03-29

During the eXperimental Planetary boundary layer Instrumentation Assessment (XPIA) campaign, which was carried out at the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory (BAO) in spring 2015, multiple-Doppler scanning strategies were carried out with scanning wind lidars and Ka-band radars. Specifically, step–stare measurements were collected simultaneously with three scanning Doppler lidars, while two scanning Ka-band radars carried out simultaneous range height indicator (RHI) scans. The XPIA experiment provided the unique opportunity to compare directly virtual-tower measurements performed simultaneously with Ka-band radars and Doppler wind lidars. Furthermore, multiple-Doppler measurements were assessed against sonic anemometer data acquired from the meteorological tower (met-tower) present at the BAOmore » site and a lidar wind profiler. As a result, this survey shows that – despite the different technologies, measurement volumes and sampling periods used for the lidar and radar measurements – a very good accuracy is achieved for both remote-sensing techniques for probing horizontal wind speed and wind direction with the virtual-tower scanning technique.« less

Monitoring vegetation dynamics in the Amazon with RapidScat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Emmerik, Tim; Steele-Dunne, Susan; Paget, Aaron C.; van de Giesen, Nick

2017-04-01

Several studies affiliated diurnal variations in radar backscatter over the Amazon [1,2] with vegetation water stress. Recent studies on tree and corn canopies [3,4] have demonstrated that during periods of low soil moisture availability, the total radar backscatter is primarily sensitive to changes in leaf water content, highlighting the potential of radar for water stress detection. The RapidScat mission (Ku-band, 13.4GHz), mounted on the International Space Station, observes the Earth in a non-sun-synchronous orbit [5]. This unique orbit allows for reconstructing diurnal cycles of radar backscatter. We hypothesize that the state of the canopy is a significant portion of the diurnal variations observed in the radar backscatter. Recent, yet inconclusive, analyses support the theory of the impact of vegetation water content on diurnal variation in RapidScat radar backscatter over the Amazon and Congo. Linking ground measurements of canopy dynamics to radar backscatter will allow further exploration of the possibilities for monitoring vegetation dynamics. Our presentation focuses of two parts. First, we reconstruct diurnal cycles of RapidScat backscatter over the Amazon, and study its variation over time. Second, we analyze the pre-dawn backscatter over time. The water content at this time of day is a measure of water stress, and might therefore be visible in the backscatter time series. References [1] Frolking, S., et al.: "Tropical forest backscatter anomaly evident in SeaWinds scatterometer morning overpass data during 2005 drought in Amazonia", Remote Sensing of Environment, 2011. [2] Jaruwatanadilok, S., and B. Stiles: "Trends and variation in Ku-band backscatter of natural targets on land observed in QuikSCAT data", IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing , 2014. [3] Steele-Dunne, S., et al.: "Using diurnal variation in backscatter to detect vegetation water stress", IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 2012. [4] van Emmerik, T., et al.: "Impact of diurnal variation in vegetation water content on radar backscatter from maize during water stress", IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 2015. [5] Paget, A., et al.: "RapidScat Diurnal Cycles Over Land", IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 2016.

Synoptic Storms in the North Atlantic in the Atmospheric Reanalysis and Scatterometer-Based Wind Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dukhovskoy, D. S.; Bourassa, M. A.

2016-12-01

The study compares and analyses the characteristics of synoptic storms in the Subpolar North Atlantic over the time period from 2000 through 2009 derived from reanalysis data sets and scatterometer-based gridded wind products. The analysis is performed for ocean 10-m winds derived from the following wind data sets: NCEP/DOE AMIP-II reanalysis (NCEPR2), NCAR/CFSR, Arctic System Reanalysis (ASR) version 1, Cross-Calibrated Multi-Platform (CCMP) wind product versions 1.1 and recently released version 2.0 prepared by the Remote Sensing Systems, and QuikSCAT. A cyclone tracking algorithm employed in this study for storm identification is based on average vorticity fields derived from the wind data. The study discusses storm characteristics such as storm counts, trajectories, intensity, integrated kinetic energy, spatial scale. Interannal variability of these characteristics in the data sets is compared. The analyses demonstrates general agreement among the wind data products on the characteristics of the storms, their spatial distribution and trajectories. On average, the NCEPR2 storms are more energetic mostly due to large spatial scales and stronger winds. There is noticeable interannual variability in the storm characteristics, yet no obvious trend in storms is observed in the data sets.

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

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

Remote sensing of low visibility over otopeni airport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buzdugan, Livius; Urlea, Denisa; Bugeac, Paul; Stefan, Sabina

2018-04-01

The paper is focused on the study of atmospheric conditions determining low vertical visibility over Henri Coanda airport. A network of ceilometers and a Sodar were used to detect fog and low level cloud layers. In our study, vertical visibility from ceilometers and acoustic reflectivity from Sodar for November 2016 were used to estimate fog depth and top of fog layers, respectively. The correlation between fog and low cloud occurrence and the wind direction and speed is also investigated.

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.

Satellite Analyses of Cirrus Cloud Properties During the FIRE Phase 2 Cirrus Intensive Field Observations over Kansas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Minnis, Patrick; Young, David F.; Heck, Patrick W.; Liou, Kuo-Nan; Takano, Yoshihide

1992-01-01

The First ISCCP (International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project) Regional Experiment (FIRE) Phase II Intensive Field Observations (IFO) were taken over southeastern Kansas between November 13 and December 7,1991, to determine cirrus cloud properties. The observations include in situ microphysical data; surface, aircraft, and satellite remote sensing; and measurements of divergence over meso- and smaller-scale areas using wind profilers. Satellite remote sensing of cloud characteristics is an essential aspect for understanding and predicting the role of clouds in climate variations. The objectives of the satellite cloud analysis during FIRE are to validate cloud property retrievals, develop advanced methods for extracting cloud information from satellite-measured radiances, and provide multiscale cloud data for cloud process studies and for verification of cloud generation models. This paper presents the initial results of cloud property analyses during FIRE-II using Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) data and NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) radiances.

Seasat-A and the commercial ocean community

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montgomery, D. R.; Wolff, P.

1977-01-01

The Seasat-A program has been initiated as a 'proof-of-concept' mission to evaluate the effectiveness of remotely sensing oceanology and related meteorological phenomena from a satellite platform in space utilizing sensors developed on previous space and aircraft test programs. The sensors include three active microwave sensors; a radar altimeter, a windfield scatterometer, and a synthetic aperture radar. A passive scanning multifrequency microwave radiometer, visual and infrared radiometer are also included. All weather, day-night measurements of sea surface temperature, surface wind speed/direction and sea state and directional wave spectra will be made. Two key programs are planned for data utilization with users during the mission. Foremost is a program with the commercial ocean community to test the utility of Seasat-A data and to begin the transfer of ocean remote sensing technology to the civil sector. A second program is a solicitation of investigations, led by NOAA, to involve the ocean science community in a series of scientific investigations.

Temporal and spatial change in coastal ecosystems using remote sensing: Example with Florida Bay, USA, emphasizing AVHRR imagery

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

Stumpf, R.P.; Frayer, M.L.

1997-06-01

Florida Bay, at the southern tip of Florida, USA, has undergone dramatic changes in recent years. Following seagrass dieoffs starting in the late 1980`s, both algal blooms and high turbidity (the latter from resuspended sediments) have been reported as more common in the Bay. Remotely sensed data, particularly from the AVHRR (advanced very high resolution radiometer), can provide information on conditions prior to the start of monitoring programs as well as provide additional spatial detail on water clarity and particulate loads in this estuary . The AVHRR record currently available to us consists of over 600 usable scenes from December,more » 1989. Comparisons with field data have provided relationships with light attenuation, total suspended solids, and other turbidity measures. The imagery shows the seasonal change in turbidity resulting from high winds associated with winter cold fronts. Over the seven-year record, areas of clear water have decreased in the north-central Bay, while expanding in the southwestern Bay.« less

Dispersal forcing of a southern California river plumes, based on field and remote sensing observations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Warrick, Jonathan A.; Mertes, Leal A.K.; Washburn, Libe; Siegel, David A.

2004-01-01

River plumes are important pathways of terrestrial materials entering the sea. In southern California, rivers are known to be the dominant source of littoral, shelf and basin sediment and coastal pollution, although a basic understanding of the dynamics of these river inputs does not exist. Here we evaluate forcing parameters of a southern California river plume using ship-based hydrographic surveys and satellite remote sensing measurements to provide the first insights of river dispersal dynamics in southern California. Our results suggest that plumes of the Santa Clara River are strongly influenced by river inertia, producing jet-like structures ~10 km offshore during annual recurrence (~two-year) flood events and ~30 km during exceptional (~10-year recurrence) floods. Upwelling-favorable winds may be strong following stormwater events and can alter dispersal pathways of thse plumes. Due to similar runoff relationships and other reported satellite observations, we hypothesize that interia-dominated dispersal may be an important characteristic of the small, mountainous rivers throughout southern California.

The Rise of GNSS Reflectometry for Earth Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zuffada, Cinzia; Li, Zhijin; Nghiem, Son V.; Lowe, Steve; Shah, Rashmi; Clarizia, Maria Paola; Cardellach, Estel

2015-01-01

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) reflectometry, i.e. GNSS-R, is a novel remote-sensing technique first published in that uses GNSS signals reflected from the Earth's surface to infer its surface properties such as sea surface height (SSH), ocean winds, sea-ice coverage, vegetation, wetlands and soil moisture, to name a few. This communication discusses the scientific value of GNSS-R to (a) furthering our understanding of ocean mesoscale circulation toward scales finer than those that existing nadir altimeters can resolve, and (b) mapping vegetated wetlands, an emerging application that might open up new avenues to map and monitor the planet's wetlands for methane emission assessments. Such applications are expected to be demonstrated by the availability of data from GEROS-ISS, an ESA experiment currently in phase A, and CyGNSS [3], a NASA mission currently in development. In particular, the paper details the expected error characteristics and the role of filtering played in the assimilation of these data to reduce the altimetric error (when averaging many measurements).

[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...

C3Winds: A Novel 3D Wind Observing System to Characterize Severe Weather Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelly, M. A.; Wu, D. L.; Yee, J. H.; Boldt, J.; Demajistre, R.; Reynolds, E.; Tripoli, G. J.; Oman, L.; Prive, N.; Heidinger, A. K.; Wanzong, S.

2015-12-01

The CubeSat Constellation Cloud Winds (C3Winds) is a NASA Earth Venture Instrument (EV-I) concept with the primary objective to resolve high-resolution 3D dynamic structures of severe wind events. Rapid evolution of severe weather events highlights the need for high-resolution mesoscale wind observations. Yet mesoscale observations of severe weather dynamics are quite rare, especially over the ocean where extratropical and tropical cyclones (ETCs and TCs) can undergo explosive development. Measuring wind velocity at the mesoscale from space remains a great challenge, but is critically needed to understand and improve prediction of severe weather and tropical cyclones. Based on compact, visible/IR imagers and a mature stereoscopic technique, C3Winds has the capability to measure high-resolution (~2 km) cloud motion vectors and cloud geometric heights accurately by tracking cloud features from two formation-flying CubeSats, separated by 5-15 minutes. Complementary to lidar wind measurements from space, C3Winds will provide high-resolution wind fields needed for detailed investigations of severe wind events in occluded ETCs, rotational structures inside TC eyewalls, and ozone injections associated with tropopause folding events. Built upon mature imaging technologies and long history of stereoscopic remote sensing, C3Winds provides an innovative, cost-effective solution to global wind observations with the potential for increased diurnal sampling via CubeSat constellation.

Remote sensing of land degradation: experiences from Latin America and the Caribbean.

PubMed

Metternicht, G; Zinck, J A; Blanco, P D; del Valle, H F

2010-01-01

Land degradation caused by deforestation, overgrazing, and inappropriate irrigation practices affects about 16% of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). This paper addresses issues related to the application of remote sensing technologies for the identification and mapping of land degradation features, with special attention to the LAC region. The contribution of remote sensing to mapping land degradation is analyzed from the compilation of a large set of research papers published between the 1980s and 2009, dealing with water and wind erosion, salinization, and changes of vegetation cover. The analysis undertaken found that Landsat series (MSS, TM, ETM+) are the most commonly used data source (49% of the papers report their use), followed by aerial photographs (39%), and microwave sensing (ERS, JERS-1, Radarsat) (27%). About 43% of the works analyzed use multi-scale, multi-sensor, multi-spectral approaches for mapping degraded areas, with a combination of visual interpretation and advanced image processing techniques. The use of more expensive hyperspectral and/or very high spatial resolution sensors like AVIRIS, Hyperion, SPOT-5, and IKONOS tends to be limited to small surface areas. The key issue of indicators that can directly or indirectly help recognize land degradation features in the visible, infrared, and microwave regions of the electromagnetic spectrum are discussed. Factors considered when selecting indicators for establishing land degradation baselines include, among others, the mapping scale, the spectral characteristics of the sensors, and the time of image acquisition. The validation methods used to assess the accuracy of maps produced with satellite data are discussed as well.

Satellite tagging, remote sensing, and autonomous vehicles reveal interactions between physiology and environment in a North Pacific top marine predator species

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pelland, N.; Sterling, J.; Springer, A.; Iverson, S.; Johnson, D.; Lea, M. A.; Bond, N. A.; Ream, R.; Lee, C.; Eriksen, C.

2016-02-01

Behavioral responses by top marine predators to oceanographic features such as eddies, river plumes, storms, and coastal topography suggest that biophysical interactions in these zones affect predators' prey, foraging behaviors, and potentially fitness. However, examining these pathways is challenged by the obstacles inherent in obtaining simultaneous observations of surface and subsurface environmental fields and predator behavior. This work describes recent publications and ongoing studies of northern fur seal (NFS) foraging ecology during their 8-month migration. Satellite-tracked movement and dive behavior in the North Pacific ocean was compared to remotely sensed data, atmospheric reanalysis, autonomous in situ ocean sampling, and animal borne temperature and salinity data. Integration of these data demonstrates how reproductive fitness, physiology, and environment shape NFS migratory patterns. Seal mass correlates with dive ability and thus larger males exploit prey aggregating at the base of the winter mixed-layer depth in the Bering Sea and interior northern North Pacific Ocean. Smaller adult females migrate to the Gulf of Alaska and California Current ecosystems - where surface wind speeds decline, mixed-layer depths shoal, and coastal production is fueled by upwelling, coastal capes, and eddies - and less commonly to the Transitional Zone Chlorophyll Front, where fronts and eddies may concentrate prey. Surface wind speed and direction influence movement behavior of all age and size classes, though to a greater degree in the smaller pups and adult females than adult males. For naïve and physiologically less-capable pups, the timing and strength of autumn winds during migratory dispersal may play a role in shaping migratory routes and the environmental conditions faced by pups along these routes. In combination with other factors such as pup condition, this may play a role in interannual variations in overwinter survivorship.

Seasonal variability of chlorophyll-a and oceanographic conditions in Sabah waters in relation to Asian monsoon--a remote sensing study.

PubMed

Abdul-Hadi, Alaa; Mansor, Shattri; Pradhan, Biswajeet; Tan, C K

2013-05-01

A study was conducted to investigate the influence of Asian monsoon on chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) content in Sabah waters and to identify the related oceanographic conditions that caused phytoplankton blooms at the eastern and western coasts of Sabah, Malaysia. A series of remote sensing measurements including surface Chl-a, sea surface temperature, sea surface height anomaly, wind speed, wind stress curl, and Ekman pumping were analyzed to study the oceanographic conditions that lead to large-scale nutrients enrichment in the surface layer. The results showed that the Chl-a content increased at the northwest coast from December to April due to strong northeasterly wind and coastal upwelling in Kota Kinabalu water. The southwest coast (Labuan water) maintained high concentrations throughout the year due to the effect of Padas River discharge during the rainy season and the changing direction of Baram River plume during the northeast monsoon (NEM). However, with the continuous supply of nutrients from the upwelling area, the high Chl-a batches were maintained at the offshore water off Labuan for a longer time during NEM. On the other side, the northeast coast illustrated a high Chl-a in Sandakan water during NEM, whereas the northern tip off Kudat did not show a pronounced change throughout the year. The southeast coast (Tawau water) was highly influenced by the direction of the surface water transport between the Sulu and Sulawesi Seas and the prevailing surface currents. The study demonstrates the presence of seasonal phytoplankton blooms in Sabah waters which will aid in forecasting the possible biological response and could further assist in marine resource managements.

Soil aggregate stability and wind erodible fraction in a semi-arid environment of White Nile State, Sudan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elhaja, Mohamed Eltom; Ibrahim, Ibrahim Saeed; Adam, Hassan Elnour; Csaplovics, Elmar

2014-11-01

One of the most important recent issues facing White Nile State, Sudan, as well as Sub Saharan Africa, is the threat of continued land degradation and desertification as a result of climatic factors and human activities. Remote sensing and satellites imageries with multi-temporal and spectral and GIS capability, plays a major role in developing a global and local operational capability for monitoring land degradation and desertification in dry lands, as well as in White Nile State. The process of desertification in form of sand encroachment in White Nile State has increased rapidly, and much effort has been devoted to define and study its causes and impacts. This study depicts the capability afforded by remote sensing and GIS to analyze and map the aggregate stability as indicator for the ability of soil to wind erosion process in White Nile State by using Geo-statistical techniques. Cloud-free subset Landsat; Enhance Thematic Mapper plus (ETM +) scenes covering the study area dated 2008 was selected in order to identify the different features covering the study area as well as to make the soil sampling map. Wet-sieving method was applied to determine the aggregate stability. The geo-statistical methods in EARDAS 9.1 software was used for mapping the aggregate stability. The results showed that the percentage of aggregate stability ranged from (0 to 61%) in the study area, which emphasized the phenomena of sand encroachment from the western part (North Kordofan) to the eastern part (White Nile State), following the wind direction. The study comes out with some valuable recommendations and comments, which could contribute positively in reducing sand encroachments

Literature relevant to remote sensing of water quality

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Middleton, E. M.; Marcell, R. F.

1983-01-01

References relevant to remote sensing of water quality were compiled, organized, and cross-referenced. The following general categories were included: (1) optical properties and measurement of water characteristics; (2) interpretation of water characteristics by remote sensing, including color, transparency, suspended or dissolved inorganic matter, biological materials, and temperature; (3) application of remote sensing for water quality monitoring; (4) application of remote sensing according to water body type; and (5) manipulation, processing and interpretation of remote sensing digital water data.

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.

Mountainous Ecosystem Sensor Array (MESA): a mesh sensor network for climate change research in remote mountainous environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, P. W.; Neal, D.; Frome, D.; Kavanagh, K.; Davis, A.; Gessler, P. E.; Hess, H.; Holden, Z. A.; Link, T. E.; Newingham, B. A.; Smith, A. M.

2013-12-01

Developing sensor networks robust enough to perform unattended in the world's remote regions is critical since these regions serve as important benchmarks that lack anthropogenic influence. Paradoxically, the factors that make these remote, natural sites challenging for sensor networking are often what make them indispensable for climate change research. The MESA (Mountainous Ecosystem Sensor Array) project has faced these challenges and developed a wireless mesh sensor network across a 660 m topoclimatic gradient in a wilderness area in central Idaho. This sensor array uses advances in sensing, networking, and power supply technologies to provide near real-time synchronized data covering a suite of biophysical parameters used in ecosystem process models. The 76 sensors in the network monitor atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, humidity, air and soil temperature, soil water content, precipitation, incoming and outgoing shortwave and longwave radiation, snow depth, wind speed and direction, and leaf wetness at synchronized time intervals ranging from two minutes to two hours and spatial scales from a few meters to two kilometers. We present our novel methods of placing sensors and network nodes above, below, and throughout the forest canopy without using meteorological towers. In addition, we explain our decision to use different forms of power (wind and solar) and the equipment we use to control and integrate power harvesting. Further, we describe our use of the network to sense and quantify its own power use. Using examples of environmental data from the project, we discuss how these data may be used to increase our understanding of the effects of climate change on ecosystem processes in mountainous environments. MESA sensor locations across a 700 m topoclimatic gradient at the University of Idaho Taylor Wilderness Research Station.

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,

Wind Induced Sediment Resuspension in a Microtidal Estuary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Booth, J. G.; Miller, R. L.; McKee, B. A.; Leathers, R. A.

1999-01-01

Bottom sediment resuspension frequency, duration and extent (% of bottom sediments affected) were characterized for the fifteen month period from September 1995 to January 1997 for the Barataria Basin, LA. An empirical model of sediment resuspension as a function of wind speed, direction, fetch and water depth was derived from wave theory. Water column turbidity was examined by processing remotely sensed radiance information from visible and near-IR AVHRR imagery. Based on model predictions, wind induced resuspension occurred during all seasons of this study. Seasonal characteristics for resuspension reveal that late fall, winter and early spring are the periods of most frequent and intense resuspension. Model predictions of the critical wind speed required to induce resuspension indicate that winds of 4 m/s (averaged over all wind directions resuspend approximately 50% of bottom sediments in the water bodies examined. Winds of this magnitude (4 m/s) occurred for 80% of the time during the late fall, winter and early spring and for approximately 30% of the time during the summer. More than 50% of the bottom sedimets are resuspended throughout the year, indicating the importance of resuspension as a process affecting sediment and biogeochemical fluxes in the Barataria Basin.

Determining suitability of Large Aperture Scintillometer for validating remote sensing based evapotranspiration maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paul, G.; Gowda, P. H.; Howell, T. A.; Basu, S.; Colaizzi, P. D.; Marek, T.

2013-12-01

Scintillation method is a relatively new technique for measuring the sensible heat and water fluxes over land surfaces. Path integrating capabilities of scintillometer over heterogeneous landscapes make it a potential tool for comparing the energy fluxes derived from remote sensing based energy balance algorithms. For this reason, scintillometer-derived evapotranspiration (ET) fluxes are being used to evaluate remote sensing based energy balance algorithms for their ability to estimate ET fluxes. However, LAS' (Large Aperture Scintillometer) ability to derive ET fluxes is not thoroughly tested. The objective of this study was to evaluate LAS- and Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS)-derived fluxes against lysimetric data to determine LAS' suitability for validating remote sensing based evapotranspiration (ET) maps. The study was conducted during the Bushland Evapotranspiration and Agricultural Remote sensing EXperiment - 2008 (BEAREX-08) at the USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory (CPRL), Bushland, Texas. SEBS was coded in a GIS environment to retrieve ET fluxes from the high resolution imageries acquired using airborne multispectral sensors. The CPRL has four large weighing lysimeters (3 m long x 3 m wide x 2.4 m deep), each located in the middle of approximately 5 ha fields, arranged in a block pattern. The two lysimeter fields located on the east (NE and SE) were managed under irrigated conditions, and the other two lysimeters on the west (NW and SW) were under dryland management. Each lysimeter field was equipped with an automated weather station that provided measurements for net radiation (Rn), Ts, soil heat flux (Go), Ta, relative humidity, and wind speed. During BEAREX08, the NE and SE fields were planted to cotton on May 21, and the NW and SW dryland lysimeters fields were planted to cotton on June 5. One LAS each was deployed across two large dryland lysimeter fields (NW and SW) and two large irrigated lysimeter fields (NE and SE). The structural parameter of refractive index of air was measured at 1-min interval and averaged at 15-min, and synchronized with weather station. The source area (footprint) of the surface energy fluxes were computed using a footprint model. ET fluxes were derived using LAS-estimated H as a residual from the energy balance equation. Comparison of SEBS- and LAS-derived ET fluxes were made against lysimetric data and performance of each method was discussed to determine the suitability of LAS for evaluating accuracy of remote sensing based ET maps.

[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.

Sensitivity of Global Sea-Air CO2 Flux to Gas Transfer Algorithms, Climatological Wind Speeds, and Variability of Sea Surface Temperature and Salinity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McClain, Charles R.; Signorini, Sergio

2002-01-01

Sensitivity analyses of sea-air CO2 flux to gas transfer algorithms, climatological wind speeds, sea surface temperatures (SST) and salinity (SSS) were conducted for the global oceans and selected regional domains. Large uncertainties in the global sea-air flux estimates are identified due to different gas transfer algorithms, global climatological wind speeds, and seasonal SST and SSS data. The global sea-air flux ranges from -0.57 to -2.27 Gt/yr, depending on the combination of gas transfer algorithms and global climatological wind speeds used. Different combinations of SST and SSS global fields resulted in changes as large as 35% on the oceans global sea-air flux. An error as small as plus or minus 0.2 in SSS translates into a plus or minus 43% deviation on the mean global CO2 flux. This result emphasizes the need for highly accurate satellite SSS observations for the development of remote sensing sea-air flux algorithms.

Objective sea level pressure analysis for sparse data areas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Druyan, L. M.

1972-01-01

A computer procedure was used to analyze the pressure distribution over the North Pacific Ocean for eleven synoptic times in February, 1967. Independent knowledge of the central pressures of lows is shown to reduce the analysis errors for very sparse data coverage. The application of planned remote sensing of sea-level wind speeds is shown to make a significant contribution to the quality of the analysis especially in the high gradient mid-latitudes and for sparse coverage of conventional observations (such as over Southern Hemisphere oceans). Uniform distribution of the available observations of sea-level pressure and wind velocity yields results far superior to those derived from a random distribution. A generalization of the results indicates that the average lower limit for analysis errors is between 2 and 2.5 mb based on the perfect specification of the magnitude of the sea-level pressure gradient from a known verification analysis. A less than perfect specification will derive from wind-pressure relationships applied to satellite observed wind speeds.

Scatterometer capabilities in remotely sensing geophysical parameters over the ocean: The status and the possibilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, R. A.

1984-01-01

Extensive comparison between surface measurements and satellite Scatt signal and predicted winds show successful wind and weather analysis comparable with conventional weather service analyses. However, in regions often of the most interest, e.g., fronts and local storms, inadequacies in the latter fields leaves an inability to establish the satellite sensor capabilities. Thus, comparisons must be made between wind detecting measurements and other satellite measurements of clouds, moisture, waves or any other parameter which responds to sharp gradients in the wind. At least for the windfields and the derived surface pressure field analysis, occasional surface measurements are required to anchor and monitor the satellite analyses. Their averaging times must be made compatible with the satellite sensor measurement. Careful attention must be paid to the complex fields which contain many scales of turbulence and coherent structures affecting the averaging process. The satellite microwave system is capable of replacing the conventional point observation/numerical analysis for the ocean weather.

Line-averaging measurement methods to estimate the gap in the CO2 balance closure - possibilities, challenges, and uncertainties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ziemann, Astrid; Starke, Manuela; Schütze, Claudia

2017-11-01

An imbalance of surface energy fluxes using the eddy covariance (EC) method is observed in global measurement networks although all necessary corrections and conversions are applied to the raw data. Mainly during nighttime, advection can occur, resulting in a closing gap that consequently should also affect the CO2 balances. There is the crucial need for representative concentration and wind data to measure advective fluxes. Ground-based remote sensing techniques are an ideal tool as they provide the spatially representative CO2 concentration together with wind components within the same voxel structure. For this purpose, the presented SQuAd (Spatially resolved Quantification of the Advection influence on the balance closure of greenhouse gases) approach applies an integrated method combination of acoustic and optical remote sensing. The innovative combination of acoustic travel-time tomography (A-TOM) and open-path Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (OP-FTIR) will enable an upscaling and enhancement of EC measurements. OP-FTIR instrumentation offers the significant advantage of real-time simultaneous measurements of line-averaged concentrations for CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). A-TOM is a scalable method to remotely resolve 3-D wind and temperature fields. The paper will give an overview about the proposed SQuAd approach and first results of experimental tests at the FLUXNET site Grillenburg in Germany. Preliminary results of the comprehensive experiments reveal a mean nighttime horizontal advection of CO2 of about 10 µmol m-2 s-1 estimated by the spatially integrating and representative SQuAd method. Additionally, uncertainties in determining CO2 concentrations using passive OP-FTIR and wind speed applying A-TOM are systematically quantified. The maximum uncertainty for CO2 concentration was estimated due to environmental parameters, instrumental characteristics, and retrieval procedure with a total amount of approximately 30 % for a single measurement. Instantaneous wind components can be derived with a maximum uncertainty of 0.3 m s-1 depending on sampling, signal analysis, and environmental influences on sound propagation. Averaging over a period of 30 min, the standard error of the mean values can be decreased by a factor of at least 0.5 for OP-FTIR and 0.1 for A-TOM depending on the required spatial resolution. The presented validation of the joint application of the two independent, nonintrusive methods is in the focus of attention concerning their ability to quantify advective fluxes.

Investigation of polar mesocyclones in Arctic Ocean using COSMO-CLM and WRF numerical models and remote sensing data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varentsov, Mikhail; Verezemskaya, Polina; Baranyuk, Anastasia; Zabolotskikh, Elizaveta; Repina, Irina

2015-04-01

Polar lows (PL), high latitude marine mesoscale cyclones, are an enigmatic atmospheric phenomenon, which could result in windstorm damage of shipping and infrastructure in high latitudes. Because of their small spatial scales, short life times and their tendency to develop in remote data sparse regions (Zahn, Strorch, 2008), our knowledge of their behavior and climatology lags behind that of synoptic-scale cyclones. In case of continuing global warming (IPCC, 2013) and prospects of the intensification of economic activity and marine traffic in Arctic region, the problem of relevant simulation of this phenomenon by numerical models of the atmosphere, which could be used for weather and climate prediction, is especially important. The focus of this paper is researching the ability to simulate polar lows by two modern nonhydrostatic mesoscale numerical models, driven by realistic lateral boundary conditions from ERA-Interim reanalysis: regional climate model COSMO-CLM (Böhm et. al., 2009) and weather prediction and research model (WRF). Fields of wind, pressure and cloudiness, simulated by models, were compared with remote sensing data and ground meteorological observations for several cases, when polar lows were observed, in Norwegian, Kara and Laptev seas. Several types of satellite data were used: atmospheric water vapor, cloud liquid water content and surface wind fields were resampled by examining AMSR-E and AMSR-2 microwave radiometer data (MODIS Aqua, GCOM-W1), and wind fields were additionally extracted from QuickSCAT scatterometer. Infrared and visible pictures of cloud cover were obtained from MODIS (Aqua). Completed comparison shown that COSMO-CLM and WRF models could successfully reproduce evolution of polar lows and their most important characteristics such as size and wind speed in short experiments with WRF model and longer (up to half-year) experiments with COSMO-CLM model. Improvement of the quality of polar lows reproduction by these models in relation to source reanalysis fields were investigated. References: 1. Böhm U. et al. CLM - the climate version of LM: Brief description and long-term applications [Journal] // COSMO Newsletter. - 2006. - Vol. 6. 2. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2013 (AR5) Rep.,Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. 3. Zahn, M., and H. von Storch (2008), A long-term climatology of North Atlantic polar lows, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L22702

WIRE: Weather Intelligence for Renewable Energies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heimo, A.; Cattin, R.; Calpini, B.

2010-09-01

Renewable energies such as wind and solar energy will play an important, even decisive role in order to mitigate and adapt to the projected dramatic consequences to our society and environment due to climate change. Due to shrinking fossil resources, the transition to more and more renewable energy shares is unavoidable. But, as wind and solar energy are strongly dependent on highly variable weather processes, increased penetration rates will also lead to strong fluctuations in the electricity grid which need to be balanced. Proper and specific forecasting of ‘energy weather' is a key component for this. Therefore, it is today appropriate to scientifically address the requirements to provide the best possible specific weather information for forecasting the energy production of wind and solar power plants within the next minutes up to several days. Towards such aims, Weather Intelligence will first include developing dedicated post-processing algorithms coupled with weather prediction models and with past and/or online measurement data especially remote sensing observations. Second, it will contribute to investigate the difficult relationship between the highly intermittent weather dependent power production and concurrent capacities such as transport and distribution of this energy to the end users. Selecting, resp. developing surface-based and satellite remote sensing techniques well adapted to supply relevant information to the specific post-processing algorithms for solar and wind energy production short-term forecasts is a major task with big potential. It will lead to improved energy forecasts and help to increase the efficiency of the renewable energy productions while contributing to improve the management and presumably the design of the energy grids. The second goal will raise new challenges as this will require first from the energy producers and distributors definitions of the requested input data and new technologies dedicated to the management of power plants and electricity grids and second from the meteorological measurement community to deliver suitable, short term high quality forecasts to fulfill these requests with emphasis on highly variable weather conditions and spatially distributed energy productions often located in complex terrain. This topic has been submitted for a new COST Action under the title "Short-Term High Resolution Wind and Solar Energy Production Forecasts".

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

Newman, Jennifer F.; Clifton, Andrew

Currently, cup anemometers on meteorological towers are used to measure wind speeds and turbulence intensity to make decisions about wind turbine class and site suitability; however, as modern turbine hub heights increase and wind energy expands to complex and remote sites, it becomes more difficult and costly to install meteorological towers at potential sites. As a result, remote-sensing devices (e.g., lidars) are now commonly used by wind farm managers and researchers to estimate the flow field at heights spanned by a turbine. Although lidars can accurately estimate mean wind speeds and wind directions, there is still a large amount ofmore » uncertainty surrounding the measurement of turbulence using these devices. Errors in lidar turbulence estimates are caused by a variety of factors, including instrument noise, volume averaging, and variance contamination, in which the magnitude of these factors is highly dependent on measurement height and atmospheric stability. As turbulence has a large impact on wind power production, errors in turbulence measurements will translate into errors in wind power prediction. The impact of using lidars rather than cup anemometers for wind power prediction must be understood if lidars are to be considered a viable alternative to cup anemometers.In this poster, the sensitivity of power prediction error to typical lidar turbulence measurement errors is assessed. Turbulence estimates from a vertically profiling WINDCUBE v2 lidar are compared to high-resolution sonic anemometer measurements at field sites in Oklahoma and Colorado to determine the degree of lidar turbulence error that can be expected under different atmospheric conditions. These errors are then incorporated into a power prediction model to estimate the sensitivity of power prediction error to turbulence measurement error. Power prediction models, including the standard binning method and a random forest method, were developed using data from the aeroelastic simulator FAST for a 1.5 MW turbine. The impact of lidar turbulence error on the predicted power from these different models is examined to determine the degree of turbulence measurement accuracy needed for accurate power prediction.« less

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.

Control of Low Reynolds Number Flows with Fluid Structure Interactions

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-02-02

remote sensing and mineral exploration. MAVs have similar dimensions to birds and insects, and similar Reynolds numbers. Mini Unmanned Air Vehicles...that we are interested in are very different from biologically inspired flows, we note that the flexibility of the wings in insects and birds has...the rigid wing can be taken as: λ = 639.7. For sAR = 1.5, one rigid (t = 1.5 mm) and four flexible (t = 1 mm) wings are considered. The rigid wind

Infrared lidars for atmospheric remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Menzies, Robert T.

1991-01-01

Lidars using pulsed TEA-CO2 transmitters and coherent receivers have been developed at JPL and used to measure atmospheric backscatter and extinction at wavelengths in the 9-11 micron region. The global winds measurement application of coherent Doppler lidar requires intensive study of the global climatology of aerosol and cloud backscatter and extinction. An airborne lidar was recently flown on the NASA DC-8 research aircraft for operation during two Pacific circumnavigation missions. The instrument characteristics, as well as representative measurement results, are discussed.

Analysis of coastal upwelling and the production of a biomass

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howe, J. T.

1979-01-01

The coastal upwelling index derived from weather data is input to a set of coupled differential equations that describe the production of a biomass. The curl of the wind stress vector is discussed in the context of the physical extent of the upwelling structure. An analogy between temperature and biomass concentration in the upwelled coastal water is derived and the relationship is quantified. The use of remote satellite or airborne sensing to obtain biomass rate production coefficients is considered.

Progress toward a circulation atlas for application to coastal water siting problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Munday, J. C., Jr.; Gordon, H. H.

1978-01-01

Circulation data needed to resolve coastal siting problems are assembled from historical hydrographic and remote sensing studies in the form of a Circulation Atlas. Empirical data are used instead of numerical model simulations to achieve fine resolution and include fronts and convergence zones. Eulerian and Langrangian data are collected, transformed, and combined into trajectory maps and current vector maps as a function of tidal phase and wind vector. Initial Atlas development is centered on the Elizabeth River, Hampton Roads, Virgina.

Manometer Boards below the 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel

NASA Image and Video Library

1951-02-21

Analysts at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory take data readings from rows of manometers in the basement of the 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel. Manometers were mercury-filled glass tubes that indicated different pressure levels in the test section. Manometers look and function very similarly to thermometers. Pressure sensing instruments were installed on the test article inside the wind tunnel or other test facility. Each test could have dozens of such instruments installed and connected to a remotely located manometer tube. The mercury inside the manometer rose and fell with the pressure levels. The dark mercury can be seen at different levels within the tubes. Since the pressure readings were dynamic, it was necessary to note the levels at given points during the test. This was done using both female computers and photography. A camera is seen on a stand to the right in this photograph.

Thermal advection and stratification effects on surface winds and the low level meridional mass transport

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levy, Gad; Tiu, Felice S.

1990-01-01

Statistical tests are performed on the Seasat scatterometer observations to examine if and to what degree thermal advection and stratification effects manifest themselves in these remotely sensed measurements of mean wind and wind stress over the ocean. On the basis of a two layer baroclinic boundary layer model which is presented, it is shown that the thermal advection and stratification of the entire boundary layer as well as the geostrophic forcing influence the modeled near surface wind and wind stress profiles. Evidence of diurnal variation in the stratification under barotropic conditions is found in the data, with the daytime marine boundary layer being more convective than its nighttime counterpart. The temporal and spacial sampling pattern of the satellite makes it impossible to recover the full diurnal cycle, however. The observed effects of the thermal advection are shown to be statistically significant during the day (and presumed more convective) hours, causing a systematic increase in the poleward transport of mass and heat. The statistical results are in a qualitative agreement with the model simulations and cannot be reproduced in randomized control tests.

Solar Wind Interaction and Crustal Field Influences on Mars' Upper Ionosphere: MAVEN Observations Compared to Model Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luhmann, J. G.; Alvarez, K.; Curry, S.; Dong, C.; Ma, Y.; Bougher, S. W.; Benna, M.; Elrod, M. K.; Mahaffy, P. R.; Withers, P.; Girazian, Z.; Connerney, J. E. P.; Brain, D.; Jakosky, B. M.

2016-12-01

Since the two Viking Landers, progress on improving our global knowledge of the Martian ionosphere's characteristics has been limited by the available instrumentation and sampling geometries. In particular, while remote sensing and the lower energy plasma spectrometer observations on missions including MGS and MEX provided insights on the effects of the crustal magnetic fields of Mars and the solar wind interaction, these measurements did not allow the broader thermal ion surveys necessary to test our current understanding of the region between the exobase at 200 km altitude and the solar wind interaction boundary. In this study we use the MAVEN NGIMS thermal ion mass spectrometer observations from the prime mission year 2015 to construct some statistical pictures of the increasingly collisionless region of the ionosphere between 200 and 500 km where crustal field and solar wind interaction effects should begin to dominate its behavior. Comparisons with models of the solar wind interaction with Mars provide important global context for these observations, including the roles of system diversity associated with changing crustal field and interplanetary field orientations.

The temperature structure, mass, and energy flow in the corona and inner solar wind

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Withbroe, George L.

1988-01-01

Remote-sensing and in situ data are used to constrain a radiative energy balance model in order to study the radial variations of coronal temperatures, densities, and outflow speeds in several types of coronal holes and in an unstructured quiet region of the corona. A one-fluid solar wind model is used which takes into account the effects of radiative and inward conductive losses in the low corona and the chromospheric-coronal transition region. The results show that the total nonradiative energy input in magnetically open coronal regions is 5 + or - 10 to the 5th ergs/sq cm, and that most of the energy heating the coronal plasma is dissipated within 2 solar radii of the solar surface.

Interannual variation of the South China Sea circulation during winter: intensified in the southern basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zu, Tingting; Xue, Huijie; Wang, Dongxiao; Geng, Bingxu; Zeng, Lili; Liu, Qinyan; Chen, Ju; He, Yunkai

2018-05-01

Surface geostrophic current derived from altimetry remote sensing data, and current profiles observed from in-situ Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) mooring in the northern South China Sea (NSCS) and southern South China Sea (SSCS) are utilized to study the kinetic and energetic interannual variability of the circulation in the South China Sea (SCS) during winter. Results reveal a more significant interannual variation of the circulation and water mass properties in the SSCS than that in the NSCS. Composite ananlysis shows a significantly reduced western boundary current (WBC) and a closed cyclonic eddy in the SSCS at the mature phase of El Niño event, but a strong WBC and an unclosed cyclonic circulation in winter at normal or La Niña years. The SST is warmer while the subsurface water is colder and fresher in the mature phase of El Niño event than that in the normal or La Niña years in the SSCS. Numerical experiments and energy analysis suggest that both local and remote wind stress change are important for the interannual variation in the SSCS, remote wind forcing and Kuroshio intrusion affect the circulation and water mass properties in the SSCS through WBC advection.

Modern fibre-optic coherent lidars for remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hill, Chris

2015-10-01

This paper surveys some growth areas in optical sensing that exploit near-IR coherent laser sources and fibreoptic hardware from the telecoms industry. Advances in component availability and performance are promising benefits in several military and commercial applications. Previous work has emphasised Doppler wind speed measurements and wind / turbulence profiling for air safety, with recent sharp increases in numbers of lidar units sold and installed, and with wider recognition that different lidar / radar wavebands can and should complement each other. These advances are also enabling fields such as microDoppler measurement of sub-wavelength vibrations and acoustic waves, including non-lineof- sight acoustic sensing in challenging environments. To shed light on these different applications we review some fundamentals of coherent detection, measurement probe volume, and parameter estimation - starting with familiar similarities and differences between "radar" and "laser radar". The consequences of changing the operating wavelength by three or four orders of magnitude - from millimetric or centimetric radar to a typical fibre-optic lidar working near 1.5 μm - need regular review, partly because of continuing advances in telecoms technology and computing. Modern fibre-optic lidars tend to be less complicated, more reliable, and cheaper than their predecessors; and they more closely obey the textbook principles of easily adjusted and aligned Gaussian beams. The behaviours of noises and signals, and the appropriate processing strategies, are as expected different for the different wavelengths and applications. For example, the effective probe volumes are easily varied (e.g. by translating a fibre facet) through six or eight orders of magnitude; as the average number of contributing scatterers varies, from <<1 through ~1 to >>1, we should review any assumptions about "many" scatterers and Gaussian statistics. Finally, some much older but still relevant scientific work (by A G Bell, E H Armstrong and their colleagues) is recalled, in the context of remote sensing of acoustic vibrations.

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.

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 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 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.

CubeSat Constellation Cloud Winds(C3Winds) A New Wind Observing System to Study Mesoscale Cloud Dynamics and Processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, D. L.; Kelly, M.A.; Yee, J.-H.; Boldt, J.; Demajistre, R.; Reynolds, E. L.; Tripoli, G. J.; Oman, L. D.; Prive, N.; Heidinger, A. K.;

Remote sensing of methane with OSAS-lidar on the 2ν3 band Q-branch: Experimental proof

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galtier, Sandrine; Anselmo, Christophe; Welschinger, Jean-Yves; Sivignon, J. F.; Cariou, Jean-Pierre; Miffre, Alain; Rairoux, Patrick

2018-06-01

Optical sensors based on absorption spectroscopy play a central role in the detection and monitoring of atmospheric trace gases. We here present for the first time the experimental demonstration of OSAS-Lidar on the remote sensing of CH4 in the atmosphere. This new methodology, the OSAS-Lidar, couples the Optical Similitude Absorption Spectroscopy (OSAS) methodology with a light detection and ranging device. It is based on the differential absorption of spectrally integrated signals following Beer Lambert-Bouguer law, which are range-resolved. Its novelty originates from the use of broadband laser spectroscopy and from the mathematical approach used to retrieve the trace gas concentration. We previously applied the OSAS methodology in laboratory on the 2ν3 methane absorption band, centered at the 1665 nm wavelength and demonstrated that the OSAS-methodology is almost independent from atmospheric temperature and pressure. In this paper, we achieve an OSAS-Lidar device capable of observing large concentrations of CH4 released from a methane source directly into the atmosphere. Comparison with a standard in-situ measurement device shows that the path-integrated concentrations retrieved from OSAS-Lidar methodology exhibit sufficient sensitivity (2 000 ppm m) and observational time resolution (1 s) to remotely sense methane leaks in the atmosphere. The coupling of OSAS-lidar with a wind measurement device opens the way to monitor time-resolved methane flux emissions, which is important in regards to future climate mitigation involving regional reduction of CH4 flux emissions.

Damping of surface waves due to oil emulsions in application to ocean remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sergievskaya, I.; Ermakov, S.; Lazareva, T.; Lavrova, O.

2017-10-01

Applications of different radar and optical methods for detection of oil pollutions based on the effect of damping of short wind waves by surface films have been extensively studied last decades. The main problem here is poor knowledge of physical characteristics of oil films, in particular, emulsified oil layers (EOL). The latter are ranged up to 70% of all pollutants. Physical characteristics of EOL which are responsible for wave damping and respectively for possibilities of their remote sensing depend on conditions of emulsification processes, e.g., mixing due to wave breaking, on percentage of water in the oil, etc. and are not well studied by now. In this paper results of laboratory studies of damping of gravity-capillary waves due to EOL on water are presented and compared to oil layers (OL). A laboratory method used previously for monomolecular films and OL, and based on measuring the damping coefficient and wavelength of parametrically generated standing waves has been applied for determination of EOL characteristics. Investigations of characteristics of crude oil, oil emulsions and crude OL and EOL have been carried out in a wide range of surface wave frequencies (from 10 to 25 Hz) and OL and EOL film thickness (from hundredths of millimeter to a few millimeters. The selected frequency range corresponds to Bragg waves for microwave, X- to Ka-band radars typically used for ocean remote sensing. An effect of enhanced wave damping due to EOL compared to non emulsified crude OL is revealed.

A satellite constellation optimization for a regional GNSS remote sensing mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gavili Kilaneh, Narin; Mashhadi Hossainali, Masoud

2017-04-01

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

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.

Wind Sensing and Modeling | Grid Modernization | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Simulation at the turbine, wind plant, and regional scales for resource prospecting, resource assessment Sensing and Modeling Wind Sensing and Modeling NREL's wind sensing and modeling work supports the deployment of wind-based generation technologies for all stages of a plant's life, from resource estimates to

SUSI 62 A Robust and Safe Parachute Uav with Long Flight Time and Good Payload

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thamm, H. P.

2011-09-01

In many research areas in the geo-sciences (erosion, land use, land cover change, etc.) or applications (e.g. forest management, mining, land management etc.) there is a demand for remote sensing images of a very high spatial and temporal resolution. Due to the high costs of classic aerial photo campaigns, the use of a UAV is a promising option for obtaining the desired remote sensed information at the time it is needed. However, the UAV must be easy to operate, safe, robust and should have a high payload and long flight time. For that purpose, the parachute UAV SUSI 62 was developed. It consists of a steel frame with a powerful 62 cm3 2- stroke engine and a parachute wing. The frame can be easily disassembled for transportation or to replace parts. On the frame there is a gimbal mounted sensor carrier where different sensors, standard SLR cameras and/or multi-spectral and thermal sensors can be mounted. Due to the design of the parachute, the SUSI 62 is very easy to control. Two different parachute sizes are available for different wind speed conditions. The SUSI 62 has a payload of up to 8 kg providing options to use different sensors at the same time or to extend flight duration. The SUSI 62 needs a runway of between 10 m and 50 m, depending on the wind conditions. The maximum flight speed is approximately 50 km/h. It can be operated in a wind speed of up to 6 m/s. The design of the system utilising a parachute UAV makes it comparatively safe as a failure of the electronics or the remote control only results in the UAV coming to the ground at a slow speed. The video signal from the camera, the GPS coordinates and other flight parameters are transmitted to the ground station in real time. An autopilot is available, which guarantees that the area of investigation is covered at the desired resolution and overlap. The robustly designed SUSI 62 has been used successfully in Europe, Africa and Australia for scientific projects and also for agricultural, forestry and industrial applications.

The impact of in-canopy wind profile formulations on heat flux estimation in an open orchard using the remote sensing-based two-source model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cammalleri, C.; Anderson, M. C.; Ciraolo, G.; Durso, G.; Kustas, W. P.; La Loggia, G.; Minacapilli, M.

2010-12-01

For open orchard and vineyard canopies containing significant fractions of exposed soil (>50%), typical of Mediterranean agricultural regions, the energy balance of the vegetation elements is strongly influenced by heat exchange with the bare soil/substrate. For these agricultural systems a "two-source" approach, where radiation and turbulent exchange between the soil and canopy elements are explicitly modelled, appears to be the only suitable methodology for reliably assessing energy fluxes. In strongly clumped canopies, the effective wind speed profile inside and below the canopy layer can strongly influence the partitioning of energy fluxes between the soil and vegetation components. To assess the impact of in-canopy wind profile on model flux estimates, an analysis of three different formulations is presented, including algorithms from Goudriaan (1977), Massman (1987) and Lalic et al. (2003). The in-canopy wind profile formulations are applied to the thermal-based two-source energy balance (TSEB) model developed by Norman et al. (1995) and modified by Kustas and Norman (1999). High resolution airborne remote sensing images, collected over an agricultural area located in the western part of Sicily (Italy) comprised primarily of vineyards, olive and citrus orchards, are used to derive all the input parameters needed to apply the TSEB. The images were acquired from June to October 2008 and include a relatively wide range of meteorological and soil moisture conditions. A preliminary sensitivity analysis of the three wind profile algorithms highlights the dependence of wind speed just above the soil/substrate to leaf area index and canopy height over the typical range of canopy properties encountered in these agricultural areas. It is found that differences among the models in wind just above the soil surface are most significant under sparse and medium fractional cover conditions (15-50%). The TSEB model heat flux estimates are compared with micro-meteorological measurements from a small aperture scintillometer and an eddy covariance tower collected over an olive orchard characterized by moderate fractional vegetation cover (≍35%) and relatively tall crop (≍3.5 m). TSEB fluxes for the 7 image acquisition dates generated using both the Massman and Goudriaan in-canopy wind profile formulations give close agreement with measured fluxes, while the Lalic et al. equations yield poor results. The Massman wind profile scheme slightly outperforms that of Goudriaan, but it requires an additional parameter accounting for the roughness sub-layer of the underlying vegetative surface. The analysis also suggests that within-canopy wind profile model discrepancies become important, in terms of impact on modelled sensible heat flux, only for sparse canopies with moderate vegetation coverage.

High-resolution NO2 remote sensing from the Airborne Prism EXperiment (APEX) imaging spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popp, C.; Brunner, D.; Damm, A.; Van Roozendael, M.; Fayt, C.; Buchmann, B.

2012-09-01

We present and evaluate the retrieval of high spatial resolution maps of NO2 vertical column densities (VCD) from the Airborne Prism EXperiment (APEX) imaging spectrometer. APEX is a novel instrument providing airborne measurements of unique spectral and spatial resolution and coverage as well as high signal stability. In this study, we use spectrometer data acquired over Zurich, Switzerland, in the morning and late afternoon during a flight campaign on a cloud-free summer day in June 2010. NO2 VCD are derived with a two-step approach usually applied to satellite NO2 retrievals, i.e. a DOAS analysis followed by air mass factor calculations based on radiative transfer computations. Our analysis demonstrates that APEX is clearly sensitive to NO2 VCD above typical European tropospheric background abundances (>1 × 1015 molec cm-2). The two-dimensional maps of NO2 VCD reveal a very convincing spatial distribution with strong gradients around major NOx sources (e.g. Zurich airport, waste incinerator, motorways) and low NO2 in remote areas. The morning overflights resulted in generally higher NO2 VCD and a more distinct pattern than the afternoon overflights which can be attributed to the meteorological conditions prevailing during that day with stronger winds and hence larger dilution in the afternoon. The remotely sensed NO2 VCD are also in reasonably good agreement with ground-based in-situ measurements from air quality networks considering the limitations of comparing column integrals with point measurements. Airborne NO2 remote sensing using APEX will be valuable to detect NO2 emission sources, to provide input for NO2 emission modelling, and to establish links between in-situ measurements, air quality models, and satellite NO2 products.

High resolution NO2 remote sensing from the Airborne Prism EXperiment (APEX) imaging spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popp, C.; Brunner, D.; Damm, A.; Van Roozendael, M.; Fayt, C.; Buchmann, B.

2012-03-01

We present and evaluate the retrieval of high spatial resolution maps of NO2 vertical column densities (VCD) from the Airborne Prism EXperiment (APEX) imaging spectrometer. APEX is a novel instrument providing airborne measurements of unique spectral and spatial resolution and coverage as well as high signal stability. In this study, we use spectrometer data acquired over Zurich, Switzerland, in the morning and late afternoon during a flight campaign on a cloud-free summer day in June 2010. NO2 VCD are derived with a two-step approach usually applied to satellite NO2 retrievals, i.e. a DOAS analysis followed by air mass factor calculations based on radiative transfer computations. Our analysis demonstrates that APEX is clearly sensitive to NO2 VCD above typical European tropospheric background abundances (>1 × 1015 molec cm-2). The two-dimensional maps of NO2 VCD reveal a very plausible spatial distribution with strong gradients around major NOx sources (e.g. Zurich airport, waste incinerator, motorways) and low NO2 in remote areas. The morning overflights resulted in generally higher NO2 VCD and a more distinct pattern than the afternoon overflights which can be attributed to the meteorological conditions prevailing during that day (development of the boundary layer and increased wind speed in the afternoon) as well as to photochemical loss of NO2. The remotely sensed NO2 VCD are also highly correlated with ground-based in-situ measurements from local and national air quality networks (R=0.73). Airborne NO2 remote sensing using APEX will be valuable to detect NO2 emission sources, to provide input for NO2 emission modeling, and to establish links between in-situ measurements, air quality models, and satellite NO2 products.

Satellite Remote Sensing Detection of Wastewater Plumes in Southern California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trinh, R. C.; Holt, B.; Pan, B. J.; Rains, C.; Gierach, M. M.

2014-12-01

Wastewater discharged through ocean outfalls can surface near coastlines and beaches, posing a threat to the marine environment and human health. Coastal waters of the Southern California Bight (SCB) are an ecologically important marine habitat and a valuable resource in terms of commercial fishing and recreation. Two of the largest wastewater treatment plants along the U.S. West Coast discharge into the SCB, including the Hyperion Wastewater Treatment Plant (HWTP) and the Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD). In 2006, HWTP conducted an internal inspection of its primary 8 km outfall pipe (60 m depth), diverting treated effluent to a shorter 1.2 km pipe (18 m depth) from Nov. 28 to Nov. 30. From Sep. 11 - Oct. 4, 2012, OCSD conducted a similar diversion, diverting effluent from their 7 km outfall pipe to a shallower 2.2 km pipe, both with similar depths to HWTP. Prevailing oceanographic conditions in the SCB, such as temporally reduced stratification and surface circulation patterns, increased the risk of effluent being discharged from these shorter and shallower pipes surfacing and moving onshore. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capabilities of satellite remote sensing data (i.e., sea surface roughness from SAR, sea surface temperature from MODIS-Aqua and ASTER-Terra, chlorophyll-a and water leaving radiance from MODIS-Aqua) in the identification and tracking of wastewater plumes during the 2006 HWTP and 2012 OCSD diversion events. Satellite observations were combined with in situ, wind, and current data taken during the diversion events, to validate remote sensing techniques and gain surface to subsurface context of the nearshore diversion events. Overall, it was found that satellite remote sensing data were able to detect surfaced wastewater plumes along the coast, providing key spatial information that could inform in situ field sampling during future diversion events, such as the planned 2015 HWTP diversion, and thereby constrain costs.

Tephra dispersal and fallout reconstructed integrating field, ground-based and satellite-based data: Application to the 23rd November 2013 Etna paroxysm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poret, M.; Corradini, S.; Merucci, L.; Costa, A.; Andronico, D.; Montopoli, M.; Vulpiani, G.; Scollo, S.; Freret-Lorgeril, V.

2017-12-01

On the 23rd November 2013, Etna erupted giving one of the most intense lava fountain recorded. The eruption produced a buoyant plume that rose higher than 10 km a.s.l. from which two volcanic clouds were observed from satellite at two different atmospheric levels. A Previous study described one of the two clouds as mainly composed by ash making use of remote sensing instruments. Besides, the second cloud is made of ice/SO2 droplets and is not measurable in terms of ash mass. Both clouds spread out under north-easterly winds transporting the tephra from Etna towards the Puglia region. The untypical meteorological conditions permit to collect tephra samples in proximal areas to the Etna emission source as well as far away in the Calabria region. The eruption was observed by satellite (MSG-SEVIRI, MODIS) and ground-based (X-band weather radar, VIS/IR cameras and L-band Doppler radar) remote sensing systems. This study uses the FALL3D code to model the evolution of the plume and the tephra deposition by constraining the simulation results with remote sensing products for volcanic cloud (cloud height, fine ash Mass - Ma, Aerosol Optical Depth at 0.55 mm - AOD). Among the input parameters, the Total Grain-Size Distribution (TGSD) is reconstructed by integrating field deposits with estimations from the X-band radar data. The optimal TGSD was selected through an inverse problem method that best-fits both the field deposits and airborne measurements. The results of the simulations capture the main behavior of the two volcanic clouds at their altitudes. The best agreement between the simulated Ma and AOD and the SEVIRI retrievals indicates a PM20 fraction of 3.4 %. The total erupted mass is estimated at 1.6 × 109 kg in consistency with the estimations made from remote sensing data (3.0 × 109 kg) and ground deposit (1.3 × 109 kg).

Full-scale monitoring of wind and suspension bridge response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snæbjörnsson, J. T.; Jakobsen, J. B.; Cheynet, E.; Wang, J.

2017-12-01

Monitoring of real structures is important for many reasons. For structures susceptible to environmental actions, full-scale observations can provide valuable information about the environmental conditions at the site, as well as the characteristics of the excitation acting on the structure. The recorded data, if properly analyzed, can be used to validate and/or update experiments and models used in the design of new structures, such as the load description and modelling of the structural response. Various aspects of full-scale monitoring are discussed in the paper and the full-scale wind engineering laboratory at the Lysefjord suspension bridge introduced. The natural excitation of the bridge comes from wind and traffic. The surrounding terrain is complex and its effect on the wind flow can only be fully studied on site, in full-scale. The monitoring program and associated data analysis are described. These include various studies of the relevant turbulence characteristics, identification of dynamic properties and estimation of wind- and traffic-induced response parameters. The overall monitoring activity also included a novel application of the remote optical sensing in bridge engineering, which is found to have an important potential to complement traditional “single-point” wind observations by sonic anemometers.

Analysis of near-surface relative humidity in a wind turbine array boundary layer using an instrumented unmanned aerial system and large-eddy simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adkins, Kevin; Elfajri, Oumnia; Sescu, Adrian

2016-11-01

Simulation and modeling have shown that wind farms have an impact on the near-surface atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) as turbulent wakes generated by the turbines enhance vertical mixing. These changes alter downstream atmospheric properties. With a large portion of wind farms hosted within an agricultural context, changes to the environment can potentially have secondary impacts such as to the productivity of crops. With the exception of a few observational data sets that focus on the impact to near-surface temperature, little to no observational evidence exists. These few studies also lack high spatial resolution due to their use of a limited number of meteorological towers or remote sensing techniques. This study utilizes an instrumented small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) to gather in-situ field measurements from two Midwest wind farms, focusing on the impact that large utility-scale wind turbines have on relative humidity. Results are also compared to numerical experiments conducted using large eddy simulation (LES). Wind turbines are found to differentially alter the relative humidity in the downstream, spanwise and vertical directions under a variety of atmospheric stability conditions.

Validation of ERS-1 environmental data products

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodberlet, Mark A.; Swift, Calvin T.; Wilkerson, John C.

1994-01-01

Evaluation of the launch-version algorithms used by the European Space Agency (ESA) to derive wind field and ocean wave estimates from measurements of sensors aboard the European Remote Sensing satellite, ERS-1, has been accomplished through comparison of the derived parameters with coincident measurements made by 24 open ocean buoys maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). During the period from November 1, 1991 through February 28, 1992, data bases with 577 and 485 pairs of coincident sensor/buoy wind and wave measurements were collected for the Active Microwave Instrument (AMI) and Radar Altimeter (RA) respectively. Based on these data, algorithm retrieval accuracy is estimated to be plus or minus 4 m/s for AMI wind speed, plus or minus 3 m/s for RA wind speed and plus or minus 0.6 m for RA wave height. After removing 180 degree ambiguity errors, the AMI wind direction retrieval accuracy was estimated at plus or minus 28 degrees. All of the ERS-1 wind and wave retrievals are relatively unbiased. These results should be viewed as interim since improved algorithms are under development. As final versions are implemented, additional assessments should be conducted to complete the validation.

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.

A Spacebased Ocean Surface Exchange Data Analysis System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tang, Wenqing; Liu, W. Timothy

2000-01-01

Emerging technologies have provided unprecedented opportunities to transform information into knowledge and disseminate them in a much faster, cheaper, and userfriendly mode. We have set up a system to produce and disseminate high level (gridded) ocean surface wind data from the NASA Scatterometer and European Remote Sensing missions. The data system is being expanded to produce real-time gridded ocean surface winds from an improved sensor SeaWinds on the Quikscat Mission. The wind field will be combined with hydrologic parameters from the Tropical Rain Measuring Mission to monitor evolving weather systems and natural hazard in real time. It will form the basis for spacebased Ocean Surface Exchange Data Analysis System (SOSEDAS) which will include the production of ocean surface momentum, heat, and water fluxes needed for interdisciplinary studies of ocean-atmosphere interaction. Various commercial or non-commercial software tools have been compared and selected in terms of their ability in database management, remote data accessing, graphical interface, data quality, storage needs and transfer speed, etc. Issues regarding system security and user authentication, distributed data archiving and accessing, strategy to compress large-volume geophysical and satellite data/image. and increasing transferring speed are being addressed. A simple and easy way to access information and derive knowledge from spacebased data of multiple missions is being provided. The evolving 'knowledge system' will provide relevant infrastructure to address Earth System Science, make inroads in educating an informed populace, and illuminate decision and policy making.

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...

Climate, not conflict, explains extreme Middle East dust storm

DOE PAGES

Parolari, Anthony J.; Li, Dan; Bou-Zeid, Elie; ...

2016-11-08

The recent dust storm in the Middle East (Sepember 2015) was publicized in the media as a sign of an impending 'Dust Bowl.' Its severity, demonstrated by extreme aerosol optical depth in the atmosphere in the 99th percentile compared to historical data, was attributed to the ongoing regional conflict. However, surface meteorological and remote sensing data, as well as regional climate model simulations, support an alternative hypothesis: the historically unprecedented aridity played a more prominent role, as evidenced by unusual climatic and meteorological conditions prior to and during the storm. Remotely sensed normalized difference vegetation index demonstrates that vegetation covermore » was high in 2015 relative to the prior drought and conflict periods, suggesting that agricultural activity was not diminished during that year, thus negating the media narrative. Instead, meteorological simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model show that the storm was associated with a cyclone and 'Shamal' winds, typical for dust storm generation in this region, that were immediately followed by an unusual wind reversal at low levels that spread dust west to the Mediterranean Coast. These unusual meteorological conditions were aided by a significant reduction in the critical shear stress due to extreme dry and hot conditions, thereby enhancing dust availability for erosion during this storm. Concluding, unusual aridity, combined with unique synoptic weather patterns, enhanced dust emission and westward long-range transport across the region, thus generating the extreme storm.« less

A Pure Marine Aerosol Model, for Use in Remote Sensing Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sayer, A. M.; Smirnov, A.; Hsu, N. C.; Holben, B. N.

2011-01-01

Retrievals of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and related parameters from satellite measurements typically involve prescribed models of aerosol size and composition, and are therefore dependent on how well these models are able to represent the radiative behaviour of real aerosols, This study uses aerosol volume size distributions retrieved from Sun-photometer measurements at 11 Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) island sites, spread throughout the world's oceans, as a basis to define such a model for unpolluted maritime aerosols. Size distributions are observed to be bimodal and approximately lognormal, although the coarse mode is skewed with a long tail on the low-radius end, The relationship of AOD and size distribution parameters to meteorological conditions is also examined, As wind speed increases, so do coarse-mode volume and radius, The AOD and Angstrom exponent (alpha) show linear relationships with wind speed, although there is considerable scatter in all these relationships, limiting their predictive power. Links between aerosol properties and near-surface relative humidity, columnar water vapor, and sea surface temperature are also explored. A recommended bimodal maritime model, which is able to reconstruct the AERONET AOD with accuracy of order 0.01-0.02, is presented for use in aerosol remote sensing applications. This accuracy holds at most sites and for wavelengths between 340 nm and 1020 nm. Calculated lidar ratios are also provided, and differ significantly from those currently used in Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) processing.

Climate, not conflict, explains extreme Middle East dust storm

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

Parolari, Anthony J.; Li, Dan; Bou-Zeid, Elie

The recent dust storm in the Middle East (Sepember 2015) was publicized in the media as a sign of an impending 'Dust Bowl.' Its severity, demonstrated by extreme aerosol optical depth in the atmosphere in the 99th percentile compared to historical data, was attributed to the ongoing regional conflict. However, surface meteorological and remote sensing data, as well as regional climate model simulations, support an alternative hypothesis: the historically unprecedented aridity played a more prominent role, as evidenced by unusual climatic and meteorological conditions prior to and during the storm. Remotely sensed normalized difference vegetation index demonstrates that vegetation covermore » was high in 2015 relative to the prior drought and conflict periods, suggesting that agricultural activity was not diminished during that year, thus negating the media narrative. Instead, meteorological simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model show that the storm was associated with a cyclone and 'Shamal' winds, typical for dust storm generation in this region, that were immediately followed by an unusual wind reversal at low levels that spread dust west to the Mediterranean Coast. These unusual meteorological conditions were aided by a significant reduction in the critical shear stress due to extreme dry and hot conditions, thereby enhancing dust availability for erosion during this storm. Concluding, unusual aridity, combined with unique synoptic weather patterns, enhanced dust emission and westward long-range transport across the region, thus generating the extreme storm.« less

Assessing the Geomorphic Evolution and Hydrographic Changes Induced by Winter Storms along the Louisiana Coast

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Menzel, W. Paul; Moeller, Christopher, C; Huh, Oscar K.; Roberts, Harry H.

1998-01-01

The influence that cold front passages have on Louisiana coastal environments, including land loss and land building processes, has been the primary topic of this multidisciplinary research. This research has combined meteorological, remote sensing, and coastal expertise from the University of Wisconsin (UW) and Louisiana State University (LSU). Analyzed data sets include remotely sensed radiometric data (AVHRR on NOAA-12,13,14, Multispectral Atmospheric Mapping Sensor (MAMS) and MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) on NASA ER-2), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) water level data, water quality data from the Coastal Studies Institute (CSI) at LSU, USACE river discharge data, National Weather Service (NWS) and CSI wind in sitzi measurements, geomorphic measurements from aerial photography (NASA ER-2 and Learjet), and CSI ground based sediment burial pipes (for monitoring topographic change along the Louisiana coast) and sediment cores. The work reported here-in is a continuation of an initial investigation into coastal Louisiana landform modification by cold front systems. That initial effort demonstrated the importance of cold front winds in the Atchafalaya Bay sediment plume distribution (Moeller et al.), documented the sediment transport and deposition process of the western Louisiana coast (Huh et al.) and developed tools (e.g. water types identification, suspended solids estimation) from multispectral radiometric data for application to the current study. This study has extended that work, developing a Geomorphic Impact Index (GI(sup 2)) for relating atmospheric forcing to coastal response and new tools to measure water motion and sediment transport.

Remote sounding of tropospheric minor constituents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Drayson, S. Roland; Hays, Paul B.; Wang, Jinxue

1993-01-01

The etalon interferometer, or Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI), with its high throughput and high spectral resolution was widely used in the remote-sensing measurements of the earth's atmospheric composition, winds, and temperatures. The most recent satellite instruments include the Fabry-Perot interferometer flown on the Dynamics Explorer-2 (DE-2) and the High Resolution Doppler Imager (HRDI) to be flown on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). These instruments measure the Doppler line profiles of the emission and absorption of certain atmospheric species (such as atomic oxygen) in the visible spectral region. The successful space flight of DE-FPI and the test and delivery of UARS-HRDI demonstrated the extremely high spectral resolution and ruggedness of the etalon system for the remote sensing of earth and planetary atmospheres. Recently, an innovative FPI focal plane detection technique called the Circle-to-Line Interferometer Optical (CLIO) system was invented at the Space Physics Research Laboratory (SPRL). The CLIO simplifies the FPI focal plane detection process by converting the circular rings or fringes into a linear pattern similar to that produced by a conventional spectrometer, while retaining the throughput advantage of the etalon interferometer. CLIO makes the use of linear array detectors more practical and efficient with FPI, the combination of FPI and CLIO represents a very promising new technique for the remote sensing of the lower atmospheres of Earth, Mars, Venus, Neptune, and other planets. The Multiorder Etalon Spectrometer (MOES), as a combination of the rugged etalon and the CLIO, compares very favorably to other spaceborne optical instruments in terms of performance versus complexity. The feasibility of an advanced etalon spectrometer for the remote sensing of tropospheric trace species, particularly carbon monoxide (CO), nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4) was discussed. The etalon atmospheric spectroscopy techniques are described, instrument design and related technical issues are discussed. The primary objective is to establish the concept of atmospheric spectroscopy with the CLIO and etalon system and its applications for the measurements of tropospheric trace species analyze system requirements and performance, determine the feasibility of components and subsystem implementation with available technology, and develop inversion algorithm for retrieval simulation and data analysis.

Assimilation of Wind Profiles from Multiple Doppler Radar Wind Profilers for Space Launch Vehicle Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decker, Ryan K.; Walker, John R.; Barbre, Robert E., Jr.; Leach, Richard D.

2015-01-01

Atmospheric wind data are required by space launch vehicles in order to assess flight vehicle loads and performance on day-of-launch. Space launch ranges at NASA's Kennedy Space Center co-located with the United States Air Force's (USAF) Eastern Range (ER) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and USAF's Western Range (WR) at Vandenberg Air Force Base have extensive networks of in-situ and remote sensing instrumentation to measure atmospheric winds. Each instrument's technique to measure winds has advantages and disadvantages in regards to use within vehicle trajectory analyses. Balloons measure wind at all altitudes necessary for vehicle assessments, but two primary disadvantages exist when applying balloon output. First, balloons require approximately one hour to reach required altitudes. Second, balloons are steered by atmospheric winds down range of the launch site that could significantly differ from those winds along the vehicle ascent trajectory. These issues are mitigated by use of vertically pointing Doppler Radar Wind Profilers (DRWPs). However, multiple DRWP instruments are required to provide wind data over altitude ranges necessary for vehicle trajectory assessments. The various DRWP systems have different operating configurations resulting in different temporal and spatial sampling intervals. Therefore, software was developed to combine data from both DRWP-generated profiles into a single profile for use in vehicle trajectory analyses. This paper will present details of the splicing software algorithms and will provide sample output.

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 ,

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...

Reflections on Earth--Remote-Sensing Research from Your Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Bruce A.

2001-01-01

Points out the uses of remote sensing in different areas, and introduces the program "Reflections on Earth" which provides access to basic and instructional information on remote sensing to students and teachers. Introduces students to concepts related to remote sensing and measuring distances. (YDS)

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.

Concurrent Harvesting of Ambient Energy by Hybrid Nanogenerators for Wearable Self-Powered Systems and Active Remote Sensing.

PubMed

Zheng, Haiwu; Zi, Yunlong; He, Xu; Guo, Hengyu; Lai, Ying-Chih; Wang, Jie; Zhang, Steven L; Wu, Changsheng; Cheng, Gang; Wang, Zhong Lin

2018-05-02

Harvesting energy available from ambient environment is highly desirable for powering personal electronics and health applications. Due to natural process and human activities, steam can be produced by boilers, human perspiration, and the wind exists ubiquitously. In the outdoor environment, these two phenomena usually exist at the same place, which contain heat and mechanical energies simultaneously. However, previous studies have isolated them as separate sources of energy to harvest and hence failed to utilize them effectively. Herein, we present unique hybrid nanogenerators for individually/simultaneously harvesting thermal energy from water vapors and mechanical energy from intermittent wind blowing from the bottom side, which consist of a wind-driven triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and pyroelectric-piezoelectric nanogenerators (PPENGs). The output power of the PPENG and the TENG can be up to about 184.32 μW and 4.74 mW, respectively, indicating the TENG plays the dominant role. Our hybrid nanogenerators could provide different applications such as to power digital watch and enable self-powered sensing with wireless transmission. The device could also be further integrated into a face mask for potentially wearable applications. This work not only provides a promising approach for renewable energy harvesting but also enriches potential applications for self-powered systems and wireless sensors.

The place for sodars in a high-technology environment.

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

Coulter, R. L.

1998-06-12

In an era of increasingly complex technology, some of the atmospheric quantities most difficult to measure and observe are yielding their secrets to increasingly complex instruments and combinations of instruments. For example, water vapor profiles, a long-time nemesis to detailed examination, have become measurable with the use of Raman lidar; temperature profile measurements are becoming relatively routine with radio acoustic sounding systems (RASSs) or infrared Fourier transform instrumentation such as the atmospheric emitted radiance interferometer (AERI); and radar, lidar, or combinations of the two are enabling wind profile measurements to increasing altitudes. What, then, is the role of the relativelymore » pedestrian sodar in such an era? Because the sodar's propagation speed in the atmosphere is six orders of magnitude smaller than that of its electromagnetic counterparts (3 x 10{sup 2} vs. 3 x 10{sup 8} m/s), severely limiting its rate of interrogation, and because the sodar's signal limit frequency modulation techniques, many high-technology advances associated with enormous increases in computation speed and available memory have had relatively little direct impact on acoustic remote sensing. However, the principal elements of acoustic remote sensing continue to make it a useful, even essential, tool for obtaining a better understanding of the physics of the lower atmosphere. The sodar's ''slow'' propagation speed provides relatively easy access to the region between 10 m and several hundred meters above the surface that is often inaccessible to other instruments. This is the region of the atmosphere where conditions often change radically with height, the ''matching'' region between large-scale forcing and small-scale surface heterogeneities that can have large effects on human activity. The atmosphere provides signals for sodars that are rich in content because the phase speed of sound is dependent on the atmosphere itself and is tied directly to the atmosphere's temperature and wind structure. Hence, the signals from acoustic remote sensing instruments can provide boundary conditions crucial for the proper operation of numerical models of the atmosphere whose output is becoming increasingly important in individual and business decision making.« less

The Design of a Remote Sensing Data Acquisition Campaign for Precision Agriculture and Some Early Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rickmanl, D.; Luvall, J. C.; Wersinger, J. M.; Mask, P.; Kissel, D. E.

1999-01-01

In the 1970s NASA and the Department of Agriculture attempted to use the new Landsat MSS system for agricultural purposes. The program had relatively little success. With the advent of differential GPS, yield monitors on harvest equipment and higher spatial resolution remote sensing systems it seemed likely the situation should be reexamined. Therefore, a campaign of data acquisition involving remote sensing and other modalities with dependent research was assembled and funded by the Space Grant Consortia in Alabama and Georgia. The design of the remote sensing data acquisition was driven by the biology and physics of the crop system and limited by the available sensor platforms. Major parameters included crop stage, spatial resolution, seasonal and daily weather conditions, and which portion of the EM spectrum would actually capture the most discriminating information. Joint visible and Near IR with Thermal IR would permit use of existing indices, such as greenness, as well as phenomena driven by the plant' s evapotranspiration. Spatial resolution in the 2-5 meter range was chosen, avoiding many complexities caused by aliasing crop row spacing at, higher resolutions yet finer than the harvester's tightest recording rate. This dictates use of an airborne system. Use of an airborne system also makes scheduling around weather much simpler than use of satellite data. Active video calibration was recognized as essential if quantitative measures were ever to be obtained or reproduced. The system would also have to have onboard geoOF1 Based on these elements 3 data acquisitions have been flown. Seven flight lines were flown twice in 1998 and 16 lines flown in 1999. Total raw data is several GBytes. All of the data has now been geometrically corrected and some preliminary analysis accomplished. The thermal bands have an extremely high correlation with yield. For one@test case with corn, correlation in excess of 0.86 was obtained from a data acquisition two months prior to harvest! Soil images show significant within field variation in clay, soil brightness and emissivity. Light wind has been found to effect the reflectance and temperature of broad leaf crops, including soybeans, cotton and peanuts. Clearly, this work has already demonstrated some very important results. With continued development of the remote sensing technology there is good reason to believe this research will soon be able to help the individual farmer.

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.

Role of remote sensing in documenting living resources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wagner, P. E.; Anderson, R. R.; Brun, B.; Eisenberg, M.; Genys, J. B.; Lear, D. W., Jr.; Miller, M. H.

1978-01-01

Specific cases of known or potentially useful applications of remote sensing in assessing biological resources are discussed. It is concluded that the more usable remote sensing techniques relate to the measurement of population fluctuations in aquatic systems. Sensing of the flora and the fauna of the Bay is considered with emphasis on direct sensing of aquatic plant populations and of water quality. Recommendations for remote sensing projects are given.

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.

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.

Evaluating the two-source energy balance model using local thermal and surface flux observations in a strongly advective irrigated agricultural area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kustas, William P.; Alfieri, Joseph G.; Anderson, Martha C.; Colaizzi, Paul D.; Prueger, John H.; Evett, Steven R.; Neale, Christopher M. U.; French, Andrew N.; Hipps, Lawrence E.; Chávez, José L.; Copeland, Karen S.; Howell, Terry A.

2012-12-01

Application and validation of many thermal remote sensing-based energy balance models involve the use of local meteorological inputs of incoming solar radiation, wind speed and air temperature as well as accurate land surface temperature (LST), vegetation cover and surface flux measurements. For operational applications at large scales, such local information is not routinely available. In addition, the uncertainty in LST estimates can be several degrees due to sensor calibration issues, atmospheric effects and spatial variations in surface emissivity. Time differencing techniques using multi-temporal thermal remote sensing observations have been developed to reduce errors associated with deriving the surface-air temperature gradient, particularly in complex landscapes. The Dual-Temperature-Difference (DTD) method addresses these issues by utilizing the Two-Source Energy Balance (TSEB) model of Norman et al. (1995) [1], and is a relatively simple scheme requiring meteorological input from standard synoptic weather station networks or mesoscale modeling. A comparison of the TSEB and DTD schemes is performed using LST and flux observations from eddy covariance (EC) flux towers and large weighing lysimeters (LYs) in irrigated cotton fields collected during BEAREX08, a large-scale field experiment conducted in the semi-arid climate of the Texas High Plains as described by Evett et al. (2012) [2]. Model output of the energy fluxes (i.e., net radiation, soil heat flux, sensible and latent heat flux) generated with DTD and TSEB using local and remote meteorological observations are compared with EC and LY observations. The DTD method is found to be significantly more robust in flux estimation compared to the TSEB using the remote meteorological observations. However, discrepancies between model and measured fluxes are also found to be significantly affected by the local inputs of LST and vegetation cover and the representativeness of the remote sensing observations with the local flux measurement footprint.

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.

Earth aeolian wind streaks: Comparison to wind data from model and stations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen-Zada, A. L.; Maman, S.; Blumberg, D. G.

2017-05-01

Wind streak is a collective term for a variety of aeolian features that display distinctive albedo surface patterns. Wind streaks have been used to map near-surface winds and to estimate atmospheric circulation patterns on Mars and Venus. However, because wind streaks have been studied mostly on Mars and Venus, much of the knowledge regarding the mechanism and time frame of their formation and their relationship to the atmospheric circulation cannot be verified. This study aims to validate previous studies' results by a comparison of real and modeled wind data with wind streak orientations as measured from remote-sensing images. Orientations of Earth wind streaks were statistically correlated to resultant drift direction (RDD) values calculated from reanalysis and wind data from 621 weather stations. The results showed good agreement between wind streak orientations and reanalysis RDD (r = 0.78). A moderate correlation was found between the wind streak orientations and the weather station data (r = 0.47); a similar trend was revealed on a regional scale when the analysis was performed by continent, with r ranging from 0.641 in North America to 0.922 in Antarctica. At sites where wind streak orientations did not correspond to the RDDs (i.e., a difference of 45°), seasonal and diurnal variations in the wind flow were found to be responsible for deviation from the global pattern. The study thus confirms that Earth wind streaks were formed by the present wind regime and they are indeed indicative of the long-term prevailing wind direction on global and regional scales.

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.

Agricultural Production Monitoring in the Sahel Using Remote Sensing: Present Possibilities and Research Needs

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-01-01

during the agricultural season. Satellite remote sensing can contribute significantly to such a system by collecting information on crops and on...well as techniques to derive biophysical variables from remotely-sensed data. Finally, the integration of these remote - sensing techniques with crop

The potential for geostationary remote sensing of NO2 to improve weather prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, X.; Mizzi, A. P.; Anderson, J. L.; Fung, I. Y.; Cohen, R. C.

2017-12-01

Observations of surface winds remain sparse making it challenging to simulate and predict the weather in circumstances of light winds that are most important for poor air quality. Direct measurements of short-lived chemicals from space might be a solution to this challenge. Here we investigate the application of data assimilation of NO­2 columns as will be observed from geostationary orbit to improve predictions and retrospective analysis of surface wind fields. Specifically, synthetic NO2 observations are sampled from a "nature run (NR)" regarded as the true atmosphere. Then NO2 observations are assimilated using EAKF methods into a "control run (CR)" which differs from the NR in the wind field. Wind errors are generated by introducing (1) errors in the initial conditions, (2) creating a model error by using two different formulations for the planetary boundary layer, (3) and by combining both of these effects. Assimilation of NO2 column observations succeeds in reducing wind errors, indicating the prospects for future geostationary atmospheric composition measurements to improve weather forecasting are substantial. We find that due to the temporal heterogeneity of wind errors, the success of this application favors chemical observations of high frequency, such as those from geostationary platform. We also show the potential to improve soil moisture field by assimilating NO­2 columns.

Quantifying measurement uncertainty and spatial variability in the context of model evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choukulkar, A.; Brewer, A.; Pichugina, Y. L.; Bonin, T.; Banta, R. M.; Sandberg, S.; Weickmann, A. M.; Djalalova, I.; McCaffrey, K.; Bianco, L.; Wilczak, J. M.; Newman, J. F.; Draxl, C.; Lundquist, J. K.; Wharton, S.; Olson, J.; Kenyon, J.; Marquis, M.

2017-12-01

In an effort to improve wind forecasts for the wind energy sector, the Department of Energy and the NOAA funded the second Wind Forecast Improvement Project (WFIP2). As part of the WFIP2 field campaign, a large suite of in-situ and remote sensing instrumentation was deployed to the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon and Washington from October 2015 - March 2017. The array of instrumentation deployed included 915-MHz wind profiling radars, sodars, wind- profiling lidars, and scanning lidars. The role of these instruments was to provide wind measurements at high spatial and temporal resolution for model evaluation and improvement of model physics. To properly determine model errors, the uncertainties in instrument-model comparisons need to be quantified accurately. These uncertainties arise from several factors such as measurement uncertainty, spatial variability, and interpolation of model output to instrument locations, to name a few. In this presentation, we will introduce a formalism to quantify measurement uncertainty and spatial variability. The accuracy of this formalism will be tested using existing datasets such as the eXperimental Planetary boundary layer Instrumentation Assessment (XPIA) campaign. Finally, the uncertainties in wind measurement and the spatial variability estimates from the WFIP2 field campaign will be discussed to understand the challenges involved in model evaluation.

Intercomparison of middle-atmospheric wind in observations and models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rüfenacht, Rolf; Baumgarten, Gerd; Hildebrand, Jens; Schranz, Franziska; Matthias, Vivien; Stober, Gunter; Lübken, Franz-Josef; Kämpfer, Niklaus

2018-04-01

Wind profile information throughout the entire upper stratosphere and lower mesosphere (USLM) is important for the understanding of atmospheric dynamics but became available only recently, thanks to developments in remote sensing techniques and modelling approaches. However, as wind measurements from these altitudes are rare, such products have generally not yet been validated with (other) observations. This paper presents the first long-term intercomparison of wind observations in the USLM by co-located microwave radiometer and lidar instruments at Andenes, Norway (69.3° N, 16.0° E). Good correspondence has been found at all altitudes for both horizontal wind components for nighttime as well as daylight conditions. Biases are mostly within the random errors and do not exceed 5-10 m s-1, which is less than 10 % of the typically encountered wind speeds. Moreover, comparisons of the observations with the major reanalyses and models covering this altitude range are shown, in particular with the recently released ERA5, ECMWF's first reanalysis to cover the whole USLM region. The agreement between models and observations is very good in general, but temporally limited occurrences of pronounced discrepancies (up to 40 m s-1) exist. In the article's Appendix the possibility of obtaining nighttime wind information about the mesopause region by means of microwave radiometry is investigated.

Current Research in Lidar Technology Used for the Remote Sensing of Atmospheric Aerosols

PubMed Central

Comerón, Adolfo; Muñoz-Porcar, Constantino; Rocadenbosch, Francesc; Rodríguez-Gómez, Alejandro; Sicard, Michaël

2017-01-01

Lidars are active optical remote sensing instruments with unique capabilities for atmospheric sounding. A manifold of atmospheric variables can be profiled using different types of lidar: concentration of species, wind speed, temperature, etc. Among them, measurement of the properties of aerosol particles, whose influence in many atmospheric processes is important but is still poorly stated, stands as one of the main fields of application of current lidar systems. This paper presents a review on fundamentals, technology, methodologies and state-of-the art of the lidar systems used to obtain aerosol information. Retrieval of structural (aerosol layers profiling), optical (backscatter and extinction coefficients) and microphysical (size, shape and type) properties requires however different levels of instrumental complexity; this general outlook is structured following a classification that attends these criteria. Thus, elastic systems (detection only of emitted frequencies), Raman systems (detection also of Raman frequency-shifted spectral lines), high spectral resolution lidars, systems with depolarization measurement capabilities and multi-wavelength instruments are described, and the fundamentals in which the retrieval of aerosol parameters is based is in each case detailed. PMID:28632170

[Simplification of crop shortage water index and its application in drought remote sensing monitoring].

PubMed

Liu, Anlin; Li, Xingmin; He, Yanbo; Deng, Fengdong

2004-02-01

Based on the principle of energy balance, the method for calculating latent evaporation was simplified, and hence, the construction of the drought remote sensing monitoring model of crop water shortage index was also simplified. Since the modified model involved fewer parameters and reduced computing times, it was more suitable for the operation running in the routine services. After collecting the concerned meteorological elements and the NOAA/AVHRR image data, the new model was applied to monitor the spring drought in Guanzhong, Shanxi Province. The results showed that the monitoring results from the new model, which also took more considerations of the effects of the ground coverage conditions and meteorological elements such as wind speed and the water pressure, were much better than the results from the model of vegetation water supply index. From the view of the computing times, service effects and monitoring results, the simplified crop water shortage index model was more suitable for practical use. In addition, the reasons of the abnormal results of CWSI > 1 in some regions in the case studies were also discussed in this paper.

Solid-state laser sources for remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Byer, R. L.; Kane, T.; Eggleston, J.; Long, S. Y.

1983-01-01

Recent progress in slab-geometry and conventional rod Nd:YAG solid-state lasers for applications in remote sensing is presented. Developments in slab geometry lasers, which were aimed at improving pulse energy and tuning range, have been based on the use of a Nd:glass substrate with a zig-zag optical path, with selective Raman shifting in gases and harmonic generation in LiNbO3 and KDP to extend the tuning range into the UV and visible regions. The theoretically predicted advantages of the elimination of birefringence and thermal and stress-induced focusing in the slab-geometry laser have been confirmed in measurements on a test-bed Nd:glass system, and a CW lamp pumped Nd:YAG oscillator, which have also demonstrated an order of magnitude improvement in laser performance. A single axial mode Nd:YAG oscillator has also been designed which, operating in a 3-msec quasi-CW mode, has a chirp rate of 30 kHz/microsec and a free-running stability of + or - 20 MHz. With chirp compensation, this stability is adequate for wind velocity measurements by coherent lidar.

Earth and Space Science Electronic Theater: State-of-the-Art Visualization from the Latest Remote Sensing Observations. High Definition Television on the SMM IMAX Screen with Ultra High Performance Projector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hasler, A. F.; Starr, David (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Fritz Hasler (NASA/Goddard) will demonstrate the latest Blue Marble Digital Earth technology. We will fly in from space through Terra, Landsat 7, to 1 m Ikonos "Spy Satellite" data to Washington, NYC, Chicago, and LA. You will see animations using the new 1 km global datasets from the EOS Terra satellite. Spectacular new animations from Terra, Landsat 7, and SeaWiFS will be presented. See the latest animations of the super hurricanes like, Floyd, Luis, and Mitch, from GOES & TRMM. See movies assembled using new low cost HDTV nonlinear editing equipment that is revolutionizing the way we communicate scientific results. See climate change in action with Global Land & Ocean productivity changes over the last 20 years. Remote sensing observations of ocean SST, height, winds, color, and El Nino from GOES, AVHRR, SSMI & SeaWiFS are put in context with atmospheric and ocean simulations. Compare symmetrical equatorial eddies observed by GOES with the simulations.

The Solar Orbiter Heliospheric Imager (SoloHI) for the Solar Orbiter Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howard, R.; Colaninno, R. C.; Plunkett, S. P.; Thernisien, A. F.; Wang, D.; Rich, N.; Korendyke, C.; Socker, D. G.; Linton, M.; McMullin, D. R.; Vourlidas, A.; Liewer, P. C.; De Jong, E.; Velli, M.; Mikic, Z.; Bothmer, V.; Philippe, L.; Carter, M. T.

2017-12-01

The SoloHI instrument has completed its development effort and has been integrated onto the Solar Orbiter (SolO) spacecraft. The SolO mission, scheduled for launch in February 2019, will undergo gravity assist maneuvers around Venus to change both the perihelion distance as well as the plane of the orbit to ultimately achieve a minimum perihelion of 0.28 AU and an orbital inclination of about 35° relative to the ecliptic plane. The remote sensing instruments will operate for three 10-day periods out of the nominal 6-month orbit. SoloHI will observe sunlight scattered by free electrons in the corona/solar wind from 5° to 45° elongation in visible wavelengths and will provide a coupling between remote sensing and in situ observations. It is very similar to the HI-1 instrument on STEREO/SECCHI except that the FOV is twice the size at 40o. We present our efforts to prepare for the mission including our observing plans, quick-look plans and some results of the calibration activities. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the NASA Solar Orbiter Collaboration project.

An analytical two-flow model to simulate the distribution of irradiance in coastal waters with a wind-roughed surface and bottom reflectance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Wei-Ming

1997-06-01

An analytical two-flow model is derived from the radiative transfer equation to simulate the distribution of irradiance in coastal waters with a wind-roughed surface and bottom reflectance. The model utilizes unique boundary conditions, including the surface slope of the downwelling and upwelling irradiance as well as the influence of wind and bottom reflectance on simulated surface reflectance. The developed model provides a simple mathematical concept for understanding the irradiant light flux and associated processes in coastal or fresh water as well as turbid estuarine waters. The model is applied to data from the Banana River and coastal Atlantic Ocean water off the east coast of central Florida, USA. The two-flow irradiance model is capable of simulating realistic above-surface reflectance signatures under wind-roughened air-water surface given realistic input parameters including a specular flux conversion coefficient, absorption coefficient, backscattering coefficient, atmospheric visibility, bottom reflectance, and water depth. The root-mean-squared error of the calculated above-surface reflectances is approximately 3% in the Banana River and is less than 15% in coastal Atlantic Ocean off the east of Florida. Result of the subsurface reflectance sensitivity analysis indicates that the specular conversion coefficient is the most sensitive parameter in the model, followed by the beam attenuation coefficient, absorption coefficient, water depth, backscattering coefficient, specular irradiance, diffuse irradiance, bottom reflectance, and wind speed. On the other hand, result of the above-surface reflectance sensitivity analysis indicates that the wind speed is the most important parameter, followed by bottom reflectance, attenuation coefficient, water depth, conversion coefficient, specular irradiance, downwelling irradiance, absorption coefficient, and backscattering coefficient. Model results depend on the accuracy of these parameters to a large degree and more important the water depth and value of the bottom reflectance. The results of this work indicates little change of subsurface or in-water reflectances, due to variations of wind speed and observation angle. Simulations of the wind effect on the total downwelling irradiance from the two- flow model indicates that the total downwelling irradiance just below a wind-roughened water surface increases to about 1% of the total downwelling irradiance on a calm water surface when the sun is near zenith and increases to about 3% when the sun is near the horizon. This analytically based model, solved or developed utilizing the unique boundary conditions, can be applied to remote sensing of oceanic upper mixed layer dynamics, plant canopies, primary production, and shallow water environments with different bottom type reflectances. Future applications may include determining effects of sediment resuspension of bottom sediments in the bottom boundary layer on remotely sensed data.

Active and passive microwave measurements in Hurricane Allen

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Delnore, V. E.; Bahn, G. S.; Grantham, W. L.; Harrington, R. F.; Jones, W. L.

1985-01-01

The NASA Langley Research Center analysis of the airborne microwave remote sensing measurements of Hurricane Allen obtained on August 5 and 8, 1980 is summarized. The instruments were the C-band stepped frequency microwave radiometer and the Ku-band airborne microwave scatterometer. They were carried aboard a NOAA aircraft making storm penetrations at an altitude of 3000 m and are sensitive to rain rate, surface wind speed, and surface wind vector. The wind speed is calculated from the increase in antenna brightness temperature above the estimated calm sea value. The rain rate is obtained from the difference between antenna temperature increases measured at two frequencies, and wind vector is determined from the sea surface normalized radar cross section measured at several azimuths. Comparison wind data were provided from the inertial navigation systems aboard both the C-130 aircraft at 3000 m and a second NOAA aircraft (a P-3) operating between 500 and 1500 m. Comparison rain rate data were obtained with a rain radar aboard the P-3. Evaluation of the surface winds obtained with the two microwave instruments was limited to comparisons with each other and with the flight level winds. Two important conclusions are drawn from these comparisons: (1) the radiometer is accurate when predicting flight level wind speeds and rain; and (2) the scatterometer produces well behaved and consistent wind vectors for the rain free periods.

Method of determining forest production from remotely sensed forest parameters

DOEpatents

Corey, J.C.; Mackey, H.E. Jr.

1987-08-31

A method of determining forest production entirely from remotely sensed data in which remotely sensed multispectral scanner (MSS) data on forest 5 composition is combined with remotely sensed radar imaging data on forest stand biophysical parameters to provide a measure of forest production. A high correlation has been found to exist between the remotely sensed radar imaging data and on site measurements of biophysical 10 parameters such as stand height, diameter at breast height, total tree height, mean area per tree, and timber stand volume.

Removal of Surface-Reflected Light for the Measurement of Remote-Sensing Reflectance from an Above-Surface Platform

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-12-01

remote - sensing reflectance) can be highly inaccurate if a spectrally constant value is applied (although errors can be reduced by carefully filtering measured raw data). To remove surface-reflected light in field measurements of remote sensing reflectance, a spectral optimization approach was applied, with results compared with those from remote sensing models and from direct measurements. The agreement from different determinations suggests that reasonable results for remote sensing reflectance of clear

Removal of Surface-Reflected Light for the Measurement of Remote-Sensing Reflectance from an Above-Surface Platform

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-12-06

remote - sensing reflectance) can be highly inaccurate if a spectrally constant value is applied (although errors can be reduced by carefully filtering measured raw data). To remove surface-reflected light in field measurements of remote sensing reflectance, a spectral optimization approach was applied, with results compared with those from remote sensing models and from direct measurements. The agreement from different determinations suggests that reasonable results for remote sensing reflectance of clear

Correlation Analysis of Experimental Remote-Sensing Data and Models of Microwave Rough Sea-Surface Emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sazonov, D. S.

2017-12-01

A correlation analysis of the model calculations and experimental measurements of wind-speed sensitivity of a rough sea-surface microwave emission at a frequency of 37.5 GHz are presented. The field data used in the research were collected over 3 years in the summer and autumn periods at the oceanographic platform of the Marine Hydrophysical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). A hypothesis about a significant correlation between the model calculations and experimentally measured sea-surface emission ability caused by wind forcing was formulated and tested to reveal this correlation. An evaluation of the discrepancy between the model and experimental data has been performed by an analysis of residuals. Our studies have shown that among the selected models not a single one adequately describes the experimental data.

Remote atmospheric probing by ground to ground line of sight optical methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lawrence, R. S.

1969-01-01

The optical effects arising from refractive-index variations in the clear air are qualitatively described, and the possibilities are discussed of using those effects for remotely sensing the physical properties of the atmosphere. The effects include scintillations, path length fluctuations, spreading of a laser beam, deflection of the beam, and depolarization. The physical properties that may be measured include the average temperature along the path, the vertical temperature gradient, and the distribution along the path of the strength of turbulence and the transverse wind velocity. Line-of-sight laser beam methods are clearly effective in measuring the average properties, but less effective in measuring distributions along the path. Fundamental limitations to the resolution are pointed out and experiments are recommended to investigate the practicality of the methods.

Field Data Collection: an Essential Element in Remote Sensing Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pettinger, L. R.

1971-01-01

Field data collected in support of remote sensing projects are generally used for the following purposes: (1) calibration of remote sensing systems, (2) evaluation of experimental applications of remote sensing imagery on small test sites, and (3) designing and evaluating operational regional resource studies and inventories which are conducted using the remote sensing imagery obtained. Field data may be used to help develop a technique for a particular application, or to aid in the application of that technique to a resource evaluation or inventory problem for a large area. Scientists at the Forestry Remote Sensing Laboratory have utilized field data for both purposes. How meaningful field data has been collected in each case is discussed.

Remote sensing and eLearning 2.0 for school education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voss, Kerstin; Goetzke, Roland; Hodam, Henryk

2010-10-01

The "Remote Sensing in Schools" project aims at improving the integration of "Satellite remote sensing" into school teaching. Therefore, it is the project's overall objective to teach students in primary and secondary schools the basics and fields of application of remote sensing. Existing results show that many teachers are interested in remote sensing and at same time motivated to integrate it into their teaching. Despite the good intention, in the end, the implementation often fails due to the complexity and poor set-up of the information provided. Therefore, a comprehensive and well-structured learning platform on the topic of remote sensing is developed. The platform shall allow a structured introduction to the topic.

Remote sensing programs and courses in engineering and water resources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kiefer, R. W.

1981-01-01

The content of typical basic and advanced remote sensing and image interpretation courses are described and typical remote sensing graduate programs of study in civil engineering and in interdisciplinary environmental remote sensing and water resources management programs are outlined. Ideally, graduate programs with an emphasis on remote sensing and image interpretation should be built around a core of five courses: (1) a basic course in fundamentals of remote sensing upon which the more specialized advanced remote sensing courses can build; (2) a course dealing with visual image interpretation; (3) a course dealing with quantitative (computer-based) image interpretation; (4) a basic photogrammetry course; and (5) a basic surveying course. These five courses comprise up to one-half of the course work required for the M.S. degree. The nature of other course work and thesis requirements vary greatly, depending on the department in which the degree is being awarded.

Remote sensing research in geographic education: An alternative view

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, H.; Cary, T. K.; Goward, S. N.

1981-01-01

It is noted that within many geography departments remote sensing is viewed as a mere technique a student should learn in order to carry out true geographic research. This view inhibits both students and faculty from investigation of remotely sensed data as a new source of geographic knowledge that may alter our understanding of the Earth. The tendency is for geographers to accept these new data and analysis techniques from engineers and mathematicians without questioning the accompanying premises. This black-box approach hinders geographic applications of the new remotely sensed data and limits the geographer's contribution to further development of remote sensing observation systems. It is suggested that geographers contribute to the development of remote sensing through pursuit of basic research. This research can be encouraged, particularly among students, by demonstrating the links between geographic theory and remotely sensed observations, encouraging a healthy skepticism concerning the current understanding of these data.

Research on assessment and improvement method of remote sensing image reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Li; Hua, Nian; Yu, Yanbo; Zhao, Zhanping

2018-01-01

Remote sensing image quality assessment and improvement is an important part of image processing. Generally, the use of compressive sampling theory in remote sensing imaging system can compress images while sampling which can improve efficiency. A method of two-dimensional principal component analysis (2DPCA) is proposed to reconstruct the remote sensing image to improve the quality of the compressed image in this paper, which contain the useful information of image and can restrain the noise. Then, remote sensing image quality influence factors are analyzed, and the evaluation parameters for quantitative evaluation are introduced. On this basis, the quality of the reconstructed images is evaluated and the different factors influence on the reconstruction is analyzed, providing meaningful referential data for enhancing the quality of remote sensing images. The experiment results show that evaluation results fit human visual feature, and the method proposed have good application value in the field of remote sensing image processing.

Unmanned aerial vehicle: A unique platform for low-altitude remote sensing for crop management

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) provide a unique platform for remote sensing to monitor crop fields that complements remote sensing from satellite, aircraft and ground-based platforms. The UAV-based remote sensing is versatile at ultra-low altitude to be able to provide an ultra-high-resolution imag...

Application of the remote-sensing communication model to a time-sensitive wildfire remote-sensing system

Treesearch

Christopher D. Lippitt; Douglas A. Stow; Philip J. Riggan

2016-01-01

Remote sensing for hazard response requires a priori identification of sensor, transmission, processing, and distribution methods to permit the extraction of relevant information in timescales sufficient to allow managers to make a given time-sensitive decision. This study applies and demonstrates the utility of the Remote Sensing Communication...

75 FR 32360 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Licensing of Private Remote-Sensing Space Systems

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-08

... Collection; Comment Request; Licensing of Private Remote-Sensing Space Systems AGENCY: National Oceanic and.... Abstract NOAA has established requirements for the licensing of private operators of remote-sensing space... Land Remote- Sensing Policy Act of 1992 and with the national security and international obligations of...

78 FR 44536 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Licensing of Private Remote-Sensing Space Systems

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-24

... Collection; Comment Request; Licensing of Private Remote-Sensing Space Systems AGENCY: National Oceanic and... for the licensing of private operators of remote-sensing space systems. The information in applications and subsequent reports is needed to ensure compliance with the Land Remote- Sensing Policy Act of...

Advancement of China’s Visible Light Remote Sensing Technology In Aerospace,

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-03-19

Aerospace visible light film systems were among the earliest space remote sensing systems to be developed in China. They have been applied very well...makes China the third nation in the world to master space remote sensing technology, it also puts recoverable remote sensing satellites among the first

Polarimetric passive remote sensing of periodic surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Veysoglu, Murat E.; Yueh, H. A.; Shin, R. T.; Kong, J. A.

1991-01-01

The concept of polarimetry in active remote sensing is extended to passive remote sensing. The potential use of the third and fourth Stokes parameters U and V, which play an important role in polarimetric active remote sensing, is demonstrated for passive remote sensing. It is shown that, by the use of the reciprocity principle, the polarimetric parameters of passive remote sensing can be obtained through the solution of the associated direct scattering problem. These ideas are applied to study polarimetric passive remote sensing of periodic surfaces. The solution of the direct scattering problem is obtained by an integral equation formulation which involves evaluation of periodic Green's functions and normal derivative of those on the surface. Rapid evaluation of the slowly convergent series associated with these functions is observed to be critical for the feasibility of the method. New formulas, which are rapidly convergent, are derived for the calculation of these series. The study has shown that the brightness temperature of the Stokes parameter U can be significant in passive remote sensing. Values as high as 50 K are observed for certain configurations.

From planets to crops and back: Remote sensing makes sense

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mustard, John F.

2017-04-01

Remotely sensed data and the instruments that acquire them are core parts of Earth and planetary observation systems. They are used to quantify the Earth's interconnected systems, and remote sensing is the only way to get a daily, or more frequent, snapshot of the status of the Earth. It really is the Earth's stethoscope. In a similar manner remote sensing is the rock hammer of the planetary scientist and the only way comprehensive data sets can be acquired. To risk offending many remotely sensed data acquired across the electromagnetic spectrum, it is the tricorder to explore known and unknown planets. Arriving where we are today in the use of remotely sensed data in the solar system has been a continually evolving synergy between Earth observation, planetary exploration, and fundamental laboratory work.

Detection of land degradation with polarimetric SAR

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ray, Terrill W.; Farr, Tom G.; Van Zyl, Jakob J.

1992-01-01

Multispectral radar polarimeter data were collected over the Manix Basin Area of the Mojave desert using an airborne SAR. An analysis of the data reveals unusual polarization responses which are attributed to the formation of wind ripples on the surfaces of fields that have been abandoned for more than 5 years. This hypothesis has been confirmed through field observations, and a second-order perturbation model is shown to effectively model the polarization responses. The results demonstrate the usefulness of remote sensing techniques for the study of land degradation at synoptic scales.

The Hurricane-flood-landslide continuum-forecasting Hurricane effects at landfall

USGS Publications Warehouse

Negri, A.J.; Golden, J.H.; Updike, R.G.

2004-01-01

The integration of remote-sensing and in-situ observations, and assimilation of these observations into high-resolution mesoscale models was described. It was observed that the greatest loss of life and property is the direct result of the storm because of the high winds and heavy rain. The research were conducted to develop a warning system that included satellite observations to track dangerous level of precipitation and hurricane. The focus of the continuum project was to improve the ability to predict the evolution of the Earth system.

Water resources planning for rivers draining into Mobile Bay

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

April, G. C.

1976-01-01

The application of remote sensing, automatic data processing, modeling and other aerospace related technologies to hydrological engineering and water resource management are discussed for the entire river drainage system which feeds the Mobile Bay estuary. The adaptation and implementation of existing mathematical modeling methods are investigated for the purpose of describing the behavior of Mobile Bay. Of particular importance are the interactions that system variables such as river flow rate, wind direction and speed, and tidal state have on the water movement and quality within the bay system.

Tracking atmospheric boundary layer in tehran using combined lidar remote sensing and ground base measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panahifar, Hossein; Khalesifard, Hamid

2018-04-01

The vertical structure of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) has been studied by use of a depolarized LiDAR over Tehran, Iran. The boundary layer height (BLH) remains under 1km, and its retrieval from LiDAR have been compared with sonding measurements and meteorological model outputs. It is also shown that the wind speed and direction as well as topography lead to the persistence of air pollution in Tehran. The situation aggravate in fall and winter due to temperature inversion.

Sampling the Uppermost Surface of Airless Bodies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noble, S. K.; Keller, L. P.; Christoffersen, R.

2011-01-01

The uppermost surface of an airless body is a critical source of ground-truth information for the various remote sensing techniques that only penetrate nanometers to micrometers into the surface. Such samples will also be vital for understanding conditions at the surface and acquiring information about how the body interacts with its environment, including solar wind interaction, grain charging and levitation [1]. Sampling the uppermost surface while preserving its structure (e.g. porosity, grain-to-grain contacts) however, is a daunting task that has not been achieved on any sample return mission to date.

Verification by remote sensing of an oil slick movement prediction model. [Delaware Bay

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klemas, V. (Principal Investigator); Davis, G.; Wang, H.

1976-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. LANDSAT, aircraft, ships, and air-dropped current drogues were deployed to determine current circulation and to track oil slick movement on four different dates in Delaware Bay. The results were used to verify a predictive model for oil slicks given their size, location, tidal stage (current), weather (wind), and nature of crude. Both LANDSAT satellites provided valuable data on gross circulation patterns and convergent coastal fronts which by capturing oil slicks significantly influence their movement and dispersion.

Remote sensing of on-road vehicle emissions: Mechanism, applications and a case study from Hong Kong

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Yuhan; Organ, Bruce; Zhou, John L.; Surawski, Nic C.; Hong, Guang; Chan, Edward F. C.; Yam, Yat Shing

2018-06-01

Vehicle emissions are a major contributor to air pollution in cities and have serious health impacts to their inhabitants. On-road remote sensing is an effective and economic tool to monitor and control vehicle emissions. In this review, the mechanism, accuracy, advantages and limitations of remote sensing were introduced. Then the applications and major findings of remote sensing were critically reviewed. It was revealed that the emission distribution of on-road vehicles was highly skewed so that the dirtiest 10% vehicles accounted for over half of the total fleet emissions. Such findings highlighted the importance and effectiveness of using remote sensing for in situ identification of high-emitting vehicles for further inspection and maintenance programs. However, the accuracy and number of vehicles affected by screening programs were greatly dependent on the screening criteria. Remote sensing studies showed that the emissions of gasoline and diesel vehicles were significantly reduced in recent years, with the exception of NOx emissions of diesel vehicles in spite of greatly tightened automotive emission regulations. Thirdly, the experience and issues of using remote sensing for identifying high-emitting vehicles in Hong Kong (where remote sensing is a legislative instrument for enforcement purposes) were reported. That was followed by the first time ever identification and discussion of the issue of frequent false detection of diesel high-emitters using remote sensing. Finally, the challenges and future research directions of on-road remote sensing were elaborated.

Signals of Opportunity Earth Reflectometry (SoOp-ER): Enabling new microwave observations from small satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garrison, J. L.; Piepmeier, J. R.; Shah, R.; Lin, Y. C.; Du Toit, C. F.; Vega, M. A.; Knuble, J. J.

2016-12-01

Several recent experiments have demonstrated remote sensing by reutilizing communication satellite transmissions as sources in a bistatic radar configuration. This technique, referred to as "Signals of Opportunity Earth Reflectometry" (SoOp-ER), combines aspects of passive radiometry, active scatterometry and radar altimetry, but is essentially a new and alternative approach to microwave remote sensing. Reflectometry was first demonstrated with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals, enabled by their use of pseudorandom noise (PRN) codes for ranging. Two decades of research in GNSS reflectometry has culminated in the upcoming launches of several satellite missions within the next few years (TechDemoSat-1, CYGNSS, and GEROS-ISS). GNSS signals, however, have low power and are confined to a few L-band frequencies allocated to radionavigation. Communication satellites, in contrast, transmit in nearly all bands penetrating the Earth's atmosphere at very high radiated powers to assure a low bit-error-rate. High transmission power and a forward scatter geometry result in a very high signal to noise ratio at the receiver. Surface resolution is determined by the signal bandwidth, not the antenna beam. In many applications, this will allow small, low gain antennas to be used to make scientifically useful measurements. These features indicate that SoOp-ER instruments would be an ideal technology for microwave remote sensing from small platforms. SoOp-ER observations are referenced at the specular point and a constellation of small satellites, evenly spaced in the same orbit, would provide global coverage through parallel specular point ground tracks. This presentation will summarize the current instrument development work by the authors on three different application of SoOp-ER: P-band (230-270 MHz) sensing of root-zone soil moisture (RZSM), S-band sensing of ocean winds and Ku/Ka-band altimetry. Potential mission scenarios using small satellite constellations using SoOp-ER at these frequencies are under study.

Remote sensing of natural resources: Quarterly literature review

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

A quarterly review of technical literature concerning remote sensing techniques is presented. The format contains indexed and abstracted materials with emphasis on data gathering techniques performed or obtained remotely from space, aircraft, or ground-based stations. Remote sensor applications including the remote sensing of natural resources are presented.

Time Series Remote Sensing in Monitoring the Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Plant Invasions: A Study of Invasive Saltcedar (Tamarix Spp.)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diao, Chunyuan

In today's big data era, the increasing availability of satellite and airborne platforms at various spatial and temporal scales creates unprecedented opportunities to understand the complex and dynamic systems (e.g., plant invasion). Time series remote sensing is becoming more and more important to monitor the earth system dynamics and interactions. To date, most of the time series remote sensing studies have been conducted with the images acquired at coarse spatial scale, due to their relatively high temporal resolution. The construction of time series at fine spatial scale, however, is limited to few or discrete images acquired within or across years. The objective of this research is to advance the time series remote sensing at fine spatial scale, particularly to shift from discrete time series remote sensing to continuous time series remote sensing. The objective will be achieved through the following aims: 1) Advance intra-annual time series remote sensing under the pure-pixel assumption; 2) Advance intra-annual time series remote sensing under the mixed-pixel assumption; 3) Advance inter-annual time series remote sensing in monitoring the land surface dynamics; and 4) Advance the species distribution model with time series remote sensing. Taking invasive saltcedar as an example, four methods (i.e., phenological time series remote sensing model, temporal partial unmixing method, multiyear spectral angle clustering model, and time series remote sensing-based spatially explicit species distribution model) were developed to achieve the objectives. Results indicated that the phenological time series remote sensing model could effectively map saltcedar distributions through characterizing the seasonal phenological dynamics of plant species throughout the year. The proposed temporal partial unmixing method, compared to conventional unmixing methods, could more accurately estimate saltcedar abundance within a pixel by exploiting the adequate temporal signatures of saltcedar. The multiyear spectral angle clustering model could guide the selection of the most representative remotely sensed image for repetitive saltcedar mapping over space and time. Through incorporating spatial autocorrelation, the species distribution model developed in the study could identify the suitable habitats of saltcedar at a fine spatial scale and locate appropriate areas at high risk of saltcedar infestation. Among 10 environmental variables, the distance to the river and the phenological attributes summarized by the time series remote sensing were regarded as the most important. These methods developed in the study provide new perspectives on how the continuous time series can be leveraged under various conditions to investigate the plant invasion dynamics.

Improving lidar turbulence estimates for wind energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newman, J. F.; Clifton, A.; Churchfield, M. J.; Klein, P.

2016-09-01

Remote sensing devices (e.g., lidars) are quickly becoming a cost-effective and reliable alternative to meteorological towers for wind energy applications. Although lidars can measure mean wind speeds accurately, these devices measure different values of turbulence intensity (TI) than an instrument on a tower. In response to these issues, a lidar TI error reduction model was recently developed for commercially available lidars. The TI error model first applies physics-based corrections to the lidar measurements, then uses machine-learning techniques to further reduce errors in lidar TI estimates. The model was tested at two sites in the Southern Plains where vertically profiling lidars were collocated with meteorological towers. Results indicate that the model works well under stable conditions but cannot fully mitigate the effects of variance contamination under unstable conditions. To understand how variance contamination affects lidar TI estimates, a new set of equations was derived in previous work to characterize the actual variance measured by a lidar. Terms in these equations were quantified using a lidar simulator and modeled wind field, and the new equations were then implemented into the TI error model.

Improving Lidar Turbulence Estimates for Wind Energy: Preprint

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

Newman, Jennifer; Clifton, Andrew; Churchfield, Matthew

2016-10-01

Remote sensing devices (e.g., lidars) are quickly becoming a cost-effective and reliable alternative to meteorological towers for wind energy applications. Although lidars can measure mean wind speeds accurately, these devices measure different values of turbulence intensity (TI) than an instrument on a tower. In response to these issues, a lidar TI error reduction model was recently developed for commercially available lidars. The TI error model first applies physics-based corrections to the lidar measurements, then uses machine-learning techniques to further reduce errors in lidar TI estimates. The model was tested at two sites in the Southern Plains where vertically profiling lidarsmore » were collocated with meteorological towers. Results indicate that the model works well under stable conditions but cannot fully mitigate the effects of variance contamination under unstable conditions. To understand how variance contamination affects lidar TI estimates, a new set of equations was derived in previous work to characterize the actual variance measured by a lidar. Terms in these equations were quantified using a lidar simulator and modeled wind field, and the new equations were then implemented into the TI error model.« less

Ocean-ice interaction in the marginal ice zone using synthetic aperture radar imagery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Antony K.; Peng, Chich Y.; Weingartner, Thomas J.

1994-01-01

Ocean-ice interaction processes in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) by wind, waves, and mesoscale features, such as up/downwelling and eddies are studied using Earth Remote-Sensing Satellite (ERS) 1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images and an ocean-ice interaction model. A sequence of seven SAR images of the MIZ in the Chukchi Sea with 3 or 6 days interval are investigated for ice edge advance/retreat. Simultaneous current measurements from the northeast Chukchi Sea, as well as the Barrow wind record, are used to interpret the MIZ dynamics. SAR spectra of waves in ice and ocean waves in the Bering and Chukchi Sea are compared for the study of wave propagation and dominant SAR imaging mechanism. By using the SAR-observed ice edge configuration and wind and wave field in the Chukchi Sea as inputs, a numerical simulation has been performed with the ocean-ice interaction model. After 3 days of wind and wave forcing the resulting ice edge configuration, eddy formation, and flow velocity field are shown to be consistent with SAR observations.

Improving Lidar Turbulence Estimates for Wind Energy

DOE PAGES

Newman, Jennifer F.; Clifton, Andrew; Churchfield, Matthew J.; ...

2016-10-03

Remote sensing devices (e.g., lidars) are quickly becoming a cost-effective and reliable alternative to meteorological towers for wind energy applications. Although lidars can measure mean wind speeds accurately, these devices measure different values of turbulence intensity (TI) than an instrument on a tower. In response to these issues, a lidar TI error reduction model was recently developed for commercially available lidars. The TI error model first applies physics-based corrections to the lidar measurements, then uses machine-learning techniques to further reduce errors in lidar TI estimates. The model was tested at two sites in the Southern Plains where vertically profiling lidarsmore » were collocated with meteorological towers. Results indicate that the model works well under stable conditions but cannot fully mitigate the effects of variance contamination under unstable conditions. To understand how variance contamination affects lidar TI estimates, a new set of equations was derived in previous work to characterize the actual variance measured by a lidar. Terms in these equations were quantified using a lidar simulator and modeled wind field, and the new equations were then implemented into the TI error model.« less

The NASA CYGNSS Small Satellite Constellation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruf, C. S.; Gleason, S.; McKague, D. S.; Rose, R.; Scherrer, J.

2017-12-01

The NASA Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) is a constellation of eight microsatellite observatories that was launched into a low (35°) inclination, low Earth orbit on 15 December 2016. Each observatory carries a 4-channel GNSS-R bistatic radar receiver. The radars are tuned to receive the L1 signals transmitted by GPS satellites, from which near-surface ocean wind speed is estimated. The mission architecture is designed to improve the temporal sampling of winds in tropical cyclones (TCs). The 32 receive channels of the complete CYGNSS constellation, combined with the 30 GPS satellite transmitters, results in a revisit time for sampling of the wind of 2.8 hours (median) and 7.2 hours (mean) at all locations between 38 deg North and 38 deg South latitude. Operation at the GPS L1 frequency of 1575 MHz allows for wind measurements in the TC inner core that are often obscured from other spaceborne remote sensing instruments by intense precipitation in the eye wall and inner rain bands. An overview of the CYGNSS mission wil be presented, followed by early on-orbit status and results.

Rapid response to coastal upwelling in a semienclosed bay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilcoto, Miguel; Largier, John L.; Barton, Eric D.; Piedracoba, Silvia; Torres, Ricardo; Graña, Rocío.; Alonso-Pérez, Fernando; Villacieros-Robineau, Nicolás.; de la Granda, Francisco

2017-03-01

Bays/estuaries forced by local wind show bidirectional exchange flow. When forced by remote wind, they exhibit unidirectional flow adjustment to coastal sea level. Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler observations over 1 year show that the Ria de Vigo (Iberian Upwelling) responds to coastal wind events with bidirectional exchange flow. The duration of the upwelling and downwelling events, estimated from the current variability, was 3.3 days and 2.6 days, respectively. Vectorial correlations reveal a rapid response to upwelling/downwelling, in which currents lag local wind by <6 h and remote wind by <14 h, less than the Ekman spinup (17.8 h). This rapidity arises from the ria's narrowness (nonrotational local response), equatorward orientation (additive remote and local wind responses), depth greater than the Ekman depth (penetration of shelf circulation into the interior), and vertical stratification (shear reinforcing shelf circulation). Similar rapid responses are expected in other narrow bays where local and remote winds act together and stratification enhances bidirectional flow.

Forest mensuration with remote sensing: A retrospective and a vision for the future

Treesearch

Randolph H. Wynne

2004-01-01

Remote sensing, while occasionally oversold, has clear potential to reduce the overall cost of traditional forest inventories. Perhaps most important, some of the information needed for more intensive, rather than extensive, forest management is available from remote sensing. These new information needs may justify increased use and the increased cost of remote sensing...

15 CFR 960.12 - Data policy for remote sensing space systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Data policy for remote sensing space... REGULATIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA SERVICE LICENSING OF PRIVATE REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS Licenses § 960.12 Data policy for remote sensing space systems. (a) In accordance with the Act, if the U.S. Government...

Remote Sensing: Analyzing Satellite Images to Create Higher Order Thinking Skills.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marks, Steven K.; And Others

1996-01-01

Presents a unit that uses remote-sensing images from satellites and other spacecraft to provide new perspectives of the earth and generate greater global awareness. Relates the levels of Bloom's hierarchy to different aspects of the remote sensing unit to confirm that the concepts and principles of remote sensing and related images belong in…

15 CFR 960.12 - Data policy for remote sensing space systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Data policy for remote sensing space... REGULATIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA SERVICE LICENSING OF PRIVATE REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS Licenses § 960.12 Data policy for remote sensing space systems. (a) In accordance with the Act, if the U.S. Government...

15 CFR 960.12 - Data policy for remote sensing space systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Data policy for remote sensing space... REGULATIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA SERVICE LICENSING OF PRIVATE REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS Licenses § 960.12 Data policy for remote sensing space systems. (a) In accordance with the Act, if the U.S. Government...

15 CFR 960.12 - Data policy for remote sensing space systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Data policy for remote sensing space... REGULATIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA SERVICE LICENSING OF PRIVATE REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS Licenses § 960.12 Data policy for remote sensing space systems. (a) In accordance with the Act, if the U.S. Government...

15 CFR 960.12 - Data policy for remote sensing space systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Data policy for remote sensing space... REGULATIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DATA SERVICE LICENSING OF PRIVATE REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS Licenses § 960.12 Data policy for remote sensing space systems. (a) In accordance with the Act, if the U.S. Government...

Annotated bibliography of remote sensing methods for monitoring desertification

USGS Publications Warehouse

Walker, A.S.; Robinove, Charles J.

1981-01-01

Remote sensing techniques are valuable for locating, assessing, and monitoring desertification. Remotely sensed data provide a permanent record of the condition of the land in a format that allows changes in land features and condition to be measured. The annotated bibliography of 118 items discusses remote sensing methods that may be applied to desertification studies.

Applied Remote Sensing Program (ARSP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, J. D.; Foster, K. E.; Mouat, D. A.; Miller, D. A.; Conn, J. S.

1976-01-01

The activities and accomplishments of the Applied Remote Sensing Program during FY 1975-1976 are reported. The principal objective of the Applied Remote Sensing Program continues to be designed projects having specific decision-making impacts as a principal goal. These projects are carried out in cooperation and collaboration with local, state and federal agencies whose responsibilities lie with planning, zoning and environmental monitoring and/or assessment in the application of remote sensing techniques. The end result of the projects is the use by the involved agencies of remote sensing techniques in problem solving.

Communicating remote sensing concepts in an interdisciplinary environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chung, R.

1981-01-01

Although remote sensing is currently multidisciplinary in its applications, many of its terms come from the engineering sciences, particularly from the field of pattern recognition. Scholars from fields such as the social sciences, botany, and biology, may experience initial difficulty with remote sensing terminology, even though parallel concepts exist in their own fields. Some parallel concepts and terminologies from nonengineering fields, which might enhance the understanding of remote sensing concepts in an interdisciplinary situation are identified. Feedbacks which this analogue strategy might have on remote sensing itself are explored.

People, Places and Pixels: Remote Sensing in the Service of Society

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lulla, Kamlesh

2003-01-01

What is the role of Earth remote sensing and other geospatial technologies in our society? Recent global events have brought into focus the role of geospatial science and technology such as remote sensing, GIS, GPS in assisting the professionals who are responsible for operations such as rescue and recovery of sites after a disaster or a terrorist act. This paper reviews the use of recent remote sensing products from satellites such as IKONOS in these efforts. Aerial and satellite imagery used in land mine detection has been evaluated and the results of this evaluation will be discussed. Synopsis of current and future ISS Earth Remote Sensing capabilities will be provided. The role of future missions in humanitarian use of remote sensing will be explored.

Satellite SAR applied in offhore wind resource mapping: possibilities and limitations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasager, C. B.

Satellite remote sensing of ocean wind fields from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) observations is presented. The study is based on a series of more than 60 ERS-2 SAR satellite scenes from the Horns Rev in the North Sea. The wind climate from the coastline and 80 km offshore is mapped in detail with a resolution of 400 m by 400 m grid cells. Spatial variations in wind speed as a function of wind direction and fetch are observed and discussed. The satellite wind fields are compared to in-situ observations from a tall offshore meteorological mast at which wind speed at 4 levels are analysed. The mast is located 14 km offshore and the wind climate is observed continously since May 1999. For offshore wind resource mapping the SAR-based wind field maps can constitute an alternative to in-situ observations and a practical method is developed for applied use in WAsP (Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program). The software is the de facto world standard tool used for prediction of wind climate and power production from wind turbines and wind farms. The possibilities and limitations on achieving offshore wind resource estimates using SAR-based wind fields in lieu of in-situ data are discussed. It includes a presentation of the footprint area-averaging techniques tailored for SAR-based wind field maps. Averaging techniques are relevant for the reduction of noise apparent in SAR wind speed maps. Acknowledgments: Danish Research Agency (SAT-WIND Sagsnr. 2058-03-0006) for funding, ESA (EO-1356, AO-153) for ERS-2 SAR scenes, and Elsam Engineering A/S for in-situ met-data.

Application of Geographic Information System and Remotesensing in effective solid waste disposal sites selection in Wukro town, Tigray, Ethiopia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammedshum, A. A.; Gebresilassie, M. A.; Rulinda, C. M.; Kahsay, G. H.; Tesfay, M. S.

2014-11-01

Identifying solid waste disposal sites and appropriately managing them is a challenging task to many developing countries. This is a critical problem too in Ethiopia in general and in Wukro town in particular. The existing site for Wukro town is not sufficient in its capacity and it is damaging the environment due to its location, and the type of waste dumped, while the surrounding area is being irrigated. Due to the swift expansion and urbanization developments in Wukro town, it badly needs to develop controlled solid waste dumping site to prevent several contamination problems. This study was conducted first, to assess the existing waste management strategies in Wukro town; and second, to find out the potential waste disposal sites for the town, using GIS and Remote Sensing techniques. The study exploited the Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) methods to combine necessary factors considered for dumping site selection. The selected method also uses various geographical data including remote sensing data, with GIS spatial analysis tools. Accordingly, site suitability maps for each of the factors were developed in a GIS environment. Results indicate that 12 dumping sites were appropriate and they were further ranked against their suitability in terms of wind direction, proximity to settlement area and distance from the center of the town. Finally, two sites are the best suitable for dumping site. This study indicated that the application of Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing techniques are efficient and low cost tools to study and select appropriate dumping site so as to facilitate decision making processes.

Ground based remote sensing retrievals and observations of snowfall in the Telemark region of Norway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pettersen, C.; L'Ecuyer, T. S.; Wood, N.; Cooper, S.; Wolff, M. A.; Petersen, W. A.; Bliven, L. F.; Tushaus, S. A.

2017-12-01

Snowfall can be broadly categorized into deep and shallow events, based on the vertical extent of the frozen precipitation in the column. The two categories are driven by different thermodynamic and physical mechanisms in the atmosphere and surface. Though satellites can observe and recognize these patterns in snowfall, these measurements are limited - particularly in cases of shallow and light precipitation and over complex terrain. By enhancing satellite measurements with ground-based instrumentation, whether with limited-term field campaigns or long-term strategic sites, we can further our understanding and assumptions about different snowfall modes. We present data collected in a recently deployed ground suite of instruments based in Norway. The Meteorological Institute of Norway has a snow measurement suite in Haukeliseter located in the orographically complex Telemark region. This suite consists of several snow accumulation instruments as well as meteorological data (temperature, dew point, wind speeds and directions). A joint project between University of Wisconsin and University of Utah augmented this suite with a 24 GHz radar MicroRain Radar (MRR), a NASA Particle Imaging Package (PIP), and a Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera (MASC). Preliminary data from this campaign are presented along with coincident overpasses from the GPM satellite. We compare the ground-based and spaceborne remotely sensed estimates of snowfall with snow gauge observations from the Haukeliseter site. Finally, we discuss how particle size distribution and fall velocity observations from the PIP and MASC can be used to improve remotely-sensed snowfall retrievals as a function of environmental conditions at Haukeliseter.

Modeling spatial patterns of wildfire susceptibility in southern California: Applications of MODIS remote sensing data and mesoscale numerical weather models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, Philipp

This dissertation investigates the potential of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery and mesoscale numerical weather models for mapping wildfire susceptibility in general and for improving the Fire Potential Index (FPI) in southern California in particular. The dissertation explores the use of the Visible Atmospherically Resistant Index (VARI) from MODIS data for mapping relative greenness (RG) of vegetation and subsequently for computing the FPI. VARI-based RG was validated against in situ observations of live fuel moisture. The results indicate that VARI is superior to the previously used Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for computing RG. FPI computed using VARI-based RG was found to outperform the traditional FPI when validated against historical fire detections using logistic regression. The study further investigates the potential of using Multiple Endmember Spectral Mixture Analysis (MESMA) on MODIS data for estimating live and dead fractions of vegetation. MESMA fractions were compared against in situ measurements and fractions derived from data of a high-resolution, hyperspectral sensor. The results show that live and dead fractions obtained from MODIS using MESMA are well correlated with the reference data. Further, FPI computed using MESMA-based green vegetation fraction in lieu of RG was validated against historical fire occurrence data. MESMA-based FPI performs at a comparable level to the traditional NDVI-based FPI, but can do so using a single MODIS image rather than an extensive remote sensing time series as required for the RG approach. Finally this dissertation explores the potential of integrating gridded wind speed data obtained from the MM5 mesoscale numerical weather model in the FPI. A new fire susceptibility index, the Wind-Adjusted Fire Potential Index (WAFPI), was introduced. It modifies the FPI algorithm by integrating normalized wind speed. Validating WAFPI against historical wildfire events using logistic regression indicates that gridded data sets of wind speed are a valuable addition to the FPI as they can significantly increase the probability range of the fitted model and can further increase the model's discriminatory power over that of the traditional FPI.

Husbandry Emissions at the Sub-Facility Scale by Fused Mobile Surface In Situ and Airborne Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leifer, I.; Melton, C.; Tratt, D. M.; Hall, J. L.; Buckland, K. N.; Frash, J.; Leen, J. B.; Lundquist, T.; Vigil, S. A.

2017-12-01

Husbandry methane (CH4) and ammonia (NH3) are strong climate and air pollution drivers. Husbandry emission factors have significant uncertainty and can differ from lab estimates as real-world practices affect emissions including where and how husbandry activities occur, their spatial and temporal relationship to micro-climate (winds, temperature, insolation, rain, and lagoon levels, which vary diurnally and seasonally), and animal care. Research dairies provide a unique opportunity to combine insights on sub-facility scale emissions to identify best practices. Two approaches with significant promise for quantifying husbandry emissions are airborne remote sensing and mobile in situ trace gas with meteorological measurements. Both capture snapshot data to allow deconvolution of temporal and spatial variability, which challenges stationary measurements, while also capturing micro-scale processes, allowing connection of real-world practices to emissions. Mobile in situ concentration data on trace gases and meteorology were collected by AMOG (AutoMObile trace Gas) Surveyor on 10 days spanning 31 months at the California Polytechnic State University Research Dairy, San Luis Obispo, CA. AMOG Surveyor is a commuter vehicle modified for atmospheric science. CH4, NH3, H2O, COS, CO, CO2, H2S, O3, NO, NO2, SO2, NOX, solar spectra, temperature, and winds were measured. The airborne hyperspectral thermal infrared sensor, Mako, collected data on 28 Sept. 2015. Research dairies allow combining insights on sub-facility scale emissions to identify best practices holistically - i.e., considering multiple trace gases. In situ data were collected while transecting plumes, approximately orthogonal to winds. Emission strength and source location were estimated by Gaussian plume inversion, validated by airborne data. Good agreement was found on source strength and location at meter length-scales. Data revealed different activities produced unique emissions with distinct trace gas fingerprints - for example, a mostly empty holding lagoon (LE, Fig. 1) was a stronger H2S source than a full holding lagoon (LW, Fig. 1), and an area in a corral (S1, Fig. 1) where cows congregated was a strong, focused NH3 source. Mako data mapped out micro-scale variability in transport that agreed with AMOG winds and plume inversions.

The application of remote sensing techniques to the study of ophiolites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Shuhab D.; Mahmood, Khalid

2008-08-01

Satellite remote sensing methods are a powerful tool for detailed geologic analysis, especially in inaccessible regions of the earth's surface. Short-wave infrared (SWIR) bands are shown to provide spectral information bearing on the lithologic, structural, and geochemical character of rock bodies such as ophiolites, allowing for a more comprehensive assessment of the lithologies present, their stratigraphic relationships, and geochemical character. Most remote sensing data are widely available for little or no cost, along with user-friendly software for non-specialists. In this paper we review common remote sensing systems and methods that allow for the discrimination of solid rock (lithologic) components of ophiolite complexes and their structural relationships. Ophiolites are enigmatic rock bodies which associated with most, if not all, plate collision sutures. Ophiolites are ideal for remote sensing given their widely recognized diversity of lithologic types and structural relationships. Accordingly, as a basis for demonstrating the utility of remote sensing techniques, we briefly review typical ophiolites in the Tethyan tectonic belt. As a case study, we apply integrated remote sensing studies of a well-studied example, the Muslim Bagh ophiolite, located in Balochistan, western Pakistan. On this basis, we attempt to demonstrate how remote sensing data can validate and reconcile existing information obtained from field studies. The lithologic and geochemical diversity of Muslim Bagh are representative of Tethyan ophiolites. Despite it's remote location it has been extensively mapped and characterized by structural and geochemical studies, and is virtually free of vegetative cover. Moreover, integrating the remote sensing data with 'ground truth' information thus offers the potential of an improved template for interpreting remote sensing data sets of other ophiolites for which little or no field information is available.

Remote Sensing and Remote Control Activities in Europe and America: Part 2--Remote Sensing Ground Stations in Europe,

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-04-08

Development tasks and products of remote sensing ground stations in Europe are represented by the In-Sec Corporation and the Schlumberger Industries Corporation. The article presents the main products of these two corporations.

[Estimation of desert vegetation coverage based on multi-source remote sensing data].

PubMed

Wan, Hong-Mei; Li, Xia; Dong, Dao-Rui

2012-12-01

Taking the lower reaches of Tarim River in Xinjiang of Northwest China as study areaAbstract: Taking the lower reaches of Tarim River in Xinjiang of Northwest China as study area and based on the ground investigation and the multi-source remote sensing data of different resolutions, the estimation models for desert vegetation coverage were built, with the precisions of different estimation methods and models compared. The results showed that with the increasing spatial resolution of remote sensing data, the precisions of the estimation models increased. The estimation precision of the models based on the high, middle-high, and middle-low resolution remote sensing data was 89.5%, 87.0%, and 84.56%, respectively, and the precisions of the remote sensing models were higher than that of vegetation index method. This study revealed the change patterns of the estimation precision of desert vegetation coverage based on different spatial resolution remote sensing data, and realized the quantitative conversion of the parameters and scales among the high, middle, and low spatial resolution remote sensing data of desert vegetation coverage, which would provide direct evidence for establishing and implementing comprehensive remote sensing monitoring scheme for the ecological restoration in the study area.

Grid workflow validation using ontology-based tacit knowledge: A case study for quantitative remote sensing applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jia; Liu, Longli; Xue, Yong; Dong, Jing; Hu, Yingcui; Hill, Richard; Guang, Jie; Li, Chi

2017-01-01

Workflow for remote sensing quantitative retrieval is the ;bridge; between Grid services and Grid-enabled application of remote sensing quantitative retrieval. Workflow averts low-level implementation details of the Grid and hence enables users to focus on higher levels of application. The workflow for remote sensing quantitative retrieval plays an important role in remote sensing Grid and Cloud computing services, which can support the modelling, construction and implementation of large-scale complicated applications of remote sensing science. The validation of workflow is important in order to support the large-scale sophisticated scientific computation processes with enhanced performance and to minimize potential waste of time and resources. To research the semantic correctness of user-defined workflows, in this paper, we propose a workflow validation method based on tacit knowledge research in the remote sensing domain. We first discuss the remote sensing model and metadata. Through detailed analysis, we then discuss the method of extracting the domain tacit knowledge and expressing the knowledge with ontology. Additionally, we construct the domain ontology with Protégé. Through our experimental study, we verify the validity of this method in two ways, namely data source consistency error validation and parameters matching error validation.

What Can Be Learned from X-Ray Spectroscopy Concerning Hot Gas in the Local Bubble and Charge Exchange Processes?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Snowden, S. L.

2008-01-01

Both solar wind charge exchange emission and diffuse thermal emission from the Local Bubble are strongly dominated in the soft X-ray band by lines from highly ionized elements. While both processes share many of the same lines, the spectra should differ significantly due to the different production mechanisms, abundances, and ionization states. Despite their distinct spectral signatures, current and past observatories have lacked the spectral resolution to adequately distinguish between the two sources. High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy instrumentation proposed for future missions has the potential to answer fundamental questions such as whether there is any hot plasma in the Local Hot Bubble, and if so, what are the abundances of the emitting plasma and whether the plasma is in equilibrium. Such instrumentation will provide dynamic information about the solar wind including data on ion species which are currently difficult to track. It will also make possible remote sensing of the solar wind.

Diurnal Evolution and Annual Variability of Boundary Layer Height in the Columbia River Gorge through the `Eye' of Wind Profiling Radars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bianco, L.; Djalalova, I.; Konopleva-Akish, E.; Kenyon, J.; Olson, J. B.; Wilczak, J. M.

2016-12-01

The Second Wind Forecast Improvement Project (WFIP2) is a DoE- and NOAA-sponsored program whose goal is to improve the accuracy of numerical weather prediction (NWP) forecasts in complex terrain. WFIP2 consists of an 18-month (October 2015 - March 2017) field campaign held in the Columbia River basin, in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. As part of WFIP2 a large suite of in-situ and remote sensing instrumentation has been deployed, including, among several others, a network of eight 915-MHz wind profiling radars (WPRs) equipped with radio acoustic sounding systems (RASSs), and many surface meteorological stations. The diurnal evolution and annual variability of boundary layer height in the area of WFIP2 will be investigated through the `eye' of WPRs, employing state-of-the-art automated algorithms, based on fuzzy logic and artificial intelligence. The results will be used to evaluate possible errors in NWP models in this area of complex terrain.

An Approach of Registration between Remote Sensing Image and Electronic Chart Based on Coastal Line

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ying; Yu, Shuiming; Li, Chuanlong

Remote sensing plays an important role marine oil spill emergency. In order to implement a timely and effective countermeasure, it is important to provide exact position of oil spills. Therefore it is necessary to match remote sensing image and electronic chart properly. Variance ordinarily exists between oil spill image and electronic chart, although geometric correction is applied to remote sensing image. It is difficult to find the steady control points on sea to make exact rectification of remote sensing image. An improved relaxation algorithm was developed for finding the control points along the coastline since oil spills occurs generally near the coast. A conversion function is created with the least square, and remote sensing image can be registered with the vector map based on this function. SAR image was used as the remote sensing data and shape format map as the electronic chart data. The results show that this approach can guarantee the precision of the registration, which is essential for oil spill monitoring.

The U.S. Geological Survey land remote sensing program

USGS Publications Warehouse

Saunders, T.; Feuquay, J.; Kelmelis, J.A.

2003-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey has been a provider of remotely sensed information for decades. As the availability and use of satellite data has grown, USGS has placed increasing emphasis on expanding the knowledge about the science of remote sensing and on making remotely sensed data more accessible. USGS encourages widespread availability and distribution of these data and through its programs, encourages and enables a variety of research activities and the development of useful applications of the data. The science of remote sensing has great potential for assisting in the monitoring and assessment of the impacts of natural disasters, management and analysis of environmental, biological, energy, and mineral investigations, and supporting informed public policy decisions. By establishing the Land Remote Sensing Program (LRS) as a major unit of the USGS Geography Program, USGS has taken the next step to further increase support for the accessibility, understanding, and use of remotely sensed data. This article describes the LRS Program, its mission and objectives, and how the program has been structured to accomplish its goals.

Extent of Low-accumulation 'Wind Glaze' Areas on the East Antarctic Plateau: Implications for Continental Ice Mass Balance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scambos, Theodore A.; Frezzotti, Massimo; Haran, T.; Bohlander, J.; Lenaerts, J. T. M.; Van Den Broeke, M. R.; Jezek, K.; Long, D.; Urbini, S.; Farness, K.;

Online catalog access and distribution of remotely sensed information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lutton, Stephen M.

1997-09-01

Remote sensing is providing voluminous data and value added information products. Electronic sensors, communication electronics, computer software, hardware, and network communications technology have matured to the point where a distributed infrastructure for remotely sensed information is a reality. The amount of remotely sensed data and information is making distributed infrastructure almost a necessity. This infrastructure provides data collection, archiving, cataloging, browsing, processing, and viewing for applications from scientific research to economic, legal, and national security decision making. The remote sensing field is entering a new exciting stage of commercial growth and expansion into the mainstream of government and business decision making. This paper overviews this new distributed infrastructure and then focuses on describing a software system for on-line catalog access and distribution of remotely sensed information.

Remote Sensing and the Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osmers, Karl

1991-01-01

Suggests using remote sensing technology to help students make sense of the natural world. Explains that satellite information allows observation of environmental changes over time. Identifies possible student projects based on remotely sensed data. Recommends obtaining the assistance of experts and seeking funding through effective project…

Use of remote sensing in agriculture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pettry, D. E.; Powell, N. L.; Newhouse, M. E.

1974-01-01

Remote sensing studies in Virginia and Chesapeake Bay areas to investigate soil and plant conditions via remote sensing technology are reported ant the results given. Remote sensing techniques and interactions are also discussed. Specific studies on the effects of soil moisture and organic matter on energy reflection of extensively occurring Sassafras soils are discussed. Greenhouse and field studies investigating the effects of chlorophyll content of Irish potatoes on infrared reflection are presented. Selected ground truth and environmental monitoring data are shown in summary form. Practical demonstrations of remote sensing technology in agriculture are depicted and future use areas are delineated.

Applications of remote sensing to watershed management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rango, A.

1975-01-01

Aircraft and satellite remote sensing systems which are capable of contributing to watershed management are described and include: the multispectral scanner subsystem on LANDSAT and the basic multispectral camera array flown on high altitude aircraft such as the U-2. Various aspects of watershed management investigated by remote sensing systems are discussed. Major areas included are: snow mapping, surface water inventories, flood management, hydrologic land use monitoring, and watershed modeling. It is indicated that technological advances in remote sensing of hydrological data must be coupled with an expansion of awareness and training in remote sensing techniques of the watershed management community.

NASA Glenn OHIOVIEW FY01/02 Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

The results of the research performed by the university principal investigators are herein compiled. OhioView's general goals were: 1) To increase remote sensing education for Ohio s undergraduate and graduate students, and also enhancing curriculum in the mathematics and science for K-12 students using the capabilities of remote sensing; 2) To conduct advanced research to develop novel remote sensing applications, i.e. to turn data into information for more applications; 3) To maximize the use of remote sensing technology by the general public through outreach and the development of tools for more user-friendly access to remote sensing data.

The availability of conventional forms of remotely sensed data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sturdevant, James A.; Holm, Thomas M.

1982-01-01

For decades Federal and State agencies have been collecting aerial photographs of various film types and scales over parts of the United States. More recently, worldwide Earth resources data acquired by orbiting satellites have inundated the remote sensing community. Determining the types of remotely sensed data that are publicly available can be confusing to the land-resource manager, planner, and scientist. This paper is a summary of the more commonly used types of remotely sensed data (aircraft and satellite) and their public availability. Special emphasis is placed on the National High-Altitude Photography (NHAP) program and future remote-sensing satellites.

Detection of deep water formation from remote sensing chlorophyll in the NW Mediterranean Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernardello, Raffaele; Bahamon, Nixon; Ahumada, Miguel-Angel; Martin, Adrian; Henson, Stephanie

2015-04-01

The Northwestern Mediterranean Sea is one of the few regions in the world where Deep Water Formation (DWF) occurs. During wintertime cold and dry winds that typically occur in strong bursts lasting a few days, are able to erode the near-surface stability over this area, exposing the weakly stratified underwaters and initiate a phase of violent mixing and deep convection. DWF is not a steady-state process that recurs every year. Variations in wind stress and heat flux over the winter can induce a marked interannual variability: during some years the process is specially intense and completely absent during others. The extent of the area over which DWF occurs is also uncertain. The interannual variability of the DWF process is also associated to the variability in the seasonal phytoplankton dynamics over the area. The extent of the vertical mixing set the total amount of nutrients available for the phytoplankton during the following spring bloom. However, before the bloom, when deep convection is still active, surface chlorophyll (an index for phytoplankton biomass) is vertically diluted showing low surface concentration. The occurrence of these patches of anomalously low chlorophyll concentration can, in principle, be associated to the presence of active deep convection. In this study we investigate the possibility of exploiting such association in order to quantify the duration of deep convection and the extent of the area over which it occurs. These goals will be achieved through the analysis of remote sensing chlorophyll data and in-situ Argo-floats profiles.

Wireless remote weather monitoring system based on MEMS technologies.

PubMed

Ma, Rong-Hua; Wang, Yu-Hsiang; Lee, Chia-Yen

2011-01-01

This study proposes a wireless remote weather monitoring system based on Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and wireless sensor network (WSN) technologies comprising sensors for the measurement of temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed and direction, integrated on a single chip. The sensing signals are transmitted between the Octopus II-A sensor nodes using WSN technology, following amplification and analog/digital conversion (ADC). Experimental results show that the resistance of the micro temperature sensor increases linearly with input temperature, with an average TCR (temperature coefficient of resistance) value of 8.2 × 10(-4) (°C(-1)). The resistance of the pressure sensor also increases linearly with air pressure, with an average sensitivity value of 3.5 × 10(-2) (Ω/kPa). The sensitivity to humidity increases with ambient temperature due to the effect of temperature on the dielectric constant, which was determined to be 16.9, 21.4, 27.0, and 38.2 (pF/%RH) at 27 °C, 30 °C, 40 °C, and 50 °C, respectively. The velocity of airflow is obtained by summing the variations in resistor response as airflow passed over the sensors providing sensitivity of 4.2 × 10(-2), 9.2 × 10(-2), 9.7 × 10(-2) (Ω/ms(-1)) with power consumption by the heating resistor of 0.2, 0.3, and 0.5 W, respectively. The passage of air across the surface of the flow sensors prompts variations in temperature among each of the sensing resistors. Evaluating these variations in resistance caused by the temperature change enables the measurement of wind direction.

Eddy energy and shelf interactions in the Gulf of Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohlmann, J. Carter; Niiler, P. Peter; Fox, Chad A.; Leben, Robert R.

2001-02-01

Sea surface height anomaly data from satellite are continuously available for the entire Gulf of Mexico. Surface current velocities derived from these remotely sensed data are compared with surface velocities from drifting buoys. The comparison shows that satellite altimetry does an excellent job resolving gulf eddies over the shelf rise (depths between ˜200 and 2000 m) if the proper length scale is used. Correlations between altimeter- and drifter-derived velocities are statistically significant (r>0.5) when the surface slope is computed over 125 km, indicating that remotely sensed sea surface height anomaly data can be used to aid the understanding of circulation over the shelf rise. Velocity variance over the shelf rise from the altimetry data shows regions of pronounced eddy energy south of the Mississippi outflow, south of the Texas-Louisiana shelf, and in the northwest and northeast corners of the gulf. These are the same locations where surface drifters are most likely to cross the shelf rise, suggesting gulf eddies promote cross-shore flows. This is clearly exemplified with both warm and cold eddies. Finally, the contribution of gulf eddies and wind stress to changes in the mean circulation are compared. Results indicate that the eddy-generated vorticity flux to the mean flow is greater than the contribution from the surface wind stress curl, especially in the region of the Loop current and along the shelf rise base in the western gulf. Future modeling efforts must not neglect the role of eddies in driving gulf circulation over the shelf rise.

River plume patterns and dynamics within the Southern California Bight

USGS Publications Warehouse

Warrick, J.A.; DiGiacomo, P.M.; Weisberg, S.B.; Nezlin, N.P.; Mengel, M.; Jones, B.H.; Ohlmann, J.C.; Washburn, L.; Terrill, E.J.; Farnsworth, K.L.

2007-01-01

Stormwater river plumes are important vectors of marine contaminants and pathogens in the Southern California Bight. Here we report the results of a multi-institution investigation of the river plumes across eight major river systems of southern California. We use in situ water samples from multi-day cruises in combination with MODIS satellite remote sensing, buoy meteorological observations, drifters, and HF radar current measurements to evaluate the dispersal patterns and dynamics of the freshwater plumes. River discharge was exceptionally episodic, and the majority of storm discharge occurred in a few hours. The combined plume observing techniques revealed that plumes commonly detach from the coast and turn to the left, which is the opposite direction of Coriolis influence. Although initial offshore velocity of the buoyant plumes was ∼50 cm/s and was influenced by river discharge inertia (i.e., the direct momentum of the river flux) and buoyancy, subsequent advection of the plumes was largely observed in an alongshore direction and dominated by local winds. Due to the multiple day upwelling wind conditions that commonly follow discharge events, plumes were observed to flow from their respective river mouths to down-coast waters at rates of 20–40 km/d. Lastly, we note that suspended-sediment concentration and beam-attenuation were poorly correlated with plume salinity across and within the sampled plumes (mean r2=0.12 and 0.25, respectively), while colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) fluorescence was well correlated (mean r2=0.56), suggesting that CDOM may serve as a good tracer of the discharged freshwater in subsequent remote sensing and monitoring efforts of plumes.

Aircraft in situ and remote sensing measurements of emissions from Etna volcano, Sicily

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vogel, A.; Weber, K.; Fischer, C.; Prata, A. J.; Durant, A. J.

2012-04-01

Volcanoes emit particles (silicates and sulphate aerosol) and gases (e.g., water and sulphur dioxide) which influence the radiative balance of the atmosphere. The rate at which sulphur dioxide oxidises to sulphate aerosol is poorly constrained and measurements of downwind abundance are required to quantify the rate at which this process occurs. During July and November 2011, a series of measurements were performed in emissions from Etna Volcano, Sicily, using the University of Applied Sciences (Dusseldorf) research aircraft. Both in situ and remote sensing instrumentation was simultaneously deployed to quantify the down-wind characteristics of gases and particles in the plume emitted by the volcano. In situ particle characteristics were measured using a Grimm 1.109 optical particle counter (microparticles 0.25-32 microns) and Grimm 1320 diffusion electrometer (nanoparticles 25-300 nanometers). Column abundance of sulphur dioxide was measured using a vertically-pointing differential optical absorption spectrometer (DOAS). These measurements were compared to horizontal pathlength-integrated measurements of sulphur dioxide from the Airborne Volcanic Imaging Object Detector (AVOID). Down-wind plume dispersion was discriminated through a series of aircraft transects below and through the volcanic plume. The emissions contained large amounts of nanoparticles relative to microparticles, which reflects gas-phase nucleation of sulphate aerosol. The AVOID system discriminated horizontal layering of volcanic aerosol at altitudes of up to 12,000 ft from a detection range of >50 km. Plume boundaries were discriminated using a combination of the in situ and DOAS measurements in order to compare to the pathlength-integrated measurements from AVOID.

NASA's Applied Remote Sensing Training (ARSET) Webinar Series

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2016-07-12

NASA's Applied Remote Sensing Training (ARSET) Webinar Series Tuesday, July 12, 2016 ... you of a free training opportunity: Introduction to Remote Sensing for Air Quality Applications Webinar Series Beginning in ...

Tropospheric Passive Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keafer, L. S., Jr. (Editor)

1982-01-01

The long term role of airborne/spaceborne passive remote sensing systems for tropospheric air quality research and the identification of technology advances required to improve the performance of passive remote sensing systems were discussed.

Remote Sensing as a Demonstration of Applied Physics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colwell, Robert N.

1980-01-01

Provides information about the field of remote sensing, including discussions of geo-synchronous and sun-synchronous remote-sensing platforms, the actual physical processes and equipment involved in sensing, the analysis of images by humans and machines, and inexpensive, small scale methods, including aerial photography. (CS)

Opportunities and problems in introducing or expanding the teaching of remote sensing in universities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maxwell, E. L.

1980-01-01

The need for degree programs in remote sensing is considered. Any education program which claims to train remote sensing specialists must include expertise in the physical principles upon which remote sensing is based. These principles dictate the limits of engineering and design, computer analysis, photogrammetry, and photointerpretation. Faculty members must be hired to provide emphasis in those five areas.

Remote sensing of vegetation fires and its contribution to a fire management information system

Treesearch

Stephane P. Flasse; Simon N. Trigg; Pietro N. Ceccato; Anita H. Perryman; Andrew T. Hudak; Mark W. Thompson; Bruce H. Brockett; Moussa Drame; Tim Ntabeni; Philip E. Frost; Tobias Landmann; Johan L. le Roux

2004-01-01

In the last decade, research has proven that remote sensing can provide very useful support to fire managers. This chapter provides an overview of the types of information remote sensing can provide to the fire community. First, it considers fire management information needs in the context of a fire management information system. An introduction to remote sensing then...

Multi-scale Computational Electromagnetics for Phenomenology and Saliency Characterization in Remote Sensing

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-07-15

AFRL-AFOSR-JP-TR-2016-0068 Multi-scale Computational Electromagnetics for Phenomenology and Saliency Characterization in Remote Sensing Hean-Teik...SUBTITLE Multi-scale Computational Electromagnetics for Phenomenology and Saliency Characterization in Remote Sensing 5a.  CONTRACT NUMBER 5b.  GRANT NUMBER... electromagnetics to the application in microwave remote sensing as well as extension of modelling capability with computational flexibility to study

Multi-scale Computational Electromagnetics for Phenomenology and Saliency Characterization in Remote Sensing

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-07-15

AFRL-AFOSR-JP-TR-2016-0068 Multi-scale Computational Electromagnetics for Phenomenology and Saliency Characterization in Remote Sensing Hean-Teik...SUBTITLE Multi-scale Computational Electromagnetics for Phenomenology and Saliency Characterization in Remote Sensing 5a.  CONTRACT NUMBER 5b.  GRANT NUMBER...electromagnetics to the application in microwave remote sensing as well as extension of modelling capability with computational flexibility to study

Basic Remote Sensing Investigations for Beach Reconnaissance.

DTIC Science & Technology

Progress is reported on three tasks designed to develop remote sensing beach reconnaissance techniques applicable to the benthic, beach intertidal...and beach upland zones. Task 1 is designed to develop remote sensing indicators of important beach composition and physical parameters which will...ultimately prove useful in models to predict beach conditions. Task 2 is designed to develop remote sensing techniques for survey of bottom features in

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.

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.

Remote Sensing: A Film Review.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, David J.

1986-01-01

Reviews the content of 19 films on remote sensing published between 1973 and 1980. Concludes that they are overly simplistic, notably outdated, and generally too optimistic about the potential of remote sensing from space for resource exploration and environmental problem-solving. Provides names and addresses of more current remote sensing…

Initial results of detected methane emissions from landfills in the Los Angeles Basin during the COMEX campaign by the Methane Airborne MAPper (MAMAP) instrument and a greenhouse gas in-situ analyser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krautwurst, Sven; Gerilowski, Konstantin; Kolyer, Richard; Jonsson, Haflidi; Krings, Thomas; Horstjann, Markus; Leifer, Ira; Vigil, Sam; Buchwitz, Michael; Schüttemeyer, Dirk; Fladeland, Matthew M.; Burrows, John P.; Bovensmann, Heinrich

2015-04-01

Methane (CH4) is the second most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas beside carbon dioxide (CO2). Significant contributors to the global methane budget are fugitive emissions from landfills. Due to the growing world population, it is expected that the amount of waste and, therefore, waste disposal sites will increase in number and size in parts of the world, often adjacent growing megacities. Besides bottom-up modelling, a variety of ground based methods (e.g., flux chambers, trace gases, radial plume mapping, etc.) have been used to estimate (top-down) these fugitive emissions. Because landfills usually are large, sometimes with significant topographic relief, vary temporally, and leak/emit heterogeneously across their surface area, assessing total emission strength by ground-based techniques is often difficult. In this work, we show how airborne based remote sensing measurements of the column-averaged dry air mole fraction of CH4 can be utilized to estimate fugitive emissions from landfills in an urban environment by a mass balance approach. Subsequently, these emission rates are compared to airborne in-situ horizontal cross section measurements of CH4 taken within the planetary boundary layer (PBL) upwind and downwind of the landfill at different altitudes immediately after the remote sensing measurements were finished. Additional necessary parameters (e.g., wind direction, wind speed, aerosols, dew point temperature, etc.) for the data inversion are provided by a standard instrumentation suite for atmospheric measurements aboard the aircraft, and nearby ground-based weather stations. These measurements were part of the CO2 and Methane EXperiment (COMEX), which was executed during the summer 2014 in California and was co-funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The remote sensing measurements were taken by the Methane Airborne MAPper (MAMAP) developed and operated by the University of Bremen and the German Research Center for Geoscience (GFZ) in Potsdam. The in-situ measurements were obtained by a greenhouse gas (GHG) in-situ analyser operated by NASA's Ames Research Center (ARC). Both instruments were installed aboard a DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft operated by the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS). Initial results - including estimated fugitive emission rates - will be presented for the landfill Olinda Alpha in Brea, Orange County, Los Angeles Basin, California, which was overflown on four different days during the COMEX field campaign in late summer 2014.

Educational activities of remote sensing archaeology (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hadjimitsis, Diofantos G.; Agapiou, Athos; Lysandrou, Vasilki; Themistocleous, Kyriacos; Cuca, Branka; Nisantzi, Argyro; Lasaponara, Rosa; Masini, Nicola; Krauss, Thomas; Cerra, Daniele; Gessner, Ursula; Schreier, Gunter

2016-10-01

Remote sensing science is increasingly being used to support archaeological and cultural heritage research in various ways. Satellite sensors either passive or active are currently used in a systematic basis to detect buried archaeological remains and to systematic monitor tangible heritage. In addition, airborne and low altitude systems are being used for documentation purposes. Ground surveys using remote sensing tools such as spectroradiometers and ground penetrating radars can detect variations of vegetation and soil respectively, which are linked to the presence of underground archaeological features. Education activities and training of remote sensing archaeology to young people is characterized of highly importance. Specific remote sensing tools relevant for archaeological research can be developed including web tools, small libraries, interactive learning games etc. These tools can be then combined and aligned with archaeology and cultural heritage. This can be achieved by presenting historical and pre-historical records, excavated sites or even artifacts under a "remote sensing" approach. Using such non-form educational approach, the students can be involved, ask, read, and seek to learn more about remote sensing and of course to learn about history. The paper aims to present a modern didactical concept and some examples of practical implementation of remote sensing archaeology in secondary schools in Cyprus. The idea was built upon an ongoing project (ATHENA) focused on the sue of remote sensing for archaeological research in Cyprus. Through H2020 ATHENA project, the Remote Sensing Science and Geo-Environment Research Laboratory at the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), with the support of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) aims to enhance its performance in all these new technologies.

Wind turbine remote control using Android devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rat, C. L.; Panoiu, M.

2018-01-01

This paper describes the remote control of a wind turbine system over the internet using an Android device, namely a tablet or a smartphone. The wind turbine workstation contains a LabVIEW program which monitors the entire wind turbine energy conversion system (WECS). The Android device connects to the LabVIEW application, working as a remote interface to the wind turbine. The communication between the devices needs to be secured because it takes place over the internet. Hence, the data are encrypted before being sent through the network. The scope was the design of remote control software capable of visualizing real-time wind turbine data through a secure connection. Since the WECS is fully automated and no full-time human operator exists, unattended access to the turbine workstation is needed. Therefore the device must not require any confirmation or permission from the computer operator in order to control it. Another condition is that Android application does not have any root requirements.

Remote Sensing and the Earth.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brosius, Craig A.; And Others

This document is designed to help senior high school students study remote sensing technology and techniques in relation to the environmental sciences. It discusses the acquisition, analysis, and use of ecological remote data. Material is divided into three sections and an appendix. Section One is an overview of the basics of remote sensing.…

Microwave remote sensing of snowpack properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rango, A. (Editor)

1980-01-01

Topic concerning remote sensing capabilities for providing reliable snow cover data and measurement of snow water equivalents are discussed. Specific remote sensing technqiues discussed include those in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Commerical Remote Sensing Data Contract

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2005-01-01

The U. S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Commercial Remote Sensing Data Contracts (CRSDCs) provide government agencies with access to a broad range of commercially available remotely sensed airborne and satellite data. These contracts were established to support The National Map partners, other Federal Civilian agency programs, and Department of Defense programs that require data for the United States and its territories. Experience shows that centralized procurement of remotely sensed data leads to considerable cost savings to the Federal government through volume discounts, reduction of redundant contract administrative costs, and avoidance of duplicate purchases. These contracts directly support the President's Commercial Remote Sensing Space Policy, signed in 2003, by providing a centralized mechanism for civil agencies to acquire commercial remote sensing products to support their mission needs in an efficient and coordinated way. CRSDC administration is provided by the USGS Mid-Continent Mapping Center in Rolla, Missouri.

Object-oriented recognition of high-resolution remote sensing image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yongyan; Li, Haitao; Chen, Hong; Xu, Yuannan

2016-01-01

With the development of remote sensing imaging technology and the improvement of multi-source image's resolution in satellite visible light, multi-spectral and hyper spectral , the high resolution remote sensing image has been widely used in various fields, for example military field, surveying and mapping, geophysical prospecting, environment and so forth. In remote sensing image, the segmentation of ground targets, feature extraction and the technology of automatic recognition are the hotspot and difficulty in the research of modern information technology. This paper also presents an object-oriented remote sensing image scene classification method. The method is consist of vehicles typical objects classification generation, nonparametric density estimation theory, mean shift segmentation theory, multi-scale corner detection algorithm, local shape matching algorithm based on template. Remote sensing vehicles image classification software system is designed and implemented to meet the requirements .

ELECTRONIC BIVANE WIND DIRECTION INDICATOR

DOEpatents

Moses, H.

1961-05-01

An apparatus is described for determining and recording three dimensional wind vectors. The apparatus comprises a rotatably mounted azimuthal wind component sensing head and an elevational wind component sensing head mounted to the azimuthal head and adapted to rotate therewith in the azimuthal plane and independently in the elevational plane. A heat source and thermocouples disposed thereabout are mounted within each of the sensing heads, the thermocouples providing electrical signals responsive to the temperature differential created by the passage of air through the sensing tuhes. The thermocouple signals are applied to drive mechanisms which position the sensing heads to a null wind position. Recording means are provided responsive to positional data from the drive mechanisms which are a measurement of the three dimensional wind vectors.

Understanding of Jupiter's Atmosphere after the Galileo Probe Entry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fonda, Mark (Technical Monitor); Young, Richard E.

2003-01-01

Instruments on the Galileo probe measured composition, cloud properties, thermal structure, winds, radiative energy balance, and electrical properties of the Jovian atmosphere. As expected the probe results confirm some expectations about Jupiter's atmosphere, refute others, and raise new questions which still remain unanswered. This talk will concentrate on those aspects of the probe observations which either raised new questions or remain unresolved. The Galileo probe observations of composition and clouds provided some of the biggest surprises of the mission. Helium abundance measured by the probe differed significantly from the remote sensing derivations from Voyager. Discrepancy between the Voyager helium abundance determinations for Jupiter and the Galileo probe value have now led to a considerably increased helium determination for Saturn. Global abundance of N in the form of ammonia was observed to be super-solar by approximately the same factor as carbon, in contrast to expectations that C/N would be significantly larger than solar. This has implications for the formation and evolution of Jupiter. The cloud structure was not what was generally anticipated, even though most previous remote sensing results below the uppermost cloud referred to 5 micron hot spots, local regions with reduced cloud opacity. The Galileo probe descended in one of these hot spots. Only a tenuous, presumed ammomium hydrosulfide, cloud was detected, and no significant water cloud or super-solar water abundance was measured. The mixing ratios as a function of depth for the condensibles ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and water, exhibited no apparent correlation with either condensation levels or with each other, an observation that is still a puzzle, although there are now dynamical models of hot spots which show promise in being able to explain such behavior. Probe tracked zonal winds show that wind magnitude increases with depth to pressures of about 4 bars, with the winds extending to at least as deep as the probe made measurements, 22 bars. Models of hot spot dynamics raise the possibility that the variation with depth of the probe measured zonal winds between 0.4 and 4 bars reflect the dynamics of the hot spot rather than the global wind pattern. Galileo upper atmosphere measurements established that there is a sharp temperature rise with altitude between about 350 and 800 km above the 1 bar pressure level, with the upper atmosphere reaching temperatures near 900 K. The energy sources for this upper atmosphere heating are not clearly established, but various mechanisms have been proposed. These and other aspects of the Galileo probe data will be discussed.

Understanding of Jupiter's Atmosphere After the Galileo Probe Entry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Young, Richard E.; DeVincenzi, Donald (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Instruments on the Galileo probe measured composition, cloud properties, thermal structure. winds, radiative energy balance, and electrical properties of the Jovian atmosphere. As expected the probe results confirm some expectations about Jupiter's atmosphere, refute others, and raise new questions which still remain unanswered. This talk will concentrate on those aspects of the probe observations which either raised new questions or remain unresolved. The Galileo probe observations of composition and clouds provided some of the biggest surprises of the mission. Helium abundance measured by the probe differed significantly from the remote sensing derivations from Voyager. discrepancy between the Voyager helium abundance determinations for Jupiter and the Galileo probe value have now led to a considerably increased helium determination for Saturn. Global abundance of N in the form of ammonia was observed to be supersolar by approximately the same factor as carbon, in contrast to expectations that C/N would be significantly larger than solar. This has implications for the formation and evolution of Jupiter. The cloud structure was not what was generally anticipated, even though most previous remote sensing results below the uppermost cloud referred to 5 micron hot spots, local regions with reduced cloud opacity. The Galileo probe descended in one of these hot spots. Only a tenuous, presumed ammonium hydrosulfide, cloud was detected, and no significant water cloud or super-solar water abundance was measured. The mixing ratios as a function of depth for the condensibles ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and water, exhibited no apparent correlation with either condensation levels or with each other, an observation that is still a puzzle, although there are now dynamical models of hot spots which show promise in being able to explain such behavior. Probe tracked zonal winds show that wind magnitude increases with depth to pressures of about 4 bars, with the winds extending to at least as deep as the probe made measurements, 22 bars. Models of hot spot dynamics raise the possibility that the variation with depth of the probe measured zonal winds between 0.4 and 4 bars reflect the dynamics of the hot spot rather than the global wind pattern. Galileo upper atmosphere measurements established that there is a sharp temperature rise with altitude between about 350 and 800 km above the 1 bar pressure level, with the upper atmosphere reaching, temperatures near 900 K. The energy sources for this upper atmosphere heating are not clearly established, but various mechanisms have been proposed. These and other aspects of the Galileo probe data will be discussed.

Latitudinal variation of speed and mass flux in the acceleration region of the solar wind inferred from spectral broadening measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woo, Richard; Goldstein, Richard M.

1994-01-01

Spectral broadening measurements conducted at S-band (13-cm wavelength) during solar minimum conditions in the heliocentric distance range of 3-8 R(sub O) by Mariner 4, Pioneer 10, Mariner 10, Helios 1, Helios 2, and Viking have been combined to reveal a factor of 2.6 reduction in bandwidth from equator to pole. Since spectral broadening bandwidth depends on electron density fluctuation and solar wind speed, and latitudinal variation of the former is available from coherence bandwidth measurements, the remote sensing spectral broadening measurements provide the first determination of the latitudinal variation of solar wind speed in the acceleration region. When combined with electron density measurements deduced from white-light coronagraphs, this result also leads to the first determination of the latitudinal variation of mass flux in the acceleration region. From equator to pole, solar wind speed increases by a factor of 2.2, while mass flux decreases by a factor of 2.3. These results are consistent with measurements of solar wind speed by multi-station intensity scintillation measurements, as well as measurements of mass flux inferred from Lyman alpha observations, both of which pertain to the solar wind beyond 0.5 AU. The spectral broadening observations, therefore, strengthen earlier conclusions about the latitudinal variation of solar wind speed and mass flux, and reinforce current solar coronal models and their implications for solar wind acceleration and solar wind modeling.

Experimental Sea Slicks in the Marsen (Maritime Remote Sensing) Exercise.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-10-30

Experimental slicks with various surface properties were generated in the North Sea as part of the MARSEN (Maritime Remote Sensing ) exercise. The one...with remote sensing instrumentation. Because of the numerous effects of surface films on air-sea interfacial processes, these experiments were designed...information was obtained on the influence of sea surface films on the interpretation of signals received by remote sensing systems. Criteria for the

SYMPOSIUM ON REMOTE SENSING IN THE POLAR REGIONS

DTIC Science & Technology

The Arctic Institute of North America long has been interested in encouraging full and specific attention to applications of remote sensing to polar...research problems. The major purpose of the symposium was to acquaint scientists and technicians concerned with remote sensing with some of the...special problems of the polar areas and, in turn, to acquaint polar scientists with the potential of the use of remote sensing . The Symposium therefore was

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

Methods of Determining Playa Surface Conditions Using Remote Sensing

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-10-08

NO. 11. TITLE (include Security Classification) METHODS OF DETERMINING PLAYA SURFACE CONDITIONS USING REMOTE SENSING 12. PERSONAL AUTHOR(S) J. PONDER...PLAYA SURFACE CONDITIONS USING REMOTE SENSING J. Ponder Henley U. S. Army Engineer Topographic Laboratories Fort Belvoir, Virginia 22060-5546 "ABSTRACT...geochemistry, hydrology and remote sensing but all of these are important to the understanding of these unique geomorphic features. There is a large body

Needs Assessment for the Use of NASA Remote Sensing Data in the Development and Implementation of Estuarine and Coastal Water Quality Standards

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spiering, Bruce; Underwood, Lauren; Ellis, Chris; Lehrter, John; Hagy, Jim; Schaeffer, Blake

2010-01-01

The goals of the project are to provide information from satellite remote sensing to support numeric nutrient criteria development and to determine data processing methods and data quality requirements to support nutrient criteria development and implementation. The approach is to identify water quality indicators that are used by decision makers to assess water quality and that are related to optical properties of the water; to develop remotely sensed data products based on algorithms relating remote sensing imagery to field-based observations of indicator values; to develop methods to assess estuarine water quality, including trends, spatial and temporal variability, and seasonality; and to develop tools to assist in the development and implementation of estuarine and coastal nutrient criteria. Additional slides present process, criteria development, typical data sources and analyses for criteria process, the power of remote sensing data for the process, examples from Pensacola Bay, spatial and temporal variability, pixel matchups, remote sensing validation, remote sensing in coastal waters, requirements for remotely sensed data products, and needs assessment. An additional presentation examines group engagement and information collection. Topics include needs assessment purpose and objectives, understanding water quality decision making, determining information requirements, and next steps.

Commercial use of remote sensing in agriculture: a case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gnauck, Gary E.

1999-12-01

Over 25 years of research have clearly shown that an analysis of remote sensing imagery can provide information on agricultural crops. Most of this research has been funded by and directed toward the needs of government agencies. Commercial use of agricultural remote sensing has been limited to very small-scale operations supplying remote sensing services to a few selected customers. Datron/Transco Inc. undertook an internally funded remote sensing program directed toward the California cash crop industry (strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes, other fresh vegetables and cotton). The objectives of this program were twofold: (1) to assess the need and readiness of agricultural land managers to adopt remote sensing as a management tool, and (2) determine what technical barriers exist to large-scale implementation of this technology on a commercial basis. The program was divided into three phases: Planning, Engineering Test and Evaluation, and Commercial Operations. Findings: Remote sensing technology can deliver high resolution multispectral imagery with rapid turnaround, that can provide information on crop stress insects, disease and various soil parameters. The limiting factors to the use of remote sensing in agriculture are a lack of familiarization by the land managers, difficulty in translating 'information' into increased revenue or reduced cost for the land manager, and the large economies of scale needed to make the venture commercially viable.

The potential for geostationary remote sensing of NO2 to improve weather prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, X.; Mizzi, A. P.; Anderson, J. L.; Fung, I. Y.; Cohen, R. C.

2016-12-01

Observations of surface winds remain sparse making it challenging to simulate and predict the weather in circumstances of light winds that are most important for poor air quality. Direct measurements of short-lived chemicals from space might be a solution to this challenge. Here we investigate the application of data assimilation of NO­2 columns as will be observed from geostationary orbit to improve predictions and retrospective analysis of surface wind fields. Specifically, synthetic NO2 observations are sampled from a "nature run (NR)" regarded as the true atmosphere. Then NO2 observations are assimilated using EAKF methods into a "control run (CR)" which differs from the NR in the wind field. Wind errors are generated by introducing (1) errors in the initial conditions, (2) creating a model error by using two different formulations for the planetary boundary layer, (3) and by combining both of these effects. The assimilation reduces wind errors by up to 50%, indicating the prospects for future geostationary atmospheric composition measurements to improve weather forecasting are substantial. We also examine the assimilation sensitivity to the data assimilation window length. We find that due to the temporal heterogeneity of wind errors, the success of this application favors chemical observations of high frequency, such as those from geostationary platform. We also show the potential to improve soil moisture field by assimilating NO­2 columns.

15 CFR 960.1 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... remote sensing satellite industry. (Available from NOAA, National Environmental Satellite Data and... LICENSING OF PRIVATE REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS General § 960.1 Purpose. (a) The regulations in this part set... sensing space system under Title II of the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 5601 et seq...

15 CFR 960.1 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... remote sensing satellite industry. (Available from NOAA, National Environmental Satellite Data and... LICENSING OF PRIVATE REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS General § 960.1 Purpose. (a) The regulations in this part set... sensing space system under Title II of the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 5601 et seq...

15 CFR 960.1 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... remote sensing satellite industry. (Available from NOAA, National Environmental Satellite Data and... LICENSING OF PRIVATE REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS General § 960.1 Purpose. (a) The regulations in this part set... sensing space system under Title II of the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 5601 et seq...

15 CFR 960.1 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... remote sensing satellite industry. (Available from NOAA, National Environmental Satellite Data and... LICENSING OF PRIVATE REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS General § 960.1 Purpose. (a) The regulations in this part set... sensing space system under Title II of the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 5601 et seq...

15 CFR 960.1 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... LICENSING OF PRIVATE REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS General § 960.1 Purpose. (a) The regulations in this part set... sensing space system under Title II of the Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 5601 et seq... remote sensing satellite industry. (Available from NOAA, National Environmental Satellite Data and...

Advanced Remote Sensing Research

USGS Publications Warehouse

Slonecker, Terrence; Jones, John W.; Price, Susan D.; Hogan, Dianna

2008-01-01

'Remote sensing' is a generic term for monitoring techniques that collect information without being in physical contact with the object of study. Overhead imagery from aircraft and satellite sensors provides the most common form of remotely sensed data and records the interaction of electromagnetic energy (usually visible light) with matter, such as the Earth's surface. Remotely sensed data are fundamental to geographic science. The Eastern Geographic Science Center (EGSC) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is currently conducting and promoting the research and development of three different aspects of remote sensing science: spectral analysis, automated orthorectification of historical imagery, and long wave infrared (LWIR) polarimetric imagery (PI).

Remote sensing in the coastal and marine environment. Proceedings of the US North Atlantic Regional Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zaitzeff, J. B. (Editor); Cornillon, P. (Editor); Aubrey, D. A. (Editor)

1980-01-01

Presentations were grouped in the following categories: (1) a technical orientation of Earth resources remote sensing including data sources and processing; (2) a review of the present status of remote sensing technology applicable to the coastal and marine environment; (3) a description of data and information needs of selected coastal and marine activities; and (4) an outline of plans for marine monitoring systems for the east coast and a concept for an east coast remote sensing facility. Also discussed were user needs and remote sensing potentials in the areas of coastal processes and management, commercial and recreational fisheries, and marine physical processes.

Remote sensing of Earth terrain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kong, J. A.

1992-01-01

Research findings are summarized for projects dealing with the following: 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 distribution and applications to dry snow; variance of phase fluctuations of waves propagating through a random medium; theoretical modeling for passive microwave remote sensing of earth terrain; 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.

Brazil's remote sensing activities in the Eighties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Raupp, M. A.; Pereiradacunha, R.; Novaes, R. A.

1985-01-01

Most of the remote sensing activities in Brazil have been conducted by the Institute for Space Research (INPE). This report describes briefly INPE's activities in remote sensing in the last years. INPE has been engaged in research (e.g., radiance studies), development (e.g., CCD-scanners, image processing devices) and applications (e.g., crop survey, land use, mineral resources, etc.) of remote sensing. INPE is also responsible for the operation (data reception and processing) of the LANDSATs and meteorological satellites. Data acquisition activities include the development of CCD-Camera to be deployed on board the space shuttle and the construction of a remote sensing satellite.

Application of remote sensing to state and regional problems. [for Mississippi

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, W. F.; Bouchillon, C. W.; Harris, J. C.; Carter, B.; Whisler, F. D.; Robinette, R.

1974-01-01

The primary purpose of the remote sensing applications program is for various members of the university community to participate in activities that improve the effective communication between the scientific community engaged in remote sensing research and development and the potential users of modern remote sensing technology. Activities of this program are assisting the State of Mississippi in recognizing and solving its environmental, resource and socio-economic problems through inventory, analysis, and monitoring by appropriate remote sensing systems. Objectives, accomplishments, and current status of the following individual projects are reported: (1) bark beetle project; (2) state park location planning; and (3) waste source location and stream channel geometry monitoring.

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.

Application of remote sensing to water resources problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clapp, J. L.

1972-01-01

The following conclusions were reached concerning the applications of remote sensing to water resources problems: (1) Remote sensing methods provide the most practical method of obtaining data for many water resources problems; (2) the multi-disciplinary approach is essential to the effective application of remote sensing to water resource problems; (3) there is a correlation between the amount of suspended solids in an effluent discharged into a water body and reflected energy; (4) remote sensing provides for more effective and accurate monitoring, discovery and characterization of the mixing zone of effluent discharged into a receiving water body; and (5) it is possible to differentiate between blue and blue-green algae.

SUPERFUND REMOTE SENSING SUPPORT

EPA Science Inventory

This task provides remote sensing technical support to the Superfund program. Support includes the collection, processing, and analysis of remote sensing data to characterize hazardous waste disposal sites and their history. Image analysis reports, aerial photographs, and assoc...

Remote Sensing and the Earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brosius, C. A.; Gervin, J. C.; Ragusa, J. M.

1977-01-01

A text book on remote sensing, as part of the earth resources Skylab programs, is presented. The fundamentals of remote sensing and its application to agriculture, land use, geology, water and marine resources, and environmental monitoring are summarized.

Operational Use of Remote Sensing within USDA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bethel, Glenn R.

2007-01-01

A viewgraph presentation of remote sensing imagery within the USDA is shown. USDA Aerial Photography, Digital Sensors, Hurricane imagery, Remote Sensing Sources, Satellites used by Foreign Agricultural Service, Landsat Acquisitions, and Aerial Acquisitions are also shown.

Investigation related to multispectral imaging systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nalepka, R. F.; Erickson, J. D.

1974-01-01

A summary of technical progress made during a five year research program directed toward the development of operational information systems based on multispectral sensing and the use of these systems in earth-resource survey applications is presented. Efforts were undertaken during this program to: (1) improve the basic understanding of the many facets of multispectral remote sensing, (2) develop methods for improving the accuracy of information generated by remote sensing systems, (3) improve the efficiency of data processing and information extraction techniques to enhance the cost-effectiveness of remote sensing systems, (4) investigate additional problems having potential remote sensing solutions, and (5) apply the existing and developing technology for specific users and document and transfer that technology to the remote sensing community.