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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2018-06-01

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

Assessment of spectral, misregistration, and spatial uncertainties inherent in the cross-calibration study

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chander, G.; Helder, D.L.; Aaron, David; Mishra, N.; Shrestha, A.K.

2013-01-01

Cross-calibration of satellite sensors permits the quantitative comparison of measurements obtained from different Earth Observing (EO) systems. Cross-calibration studies usually use simultaneous or near-simultaneous observations from several spaceborne sensors to develop band-by-band relationships through regression analysis. The investigation described in this paper focuses on evaluation of the uncertainties inherent in the cross-calibration process, including contributions due to different spectral responses, spectral resolution, spectral filter shift, geometric misregistrations, and spatial resolutions. The hyperspectral data from the Environmental Satellite SCanning Imaging Absorption SpectroMeter for Atmospheric CartograpHY and the EO-1 Hyperion, along with the relative spectral responses (RSRs) from the Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper (TM) Plus and the Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer sensors, were used for the spectral uncertainty study. The data from Landsat 5 TM over five representative land cover types (desert, rangeland, grassland, deciduous forest, and coniferous forest) were used for the geometric misregistrations and spatial-resolution study. The spectral resolution uncertainty was found to be within 0.25%, spectral filter shift within 2.5%, geometric misregistrations within 0.35%, and spatial-resolution effects within 0.1% for the Libya 4 site. The one-sigma uncertainties presented in this paper are uncorrelated, and therefore, the uncertainties can be summed orthogonally. Furthermore, an overall total uncertainty was developed. In general, the results suggested that the spectral uncertainty is more dominant compared to other uncertainties presented in this paper. Therefore, the effect of the sensor RSR differences needs to be quantified and compensated to avoid large uncertainties in cross-calibration results.

High resolution 10 mu spectrometry at different planetary latitudes. A practical Hadamard transform spectrometer for astronomical application. Final Report, 1 Sep. 1973 - 28 Apr. 1977. Ph.D. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tai, M. H.; Harwit, M.; Melnick, G.; Dain, F. W.; Stasavage, G.; Briotta, D. A., Jr.; King, L. W.; Kameth, M.

1977-01-01

Infrared observations at different latitudes were studied in order to obtain spectra in the 10 micrometers region to understand differences in chemical composition or physical structure of the optical features. In order to receive such spectra of a rotating planet, simultaneous observations at different latitudes were made. A Hadamard transform spectrometer with 15 entrance slits was used to obtain 15 simultaneous spectra, at a resolution of 0.01 micrometers. The spectral band covered contained 255 spectral elements.

From the Icy Satellites to Small Moons and Rings: Spectral Indicators by Cassini-VIMS Unveil Compositional Trends in the Saturnian System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filacchione, G.; Capaccioni, F.; Ciarniello, M.; Nicholson, P. D.; Clark, R. N.; Cuzzi, J. N.; Buratti, B. B.; Cruikshank, D. P.; Brown, R. H.

2017-01-01

Despite water ice being the most abundant species on Saturn satellites' surfaces and ring particles, remarkable spectral differences in the 0.35-5.0 μm range are observed among these objects. Here we report about the results of a comprehensive analysis of more than 3000 disk-integrated observations of regular satellites and small moons acquired by VIMS aboard Cassini mission between 2004 and 2016. These observations, taken from very different illumination and viewing geometries, allow us to classify satellites' and rings' compositions by means of spectral indicators, e.g. 350-550 nm - 550-950 nm spectral slopes and water ice band parameters [1,2,3]. Spectral classification is further supported by indirect retrieval of temperature by means of the 3.6 μm I/F peak wavelength [4,5]. The comparison with syntethic spectra modeled by means of Hapke's theory point to different compositional classes where water ice, amorphous carbon, tholins and CO2 ice in different quantities and mixing modalities are the principal endmembers [3, 6]. When compared to satellites, rings appear much more red at visible wavelengths and show more intense 1.5-2.0 μm band depths [7]. Our analysis shows that spectral classes are detected among the principal satellites with Enceladus and Tethys the ones with stronger water ice band depths and more neutral spectral slopes while Rhea evidences less intense band depths and more red visible spectra. Even more intense reddening in the 0.55-0.95 μm range is observed on Iapetus leading hemisphere [8] and on Hyperion [9]. With an intermediate reddening, the minor moons seems to be the spectral link between the principal satellites and main rings [10]: Prometheus and Pandora appear similar to Cassini Division ring particles. Epimetheus shows more intense water ice bands than Janus. Epimetheus' visible colors are similar to water ice rich moons while Janus is more similar to C ring particles. Finally, Dione and Tethys lagrangian satellites show a very flat reflectance in the visible, making them remarkably different with respect to the other small moons. Moreover, we have observed that the two Tethys' lagrangian moons appear spectrally different, with Calypso characterized by more intense water ice bands than Telesto. Conversely, at visible wavelengths Polydeuces, Telesto and Methone are in absolute the more blue objects in the Saturn's system. The red slopes measured in the visible range on disk-integrated spectral data, showing varying degrees on all of the satellites, could be caused more by exogenic processes than by geologic and endogenic events which are operating on more localized scales. The principal exogenic processes active in the Saturn's system [11] which alter the satellites and rings surfaces are the E ring particles bombardment, the interaction with corotating plasma and energetic particles, the bombardment of exogenic dark material [12] and the water ice photolysis. A discussion about the correlations between these processes and the o bserved spectral classes is given. With the approaching of the Cassini "Gran Finale" orbits, VIMS will unveil with unprecedented spatial resolution the spectral properties of many small moons and rings. These data will be extremely valuable to improve our classification of the Saturn's satellites and rings.

Properties of Spectral Shapes of Whistler-Mode Emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macusova, E.; Santolik, O.; Pickett, J. S.; Gurnett, D. A.; Cornilleau-Wehrlin, N.

2014-12-01

Whistler-mode emissions play an important role in wave-particle interactions occurring in the radiation belt region. Whistler mode chorus emissions consist of discrete wave packets which exhibit different spectral shapes. Rising tones (events with positive value of the frequency sweep rate) are frequently observed. Other categories of chorus spectral shapes, such as falling tones, hooks, broadband patterns, are also known. Whistler-mode emissions can additionally occur as hiss or combinations of hiss with discrete patterns. In this study, we have analyzed more than 11 years of high-time resolution measurements provided by the Wideband Data (WBD) instrument onboard four Cluster spacecraft to identify different spectral shapes of whistler mode emissions. We determine the distribution of individual groups of chorus spectral shapes in the Earth's magnetosphere and the effect of the different geomagnetic conditions on their occurrence. We focus on average polarization and propagation properties of the different types of spectral shapes, obtained during visually identified time intervals from multicomponent measurements of the STAFF-SA instrument recorded with a time resolution of 4 seconds.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2011-09-01

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

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2011-05-01

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

Probing collective oscillation of d-orbital electrons at the nanoscale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dhall, Rohan; Vigil-Fowler, Derek; Houston Dycus, J.; Kirste, Ronny; Mita, Seiji; Sitar, Zlatko; Collazo, Ramon; LeBeau, James M.

2018-02-01

Here, we demonstrate that high energy electrons can be used to explore the collective oscillation of s, p, and d orbital electrons at the nanometer length scale. Using epitaxial AlGaN/AlN quantum wells as a test system, we observe the emergence of additional features in the loss spectrum with the increasing Ga content. A comparison of the observed spectra with ab-initio theory reveals that the origin of these spectral features lies in excitations of 3d-electrons contributed by Ga. We find that these modes differ in energy from the valence electron plasmons in Al1-xGaxN due to the different polarizabilities of the d electrons. Finally, we study the dependence of observed spectral features on the Ga content, lending insights into the origin of these spectral features, and their coupling with electron-hole excitations.

On the relation between carbon star spectral types and colors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Honeycutt, R. K.; Fay, T. D., Jr.; Warren, W. H., Jr.

1974-01-01

Observations of 32 carbon stars are listed in a table, taking into account the spectral classes given by Yamashita (1966) and Richer (1971). The relations between spectral type and color for carbon stars appear consistent with the differences between Yamashita's and Richer's types if carbon star groups I-III lie on a decreasing boundary temperature sequence.

Ground-based Observation System Development for the Moon Hyper-spectral Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yang; Huang, Yu; Wang, Shurong; Li, Zhanfeng; Zhang, Zihui; Hu, Xiuqing; Zhang, Peng

2017-05-01

The Moon provides a suitable radiance source for on-orbit calibration of space-borne optical instruments. A ground-based observation system dedicated to the hyper-spectral radiometry of the Moon has been developed for improving and validating the current lunar model. The observation instrument using a dispersive imaging spectrometer is particularly designed for high-accuracy observations of the lunar radiance. The simulation and analysis of the push-broom mechanism is made in detail for lunar observations, and the automated tracking and scanning is well accomplished in different observational condition. A three-month series of hyper-spectral imaging experiments of the Moon have been performed in the wavelength range from 400 to 1000 nm near Lijiang Observatory (Yunnan, China) at phase angles -83°-87°. Preliminary results and data comparison are presented, and it shows the instrument performance and lunar observation capability of this system are well validated. Beyond previous measurements, this observation system provides the entire lunar disk images of continuous spectral coverage by adopting the push-broom mode with special scanning scheme and leads to the further research of lunar photometric model.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2016-06-01

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

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

PubMed

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

2016-06-01

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

[Spectrum Variance Analysis of Tree Leaves Under the Condition of Different Leaf water Content].

PubMed

Wu, Jian; Chen, Tai-sheng; Pan, Li-xin

2015-07-01

Leaf water content is an important factor affecting tree spectral characteristics. So Exploring the leaf spectral characteristics change rule of the same tree under the condition of different leaf water content and the spectral differences of different tree leaves under the condition of the same leaf water content are not only the keys of hyperspectral vegetation remote sensing information identification but also the theoretical support of research on vegetation spectrum change as the differences in leaf water content. The spectrometer was used to observe six species of tree leaves, and the reflectivity and first order differential spectrum of different leaf water content were obtained. Then, the spectral characteristics of each tree species leaves under the condition of different leaf water content were analyzed, and the spectral differences of different tree species leaves under the condition of the same leaf water content were compared to explore possible bands of the leaf water content identification by hyperspectral remote sensing. Results show that the spectra of each tree leaf have changed a lot with the change of the leaf water content, but the change laws are different. Leaf spectral of different tree species has lager differences in some wavelength range under the condition of same leaf water content, and it provides some possibility for high precision identification of tree species.

Mapping and monitoring changes in vegetation communities of Jasper Ridge, CA, using spectral fractions derived from AVIRIS images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sabol, Donald E., Jr.; Roberts, Dar A.; Adams, John B.; Smith, Milton O.

1993-01-01

An important application of remote sensing is to map and monitor changes over large areas of the land surface. This is particularly significant with the current interest in monitoring vegetation communities. Most of traditional methods for mapping different types of plant communities are based upon statistical classification techniques (i.e., parallel piped, nearest-neighbor, etc.) applied to uncalibrated multispectral data. Classes from these techniques are typically difficult to interpret (particularly to a field ecologist/botanist). Also, classes derived for one image can be very different from those derived from another image of the same area, making interpretation of observed temporal changes nearly impossible. More recently, neural networks have been applied to classification. Neural network classification, based upon spectral matching, is weak in dealing with spectral mixtures (a condition prevalent in images of natural surfaces). Another approach to mapping vegetation communities is based on spectral mixture analysis, which can provide a consistent framework for image interpretation. Roberts et al. (1990) mapped vegetation using the band residuals from a simple mixing model (the same spectral endmembers applied to all image pixels). Sabol et al. (1992b) and Roberts et al. (1992) used different methods to apply the most appropriate spectral endmembers to each image pixel, thereby allowing mapping of vegetation based upon the the different endmember spectra. In this paper, we describe a new approach to classification of vegetation communities based upon the spectra fractions derived from spectral mixture analysis. This approach was applied to three 1992 AVIRIS images of Jasper Ridge, California to observe seasonal changes in surface composition.

Local spectral anisotropy is a valid cue for figure-ground organization in natural scenes.

PubMed

Ramenahalli, Sudarshan; Mihalas, Stefan; Niebur, Ernst

2014-10-01

An important step in the process of understanding visual scenes is its organization in different perceptual objects which requires figure-ground segregation. The determination of which side of an occlusion boundary is figure (closer to the observer) and which is ground (further away from the observer) is made through a combination of global cues, like convexity, and local cues, like T-junctions. We here focus on a novel set of local cues in the intensity patterns along occlusion boundaries which we show to differ between figure and ground. Image patches are extracted from natural scenes from two standard image sets along the boundaries of objects and spectral analysis is performed separately on figure and ground. On the figure side, oriented spectral power orthogonal to the occlusion boundary significantly exceeds that parallel to the boundary. This "spectral anisotropy" is present only for higher spatial frequencies, and absent on the ground side. The difference in spectral anisotropy between the two sides of an occlusion border predicts which is the figure and which the background with an accuracy exceeding 60% per patch. Spectral anisotropy of close-by locations along the boundary co-varies but is largely independent over larger distances which allows to combine results from different image regions. Given the low cost of this strictly local computation, we propose that spectral anisotropy along occlusion boundaries is a valuable cue for figure-ground segregation. A data base of images and extracted patches labeled for figure and ground is made freely available. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Local spectral anisotropy is a valid cue for figure-ground organization in natural scenes

PubMed Central

Ramenahalli, Sudarshan; Mihalas, Stefan; Niebur, Ernst

2016-01-01

An important step in the process of understanding visual scenes is its organization in different perceptual objects which requires figure-ground segregation. The determination which side of an occlusion boundary is figure (closer to the observer) and which is ground (further away from the observer) is made through a combination of global cues, like convexity, and local cues, like T-junctions. We here focus on a novel set of local cues in the intensity patterns along occlusion boundaries which we show to differ between figure and ground. Image patches are extracted from natural scenes from two standard image sets along the boundaries of objects and spectral analysis is performed separately on figure and ground. On the figure side, oriented spectral power orthogonal to the occlusion boundary significantly exceeds that parallel to the boundary. This “spectral anisotropy” is present only for higher spatial frequencies, and absent on the ground side. The difference in spectral anisotropy between the two sides of an occlusion border predicts which is the figure and which the background with an accuracy exceeding 60% per patch. Spectral anisotropy of close-by locations along the boundary co-varies but is largely independent over larger distances which allows to combine results from different image regions. Given the low cost of this strictly local computation, we propose that spectral anisotropy along occlusion boundaries is a valuable cue for figure-ground segregation. A data base of images and extracted patches labeled for figure and ground is made freely available. PMID:25175115

Simultaneous Chandra/Swift Observations of the RT Cru Symbiotic System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kashyap, Vinay; Kennea, J. A.; Karovska, M.; Calibration, Chandra

2013-04-01

The symbiotic star RT Cru was observed simultaneously by the Chandra/HRC-I and Swift/XRT in Dec 2012. The observations were carried out as part of a program to calibrate the Chandra PSF. The Chandra light curve shows a number of brightenings by factors of 2, with strong indications of a softening of the spectrum at these times. Swift observations cover a brief part of the Chandra light curve, and the intensities over this duration are tightly correlated. The Swift spectral data confirm the anticorrelation between intensity and spectral hardness. However, there are differences in the correlations at different periods that are not understood. We report on our analysis of the data, with emphasis on the spectral modeling at different times and intensity levels, and discuss the implications of the results on the emission mechanisms on symbiotic stars. We also report our inferences on the structure and energy dependence of the Chandra PSF anomaly, and on the high-energy cross-calibration between the HRC-I and XRT. This work is supported by the NASA contract NAS8-03060 to the Chandra X-ray Center.

The Problem of Spectral Mimicry of Supergiants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klochkova, V. G.; Chentsov, E. L.

2018-01-01

The phenomenon of spectral mimicry refers to the fact that hypergiants and post-AGB supergiants—stars of different masses in fundamentally different stages of their evolution—have similar optical spectra, and also share certain other characteristics (unstable extended atmospheres, expanding dust-gas envelopes, high IR excesses). As a consequence, it is not always possible to distinguish post-AGB stars from hypergiants based on individual spectral observations in the optical. Examples of spectral mimicry are analyzed using uniform, high-quality spectral material obtained on the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory in the course of long-term monitoring of high-luminosity stars. It is shown that unambiguously resolving the mimicry problem for individual stars requires the determination of a whole set of parameters: luminosity, wind parameters, spectral energy distribution, spectral features, velocity field in the atmosphere and circumstellar medium, behavior of the parameters with time, and the chemical composition of the atmosphere.

[The Effect of Observation Geometry on Polarized Skylight Spectrum].

PubMed

Zhang, Ren-bin; Wang, Ling-mei; Gao, Jun; Wang, Chi

2015-03-01

Study on polarized skylight spectral characters while observation geometry changing in different solar zenith angles (SZA), viewing zenith angles (VZA) or relative azimuth angles (RAA). Simulation calculation of cloudless daylight polarimetric spectrum is realized based on the solver, vector discrete ordinate method, of radiative transfer equation. In the Sun's principal and perpendicular plane, the spectral irradiance data, varying at wavelengths in the range between 0.4 and 3 μm, are calculated to extend the atmospheric polarization spectral information under the conditions: the MODTRAN solar reference spectrur is the only illuminant source; the main influencing factors of polarized radiative transfer include underlying surface albedo, aerosol layers and components, and the absorption of trace gases. Simulation analysis results: (1) While the relative azimuth angle is zero, the magnitude of spectrum U/I is lower than 10(-7) and V/I is negligible, the degree of polarization and the spectrum Q/I are shaped like the letter V or mirror-writing U. (2) In twilight, when the Sun is not in FOV of the detector, the polarization of the daytime sky has two maximum near 0.51 and 2.75 μm, and a minimum near 1.5 μm. For arbitrary observation geometry, the spectral signal of V/I may be ignored. According to observation geometry, choosing different spectral bands or polarized signal will be propitious to targets detection.

Site-specific incorporation of uranyl carbonate species at the calcite surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reeder, Richard J.; Elzinga, Evert J.; Tait, C. Drew; Rector, K. D.; Donohoe, Robert J.; Morris, David E.

2004-12-01

Spatially resolved luminescence spectra from U(VI) co-precipitated at the (101¯4) growth surface of synthetic calcite single crystals confirm heterogeneous incorporation corresponding to the distribution of structurally non-equivalent steps composing the vicinal surfaces of spiral growth hillocks. Spectral structure from U(VI) luminescence at the "-" vicinal regions and featureless, weak luminescence at the "+" vicinal regions are consistent with previously reported observations of enrichment at the former sites during calcite growth. Luminescence spectra differ between the non-equivalent regions of the crystal, with the spectral features from the "-" vicinal region corresponding to those observed in bulk calcite samples. Subtle spectral shifts are observed from U(VI) co-precipitated with microcrystalline calcite synthesized by a different method, and all of the U(VI)-calcite sample spectra differ significantly from that of U(VI) co-precipitated with aragonite. The step-selective incorporation of U(VI) can be explained by a proposed model in which the allowed orientation for adsorption of the dominant calcium uranyl triscarbonate species is controlled by the atomic arrangement at step edges. Differences in the tilt angles of carbonate groups between non-equivalent growth steps favor adsorption of the calcium uranyl triscarbonate species at "-" steps, as observed in experiments.

Probing collective oscillation of d -orbital electrons at the nanoscale

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

Dhall, Rohan; Vigil-Fowler, Derek; Houston Dycus, J.

Here, we demonstrate that high energy electrons can be used to explore the collective oscillation of s, p, and d orbital electrons at the nanometer length scale. Using epitaxial AlGaN/AlN quantum wells as a test system, we observe the emergence of additional features in the loss spectrum with the increasing Ga content. A comparison of the observed spectra with ab-initio theory reveals that the origin of these spectral features lies in excitations of 3d-electrons contributed by Ga. We find that these modes differ in energy from the valence electron plasmons in Al1-xGaxN due to the different polarizabilities of the dmore » electrons. Finally, we study the dependence of observed spectral features on the Ga content, lending insights into the origin of these spectral features, and their coupling with electron-hole excitations.« less

In-Situ VIS/NIR Measurements of Space Environment Effects on Spacecraft Surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bedard, D.; Seitzer, P.; Willison, A.; Somers, P.

2016-09-01

Laboratory material characterization experiments have shown that passive observational techniques that measure the spectral energy distribution of reflected sunlight from spacecraft and space debris could potentially be used to determine an object's surface compositional make-up and even possibly its orientation. Such techniques, if proven to be reliable and consistent, would represent non-intrusive and cost effective tools that would benefit the overall space situational awareness (SSA) mission. However, to date, observations using either colour photometry or spectrophotometry to determine surface material characteristics of such objects have not produced encouraging results. One common problem that has plagued these attempts is the lack of understanding on how the spectral reflectance of the spacecraft surfaces evolves with time. There are a number of spacecraft materials whose spectral reflectance characteristics have been studied before and after spaceflight in LEO; there are no measurements on how the space environment gradually modifies the spectral scattering characteristics of these materials as a function of time. Furthermore, there are little or no in-situ observations of environmental effects on individually identifiable materials in MEO and GEO. This complicates the task of interpreting the spectral measurements of spatially unresolved spacecraft and orbital debris. This paper presents instrument concepts whose sole purpose will be to acquire on-orbit spectral reflectance measurements, at different observational geometries, of either witness samples or materials covering the surface of the host spacecraft. Such instruments could be flown as a hosted payload on an operational GEO satellite or as a dedicated payload on a microsatellite. Measurements would be acquired over the lifetime of the satellite and would observe how the spectral reflectance characteristics evolve during its lifetime. Furthermore, installation of one of the proposed instruments on multiple satellites would provide an opportunity to study the variation in space environment effects on the surfaces of spacecraft located in different orbital regimes, such as LEO, MEO, and GEO.

Characterization of cancer and normal tissue fluorescence through wavelet transform and singular value decomposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gharekhan, Anita H.; Biswal, Nrusingh C.; Gupta, Sharad; Pradhan, Asima; Sureshkumar, M. B.; Panigrahi, Prasanta K.

2008-02-01

The statistical and characteristic features of the polarized fluorescence spectra from cancer, normal and benign human breast tissues are studied through wavelet transform and singular value decomposition. The discrete wavelets enabled one to isolate high and low frequency spectral fluctuations, which revealed substantial randomization in the cancerous tissues, not present in the normal cases. In particular, the fluctuations fitted well with a Gaussian distribution for the cancerous tissues in the perpendicular component. One finds non-Gaussian behavior for normal and benign tissues' spectral variations. The study of the difference of intensities in parallel and perpendicular channels, which is free from the diffusive component, revealed weak fluorescence activity in the 630nm domain, for the cancerous tissues. This may be ascribable to porphyrin emission. The role of both scatterers and fluorophores in the observed minor intensity peak for the cancer case is experimentally confirmed through tissue-phantom experiments. Continuous Morlet wavelet also highlighted this domain for the cancerous tissue fluorescence spectra. Correlation in the spectral fluctuation is further studied in different tissue types through singular value decomposition. Apart from identifying different domains of spectral activity for diseased and non-diseased tissues, we found random matrix support for the spectral fluctuations. The small eigenvalues of the perpendicular polarized fluorescence spectra of cancerous tissues fitted remarkably well with random matrix prediction for Gaussian random variables, confirming our observations about spectral fluctuations in the wavelet domain.

Spectral lags in different episodes of gamma-ray bursts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, LanWei; Yi, TingFeng; Liang, EnWei

2013-08-01

A systematical analysis of the spectral lags in different episodes within a gamma-ray burst (GRB) for the BATSE GRB sample is given. The identified episodes are usually a single pulse with mixing of small fluctuations. The spectral lags were calculated for lightcurves in the 25-55 keV and 110-320 keV bands. No universal spectral lag evolution feature in different episodes within a GRB were found for most GRBs. Among 362 bright GRBs that have at least three well-identified episodes, 19 of them show long-to-short lag and 19 of them show short-to-long lag in successive episodes. The other 324 GRBs have no clear evolution trend. Defining the specified lag with the ratio of the spectral lag to the episode duration in 110-320 keV band, no prominent case of specified lag was found showing clear evolution features. The results suggest that the observed spectral lag may contribute to the dynamics and/or the radiation physics of a given emission episode.

Time dependent features in tremor spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Powell, T. W.; Neuberg, J.

2003-11-01

Harmonic spectral peaks are observed in the tremor spectra of many different volcanoes, and in some cases these spectral lines have been seen to change with time. This has also been observed for the tremor at the Soufrière Hills volcano on Montserrat, West Indies, where the spectral lines are sometimes seen to glide apart before an explosion. We propose a model of repeated triggering of low-frequency earthquakes to explain these gliding lines using the relationship δt=1/ δν, where δt and δν are time and frequency spacing, respectively, and investigate factors which can affect the observation of these spectral peaks. Noise and amplitude variation are shown to have little effect on the spectral peaks; however the time gap between events must be nearly constant over several events. An error with a standard deviation of 2% or less is required for the spectral lines to be observed in the frequency range 0.5-10 Hz. We can reproduce the gliding spectral lines from a specific tremor episode preceding an explosion by changing δt from 1 to 0.31 s over a time period of 12 min. Using this relationship and an Automated Event Classification Analysis Program (AECAP), we can monitor δt over a long time period. The AECAP also extracts other seismic parameters such as energy, duration and spectral characteristics. An initial comparison between low-frequency seismic energy and cyclic tilt shows a correlation between the two, but this does not hold for later cycles.

Exploring new classification criteria for the earliest type stars: the 3400 Aregion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morrell, Nidia I.; Walborn, Nolan R.; Arias, Julia I.

2002-02-01

We propose spectroscopic observations of a sample of standard O2-O4 stars in the wavelength region containing the N IV 3479-83-85 Aand O IV 3381-85-3412 Alines, in order to analyze the behavior of these spectral features as a function of the spectral type. We aim to define new classification criteria for the hottest stars, evaluating these N IV and O IV lines near 3400 Aas possible temperature and luminosity discriminators. The former spectral class O3 has just been split into three different classes: O2, O3 and O3.5 (Walborn et al. 2001). The paucity of classification criteria at these types in the traditional wavelength domain (4000 - 4700 Å), makes clear the need to explore other spectral ranges in order to define additional constraints on the determination of spectral types and luminosity classes. The wavelength range around 3400 Ahas been observed in many faint, crowded early O-type stars by HST/FOS, the corresponding data being available from the HST archive. This enhances our interest in observing this spectral range in the classification standards for the early O-type stars in order to make these existing HST observations even more useful, allowing the determination of accurate spectral types for unknown objects from them, once the behavior of the new criteria in the standards has been charted.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2018-07-01

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

High-spectral resolution solar microwave observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hurford, G. J.

1986-01-01

The application of high-spectral resolution microwave observations to the study of solar activity is discussed with particular emphasis on the frequency dependence of microwave emission from solar active regions. A shell model of gyroresonance emission from active regions is described which suggest that high-spectral resolution, spatially-resolved observations can provide quantitative information about the magnetic field distribution at the base of the corona. Corresponding observations of a single sunspot with the Owens Valley frequency-agile interferometer at 56 frequencies between 1.2 and 14 Ghs are presented. The overall form of the observed size and brightness temperature spectra was consistent with expectations based on the shell model, although there were differences of potential physical significance. The merits and weaknesses of microwave spectroscopy as a technique for measuring magnetic fields in the solar corona are briefly discussed.

Microscopic and macroscopic spectral peculiarities of cutaneous tumours

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borisova, Ekaterina; Genova, Tsanislava; Troyanova, Petranka; Terziev, Ivan; Zakharov, Valery; Bratchenko, Ivan; Lomova, Maria; Gorin, Dmitry; Avramov, Latchezar

2017-12-01

Autofluorescence spectral and confocal microscopic measurements were made on different cutaneous neoplastic lesions, namely basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma, and their dysplastic forms - keratoacantoma, dysplastic nevi and benign lesions related - basal cell papiloma, seboreic keratosa and compound nevi using excitation at 405 nm. Spectroscopic investigations were made on in vivo and ex vivo tissue samples, and confocal microscopy investigations were made on ex vivo and eosin-haematoxilin stained thin slices of the tumours detected. Correlation between the spectral data received and the microscopic features observed was found, related to the morphological and biochemical alterations during neoplasia growth. Specific spectral features observed in each type of lesion investigated on micro and macro level would be presented and discussed.

MSL/Mastcam Multispectral Observations of Lower Mt. Sharp Units: Spectral Evidence of Distinct Alteration Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wellington, D. F.; Bell, J. F., III; Johnson, J. R.; Fraeman, A. A.; Kinch, K. M.; Godber, A.; Rice, M. S.

2016-12-01

The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover reached the lower units of Mt. Sharp in Gale Crater approximately two years ago. Along the traverse, Mastcam multispectral observations have documented the visible/near-IR spectral variability of drill tailings, bedrock, float rocks, fines, and other materials, recording a set of diverse reflectance properties in twelve unique filters over wavelengths 400-1100 nm. The most recent multi-filter images include new spectral diversity not encountered in near-field imaging acquired earlier in the mission. Since departing Marias Pass ( sol 1072), the rover has sampled material from the Stimson sandstone unit four times at two widely separated locations. These drill pairs were designed to investigate alteration regions visible as bright haloes bordering fractures in the bedrock. Drill fines and piles of dumped sample material from these sites (at Bridger Basin and on the Naukluft Plateau) were targeted for multispectral observations, which quantify the differences in overall reflectance and spectral shape between the unaltered Stimson material and the light-toned haloes. In the latter, high reflectances and relatively flat spectral shapes are consistent with interpretations of silica enrichment from other instruments. Mastcam spectra of the portions of the underlying Murray Formation (mudstone) that were encountered on first approach to the Bagnold dunes, and again upon exiting the Naukluft Plateau, are consistent with the presence of crystalline hematite. Variations in the relative strength of hematite absorption features in different locations may suggest possible differences in relative and/or absolute abundances of hematite of varying degrees of crystallinity. Dune materials have low reflectances with a broad, shallow absorption near 1-µm consistent with an olivine-bearing basaltic composition. We present these and other examples of spectral variability encountered by the rover during its ascent up the lower slopes of Mt. Sharp.

Multispectral detection of cutaneous lesions using spectroscopy and microscopy approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borisova, E.; Genova-Hristova, Ts.; Troyanova, P.; Pavlova, E.; Terziev, I.; Semyachkina-Glushkovskaya, O.; Lomova, M.; Genina, E.; Stanciu, G.; Tranca, D.; Avramov, L.

2018-02-01

Autofluorescence, diffuse-reflectance and transmission spectral, and microscopic measurements were made on different cutaneous neoplastic lesions, namely basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma, and dysplastic and benign lesions related. Spectroscopic measurements were made on ex vivo tissue samples, and confocal microscopy investigations were made on thin tissue slices. Fluorescence spectra obtained reveal statistically significant differences between the different benign, dysplastic and malignant lesions by the level of emission intensity, as well by spectral shape, which are fingerprints applicable for differentiation algorithms. In reflectance mode the most significant differences are related to the influence of skin pigments - melanin and hemoglobin. Transmission spectroscopy mode gave complementary optical properties information about the tissue samples investigated to that one of reflectance and absorption spectroscopy. Using autofluorescence detection of skin lesions we obtain very good diagnostic performance for distinguishing of nonmelanoma lesions. Using diffuse reflectance and transmission spectroscopy we obtain significant tool for pigmented pathologies differentiation, but it is a tool with moderate sensitivity for non-melanoma lesions detection. One could rapidly increase the diagnostic accuracy of the received combined "optical biopsy" method when several spectral detection techniques are applied in common algorithm for lesions' differentiation. Specific spectral features observed in each type of lesion investigated on micro and macro level would be presented and discussed. Correlation between the spectral data received and the microscopic features observed would be discussed in the report.

Evaluation of appropriate sensor specifications for space based ballistic missile detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schweitzer, Caroline; Stein, Karin; Wendelstein, Norbert

2012-10-01

The detection and tracking of ballistic missiles (BMs) during launch or cloud break using satellite based electro-optical (EO) sensors is a promising possibility for pre-instructing early warning and fire control radars. However, the successful detection of a BM is depending on the applied infrared (IR)-channel, as emission and reflection of threat and background vary in different spectral (IR-) bands and for different observation scenarios. In addition, the spatial resolution of the satellite based system also conditions the signal-to-clutter-ratio (SCR) and therefore the predictability of the flight path. Generally available satellite images provide data in spectral bands, which are suitable for remote sensing applications and earth surface observations. However, in the fields of BM early warning, these bands are not of interest making the simulation of background data essential. The paper focuses on the analysis of IR-bands suitable for missile detection by trading off the suppression of background signature against threat signal strength. This comprises a radiometric overview of the background radiation in different spectral bands for different climates and seasons as well as for various cloud types and covers. A brief investigation of the BM signature and its trajectory within a threat scenario is presented. Moreover, the influence on the SCR caused by different observation scenarios and varying spatial resolution are pointed out. The paper also introduces the software used for simulating natural background spectral radiance images, MATISSE ("Advanced Modeling of the Earth for Environment and Scenes Simulation") by ONERA [1].

Dimension Reduction of Hyperspectral Data on Beowulf Clusters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

El-Ghazawi, Tarek

2000-01-01

Traditional remote sensing instruments are multispectral, where observations are collected at a few different spectral bands. Recently, many hyperspectral instruments, that can collect observations at hundreds of bands, have been operation. Furthermore, there have been ongoing research efforts on ultraspectral instruments that can produce observations at thousands of spectral bands. While these remote sensing technology developments hold a great promise for new findings in the area of Earth and space science, they present many challenges. These include the need for faster processing of such increased data volumes, and methods for data reduction. Dimension Reduction is a spectral transformation, which is used widely in remote sensing, is the Principal Components Analysis (PCA). In light of the growing number of spectral channels of modern instruments, the paper reports on the development of a parallel PCA and its implementation on two Beowulf cluster configurations, on with fast Ethernet switch and the other is with a Myrinet interconnection.

Effect of narrow spectral filter position on the characteristics of active similariton mode-locked femtosecond fiber laser.

PubMed

Kotb, Hussein; Abdelalim, Mohamed A; Anis, Hanan

2015-11-16

A significant change in active similariton characteristics, both numerically and experimentally, is observed as a function of the location of the lumped spectral filter. The closer the spectral filter is to the input of the Yb(3+)-doped fiber, the shorter the de-chirped pulse width. The peak power of the de-chirped pulse has its maximum value at a certain location of the spectral filter. Four different positions of the spectral filter inside the laser cavity have been theoretically studied and two of them have been verified experimentally.

Aspiring to Spectral Ignorance in Earth Observation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliver, S. A.

2016-12-01

Enabling robust, defensible and integrated decision making in the Era of Big Earth Data requires the fusion of data from multiple and diverse sensor platforms and networks. While the application of standardised global grid systems provides a common spatial analytics framework that facilitates the computationally efficient and statistically valid integration and analysis of these various data sources across multiple scales, there remains the challenge of sensor equivalency; particularly when combining data from different earth observation satellite sensors (e.g. combining Landsat and Sentinel-2 observations). To realise the vision of a sensor ignorant analytics platform for earth observation we require automation of spectral matching across the available sensors. Ultimately, the aim is to remove the requirement for the user to possess any sensor knowledge in order to undertake analysis. This paper introduces the concept of spectral equivalence and proposes a methodology through which equivalent bands may be sourced from a set of potential target sensors through application of equivalence metrics and thresholds. A number of parameters can be used to determine whether a pair of spectra are equivalent for the purposes of analysis. A baseline set of thresholds for these parameters and how to apply them systematically to enable relation of spectral bands amongst numerous different sensors is proposed. The base unit for comparison in this work is the relative spectral response. From this input, determination of a what may constitute equivalence can be related by a user, based on their own conceptualisation of equivalence.

Application of linear discriminant analysis and Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared microspectroscopy for diagnosis of colon cancer.

PubMed

Khanmohammadi, Mohammadreza; Bagheri Garmarudi, Amir; Samani, Simin; Ghasemi, Keyvan; Ashuri, Ahmad

2011-06-01

Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) microspectroscopy was applied for detection of colon cancer according to the spectral features of colon tissues. Supervised classification models can be trained to identify the tissue type based on the spectroscopic fingerprint. A total of 78 colon tissues were used in spectroscopy studies. Major spectral differences were observed in 1,740-900 cm(-1) spectral region. Several chemometric methods such as analysis of variance (ANOVA), cluster analysis (CA) and linear discriminate analysis (LDA) were applied for classification of IR spectra. Utilizing the chemometric techniques, clear and reproducible differences were observed between the spectra of normal and cancer cases, suggesting that infrared microspectroscopy in conjunction with spectral data processing would be useful for diagnostic classification. Using LDA technique, the spectra were classified into cancer and normal tissue classes with an accuracy of 95.8%. The sensitivity and specificity was 100 and 93.1%, respectively.

Spectral classifying base on color of live corals and dead corals covered with algae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nurdin, Nurjannah; Komatsu, Teruhisa; Barille, Laurent; Akbar, A. S. M.; Sawayama, Shuhei; Fitrah, Muh. Nur; Prasyad, Hermansyah

2016-05-01

Pigments in the host tissues of corals can make a significant contribution to their spectral signature and can affect their apparent color as perceived by a human observer. The aim of this study is classifying the spectral reflectance of corals base on different color. It is expected that they can be used as references in discriminating between live corals, dead coral covered with algae Spectral reflectance data was collected in three small islands, Spermonde Archipelago, Indonesia by using a hyperspectral radiometer underwater. First and second derivative analysis resolved the wavelength locations of dominant features contributing to reflectance in corals and support the distinct differences in spectra among colour existed. Spectral derivative analysis was used to determine the specific wavelength regions ideal for remote identification of substrate type. The analysis results shown that yellow, green, brown and violet live corals are spectrally separable from each other, but they are similar with dead coral covered with algae spectral.

Experimental Study of Multispectral Characteristics of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle at Different Observation Angles

PubMed Central

Zheng, Haijing; Bai, Tingzhu; Wang, Quanxi; Cao, Fengmei; Shao, Long; Sun, Zhaotian

2018-01-01

This study investigates multispectral characteristics of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at different observation angles by experiment. The UAV and its engine are tested on the ground in the cruise state. Spectral radiation intensities at different observation angles are obtained in the infrared band of 0.9–15 μm by a spectral radiometer. Meanwhile, infrared images are captured separately by long-wavelength infrared (LWIR), mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR), and short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) cameras. Additionally, orientation maps of the radiation area and radiance are obtained. The results suggest that the spectral radiation intensity of the UAV is determined by its exhaust plume and that the main infrared emission bands occur at 2.7 μm and 4.3 μm. At observation angles in the range of 0°–90°, the radiation area of the UAV in MWIR band is greatest; however, at angles greater than 90°, the radiation area in the SWIR band is greatest. In addition, the radiance of the UAV at an angle of 0° is strongest. These conclusions can guide IR stealth technique development for UAVs. PMID:29389880

Estimation of canopy carotenoid content of winter wheat using multi-angle hyperspectral data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kong, Weiping; Huang, Wenjiang; Liu, Jiangui; Chen, Pengfei; Qin, Qiming; Ye, Huichun; Peng, Dailiang; Dong, Yingying; Mortimer, A. Hugh

2017-11-01

Precise estimation of carotenoid (Car) content in crops, using remote sensing data, could be helpful for agricultural resources management. Conventional methods for Car content estimation were mostly based on reflectance data acquired from nadir direction. However, reflectance acquired at this direction is highly influenced by canopy structure and soil background reflectance. Off-nadir observation is less impacted, and multi-angle viewing data are proven to contain additional information rarely exploited for crop Car content estimation. The objective of this study was to explore the potential of multi-angle observation data for winter wheat canopy Car content estimation. Canopy spectral reflectance was measured from nadir as well as from a series of off-nadir directions during different growing stages of winter wheat, with concurrent canopy Car content measurements. Correlation analyses were performed between Car content and the original and continuum removed spectral reflectance. Spectral features and previously published indices were derived from data obtained at different viewing angles and were tested for Car content estimation. Results showed that spectral features and indices obtained from backscattering directions between 20° and 40° view zenith angle had a stronger correlation with Car content than that from the nadir direction, and the strongest correlation was observed from about 30° backscattering direction. Spectral absorption depth at 500 nm derived from spectral data obtained from 30° backscattering direction was found to reduce the difference induced by plant cultivars greatly. It was the most suitable for winter wheat canopy Car estimation, with a coefficient of determination 0.79 and a root mean square error of 19.03 mg/m2. This work indicates the importance of taking viewing geometry effect into account when using spectral features/indices and provides new insight in the application of multi-angle remote sensing for the estimation of crop physiology.

A comparison of field-line resonances observed at the Goose Bay and Wick radars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Provan, G.; Yeoman, T. K.

1997-02-01

Previous observations with the Goose Bay HF coherent-scatter radar have revealed structured spectral peaks at ultra-low frequencies. The frequencies of these spectral peaks have been demonstrated to be extremely consistent from day to day. The stability of these spectral peaks can be seen as evidence for the existence of global magnetospheric cavity modes whose resonant frequencies are independent of latitude. Field-line resonances occur when successive harmonics of the eigenfrequency of the magnetospheric cavity or waveguide match either the first harmonic eigenfrequency of the geomagnetic field lines or higher harmonics of this frequency. Power spectra observed at the SABRE VHF coherent-scatter radar at Wick, Scotland, during night and early morning are revealed to show similarly clearly structured spectral peaks. These spectral peaks are the result of local field-line resonances due to Alfvén waves standing on magnetospheric field lines. A comparison of the spectra observed by the Goose Bay and Wick radars demonstrate that the frequencies of the field-line resonances are, on average, almost identical, despite the different latitudinal ranges covered by the two radars. Possible explanations for the similarity of the signatures on the two radar systems are discussed.

Sensitivity of high-spectral resolution and broadband thermal infrared nadir instruments to the chemical and microphysical properties of secondary sulfate aerosols in the upper-troposphere/lower-stratosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sellitto, Pasquale; Legras, Bernard

2016-04-01

The observation of upper-tropospheric/lower-stratospheric (UTLS) secondary sulfate aerosols (SSA) and their chemical and microphysical properties from satellite nadir observations (with better spatial resolution than limb observations) is a fundamental tool to better understand their formation and evolution processes and then to estimate their impact on UTLS chemistry, and on regional and global radiative balance. Thermal infrared (TIR) observations are sensitive to the chemical composition of the aerosols due to the strong spectral variations of the imaginary part of the refractive index in this band and, correspondingly, of the absorption, as a function of the composition Then, these observations are, in principle, well adapted to detect and characterize UTLS SSA. Unfortunately, the exploitation of nadir TIR observations for sulfate aerosol layer monitoring is today very limited. Here we present a study aimed at the evaluation of the sensitivity of TIR satellite nadir observations to the chemical composition and the size distribution of idealised UTLS SSA layers. The sulfate aerosol particles are assumed as binary systems of sulfuric acid/water solution droplets, with varying sulphuric acid mixing ratios. The extinction properties of the SSA, for different sulfuric acid mixing ratios and temperatures, are systematically analysed. The extinction coefficients are derived by means of a Mie code, using refractive indices taken from the GEISA (Gestion et Étude des Informations Spectroscopiques Atmosphériques: Management and Study of Spectroscopic Information) spectroscopic database and log-normal size distributions with different effective radii and number concentrations. High-spectral resolution pseudo-observations are generated using forward radiative transfer calculations performed with the 4A (Automatized Atmospheric Absorption Atlas) radiative transfer model, to estimate the impact of the extinction of idealised aerosol layers, at typical UTLS conditions, on the brightness temperature (BT) spectra observed by satellite instruments. We isolated a marked and typical spectral signature of these aerosol layers between 700 and 1200 cm-1, due to the absorption bands of the sulfate and bisulfate ions and the undissociated sulfuric acid, with the main absorption peaks at 1170 and 905 cm-1 (sulfuric acid vibrational bands). The dependence of the residual aerosol spectral BT signature to the sulfuric acid mixing ratio, and effective number concentration and radius, as well as the role of interfering parameters like the ozone, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and ash absorption, and temperature and water vapour profile uncertainties, are analysed and critically discussed. The information content (degrees of freedom and retrieval uncertainties) of synthetic satellite observations is estimated for different instrumental configurations. High spectral resolution (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI)-like pseudo-observations) and broadband spectral features (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI)-like pseudo-observations) approaches are proposed and discussed.

Analysis of cosmetic residues on a single human hair by ATR FT-IR microspectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pienpinijtham, Prompong; Thammacharoen, Chuchaat; Naranitad, Suwimol; Ekgasit, Sanong

2018-05-01

In this work, ATR FT-IR spectra of single human hair and cosmetic residues on hair surface are successfully collected using a homemade dome-shaped Ge μIRE accessary installed on an infrared microscope. By collecting ATR spectra of hairs from the same person, the spectral patterns are identical and superimposed while different spectral features are observed from ATR spectra of hairs collected from different persons. The spectral differences depend on individual hair characteristics, chemical treatments, and cosmetics on hair surface. The "Contact-and-Collect" technique that transfers remarkable materials on the hair surface to the tip of the Ge μIRE enables an identification of cosmetics on a single hair. Moreover, the differences between un-split and split hairs are also studied in this report. These highly specific spectral features can be employed for unique identification or for differentiation of hairs based on the molecular structures of hairs and cosmetics on hairs.

Characterization of Cryptosporidium parvum by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry

PubMed Central

Magnuson, Matthew L.; Owens, James H.; Kelty, Catherine A.

2000-01-01

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) was used to investigate whole and freeze-thawed Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts. Whole oocysts revealed some mass spectral features. Reproducible patterns of spectral markers and increased sensitivity were obtained after the oocysts were lysed with a freeze-thaw procedure. Spectral-marker patterns for C. parvum were distinguishable from those obtained for Cryptosporidium muris. One spectral marker appears specific for the genus, while others appear specific at the species level. Three different C. parvum lots were investigated, and similar spectral markers were observed in each. Disinfection of the oocysts reduced and/or eliminated the patterns of spectral markers. PMID:11055915

The tilt effect in DOAS observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lampel, Johannes; Wang, Yang; Hilboll, Andreas; Beirle, Steffen; Sihler, Holger; Puķīte, Janis; Platt, Ulrich; Wagner, Thomas

2017-12-01

Experience of differential atmospheric absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) shows that a spectral shift between measurement spectra and reference spectra is frequently required in order to achieve optimal fit results, while the straightforward calculation of the optical density proves inferior. The shift is often attributed to temporal instabilities of the instrument but implicitly solved the problem of the tilt effect discussed/explained in this paper. Spectral positions of Fraunhofer and molecular absorption lines are systematically shifted for different measurement geometries due to an overall slope - or tilt - of the intensity spectrum. The phenomenon has become known as the tilt effect for limb satellite observations, where it is corrected for in a first-order approximation, whereas the remaining community is less aware of its cause and consequences. It is caused by the measurement process, because atmospheric absorption and convolution in the spectrometer do not commute. Highly resolved spectral structures in the spectrum will first be modified by absorption and scattering processes in the atmosphere before they are recorded with a spectrometer, which convolves them with a specific instrument function. In the DOAS spectral evaluation process, however, the polynomial (or other function used for this purpose) accounting for broadband absorption is applied after the convolution is performed. In this paper, we derive that changing the order of the two modifications of the spectra leads to different results. Assuming typical geometries for the observations of scattered sunlight and a spectral resolution of 0.6 nm, this effect can be interpreted as a spectral shift of up to 1.5 pm, which is confirmed in the actual analysis of the ground-based measurements of scattered sunlight as well as in numerical radiative transfer simulations. If no spectral shift is allowed by the fitting routine, residual structures of up to 2.5 × 10-3 peak-to-peak are observed. Thus, this effect needs to be considered for DOAS applications aiming at an rms of the residual of 10-3 and below.

High-resolution UV-visible spectroscopy of lunar red spots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bruno, B. C.; Lucey, P. G.; Hawke, B. R.

1991-01-01

A spectral reflectance study of selected lunar 'red spots', highland areas characterized by an absorption in the ultraviolet relative to the visible was conducted. Some red spots were suggested to be the sites of ancient highland volcanism. High-resolution spectral data of eight red spots on the western portion of the moon over the wavelength region 0.39-0.82 micron were obtained. Much spectral variation among these red spots in the magnitude as well as the wavelength position of the ultraviolet absorption were found. Spectral structure at visible and near-infrared wavelength were also identified. These spectral differences indicate that red spots do not have a single mineralogical composition, which in turn suggests that red spots may have multiple origins. Additional imaging spectroscopic observations were taken of the Herigonius red spot, a morphologically complex region northeast of Mare Humorum. These data reveal significant spectral differences among the various morphological units within the Herigonius red spot. Although some of these are likely due to the effects of the maturation process, others appear to reflect differences in mineral abundances and composition.

First results on d+Au collisions from PHOBOS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Ballintijn, M.; Barton, D. S.; Becker, B.; Betts, R. R.; Bickley, A. A.; Bindel, R.; Budzanowski, A.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Decowski, M. P.; García, E.; Gburek, T.; George, N.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gushue, S.; Halliwell, C.; Hamblen, J.; Harrington, A. S.; Henderson, C.; Hofman, D. J.; Hollis, R. S.; Hołyński, R.; Holzman, B.; Iordanova, A.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J. L.; Khan, N.; Kulinich, P.; Kuo, C. M.; Lee, J. W.; Lin, W. T.; Manly, S.; Mignerey, A. C.; Noell, A.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Park, I. C.; Pernegger, H.; Reed, C.; Remsberg, L. P.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Sagerer, J.; Sarin, P.; Sawicki, P.; Sedykh, I.; Skulski, W.; Smith, C. E.; Steinberg, P.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Sukhanov, A.; Teng, R.; Tonjes, M. B.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Verdier, R.; Veres, G. I.; Wadsworth, B.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Wosiek, B.; Woźniak, K.; Wuosmaa, A. H.; Wysłouch, B.; Zhang, J.

2004-02-01

We have measured transverse momentum distributions of charged hadrons produced in d+Au collisions at √SNN = 200 GeV, in the range 0.25 < pT < 6.0 GeV/c. With increasing collision centrality, the yield at high transverse momenta increases more rapidly than the overall particle density, leading to a strong modification of the spectral shape. This change in spectral shape is qualitatively different from observations in Au+Au collisions at the same energy. The results provide important information for discriminating between different models for the suppression of high-pT hadrons observed in Au+Au collisions.

Space Weathering of Silicate Asteroids: An Observational Investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MacLennan, Eric M.; Emery, Joshua; Lindsay, Sean S.

2017-10-01

Solar wind exposure and micrometeoroid bombardment are known to cause mineralogical changes in the upper few microns of silicate grains (by forming amorphous “composition” rims with embedded nano-phase Fe0). These processes, jointly called space weathering (SW), affect the light-scattering properties and subsequently the geometric albedo and spectral parameters (spectral slope and band depth). Earth’s Moon exhibits the well known “lunar-style” of SW: albedo decrease, spectral slope increase, and absorption band suppression. However, space mission images of (243) Ida and (433) Eros suggest that different SW “styles” exist among the silicate-bearing (olivine and pyroxene) S-complex asteroids, which exhibit diagnostic absorption features near 1 & 2 μm. While Eros generally shows only albedo differences between younger and older locations, Ida’s surface only shows changes in spectral slope and band depth. It is not clear if these SW styles are unique to Ida and Eros or if they can be observed throughout the entire asteroid population.We hypothesize that the SW styles seen on Eros and Ida also exist on other asteroid surfaces. Additionally, we hypothesize that increased solar wind exposure, smaller regolith particles, higher olivine abundance, and older asteroid surfaces will increase the observed degree of SW. Our dataset includes publicly available Visible (0.4-0.8 μm) and Near Infrared (~0.7-2.5 μm) reflectance spectra of silicate-bearing asteroids (those with 1 & 2 μm bands) from the PDS and the SMASS, S3OS2 and MIT-UH-IRTF spectral surveys. We have also conducted a spectral survey with the IRTF/SpeX targeting 52 silicate asteroids for which we have constraints for regolith grain sizes from interpretation of thermal-IR data. The relevant band parameters to SW and to interpreting mineralogical properties are calculated using the band analysis code, SARA. Geometric albedos are calculated using thermal-IR data from WISE/NEOWISE. Using these derived parameters, we search for potential SW styles among different spectral classes and for correlations with the factors listed above. Analysis on a subset of S-types suggests that heliocentric distance correlates with spectral slope and band depth but not albedo.

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

Miyazaki, Tadakuni; Harashima, Akira; Nakatani, Yukihiro

Coral reefs are the major sites for photo-synthesis and calcification in the present ocean. Estimating the production rate of calcification by the coral reefs or investigating the sink/source mechanism of CO{sub 2} by the coral reefs in the ocean, the distribution of the coral reefs in the world wide must be identified. Measuring the spectral signatures of underwater coral reefs and mapping of coral reefs by satellite remote sensing are described. The spectral signatures of different species of the coral reefs were measured using a spectroradiometer at off Kuroshima Island, Okinawa, Japan and investigated spectral difference between different species ofmore » the coral reefs. As well as the field experiments, laboratory experiments for measuring the spectral signatures of 9 different species of coral reefs were carried out with the same spectroradiometer. The spectral reflectance of each coral reef showed a significant result that a narrow absorption band exists in the spectral region between 660 and 680 nm, and very strong spectral reflectance from about 700 nm towards the longer wavelength range. On the other hand, absorption and the high reflectance region were not observed from the bottom sands or bare rocks underwater. These experiments suggested that there is a significant spectral difference between coral reefs and bottom sands or bare rocks and so the best spectral range for separating the coral reefs from other underwater objects in the ocean would be between 700 and 800 nm. As well as the basic spectral measurement either in the field or at the laboratory, SPOT satellite imageries were used to classify the underwater coral reefs. Classification methods used here were the principal component analysis, and the maximum likelihood. Finally, the evaluation of classification method for extracting the coral reefs was introduced.« less

Radiometric consistency assessment of hyperspectral infrared sounders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, L.; Han, Y.; Jin, X.; Chen, Y.; Tremblay, D. A.

2015-07-01

The radiometric and spectral consistency among the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI), and the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) is fundamental for the creation of long-term infrared (IR) hyperspectral radiance benchmark datasets for both inter-calibration and climate-related studies. In this study, the CrIS radiance measurements on Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite are directly compared with IASI on MetOp-A and -B at the finest spectral scale and with AIRS on Aqua in 25 selected spectral regions through one year of simultaneous nadir overpass (SNO) observations to evaluate radiometric consistency of these four hyperspectral IR sounders. The spectra from different sounders are paired together through strict spatial and temporal collocation. The uniform scenes are selected by examining the collocated Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) pixels. Their brightness temperature (BT) differences are then calculated by converting the spectra onto common spectral grids. The results indicate that CrIS agrees well with IASI on MetOp-A and IASI on MetOp-B at the longwave IR (LWIR) and middle-wave IR (MWIR) bands with 0.1-0.2 K differences. There are no apparent scene-dependent patterns for BT differences between CrIS and IASI for individual spectral channels. CrIS and AIRS are compared at the 25 spectral regions for both Polar and Tropical SNOs. The combined global SNO datasets indicate that, the CrIS-AIRS BT differences are less than or around 0.1 K among 21 of 25 comparison spectral regions and they range from 0.15 to 0.21 K in the remaining 4 spectral regions. CrIS-AIRS BT differences in some comparison spectral regions show weak scene-dependent features.

Radiometric consistency assessment of hyperspectral infrared sounders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, L.; Han, Y.; Jin, X.; Chen, Y.; Tremblay, D. A.

2015-11-01

The radiometric and spectral consistency among the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI), and the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) is fundamental for the creation of long-term infrared (IR) hyperspectral radiance benchmark data sets for both intercalibration and climate-related studies. In this study, the CrIS radiance measurements on Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite are directly compared with IASI on MetOp-A and MetOp-B at the finest spectral scale and with AIRS on Aqua in 25 selected spectral regions through simultaneous nadir overpass (SNO) observations in 2013, to evaluate radiometric consistency of these four hyperspectral IR sounders. The spectra from different sounders are paired together through strict spatial and temporal collocation. The uniform scenes are selected by examining the collocated Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) pixels. Their brightness temperature (BT) differences are then calculated by converting the spectra onto common spectral grids. The results indicate that CrIS agrees well with IASI on MetOp-A and IASI on MetOp-B at the long-wave IR (LWIR) and middle-wave IR (MWIR) bands with 0.1-0.2 K differences. There are no apparent scene-dependent patterns for BT differences between CrIS and IASI for individual spectral channels. CrIS and AIRS are compared at the 25 spectral regions for both polar and tropical SNOs. The combined global SNO data sets indicate that the CrIS-AIRS BT differences are less than or around 0.1 K among 21 of 25 spectral regions and they range from 0.15 to 0.21 K in the remaining four spectral regions. CrIS-AIRS BT differences in some comparison spectral regions show weak scene-dependent features.

Reflectance spectroscopy of organic compounds: 1. Alkanes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, Roger N.; Curchin, John M.; Hoefen, Todd M.; Swayze, Gregg A.

2009-03-01

Reflectance spectra of the organic compounds comprising the alkane series are presented from the ultraviolet to midinfrared, 0.35 to 15.5 μm. Alkanes are hydrocarbon molecules containing only single carbon-carbon bonds, and are found naturally on the Earth and in the atmospheres of the giant planets and Saturn's moon, Titan. This paper presents the spectral properties of the alkanes as the first in a series of papers to build a spectral database of organic compounds for use in remote sensing studies. Applications range from mapping the environment on the Earth, to the search for organic molecules and life in the solar system and throughout the universe. We show that the spectral reflectance properties of organic compounds are rich, with major diagnostic spectral features throughout the spectral range studied. Little to no spectral change was observed as a function of temperature and only small shifts and changes in the width of absorption bands were observed between liquids and solids, making remote detection of spectral properties throughout the solar system simpler. Some high molecular weight organic compounds contain single-bonded carbon chains and have spectra similar to alkanes even when they fall into other families. Small spectral differences are often present allowing discrimination among some compounds, further illustrating the need to catalog spectral properties for accurate remote sensing identification with spectroscopy.

Reflectance spectroscopy of organic compounds: 1. Alkanes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Clark, R.N.; Curchin, J.M.; Hoefen, T.M.; Swayze, G.A.

2009-01-01

Reflectance spectra of the organic compounds comprising the alkane series are presented from the ultraviolet to midinfrared, 0.35 to 15.5 /??m. Alkanes are hydrocarbon molecules containing only single carbon-carbon bonds, and are found naturally on the Earth and in the atmospheres of the giant planets and Saturn's moon, Titan. This paper presents the spectral properties of the alkanes as the first in a series of papers to build a spectral database of organic compounds for use in remote sensing studies. Applications range from mapping the environment on the Earth, to the search for organic molecules and life in the solar system and throughout the. universe. We show that the spectral reflectance properties of organic compounds are rich, with major diagnostic spectral features throughout the spectral range studied. Little to no spectral change was observed as a function of temperature and only small shifts and changes in the width of absorption bands were observed between liquids and solids, making remote detection of spectral properties throughout the solar system simpler. Some high molecular weight organic compounds contain single-bonded carbon chains and have spectra similar to alkanes even ' when they fall into other families. Small spectral differences are often present allowing discrimination among some compounds, further illustrating the need to catalog spectral properties for accurate remote sensing identification with spectroscopy.

Use of Multiangle Satellite Observations to Retrieve Aerosol Properties and Ocean Color

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martonchik, John V.; Diner, David; Khan, Ralph

2005-01-01

A new technique is described for retrieving aerosol over ocean water and the associated ocean color using multiangle satellite observations. Unlike current satellite aerosol retrieval algorithms which only utilize observations at red wavelengths and longer, with the assumption that these wavelengths have a negligible ocean (water-leaving radiance), this new algorithm uses all available spectral bands and simultaneously retrieves both aerosol properties and the spectral ocean color. We show some results of case studies using MISR data, performed over different water conditions (coastal water, blooms, and open water).

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Qi; Jiao, Quanjun; Dai, Huayang

2018-03-01

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

a Preliminary Investigation on Comparison and Transformation of SENTINEL-2 MSI and Landsat 8 Oli

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, F.; Lou, S.; Fan, Q.; Li, J.; Wang, C.; Claverie, M.

2018-05-01

A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION ON COMPARISON AND TRANSFORMATION OF SENTINEL-2 MSI AND LANDSAT 8 OLI Timely and accurate earth observation with short revisit interval is usually necessary, especially for emergency response. Currently, several new generation sensors provided with similar channel characteristics have been operated onboard different satellite platforms, including Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8. Joint use of the observations by different sensors offers an opportunity to meet the demands for emergency requirements. For example, through the combination of Landsat and Sentinel-2 data, the land can be observed every 2-3 days at medium spatial resolution. However, differences are expected in radiometric values (e.g., channel reflectance) of the corresponding channels between two sensors. Spectral response function (SRF) is taken as an important aspect of sensor settings. Accordingly, between-sensor differences due to SRFs variation need to be quantified and compensated. The comparison of SRFs shows difference (more or less) in channel settings between Sentinel-2 Multi-Spectral Instrument (MSI) and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI). Effect of the difference in SRF on corresponding values between MSI and OLI was investigated, mainly in terms of channel reflectance and several derived spectral indices. Spectra samples from ASTER Spectral Library Version 2.0 and Hyperion data archives were used in obtaining channel reflectance simulation of MSI and OLI. Preliminary results show that MSI and OLI are well comparable in several channels with small relative discrepancy (< 5 %), including the Costal Aerosol channel, a NIR (855-875 nm) channel, the SWIR channels, and the Cirrus channel. Meanwhile, for channels covering Blue, Green, Red, and NIR (785-900 nm), the between-sensor differences are significantly presented. Compared with the difference in reflectance of each individual channel, the difference in derived spectral index is more significant. In addition, effectiveness of linear transformation model is not ensured when the target belongs to another spectra collection. If an improper transformation model is selected, the between-sensor discrepancy will even largely increase. In conclusion, improvement in between-sensor consistency is possibly a challenge, through linear transformation based on model(s) generated from other spectra collections.

Spatial Variations of Spectral Properties of (21) Lutetia as Observed by OSIRIS/Rosetta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leyrat, Cedric; Sierks, H.; Barbieri, C.; Barucci, A.; Da Deppo, V.; De Leon, J.; Fulchignoni, M.; Fornasier, S.; Groussin, O.; Hviid, S. F.; Jorda, L.; Keller, H. U.; La Forgia, F.; Lara, L.; Lazzarin, M.; Magrin, S.; Marchi, S.; Thomas, N.; Schroder, S. E.; OSIRIS Team

2010-10-01

On July 10, 2010, the Rosetta ESA/NASA spacecraft successfully flew by the asteroid (21) Lutetia, which becomes the largest asteroid observed by a space probe. The closest approach occurred at 15H45 UTC at a relative speed of 15km/s and a relative distance of 3160 km. The Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) and the Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the OSIRIS instrument onboard Rosetta acquired images at different phase angles ranging from almost zero to more than 150 degrees. The best spatial resolution (60 m/pixel) allowed to reveal a very complex topography with several features and different crater's surface densities. Spectrophotometric analysis of the data could suggest spatial variations of the albedo and spectral properties at the surface of the asteroid, at least in the northern hemisphere. Numerous sets of data have been obtained at different wavelengths from 270nm to 980nm. We will first present a color-color analysis of data in order to locate landscapes where surface variegation is present. We will also present a more accurate study of spectral properties using the shape model and different statistical methods. Possible variations of the surface spectral properties with the slope of the ground and the gravity field orientation will be discussed as well.

Contamination of the 5394 Å spectral region by telluric lines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vince, I.; Vince, O.

2010-11-01

The spectral region in the vicinity of 5394 Å contains three prominent photospheric spectral lines, which can be used as a solar plasma diagnostic tool. The occurrence of telluric lines in this region is a potential source of systematic and random errors in these solar spectral lines. The goal of our investigation was to determine the telluric line contamination of this interesting spectral region. Several series of high-resolution solar spectra within an interval of about 4 Å around the 5394 Å wavelength were observed at different zenith distances of the Sun. Comparison of these spectra has permitted identification of telluric lines in this spectral interval. The observations were carried out with the horizontal solar spectrograph of the Heliophysical Observatory in Debrecen. Telluric feature blending was identified in the blue and red wings of the Fe I 5393.2 Å line, and in the local continuum of the Mn I 5394.7 Å line. The blue wing of the Fe I 5395.2 Å line is contaminated by a weak telluric feature too. The red continuum of this line has a more prominent telluric contamination. A dozen of water vapor telluric lines that determined the observed telluric features were identified in this spectral interval. The profiles of three telluric lines that have a significant influence on both the profiles of solar spectral lines and the level of local continuum were derived, and the variation of their parameters (equivalent width and central depth) with air mass were analyzed.

Evidence of across-channel processing for spectral-ripple discrimination in cochlear implant listeners.

PubMed

Won, Jong Ho; Jones, Gary L; Drennan, Ward R; Jameyson, Elyse M; Rubinstein, Jay T

2011-10-01

Spectral-ripple discrimination has been used widely for psychoacoustical studies in normal-hearing, hearing-impaired, and cochlear implant listeners. The present study investigated the perceptual mechanism for spectral-ripple discrimination in cochlear implant listeners. The main goal of this study was to determine whether cochlear implant listeners use a local intensity cue or global spectral shape for spectral-ripple discrimination. The effect of electrode separation on spectral-ripple discrimination was also evaluated. Results showed that it is highly unlikely that cochlear implant listeners depend on a local intensity cue for spectral-ripple discrimination. A phenomenological model of spectral-ripple discrimination, as an "ideal observer," showed that a perceptual mechanism based on discrimination of a single intensity difference cannot account for performance of cochlear implant listeners. Spectral modulation depth and electrode separation were found to significantly affect spectral-ripple discrimination. The evidence supports the hypothesis that spectral-ripple discrimination involves integrating information from multiple channels. © 2011 Acoustical Society of America

Evidence of across-channel processing for spectral-ripple discrimination in cochlear implant listeners a

PubMed Central

Ho Won, Jong; Jones, Gary L.; Drennan, Ward R.; Jameyson, Elyse M.; Rubinstein, Jay T.

2011-01-01

Spectral-ripple discrimination has been used widely for psychoacoustical studies in normal-hearing, hearing-impaired, and cochlear implant listeners. The present study investigated the perceptual mechanism for spectral-ripple discrimination in cochlear implant listeners. The main goal of this study was to determine whether cochlear implant listeners use a local intensity cue or global spectral shape for spectral-ripple discrimination. The effect of electrode separation on spectral-ripple discrimination was also evaluated. Results showed that it is highly unlikely that cochlear implant listeners depend on a local intensity cue for spectral-ripple discrimination. A phenomenological model of spectral-ripple discrimination, as an “ideal observer,” showed that a perceptual mechanism based on discrimination of a single intensity difference cannot account for performance of cochlear implant listeners. Spectral modulation depth and electrode separation were found to significantly affect spectral-ripple discrimination. The evidence supports the hypothesis that spectral-ripple discrimination involves integrating information from multiple channels. PMID:21973363

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

2007-01-01

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

Comparison of three different methods to merge multiresolution and multispectral data: Landsat TM and SPOT panchromatic

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chavez, P.S.; Sides, S.C.; Anderson, J.A.

1991-01-01

The merging of multisensor image data is becoming a widely used procedure because of the complementary nature of various data sets. Ideally, the method used to merge data sets with high-spatial and high-spectral resolution should not distort the spectral characteristics of the high-spectral resolution data. This paper compares the results of three different methods used to merge the information contents of the Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT) panchromatic data. The comparison is based on spectral characteristics and is made using statistical, visual, and graphical analyses of the results. The three methods used to merge the information contents of the Landsat TM and SPOT panchromatic data were the Hue-Intensity-Saturation (HIS), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and High-Pass Filter (HPF) procedures. The HIS method distorted the spectral characteristics of the data the most. The HPF method distorted the spectral characteristics the least; the distortions were minimal and difficult to detect. -Authors

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

PubMed

Xu, Han-qiu; Zhang, Tie-jun

2011-07-01

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

Observational aspects of outbursting black hole sources: Evolution of spectro-temporal features and X-ray variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sreehari, H.; Nandi, Anuj; Radhika, D.; Iyer, Nirmal; Mandal, Samir

2018-02-01

We report on our attempt to understand the outbursting profile of Galactic Black Hole sources, keeping in mind the evolution of temporal and spectral features during the outburst. We present results of evolution of quasi-periodic oscillations, spectral states and possible connection with jet ejections during the outburst phase. Further, we attempt to connect the observed X-ray variabilities (i.e., `class'/`structured' variabilities, similar to GRS 1915+105) with spectral states of black hole sources. Towards these studies, we consider three black hole sources that have undergone single (XTE J1859+226), a few (IGR J17091-3624) and many (GX 339-4) outbursts since the start of RXTE era. Finally, we model the broadband energy spectra (3-150 keV) of different spectral states using RXTE and NuSTAR observations. Results are discussed in the context of two-component advective flow model, while constraining the mass of the three black hole sources.

A solar radio dynamic spectrograph with flexible temporal-spectral resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Qing-Fu; Chen, Lei; Zhao, Yue-Chang; Li, Xin; Zhou, Yan; Zhang, Jun-Rui; Yan, Fa-Bao; Feng, Shi-Wei; Li, Chuan-Yang; Chen, Yao

2017-09-01

Observation and research on solar radio emission have unique scientific values in solar and space physics and related space weather forecasting applications, since the observed spectral structures may carry important information about energetic electrons and underlying physical mechanisms. In this study, we present the design of a novel dynamic spectrograph that has been installed at the Chashan Solar Radio Observatory operated by the Laboratory for Radio Technologies, Institute of Space Sciences at Shandong University. The spectrograph is characterized by real-time storage of digitized radio intensity data in the time domain and its capability to perform off-line spectral analysis of the radio spectra. The analog signals received via antennas and amplified with a low-noise amplifier are converted into digital data at a speed reaching up to 32 k data points per millisecond. The digital data are then saved into a high-speed electronic disk for further off-line spectral analysis. Using different word lengths (1-32 k) and time cadences (5 ms-10 s) for off-line fast Fourier transform analysis, we can obtain the dynamic spectrum of a radio burst with different (user-defined) temporal (5 ms-10 s) and spectral (3 kHz˜320 kHz) resolutions. This enables great flexibility and convenience in data analysis of solar radio bursts, especially when some specific fine spectral structures are under study.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

1982-01-01

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

Spectral identification/elimination of molecular species in spacecraft glow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, B. D.; Marinelli, W. J.; Rawlins, W. T.

1985-01-01

Computer models of molecular electronic and vibrational emission intensities were developed. Known radiative emission rates (Einstein coefficients) permit the determination of relative excited state densities from spectral intensities. These codes were applied to the published spectra of glow above shuttle surface and to the Spacelab 1 results of Torr and Torr. The theoretical high-resolution spectra were convolved with the appropriate instrumental slit functions to allow accurate comparison with data. The published spacelab spectrum is complex but N2+ Meinel emission can be clearly identified in the ram spectrum. M2 First Positive emission does not correlate well with observed features, nor does the CN Red System. Spectral overlay comparisons are presented. The spectrum of glow above shuttle surfaces, in contrast to the ISO data, is not highly structured. Diatomic molecular emission was matched to the observed spectral shape. Source excitation mechanisms such as (oxygen atom)-(surface species) reaction product chemiluminescence, surface recombination, or resonance fluorescent re-emission will be discussed for each tentative assignment. These assignments are the necessary first analytical step toward mechanism identification. Different glow mechanisms will occur above surfaces under different orbital conditions.

Investigation of the variance and spectral anisotropies of the solar wind turbulence with multiple point spacecraft observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vech, Daniel; Chen, Christopher

2016-04-01

One of the most important features of the plasma turbulence is the anisotropy, which arises due to the presence of the magnetic field. The understanding of the anisotropy is particularly important to reveal how the turbulent cascade operates. It is well known that anisotropy exists with respect to the mean magnetic field, however recent theoretical studies suggested anisotropy with respect to the radial direction. The purpose of this study is to investigate the variance and spectral anisotropies of the solar wind turbulence with multiple point spacecraft observations. The study includes the Advanced Composition Analyzer (ACE), WIND and Cluster spacecraft data. The second order structure functions are derived for two different spacecraft configurations: when the pair of spacecraft are separated radially (with respect to the spacecraft -Sun line) and when they are separated along the transverse direction. We analyze the effect of the different sampling directions on the variance anisotropy, global spectral anisotropy, local 3D spectral anisotropy and discuss the implications for our understanding of solar wind turbulence.

Multiwavelength FLIM: new applications and algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rück, A.; Strat, D.; Dolp, F.; von Einem, B.; von Arnim, C. A. F.

2011-03-01

The combination of time-resolved and spectral resolved techniques as achieved by SLIM (spectrally resolved fluorescence lifetime imaging) improves the analysis of complex situations, when different fluorophores have to be distinguished. This could be the case when endogenous fluorophores of living cells and tissues are observed to identify the redox state and oxidative metabolic changes of the mitochondria. Other examples are FRET (resonant energy transfer) measurements, when different donor/acceptor pairs are observed simultaneously. SLIM is working in the time domain employing excitation with short light pulses and detection of the fluorescence intensity decay in many cases with time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC). Spectral resolved detection is achieved by a polychromator in the detection path and a 16-channel multianode photomultiplier tube with the appropriate routing electronics. Within this paper special attention will be focused on FRET measurements with respect to protein interactions in Alzheimers disease. Using global analysis as the phasor plot approach or integration of the kinetic equations taking into account the multidimensional datasets in every spectral channel we could demonstrate considerable improvement of our calculations.

Collection of in situ forest canopy spectra using a helicopter - A discussion of methodology and preliminary results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, D. L.; Walthall, C. L.; Goward, S. N.

1984-01-01

An important part of fundamental remote sensing research is based on the measurement and analysis of spectral reflectance from earth surface materials in situ. It has been found that for an effective analysis of the target of interest, different applications of remotely sensed data require spectral measurements from different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is pointed out that the detailed spectral reflectance characteristics of forest vegetation are currently not well understood, particularly in the middle infrared wavelength region. Details regarding the need for in situ forest canopy measurements are examined, taking into account certain difficulties arising in the case of satellite observations. Because of these difficulties, the present paper provides a discussion of methodology and preliminary spectra based on an experiment to use a helicopter as an observing platform for in situ forest canopy spectra measurement.

Definition of a metrology servo-system for a solar imaging fourier transform spectrometer working in the far UV (IFTSUV)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruiz de Galarreta Fanju, C.; Philippon, A.; Bouzit, M.; Appourchaux, T.; Vial, J.-C.; Maillard, J.-P.; Lemaire, P.

2017-11-01

The understanding of the solar outer atmosphere requires a simultaneous combination of imaging and spectral observations concerning the far UV lines that arise from the high chromospheres up to the corona. These observations must be performed with enough spectral, spatial and temporal resolution to reveal the small atmospheric structures and to resolve the solar dynamics. An Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer working in the far-UV (IFTSUV, Figure 1) is an attractive instrumental solution to fulfill these requirements. However, due to the short wavelength, to preserve IFTSUV spectral precision and Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) requires a high optical surface quality and a very accurate (linear and angular) metrology to maintain the optical path difference (OPD) during the entire scanning process by: optical path difference sampling trigger; and dynamic alignment for tip/tilt compensation (Figure 2).

Backreaction effects on nonequilibrium spectral function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mendizabal, Sebastián; Rojas, Juan Cristobal

2017-07-01

We show how to compute the spectral function for a scalar theory in two different scenarios: one which disregards backreaction, i.e. the response of the environment to the external particle, and the other one where backreaction is considered. The calculation was performed using the Kadanoff-Baym equation through the Keldysh formalism. When backreaction is neglected, the spectral function is equal to the equilibrium one, which can be represented as a Breit-Wigner distribution. When backreaction is introduced we observed a damping in the spectral function of the thermal bath. Such behavior modifies the damping rate for particles created within the bath.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klemas, V. (Principal Investigator)

1984-01-01

The effect different wetland plant canopies have upon observed reflectance in Thematic Mapper bands is studied. The three major vegetation canopy types (broadleaf, gramineous and leafless) produce unique spectral responses for a similar quantity of live biomass. The spectral biomass estimate of a broadleaf canopy is most similar to the harvest biomass estimate when a broadleaf canopy radiance model is used. All major wetland vegetation species can be identified through TM imagery. Simple regression models are developed equating the vegetation index and the infrared index with biomass. The spectral radiance index largely agreed with harvest biomass estimates.

Variables separation of the spectral BRDF for better understanding color variation in special effect pigment coatings.

PubMed

Ferrero, Alejandro; Rabal, Ana María; Campos, Joaquín; Pons, Alicia; Hernanz, María Luisa

2012-06-01

A type of representation of the spectral bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) is proposed that distinctly separates the spectral variable (wavelength) from the geometrical variables (spherical coordinates of the irradiation and viewing directions). Principal components analysis (PCA) is used in order to decompose the spectral BRDF in decorrelated spectral components, and the weight that they have at every geometrical configuration of irradiation/viewing is established. This method was applied to the spectral BRDF measurement of a special effect pigment sample, and four principal components with relevant variance were identified. These four components are enough to reproduce the great diversity of spectral reflectances observed at different geometrical configurations. Since this representation is able to separate spectral and geometrical variables, it facilitates the interpretation of the color variation of special effect pigments coatings versus the geometrical configuration of irradiation/viewing.

Spectropolarimeter of ground support of space experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidmachenko, A. P.; Ivanov, Yu. S.; Morozhenko, O. V.; Siniavsky, I. I.; Nevodovskyi, P. V.; Nevodovskyi, P. V.; Sosonkim, M. G.

2017-08-01

At various space experiments it is necessary to plan carrying out parallel terrestrial observations. For this purpose spectropolarimeter of support of Space experiments in spectral range of 350-900 nm was developed and manufactured at the Main Astronomical Observatory of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. As a dispersing system of SPS it was proposed to use a complex prism system, whose elements can be located in different parts of the optical system and work with different angular increase. In the spectral range of 370-870 nm, the variance was almost uniform. Spectropolarimeter SPS of SE support, has been used for observation of stars with exoplanets and of Solar System bodies.

[The changes of forest canopy spectral reflectance with seasons in Xiaoxing'anling].

PubMed

Xu, Guang-Cai; Pang, Yong; Li, Zeng-Yuan; Zhao, Kai-Rui; Liu, Lu-Xia

2013-12-01

The ASD FieldSpec portable spectrometer was adopted to collect canopy reflectance spectrum data of the 9 main tree species in study area by a long-term observation to get the data of the four seasons Then the smoothed reflectance curve and the first derivation curve from 350 to 1400 nm and several commonly used vegetation spectral characteristic parameters were generated to analyse seasonal change characteristics and variation of the 9 tree species in visible and near-infrared band and to explore the best band characteristics and period for species identification. The results showed that different trees had different and rather unique spectral features during the four seasons. The spectral characteristics of the deciduous trees have regular changes with the cycle of the seasons, whereas those of the evergreen tree species have no significant changes in one year. As well changes in the spectral characteristics could effectively reflect forest phenology changes, and it is proposed that the optimal strategy for tree species classification may be the integration and analysis of multi-seasonal spectral data. Evergreen trees and deciduous trees in the winter have obvious differences in the canopy spectral characteristics and the best single-season remote sensing data for tree species recognition is in summer.

A decade of Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer Seyfert observations: An RXTE Seyfert spectral database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattson, Barbara Jo

2008-10-01

With over forty years of X-ray observations, we should have a grasp on the X- ray nature of active galactic nuclei (AGN). The unification model of Antonucci and Miller (1985) offered a context for understanding observations by defining a "typical" AGN geometry, with observed spectral differences explained by line- of-sight effects. However, the emerging picture is that the central AGN is more complex than unification alone can describe. We explore the unified model with a systematic X-ray spectral study of bright Seyfert galaxies observed by the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) over its first 10 years. We develop a spectral-fit database of 821 time-resolved spectra from 39 Seyfert galaxies fitted to a model describing the effects of an X-ray power-law spectrum reprocessed and absorbed by material in the central AGN region. We observe a relationship between radio and X-ray properties for Seyfert 1s, with the spectral parameters differing between radio-loud and radio-quiet Seyfert 1s. We also find a complex relationship between the Fe K equivalent width ( EW ) and the power-law photon index (Gamma) for the Seyfert 1s, with a correlation for the radio-loud sources and an anti-correlation for the radio- quiet sources. These results can be explained if X-rays from the relativistic jet in radio-loud sources contribute significantly to the observed spectrum. We observe scatter in the EW-Gamma relationship for the Seyfert 2s, suggesting complex environments that unification alone cannot explain. We see a strong correlation between Gamma and the reflection fraction ( R ) in the Seyfert 1 and 2 samples, but modeling degeneracies are present, so this relationship cannot be trusted as instructive of the AGN physics. For the Seyfert 1 sample, we find an anticorrelation between EW and the 2 to 10 keV luminosity ( L x ), also known as the X-ray Baldwin effect. This may suggest that higher luminosity sources contain less material or may be due to a time-lag effect. We do not observe the previously reported relationship between Gamma and the ratio of L x to the Eddington luminosity.

Noninvasive diagnosis of oral cancer by Stokes shift spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebenezar, Jeyasingh; Ganesan, Singaravelu; Aruna, Prakasrao; Muralinaidu, Radhakrishnan

2014-03-01

The objective of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic potential of stokes shift (SS) spectroscopy (S3) for normal, precancer and cancerous oral lesions in vivo. The SS spectra were recorded in the 250 - 650 nm spectral range by simultaneously scanning both the excitation and emission wavelengths while keeping a fixed wavelength interval Δλ=20 nm between them. Characteristic, highly resolved peaks and significant spectral differences between normal and different pathological oral lesions observed around 300, 355, 395, and 420 nm which are attributed to tryptophan, collagen, and NADH respectively. Using S3 technique one can obtain the key fluorophores in a single scan and hence they can be targeted as a tumor markers in this study. In order to quantify the altered spectral differences between normal and different pathological oral lesions are verified by different ratio parameters.

UV, X-ray, and Optical Variability of the Young Star T Cha Produced by Inner Disk Obscuration: Results from a Coordinated HST, XMM-Newton, LCOGT, and SMARTS Observing Campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Alexander; France, Kevin; Walter, Frederick M.; Schneider, P. Christian; Brown, Timothy M.; Andrews, Sean M.; Wilner, David J.

2018-06-01

The young (7 Myr) 1.5 solar mass T Tauri star T Chamaeleontis shows dramatic variability. The optical extinction varies by at least 3 magnitudes on few hour time-scales with no obvious periodicity. The obscuration is produced by material at the inner edge of the circumstellar disk and therefore characterizing the absorbing material can reveal important clues regarding the transport of gas and dust within such disks. The inner disk of T Cha is particularly interesting, because T Cha has a transitional disk with a large gap at 0.2-15 AU in the dust disk and allows study of the gas and dust structure in the terrestrial planet formation zone during this important rapid phase of protoplanetary disk evolution. For this reason we have conducted a major multi-spectral-region observing campaign to study the UV/X-ray/optical variability of T Cha. During 2018 February/March we monitored the optical photometric and spectral variability using LCOGT (Chile/South Africa/Australia) and the SMARTS telescopes in Chile. These optical data provide a broad context within which to interpret our shorter UV and X-ray observations. We observed T Cha during 3 coordinated observations (each 5 HST orbits + 25 ksec XMM; on 2018 Feb 22, Feb 26, Mar 2) using the HST COS/STIS spectrographs to measure the FUV/NUV spectra and XMM-Newton to measure the corresponding X-ray energy distribution. The observed spectral changes are well correlated and demonstrate the influence of the same absorbing material in all the spectral regions observed. By examining which spectral features change and by how much we can determine the location of different emitting regions relative to the absorbers along the line-of-sight to the star. In this poster we provide an overview of the variability seen in the different spectral regions and quantify the dust and gas content of T Cha's inner disk edge.(This work is supported by grant HST-GO-15128 and time awarded by HST, XMM-Newton, LCOGT, and SMARTS. We acknowledge the assistance provided by Dr. Todd Henry in conducting this observing campaign.)

Rapid X-ray variability properties during the unusual very hard state in neutron-star low-mass X-ray binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wijnands, R.; Parikh, A. S.; Altamirano, D.; Homan, J.; Degenaar, N.

2017-11-01

Here, we study the rapid X-ray variability (using XMM-Newton observations) of three neutron-star low-mass X-ray binaries (1RXS J180408.9-342058, EXO 1745-248 and IGR J18245-2452) during their recently proposed very hard spectral state. All our systems exhibit a strong to very strong noise component in their power density spectra (rms amplitudes ranging from 34 per cent to 102 per cent) with very low characteristic frequencies (as low as 0.01 Hz). These properties are more extreme than what is commonly observed in the canonical hard state of neutron-star low-mass X-ray binaries observed at X-ray luminosities similar to those we observe from our sources. This suggests that indeed the very hard state is a spectral-timing state distinct from the hard state, although we argue that the variability behaviour of IGR J18245-2452 is very extreme and possibly this source was in a very unusual state. We also compare our results with the rapid X-ray variability of the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars IGR J00291+5934 and Swift J0911.9-6452 (also using XMM-Newton data) for which previously similar variability phenomena were observed. Although their energy spectra (as observed using the Swift X-ray telescope) were not necessarily as hard (i.e. for Swift J0911.9-6452) as for our other three sources, we conclude that likely both sources were also in very similar state during their XMM-Newton observations. This suggests that different sources that are found in this new state might exhibit different spectral hardness and one has to study both the spectral and the rapid variability to identify this unusual state.

Application of distance correction to ChemCam laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy measurements

DOE PAGES

Mezzacappa, A.; Melikechi, N.; Cousin, A.; ...

2016-04-04

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) provides chemical information from atomic, ionic, and molecular emissions from which geochemical composition can be deciphered. Analysis of LIBS spectra in cases where targets are observed at different distances, as is the case for the ChemCam instrument on the Mars rover Curiosity, which performs analyses at distances between 2 and 7.4 m is not a simple task. Previously, we showed that spectral distance correction based on a proxy spectroscopic standard created from first-shot dust observations on Mars targets ameliorates the distance bias in multivariate-based elemental-composition predictions of laboratory data. In this work, we correct an expandedmore » set of neutral and ionic spectral emissions for distance bias in the ChemCam data set. By using and testing different selection criteria to generate multiple proxy standards, we find a correction that minimizes the difference in spectral intensity measured at two different distances and increases spectral reproducibility. When the quantitative performance of distance correction is assessed, there is improvement for SiO 2, Al 2O 3, CaO, FeOT, Na 2O, K 2O, that is, for most of the major rock forming elements, and for the total major-element weight percent predicted. But, for MgO the method does not provide improvements while for TiO 2, it yields inconsistent results. Additionally, we observed that many emission lines do not behave consistently with distance, evidenced from laboratory analogue measurements and ChemCam data. This limits the effectiveness of the method.« less

[Spectral transmission in blue filter intraocular lenses].

PubMed

Schrage, N

2012-02-01

There is uncertainty in ophthalmology concerning the quality and spectral transmission of light of so-called blue filter intraocular lenses (IOL). Clinical users have noticed that such IOL's appear to have different color intensities. The discussion on medical changes by means of such IOL's is dependent on the real light transmission of these IOL's. To add some objective data we compared these IOL's by systematic transmission measurements and observed technical differences of diffraction and geometry as well as transmission differences. The result gives objective indications that differences between blue filter IOL's from different manufacturers are important and are detailed in this paper.

Laboratory spectroscopy of meteorite samples at UV-vis-NIR wavelengths: Analysis and discrimination by principal components analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Penttilä, Antti; Martikainen, Julia; Gritsevich, Maria; Muinonen, Karri

2018-02-01

Meteorite samples are measured with the University of Helsinki integrating-sphere UV-vis-NIR spectrometer. The resulting spectra of 30 meteorites are compared with selected spectra from the NASA Planetary Data System meteorite spectra database. The spectral measurements are transformed with the principal component analysis, and it is shown that different meteorite types can be distinguished from the transformed data. The motivation is to improve the link between asteroid spectral observations and meteorite spectral measurements.

The effect of variations in relative spectral response on the retrieval of land surface parameters from multiple sources of remotely sensed imagery

USGS Publications Warehouse

Meyer, D.J.; Chander, G.

2008-01-01

Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) images , collected over Sioux Falls, South Dakota, were used to quantify the effect of spectral response on different surface materials and to develop spectral "figures-of-merit" for spectral responses covering similar, but not identical spectral bands. In this simulation, AVIRIS images were converted to radiance, then spectrally resampled to six wavelength bands commonly used for terrestrial observation. Preliminary results indicate that differences between the simulations can be attributed to variations in surface reflectance within spectral bands, and suggest influences due to water vapor absorption. Radiance simulated from the spectrally narrow Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Relative Spectral Responses (RSR) was generally higher than that using the broader Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) RSRs over most targets encountered over the test area. This is consistent with many MODIS bands being biased toward shorter wavelengths compared to corresponding ETM+ bands when viewing targets whose radiance decreases with wavelength. In some cases the higher radiance values appeared to occur where the MODIS RSR is better situated over peak reflected wavelengths. Simulation differences between MODIS & ETM+ bands in the near-infrared indicated higher MODIS radiance values that suggest the influence of water vapor absorption at 820 nanometers. This result agreed with water vapor values retrieved from the AVIRIS images themselves at around 2.7 cm precipitable water, and measurements made at a nearby AERONET node at around 2.8cm during the AVIRIS overflight ?? 2007 IEEE.

Littoral assessment of mine burial signatures (LAMBS): buried landmine/background spectral-signature analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kenton, Arthur C.; Geci, Duane M.; Ray, Kristofer J.; Thomas, Clayton M.; Salisbury, John W.; Mars, John C.; Crowley, James K.; Witherspoon, Ned H.; Holloway, John H., Jr.

2004-09-01

The objective of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Rapid Overt Reconnaissance (ROR) program and the Airborne Littoral Reconnaissance Technologies (ALRT) project's LAMBS effort is to determine if electro-optical spectral discriminants exist that are useful for the detection of land mines in littoral regions. Statistically significant buried mine overburden and background signature data were collected over a wide spectral range (0.35 to 14 μm) to identify robust spectral features that might serve as discriminants for new airborne sensor concepts. LAMBS has expanded previously collected databases to littoral areas - primarily dry and wet sandy soils - where tidal, surf, and wind conditions can severely modify spectral signatures. At AeroSense 2003, we reported completion of three buried mine collections at an inland bay, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico beach sites. We now report LAMBS spectral database analyses results using metrics which characterize the detection performance of general types of spectral detection algorithms. These metrics include mean contrast, spectral signal-to-clutter, covariance, information content, and spectral matched filter analyses. Detection performance of the buried land mines was analyzed with regard to burial age, background type, and environmental conditions. These analyses considered features observed due to particle size differences, surface roughness, surface moisture, and compositional differences.

Littoral Assessment of Mine Burial Signatures (LAMBS) buried land mine/background spectral signature analyses

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kenton, A.C.; Geci, D.M.; Ray, K.J.; Thomas, C.M.; Salisbury, J.W.; Mars, J.C.; Crowley, J.K.; Witherspoon, N.H.; Holloway, J.H.; Harmon R.S.Broach J.T.Holloway, Jr. J.H.

2004-01-01

The objective of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Rapid Overt Reconnaissance (ROR) program and the Airborne Littoral Reconnaissance Technologies (ALRT) project's LAMBS effort is to determine if electro-optical spectral discriminants exist that are useful for the detection of land mines in littoral regions. Statistically significant buried mine overburden and background signature data were collected over a wide spectral range (0.35 to 14 ??m) to identify robust spectral features that might serve as discriminants for new airborne sensor concepts. LAMBS has expanded previously collected databases to littoral areas - primarily dry and wet sandy soils - where tidal, surf, and wind conditions can severely modify spectral signatures. At AeroSense 2003, we reported completion of three buried mine collections at an inland bay, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico beach sites.1 We now report LAMBS spectral database analyses results using metrics which characterize the detection performance of general types of spectral detection algorithms. These metrics include mean contrast, spectral signal-to-clutter, covariance, information content, and spectral matched filter analyses. Detection performance of the buried land mines was analyzed with regard to burial age, background type, and environmental conditions. These analyses considered features observed due to particle size differences, surface roughness, surface moisture, and compositional differences.

Observation of the spectrally invariant properties of clouds in cloudy-to-clear transition zones during the MAGIC field campaign

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

Yang, Weidong; Marshak, Alexander; McBride, Patrick J.

2016-12-01

We use the spectrally invariant method to study the variability of cloud optical thickness τ and droplet effective radius reff in transition zones (between the cloudy and clear sky columns) observed from Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer (SSFR) and Shortwave Array Spectroradiometer-Zenith (SASZe) during the Marine ARM GPCI Investigation of Clouds (MAGIC) field campaign. The measurements from the SSFR and the SASZe are different, however inter-instrument differences of self-normalized measurements (divided by their own spectra at a fixed time) are small. The spectrally invariant method approximates the spectra in the cloud transition zone as a linear combination of definitely clear andmore » cloudy spectra, where the coefficients, slope and intercept, character-ize the spectrally invariant properties of the transition zone. Simulation results from the SBDART (Santa Barbara DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer) model demonstrate that (1) the slope of the visible band is positively correlated with the cloud optical thickness τ while the intercept of the near-infrared band has high negative cor-relation with the cloud drop effective radius reff even without the exact knowledge of τ; (2) the above relations hold for all Solar Zenith Angle (SZA) and for cloud-contaminated skies. In observations using redundant measure-ments from SSFR and SASZe, we find that during cloudy-to-clear transitions, (a) the slopes of the visible band de-crease, and (b) the intercepts of the near-infrared band remain almost constant near cloud edges. The findings in simulations and observations suggest that, while the optical thickness decreases during the cloudy-to-clear transition, the cloud drop effective radius does not change when cloud edges are approached. These results sup-port the hypothesis that inhomogeneous mixing dominates near cloud edges in the studied cases.« less

Visual Spectroscopy of R Scuti (Poster abstract)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Undreiu, L.; Chapman, A.

2015-06-01

(Abstract only) We are currently conducting a visual spectral analysis of the brightest known RV Tauri variable star, R Scuti. The goal of our undergraduate research project is to investigate this variable star's erratic nature by collecting spectra at different times in its cycle. Starting in late June of 2014 and proceeding into the following four months, we have monitored the alterations in the spectral characteristics that accompany the progression of R Sct's irregular cycle. During this time, we were given the opportunity to document the star's most recent descent from maximum brightness V~5 to a relatively deep minimum of V~7.5. Analysis of the data taken during the star's period of declining magnitude has provided us with several interesting findings that concur with the observations of more technically sophisticated studies. Following their collection, we compared our observations and findings with archived material in the hopes of facilitating a better understanding of the physical state of RV Tauri stars and the perplexing nature of their evolution. Although identification of the elements in the star's bright phase proved to be challenging, documenting clear absorption features in its fainter stage was far less difficult. As previously reported in similar studies, we identified prominent TiO molecular absorption bands near R Sct's faintest state, typical of mid-M spectral type stars. In addition to these TiO absorption lines, we report the presence of many more metallic lines in the spectral profiles obtained near star's minimum. Supportive of previously published hypotheses regarding the causation of its variability, we observed significant variation in the star's spectral characteristics throughout different phases of its cycle. We are hopeful that our observations will make a meaningful contribution to existing databases and help advance our collective understanding of RV Tauri stars and their evolutionary significance.

Observation of the spectrally invariant properties of clouds in cloudy-to-clear transition zones during the MAGIC field campaign

DOE PAGES

Yang, Weidong; Marshak, Alexander; McBride, Patrick J.; ...

2016-08-11

We use the spectrally invariant method to study the variability of cloud optical thickness τ and droplet effective radius r eff in transition zones (between the cloudy and clear sky columns) observed from Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer (SSFR) and Shortwave Array Spectroradiometer-Zenith (SASZe) during the Marine ARM GPCI Investigation of Clouds (MAGIC) field campaign. The measurements from the SSFR and the SASZe are different, however inter-instrument differences of self-normalized measurements (divided by their own spectra at a fixed time) are small. The spectrally invariant method approximates the spectra in the cloud transition zone as a linear combination of definitely clearmore » and cloudy spectra, where the coefficients, slope and intercept, characterize the spectrally invariant properties of the transition zone. Simulation results from the SBDART (Santa Barbara DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer) model demonstrate that (1) the slope of the visible band is positively correlated with the cloud optical thickness τ while the intercept of the near-infrared band has high negative correlation with the cloud drop effective radius r eff even without the exact knowledge of τ; (2) the above relations hold for all Solar Zenith Angle (SZA) and for cloud-contaminated skies. In observations using redundant measurements from SSFR and SASZe, we find that during cloudy-to-clear transitions, (a) the slopes of the visible band decrease, and (b) the intercepts of the near-infrared band remain almost constant near cloud edges. The findings in simulations and observations suggest that, while the optical thickness decreases during the cloudy-to-clear transition, the cloud drop effective radius does not change when cloud edges are approached. Furthermore, these results support the hypothesis that inhomogeneous mixing dominates near cloud edges in the studied cases.« less

Observation of the Spectrally Invariant Properties of Clouds in Cloudy-to-Clear Transition Zones During the MAGIC Field Campaign

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yang, Weidong; Marshak, Alexander; McBride, Patrick; Chiu, J. Christine; Knyazikhin, Yuri; Schmidt, K. Sebastian; Flynn, Connor; Lewis, Ernie R.; Eloranta, Edwin W.

2016-01-01

We use the spectrally invariant method to study the variability of cloud optical thickness tau and droplet effective radius r(sub eff) in transition zones (between the cloudy and clear sky columns) observed from Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer (SSFR) and Shortwave Array Spectroradiometer-Zenith (SASZe) during the Marine ARM GPCI Investigation of Clouds (MAGIC) field campaign. The measurements from the SSFR and the SASZe are different, however inter-instrument differences of self-normalized measurements (divided by their own spectra at a fixed time) are small. The spectrally invariant method approximates the spectra in the cloud transition zone as a linear combination of definitely clear and cloudy spectra, where the coefficients, slope and intercept, characterize the spectrally invariant properties of the transition zone. Simulation results from the SBDART (Santa Barbara DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer) model demonstrate that (1) the slope of the visible band is positively correlated with the cloud optical thickness t while the intercept of the near-infrared band has high negative correlation with the cloud drop effective radius r(sub eff)even without the exact knowledge of tau; (2) the above relations hold for all Solar Zenith Angle (SZA) and for cloud-contaminated skies. In observations using redundant measurements from SSFR and SASZe, we find that during cloudy-to-clear transitions, (a) the slopes of the visible band decrease, and (b) the intercepts of the near-infrared band remain almost constant near cloud edges. The findings in simulations and observations suggest that, while the optical thickness decreases during the cloudy-to-clear transition, the cloud drop effective radius does not change when cloud edges are approached. These results support the hypothesis that inhomogeneous mixing dominates near cloud edges in the studied cases.

EXCESS OPTICAL ENHANCEMENT OBSERVED WITH ARCONS FOR EARLY CRAB GIANT PULSES

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

Strader, M. J.; Mazin, B. A.; Spiro Jaeger, G. V.

2013-12-10

We observe an extraordinary link in the Crab pulsar between the enhancement of an optical pulse and the timing of the corresponding giant radio pulse. At optical through infrared wavelengths, our observations use the high time resolution of ARray Camera for Optical to Near-IR Spectrophotometry, a unique superconducting energy-resolving photon-counting array at the Palomar 200 inch telescope. At radio wavelengths, we observe with the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope and the Green Bank Ultimate Pulsar Processing Instrument backend. We see an 11.3% ± 2.5% increase in peak optical flux for pulses that have an accompanying giant radio pulse arrivingmore » near the peak of the optical main pulse, in contrast to a 3.2% ± 0.5% increase when an accompanying giant radio pulse arrives soon after the optical peak. We also observe that the peak of the optical main pulse is 2.8% ± 0.8% enhanced when there is a giant radio pulse accompanying the optical interpulse. We observe no statistically significant spectral differences between optical pulses accompanied by and not accompanied by giant radio pulses. Our results extend previous observations of optical-radio correlation to the time and spectral domains. Our refined temporal correlation suggests that optical and radio emission are indeed causally linked, and the lack of spectral differences suggests that the same mechanism is responsible for all optical emission.« less

Excess optical enhancement observed with arcons for early crab giant pulses

DOE PAGES

Strader, M. J.; Johnson, M. D.; Mazin, B. A.; ...

2013-11-26

Here, we observe an extraordinary link in the Crab pulsar between the enhancement of an optical pulse and the timing of the corresponding giant radio pulse. At optical through infrared wavelengths, our observations use the high time resolution of ARray Camera for Optical to Near-IR Spectrophotometry, a unique superconducting energy-resolving photon-counting array at the Palomar 200 inch telescope. At radio wavelengths, we observe with the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope and the Green Bank Ultimate Pulsar Processing Instrument backend. We see an 11.3% ± 2.5% increase in peak optical flux for pulses that have an accompanying giant radio pulsemore » arriving near the peak of the optical main pulse, in contrast to a 3.2% ± 0.5% increase when an accompanying giant radio pulse arrives soon after the optical peak. We also observe that the peak of the optical main pulse is 2.8% ± 0.8% enhanced when there is a giant radio pulse accompanying the optical interpulse. We also observe no statistically significant spectral differences between optical pulses accompanied by and not accompanied by giant radio pulses. These results extend previous observations of optical-radio correlation to the time and spectral domains. Our refined temporal correlation suggests that optical and radio emission are indeed causally linked, and the lack of spectral differences suggests that the same mechanism is responsible for all optical emission.« less

Spectral Kernel Approach to Study Radiative Response of Climate Variables and Interannual Variability of Reflected Solar Spectrum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jin, Zhonghai; Wielicki, Bruce A.; Loukachine, Constantin; Charlock, Thomas P.; Young, David; Noeel, Stefan

2011-01-01

The radiative kernel approach provides a simple way to separate the radiative response to different climate parameters and to decompose the feedback into radiative and climate response components. Using CERES/MODIS/Geostationary data, we calculated and analyzed the solar spectral reflectance kernels for various climate parameters on zonal, regional, and global spatial scales. The kernel linearity is tested. Errors in the kernel due to nonlinearity can vary strongly depending on climate parameter, wavelength, surface, and solar elevation; they are large in some absorption bands for some parameters but are negligible in most conditions. The spectral kernels are used to calculate the radiative responses to different climate parameter changes in different latitudes. The results show that the radiative response in high latitudes is sensitive to the coverage of snow and sea ice. The radiative response in low latitudes is contributed mainly by cloud property changes, especially cloud fraction and optical depth. The large cloud height effect is confined to absorption bands, while the cloud particle size effect is found mainly in the near infrared. The kernel approach, which is based on calculations using CERES retrievals, is then tested by direct comparison with spectral measurements from Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Cartography (SCIAMACHY) (a different instrument on a different spacecraft). The monthly mean interannual variability of spectral reflectance based on the kernel technique is consistent with satellite observations over the ocean, but not over land, where both model and data have large uncertainty. RMS errors in kernel ]derived monthly global mean reflectance over the ocean compared to observations are about 0.001, and the sampling error is likely a major component.

Evidence for different accretion regimes in GRO J1008-57

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kühnel, Matthias; Fürst, Felix; Pottschmidt, Katja; Kreykenbohm, Ingo; Ballhausen, Ralf; Falkner, Sebastian; Rothschild, Richard E.; Klochkov, Dmitry; Wilms, Jörn

2017-11-01

We present a comprehensive spectral analysis of the BeXRB GRO J1008-57 over a luminosity range of three orders of magnitude using NuSTAR, Suzaku, and RXTE data. We find significant evolution of the spectral parameters with luminosity. In particular, the photon index hardens with increasing luminosity at intermediate luminosities in the range 1036-1037 erg s-1. This evolution is stable and repeatedly observed over different outbursts. However, at the extreme ends of the observed luminosity range, we find that the correlation breaks down, with a significance level of at least 3.7σ. We conclude that these changes indicate transitions to different accretion regimes, which are characterized by different deceleration processes, such as Coulomb or radiation breaking. We compare our observed luminosity levels of these transitions to theoretical predications and discuss the variation of those theoretical luminosity values with fundamental neutron star parameters. Finally, we present detailed spectroscopy of the unique "triple peaked" outburst in 2014/15 which does not fit in the general parameter evolution with luminosity. The pulse profile on the other hand is consistent with what is expected at this luminosity level, arguing against a change in accretion geometry. In summary, GRO J1008-57 is an ideal target to study different accretion regimes due to the well-constrained evolution of its broad-band spectral continuum over several orders of magnitude in luminosity.

Fourier-transform-infrared-spectroscopy based spectral-biomarker selection towards optimum diagnostic differentiation of oral leukoplakia and cancer.

PubMed

Banerjee, Satarupa; Pal, Mousumi; Chakrabarty, Jitamanyu; Petibois, Cyril; Paul, Ranjan Rashmi; Giri, Amita; Chatterjee, Jyotirmoy

2015-10-01

In search of specific label-free biomarkers for differentiation of two oral lesions, namely oral leukoplakia (OLK) and oral squamous-cell carcinoma (OSCC), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was performed on paraffin-embedded tissue sections from 47 human subjects (eight normal (NOM), 16 OLK, and 23 OSCC). Difference between mean spectra (DBMS), Mann-Whitney's U test, and forward feature selection (FFS) techniques were used for optimising spectral-marker selection. Classification of diseases was performed with linear and quadratic support vector machine (SVM) at 10-fold cross-validation, using different combinations of spectral features. It was observed that six features obtained through FFS enabled differentiation of NOM and OSCC tissue (1782, 1713, 1665, 1545, 1409, and 1161 cm(-1)) and were most significant, able to classify OLK and OSCC with 81.3 % sensitivity, 95.7 % specificity, and 89.7 % overall accuracy. The 43 spectral markers extracted through Mann-Whitney's U Test were the least significant when quadratic SVM was used. Considering the high sensitivity and specificity of the FFS technique, extracting only six spectral biomarkers was thus most useful for diagnosis of OLK and OSCC, and to overcome inter and intra-observer variability experienced in diagnostic best-practice histopathological procedure. By considering the biochemical assignment of these six spectral signatures, this work also revealed altered glycogen and keratin content in histological sections which could able to discriminate OLK and OSCC. The method was validated through spectral selection by the DBMS technique. Thus this method has potential for diagnostic cost minimisation for oral lesions by label-free biomarker identification.

[A Method to Reconstruct Surface Reflectance Spectrum from Multispectral Image Based on Canopy Radiation Transfer Model].

PubMed

Zhao, Yong-guang; Ma, Ling-ling; Li, Chuan-rong; Zhu, Xiao-hua; Tang, Ling-li

2015-07-01

Due to the lack of enough spectral bands for multi-spectral sensor, it is difficult to reconstruct surface retlectance spectrum from finite spectral information acquired by multi-spectral instrument. Here, taking into full account of the heterogeneity of pixel from remote sensing image, a method is proposed to simulate hyperspectral data from multispectral data based on canopy radiation transfer model. This method first assumes the mixed pixels contain two types of land cover, i.e., vegetation and soil. The sensitive parameters of Soil-Leaf-Canopy (SLC) model and a soil ratio factor were retrieved from multi-spectral data based on Look-Up Table (LUT) technology. Then, by combined with a soil ratio factor, all the parameters were input into the SLC model to simulate the surface reflectance spectrum from 400 to 2 400 nm. Taking Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) image as reference image, the surface reflectance spectrum was simulated. The simulated reflectance spectrum revealed different feature information of different surface types. To test the performance of this method, the simulated reflectance spectrum was convolved with the Landsat ETM + spectral response curves and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) spectral response curves to obtain the simulated Landsat ETM+ and MODIS image. Finally, the simulated Landsat ETM+ and MODIS images were compared with the observed Landsat ETM+ and MODIS images. The results generally showed high correction coefficients (Landsat: 0.90-0.99, MODIS: 0.74-0.85) between most simulated bands and observed bands and indicated that the simulated reflectance spectrum was well simulated and reliable.

Fire effects in the northern Chihuahuan Desert derived from Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper spectral indices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, Joseph D.; Swint, Pamela

2014-01-01

Fire effects on desert ecosystems may be long-lasting based on ecological impact of fire in these environments which potentially is detected from multispectral sensors. To assess this, we analyzed changes in spectral characteristics from 1986 to 2010 of pixels associated with the location of fires that occurred between 1986 and 1999 in Big Bend National Park, USA, located in the northern Chihuahuan Desert. Using Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) data, we derived spectral indices including the simple ratio (SR), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), and normalized burn ratio (NBR) from 1989, 1999, and 2010 from the TM data and compared changes in spectral index values for sites with and without observed fire. We found that the NDVI and SAVI had significantly different values over the time for burned sites of different fire sizes. When differences of the spectral indices were calculated from each time period, time since fire was correlated with the SR and NBR indices. These results showed that large fires potentially had a persistent and long-term change in vegetation cover and soil characteristics which were detected by the extraordinary long-data collection period of the Landsat-5 TM sensor.

Perceptual sensitivity to spectral properties of earlier sounds during speech categorization.

PubMed

Stilp, Christian E; Assgari, Ashley A

2018-02-28

Speech perception is heavily influenced by surrounding sounds. When spectral properties differ between earlier (context) and later (target) sounds, this can produce spectral contrast effects (SCEs) that bias perception of later sounds. For example, when context sounds have more energy in low-F 1 frequency regions, listeners report more high-F 1 responses to a target vowel, and vice versa. SCEs have been reported using various approaches for a wide range of stimuli, but most often, large spectral peaks were added to the context to bias speech categorization. This obscures the lower limit of perceptual sensitivity to spectral properties of earlier sounds, i.e., when SCEs begin to bias speech categorization. Listeners categorized vowels (/ɪ/-/ɛ/, Experiment 1) or consonants (/d/-/g/, Experiment 2) following a context sentence with little spectral amplification (+1 to +4 dB) in frequency regions known to produce SCEs. In both experiments, +3 and +4 dB amplification in key frequency regions of the context produced SCEs, but lesser amplification was insufficient to bias performance. This establishes a lower limit of perceptual sensitivity where spectral differences across sounds can bias subsequent speech categorization. These results are consistent with proposed adaptation-based mechanisms that potentially underlie SCEs in auditory perception. Recent sounds can change what speech sounds we hear later. This can occur when the average frequency composition of earlier sounds differs from that of later sounds, biasing how they are perceived. These "spectral contrast effects" are widely observed when sounds' frequency compositions differ substantially. We reveal the lower limit of these effects, as +3 dB amplification of key frequency regions in earlier sounds was enough to bias categorization of the following vowel or consonant sound. Speech categorization being biased by very small spectral differences across sounds suggests that spectral contrast effects occur frequently in everyday speech perception.

Characterization and Discrimination of Selected Vegetation Canopies from Field Observations of Bidirectional Reflectances. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Donovan, Sheila

1985-01-01

A full evaluation of the bidirectional reflectance properties of different vegetated surfaces was limited in past studies by instrumental inadequacies. With the development of the PARABOLA, it is now possible to sample reflectances from a large number of view angles in a short period of time, maintaining an almost constant solar zenith angle. PARABOLA data collected over five different canopies in Texas are analyzed. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the intercanopy and intracanopy differences in bidirectional reflectance patterns. Particular attention was given to the separability of canopy types using different view angles for the red and the near infrared (NIR) spectral bands. Comparisons were repeated for different solar zenith angles. Statistical and other quantitative techniques were used to assess these differences. For the canopies investigated, the greatest reflectances were found in the backscatter direction for both bands. Canopy discrimination was found to vary with both view angle and the spectral reflectance band considered, the forward scatter view angles being most suited to observations in the NIR and backscatter view angles giving better results in the red band. Because of different leaf angle distribution characteristics, discrimination was found to be better at small solar zenith angles in both spectral bands.

SWIR, VIS and LWIR observer performance against handheld objects: a comparison

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adomeit, Uwe

2016-10-01

The short wave infrared spectral range caused interest to be used in day and night time military and security applications in the last years. This necessitates performance assessment of SWIR imaging equipment in comparison to the one operating in the visual (VIS) and thermal infrared (LWIR) spectral range. In the military context (nominal) range is the main performance criteria. Discriminating friend from foe is one of the main tasks in today's asymmetric scenarios and so personnel, human activities and handheld objects are used as targets to estimate ranges. The later was also used for an experiment at Fraunhofer IOSB to get a first impression how the SWIR performs compared to VIS and LWIR. A human consecutively carrying one of nine different civil or military objects was recorded from five different ranges in the three spectral ranges. For the visual spectral range a 3-chip color-camera was used, the SWIR range was covered by an InGaAs-camera and the LWIR by an uncooled bolometer. It was ascertained that the nominal spatial resolution of the three cameras was in the same magnitude in order to enable an unbiased assessment. Daytime conditions were selected for data acquisition to separate the observer performance from illumination conditions and to some extend also camera performance. From the recorded data, a perception experiment was prepared. It was conducted as a nine-alternative forced choice, unlimited observation time test with 15 observers participating. Before the experiment, the observers were trained on close range target data. Outcome of the experiment was the average probability of identification versus range between camera and target. The comparison of the range performance achieved in the three spectral bands gave a mixed result. On one hand a ranking VIS / SWIR / LWIR in decreasing order can be seen in the data, but on the other hand only the difference between VIS and the other bands is statistically significant. Additionally it was not possible to explain the outcome with typical contrast metrics. Probably form is more important than contrast here as long as the contrast is generally high enough. These results were unexpected and need further exploration.

Spectral Monitoring of NGC 1365: Nucleus and Variable ULX

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mushotzky, Richard (Technical Monitor); Fabbiano, G.

2004-01-01

A letter has been submitted to ApJ, and is in the final stages of revision on the spectral variability of the nuclear source. We presented multiple Chandra and XMM-Newton observations of the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 1365, which shows the most dramatic X-ray spectral changes observed so far in an AGN: the source switched from reflection dominated to Compton- thin and back in just 6 weeks. During this time the soft thermal component, arising from a 1-kpc region around the center, remained constant. The reflection component is constant at all timescales, and its flux is a fraction of 5% or higher of the direct 2-10 keV emission, implying the presence of thick gas covering a big fraction of the solid angle. The presence of this gas, and the hst variability time scale, suggest that the Compton-thick to Compton thin change is due to variation in the line-of-sight absorber, rather than to extreme intrinsic emission variability. We discuss a structure of the circumnuclear absorbed reflector which can explain the observed X-ray spectral and temporal properties. But these important results come only from scratching the surface of the data, since we did not need any detailed spectral analysis to distinguish between the Compton thick and Compton thin states of the source, the difference in both spectral shape and flux being huge.

Infrared measurements of pristine and disturbed soils 1. Spectral contrast differences between field and laboratory data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, J. R.; Lucey, P.G.; Horton, K.A.; Winter, E.M.

1998-01-01

Comparison of emissivity spectra (8-13 ??m) of pristine soils in the field with laboratory reflectance spectra of the same soils showed that laboratory spectra tend to have less spectral contrast than field spectra (see following article). We investigated this the phenomenon by measuring emission spectra of both undisturbed (in situ) and disturbed soils (prepared as if for transport to the laboratory). The disturbed soils had much less spectral contrast than the undisturbed soils in the reststrahlen region near 9 ??m. While the increased porosity of a disturbed soil can decrease spectral contrast due to multiple scattering, we hypothesize that the effect is dominantly the result of a difference in grain-size distribution of the optically active layer (i.e., fine particle coatings). This concept was proposed by Salisbury et al. (1994) to explain their observations that soils washed free of small particles adhering the larger grains exhibited greater spectral contrast than unwashed soils. Our laboratory reflectance spectra of wet- and dry-sieved soils returned from field sites also show greater spectral contrast for wet-sieved (washed) soils. We therefore propose that undisturbed soils in the field can be characterized as 'clean' soils (washed free of fine particles at the surface due to rain and wind action) and that disturbed soils represent 'dirty' soils (contaminated with fine particle coatings). The effect of packing soils in the field and laboratory also increases spectral contrast but not to the magnitude of that observed for undisturbed and wet-sieved soils. Since it is a common practice to use laboratory spectra of field samples to interpret spectra obtained remotely, we suggest that the influence of fine particle coatings on disturbed soils, if unrecognized, could influence interpretations of remote sensing data.Comparison of emissivity spectra (8-13 ??m) of pristine soils in the field with laboratory reflectance spectra of the same soils showed that laboratory spectra tend to have less spectral contrast than field spectra (see following article). We investigated this phenomenon by measuring emission spectra of both undisturbed (in situ) and disturbed soils (prepared as if for transport to the laboratory). The disturbed soils had much less spectral contrast than the undisturbed soils in the reststrahlen region near 9 ??m. While the increased porosity of a disturbed soil can decrease spectral contrast due to multiple scattering, we hypothesize that the effect is dominantly the result of a difference in grain-size distribution of the optically active layer (i.e., fine particle coatings). This concept was proposed by Salisbury et al. (1994) to explain their observations that soils washed free of small particles adhering to larger grains exhibited greater spectral contrast than unwashed soils. Our laboratory reflectance spectra of wet- and dry-sieved soils returned from field sites also show greater spectral contrast for wet-sieved (washed) soils. We therefore propose that undisturbed soils in the field can be characterized as `clean' soils (washed free of fine particles at the surface due to rain and wind action) and that disturbed soils represent `dirty' soils (contaminated with fine particle coatings). The effect of packing soils in the field and laboratory also increases spectral contrast but not to the magnitude of that observed for undisturbed and wet-sieved soils. Since it is a common practice to use laboratory spectra of field samples to interpret spectra obtained remotely, we suggest that the influence of fine particle coatings on disturbed soils, if unrecognized, could influence interpretations of remote sensing data.

Characterization of Earth as an exoplanet on the basis of VIRTIS-Venus Express data analysis.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliva, Fabrizio; Piccioni, Giuseppe; D'Aversa, Emiliano; Bellucci, Giancarlo; Sindoni, Giuseppe; Grassi, Davide; Filacchione, Gianrico; Tosi, Federico; Capaccioni, Fabrizio

2017-04-01

The Visible and InfraRed Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS, Piccioni et al., 2007) on board the Venus Express spacecraft observed the planet Earth several times in the course of the mission. In particular, a subset of 48 observations has been taken from a distance at which our planet is imaged at sub-pixel size, as exoplanets are observed using current technologies. We studied this full subset to understand which spectral signatures, related to different surface and cloud types, can be identified from the integrated planet spectrum. As expected, we found that the cloud coverage has a key role in the identification of surface features and that vegetation is very difficult to be detected. To validate our results we built a simple tool capable to simulate observations of an Earth-like planet as seen from a VIRTIS-like spectrometer in the 0.3 - 5.0 μm range. The illumination and viewing geometries, along with the spectrometer instantaneous field of view and spectral grid and sampling, can be defined by the user. The spectral endmembers used to generate the planet have been selected from an observation of Earth registered from the instrument VIRTIS on board the ESA mission Rosetta, with similar characteristics, during the third flyby of the spacecraft around our planet, occurred in November 2009. Hence, we simulated planets made of: vegetation, desert, ocean, water ice clouds and liquid water clouds. Using different amounts for each spectral class we inferred the percentages that are required to identify each class when all the spectral information is integrated into a single pixel. The outcome of this analysis confirms that clouds are not a negligible issue in the research for spectral signatures, in particular those related to the habitability of a planet and its climate conditions, even when the cloud coverage is not so high. Acknowledgements: This study has been performed within the WOW project financed by INAF and thanks to the support from the Italian Space Agency to VIRTIS Venus Express and Rosetta. References Piccioni, G., et al., 2007. VIRTIS: The Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer. ESA Special Publication, SP-1295, 1-27.

Analysis of JPSS J1 VIIRS Polarization Sensitivity Using the NIST T-SIRCUS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McIntire, Jeffrey W.; Young, James B.; Moyer, David; Waluschka, Eugene; Oudrari, Hassan; Xiong, Xiaoxiong

2015-01-01

The polarization sensitivity of the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) J1 Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) measured pre-launch using a broadband source was observed to be larger than expected for many reflective bands. Ray trace modeling predicted that the observed polarization sensitivity was the result of larger diattenuation at the edges of the focal plane filter spectral bandpass. Additional ground measurements were performed using a monochromatic source (the NIST T-SIRCUS) to input linearly polarized light at a number of wavelengths across the bandpass of two VIIRS spectral bands and two scan angles. This work describes the data processing, analysis, and results derived from the T-SIRCUS measurements, comparing them with broadband measurements. Results have shown that the observed degree of linear polarization, when weighted by the sensor's spectral response function, is generally larger on the edges and smaller in the center of the spectral bandpass, as predicted. However, phase angle changes in the center of the bandpass differ between model and measurement. Integration of the monochromatic polarization sensitivity over wavelength produced results consistent with the broadband source measurements, for all cases considered.

Spectral CT Reconstruction with Image Sparsity and Spectral Mean

PubMed Central

Zhang, Yi; Xi, Yan; Yang, Qingsong; Cong, Wenxiang; Zhou, Jiliu

2017-01-01

Photon-counting detectors can acquire x-ray intensity data in different energy bins. The signal to noise ratio of resultant raw data in each energy bin is generally low due to the narrow bin width and quantum noise. To address this problem, here we propose an image reconstruction approach for spectral CT to simultaneously reconstructs x-ray attenuation coefficients in all the energy bins. Because the measured spectral data are highly correlated among the x-ray energy bins, the intra-image sparsity and inter-image similarity are important prior acknowledge for image reconstruction. Inspired by this observation, the total variation (TV) and spectral mean (SM) measures are combined to improve the quality of reconstructed images. For this purpose, a linear mapping function is used to minimalize image differences between energy bins. The split Bregman technique is applied to perform image reconstruction. Our numerical and experimental results show that the proposed algorithms outperform competing iterative algorithms in this context. PMID:29034267

A Statistical Comparison between Photospheric Vector Magnetograms Obtained by SDO/HMI and Hinode/SP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sainz Dalda, Alberto

2017-12-01

Since 2010 May 1, we have been able to study (almost) continuously the vector magnetic field in the Sun, thanks to two space-based observatories: the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and Hinode. Both are equipped with instruments able to measure the Stokes parameters of Zeeman-induced polarization of photospheric line radiation. But the observation modes; the spectral lines; the spatial, spectral, and temporal sampling; and even the inversion codes used to recover magnetic and thermodynamic information from the Stokes profiles are different. We compare the vector magnetic fields derived from observations with the HMI instrument on board SDO with those observed by the SP instrument on Hinode. We have obtained relationships between components of magnetic vectors in the umbra, penumbra, and plage observed in 14 maps of NOAA Active Region 11084. Importantly, we have transformed SP data into observables comparable to those of HMI, to explore possible influences of the different modes of operation of the two instruments and the inversion schemes used to infer the magnetic fields. The assumed filling factor (fraction of each pixel containing a Zeeman signature) produces the most significant differences in derived magnetic properties, especially in the plage. The spectral and angular samplings have the next-largest effects. We suggest to treat the disambiguation in the same way in the data provided by HMI and SP. That would make the relationship between the vector magnetic field recovered from these data stronger, which would favor the simultaneous or complementary use of both instruments.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2014-12-01

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

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2013-12-01

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

Ion spectral structures observed by the Van Allen Probes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferradas, C.; Zhang, J.; Spence, H. E.; Kistler, L. M.; Larsen, B.; Reeves, G. D.; Skoug, R. M.; Funsten, H. O.

2015-12-01

During the last decades several missions have recorded the presence of dynamic spectral features of energetic ions in the inner magnetosphere. Previous studies have reported single "nose-like" structures occurring alone and simultaneous nose-like structures (up to three). These ion structures are named after the characteristic shapes of energy bands or gaps in the energy-time spectrograms of in situ measured ion fluxes. They constitute the observational signatures of ion acceleration, transport, and loss in the global magnetosphere. The HOPE mass spectrometer onboard the Van Allen Probes measures energetic hydrogen, helium, and oxygen ions near the inner edge of the plasma sheet, where these ion structures are observed. We present a statistical study of nose-like structures, using 2-years measurements from the HOPE instrument. The results provide important details about the spatial distribution (dependence on geocentric distance), spectral features of the structures (differences among species), and geomagnetic conditions under which these structures occur.

Mercury exosphere. III: Energetic characterization of its sodium component

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leblanc, Francois; Chaufray, Jean-Yves; Doressoundiram, Alain; Berthelier, Jean-Jacques; Mangano, Valeria; López-Ariste, Arturo; Borin, Patrizia

2013-04-01

Mercury's sodium exosphere has been observed only few times with high spectral resolution from ground based observatories enabling the analysis of the emission spectra. These observations highlighted the energetic state of the sodium exospheric atoms relative to the surface temperature. More recently, the Doppler shift of the exospheric Na atoms was measured and interpreted as consistent with an exosphere moving outwards from the subsolar point (Potter, A.E., Morgan, T.H., Killen, R.E. [2009]. Icarus 204, 355-367). Using THEMIS solar telescope, we observed Mercury's sodium exosphere with very high spectral resolution at two opposite positions of its orbit. Using this very high spectral resolution and the scanning capabilities of THEMIS, we were able to reconstruct the 2D spatial distributions of the Doppler shifts and widths of the sodium atomic Na D2 and D1 lines. These observations revealed surprisingly large Doppler shift as well as spectral width consistent with previous observations. Starting from our 3D model of Mercury Na exosphere (Mercury Exosphere Global Circulation Model, Leblanc, F., Johnson, R.E. [2010]. Icarus 209, 280-300), we coupled this model with a 3D radiative transfer model described in a companion paper (Chaufray, J.Y., Leblanc, F. [2013]. Icarus, submitted for publication) which allows us to properly treat the non-maxwellian state of the simulated sodium exospheric population. Comparisons between THEMIS observations and simulations suggest that the previously observed energetic state of the Na exosphere might be essentially explained by a state of the Na exospheric atoms far from thermal equilibrium along with the Doppler shift dispersion of the Na atoms induced by the solar radiation pressure. However, the Doppler shift of the spectral lines cannot be explained by our modelling, suggesting either an exosphere spatially structured very differently than in our model or the inaccuracy of the spectral calibration when deriving the Doppler shift.

Calibration of Herschel SPIRE FTS observations at different spectral resolutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marchili, N.; Hopwood, R.; Fulton, T.; Polehampton, E. T.; Valtchanov, I.; Zaretski, J.; Naylor, D. A.; Griffin, M. J.; Imhof, P.; Lim, T.; Lu, N.; Makiwa, G.; Pearson, C.; Spencer, L.

2017-01-01

The SPIRE Fourier Transform Spectrometer on-board the Herschel Space Observatory had two standard spectral resolution modes for science observations: high resolution (HR) and low resolution (LR), which could also be performed in sequence (H+LR). A comparison of the HR and LR resolution spectra taken in this sequential mode revealed a systematic discrepancy in the continuum level. Analysing the data at different stages during standard pipeline processing demonstrates that the telescope and instrument emission affect HR and H+LR observations in a systematically different way. The origin of this difference is found to lie in the variation of both the telescope and instrument response functions, while it is triggered by fast variation of the instrument temperatures. As it is not possible to trace the evolution of the response functions using housekeeping data from the instrument subsystems, the calibration cannot be corrected analytically. Therefore, an empirical correction for LR spectra has been developed, which removes the systematic noise introduced by the variation of the response functions.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2016-04-01

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

FTIR-ATR infrared spectroscopy for the detection of ochratoxin A in dried vine fruit.

PubMed

Galvis-Sánchez, Andrea C; Barros, Antonio; Delgadillo, Ivonne

2007-11-01

A method of screening sultanas for ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination, using mid-infrared spectroscopy/Golden Gate single-reflection ATR (attenuated total reflection), is described. The main spectral characteristics of sultanas from different sources were identified in a preliminary acquisition and spectral analysis study. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that samples of various origins had different spectral characteristics, especially in water content and the fingerprint region. A lack of reproducibility was observed in the spectra acquired on different days. However, spectral repeatability was greatly improved when water activity of the sample was set at 0.62. A calibration curve of OTA was constructed in the range 10-40 microg OTA kg(-1). Samples with OTA levels higher than 20 microg kg(-1) were separated from samples contaminated with a lower concentration (10 microg OTA kg(-1)) and from uncontaminated samples. The reported methodology is a reliable and simple technique for screening dried vine fruit for OTA.

Relative spectral response corrected calibration inter-comparison of S-NPP VIIRS and Aqua MODIS thermal emissive bands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Efremova, Boryana; Wu, Aisheng; Xiong, Xiaoxiong

2014-09-01

The S-NPP Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument is built with strong heritage from EOS MODIS, and has very similar thermal emissive bands (TEB) calibration algorithm and on-board calibrating source - a V-grooved blackbody. The calibration of the two instruments can be assessed by comparing the brightness temperatures retrieved from VIIRS and Aqua MODIS simultaneous nadir observations (SNO) from their spectrally matched TEB. However, even though the VIIRS and MODIS bands are similar there are still relative spectral response (RSR) differences and thus some differences in the retrieved brightness temperatures are expected. The differences depend on both the type and the temperature of the observed scene, and contribute to the bias and the scatter of the comparison. In this paper we use S-NPP Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) data taken simultaneously with the VIIRS data to derive a correction for the slightly different spectral coverage of VIIRS and MODIS TEB bands. An attempt to correct for RSR differences is also made using MODTRAN models, computed with physical parameters appropriate for each scene, and compared to the value derived from actual CrIS spectra. After applying the CrIS-based correction for RSR differences we see an excellent agreement between the VIIRS and Aqua MODIS measurements in the studied band pairs M13-B23, M15-B31, and M16- B32. The agreement is better than the VIIRS uncertainty at cold scenes, and improves with increasing scene temperature up to about 290K.

Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) Handbook

DOE Data Explorer

Gero, Jonathan; Hackel, Denny; Garcia, Raymond

2005-01-01

The atmospheric emitted radiance interferometer (AERI) is a ground-based instrument that measures the downwelling infrared radiance from the Earth's atmosphere. The observations have broad spectral content and sufficient spectral resolution to discriminate among gaseous emitters (e.g., carbon dioxide and water vapor) and suspended matter (e.g., aerosols, water droplets, and ice crystals). These upward-looking surface observations can be used to obtain vertical profiles of tropospheric temperature and water vapor, as well as measurements of trace gases (e.g., ozone, carbon monoxide, and methane) and downwelling infrared spectral signatures of clouds and aerosols.The AERI is a passive remote sounding instrument, employing a Fourier transform spectrometer operating in the spectral range 3.3-19.2 μm (520-3020 cm-1) at an unapodized resolution of 0.5 cm-1 (max optical path difference of 1 cm). The extended-range AERI (ER-AERI) deployed in dry climates, like in Alaska, have a spectral range of 3.3-25.0 μm (400-3020 cm-1) that allow measurements in the far-infrared region. Typically, the AERI averages views of the sky over a 16-second interval and operates continuously.

Spectral reflectance characteristics of different snow and snow-covered land surface objects and mixed spectrum fitting

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zhang, J.-H.; Zhou, Z.-M.; Wang, P.-J.; Yao, F.-M.; Yang, L.

2011-01-01

The field spectroradiometer was used to measure spectra of different snow and snow-covered land surface objects in Beijing area. The result showed that for a pure snow spectrum, the snow reflectance peaks appeared from visible to 800 nm band locations; there was an obvious absorption valley of snow spectrum near 1030 nm wavelength. Compared with fresh snow, the reflection peaks of the old snow and melting snow showed different degrees of decline in the ranges of 300~1300, 1700~1800 and 2200~2300 nm, the lowest was from the compacted snow and frozen ice. For the vegetation and snow mixed spectral characteristics, it was indicated that the spectral reflectance increased for the snow-covered land types(including pine leaf with snow and pine leaf on snow background), due to the influence of snow background in the range of 350~1300 nm. However, the spectrum reflectance of mixed pixel remained a vegetation spectral characteristic. In the end, based on the spectrum analysis of snow, vegetation, and mixed snow/vegetation pixels, the mixed spectral fitting equations were established, and the results showed that there was good correlation between spectral curves by simulation fitting and observed ones(correlation coefficient R2=0.9509).

Super-resolution reconstruction of hyperspectral images.

PubMed

Akgun, Toygar; Altunbasak, Yucel; Mersereau, Russell M

2005-11-01

Hyperspectral images are used for aerial and space imagery applications, including target detection, tracking, agricultural, and natural resource exploration. Unfortunately, atmospheric scattering, secondary illumination, changing viewing angles, and sensor noise degrade the quality of these images. Improving their resolution has a high payoff, but applying super-resolution techniques separately to every spectral band is problematic for two main reasons. First, the number of spectral bands can be in the hundreds, which increases the computational load excessively. Second, considering the bands separately does not make use of the information that is present across them. Furthermore, separate band super-resolution does not make use of the inherent low dimensionality of the spectral data, which can effectively be used to improve the robustness against noise. In this paper, we introduce a novel super-resolution method for hyperspectral images. An integral part of our work is to model the hyperspectral image acquisition process. We propose a model that enables us to represent the hyperspectral observations from different wavelengths as weighted linear combinations of a small number of basis image planes. Then, a method for applying super resolution to hyperspectral images using this model is presented. The method fuses information from multiple observations and spectral bands to improve spatial resolution and reconstruct the spectrum of the observed scene as a combination of a small number of spectral basis functions.

Improved observations of turbulence dissipation rates from wind profiling radars

DOE PAGES

McCaffrey, Katherine; Bianco, Laura; Wilczak, James M.

2017-07-20

Observations of turbulence dissipation rates in the planetary boundary layer are crucial for validation of parameterizations in numerical weather prediction models. However, because dissipation rates are difficult to obtain, they are infrequently measured through the depth of the boundary layer. For this reason, demonstrating the ability of commonly used wind profiling radars (WPRs) to estimate this quantity would be greatly beneficial. During the XPIA field campaign at the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory, two WPRs operated in an optimized configuration, using high spectral resolution for increased accuracy of Doppler spectral width, specifically chosen to estimate turbulence from a vertically pointing beam. Multiplemore » post-processing techniques, including different numbers of spectral averages and peak processing algorithms for calculating spectral moments, were evaluated to determine the most accurate procedures for estimating turbulence dissipation rates using the information contained in the Doppler spectral width, using sonic anemometers mounted on a 300 m tower for validation. Furthermore, the optimal settings were determined, producing a low bias, which was later corrected. Resulting estimations of turbulence dissipation rates correlated well ( R 2 = 0.54 and 0.41) with the sonic anemometers, and profiles up to 2 km from the 449 MHz WPR and 1 km from the 915 MHz WPR were observed.« less

Improved observations of turbulence dissipation rates from wind profiling radars

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

McCaffrey, Katherine; Bianco, Laura; Wilczak, James M.

Observations of turbulence dissipation rates in the planetary boundary layer are crucial for validation of parameterizations in numerical weather prediction models. However, because dissipation rates are difficult to obtain, they are infrequently measured through the depth of the boundary layer. For this reason, demonstrating the ability of commonly used wind profiling radars (WPRs) to estimate this quantity would be greatly beneficial. During the XPIA field campaign at the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory, two WPRs operated in an optimized configuration, using high spectral resolution for increased accuracy of Doppler spectral width, specifically chosen to estimate turbulence from a vertically pointing beam. Multiplemore » post-processing techniques, including different numbers of spectral averages and peak processing algorithms for calculating spectral moments, were evaluated to determine the most accurate procedures for estimating turbulence dissipation rates using the information contained in the Doppler spectral width, using sonic anemometers mounted on a 300 m tower for validation. Furthermore, the optimal settings were determined, producing a low bias, which was later corrected. Resulting estimations of turbulence dissipation rates correlated well ( R 2 = 0.54 and 0.41) with the sonic anemometers, and profiles up to 2 km from the 449 MHz WPR and 1 km from the 915 MHz WPR were observed.« less

Sensitivity of spectral reflectance values to different burn and vegetation ratios: A multi-scale approach applied in a fire affected area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pleniou, Magdalini; Koutsias, Nikos

2013-05-01

The aim of our study was to explore the spectral properties of fire-scorched (burned) and non fire-scorched (vegetation) areas, as well as areas with different burn/vegetation ratios, using a multisource multiresolution satellite data set. A case study was undertaken following a very destructive wildfire that occurred in Parnitha, Greece, July 2007, for which we acquired satellite images from LANDSAT, ASTER, and IKONOS. Additionally, we created spatially degraded satellite data over a range of coarser resolutions using resampling techniques. The panchromatic (1 m) and multispectral component (4 m) of IKONOS were merged using the Gram-Schmidt spectral sharpening method. This very high-resolution imagery served as the basis to estimate the cover percentage of burned areas, bare land and vegetation at pixel level, by applying the maximum likelihood classification algorithm. Finally, multiple linear regression models were fit to estimate each land-cover fraction as a function of surface reflectance values of the original and the spatially degraded satellite images. The main findings of our research were: (a) the Near Infrared (NIR) and Short-wave Infrared (SWIR) are the most important channels to estimate the percentage of burned area, whereas the NIR and red channels are the most important to estimate the percentage of vegetation in fire-affected areas; (b) when the bi-spectral space consists only of NIR and SWIR, then the NIR ground reflectance value plays a more significant role in estimating the percent of burned areas, and the SWIR appears to be more important in estimating the percent of vegetation; and (c) semi-burned areas comprising 45-55% burned area and 45-55% vegetation are spectrally closer to burned areas in the NIR channel, whereas those areas are spectrally closer to vegetation in the SWIR channel. These findings, at least partially, are attributed to the fact that: (i) completely burned pixels present low variance in the NIR and high variance in the SWIR, whereas the opposite is observed in completely vegetated areas where higher variance is observed in the NIR and lower variance in the SWIR, and (ii) bare land modifies the spectral signal of burned areas more than the spectral signal of vegetated areas in the NIR, while the opposite is observed in SWIR region of the spectrum where the bare land modifies the spectral signal of vegetation more than the burned areas because the bare land and the vegetation are spectrally more similar in the NIR, and the bare land and burned areas are spectrally more similar in the SWIR.

S5 0716+714: GeV variability study

DOE PAGES

Rani, B.; Krichbaum, T. P.; Lott, B.; ...

2013-02-19

The GeV observations by Fermi-LAT give us the opportunity to characterize the high-energy emission (100 MeV–300 GeV) variability properties of the BL Lac object S5 0716+714. In this study, we performed flux and spectral analysis of more than 3 year long (August 2008 to April 2012) Fermi-LAT data of the source. During this period, the source exhibits two different modes of flux variability with characteristic timescales of ~75 and ~140 days, respectively. In addition, we also notice that the flux variations are characterized by a weak spectral hardening. The GeV spectrum of the source shows a clear deviation from amore » simple power law, and is better explained by a broken power law. Similar to other bright Fermi blazars, the break energy does not vary with the source flux during the different activity states. Finally, we discuss several possible scenarios to explain the observed spectral break.« less

S5 0716+714: GeV variability study

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

Rani, B.; Krichbaum, T. P.; Lott, B.

The GeV observations by Fermi-LAT give us the opportunity to characterize the high-energy emission (100 MeV–300 GeV) variability properties of the BL Lac object S5 0716+714. In this study, we performed flux and spectral analysis of more than 3 year long (August 2008 to April 2012) Fermi-LAT data of the source. During this period, the source exhibits two different modes of flux variability with characteristic timescales of ~75 and ~140 days, respectively. In addition, we also notice that the flux variations are characterized by a weak spectral hardening. The GeV spectrum of the source shows a clear deviation from amore » simple power law, and is better explained by a broken power law. Similar to other bright Fermi blazars, the break energy does not vary with the source flux during the different activity states. Finally, we discuss several possible scenarios to explain the observed spectral break.« less

Retrieval of spectral aerosol optical thickness over land using ocean color sensors MERIS and SeaWiFS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

von Hoyningen-Huene, W.; Yoon, J.; Vountas, M.; Istomina, L. G.; Rohen, G.; Dinter, T.; Kokhanovsky, A. A.; Burrows, J. P.

2010-05-01

For the determination of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) Bremen AErosol Retrieval (BAER) has been developed. Method and main influences on the aerosol retrieval are described together with validation and results. The retrieval separates the spectral aerosol reflectance from surface and Rayleigh path reflectance for the shortwave range of the measured spectrum of top-of-atmosphere reflectance less than 0.670 μm. The advantage of MERIS (Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer on ENVISAT) and SeaWiFS (Sea viewing Wide Fiels Sensor on OrbView-2) observations are the existence of several spectral channels in the blue and visible range enabling the spectral determination of AOT in 7 (or 6) channels (0.412-0.670 μm) and additionally channels in the NIR, which can be used to characterize the surface properties. A dynamical spectral surface reflectance model for different surface types is used to obtain the spectral surface reflectance for this separation. Normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI), taken from the satellite observations, is the model input. Further surface BRDF is considered by the Raman-Pinty-Verstraete (RPV) model. Spectral AOT is obtained from aerosol reflectance using look-up-tables, obtained from radiative transfer calculations with given aerosol phase functions and single scattering albedos either from aerosol models, given by OPAC or from experimental campaigns. Validations of the obtained AOT retrieval results with AERONET data over Europe gave a preference for experimental phase functions derived from almucantar measurements. Finally long-term observations of SeaWiFS have been investigated for trends in AOT.

Spectral gain profile of a multi-stack terahertz quantum cascade laser

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

Bachmann, D., E-mail: dominic.bachmann@tuwien.ac.at; Deutsch, C.; Krall, M.

2014-11-03

The spectral gain of a multi-stack terahertz quantum cascade laser, composed of three active regions with emission frequencies centered at 2.3, 2.7, and 3.0 THz, is studied as a function of driving current and temperature using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. The optical gain associated with the particular quantum cascade stacks clamps at different driving currents and saturates to different values. We attribute these observations to varying pumping efficiencies of the respective upper laser states and to frequency dependent optical losses. The multi-stack active region exhibits a spectral gain full width at half-maximum of 1.1 THz. Bandwidth and spectral position of themore » measured gain match with the broadband laser emission. As the laser action ceases with increasing operating temperature, the gain at the dominant lasing frequency of 2.65 THz degrades sharply.« less

Wide spectral range multiple orders and half-wave achromatic phase retarders fabricated from two lithium tantalite single crystal plates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Emam-Ismail, M.

2015-11-01

In a broad spectral range (300-2500 nm), we report the use of channeled spectra formed from the interference of polarized white light to extract the dispersion of the phase birefringence Δnp(λ) of the x- and y-cuts of lithium tantalite (LiTaO3:LT) plates. A new method named as wavenumber difference method is used to extract the spectral behavior of the phase birefringence of the x- and y- cuts of LT plates. The correctness of the obtained birefringence data is confirmed by using Jones vector method through recalculating the plates thicknesses. The spectral variation of the phase birefringence Δnp(λ) of the x- and y-cuts of LT plates is fitted to Cauchy dispersion function with relative error for both x- and y-cuts of order 2.4×10-4. The group birefringence dispersion Δng (λ) of the x- and y-cuts of LT plates is also calculated and fitted to Ghosh dispersion function with relative error for both x- and y-cuts of order 2.83×10-4. Furthermore, the phase retardation introduced by the x- and y-cuts of LT plates is also calculated. It is found that the amount of phase retardation confirms that the x- and y-cuts of LT plates can act as a multiple order half- and quarter-wave plates working at many different wavelengths through the spectral range 300-2500 nm. For the x- and y-cuts of LT plates, a large difference between group and phase birefringence is observed at a short wavelength (λ=300 nm); while such difference progressively diminished at longer wavelength (λ=2000 nm). In the near infrared region (NIR) region (700-2500 nm), a broad spectral full width at half maximum (FWHM) is observed for either x- or y-cut of LT plate which can act as if it is working as a zero order wave plate. Finally, an achromatic half-wave plate working at 598 nm and covering a wide spectral range (300-900 nm) is demonstrated experimentally by combining both x- and y-cuts of LT plates.

The Spectral Signatures Of BH Versus NS Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seifina, E.; Titarchuk, L.

2011-09-01

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

An Overview of Lunar Calibration and Characterization for the EOS Terra and Aqua MODIS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xiong, X.; Salomonson, V. V.; Sun, J.; Chiang, K.; Xiong, S.; Humphries, S.; Barnes, W.; Guenther, B.

2004-01-01

The Moon can be used as a stable source for Earth-observing sensors on-orbit radiometric and spatial stability monitoring in the VIS and NIR spectral regions. It can also serve as a calibration transfer vehicle among multiple sensors. Nearly identical copies of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODE) have been operating on-board the NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) Terra and Aqua satellites since their launches in December 1999 and May 2002, respectively. Terra and Aqua MODIS each make observations in 36 spectral bands covering the spectral range from 0.41 to 14.5 microns and are calibrated on-orbit by a set of on-board calibrations (OBCs) including: 1) a solar diffuser (SD), 2) a solar diffuser stability monitor (SDSM), 3) a blackbody (BB), and 4) a spectro-radiometric calibration assembly (SRCA). In addition to fully utilizing the OBCs, the Moon has been used extensively by both Terra and Aqua MODIS to support their on-orbit calibration and characterization. A 4 This paper provides an overview of applications of lunar calibration and characterization from the MODIS perspective, including monitoring radiometric calibration stability for the reflective solar bands (RSBs), tracking changes of the sensors response versus scan-angle (RVS), examining the sensors spatial performance , and characterizing optical leaks and electronic crosstalk among different spectral bands and detectors. On-orbit calibration consistency between the two MODIS instruments is also addressed. Based on the existing on-orbit time series of the Terra and Aqua MODIS lunar observations, the radiometric difference between the two sensors is less than +/-1% for the RSBs. This method provides a powerful means of performing calibration comparisons among Earth-observing sensors and assures consistent data and science products for the long-term studies of climate and environmental changes.

Identification of spectral regions for the quantification of red wine tannins with fourier transform mid-infrared spectroscopy.

PubMed

Jensen, Jacob S; Egebo, Max; Meyer, Anne S

2008-05-28

Accomplishment of fast tannin measurements is receiving increased interest as tannins are important for the mouthfeel and color properties of red wines. Fourier transform mid-infrared spectroscopy allows fast measurement of different wine components, but quantification of tannins is difficult due to interferences from spectral responses of other wine components. Four different variable selection tools were investigated for the identification of the most important spectral regions which would allow quantification of tannins from the spectra using partial least-squares regression. The study included the development of a new variable selection tool, iterative backward elimination of changeable size intervals PLS. The spectral regions identified by the different variable selection methods were not identical, but all included two regions (1485-1425 and 1060-995 cm(-1)), which therefore were concluded to be particularly important for tannin quantification. The spectral regions identified from the variable selection methods were used to develop calibration models. All four variable selection methods identified regions that allowed an improved quantitative prediction of tannins (RMSEP = 69-79 mg of CE/L; r = 0.93-0.94) as compared to a calibration model developed using all variables (RMSEP = 115 mg of CE/L; r = 0.87). Only minor differences in the performance of the variable selection methods were observed.

Understanding Climate Trends Using IR Brightness Temperature Spectra from AIRS, IASI and CrIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deslover, D. H.; Nikolla, E.; Knuteson, R. O.; Revercomb, H. E.; Tobin, D. C.

2016-12-01

NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) provides a data record that extends from its 2002 launch to the present. The Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) onboard Metop- (A launched in 2006, B in 2012), as well as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) launched in 2011, complement this data record. Future infrared sounders with similar capabilities will augment these measurements into the near future. We have created a global data set from these infrared measurements, using the nadir-most observations for each of the aforementioned instruments. We can filter the data based upon spatial, diurnal and seasonal properties to discern trends for a given spectral channel and, therefore, a specific atmospheric layer. Subtle differences between spectral sampling among the three instruments can lead significant differences in the resultant probability distribution functions for similar spectral channels. We take advantage of the higher (0.25 cm-1) IASI spectral resolution to subsample the IASI spectra onto AIRS and CrIS spectral grids to better compare AIRS/IASI and CrIS/IASI trends in the brightness temperature anomalies. To better understand the dependance of trace gases on the measured brightness temperature spectral time-series, a companion study has utilized coincident vertical profiles of stratospheric carbon dioxide, water vapor and ozone concentration are used to infer a correlation with the CrIS brightness temperatures. The goal was to investigate the role of ozone heating and carbon dioxide cooling on the observed brightness temperature spectra. Results from that study will be presented alongside the climate trend analysis.

Feasibility study of spectral pattern recognition reveals distinct classes of volcanic tremor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Unglert, K.; Jellinek, A. M.

2017-04-01

Systematic investigations of the similarities and differences among volcanic tremor at a range of volcano types may hold crucial information about the plausibility of inferred source mechanisms, which, in turn, may be important for eruption forecasting. However, such studies are rare, in part because of an intrinsic difficulty with identifying tremor signals within very long time series of volcano seismic data. Accordingly, we develop an efficient tremor detection algorithm and identify over 12,000h of volcanic tremor on 24 stations at Kīlauea, Okmok, Pavlof, and Redoubt volcanoes. We estimate spectral content over 5-minute tremor windows, and apply a novel combination of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering to identify patterns in the tremor spectra. Analyzing several stations from a given volcano together reveals different styles of tremor within individual volcanic settings. In addition to identifying tremor properties common to all stations in a given network, we find localized tremor signals including those related to processes such as lahars or dike intrusions that are only observed on some of the stations within a network. Subsequent application of our analysis to a combination of stations from the different volcanoes reveals that at least three main tremor classes can be detected across all settings. Whereas a regime with a ridge of high power distributed over 1-2Hz and a gradual decay of spectral power towards higher frequencies is observed dominantly at three volcanoes (Kīlauea, Okmok, Redoubt) with magma reservoirs centered at less than 5km below sea level (b.s.l.), a spectrum with a steeper slope and a narrower peak at 1-2Hz is observed only in association with open vents (Kīlauea and Pavlof). A third regime with a peak at approximately 3Hz is confined to two stratovolcanoes (Pavlof and Redoubt). These observations suggest generic relationships between the spectral character of the observed signals and volcano characteristics such as magma viscosity, storage depths, and the physical properties of volcanic edifices. Similarities among the spectral patterns detected at stations 4km and 8-10km distance from the centers of volcanic activity, respectively, indicate that path effects do not strongly influence spectral shapes at distances of a few kilometers from the inferred source of the signals. Our preliminary work shows that a global comparison of tremor is feasible. Our results suggest that further work on data from a larger sample and diverse range of volcano types will reveal additional classes of tremor signals and plausibly identify fingerprints of source processes that are specific to volcano type, but independent of volcano location.

Multispectral studies of selected crater- and basin-filling lunar Maria from Galileo Earth-Moon encounter 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, D. A.; Greeley, R.; Neukum, G.; Wagner, R.

1993-01-01

New visible and near-infrared multispectral data of the Moon were obtained by the Galileo spacecraft in December, 1990. These data were calibrated with Earth-based spectral observations of the nearside to compare compositional information to previously uncharacterized mare basalts filling craters and basins on the western near side and eastern far side. A Galileo-based spectral classification scheme, modified from the Earth-based scheme developed by Pieters, designates the different spectral classifications of mare basalt observed using the 0.41/0.56 micron reflectance ratio (titanium content), 0.56 micron reflectance values (albedo), and 0.76/0.99 micron reflectance ratio (absorption due to Fe(2+) in mafic minerals and glass). In addition, age determinations from crater counts and results of a linear spectral mixing model were used to assess the volcanic histories of specific regions of interest. These interpreted histories were related to models of mare basalt petrogenesis in an attempt to better understand the evolution of lunar volcanism.

Electron scattering, charge order, and pseudogap physics in La 1.6–xNd 0.4Sr xCuO 4: An angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study

DOE PAGES

Matt, C. E.; Fatuzzo, C. G.; Sassa, Y.; ...

2015-10-27

We report an angle-resolved photoemission study of the charge stripe ordered La 1.6–xNd 0.4Sr xCuO 4 (Nd-LSCO) system. A comparative and quantitative line-shape analysis is presented as the system evolves from the overdoped regime into the charge ordered phase. On the overdoped side (x = 0.20), a normal-state antinodal spectral gap opens upon cooling below 80 K. In this process, spectral weight is preserved but redistributed to larger energies. A correlation between this spectral gap and electron scattering is found. A different line shape is observed in the antinodal region of charge ordered Nd-LSCO x = 1/8. Significant low-energy spectralmore » weight appears to be lost. As a result, these observations are discussed in terms of spectral-weight redistribution and gapping originating from charge stripe ordering.« less

SHJAR Jet Noise Data and Power Spectral Laws

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khavaran, Abbas; Bridges, James

2009-01-01

High quality jet noise spectral data measured at the Aeroacoustic Propulsion Laboratory at the NASA Glenn Research Center is used to examine a number of jet noise scaling laws. Configurations considered in the present study consist of convergent and convergent-divergent axisymmetric nozzles. The measured spectral data are shown in narrow band and cover 8193 equally spaced points in a typical Strouhal number range of 0.0 to 10.0. The measured data are reported as lossless (i.e., atmospheric attenuation is added to measurements), and at 24 equally spaced angles (50deg to 165deg) on a 100-diameter (200-in.) arc. Following the work of Viswanathan, velocity power factors are evaluated using a least squares fit on spectral power density as a function of jet temperature and observer angle. The goodness of the fit and the confidence margins for the two regression parameters are studied at each angle, and alternative relationships are proposed to improve the spectral collapse when certain conditions are met. As an immediate application of the velocity power laws, spectral density in shockcontaining jets are decomposed into components attributed to jet mixing noise and shock noise. From this analysis, jet noise prediction tools can be developed with different spectral components derived from different physics.

Visible spectral imager for occultation and nightglow (VISION) for the PICASSO Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saari, Heikki; Näsilä, Antti; Holmlund, Christer; Mannila, Rami; Näkki, Ismo; Ojanen, Harri J.; Fussen, Didier; Pieroux, Didier; Demoulin, Philippe; Dekemper, Emmanuel; Vanhellemont, Filip

2015-10-01

PICASSO - A PICo-satellite for Atmospheric and Space Science Observations is an ESA project led by the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, in collaboration with VTT, Clyde Space Ltd. (UK), and the Centre Spatial de Liège (BE). VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. will deliver the Visible Spectral Imager for Occultation and Nightglow (VISION) for the PICASSO mission. The VISION targets primarily the observation of the Earth's atmospheric limb during orbital Sun occultation. By assessing the radiation absorption in the Chappuis band for different tangent altitudes, the vertical profile of the ozone is retrieved. A secondary objective is to measure the deformation of the solar disk so that stratospheric and mesospheric temperature profiles are retrieved by inversion of the refractive raytracing problem. Finally, occasional full spectral observations of polar auroras are also foreseen. The VISION design realized with commercial of the shelf (CoTS) parts is described. The VISION instrument is small, lightweight (~500 g), Piezo-actuated Fabry-Perot Interferometer (PFPI) tunable spectral imager operating in the visible and near-infrared (430 - 800 nm). The spectral resolution over the whole wavelength range will be better than 10 nm @ FWHM. VISION has is 2.5° x 2.5° total field of view and it delivers maximum 2048 x 2048 pixel spectral images. The sun image size is around 0.5° i.e. ~500 pixels. To enable fast spectral data image acquisition VISION can be operated with programmable image sizes. VTT has previously developed PFPI tunable filter based AaSI Spectral Imager for the Aalto-1 Finnish CubeSat. In VISION the requirements of the spectral resolution and stability are tighter than in AaSI. Therefore the optimization of the of the PFPI gap control loop for the operating temperature range and vacuum conditions has to be improved. VISION optical, mechanical and electrical design is described.

Solar Confocal interferometers for Sub-Picometer-Resolution Spectral Filters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gary, G. Allen; Pietraszewski, Chris; West, Edward A.; Dines. Terence C.

2007-01-01

The confocal Fabry-Perot interferometer allows sub-picometer spectral resolution of Fraunhofer line profiles. Such high spectral resolution is needed to keep pace with the higher spatial resolution of the new set of large-aperture solar telescopes. The line-of-sight spatial resolution derived for line profile inversions would then track the improvements of the transverse spatial scale provided by the larger apertures. In particular, profile inversion allows improved velocity and magnetic field gradients to be determined independent of multiple line analysis using different energy levels and ions. The confocal interferometer's unique properties allow a simultaneous increase in both etendue and spectral power. The higher throughput for the interferometer provides significant decrease in the aperture, which is important in spaceflight considerations. We have constructed and tested two confocal interferometers. A slow-response thermal-controlled interferometer provides a stable system for laboratory investigation, while a piezoelectric interferometer provides a rapid response for solar observations. In this paper we provide design parameters, show construction details, and report on the laboratory test for these interferometers. The field of view versus aperture for confocal interferometers is compared with other types of spectral imaging filters. We propose a multiple etalon system for observing with these units using existing planar interferometers as pre-filters. The radiometry for these tests established that high spectral resolution profiles can be obtained with imaging confocal interferometers. These sub-picometer spectral data of the photosphere in both the visible and near-infrared can provide important height variation information. However, at the diffraction-limited spatial resolution of the telescope, the spectral data is photon starved due to the decreased spectral passband.

Infrared calibration for climate: a perspective on present and future high-spectral resolution instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Revercomb, Henry E.; Anderson, James G.; Best, Fred A.; Tobin, David C.; Knuteson, Robert O.; LaPorte, Daniel D.; Taylor, Joe K.

2006-12-01

The new era of high spectral resolution infrared instruments for atmospheric sounding offers great opportunities for climate change applications. A major issue with most of our existing IR observations from space is spectral sampling uncertainty and the lack of standardization in spectral sampling. The new ultra resolution observing capabilities from the AIRS grating spectrometer on the NASA Aqua platform and from new operational FTS instruments (IASI on Metop, CrIS for NPP/NPOESS, and the GIFTS for a GOES demonstration) will go a long way toward improving this situation. These new observations offer the following improvements: 1. Absolute accuracy, moving from issues of order 1 K to <0.2-0.4 K brightness temperature, 2. More complete spectral coverage, with Nyquist sampling for scale standardization, and 3. Capabilities for unifying IR calibration among different instruments and platforms. However, more needs to be done to meet the immediate needs for climate and to effectively leverage these new operational weather systems, including 1. Place special emphasis on making new instruments as accurate as they can be to realize the potential of technological investments already made, 2. Maintain a careful validation program for establishing the best possible direct radiance check of long-term accuracy--specifically, continuing to use aircraft-or balloon-borne instruments that are periodically checked directly with NIST, and 3. Commit to a simple, new IR mission that will provide an ongoing backbone for the climate observing system. The new mission would make use of Fourier Transform Spectrometer measurements to fill in spectral and diurnal sampling gaps of the operational systems and provide a benchmark with better than 0.1K 3-sigma accuracy based on standards that are verifiable in-flight.

GOME-2A retrievals of tropospheric NO2 in different spectral ranges - influence of penetration depth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behrens, Lisa K.; Hilboll, Andreas; Richter, Andreas; Peters, Enno; Eskes, Henk; Burrows, John P.

2018-05-01

In this study, we present a novel nitrogen dioxide (NO2) differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) retrieval in the ultraviolet (UV) spectral range for observations from the Global Ozone Monitoring Instrument 2 on board EUMETSAT's MetOp-A (GOME-2A) satellite. We compare the results to those from an established NO2 retrieval in the visible (vis) spectral range from the same instrument and investigate how differences between the two are linked to the NO2 vertical profile shape in the troposphere. As expected, radiative transfer calculations for satellite geometries show that the sensitivity close to the ground is higher in the vis than in the UV spectral range. Consequently, NO2 slant column densities (SCDs) in the vis are usually higher than in the UV if the NO2 is close to the surface. Therefore, these differences in NO2 SCDs between the two spectral ranges contain information on the vertical distribution of NO2 in the troposphere. We combine these results with radiative transfer calculations and simulated NO2 fields from the TM5-MP chemistry transport model to evaluate the simulated NO2 vertical distribution. We investigate regions representative of both anthropogenic and biomass burning NO2 pollution. Anthropogenic air pollution is mostly located in the boundary layer close to the surface, which is reflected by large differences between UV and vis SCDs of ˜ 60 %. Biomass burning NO2 in contrast is often uplifted into elevated layers above the boundary layer. This is best seen in tropical Africa south of the Equator, where the biomass burning NO2 is well observed in the UV, and the SCD difference between the two spectral ranges is only ˜ 36 %. In tropical Africa north of the Equator, however, the biomass burning NO2 is located closer to the ground, reducing its visibility in the UV. While not enabling a full retrieval of the vertical NO2 profile shape in the troposphere, our results can help to constrain the vertical profile of NO2 in the lower troposphere and, when analysed together with simulated NO2 fields, can help to better interpret the model output.

A study on Improvisation in a Musical performance using Multifractal Detrended Cross Correlation Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanyal, Shankha; Banerjee, Archi; Patranabis, Anirban; Banerjee, Kaushik; Sengupta, Ranjan; Ghosh, Dipak

2016-11-01

MFDFA (the most rigorous technique to assess multifractality) was performed on four Hindustani music samples played on same 'raga' sung by the same performer. Each music sample was divided into six parts and 'multifractal spectral width' was determined for each part corresponding to the four samples. The results obtained reveal that different parts of all the four sound signals possess spectral width of widely varying values. This gives a cue of the so called 'musical improvisation' in all music samples, keeping in mind they belong to the bandish part of the same raga. Formal compositions in Hindustani raga are juxtaposed with the improvised portions, where an artist manoeuvers his/her own creativity to bring out a mood that is specific for that particular performance, which is known as 'improvisation'. Further, this observation hints at the association of different emotions even in the same bandish of the same raga performed by the same artist, this interesting observation cannot be revealed unless rigorous non-linear technique explores the nature of musical structure. In the second part, we applied MFDXA technique to explore more in-depth about 'improvisation' and association with emotion. This technique is applied to find the degree of cross-correlation (γx) between the different parts of the samples. Pronounced correlation has been observed in the middle parts of the all the four samples evident from higher values of γx ​whereas the other parts show weak correlation. This gets further support from the values of spectral width from different parts of the sample - width of those parts is significantly different from other parts. This observation is extremely new both in respect of musical structure of so called improvisation and associated emotion. The importance of this study in application area of cognitive music therapy is immense.

Physical Characterization of Warm Spitzer-observed Near-Earth Objects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, Cristina A.; Emery, Joshua P.; Trilling, David E.; Delbo, Marco; Hora, Joseph L.; Mueller, Michael

2014-01-01

Near-infrared spectroscopy of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) connects diagnostic spectral features to specific surface mineralogies. The combination of spectroscopy with albedos and diameters derived from thermal infrared observations can increase the scientific return beyond that of the individual datasets. For instance, some taxonomic classes can be separated into distinct compositional groupings with albedo and different mineralogies with similar albedos can be distinguished with spectroscopy. To that end, we have completed a spectroscopic observing campaign to complement the ExploreNEOs Warm Spitzer program that obtained albedos and diameters of nearly 600 NEOs (Trilling et al., 2010). The spectroscopy campaign included visible and near-infrared observations of ExploreNEOs targets from various observatories. Here we present the results of observations using the low-resolution prism mode (approx. 0.7-2.5 microns) of the SpeX instrument on the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF). We also include near-infrared observations of Explore-NEOs targets from the MIT-UH-IRTF Joint Campaign for Spectral Reconnaissance. Our dataset includes near-infrared spectra of 187 ExploreNEOs targets (125 observations of 92 objects from our survey and 213 observations of 154 objects from the MIT survey). We identify a taxonomic class for each spectrum and use band parameter analysis to investigate the mineralogies for the S-, Q-, and V-complex objects. Our analysis suggests that for spectra that contain near-infrared data but lack the visible wavelength region, the Bus-DeMeo system misidentifies some S-types as Q-types. We find no correlation between spectral band parameters and ExploreNEOs albedos and diameters. We investigate the correlations of phase angle with band area ratio and near-infrared spectral slope. We find slightly negative Band Area Ratio (BAR) correlations with phase angle for Eros and Ivar, but a positive BAR correlation with phase angle for Ganymed.The results of our phase angle study are consistent with those of (Sanchez et al., 2012). We find evidence for spectral phase reddening for Eros, Ganymed, and Ivar. We identify the likely ordinary chondrite type analog for an appropriate subset of our sample. Our resulting proportions of H, L, and LL ordinary chondrites differ from those calculated for meteorite falls and in previous studies of ordinary chondrite-like NEOs.

GISS GCMAM Modeled Climate Responses to Total and Spectral Solar Forcing on Decadal and Centennial Time Scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Guoyong; Cahalan, Robert; Rind, David; Jonas, Jeffrey; Pilewskie, Peter; Harder, Jerry

2014-05-01

We examine the influence of the SORCE (Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment) SIM (Spectral Irradiance Monitor) observed spectral solar irradiance (SSI) variations on Earth's climate. We apply two reconstructed spectral solar forcing scenarios, one SIM based, the other based on the SATIRE (Spectral And Total Irradiance REconstruction) model, as inputs to the GISS (Goddard Institute for Space Studies) GCMAM (Global Climate Middle Atmosphere Model) to examine the climate responses on decadal and centennial time scales. We show that the atmosphere has different temperature, ozone, and dynamic responses to the two solar spectral forcing scenarios, even when the variations in TSI (Total Solar Irradiance) are the same. We find that solar variations under either scenario contribute a small fraction of the observed temperature increase since the industrial revolution. The trend of global averaged surface air temperature response to the SIM-based solar forcing is 0.02 °C/century, about half of the temperature trend to the SATIRE-based SSI. However the temporal variation of the surface air temperature for the SIM-based solar forcing scenario is much larger compared to its SATIRE counterpart. Further research is required to examine TSI and SSI variations in the ascending phase of solar cycle 24, to assess their implications for the solar influence on climate.

GISS GCMAM Modeled Climate Responses to Total and Spectral Solar Forcing on Decadal and Centennial Time Scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, G.; Cahalan, R. F.; Rind, D. H.; Jonas, J.; Pilewskie, P.; Harder, J. W.; Krivova, N.

2014-12-01

We examine the influence of the SORCE (Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment) SIM (Spectral Irradiance Monitor) observed spectral solar irradiance (SSI) variations on Earth's climate. We apply two reconstructed spectral solar forcing scenarios, one SIM based, the other based on the SATIRE (Spectral And Total Irradiance REconstruction) model, as inputs to the GISS (Goddard Institute for Space Studies) GCMAM (Global Climate Middle Atmosphere Model) to examine the climate responses on decadal and centennial time scales. We show that the atmosphere has different temperature, ozone, and dynamic responses to the two solar spectral forcing scenarios, even when the variations in TSI (Total Solar Irradiance) are the same. We find that solar variations under either scenario contribute a small fraction of the observed temperature increase since the industrial revolution. The trend of global averaged surface air temperature response to the SIM-based solar forcing is 0.02 °C/century, about half of the temperature trend to the SATIRE-based SSI. However the temporal variation of the surface air temperature for the SIM-based solar forcing scenario is much larger compared to its SATIRE counterpart. Further research is required to examine TSI and SSI variations in the ascending phase of solar cycle 24, to assess their implications for the solar influence on climate.

How diverse is the asteroid belt?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burbine, Thomas H.; Bell, Jeffrey F.

1993-01-01

For approximately twenty years, many different asteroid taxonomies, which used many different observational data sets, have been developed to try to group asteroids into classes that contain members with similar spectral characteristics. However, to understand the structure of the asteroid belt, the resulting classes are only useful if they are grouping together asteroids with somewhat similar mineralogies and thermal histories. Until recently, these taxonomies have focused on spectral reflectance data from 0.3 to 1.1 microns and visual albedo. But in the last five years, observational data sets (e.g., 0.8 to 2.5 microns spectra, CCD spectra, 3 microns spectra, and radar albedos) for a small number of asteroids were compiled that can give a better mineralogical interpretation, but whose use in asteroid taxonomy was relatively limited. Analyses of these 'supplementary' data sets show that most asteroid classes contain members with different compositions and/or thermal histories. To understand the diversity of the asteroid belt, the number of objects with these observations must be expanded and used in the next generation of taxonomies.

Infrared micro-spectral imaging: distinction of tissue types in axillary lymph node histology

PubMed Central

Bird, Benjamin; Miljkovic, Milos; Romeo, Melissa J; Smith, Jennifer; Stone, Nicholas; George, Michael W; Diem, Max

2008-01-01

Background Histopathologic evaluation of surgical specimens is a well established technique for disease identification, and has remained relatively unchanged since its clinical introduction. Although it is essential for clinical investigation, histopathologic identification of tissues remains a time consuming and subjective technique, with unsatisfactory levels of inter- and intra-observer discrepancy. A novel approach for histological recognition is to use Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) micro-spectroscopy. This non-destructive optical technique can provide a rapid measurement of sample biochemistry and identify variations that occur between healthy and diseased tissues. The advantage of this method is that it is objective and provides reproducible diagnosis, independent of fatigue, experience and inter-observer variability. Methods We report a method for analysing excised lymph nodes that is based on spectral pathology. In spectral pathology, an unstained (fixed or snap frozen) tissue section is interrogated by a beam of infrared light that samples pixels of 25 μm × 25 μm in size. This beam is rastered over the sample, and up to 100,000 complete infrared spectra are acquired for a given tissue sample. These spectra are subsequently analysed by a diagnostic computer algorithm that is trained by correlating spectral and histopathological features. Results We illustrate the ability of infrared micro-spectral imaging, coupled with completely unsupervised methods of multivariate statistical analysis, to accurately reproduce the histological architecture of axillary lymph nodes. By correlating spectral and histopathological features, a diagnostic algorithm was trained that allowed both accurate and rapid classification of benign and malignant tissues composed within different lymph nodes. This approach was successfully applied to both deparaffinised and frozen tissues and indicates that both intra-operative and more conventional surgical specimens can be diagnosed by this technique. Conclusion This paper provides strong evidence that automated diagnosis by means of infrared micro-spectral imaging is possible. Recent investigations within the author's laboratory upon lymph nodes have also revealed that cancers from different primary tumours provide distinctly different spectral signatures. Thus poorly differentiated and hard-to-determine cases of metastatic invasion, such as micrometastases, may additionally be identified by this technique. Finally, we differentiate benign and malignant tissues composed within axillary lymph nodes by completely automated methods of spectral analysis. PMID:18759967

The Zeeman effect or linear birefringence? VLA polarimetric spectral line observations of H2O masers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Jun-Hui; Goss, W. M.; Diamond, P.

We present line profiles of the four Stokes parameters of H2O masers at 22 GHz observed with the VLA in full polarimetric spectral line mode. With careful calibration, the instrumental effects such as linear leakage and the difference of antenna gain between RCP and LCP, can be minimized. Our measurements show a few percent linear polarization. Weak circular polarization was detected at a level of 0.1 percent of the peak intensity. A large uncertainty in the measurements of weak circular polarization is caused by telescope pointing errors. The observed polarization of H2O masers can be interpreted as either the Zeeman effect or linear birefringence.

Generation and evolution of anisotropic turbulence and related energy transfer in a multi-species solar wind

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maneva, Yana; Poedts, Stefaan

2017-04-01

The electromagnetic fluctuations in the solar wind represent a zoo of plasma waves with different properties, whose wavelengths range from largest fluid scales to the smallest dissipation scales. By nature the power spectrum of the magnetic fluctuations is anisotropic with different spectral slopes in parallel and perpendicular directions with respect to the background magnetic field. Furthermore, the magnetic field power spectra steepen as one moves from the inertial to the dissipation range and we observe multiple spectral breaks with different slopes in parallel and perpendicular direction at the ion scales and beyond. The turbulent dissipation of magnetic field fluctuations at the sub-ion scales is believed to go into local ion heating and acceleration, so that the spectral breaks are typically associated with particle energization. The gained energy can be in the form of anisotropic heating, formation of non-thermal features in the particle velocity distributions functions, and redistribution of the differential acceleration between the different ion populations. To study the relation between the evolution of the anisotropic turbulent spectra and the particle heating at the ion and sub-ion scales we perform a series of 2.5D hybrid simulations in a collisionless drifting proton-alpha plasma. We neglect the fast electron dynamics and treat the electrons as an isothermal fluid electrons, whereas the protons and a minor population of alpha particles are evolved in a fully kinetic manner. We start with a given wave spectrum and study the evolution of the magnetic field spectral slopes as a function of the parallel and perpendicular wave¬numbers. Simultaneously, we track the particle response and the energy exchange between the parallel and perpendicular scales. We observe anisotropic behavior of the turbulent power spectra with steeper slopes along the dominant energy-containing direction. This means that for parallel and quasi-parallel waves we have steeper spectral slope in parallel direction, whereas for highly oblique waves the dissipation occurs predominantly in perpendicular direction and the spectral slopes are steeper across the background magnetic field. The value of the spectral slopes depends on the angle of propagation, the spectral range, as well as the plasma properties. In general the dissipation is stronger at small scales and the corresponding spectral slopes there are steeper. For parallel and quasi-parallel propagation the prevailing energy cascade remains along the magnetic field, whereas for initially isotropic oblique turbulence the cascade develops mainly in perpendicular direction.

IR spectroscopic characteristics of cell cycle and cell death probed by synchrotron radiation based Fourier transform IR spectromicroscopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holman, H. Y.; Martin, M. C.; Blakely, E. A.; Bjornstad, K.; McKinney, W. R.

2000-01-01

Synchrotron radiation based Fourier transform IR (SR-FTIR) spectromicroscopy allows the study of individual living cells with a high signal to noise ratio. Here we report the use of the SR-FTIR technique to investigate changes in IR spectral features from individual human lung fibroblast (IMR-90) cells in vitro at different points in their cell cycle. Clear changes are observed in the spectral regions corresponding to proteins, DNA, and RNA as a cell changes from the G(1)-phase to the S-phase and finally into mitosis. These spectral changes include markers for the changing secondary structure of proteins in the cell, as well as variations in DNA/RNA content and packing as the cell cycle progresses. We also observe spectral features that indicate that occasional cells are undergoing various steps in the process of cell death. The dying or dead cell has a shift in the protein amide I and II bands corresponding to changing protein morphologies, and a significant increase in the intensity of an ester carbonyl C===O peak at 1743 cm(-1) is observed. Copyright John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biopolymers (Biospectroscopy) 57: 329-335, 2000.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2015-12-01

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

Observation and modelling of main-sequence star chromospheres - X. Radiative budgets on Gl 867A and AU Mic (dM1e), and a two-component model chromosphere for Gl 205 (dM1)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Houdebine, E. R.

2010-04-01

We report on high-resolution observations of two dM1 stars: Gl 867A, an active dM1e star, and Gl 205, a less active dM1 star. The wavelength coverage is from 3890 to 6820Å with a resolving power of about 45000. The difference spectrum of these two stars allows us to make a survey of spectral lines sensitive to magnetic activity. We chose these two stars because, to within measurement errors, they have very close properties: Gl 867A has R = 0.726Rsolar, [M/H] = 0.080 dex and Teff = 3416 K, and Gl 205 has R = 0.758Rsolar, [M/H] = 0.101 dex and Teff = 3493 K. We find that besides traditional chromospheric lines, many photospheric lines are `filled-in' in the active star spectrum. These differences are, most of the time, weak in absolute fluxes but can be large in terms of differences in the spectral-line equivalent widths. We calculate the differences in surface fluxes between these two stars for many spectral lines. We derive the radiative budgets for two dM1e stars: Gl 867A and AU Mic. We show that the sum of the numerous spectral lines represents a significant fraction of the radiative cooling of the outer atmosphere. We also re-investigate the cooling from the continuum from the visible to the extreme ultraviolet; we find that earlier predictions of the calculations of Houdebine et al. (Paper V) are in good agreement with observations. We emphasize that if this radiative cooling is chromospheric in character, then in chromospheric model calculations, we should include the radiative losses in CaI, CrI, VI, TiI and FeI. From simple constraints, we derive model chromospheres for quiescent and active regions on Gl 205. We show that the quiescent regions have a strong absorption Hα profile. The plage regions show a filled-in intermediate activity Hα profile. We also present possible spectral line profiles of quiescent and active regions on Gl 867A. Based on observations collected at Observatoire de Haute Provence, France. E-mail: eric_houdebine@yahoo.fr

PCA determination of the radiometric noise of high spectral resolution infrared observations from spectral residuals: Application to IASI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serio, C.; Masiello, G.; Camy-Peyret, C.; Jacquette, E.; Vandermarcq, O.; Bermudo, F.; Coppens, D.; Tobin, D.

2018-02-01

The problem of characterizing and estimating the instrumental or radiometric noise of satellite high spectral resolution infrared spectrometers directly from Earth observations is addressed in this paper. An approach has been developed, which relies on the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with a suitable criterion to select the optimal number of PC scores. Different selection criteria have been set up and analysed, which is based on the estimation theory of Least Squares and/or Maximum Likelihood Principle. The approach is independent of any forward model and/or radiative transfer calculations. The PCA is used to define an orthogonal basis, which, in turn, is used to derive an optimal linear reconstruction of the observations. The residual vector that is the observation vector minus the calculated or reconstructed one is then used to estimate the instrumental noise. It will be shown that the use of the spectral residuals to assess the radiometric instrumental noise leads to efficient estimators, which are largely independent of possible departures of the true noise from that assumed a priori to model the observational covariance matrix. Application to the Infrared Atmospheric Sounder Interferometer (IASI) has been considered. A series of case studies has been set up, which make use of IASI observations. As a major result, the analysis confirms the high stability and radiometric performance of IASI. The approach also proved to be efficient in characterizing noise features due to mechanical micro-vibrations of the beam splitter of the IASI instrument.

Rapid spectral and flux time variations in a solar burst observed at various dm-mm wavelengths and at hard X-rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zodivaz, A. M.; Kaufmann, P.; Correia, E.; Costa, J. E. R.; Takakura, T.; Cliver, E. W.; Tapping, K. F.

1986-01-01

A solar burst was observed with high sensitivity and time resolution at cm-mm wavelengths by two different radio observatories (Itapetinga and Algonquin), with high spectral time resolution at dm-mm wavelengths by patrol instruments (Sagamore Hill), and at hard X-rays (HXM Hinotori). At the onset of the major burst time structure there was a rapid rise in the spectral turnover frequency (from 5 to 15 GHz), in about 10s, coincident to a reduction of the spectral index in the optically thin part of the spectrum. The burst maxima were not time coincident at the optically thin radio frequencies and at the different hard X-ray energy ranges. The profiles at higher radio frequencies exhibited better time coincidence to the high energy X-rays. The hardest X-ray spectrum (-3) coincided with peak radio emission at the higher frequency (44 GHz). The event appeared to be built up by a first major injection of softer particles followed by other injections of harder particles. Ultrafast time structures were identified as superimposed on the burst emission at the cm-mm high sensitivity data at X-rays, with predominant repetition rates ranging from 2.0 to 3.5 Hz.

Spectral Indices to Monitor Nitrogen-Driven Carbon Uptake in Field Corn

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Corp, Lawrence A.; Middleton, Elizabeth M.; Campbell, Peya E.; Huemmrich, K. Fred; Daughtry, Craig S. T.; Russ, Andrew; Cheng, Yen-Ben

2010-01-01

Climate change is heavily impacted by changing vegetation cover and productivity with large scale monitoring of vegetation only possible with remote sensing techniques. The goal of this effort was to evaluate existing reflectance (R) spectroscopic methods for determining vegetation parameters related to photosynthetic function and carbon (C) dynamics in plants. Since nitrogen (N) is a key constituent of photosynthetic pigments and C fixing enzymes, biological C sequestration is regulated in part by N availability. Spectral R information was obtained from field corn grown at four N application rates (0, 70, 140, 280 kg N/ha). A hierarchy of spectral observations were obtained: leaf and canopy with a spectral radiometer; aircraft with the AISA sensor; and satellite with EO-1 Hyperion. A number of spectral R indices were calculated from these hyperspectral observations and compared to geo-located biophysical measures of plant growth and physiological condition. Top performing indices included the R derivative index D730/D705 and the normalized difference of R750 vs. R705 (ND705), both of which differentiated three of the four N fertilization rates at multiple observation levels and yielded high correlations to these carbon parameters: light use efficiency (LUE); C:N ratio; and crop grain yield. These results advocate the use of hyperspectral sensors for remotely monitoring carbon cycle dynamics in managed terrestrial ecosystems.

A high-resolution near-infrared extraterrestrial solar spectrum derived from ground-based Fourier transform spectrometer measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menang, Kaah P.; Coleman, Marc D.; Gardiner, Tom D.; Ptashnik, Igor V.; Shine, Keith P.

2013-06-01

A detailed spectrally resolved extraterrestrial solar spectrum (ESS) is important for line-by-line radiative transfer modeling in the near-IR. Very few observationally based high-resolution ESS are available in this spectral region. Consequently, the theoretically calculated ESS by Kurucz has been widely adopted. We present the CAVIAR (Continuum Absorption at Visible and Infrared Wavelengths and its Atmospheric Relevance) ESS, which is derived using the Langley technique applied to calibrated observations using a ground-based high-resolution Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) in atmospheric windows from 2000 to 10,000 cm-1 (1-5 µm). There is good agreement between the strengths and positions of solar lines between the CAVIAR and the satellite-based Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment-FTS ESS, in the spectral region where they overlap, and good agreement with other ground-based FTS measurements in two near-IR windows. However, there are significant differences in the structure between the CAVIAR ESS and spectra from semiempirical models. In addition, we found a difference of up to 8% in the absolute (and hence the wavelength-integrated) irradiance between the CAVIAR ESS and that of Thuillier et al., which was based on measurements from the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science satellite and other sources. In many spectral regions, this difference is significant, because the coverage factor k = 2 (or 95% confidence limit) uncertainties in the two sets of observations do not overlap. Because the total solar irradiance is relatively well constrained, if the CAVIAR ESS is correct, then this would indicate an integrated "loss" of solar irradiance of about 30 W m-2 in the near-IR that would have to be compensated by an increase at other wavelengths.

Spectral properties of rf emission from high Tc films

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

Jung, G.; Konopka, J.; Vitale, S.

1990-09-15

Spectral properties of rf radiation from intrinsic Josephson junctions in high {Tc} Y-Ba-Cu-O thin film have been measured in the frequency range up to 1.5 GHz. Narrow emission lines with the 3 dB bandwidth of the order of 20 MHz were detected indicating that Josephson clusters radiate coherently. Synchronization conditions are determined by dc current and external magnetic field bias. Frequency locking of radiation to external resonant circuit was also observed. Spectral line narrowing due to resonant lock was distinguished from the coherence-induced narrowing by different tuning properties of the emission line. Noncoherent Josephson radiation manifests itself as a broadbandmore » background noise increase. A pronounced 1/{ital f}-like tail sensitive to dc bias and magnetic field was observed in a low frequency part of the spectrum.« less

Single-shot spectroscopy of broadband Yb fiber laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suzuki, Masayuki; Yoneya, Shin; Kuroda, Hiroto

2017-02-01

We have experimentally reported on a real-time single-shot spectroscopy of a broadband Yb-doped fiber (YDF) laser which based on a nonlinear polarization evolution by using a time-stretched dispersive Fourier transformation technique. We have measured an 8000 consecutive single-shot spectra of mode locking and noise-like pulse (NLP), because our developed broadband YDF oscillator can individually operate the mode locking and NLP by controlling a pump LD power and angle of waveplates. A shot-to-shot spectral fluctuation was observed in NLP. For the investigation of pulse formation dynamics, we have measured the spectral evolution in an initial fluctuations of mode locked broadband YDF laser at an intracavity dispersion of 1500 and 6200 fs2 for the first time. In both case, a build-up time between cw and steady-state mode locking was estimated to be 50 us, the dynamics of spectral evolution between cw and mode locking, however, was completely different. A shot-to-shot strong spectral fluctuation, as can be seen in NLP spectra, was observed in the initial timescale of 20 us at the intracavity dispersion of 1500 fs2. These new findings would impact on understanding the birth of the broadband spectral formation in fiber laser oscillator.

Spectral and Photometric Data of Be Star, EM Cep

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kochiashvili, Nino; Natsvilishvili, Rezo; Kochiashvili, Ia; Vardosanidze, Manana; Beradze, Sopia; Pannicke, Anna

The subject of investigation in this project is a Be spectral type giant variable star EM Cep. It was established that the star has a double nature: 1. when emission lines are seen in its spectrum and 2. when only absorption lines are observable and emission lines are not seen. This means that the star is not always in Be state. Be state continues existing during a few months. EM Cep shows flare activity too. The causes of photometric and spectral variability are to be established. The existence of different mechanisms, which provokes Be phenomenon, is possible. The character of light curves' variability gives us possibility to propose that it is not excluded that the star could be a short-period Cepheid of λ Eri type. However, we do not have sufficient data to exclude its binarity. On the basis of the observations carried out at Abastumani observatory, the light curve with two minima and two maxima were revealed, but these data, too accord with the half-period - we can also consider a light curve with one minimum and one maximum. Both cases suggest a good agreement with the characters of variability. For the case of binarity in Abastumani observatory, a set of orbital elements by using the Wilson-Devinney code is already obtained. The elements correspond to the model of acceptable, real close binary star. However, notwithstanding this situation, the true nature of the star is not established for the moment. To solve this problem, we need to get high-resolution spectral data, when by using radial velocity curves, it would be possible to answer the question of binarity of the star. It is not excluded to reveal spectral lines of the second component in case of binarity of the star. Since 2014, we have renewed UBVRI photometric observations of EM Cep in Abastumani using a 48-cm telescope with CCD device. Spectral observations are made in Azerbaijan, Shamakhy Observatory. Our German Colleagues have been observing the star since March of 2017 at the Observatory of the Jena University. We plan to carry out a joint analysis of the observations of the three observatories to explain the observational peculiarities of the star.

Effects of Different Quantum Coherence on the Pump-Probe Polarization Anisotropy of Photosynthetic Light-Harvesting Complexes: A Computational Study.

PubMed

Bai, Shuming; Song, Kai; Shi, Qiang

2015-05-21

Observations of oscillatory features in the 2D spectra of several photosynthetic complexes have led to diverged opinions on their origins, including electronic coherence, vibrational coherence, and vibronic coherence. In this work, effects of these different types of quantum coherence on ultrafast pump-probe polarization anisotropy are investigated and distinguished. We first simulate the isotropic pump-probe signal and anisotropy decay of the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) complex using a model with only electronic coherence at low temperature and obtain the same coherence time as in the previous experiment. Then, three model dimer systems with different prespecified quantum coherence are simulated, and the results show that their different spectral characteristics can be used to determine the type of coherence during the spectral process. Finally, we simulate model systems with different electronic-vibrational couplings and reveal the condition in which long time vibronic coherence can be observed in systems like the FMO complex.

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

Jassal, Anjali Rao; Vadawale, Santosh V.; Mithun, N. P. S.

Low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) are commonly observed during the hard states of black hole binaries. Several studies have established various observational/empirical correlations between spectral parameters and QPO properties, indicating a close link between the two. However, the exact mechanism of generation of QPOs is not yet well understood. In this paper, we present our attempts to comprehend the connection between the spectral components and the low-frequency QPO (LFQPO) observed in GRS 1915+105 using the data from NuSTAR. Detailed spectral modeling as well as the presence of the LFQPO and its energy dependence during this observation have been reported by Millermore » et al. and Zhang et al., respectively. We investigate the compatibility of the spectral model and the energy dependence of the QPO by simulating light curves in various energy bands for small variation of the spectral parameters. The basic concept here is to establish the connection, if any, between the QPO and the variation of either a spectral component or a specific parameter, which in turn can shed some light on the origin of the QPO. We begin with the best-fit spectral model of Miller et al. and simulate the light curve by varying the spectral parameters at frequencies close to the observed QPO frequency in order to generate the simulated QPO. Furthermore we simulate similar light curves in various energy bands in order to reproduce the observed energy dependence of the rms amplitude of the QPO. We find that the observed trend of increasing rms amplitude with energy can be reproduced qualitatively if the spectral index is assumed to be varying with the phases of the QPO. Variation of any other spectral parameter does not reproduce the observed energy dependence.« less

Spectral and spatial variability of undisturbed and disturbed grass under different view and illumination directions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borel-Donohue, Christoph C.; Shivers, Sarah Wells; Conover, Damon

2017-05-01

It is well known that disturbed grass covered surfaces show variability with view and illumination conditions. A good example is a grass field in a soccer stadium that shows stripes indicating in which direction the grass was mowed. These spatial variations are due to a complex interplay of spectral characteristics of grass blades, density, their length and orientations. Viewing a grass surface from nadir or near horizontal directions results in observing different components. Views from a vertical direction show more variations due to reflections from the randomly oriented grass blades and their shadows. Views from near horizontal show a mixture of reflected and transmitted light from grass blades. An experiment was performed on a mowed grass surface which had paths of simulated heavy foot traffic laid down in different directions. High spatial resolution hyperspectral data cubes were taken by an imaging spectrometer covering the visible through near infrared over a period of time covering several hours. Ground truth grass reflectance spectra with a hand held spectrometer were obtained of undisturbed and disturbed areas. Close range images were taken of selected areas with a hand held camera which were then used to reconstruct the 3D geometry of the grass using structure-from-motion algorithms. Computer graphics rendering using raytracing of reconstructed and procedurally created grass surfaces were used to compute BRDF models. In this paper, we discuss differences between observed and simulated spectral and spatial variability. Based on the measurements and/or simulations, we derive simple spectral index methods to detect spatial disturbances and apply scattering models.

Avian reflex and electroencephalogram responses in different states of consciousness.

PubMed

Sandercock, Dale A; Auckburally, Adam; Flaherty, Derek; Sandilands, Victoria; McKeegan, Dorothy E F

2014-06-22

Defining states of clinical consciousness in animals is important in veterinary anaesthesia and in studies of euthanasia and welfare assessment at slaughter. The aim of this study was to validate readily observable reflex responses in relation to different conscious states, as confirmed by EEG analysis, in two species of birds under laboratory conditions (35-week-old layer hens (n=12) and 11-week-old turkeys (n=10)). We evaluated clinical reflexes and characterised electroencephalograph (EEG) activity (as a measure of brain function) using spectral analyses in four different clinical states of consciousness: conscious (fully awake), semi-conscious (sedated), unconscious-optimal (general anaesthesia), unconscious-sub optimal (deep hypnotic state), as well as assessment immediately following euthanasia. Jaw or neck muscle tone was the most reliable reflex measure distinguishing between conscious and unconscious states. Pupillary reflex was consistently observed until respiratory arrest. Nictitating membrane reflex persisted for a short time (<1 min) after respiratory arrest and brain death (isoelectric EEG). The results confirm that the nictitating membrane reflex is a conservative measure of death in poultry. Using spectral analyses of the EEG waveforms it was possible to readily distinguish between the different states of clinical consciousness. In all cases, when birds progressed from a conscious to unconscious state; total spectral power (PTOT) significantly increased, whereas median (F50) and spectral edge (F95) frequencies significantly decreased. This study demonstrates that EEG analysis can differentiate between clinical states (and loss of brain function at death) in birds and provides a unique integration of reflex responses and EEG activity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Spectral Variability of Oil Slicks under Different Observing Conditions: Examples from Satellite and Airborne Measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, S.; Hu, C.

2017-12-01

Optical remote sensing is one of the most commonly used techniques in detecting oil in the surface ocean. This is because that oil has different optical properties from the surrounding oil-free water and oil can also modulate surface waves, thus providing a spatial contrast to facilitate delineating the oil-water boundary. Estimating oil volume or thickness from the delineated oil footprint, on the other hand, is much more difficult and currently represents a major challenge in remote sensing of oil spills. Several studies have attempted to associate reflectance spectra (magnitude and spectral shape) with oil thickness from experiments under controlled conditions, where such established relationships were used to quantify oil thickness. However, it is unclear whether or how these experiment derived relationships could be used in the real environment. Here, oil pixel spectra were extracted from several satellite sensors including Landsat, MERIS, MODIS and MISR together with airborne sensor AVIRIS that captured during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Same day imagery of these sensors were co-registered to compare spectra difference of oil under different observing conditions. Combining those resulted spectra with laboratory-measured oil spectra in previous study, oil's diverse spectral magnitudes and shapes were presented. Besides oil thickness, we concluded several other potential factors that may contribute significantly to the spectral response of oil slicks in the marine environment, which include sun glint strength, oil emulsification state, optical properties of oil covered water and remote sensing imagery's spatial resolution as well. And future perspectives for more accurate estimation of oil thickness are proposed.

A comparison of measured radiances from AIRS and HIRS across different cloud types

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schreier, M. M.; Kahn, B. H.; Staten, P.

2015-12-01

The observation of Earth's atmosphere with passive remote sensing instruments is ongoing for decades and resulting in a long-term global dataset. Two prominent examples are operational satellite platforms from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) or research platforms like NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS). The observed spectral ranges of these observations are often similar among the different platforms, but have large differences when it comes to resolution, accuracy and quality control. Our approach is to combine different kinds of instruments at the pixel-scale to improve the characterization of infrared radiances. We focus on data from the High-resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS) and compare the observations to radiances from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on Aqua. The high spectral resolution of AIRS is used to characterize and possibly recalibrate the observed radiances from HIRS. Our approach is unique in that we use additional information from other passive instruments on the same platforms including the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). We will present comparisons of radiances from HIRS and AIRS within different types of clouds that are determined from the imagers. In this way, we can analyze and select the most homogeneous conditions for radiance comparisons and a possible re-calibration of HIRS. We hope to achieve a cloud-type-dependent calibration and quality control for HIRS, which can be extrapolated into the past via inter-calibration of the different HIRS instruments beyond the time of AIRS.

Quantifying the influences of spectral resolution on uncertainty in leaf trait estimates through a Bayesian approach to RTM inversion

DOE PAGES

Shiklomanov, Alexey N.; Dietze, Michael C.; Viskari, Toni; ...

2016-06-09

The remote monitoring of plant canopies is critically needed for understanding of terrestrial ecosystem mechanics and biodiversity as well as capturing the short- to long-term responses of vegetation to disturbance and climate change. A variety of orbital, sub-orbital, and field instruments have been used to retrieve optical spectral signals and to study different vegetation properties such as plant biochemistry, nutrient cycling, physiology, water status, and stress. Radiative transfer models (RTMs) provide a mechanistic link between vegetation properties and observed spectral features, and RTM spectral inversion is a useful framework for estimating these properties from spectral data. However, existing approaches tomore » RTM spectral inversion are typically limited by the inability to characterize uncertainty in parameter estimates. Here, we introduce a Bayesian algorithm for the spectral inversion of the PROSPECT 5 leaf RTM that is distinct from past approaches in two important ways: First, the algorithm only uses reflectance and does not require transmittance observations, which have been plagued by a variety of measurement and equipment challenges. Second, the output is not a point estimate for each parameter but rather the joint probability distribution that includes estimates of parameter uncertainties and covariance structure. We validated our inversion approach using a database of leaf spectra together with measurements of equivalent water thickness (EWT) and leaf dry mass per unit area (LMA). The parameters estimated by our inversion were able to accurately reproduce the observed reflectance (RMSE VIS = 0.0063, RMSE NIR-SWIR = 0.0098) and transmittance (RMSE VIS = 0.0404, RMSE NIR-SWIR = 0.0551) for both broadleaved and conifer species. Inversion estimates of EWT and LMA for broadleaved species agreed well with direct measurements (CV EWT = 18.8%, CV LMA = 24.5%), while estimates for conifer species were less accurate (CV EWT = 53.2%, CV LMA = 63.3%). To examine the influence of spectral resolution on parameter uncertainty, we simulated leaf reflectance as observed by ten common remote sensing platforms with varying spectral configurations and performed a Bayesian inversion on the resulting spectra. We found that full-range hyperspectral platforms were able to retrieve all parameters accurately and precisely, while the parameter estimates of multispectral platforms were much less precise and prone to bias at high and low values. We also observed that variations in the width and location of spectral bands influenced the shape of the covariance structure of parameter estimates. Lastly, our Bayesian spectral inversion provides a powerful and versatile framework for future RTM development and single- and multi-instrumental remote sensing of vegetation.« less

Quantifying the influences of spectral resolution on uncertainty in leaf trait estimates through a Bayesian approach to RTM inversion

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

Shiklomanov, Alexey N.; Dietze, Michael C.; Viskari, Toni

The remote monitoring of plant canopies is critically needed for understanding of terrestrial ecosystem mechanics and biodiversity as well as capturing the short- to long-term responses of vegetation to disturbance and climate change. A variety of orbital, sub-orbital, and field instruments have been used to retrieve optical spectral signals and to study different vegetation properties such as plant biochemistry, nutrient cycling, physiology, water status, and stress. Radiative transfer models (RTMs) provide a mechanistic link between vegetation properties and observed spectral features, and RTM spectral inversion is a useful framework for estimating these properties from spectral data. However, existing approaches tomore » RTM spectral inversion are typically limited by the inability to characterize uncertainty in parameter estimates. Here, we introduce a Bayesian algorithm for the spectral inversion of the PROSPECT 5 leaf RTM that is distinct from past approaches in two important ways: First, the algorithm only uses reflectance and does not require transmittance observations, which have been plagued by a variety of measurement and equipment challenges. Second, the output is not a point estimate for each parameter but rather the joint probability distribution that includes estimates of parameter uncertainties and covariance structure. We validated our inversion approach using a database of leaf spectra together with measurements of equivalent water thickness (EWT) and leaf dry mass per unit area (LMA). The parameters estimated by our inversion were able to accurately reproduce the observed reflectance (RMSE VIS = 0.0063, RMSE NIR-SWIR = 0.0098) and transmittance (RMSE VIS = 0.0404, RMSE NIR-SWIR = 0.0551) for both broadleaved and conifer species. Inversion estimates of EWT and LMA for broadleaved species agreed well with direct measurements (CV EWT = 18.8%, CV LMA = 24.5%), while estimates for conifer species were less accurate (CV EWT = 53.2%, CV LMA = 63.3%). To examine the influence of spectral resolution on parameter uncertainty, we simulated leaf reflectance as observed by ten common remote sensing platforms with varying spectral configurations and performed a Bayesian inversion on the resulting spectra. We found that full-range hyperspectral platforms were able to retrieve all parameters accurately and precisely, while the parameter estimates of multispectral platforms were much less precise and prone to bias at high and low values. We also observed that variations in the width and location of spectral bands influenced the shape of the covariance structure of parameter estimates. Lastly, our Bayesian spectral inversion provides a powerful and versatile framework for future RTM development and single- and multi-instrumental remote sensing of vegetation.« less

Comparison of species-resolved energy spectra from ACE EPAM and Van Allen Probes RBSPICE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patterson, J.; Manweiler, J. W.; Armstrong, T. P.; Lanzerotti, L. J.; Gerrard, A. J.; Gkioulidou, M.

2013-12-01

We present a comparison between energy spectra measured by the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) Electron Proton Alpha Monitor (EPAM) instrument and the Van Allen Probe Ion Composition Experiment (RBSPICE) for two significant and distinct events in early 2013. The first is an impulsive solar particle event on March 17th. While intense, this event presented no significant surprises in terms of its composition or anisotropy characteristics, thus providing a good baseline for response of the trapped radiation belts as observed by the Van Allen Probes. The second solar event occurred late May 22nd and early May 23rd. This event has a much greater concentration of medium and heavy ions than the St. Patrick's Day event, as well as having very peculiar energy spectra with evidence of two distinct populations. During the St. Patrick's Day Event, the energy spectra for helium, carbon, oxygen, neon, silicon, and iron all show the same spectral power law slope -3.1. The event shows strong anisotropy with intensities differing by a factor of four for both protons and Z>1 ions. The late May event also has strong anisotropy, and in the same directions as the St. Patrick's Day Event, but with very different composition and energy spectra. The spectra are much harder with power law spectral slopes of -0.5. Additionally, there is a significant spectral bump at 3 MeV/nuc for helium that is not present in the spectra of the heavier ions. The intensities of the heavier ions, however, show an increase that is an order of magnitude greater than the increase seen for helium. The March 17 RBSPICE observations show multiple injection events lasting for less than an hour each during the Van Allen Probes B apogees. These injections are seen in protons as well as Helium and only somewhat observed in Oxygen. Spectral slopes for the observations range from approximately -5 during quiet times to double peaked events with a spectral slope of approximately -2 at the beginning of the injection for the Helium observations. The data from the May 22 storm are currently being analyzed and will be integrated into the presentation of our work.

Nonlinear interaction of the Tsugaru Warm Current and tide in the Tsugaru Strait

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wada, Ryota; Waseda, Takuji; Nanjo, Hirotada

2012-06-01

The Tsugaru Strait, which connects the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean, is characterized by the eastward Tsugaru Warm Current (TWC) and oscillating tidal currents of similar magnitude. A 15-day current observation was conducted in one of the two narrow channels in the strait, at the northwest tip of the Shimokita Peninsula. The observation revealed that the spectral energy of the semidiurnal current exceeds that of the diurnal current, contrary to the conventional view. The Tsugaru Strait regional model was developed to study the mechanism of this spectral energy reversal (140-141.5° E, 40.4-42.6° N, 500 m grid resolution). At the eastern and western open boundaries, the model was driven by the constant Tsugaru warm current and tidal elevation, which was adjusted by comparing the model with tidal gauge observations within the channel. The relative magnitude of the spectral energies differed from that of the observation when the model was driven by tide only. However, the spectral energy levels were reversed when the model was driven by both tide and current. The nonlinear interaction of periodic tidal currents and the steady TWC was explained by the vorticity equation, which describes the production and advection of residual currents from tidal currents. According to the model results, flow separation and advection of vorticity by the TWC was the most prominent factor in this phenomenon. Because of the strong nonlinearities, flow separation around the headland occurred during the tidal period with dominant current magnitude and furnished the main difference between the diurnal and semidiurnal interactions. These phenomena were enhanced by the complex topography, and demonstrate the importance of scale interaction, especially when developing high-resolution regional models.

Enhancement of color saturation and color gamut enabled by a dual-band color filter exhibiting an adjustable spectral response.

PubMed

Shrestha, Vivek Raj; Park, Chul-Soon; Lee, Sang-Shin

2014-02-10

The enhancement of color saturation and color gamut has been demonstrated, by taking advantage of a dual-band color filter based on a subwavelength rectangular metal-dielectric resonant grating, which exhibits an adjustable spectral response with respect to its relative transmittances at the two bands of green and red, thereby producing any color in between green and red, through the adjustment of incoming light polarization. Also, the prominent features of the spectral response of the filter, namely the bandwidth and resonant wavelength, can be readily adjusted by varying the dielectric layer thickness and the grating pitch, respectively. The dependence of chromaticity coordinates of the filter in the CIE (International Commission on Illumination) 1931 chromaticity diagram upon the parameters of the spectral response, including the center wavelength, spectral bandwidth and sideband level, has been rigorously examined, and their influence on the color gamut and the excitation purity, which is a colorimetric measure of saturation, has been analytically explored at the same time, in order to optimize the color performance of the filters. In particular, a device with wider spectral bandwidth was observed to efficiently extend the color gamut and enhance the color saturation, i.e. the excitation purity for a given sideband level. Two dual-band green-red filters, exhibiting different bandwidths of about 17 and 36 nm, were specifically designed and fabricated. As compared with the case with narrower bandwidth, the device with wider bandwidth was observed to provide both higher excitation purity leading to better color saturation and greater separation of the chromaticity coordinates for the filter output for different incident polarizations, which provides extended color gamut. The proposed device structure may permit the color tuning span to encompass all primary color bands, by adjusting the grating pitch.

Dust coatings on basaltic rocks and implications for thermal infrared spectroscopy of Mars

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, J. R.; Christensen, P.R.; Lucey, P.G.

2002-01-01

Thin coatings of atmospherically deposited dust can mask the spectral characteristics of underlying surfaces on Mars from the visible to thermal infrared wavelengths, making identification of substrate and coating mineralogy difficult from lander and orbiter spectrometer data. To study the spectral effects of dust coatings, we acquired thermal emission and hemispherical reflectance spectra (5-25 μm; 2000-400 cm-1) of basaltic andesite coated with different thicknesses of air fall-deposited palagonitic soils, fine-grained ceramic clay powders, and terrestrial loess. The results show that thin coatings (10-20 μm) reduce the spectral contrast of the rock substrate substantially, consistent with previous work. This contrast reduction continues linearly with increasing coating thickness until a "saturation thickness" is reached, after which little further change is observed. The saturation thickness of the spectrally flat palagonite coatings is ~100-120 μm, whereas that for coatings with higher spectral contrast is only ~50-75 μm. Spectral differences among coated and uncoated samples correlate with measured coating thicknesses in a quadratic manner, whereas correlations with estimated surface area coverage are better fit by linear functions. Linear mixture modeling of coated samples using the rock substrate and coating materials as end-members is also consistent with their measured coating thicknesses and areal coverage. A comparison of ratios of Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) spectra of dark and bright intracrater and windstreak deposits associated with Radau crater suggests that the dark windstreak material may be coated with as much as 90% areal coverage of palagonitic dust. The data presented here also will help improve interpretations of upcoming mini-TES and Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) observations of coated Mars surface materials.

X-ray signatures: New time scales and spectral features

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boldt, E. A.

1977-01-01

The millisecond bursts from Cyg X-1 are investigated and the overall chaotic variability for the bulk of the Cyg X-1 emission is compared to that of Sco X-1, showing that the essential character is remarkably similar (i.e. shot noise) although the fundamental time scales involved differ widely, from a fraction of a second (for Cyg X-1) to a fraction of a day (for Sco X-1). Recent OSO-8 observations of spectra features attributable to iron are reviewed. In particular, line emission is discussed within the context of a model for thermal radiation by a hot evolved gas in systems as different as supernova remnants and clusters of galaxies. Newly observed spectral structure in the emission from the X-ray pulsar Her X-1 is reported.

Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering studies of magnons and bimagnons in the lightly doped cuprate La2 -xSrxCuO4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaix, L.; Huang, E. W.; Gerber, S.; Lu, X.; Jia, C.; Huang, Y.; McNally, D. E.; Wang, Y.; Vernay, F. H.; Keren, A.; Shi, M.; Moritz, B.; Shen, Z.-X.; Schmitt, T.; Devereaux, T. P.; Lee, W.-S.

2018-04-01

We investigated the doping dependence of magnetic excitations in the lightly doped cuprate La2 -xSrxCuO4 via combined studies of resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the Cu L3 edge and theoretical calculations. With increasing doping, the magnon dispersion is found to be essentially unchanged, but the spectral width broadens and the spectral weight varies differently at different momenta. Near the Brillouin zone center, we directly observe bimagnon excitations that possess the same energy scale and doping dependence as previously observed by Raman spectroscopy. They disperse weakly in energy-momentum space, and they are consistent with a bimagnon dispersion that is renormalized by the magnon-magnon interaction at the zone center.

Evaluation of inflammatory processes by FTIR spectroscopy.

PubMed

Rodrigues, Laís Morandini; Carvalho, Luís Felipe das Chagas E Silva; Bonnier, Franck; Anbinder, Ana Lia; Martinho, Herculano da Silva; Almeida, Janete Dias

2018-04-01

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a powerful diagnosis technique and has been used to identify patterns of molecular changes based on vibration modes. The objective of this study was to evaluate inflammatory fibrous hyperplasia (IFH) lesions and oral normal mucosa (NM) initially with histopathological exam and then using micro-FTIR spectroscopy to analyse the samples. Eleven IFH and 11 NM samples were analysed at five different points to cover the largest area possible by the micro-FTIR technique. Bands were observed between 970 and 1743 cm -1 which corresponded to different structural components like collagen, lipids, fatty acids, proteins and amino acids. Spectral bands were more intense mostly for IFH lesions, including collagen bands, which are an important component of inflammatory fibrous hyperplasia. This study demonstrated that differentiation in the inflammatory tissue was observed in FTIR spectral differences, in terms of biochemical composition.

OPTIMOS-EVE optical design of a very efficient, high-multiplex, large spectral coverage, fiber-fed spectrograph at EELT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spanò, P.; Tosh, I.; Chemla, F.

2010-07-01

OPTIMOS-EVE is a fiber-fed, high-multiplex, high-efficiency, large spectral coverage spectrograph for EELT covering visible and near-infrared simultaneously. More than 200 seeing-limited objects will be observed at the same time over the full 7 arcmin field of view of the telescope, feeding the spectrograph, asking for very large multiplexing at the spectrograph side. The spectrograph consists of two identical units. Each unit will have two optimized channels to observe both visible and near-infrared wavelengths at the same time, covering from 0.37 to 1.7 micron. To maximize the scientific return, a large simultaneous spectral coverage per exposure was required, up to 1/3 of the central wavelength. Moreover, different spectral resolution modes, spanning from 5'000 to 30'000, were defined to match very different sky targets. Many different optical solutions were generated during the initial study phase in order to select that one that will maximize performances within given constraints (mass, space, cost). Here we present the results of this study, with special attention to the baseline design. Efforts were done to keep size of the optical components well within present state-of-the-art technologies. For example, large glass blank sizes were limited to ~35 cm maximum diameter. VPH gratings were selected as dispersers, to improve efficiency, following their superblaze curve. This led to scanning gratings and cameras. Optical design will be described, together with expected performances.

A differential optical absorption spectroscopy method for retrieval from ground-based Fourier transform spectrometers measurements of the direct solar beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huo, Yanfeng; Duan, Minzheng; Tian, Wenshou; Min, Qilong

2015-08-01

A differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS)-like algorithm is developed to retrieve the column-averaged dryair mole fraction of carbon dioxide from ground-based hyper-spectral measurements of the direct solar beam. Different to the spectral fitting method, which minimizes the difference between the observed and simulated spectra, the ratios of multiple channel-pairs—one weak and one strong absorption channel—are used to retrieve from measurements of the shortwave infrared (SWIR) band. Based on sensitivity tests, a super channel-pair is carefully selected to reduce the effects of solar lines, water vapor, air temperature, pressure, instrument noise, and frequency shift on retrieval errors. The new algorithm reduces computational cost and the retrievals are less sensitive to temperature and H2O uncertainty than the spectral fitting method. Multi-day Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) measurements under clear-sky conditions at two sites (Tsukuba and Bremen) are used to derive xxxx for the algorithm evaluation and validation. The DOAS-like results agree very well with those of the TCCON algorithm after correction of an airmass-dependent bias.

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

PubMed

Yalcin, G Cigdem; Beck, Christian

2018-01-29

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

On the Origin and Evolution of Stellar Chromospheres, Coronae and Winds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Musielak, Z. E.

1997-01-01

The final report discusses work completed on proposals to construct state-of-the-art, theoretical, two-component, chromospheric models for single stars of different spectral types and different evolutionary status. We suggested to use these models to predict the level of the "basal flux", the observed range of variation of chromospheric activity for a given spectral type, and the decrease of this activity with stellar age. In addition, for red giants and supergiants, we also proposed to construct self-consistent, purely theoretical, chromosphere-wind models, and investigate the origin of "dividing lines" in the H-R diagram. In the report, we list the following six specific goals for the first and second year of the proposed research and then describe the completed work: (1) To calculate the acoustic and magnetic wave energy fluxes for stars located in different regions of the H-R diagram; (2) To investigate the transfer of this non-radiative energy through stellar photospheres and to estimate the amount of energy that reaches the chromosphere; (3) To identify major sources of radiative losses in stellar chromospheres and calculate the amount of emitted energy; (4) To use (1) through (3) to construct purely theoretical, two-component, chromospheric models based on the local energy balance. The models will be constructed for stars of different spectral types and different evolutionary status; (5) To explain theoretically the "basal flux", the location of stellar temperature minima and the observed range of chromospheric activity for stars of the same spectral type; and (6) To construct self-consistent, time-dependent stellar wind models based on the momentum deposition by finite amplitude Alfven waves.

Multiple spectral channels in branchiopods. I. Vision in dim light and neural correlates.

PubMed

Lessios, Nicolas; Rutowski, Ronald L; Cohen, Jonathan H; Sayre, Marcel E; Strausfeld, Nicholas J

2018-05-22

Animals that have true color vision possess several spectral classes of photoreceptors. Pancrustaceans (Hexapoda+Crustacea) that integrate spectral information about their reconstructed visual world do so from photoreceptor terminals supplying their second optic neuropils, with subsequent participation of the third (lobula) and deeper centers (optic foci). Here, we describe experiments and correlative neural arrangements underlying convergent visual pathways in two species of branchiopod crustaceans that have to cope with a broad range of spectral ambience and illuminance in ephemeral pools, yet possess just two optic neuropils, the lamina and the optic tectum. Electroretinographic recordings and multimodel inference based on modeled spectral absorptance were used to identify the most likely number of spectral photoreceptor classes in their compound eyes. Recordings from the retina provide support for four color channels. Neuroanatomical observations resolve arrangements in their laminas that suggest signal summation at low light intensities, incorporating chromatic channels. Neuroanatomical observations demonstrate that spatial summation in the lamina of the two species are mediated by quite different mechanisms, both of which allow signals from several ommatidia to be pooled at single lamina monopolar cells. We propose that such summation provides sufficient signal for vision at intensities equivalent to those experienced by insects in terrestrial habitats under dim starlight. Our findings suggest that despite the absence of optic lobe neuropils necessary for spectral discrimination utilized by true color vision, four spectral photoreceptor classes have been maintained in Branchiopoda for vision at very low light intensities at variable ambient wavelengths that typify conditions in ephemeral freshwater habitats. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Perceptual “vowel spaces” of cochlear implant users: Implications for the study of auditory adaptation to spectral shift

PubMed Central

Harnsberger, James D.; Svirsky, Mario A.; Kaiser, Adam R.; Pisoni, David B.; Wright, Richard; Meyer, Ted A.

2012-01-01

Cochlear implant (CI) users differ in their ability to perceive and recognize speech sounds. Two possible reasons for such individual differences may lie in their ability to discriminate formant frequencies or to adapt to the spectrally shifted information presented by cochlear implants, a basalward shift related to the implant’s depth of insertion in the cochlea. In the present study, we examined these two alternatives using a method-of-adjustment (MOA) procedure with 330 synthetic vowel stimuli varying in F1 and F2 that were arranged in a two-dimensional grid. Subjects were asked to label the synthetic stimuli that matched ten monophthongal vowels in visually presented words. Subjects then provided goodness ratings for the stimuli they had chosen. The subjects’ responses to all ten vowels were used to construct individual perceptual “vowel spaces.” If CI users fail to adapt completely to the basalward spectral shift, then the formant frequencies of their vowel categories should be shifted lower in both F1 and F2. However, with one exception, no systematic shifts were observed in the vowel spaces of CI users. Instead, the vowel spaces differed from one another in the relative size of their vowel categories. The results suggest that differences in formant frequency discrimination may account for the individual differences in vowel perception observed in cochlear implant users. PMID:11386565

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eck, Thomas F.; Deering, Donald W.

1992-01-01

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

Gastroenteric cancers detection by Raman spectroscopy of human serum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiaozhou; Lin, Junxiu

2003-06-01

To investigate the spectral specialities of stomach cancer serum for diagnosis, fluorescence and Raman spectra of normal, stomach cancer, esophagus cancer and atophic gastritis sera were measured in the visible region in this study. All spectra except esophagus cancer were characterized by three sharp peaks. The intensity of each peak was different in different spectrum. After sampels were radiated by laser, fluorescence weakened along wiht red shift of its band center, and spectral changes of normal and stomach cancer cases were different from other samples. It was also observed that spectral changes of atophic gastritis were very similar with stomach cancer after radiated by laser, however, there are still some distinctions that can be used to differentiate them from each other. A notable difference is that the relative intensity of peak C excited by 488.0nm is higher than excited by 514.5nm in spectrum of stomach cancer, whereas lower in other cases. We utilized it as a criterion and got an accuracy of 80.77% in stomach cancer detection.

Spectral Indices of Faint Radio Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2015-01-01

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

Spectral discrimination of macrophyte species during different seasons in a tropical wetland using in-situ hyperspectral remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saluja, Ridhi; Garg, J. K.

2017-10-01

Wetlands, one of the most productive ecosystems on Earth, perform myriad ecological functions and provide a host of ecological services. Despite their ecological and economic values, wetlands have experienced significant degradation during the last century and the trend continues. Hyperspectral sensors provide opportunities to map and monitor macrophyte species within wetlands for their management and conservation. In this study, an attempt has been made to evaluate the potential of narrowband spectroradiometer data in discriminating wetland macrophytes during different seasons. main objectives of the research were (1) to determine whether macrophyte species could be discriminated based on in-situ hyperspectral reflectance collected over different seasons and at each measured waveband (400-950nm), (2) to compare the effectiveness of spectral reflectance and spectral indices in discriminating macrophyte species, and (3) to identify spectral wavelengths that are most sensitive in discriminating macrophyte species. Spectral characteristics of dominant wetland macrophyte species were collected seasonally using SVC GER 1500 portable spectroradiometer over the 400 to 1050nm spectral range at 1.5nm interval, at the Bhindawas wetland in the state of Haryana, India. Hyperspectral observations were pre-processed and subjected to statistical analysis, which involved a two-step approach including feature selection (ANOVA and KW test) and feature extraction (LDA and PCA). Statistical analysis revealed that the most influential wavelengths for discrimination were distributed along the spectral profile from visible to the near-infrared regions. The results suggest that hyperspectral data can be used discriminate wetland macrophyte species working as an effective tool for advanced mapping and monitoring of wetlands.

Multi-spectral observations of flares

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuccarello, F.

2016-11-01

Observations show that during solar flares radiation can be emitted across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, spanning from gamma rays to radio waves. These emissions, related to the conversion of magnetic energy into other forms of energy (kinetic, thermal, waves) through magnetic reconnection, are due to different physical processes that can occur in different layers of the Sun. This means that flare observations need to be carried out using instruments operating in different wave-bands in order to achieve a complete scenario of the processes going on. Taking into account that most of the radiative energy is emitted at optical and UV wavelengths, observations carried out from space, need to be complemented by observations carried out from ground-based telescopes. Nowadays, the possibility to carry on high temporal, spatial and spectral resolution from ground-based telescopes in coordinated campaigns with space-borne instruments (like, i.e., IRIS and HINODE) gives the opportunity to investigate the details of the flare emission at different wavelengths and can provide useful hints to understand these phenomena and compare observations with models. However, it is undoubted that sometimes the pointing to the flaring region is not an easy task, due to the necessity to provide the target coordinates to satellites with some hours in advance. Some problems arising from this issue will be discussed. Moreover, new projects related to flare catalogues and archives will be presented.

Characterizing ultraviolet and infrared observational properties for galaxies. II. Features of attenuation law

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

Mao, Ye-Wei; Kong, Xu; Lin, Lin, E-mail: ywmao@pmo.ac.cn, E-mail: xkong@ustc.edu.cn, E-mail: linlin@shao.ac.cn

Variations in the attenuation law have a significant impact on observed spectral energy distributions for galaxies. As one important observational property for galaxies at ultraviolet and infrared wavelength bands, the correlation between infrared-to-ultraviolet luminosity ratio and ultraviolet color index (or ultraviolet spectral slope), i.e., the IRX-UV relation (or IRX-β relation), offered a widely used formula for correcting dust attenuation in galaxies, but the usability appears to be in doubt now because of considerable dispersion in this relation found by many studies. In this paper, on the basis of spectral synthesis modeling and spatially resolved measurements of four nearby spiral galaxies,more » we provide an interpretation of the deviation in the IRX-UV relation with variations in the attenuation law. From both theoretical and observational viewpoints, two components in the attenuation curve, the linear background and the 2175 Å bump, are suggested to be the parameters in addition to the stellar population age (addressed in the first paper of this series) in the IRX-UV function; different features in the attenuation curve are diagnosed for the galaxies in our sample. Nevertheless, it is often difficult to ascertain the attenuation law for galaxies in actual observations. Possible reasons for preventing the successful detection of the parameters in the attenuation curve are also discussed in this paper, including the degeneracy of the linear background and the 2175 Å bump in observational channels, the requirement for young and dust-rich systems to study, and the difficulty in accurate estimates of dust attenuations at different wavelength bands.« less

Characterizing Ultraviolet and Infrared Observational Properties for Galaxies. II. Features of Attenuation Law

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Ye-Wei; Kong, Xu; Lin, Lin

2014-07-01

Variations in the attenuation law have a significant impact on observed spectral energy distributions for galaxies. As one important observational property for galaxies at ultraviolet and infrared wavelength bands, the correlation between infrared-to-ultraviolet luminosity ratio and ultraviolet color index (or ultraviolet spectral slope), i.e., the IRX-UV relation (or IRX-β relation), offered a widely used formula for correcting dust attenuation in galaxies, but the usability appears to be in doubt now because of considerable dispersion in this relation found by many studies. In this paper, on the basis of spectral synthesis modeling and spatially resolved measurements of four nearby spiral galaxies, we provide an interpretation of the deviation in the IRX-UV relation with variations in the attenuation law. From both theoretical and observational viewpoints, two components in the attenuation curve, the linear background and the 2175 Å bump, are suggested to be the parameters in addition to the stellar population age (addressed in the first paper of this series) in the IRX-UV function; different features in the attenuation curve are diagnosed for the galaxies in our sample. Nevertheless, it is often difficult to ascertain the attenuation law for galaxies in actual observations. Possible reasons for preventing the successful detection of the parameters in the attenuation curve are also discussed in this paper, including the degeneracy of the linear background and the 2175 Å bump in observational channels, the requirement for young and dust-rich systems to study, and the difficulty in accurate estimates of dust attenuations at different wavelength bands.

AVIRIS spectra of California wetlands

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gross, Michael F.; Ustin, Susan L.; Klemas, Vytautas

1988-01-01

Spectral data gathered by the AVIRIS from wetlands in the Suisun Bay area of California on 13 October 1987 were analyzed. Spectra representing stands of numerous vegetation types (including Sesuvium verrucosum, Scirpus acutus and Scirpus californicus, Xanthium strumarium, Cynadon dactylon, and Distichlis spicata) and soil were isolated. Despite some defects in the data, it was possible to detect vegetation features such as differences in the location of the chlorophyll red absorption maximum. Also, differences in cover type spectra were evident in other spectral regions. It was not possible to determine if the observed features represent noise, variability in canopy architecture, or chemical constituents of leaves.

The Effect of Blazar Spectral Breaks on the Blazar Contribution to the Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Background

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Venters, Tonia M.; Pavlidou, Vasiliki

2011-01-01

The spectral shapes of the contributions of different classes of unresolved gamma-ray emitters can provide insight into their relative contributions to the extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGB) and the natures of their spectra at GeV energies, We calculate the spectral shapes of the contributions to the EGB arising from BL Lacertae type objects (BL Lacs) and flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) assuming blazar spectra can be described as broken power laws, We fit the resulting total blazar spectral shape to the Fermi Large Area Telescope measurements of the EGB, finding that the best-fit shape reproduces well the shape of the Fermi EGB for various break scenarios. We conclude that a scenario in which the contribution of blazars is dominant cannot be excluded on spectral grounds alone, even if spectral breaks are shown to be common among Fermi blazars. We also find that while the observation of a featureless (within uncertainties) power-law EGB spectrum by Fermi does not necessarily imply a single class of contributing unresolved sources with featureless individual spectra, such an observation and the collective spectra of the separate contributing populations determine the ratios of their contributions. As such, a comparison with studies including blazar gamma-ray luminosity functions could have profound implications for the blazar contribution to the EGB, blazar evolution, and blazar gamma-ray spectra and emission.

Calibration of hyperspectral data aviation mode according with accompanying ground-based measurements of standard surfaces of observed scenes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ostrikov, V. N.; Plakhotnikov, O. V.

2014-12-01

Using considerable experimental material, we examine whether it is possible to recalculate the initial data of hyperspectral aircraft survey into spectral radiance factors (SRF). The errors of external calibration for various observation conditions and different instruments for data receiving are estimated.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Infrared Astrophysics with Spitzer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allamandola, L. J.; Hudgins, D. M.

2004-01-01

PAH spectral features are now being used as new probes of the ISM. PAH ionization states reflect the ionization balance of the medium while PAH size and structure reflect the energetic and chemical history of the medium. This paper will focus on recent applications of the NASA Ames PAH IR spectral Database to interpret astronomical observations made by the Spitzer Space telescope and other space based infrared instruments. Examples will be given showing how changes in the spectral characteristics of different objects reveal interstellar PAH characteristics such as structure, size and composition, as well as provide insight into the chemical history and physical nature of the emission zones.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klemas, V. (Principal Investigator)

1984-01-01

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

SPECTRAL ANALYSIS OF FERMI -LAT BLAZARS ABOVE 50 GEV

DOE PAGES

Domínguez, Alberto; Ajello, Marco

2015-11-04

We present an analysis of the intrinsic (unattenuated by the extragalactic background light, EBL) power-law spectral indices of 128 extragalactic sources detected up to z ~ 2 with the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) at very high energies (VHEs, E ≥50 GeV). The median of the intrinsic index distribution is 2.20 (versus 2.54 for the observed distribution). We also analyze the observed spectral breaks (i.e., the difference between the VHE and high energy, HE, 100 MeV ≤ E ≤ 300 GeV, spectral indices). The Fermi-LAT has now provided a large sample of sources detected both at VHE and HE with comparablemore » exposure that allows us to test models of extragalactic γ-ray photon propagation. We find that our data are compatible with simulations that include intrinsic blazar curvature and EBL attenuation. There is also no evidence of evolution with redshift of the physics that drives the photon emission in high-frequency synchrotron peak (HSP) blazars. This makes HSP blazars excellent probes of the EBL.« less

An initial model for estimating soybean development stages from spectral data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henderson, K. E.; Badhwar, G. D.

1982-01-01

A model, utilizing a direct relationship between remotely sensed spectral data and soybean development stage, has been proposed. The model is based upon transforming the spectral data in Landsat bands to greenness values over time and relating the area of this curve to soybean development stage. Soybean development stages were estimated from data acquired in 1978 from research plots at the Purdue University Agronomy Farm as well as Landsat data acquired over sample areas of the U.S. Corn Belt in 1978 and 1979. Analysis of spectral data from research plots revealed that the model works well with reasonable variation in planting date, row spacing, and soil background. The R-squared of calculated U.S. observed development stage exceeded 0.91 for all treatment variables. Using Landsat data the calculated U.S. observed development stage gave an R-squared of 0.89 in 1978 and 0.87 in 1979. No difference in the models performance could be detected between early and late planted fields, small and large fields, or high and low yielding fields.

Inversion technique for IR heterodyne sounding of stratospheric constituents from space platforms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbas, M. M.; Shapiro, G. L.; Alvarez, J. M.

1981-01-01

The techniques which have been employed for inversion of IR heterodyne measurements for remote sounding of stratospheric trace constituents usually rely on either geometric effects based on limb-scan observations (i.e., onion peel techniques) or spectral effects by using weighting functions corresponding to different frequencies of an IR spectral line. An experimental approach and inversion technique are discussed which optimize the retrieval of concentration profiles by combining the geometric and the spectral effects in an IR heterodyne receiver. The results of inversions of some synthetic CIO spectral lines corresponding to solar occultation limb scans of the stratosphere are presented, indicating considerable improvement in the accuracy of the retrieved profiles. The effects of noise on the accuracy of retrievals are discussed for realistic situations.

Inversion technique for IR heterodyne sounding of stratospheric constituents from space platforms.

PubMed

Abbas, M M; Shapiro, G L; Alvarez, J M

1981-11-01

The techniques which have been employed for inversion of IR heterodyne measurements for remote sounding of stratospheric trace constituents usually rely on either geometric effects based on limb-scan observations (i.e., onion peel techniques) or spectral effects by using weighting functions corresponding to different frequencies of an IR spectral line. An experimental approach and inversion technique are discussed which optimize the retrieval of concentration profiles by combining the geometric and the spectral effects in an IR heterodyne receiver. The results of inversions of some synthetic ClO spectral lines corresponding to solar occultation limb scans of the stratosphere are presented, indicating considerable improvement in the accuracy of the retrieved profiles. The effects of noise on the accuracy of retrievals are discussed for realistic situations.

Radiometric cross-calibration of EO-1 ALI with L7 ETM+ and Terra MODIS sensors using near-simultaneous desert observations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chander, Gyanesh; Angal, Amit; Choi, Taeyoung; Xiong, Xiaoxiong

2013-01-01

The Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite was launched on November 21, 2000, as part of a one-year technology demonstration mission. The mission was extended because of the value it continued to add to the scientific community. EO-1 has now been operational for more than a decade, providing both multispectral and hyperspectral measurements. As part of the EO-1 mission, the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) sensor demonstrates a potential technological direction for the next generation of Landsat sensors. To evaluate the ALI sensor capabilities as a precursor to the Operational Land Imager (OLI) onboard the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM, or Landsat 8 after launch), its measured top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reflectances were compared to the well-calibrated Landsat 7 (L7) Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) and the Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors in the reflective solar bands (RSB). These three satellites operate in a near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit 705 km above the Earth's surface. EO-1 was designed to fly one minute behind L7 and approximately 30 minutes in front of Terra. In this configuration, all the three sensors can view near-identical ground targets with similar atmospheric, solar, and viewing conditions. However, because of the differences in the relative spectral response (RSR), the measured physical quantities can be significantly different while observing the same target. The cross-calibration of ALI with ETM+ and MODIS was performed using near-simultaneous surface observations based on image statistics from areas observed by these sensors over four desert sites (Libya 4, Mauritania 2, Arabia 1, and Sudan 1). The differences in the measured TOA reflectances due to RSR mismatches were compensated by using a spectral band adjustment factor (SBAF), which takes into account the spectral profile of the target and the RSR of each sensor. For this study, the spectral profile of the target comes from the near-simultaneous EO-1 Hyperion data over these sites. The results indicate that the TOA reflectance measurements for ALI agree with those of ETM+ and MODIS to within 5% after the application of SBAF.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2014-05-01

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

X-ray observations of AM Herculis from OSO 8

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coe, M. J.; Dennis, B. R.; Dolan, J. F.; Crannell, C. J.; Frost, K. J.; Orwig, I. E.

1979-01-01

X-ray observations of the white dwarf binary system AM Herculis in the range 2 to 250 keV, taken by OSO 8, are presented and compared with balloon and Ariel 5 measurements. The composite spectrum of the 2 to 40 and 20 to 250 keV fluxes determined by the proportional counter and the high energy scintillation spectrometer, respectively, on board the satellite is shown averaged over the entire binary cycle. Variations in spectral shape and intensity between the OSO 8 results and balloon measurements taken 10 to 20 days apart are observed. Results indicate the presence of a spectral break at about 15 keV on some occasions, similar to that seen in Her X-1, however presumably caused by a different mechanism than in the neutron star. It is also considered unlikely that the gamma-ray tail observed by Ariel 5 existed during OSO 8 observations.

Three-dimensional spectral domain optical coherence tomography in X linked foveal retinoschisis

PubMed Central

Saxena, Sandeep; Manisha; Meyer, Carsten H

2013-01-01

Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) was performed in two cases of bilateral X linked foveal retinoschisis of different age groups. On fundus examination spoke wheel and honeycomb pattern of cysts were observed along with retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) defects. On SD-OCT, schisis was observed in the outer plexiform layer. External limiting membrane disruption was observed in the subfoveal area, along with disruption of outer nuclear layer (ONL) and inner–outer segment junction. Elevation of ONL due to tractional pull of central palisade was a novel observation. Retinoschisis extended beyond the optic disc up to the nasal region. Extracted RNFL tomogram presented an unprecedented visualisation of schisis along 360° of the optic disc. Tractional elevation in the foveal area and schisis involving nasal region, not observed upon clinical examination, was highlighted on SD-OCT. This investigative modality is an important adjunct in the assessment of foveal retinoschisis. PMID:23563673

Normalized spectral damage of a linear system over different spectral loading patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Chan-Jung

2017-08-01

Spectral fatigue damage is affected by different loading patterns; the damage may be accumulated in a different manner because the spectral pattern has an influence on stresses or strains. The normalization of spectral damage with respect to spectral loading acceleration is a novel solution to compare the accumulated fatigue damage over different spectral loading patterns. To evaluate the sensitivity of fatigue damage over different spectral loading cases, a simple notched specimen is used to conduct a uniaxial vibration test for two representative spectral patterns-random and harmonic-between 30 and 3000 Hz. The fatigue damage to the simple specimen is analyzed for different spectral loading cases using the normalized spectral damage from the measured response data for both acceleration and strain. The influence of spectral loading patterns is discussed based on these analyses.

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

PubMed

Doi, Ryoichi

2012-09-01

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

THE SDSS-III APOGEE SPECTRAL LINE LIST FOR H-BAND SPECTROSCOPY

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

Shetrone, M.; Bizyaev, D.; Chojnowski, D.

We present the H-band spectral line lists adopted by the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE). The APOGEE line lists comprise astrophysical, theoretical, and laboratory sources from the literature, as well as newly evaluated astrophysical oscillator strengths and damping parameters. We discuss the construction of the APOGEE line list, which is one of the critical inputs for the APOGEE Stellar Parameters and Chemical Abundances Pipeline, and present three different versions that have been used at various stages of the project. The methodology for the newly calculated astrophysical line lists is reviewed. The largest of these three line lists containsmore » 134,457 molecular and atomic transitions. In addition to the format adopted to store the data, the line lists are available in MOOG, Synspec, and Turbospectrum formats. The limitations of the line lists along with guidance for its use on different spectral types are discussed. We also present a list of H-band spectral features that are either poorly represented or completely missing in our line list. This list is based on the average of a large number of spectral fit residuals for APOGEE observations spanning a wide range of stellar parameters.« less

Results and Lessons from a Decade of Terra MODIS On-Orbit Spectral Characterization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xiong, X.; Choi, T.; Che, N.; Wang, Z.; Dodd, J.

2010-01-01

Since its launch in December 1999, the NASA EOS Terra MODIS has successfully operated for more than a decade. MODIS makes observations in 36 spectral bands from visible (VIS) to longwave infrared (LWIR) and at three nadir spatial resolutions: 250m (2 bands), 500m (5 bands), and 1km (29 bands). In addition to its on-board calibrators designed for the radiometric calibration, MODIS was built with a unique device, called the spectro-radiometric calibration assembly (SRCA). It can be configured in three different modes: radiometric, spatial, and spectral. When it is operated in the spectral modes, the SRCA can monitor changes in Sensor spectral performance for the VIS and near-infrared (NIR) spectral bands. For more than 10 years, the SRCA operation has continued to provide valuable information for MODIS on-orbit spectral performance. This paper briefly describes SRCA on-orbit operation and calibration activities; it presents decade-long spectral characterization results for Terra MODIS VIS and NIR spectral bands in terms of chances in their center wavelengths (CW) and bandwidths (BW). It is shown that the SRCA on-orbit wavelength calibration capability remains satisfactory. For most spectral bands, the changes in CW and BW are less than 0.5 and 1 nm, respectively. Results and lessons from Terra MODIS on-orbit spectral characterization have and will continue to benefit its successor, Aqua MODIS, and other future missions.

Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Asteroid(4) Vesta

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Jian-Yang; Bodewits, Dennis; Feaga, Lori M.; Landsman, Wayne; A'Hearn, Michael F.; Mutchler, Max J.; Russell, Christopher T.; McFadden, Lucy A.; Raymond, Carol A.

2011-01-01

We report a comprehensive review of the UV-visible spectrum and rotational lightcurve of Vesta combining new observations by Hubble Space Telescope and Swift with archival International Ultraviolet Explorer observations. The geometric albedos of Vesta from 220 nm to 953 nm arc derived by carefully comparing these observations from various instruments at different times and observing geometries. Vesta has a rotationally averaged geometric albedo of 0.09 at 250 nm, 0.14 at 300 nm, 0.26 at 373 nm, 0.38 at 673 nm, and 0.30 at 950 nm. The linear spectral slope in the ultraviolet displays a sharp minimum ncar sub-Earth longitude of 20deg, and maximum in the eastern hemisphere. This is completely consistent with the distribution of the spectral slope in the visible wavelength. The uncertainty of the measurement in the ultraviolet is approx.20%, and in the visible wavelengths better than 10%. The amplitude of Vesta's rotational lightcurves is approx.10% throughout the range of wavelengths we observed, but is smaller at 950 nm (approx.6%) ncar the 1-micron mafic band center. Contrary to earlier reports, we found no evidence for any difference between the phasing of the ultraviolet and visible/ncar-infrared lightcurves with respect to sub-Earth longitude. Vesta's average spectrum between 220 and 950 nm can well be described by measured reflectance spectra of fine particle howardite-like materials of basaltic achondrite meteorites. Combining this with the in-phase behavior of the ultraviolet, visible. and ncar-infrared lightcurves, and the spectral slopes with respect to the rotational phase, we conclude that there is no global ultraviolet/visible reversal on Vesta. Consequently, this implies lack of global space weathering on Vesta. Keyword,: Asteroid Vesta; Spectrophotometry; Spectroscopy; Ultraviolet observations; Hubble Space Telescope observations

Correlating non-linear properties with spectral states of RXTE data: possible observational evidences for four different accretion modes around compact objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adegoke, Oluwashina; Dhang, Prasun; Mukhopadhyay, Banibrata; Ramadevi, M. C.; Bhattacharya, Debbijoy

2018-05-01

By analysing the time series of RXTE/PCA data, the non-linear variabilities of compact sources have been repeatedly established. Depending on the variation in temporal classes, compact sources exhibit different non-linear features. Sometimes they show low correlation/fractal dimension, but in other classes or intervals of time they exhibit stochastic nature. This could be because the accretion flow around a compact object is a non-linear general relativistic system involving magnetohydrodynamics. However, the more conventional way of addressing a compact source is the analysis of its spectral state. Therefore, the question arises: What is the connection of non-linearity to the underlying spectral properties of the flow when the non-linear properties are related to the associated transport mechanisms describing the geometry of the flow? This work is aimed at addressing this question. Based on the connection between observed spectral and non-linear (time series) properties of two X-ray binaries: GRS 1915+105 and Sco X-1, we attempt to diagnose the underlying accretion modes of the sources in terms of known accretion classes, namely, Keplerian disc, slim disc, advection dominated accretion flow and general advective accretion flow. We explore the possible transition of the sources from one accretion mode to others with time. We further argue that the accretion rate must play an important role in transition between these modes.

Improvements of VIIRS and MODIS Solar Diffuser and Lunar Calibration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xiong, Xiaoxiong; Butler, James J.; Lei, Ning; Sun, Junqiang; Fulbright, Jon; Wang, Zhipeng; McIntire, Jeff; Angal, Amit Avinash

2013-01-01

Both VIIRS and MODIS instruments use solar diffuser (SD) and lunar observations to calibrate their reflective solar bands (RSB). A solar diffuser stability monitor (SDSM) is used to track the SD on-orbit degradation. On-orbit observations have shown similar wavelength-dependent SD degradation (larger at shorter VIS wavelengths) and SDSM detector response degradation (larger at longer NIR wavelengths) for both VIIRS and MODIS instruments. In general, the MODIS scan mirror has experienced more degradation in the VIS spectral region whereas the VIIRS rotating telescope assembly (RTA) mirrors have seen more degradation in the NIR and SWIR spectral region. Because of this wavelength dependent mirror degradation, the sensor's relative spectral response (RSR) needs to be modulated. Due to differences between the solar and lunar spectral irradiance, the modulated RSR could have different effects on the SD and lunar calibration. In this paper, we identify various factors that should be considered for the improvements of VIIRS and MODIS solar and lunar calibration and examine their potential impact. Specifically, we will characterize and assess the calibration impact due to SD and SDSM attenuation screen transmission (uncertainty), SD BRF uncertainty and onorbit degradation, SDSM detector response degradation, and modulated RSR resulting from the sensor's optics degradation. Also illustrated and discussed in this paper are the calibration strategies implemented in the VIIRS and MODIS SD and lunar calibrations and efforts that could be made for future improvements.

Physical characterization of Warm Spitzer-observed near-Earth objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Cristina A.; Emery, Joshua P.; Trilling, David E.; Delbó, Marco; Hora, Joseph L.; Mueller, Michael

2014-01-01

Near-infrared spectroscopy of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) connects diagnostic spectral features to specific surface mineralogies. The combination of spectroscopy with albedos and diameters derived from thermal infrared observations can increase the scientific return beyond that of the individual datasets. For instance, some taxonomic classes can be separated into distinct compositional groupings with albedo and different mineralogies with similar albedos can be distinguished with spectroscopy. To that end, we have completed a spectroscopic observing campaign to complement the ExploreNEOs Warm Spitzer program that obtained albedos and diameters of nearly 600 NEOs (Trilling, D.E. et al. [2010]. Astron. J. 140, 770-784. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/140/3/770). The spectroscopy campaign included visible and near-infrared observations of ExploreNEOs targets from various observatories. Here we present the results of observations using the low-resolution prism mode (˜0.7-2.5 μm) of the SpeX instrument on the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF). We also include near-infrared observations of ExploreNEOs targets from the MIT-UH-IRTF Joint Campaign for Spectral Reconnaissance. Our dataset includes near-infrared spectra of 187 ExploreNEOs targets (125 observations of 92 objects from our survey and 213 observations of 154 objects from the MIT survey). We identify a taxonomic class for each spectrum and use band parameter analysis to investigate the mineralogies for the S-, Q-, and V-complex objects. Our analysis suggests that for spectra that contain near-infrared data but lack the visible wavelength region, the Bus-DeMeo system misidentifies some S-types as Q-types. We find no correlation between spectral band parameters and ExploreNEOs albedos and diameters. We investigate the correlations of phase angle with Band Area Ratio and near-infrared spectral slope. We find slightly negative Band Area Ratio (BAR) correlations with phase angle for Eros and Ivar, but a positive BAR correlation with phase angle for Ganymed. The results of our phase angle study are consistent with those of (Sanchez, J.A., Reddy, V., Nathues, A., Cloutis, E.A., Mann, P., Hiesinger, H. [2012]. Icarus 220, 36-50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2012.04.008, arXiv:1205.0248). We find evidence for spectral phase reddening for Eros, Ganymed, and Ivar. We identify the likely ordinary chondrite type analog for an appropriate subset of our sample. Our resulting proportions of H, L, and LL ordinary chondrites differ from those calculated for meteorite falls and in previous studies of ordinary chondrite-like NEOs.

Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering studies of magnons and bimagnons in the lightly doped cuprate La 2 - x Sr x CuO 4

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

Chaix, L.; Huang, E. W.; Gerber, S.

Here, we investigated the doping dependence of magnetic excitations in the lightly doped cuprate La 2-xSr xCuO 4 via combined studies of resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the Cu L 3 edge and theoretical calculations. With increasing doping, the magnon dispersion is found to be essentially unchanged, but the spectral width broadens and the spectral weight varies differently at different momenta. Near the Brillouin zone center, we directly observe bimagnon excitations that possess the same energy scale and doping dependence as previously observed by Raman spectroscopy. They disperse weakly in energy-momentum space, and they are consistent with a bimagnonmore » dispersion that is renormalized by the magnon-magnon interaction at the zone center.« less

Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering studies of magnons and bimagnons in the lightly doped cuprate La 2 - x Sr x CuO 4

DOE PAGES

Chaix, L.; Huang, E. W.; Gerber, S.; ...

2018-04-20

Here, we investigated the doping dependence of magnetic excitations in the lightly doped cuprate La 2-xSr xCuO 4 via combined studies of resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the Cu L 3 edge and theoretical calculations. With increasing doping, the magnon dispersion is found to be essentially unchanged, but the spectral width broadens and the spectral weight varies differently at different momenta. Near the Brillouin zone center, we directly observe bimagnon excitations that possess the same energy scale and doping dependence as previously observed by Raman spectroscopy. They disperse weakly in energy-momentum space, and they are consistent with a bimagnonmore » dispersion that is renormalized by the magnon-magnon interaction at the zone center.« less

DEM analysis of FOXSI-2 microflare using AIA observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Athiray Panchapakesan, Subramania; Glesener, Lindsay; Vievering, Juliana; Camilo Buitrago-Casas, Juan; Christe, Steven; Inglis, Andrew; Krucker, Sam; Musset, Sophie

2017-08-01

The second flight of Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI) sounding rocket experiment was successfully completed on 11 December 2014. FOXSI makes direct imaging and spectral observation of the Sun in hard X-rays using grazing incidence optics modules which focus X-rays onto seven focal plane detectors kept at a 2m distance, in the energy range 4 to 20 keV, to study particle acceleration and coronal heating. Significant HXR emissions were observed by FOXSI during microflare events with A0.5 and A2.5 class, as classified by GOES, that occurred during FOXSI-2 flight.Spectral analysis of FOXSI data for these events indicate presence of plasma at higher temperatures (>10MK). We attempt to study the plasma content in the corona at different temperatures, characterized by the differential emission measure (DEM), over the FOXSI-2 observed flare regions using the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (SDO/AIA) data. We utilize AIA observations in different EUV filters that are sensitive to ionized iron lines, to determine the DEM by using a regularized inversion method. This poster will show the properties of hot plasma as derived from FOXSI-2 HXR spectra with supporting DEM analysis using AIA observations.

On the Relationship between Fourier and Response Spectra: Implications for the Adjustment of Empirical Ground-Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bora, Sanjay; Scherbaum, Frank; Kuehn, Nicolas; Stafford, Peter

2016-04-01

Often, scaling of response spectral amplitudes, (e.g., spectral acceleration) obtained from empirical ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs), with respect to commonly used seismological parameters such as magnitude, distance and site condition is assumed/referred to be representing a similar scaling of Fourier spectral amplitudes. For instance, the distance scaling of response spectral amplitudes is related with the geometrical spreading of seismic waves. Such comparison of scaling of response spectral amplitudes with that of corresponding Fourier spectral amplitudes is motivated by that, the functional forms of response spectral GMPEs are often derived using the concepts borrowed from Fourier spectral modeling of ground motion. As these GMPEs are subsequently calibrated with empirical observations, this may not appear to pose any major problems in the prediction of ground motion for a particular earthquake scenario. However, the assumption that the Fourier spectral concepts persist for response spectra can lead to undesirable consequences when it comes to the adjustment of response spectral GMPEs to represent conditions not covered in the original empirical data set. In this context, a couple of important questions arise, e.g., what are the distinctions and/or similarities between Fourier and response spectra of ground-motions? And, if they are different, then what is the mechanism responsible for such differences and how do adjustments that are made to FAS manifest in response spectra? We explore the relationship between the Fourier and response spectrum of ground motion by using random vibration theory (RVT). With a simple Brune (1970, 1971) source model, RVT-generated acceleration spectra for a fixed magnitude and distance scenario are used. The RVT analyses reveal that the scaling of low oscillator-frequency response spectral ordinates can be treated as being equivalent to the scaling of the corresponding Fourier spectral ordinates. However, the high oscillator-frequency response spectral ordinates are controlled by a rather wide-band of Fourier spectral ordinates. In fact, the peak ground acceleration (PGA), counter to the popular perception that it is a reflection of the high-frequency characteristics of ground motion, is controlled by the entire Fourier spectrum of ground-motion. Finally, it is demonstrated, how an adjustment made in Fourier spectral amplitudes is different or similar to the same adjustment made in the response spectral amplitudes. For this purpose, two cases: adjustments to the stress parameter (Δσ) (source term) and to attributes reflecting site response (V s-κ0) are considered.

Hyperspectral imagery for observing spectral signature change in Aspergillus flavus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DiCrispino, Kevin; Yao, Haibo; Hruska, Zuzana; Brabham, Kori; Lewis, David; Beach, Jim; Brown, Robert L.; Cleveland, Thomas E.

2005-11-01

Aflatoxin contaminated corn is dangerous for domestic animals when used as feed and cause liver cancer when consumed by human beings. Therefore, the ability to detect A. flavus and its toxic metabolite, aflatoxin, is important. The objective of this study is to measure A. flavus growth using hyperspectral technology and develop spectral signatures for A. flavus. Based on the research group's previous experiments using hyperspectral imaging techniques, it has been confirmed that the spectral signature of A. flavus is unique and readily identifiable against any background or surrounding surface and among other fungal strains. This study focused on observing changes in the A. flavus spectral signature over an eight-day growth period. The study used a visible-near-infrared hyperspectral image system for data acquisition. This image system uses focal plane pushbroom scanning for high spatial and high spectral resolution imaging. Procedures previously developed by the research group were used for image calibration and image processing. The results showed that while A. flavus gradually progressed along the experiment timeline, the day-to-day surface reflectance of A. flavus displayed significant difference in discreet regions of the wavelength spectrum. External disturbance due to environmental changes also altered the growth and subsequently changed the reflectance patterns of A. flavus.

THE HUBBLE WIDE FIELD CAMERA 3 TEST OF SURFACES IN THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM: SPECTRAL VARIATION ON KUIPER BELT OBJECTS

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

Fraser, Wesley C.; Brown, Michael E.; Glass, Florian, E-mail: wesley.fraser@nrc.ca

2015-05-01

Here, we present additional photometry of targets observed as part of the Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) Test of Surfaces in the Outer Solar System. Twelve targets were re-observed with the WFC3 in the optical and NIR wavebands designed to complement those used during the first visit. Additionally, all of the observations originally presented by Fraser and Brown were reanalyzed through the same updated photometry pipeline. A re-analysis of the optical and NIR color distribution reveals a bifurcated optical color distribution and only two identifiable spectral classes, each of which occupies a broad range of colors and has correlatedmore » optical and NIR colors, in agreement with our previous findings. We report the detection of significant spectral variations on five targets which cannot be attributed to photometry errors, cosmic rays, point-spread function or sensitivity variations, or other image artifacts capable of explaining the magnitude of the variation. The spectrally variable objects are found to have a broad range of dynamical classes and absolute magnitudes, exhibit a broad range of apparent magnitude variations, and are found in both compositional classes. The spectrally variable objects with sufficiently accurate colors for spectral classification maintain their membership, belonging to the same class at both epochs. 2005 TV189 exhibits a sufficiently broad difference in color at the two epochs that span the full range of colors of the neutral class. This strongly argues that the neutral class is one single class with a broad range of colors, rather than the combination of multiple overlapping classes.« less

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-12-01

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

Spectral characterization of V-type asteroids - I. Space weathering effects and implications for V-type NEAs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fulvio, Daniele; Perna, Davide; Ieva, Simone; Brunetto, Rosario; Kanuchova, Zuzana; Blanco, Carlo; Strazzulla, Giovanni; Dotto, Elisabetta

2016-01-01

Among main belt asteroids, V-types belonging to Vesta's dynamical family are known as `Vestoids' while those lying outside Vesta's family as `non-Vestoids'. V-types have also been found within the population of Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs). Several questions on Vesta, the V-types, and the Howardite-Eucrite-Diogenite meteorites are still unsolved, such as the genesis of each class/subclass, their evolution and mutual relationship, and the existence of other basaltic parent bodies. We present new NIR (0.8-2.4 μm) spectroscopic observations of seven non-Vestoids, carried out at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG - INAF). We derived a number of spectral parameters (BI and BII centres, band separations, and BI slopes) and compared them with available spectra of V-types belonging to different subclasses (102 V-types in total), to highlight possible spectral differences useful to shed light on the questions mentioned above. We also considered the data from ion irradiation experiments performed on different samples of eucrites, simulating space weathering effects. Net discrepancies are seen for the BI slope distributions: NEAs show a distribution strongly different from all other V-type subclasses. Ion irradiation experiments induce strong effects on BI slope values and, as irradiation proceeds, the BI slope of eucrites quickly increases, changing the overall aspect of their VIS-NIR spectra (0.4-2.5 μm). Space weathering may explain the whole range of spectral slopes observed for all V-type subclasses. An exception is represented by NEAs, where moderate space weathering effects are evidenced. We propose that this is due to tidal perturbations exposing `fresh' unweathered surface grains during close encounters with the Earth, as previously found for Q-type NEAs.

Evaluation of heart rate variability indices using a real-time handheld remote ECG monitor.

PubMed

Singh, Swaroop S; Carlson, Barbara W; Hsiao, Henry S

2007-12-01

Studies on retrospective electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings of patients during cardiac arrest have shown significant changes in heart rate variability (HRV) indices prior to the onset of cardiac arrhythmia. The early detection of these changes in HRV indices increases the chances for a successful medical intervention by increasing the response time window. A portable, handheld remote ECG monitor designed in this research detects the QRS complex and calculates short-term HRV indices in real-time. The QRS detection of the ECG recordings of subjects from the MIT-Arrhythmia database yielded a mean sensitivity of 99.34% and a specificity of 99.31%. ECG recordings from normal subjects and subjects with congestive heart failure were used to identify the differences in HRV indices. An increase in heart rate, high-frequency spectral power (HFP), total spectral power, the ratio of HFP to low-frequency spectral power (LFP), and a decrease in root mean square sum of RR differences were observed. No difference was found on comparison of the standard deviation of normal to normal interval between adjacent R-waves, LFP, and very-low-frequency spectral power. Based on these, additional analytical calculations could be made to provide early warnings of impending cardiac conditions.

Spectral characterization of volcanic rocks in the VIS-NIR for martian exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Angelis, Simone; Carli, Cristian; Manzari, Paola; De Sanctis, Maria Cristina; Capaccioni, Fabrizio

2016-10-01

Igneous effusive rocks cover much of the surface of Mars [1,2,3]. Initially only two types of lithologies were thought to constitute the Martian crust, i.e. a basaltic one and a more andesitic one [1,2], while more evolved lithologies were ruled out.Nevertheless a more complex situation is appearing in the last years. Recently several observations have highlighted the presence of evolved, acidic rocks. High-silica dacite units were identified in Syrtis Major caldera by thermal IR data [4]. Outcrops in Noachis Terra were interpreted as constituted of felsic (i.e. feldspar-rich) rocks essentially by the observation of a 1.3-µm spectral feature in CRISM data, attributed to Fe2+ in feldspars [5]. However different interpretations exist, invoking plagioclase-enriched basalts [6] rather than felsic products.The increasing of high-resolution and in-situ rover-based observations datasets and the changing of the initial paradigm justify a new systematic spectral study of igneous effusive rocks. In this work we focus on the spectral characterization of volcanic effusive rocks in the 0.35-2.5-µm range. We are carrying out measurements and spectral analyses on a wide ensemble of effusive samples, from mafic to sialic, with variable alkali contents, following the classification in the Total-Alkali-Silica diagram, and discussing the influence on spectral characteristics of different mineral assemblages and/or texture ([7], [8]). [1] Bandfield J.L., et al., Science, 287, 1626, 2000; [2] Christensen P.R., et al., J. Geophys. Res., 105, N.E4, 9609-9621, 2000; [3] Ehlmann B.L. & Edwards C.S., Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 42, 291-315, 2014; [4] Christensen P.R., et al., Nature, 436, 504-509, 2005; [5] Wray J.J., et al., 44th LPSC, abs. n.3065, 2013; [6] Rogers A.D. & Nekvasil H., Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 2619-2626, 2015; [7] Carli C. and Sgavetti M.,Icarus, 211, 1034-1048, 2011; [7] Carli C. et al., SGL, doi 10.1144/SP401.19, 2015.

GOSAT TIR spectral validation with High/Low temperature target using Aircraft base-FTS S-HIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kataoka, F.; Knuteson, R.; Taylor, J. K.; Kuze, A.; Shiomi, K.; Suto, H.; Yoshida, J.

2017-12-01

The Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) was launched on January 2009. The GOSAT is equipped with TANSO-FTS (Fourier-Transform Spectrometer), which observe reflected solar radiation from the Earth's surface with shortwave infrared (SWIR) band and thermal emission from the Earth's surface and atmosphere with thermal infrared (TIR) band. The TIR band cover wide spectral range (650 - 1800 [cm-1]) with a high spectral resolution (0.2 [cm-1]). The TIR spectral information provide vertical distribution of CO2 and CH4. GOSAT has been operation more than eight years. In this long operation, GOSAT had experienced two big accidents; Rotation of one of the solar paddles stopped and sudden TANSO-FTS operation stop in May 2014 and cryocooler shutdown and restart in August - September 2015. These events affected the operation condition of the TIR photo-conductive (PC)-MCT detector. FTS technology using multiplex wide spectra needs wide dynamic range. PC detector has nonlinearity. Its correction needs accurate estimation of time-dependent offset. In current TIR Level 1B product version (V201), the non-photon level offset (Vdc_offset) estimated from on-orbit deep space calibration data and pre-launch background radiation model. But the background radiation and detector temperature have changed after cryocooler shutdown events. These changes are too small to detect from onboard temperature sensors. The next TIR Level 1B product uses cross calibration data together with deep space calibration data and instrument radiation model has been updated. This work describes the evaluation of new TIR Level 1B spectral quality with aircraft-based FTS; Scanning High-resolution Interferometer Sounder (S-HIS). The S-HIS mounted on the high-altitude ER-2 aircraft and flew at about 20km altitude. Because the observation geometry of GOSAT and S-HIS are quite different, we used the double difference method using atmospheric transfer model. GOSAT TIR band cover wide dynamic range, so we check the TIR spectral quality at high/low temperature target. (ex, desert, bare soil and ice sheet).

Impact of spectral nudging on regional climate simulation over CORDEX East Asia using WRF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Jianping; Wang, Shuyu; Niu, Xiaorui; Hui, Pinhong; Zong, Peishu; Wang, Xueyuan

2017-04-01

In this study, the impact of the spectral nudging method on regional climate simulation over the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment East Asia (CORDEX-EA) region is investigated using the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF). Driven by the ERA-Interim reanalysis, five continuous simulations covering 1989-2007 are conducted by the WRF model, in which four runs adopt the interior spectral nudging with different wavenumbers, nudging variables and nudging coefficients. Model validation shows that WRF has the ability to simulate spatial distributions and temporal variations of the surface climate (air temperature and precipitation) over CORDEX-EA domain. Comparably the spectral nudging technique is effective in improving the model's skill in the following aspects: (1), the simulated biases and root mean square errors of annual mean temperature and precipitation are obviously reduced. The SN3-UVT (spectral nudging with wavenumber 3 in both zonal and meridional directions applied to U, V and T) and SN6 (spectral nudging with wavenumber 6 in both zonal and meridional directions applied to U and V) experiments give the best simulations for temperature and precipitation respectively. The inter-annual and seasonal variances produced by the SN experiments are also closer to the ERA-Interim observation. (2), the application of spectral nudging in WRF is helpful for simulating the extreme temperature and precipitation, and the SN3-UVT simulation shows a clear advantage over the other simulations in depicting both the spatial distributions and inter-annual variances of temperature and precipitation extremes. With the spectral nudging, WRF is able to preserve the variability in the large scale climate information, and therefore adjust the temperature and precipitation variabilities toward the observation.

Multiwavelength study of accretion-powered pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nespoli, Elisa

2010-11-01

This thesis consists in a multi-frequency approach to High Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs), using infrared and X-ray data. On one side, the project aimed at the identification and characterization of IR counterparts to obscured HMXBs in the Scutum and Norma inner galactic arms. The identification of optical/IR counterparts to HMXBs is a necessary step to undertake detailed studies of these systems. With data limited to the high-energy range, the understanding of their complex structure and dynamics cannot be complete. In the last years, INTEGRAL has revealed the presence of an important population of heavily absorbed HMXBs in the Scutum and Norma regions, virtually unobservable below 4 keV. Optical counterparts to these obscured sources are hardly observable, due to the high interstellar extinction. Candidate counterparts to HMXBs were selected by means of a photometric search for emission-line stars in the error boxes of the X-ray sources detected by INTEGRAL. With this objective, I built up (Brγ-K)-(H-K) and (HeI-K)-(H-K) IR color-color diagrams, in which emission-line stars are expected to show up below the absorption-line stars sequence. I applied this technique to search for counterparts to Be/XRBs, whose transient nature prevents the counterpart identification with follow-up X-ray observations with high spatial resolution. For each field, one to four candidate counterparts were identified. I also took spectra of proposed counterparts. The confirmation and spectral classifications of the systems led to unveil the nature of nine INTEGRAL objects. On the other hand, this work intended to provide for the first time a systematic study of four Be/XRBs during giant (type II) outbursts. I employed RXTE data, applying the three techniques of color-color/hardness-intensity diagrams (CD/HID), spectral fitting and Fourier power-spectral analysis, simultaneously, and using the retrieved results and correlations to try to define and characterize spectral states for this class of systems. In this way I followed both a model-independent (CD/HID) and model-dependent approach (spectral fits) to investigate the rapid aperiodic variability as a function of spectral sates in HMXBs. I obtained lightcurves, energy and power spectra for a total number of 320 observations. From X-ray colors, spectral and timing fitting, I clearly identified in all the four systems two different spectral states, i.e. the Diagonal Branch (DB) and Horizontal Branch (HB). The HB corresponds to a lower-flux state, with larger rms than the DB. Also, the power-law photon index decreases with flux in the HB, while stays constant or increases in the DB. The HB shows lower characteristic frequencies of the noise components than in the DB. The cyclotron resonant scattering features are generally associated with the DB, while absent or weaker during the DB. We showed how the transition between the two states may correspond to the transition from the standing shock emission to the thermal mound emission due to the turning point from super-Eddington luminosity regime (DB) to sub-Eddington luminosity regime (HB). From color, spectral and timing point of view, differences among systems easily distinguishes two subgroups, with the slower pulsars, KS 1947+300 and EXO2030+375, on one side, and the faster ones, 4U 0115+63 and V 0332+53, on the other. The first group is characterized by softer spectra in the HB compared with the other systems. Hysteresis is not observed in the slower pulsars, while it is evident in V 0332+53 and 4U 0115+63. Cyclotron resonant scattering features are crucial in the spectral shape of V 0332+53 and 4U 0115+63, where also a harmonic is observed in the 3-30 keV energy range. They are instead absent or very weak in the first group. According to timing features, a strong difference between the two groups is the presence of QPOs in the faster pulsars.

Broadband spectral fitting of blazars using XSPEC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahayanathan, Sunder; Sinha, Atreyee; Misra, Ranjeev

2018-03-01

The broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) of blazars is generally interpreted as radiation arising from synchrotron and inverse Compton mechanisms. Traditionally, the underlying source parameters responsible for these emission processes, like particle energy density, magnetic field, etc., are obtained through simple visual reproduction of the observed fluxes. However, this procedure is incapable of providing confidence ranges for the estimated parameters. In this work, we propose an efficient algorithm to perform a statistical fit of the observed broadband spectrum of blazars using different emission models. Moreover, we use the observable quantities as the fit parameters, rather than the direct source parameters which govern the resultant SED. This significantly improves the convergence time and eliminates the uncertainty regarding initial guess parameters. This approach also has an added advantage of identifying the degenerate parameters, which can be removed by including more observable information and/or additional constraints. A computer code developed based on this algorithm is implemented as a user-defined routine in the standard X-ray spectral fitting package, XSPEC. Further, we demonstrate the efficacy of the algorithm by fitting the well sampled SED of blazar 3C 279 during its gamma ray flare in 2014.

Toward Global Mapping of Methane With TROPOMI: First Results and Intersatellite Comparison to GOSAT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Haili; Landgraf, Jochen; Detmers, Rob; Borsdorff, Tobias; Aan de Brugh, Joost; Aben, Ilse; Butz, André; Hasekamp, Otto

2018-04-01

The TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), launched on 13 October 2017, aboard the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite, measures reflected sunlight in the ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, and shortwave infrared spectral range. It enables daily global mapping of key atmospheric species for monitoring air quality and climate. We present the first methane observations from November and December 2017, using TROPOMI radiance measurements in the shortwave infrared band around 2.3 μm. We compare our results with the methane product obtained from the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT). Although different spectral ranges and retrieval methods are used, we find excellent agreement between the methane products acquired from the two satellites with a mean difference of 13.6 ppb, standard deviation of 19.6 ppb, and Pearson's correlation coefficient of 0.95. Our preliminary results capture the latitudinal gradient and show expected regional enhancements, for example, in the African Sudd wetlands, with much more detail than has been observed before.

Observations of M87 and Hydra A at 90 GHz

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cotton, W. D.; Mason, B. S.; Dicker, S.; Korngut, P.; Devlin, M. J.; Aquirre, J.; Benford, D.; Moseley, H.; Staguhn, J.; Irwin, K.;

Nuclear Radio Jet from a Low-luminosity Active Galactic Nucleus in NGC 4258

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doi, Akihiro; Kohno, Kotaro; Nakanishi, Kouichiro; Kameno, Seiji; Inoue, Makoto; Hada, Kazuhiro; Sorai, Kazuo

2013-03-01

The nearby low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (LLAGN) NGC 4258 has a weak radio continuum component at the galactic center. We investigate its radio spectral properties on the basis of our new observations using the Nobeyama Millimeter Array at 100 GHz and archival data from the Very Large Array at 1.7-43 GHz and the James Clerk Maxwell telescope at 347 GHz. The NGC 4258 nuclear component exhibits (1) an intra-month variable and complicated spectral feature at 5-22 GHz and (2) a slightly inverted spectrum at 5-100 GHz (α ~ 0.3; F νvpropνα) in time-averaged flux densities, which are also apparent in the closest LLAGN M81. These similarities between NGC 4258 and M81 in radio spectral natures in addition to previously known core shift in their AU-scale jet structures produce evidence that the same mechanism drives their nuclei. We interpret the observed spectral property as the superposition of emission spectra originating at different locations with frequency-dependent opacity along the nuclear jet. Quantitative differences between NGC 4258 and M81 in terms of jet/counter jet ratio, radio loudness, and degree of core shift can be consistently understood by fairly relativistic speeds (Γ >~ 3) of jets and their quite different inclinations. The picture established from the two closest LLAGNs is useful for understanding the physical origin of unresolved and flat/inverted spectrum radio cores that are prevalently found in LLAGNs, including Sgr A*, with starved supermassive black holes in the present-day universe.

On lamps, walls, and eyes: The spectral radiance field and the evaluation of light pollution indoors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bará, Salvador; Escofet, Jaume

2018-01-01

Light plays a key role in the regulation of different physiological processes, through several visual and non-visual retinal phototransduction channels whose basic features are being unveiled by recent research. The growing body of evidence on the significance of these effects has sparked a renewed interest in the determination of the light field at the entrance pupil of the eye in indoor spaces. Since photic interactions are strongly wavelength-dependent, a significant effort is being devoted to assess the relative merits of the spectra of the different types of light sources available for use at home and in the workplace. The spectral content of the light reaching the observer eyes in indoor spaces, however, does not depend exclusively on the sources: it is partially modulated by the spectral reflectance of the walls and surrounding surfaces, through the multiple reflections of the light beams along all possible paths from the source to the observer. This modulation can modify significantly the non-visual photic inputs that would be produced by the lamps alone, and opens the way for controlling-to a certain extent-the subject's exposure to different regions of the optical spectrum. In this work we evaluate the expected magnitude of this effect and we show that, for factorizable sources, the spectral modulation can be conveniently described in terms of a set of effective filter-like functions that provide useful insights for lighting design and light pollution assessment. The radiance field also provides a suitable bridge between indoor and outdoor light pollution studies.

The variations of oxygen emissions in corresponding to Earth's aurora in low latitude region under influence of solar wind dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamlongkul, P.; Wannawichian, S.

2017-12-01

Earth's aurora in low latitude region was studied via time variations of oxygen emission spectra, simultaneously with solar wind data. The behavior of spectrum intensity, in corresponding with solar wind condition, could be a trace of aurora in low latitude region including some effects of high energetic auroral particles. Oxygen emission spectral lines were observed by Medium Resolution Echelle Spectrograph (MRES) at 2.4-m diameter telescope at Thai National Observatory, Inthanon Mountain, Chiang Mai, Thailand, during 1-5 LT on 5 and 6 February 2017. The observed spectral lines were calibrated via Dech95 - 2D image processing program and Dech-Fits spectra processing program for spectrum image processing and spectrum wavelength calibration, respectively. The variations of observed intensities each day were compared with solar wind parameters, which are magnitude of IMF (|BIMF|) including IMF in RTN coordinate (BR, BT, BN), ion density (ρ), plasma flow pressure (P), and speed (v). The correlation coefficients between oxygen spectral emissions and different solar wind parameters were found to vary in both positive and negative behaviors.

Structure of selected basic zinc/copper (II) phosphate minerals based upon near-infrared spectroscopy--implications for hydrogen bonding.

PubMed

Frost, Ray L; Reddy, B Jagannadha; Palmer, Sara J; Keeffe, Eloise C

2011-03-01

The NIR spectra of reichenbachite, scholzite and parascholzite have been studied at 298 K. The spectra of the minerals are different, in line with composition and crystal structural variations. Cation substitution effects are significant in their electronic spectra and three distinctly different electronic transition bands are observed in the near-infrared spectra at high wavenumbers in the 12,000-7600 cm(-1) spectral region. Reichenbachite electronic spectrum is characterised by Cu(II) transition bands at 9755 and 7520 cm(-1). A broad spectral feature observed for ferrous ion in the 12,000-9000 cm(-1) region both in scholzite and parascholzite. Some what similarities in the vibrational spectra of the three phosphate minerals are observed particularly in the OH stretching region. The observation of strong band at 5090 cm(-1) indicates strong hydrogen bonding in the structure of the dimorphs, scholzite and parascholzite. The three phosphates exhibit overlapping bands in the 4800-4000 cm(-1) region resulting from the combinations of vibrational modes of (PO(4))(3-) units. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Getting It Right Matters: Climate Spectra and Their Estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Privalsky, Victor; Yushkov, Vladislav

2018-06-01

In many recent publications, climate spectra estimated with different methods from observed, GCM-simulated, and reconstructed time series contain many peaks at time scales from a few years to many decades and even centuries. However, respective spectral estimates obtained with the autoregressive (AR) and multitapering (MTM) methods showed that spectra of climate time series are smooth and contain no evidence of periodic or quasi-periodic behavior. Four order selection criteria for the autoregressive models were studied and proven sufficiently reliable for 25 time series of climate observations at individual locations or spatially averaged at local-to-global scales. As time series of climate observations are short, an alternative reliable nonparametric approach is Thomson's MTM. These results agree with both the earlier climate spectral analyses and the Markovian stochastic model of climate.

A theoretical and observational study of the Red Giant Branch phase transition in Magellanic Cloud clusters - A progress report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buonanno, R.; Corsi, C. E.; Fusi Pecci, F.; Greggio, L.; Renzini, A.; Sweigart, A. V.

1986-01-01

Preliminary results are reported for an investigation comparing theoretical models of the sudden appearance of an extended RGB (and its effects on the spectral energy distributions of stellar populations) with data from ESO CCD observations of clusters in the LMC and SMC. Isochrones for the entire RGB are being constructed on the basis of 100 new evolutionary sequences (calculated using the evolution code of Sweigart and Gross, 1976 and 1978) to permit determination of synthetic colors and spectral energy distributions. The observations so far indicate a main sequence about 0.1 mag redder than that predicted by the present models or by the isochrones of VandenBerg and Bell (1985), and fail to show a B-V color difference at the RGB phase transition.

Elastic and Inelastic Light Scattering by Microdroplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huckaby, James Longinus

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

Time-resolved multispectral imaging of combustion reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huot, Alexandrine; Gagnon, Marc-André; Jahjah, Karl-Alexandre; Tremblay, Pierre; Savary, Simon; Farley, Vincent; Lagueux, Philippe; Guyot, Éric; Chamberland, Martin; Marcotte, Frédérick

2015-10-01

Thermal infrared imaging is a field of science that evolves rapidly. Scientists have used for years the simplest tool: thermal broadband cameras. These allow to perform target characterization in both the longwave (LWIR) and midwave (MWIR) infrared spectral range. Infrared thermal imaging is used for a wide range of applications, especially in the combustion domain. For example, it can be used to follow combustion reactions, in order to characterize the injection and the ignition in a combustion chamber or even to observe gases produced by a flare or smokestack. Most combustion gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), selectively absorb/emit infrared radiation at discrete energies, i.e. over a very narrow spectral range. Therefore, temperatures derived from broadband imaging are not reliable without prior knowledge of spectral emissivity. This information is not directly available from broadband images. However, spectral information is available using spectral filters. In this work, combustion analysis was carried out using a Telops MS-IR MW camera, which allows multispectral imaging at a high frame rate. A motorized filter wheel allowing synchronized acquisitions on eight (8) different channels was used to provide time-resolved multispectral imaging of combustion products of a candle in which black powder has been burnt to create a burst. It was then possible to estimate the temperature by modeling spectral profiles derived from information obtained with the different spectral filters. Comparison with temperatures obtained using conventional broadband imaging illustrates the benefits of time-resolved multispectral imaging for the characterization of combustion processes.

Time-resolved multispectral imaging of combustion reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huot, Alexandrine; Gagnon, Marc-André; Jahjah, Karl-Alexandre; Tremblay, Pierre; Savary, Simon; Farley, Vincent; Lagueux, Philippe; Guyot, Éric; Chamberland, Martin; Marcotte, Fréderick

2015-05-01

Thermal infrared imaging is a field of science that evolves rapidly. Scientists have used for years the simplest tool: thermal broadband cameras. This allows to perform target characterization in both the longwave (LWIR) and midwave (MWIR) infrared spectral range. Infrared thermal imaging is used for a wide range of applications, especially in the combustion domain. For example, it can be used to follow combustion reactions, in order to characterize the injection and the ignition in a combustion chamber or even to observe gases produced by a flare or smokestack. Most combustion gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) selectively absorb/emit infrared radiation at discrete energies, i.e. over a very narrow spectral range. Therefore, temperatures derived from broadband imaging are not reliable without prior knowledge about spectral emissivity. This information is not directly available from broadband images. However, spectral information is available using spectral filters. In this work, combustion analysis was carried out using Telops MS-IR MW camera which allows multispectral imaging at a high frame rate. A motorized filter wheel allowing synchronized acquisitions on eight (8) different channels was used to provide time-resolved multispectral imaging of combustion products of a candle in which black powder has been burnt to create a burst. It was then possible to estimate the temperature by modeling spectral profile derived from information obtained with the different spectral filters. Comparison with temperatures obtained using conventional broadband imaging illustrates the benefits of time-resolved multispectral imaging for the characterization of combustion processes.

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

Loehle, Stefan; Zander, Fabian; Hermann, Tobias

Three different types of rocks were tested in a high enthalpy air plasma flow. Two terrestrial rocks, basalt and argillite, and an ordinary chondrite, with a 10 mm diameter cylindrical shape were tested in order to observe decomposition, potential fragmentation, and spectral signature. The goal was to simulate meteoroid ablation to interpret meteor observation and compare these observations with ground based measurements. The test flow with a local mass-specific enthalpy of 70 MJ kg{sup −1} results in a surface heat flux at the meteorite fragment surface of approximately 16 MW m{sup −2}. The stagnation pressure is 24 hPa, which correspondsmore » to a flight condition in the upper atmosphere around 80 km assuming an entry velocity of 10 km s{sup −1}. Five different diagnostic methods were applied simultaneously to characterize the meteorite fragmentation and destruction in the ground test: short exposure photography, regular video, high-speed imaging with 10 kHz frame rate, thermography, and Echelle emission spectroscopy. This is the first time that comprehensive testing of various meteorite fragments under the same flow condition was conducted. The data sets indeed show typical meteorite ablation behavior. The cylindrically shaped fragments melt and evaporate within about 4 s. The spectral data allow the identification of the material from the spectra which is of particular importance for future spectroscopic meteor observations. For the tested ordinary chondrite sample a comparison to an observed meteor spectra shows good agreement. The present data show that this testing methodology reproduces the ablation phenomena of meteoritic material alongside the corresponding spectral signatures.« less

Experimental Simulation of Meteorite Ablation during Earth Entry using a Plasma Wind Tunnel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loehle, Stefan; Zander, Fabian; Hermann, Tobias; Eberhart, Martin; Meindl, Arne; Oefele, Rainer; Vaubaillon, Jeremie; Colas, Francois; Vernazza, Pierre; Drouard, Alexis; Gattacceca, Jerome

2017-03-01

Three different types of rocks were tested in a high enthalpy air plasma flow. Two terrestrial rocks, basalt and argillite, and an ordinary chondrite, with a 10 mm diameter cylindrical shape were tested in order to observe decomposition, potential fragmentation, and spectral signature. The goal was to simulate meteoroid ablation to interpret meteor observation and compare these observations with ground based measurements. The test flow with a local mass-specific enthalpy of 70 MJ kg-1 results in a surface heat flux at the meteorite fragment surface of approximately 16 MW m-2. The stagnation pressure is 24 hPa, which corresponds to a flight condition in the upper atmosphere around 80 km assuming an entry velocity of 10 km s-1. Five different diagnostic methods were applied simultaneously to characterize the meteorite fragmentation and destruction in the ground test: short exposure photography, regular video, high-speed imaging with 10 kHz frame rate, thermography, and Echelle emission spectroscopy. This is the first time that comprehensive testing of various meteorite fragments under the same flow condition was conducted. The data sets indeed show typical meteorite ablation behavior. The cylindrically shaped fragments melt and evaporate within about 4 s. The spectral data allow the identification of the material from the spectra which is of particular importance for future spectroscopic meteor observations. For the tested ordinary chondrite sample a comparison to an observed meteor spectra shows good agreement. The present data show that this testing methodology reproduces the ablation phenomena of meteoritic material alongside the corresponding spectral signatures.

Reflectance Prediction Modelling for Residual-Based Hyperspectral Image Coding

PubMed Central

Xiao, Rui; Gao, Junbin; Bossomaier, Terry

2016-01-01

A Hyperspectral (HS) image provides observational powers beyond human vision capability but represents more than 100 times the data compared to a traditional image. To transmit and store the huge volume of an HS image, we argue that a fundamental shift is required from the existing “original pixel intensity”-based coding approaches using traditional image coders (e.g., JPEG2000) to the “residual”-based approaches using a video coder for better compression performance. A modified video coder is required to exploit spatial-spectral redundancy using pixel-level reflectance modelling due to the different characteristics of HS images in their spectral and shape domain of panchromatic imagery compared to traditional videos. In this paper a novel coding framework using Reflectance Prediction Modelling (RPM) in the latest video coding standard High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) for HS images is proposed. An HS image presents a wealth of data where every pixel is considered a vector for different spectral bands. By quantitative comparison and analysis of pixel vector distribution along spectral bands, we conclude that modelling can predict the distribution and correlation of the pixel vectors for different bands. To exploit distribution of the known pixel vector, we estimate a predicted current spectral band from the previous bands using Gaussian mixture-based modelling. The predicted band is used as the additional reference band together with the immediate previous band when we apply the HEVC. Every spectral band of an HS image is treated like it is an individual frame of a video. In this paper, we compare the proposed method with mainstream encoders. The experimental results are fully justified by three types of HS dataset with different wavelength ranges. The proposed method outperforms the existing mainstream HS encoders in terms of rate-distortion performance of HS image compression. PMID:27695102

The True Ultracool Binary Fraction Using Spectral Binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bardalez Gagliuffi, Daniella; Burgasser, Adam J.; Schmidt, Sarah J.; Gagné, Jonathan; Faherty, Jacqueline K.; Cruz, Kelle; Gelino, Chris

2018-01-01

Brown dwarfs bridge the gap between stars and giant planets. While the essential mechanisms governing their formation are not well constrained, binary statistics are a direct outcome of the formation process, and thus provide a means to test formation theories. Observational constraints on the brown dwarf binary fraction place it at 10 ‑ 20%, dominated by imaging studies (85% of systems) with the most common separation at 4 AU. This coincides with the resolution limit of state-of-the-art imaging techniques, suggesting that the binary fraction is underestimated. We have developed a separation-independent method to identify and characterize tightly-separated (< 5 AU) binary systems of brown dwarfs as spectral binaries by identifying traces of methane in the spectra of late-M and early-L dwarfs. Imaging follow-up of 17 spectral binaries yielded 3 (18%) resolved systems, corroborating the observed binary fraction, but 5 (29%) known binaries were missed, reinforcing the hypothesis that the short-separation systems are undercounted. In order to find the true binary fraction of brown dwarfs, we have compiled a volume-limited, spectroscopic sample of M7-L5 dwarfs and searched for T dwarf companions. In the 25 pc volume, 4 candidates were found, three of which are already confirmed, leading to a spectral binary fraction of 0.95 ± 0.50%, albeit for a specific combination of spectral types. To extract the true binary fraction and determine the biases of the spectral binary method, we have produced a binary population simulation based on different assumptions of the mass function, age distribution, evolutionary models and mass ratio distribution. Applying the correction fraction resulting from this method to the observed spectral binary fraction yields a true binary fraction of 27 ± 4%, which is roughly within 1σ of the binary fraction obtained from high resolution imaging studies, radial velocity and astrometric monitoring. This method can be extended to identify giant planet companions to young brown dwarfs.

Retrieval of spectral aerosol optical thickness over land using ocean color sensors MERIS and SeaWiFS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

von Hoyningen-Huene, W.; Yoon, J.; Vountas, M.; Istomina, L. G.; Rohen, G.; Dinter, T.; Kokhanovsky, A. A.; Burrows, J. P.

2011-02-01

For the determination of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) Bremen AErosol Retrieval (BAER) has been developed. Method and main features on the aerosol retrieval are described together with validation and results. The retrieval separates the spectral aerosol reflectance from surface and Rayleigh path reflectance for the shortwave range of the measured spectrum of top-of-atmosphere reflectance for wavelength less than 0.670 μm. The advantage of MERIS (Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer on the Environmental Satellite - ENVISAT - of the European Space Agency - ESA) and SeaWiFS (Sea viewing Wide Field Sensor on OrbView-2 spacecraft) observations is the availability of several spectral channels in the blue and visible range enabling the spectral determination of AOT in 7 (or 6) channels (0.412-0.670 μm) and additionally channels in the NIR, which can be used to characterize the surface properties. A dynamical spectral surface reflectance model for different surface types is used to obtain the spectral surface reflectance for this separation. The normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI), taken from the satellite observations, is the model input. Further surface bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) is considered by the Raman-Pinty-Verstraete (RPV) model. Spectral AOT is obtained from aerosol reflectance using look-up-tables, obtained from radiative transfer calculations with given aerosol phase functions and single scattering albedos either from aerosol models, given by model package "optical properties of aerosol components" (OPAC) or from experimental campaigns. Validations of the obtained AOT retrieval results with data of Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) over Europe gave a preference for experimental phase functions derived from almucantar measurements. Finally long-term observations of SeaWiFS have been investigated for 11 year trends in AOT. Western European regions have negative trends with decreasing AOT with time. For the investigated Asian region increasing AOT have been found.

The physical origin of the X-ray emission from SN 1987A

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miceli, M.; Orlando, S.; Petruk, O.

2017-10-01

We revisit the spectral analysis of the set of archive XMM-Newton observations of SN 1987A through our 3-D hydrodynamic model describing the whole evolution from the onset of the supernova to the full remnant development. For the first time the spectral analysis accounts for the single observations and for the evolution of the system self-consistently. We adopt a forward modeling approach which allows us to directly synthesize, from the model, X-ray spectra and images in different energy bands. We fold the synthetic observables through the XMM-Newton instrumental response and directly compare models and actual data. We find that our simulation provides an excellent fit to the data, by reproducing simultaneously X-ray fluxes, spectral features, and morphology of SN 1987A at all evolutionary stages. Our analysis enables us to obtain a deep insight on the physical origin of the observed multi-thermal emission, by revealing the contribution of shocked surrounding medium, dense clumps of the circumstellar ring, and ejecta to the total emission. We finally provide predictions for future observations (to be performed with XMM-Newton in the next future and with the forthcoming Athena X-ray telescope in approximately 10 years), showing the growing contribution of the ejecta X-ray emission.

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

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

Podesta, John J.

2013-06-13

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

Time-resolved High Spectral Resolution Observation of 2MASSW J0746425+200032AB

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

Wang, Ji; Mawet, Dimitri; Prato, Lisa, E-mail: ji.wang@caltech.edu

Many brown dwarfs (BDs) exhibit photometric variability at levels from tenths to tens of percents. The photometric variability is related to magnetic activity or patchy cloud coverage, characteristic of BDs near the L–T transition. Time-resolved spectral monitoring of BDs provides diagnostics of cloud distribution and condensate properties. However, current time-resolved spectral studies of BDs are limited to low spectral resolution ( R ∼ 100) with the exception of the study of Luhman 16 AB at a resolution of 100,000 using the VLT+CRIRES. This work yielded the first map of BD surface inhomogeneity, highlighting the importance and unique contribution of highmore » spectral resolution observations. Here, we report on the time-resolved high spectral resolution observations of a nearby BD binary, 2MASSW J0746425+200032AB. We find no coherent spectral variability that is modulated with rotation. Based on simulations, we conclude that the coverage of a single spot on 2MASSW J0746425+200032AB is smaller than 1% or 6.25% if spot contrast is 50% or 80% of its surrounding flux, respectively. Future high spectral resolution observations aided by adaptive optics systems can put tighter constraints on the spectral variability of 2MASSW J0746425+200032AB and other nearby BDs.« less

Equatorial Density Irregularity Structures at Intermediate Scales and Their Temporal Evolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kil, Hyosub; Heelis, R. A.

1998-01-01

We examine high resolution measurements of ion density in the equatorial ionosphere from the AE-E satellite during the years 1977-1981. Structure over spatial scales from 18 km to 200 m is characterized by the spectrum of irregularities at larger and smaller scales and at altitudes above 350 km and below 300 km. In the low-altitude region, only small amplitude large-scale (lambda greater than 5 km) density modulations are often observed, and thus the power spectrum of these density structures exhibits a steep spectral slope at kilometer scales. In the high-altitude region, sinusoidal density fluctuations, characterized by enhanced power near 1-km scale, are frequently observed during 2000-0200 LT. However, such fluctuations are confined to regions at the edges of larger bubble structures where the average background density is high. Small amplitude irregularity structures, observed at early local time hours, grow rapidly to high-intensity structures in about 90 min. Fully developed structures, which are observed at late local time hours, decay very slowly producing only-small differences in spectral characteristics even 4 hours later. The local time evolution of irregularity structure is investigated by using average statistics for low-(1% less than sigma less than 5%) and high-intensity (sigma greater than 10%) structures. At lower altitudes, little chance in the spectral slope is seen as a function of local time, while at higher attitudes the growth and maintenance of structures near 1 km scales dramatically affects the spectral slope.

Distinguishing between extra natural inflation and natural inflation after BICEP2

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

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

2014-08-01

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

X-Ray Spectra from MHD Simulations of Accreting Black Holes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schnittman, Jeremy D.; Noble, Scott C.; Krolik, Julian H.

2011-01-01

We present new global calculations of X-ray spectra from fully relativistic magneto-hydrodynamic (MHO) simulations of black hole (BH) accretion disks. With a self consistent radiative transfer code including Compton scattering and returning radiation, we can reproduce the predominant spectral features seen in decades of X-ray observations of stellar-mass BHs: a broad thermal peak around 1 keV, power-law continuum up to >100 keV, and a relativistically broadened iron fluorescent line. By varying the mass accretion rate, different spectral states naturally emerge: thermal-dominant, steep power-law, and low/hard. In addition to the spectral features, we briefly discuss applications to X-ray timing and polarization.

Understanding the Long-Term Spectral Variability of Cygnus X-1 from BATSE and ASM Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zdziarski, Andrzej A.; Poutanen, Juri; Paciesas, William S.; Wen, Linqing; Six, N. Frank (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

We present a spectral analysis of observations of Cygnus X-1 by the RXTE/ASM (1.5-12 keV) and CGRO/BATSE (20-300 keV), including about 1200 days of simultaneous data. We find a number of correlations between intensities and hardnesses in different energy bands from 1.5 keV to 300 keV. In the hard (low) spectral state, there is a negative correlation between the ASM 1.5-12 keV flux and the hardness at any energy. In the soft (high) spectral state, the ASM flux is positively correlated with the ASM hardness (as previously reported) but uncorrelated with the BATSE hardness. In both spectral states, the BATSE hardness correlates with the flux above 100 keV, while it shows no correlation with the flux in the 20-100 keV range. At the same time, there is clear correlation between the BATSE fluxes below and above 100 keV. In the hard state, most of the variability can be explained by softening the overall spectrum with a pivot at approximately 50 keV. The observations show that there has to be another, independent variability pattern of lower amplitude where the spectral shape does not change when the luminosity changes. In the soft state, the variability is mostly caused by a variable hard (Comptonized) spectral component of a constant shape superimposed on a constant soft blackbody component. These variability patterns are in agreement with the dependence of the rms variability on the photon energy in the two states. We interpret the observed correlations in terms of theoretical Comptonization models. In the hard state, the variability appears to be driven mostly by changing flux in seed photons Comptonized in a hot thermal plasma cloud with an approximately constant power supply. In the soft state, the variability is consistent with flares of hybrid, thermal/nonthermal, plasma with variable power above a stable cold disk. Also, based on broadband pointed observations simultaneous with those of the ASM and BATSE, we find the intrinsic bolometric luminosity increases by a factor of approximately 3-4 from the hard state to the soft one, which supports models of the state transition based on a change of the accretion rate.

β Coronae Bolealis: Lithium and Cerium Contribution to the Blend at 6708 Å

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drake, N. A.; Hubrig, S.; Polosukhina, N. S.; de La Reza, R.

2006-06-01

We analyze the Li I 6708 Å spectral region of the chemically peculiar Ap star βCrB using high resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra obtained at different rotation phases. Our study shows that the Ce II line at 6708.099 Å is a main contributor to the spectral feature at 6708 Å. This fact explains the observed red shift of the Li I doublet of about 0.2 Å found by Hack et al. (1997). We derive the values of lithium and cerium abundances for different rotation phases and show that βCrB has ``cosmic'' Li abundance.

Preliminary results on interstellar reddening as deduced from filter photometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Laget, M.

1972-01-01

Filter photometry has been used to derive the interstellar reddening law from stars through the study of a single spectral type, B0. The deficiency in the far ultraviolet flux of a supergiant relative to a main sequence star is compared with the difference in the flux distribution due to a change of one spectral class. Individual interstellar reddening curves show the general feature reported by Stecher (1969) and by Bless and Savage (1970). There is a large amount of scatter in the far ultraviolet which may be partially due to a real difference in interstellar extinction and partially due to observational inaccuracy.

Triplet Excitation Transfer between Carotenoids in the LH2 Complex from Photosynthetic Bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris.

PubMed

Feng, Juan; Wang, Qian; Wu, Yi-Shi; Ai, Xi-Cheng; Zhang, Xu-Jia; Huang, You-Guo; Zhang, Xing-Kang; Zhang, Jian-Ping

2004-01-01

We have studied, by means of sub-microsecond time-resolved absorption spectroscopy, the triplet-excited state dynamics of carotenoids (Cars) in the intermediate-light adapted LH2 complex (ML-LH2) from Rhodopseudomonas palustris containing Cars with different numbers of conjugated double bonds. Following pulsed photo-excitation at 590 nm at room temperature, rapid spectral equilibration was observed either as a red shift of the isosbestic wavelength on a time scale of 0.6-1.0 mus, or as a fast decay in the shorter-wavelength side of the T(n)<--T(1) absorption of Cars with a time constant of 0.5-0.8 mus. Two major spectral components assignable to Cars with 11 and 12 conjugated double bonds were identified. The equilibration was not observed in the ML-LH2 at 77 K, or in the LH2 complex from Rhodobacter sphaeroides G1C containing a single type of Car. The unique spectral equilibration was ascribed to temperature-dependent triplet excitation transfer among different Car compositions. The results suggest that Cars of 11 and 12 conjugated bonds, both in close proximity of BChls, may coexist in an alpha,beta-subunit of the ML-LH2 complex.

Low-Latitude Ethane Rain on Titan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dalba, Paul A.; Buratti, Bonnie J.; Brown, R. H.; Barnes, J. W.; Baines, K. H.; Sotin, C.; Clark, R. N.; Lawrence, K. J.; Nicholson, P. D.

2012-01-01

Cassini ISS observed multiple widespread changes in surface brightness in Titan's equatorial regions over the past three years. These brightness variations are attributed to rainfall from cloud systems that appear to form seasonally. Determining the composition of this rainfall is an important step in understanding the "methanological" cycle on Titan. I use data from Cassini VIMS to complete a spectroscopic investigation of multiple rain-wetted areas. I compute "before-and-after" spectral ratios of any areas that show either deposition or evaporation of rain. By comparing these spectral ratios to a model of liquid ethane, I find that the rain is most likely composed of liquid ethane. The spectrum of liquid ethane contains multiple absorption features that fall within the 2-micron and 5-micron spectral windows in Titan's atmosphere. I show that these features are visible in the spectra taken of Titan's surface and that they are characteristically different than those in the spectrum of liquid methane. Furthermore, just as ISS saw the surface brightness reverting to its original state after a period of time, I show that VIMS observations of later flybys show the surface composition in different stages of returning to its initial form.

Identifying the source of colours in the Jovian atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braude, Ashwin; Irwin, Patrick; Orton, Glenn S.; Fletcher, Leigh

2016-10-01

We wish to identify the source of Jupiter's colours through spectral analysis of images of Jupiter in the visible-to-near-infrared in conjunction with observations made by Juno in the mid-infrared and at super-high frequency. Three sets of observations were made of Jupiter by the MUSE integral-field spectrograph between 2014-2016 in the spectral range 0.48-0.93um, and reduced using a standard pipeline. Some large high-altitude hazes were observed in 2014 in the North Tropical Zone and the North Temperate Belt which appeared to have vanished by 2016. A single spectral image cube from 2014 was selected for analysis, and attempts at retrieving vertical cloud profiles, imaginary refractive indices and single-scattering albedos using the Nemesis radiative transfer model were made in different locations on Jupiter corresponding to the most prominent features close to the Equatorial region. Differences in lower tropospheric cloud altitude and opacity were found between the zones and the belts, and the belt cloud particles were seen to be significantly more blue-absorbing than the zone particles. Attempts were made at retrieving the real refractive index of the cloud particles in the upper tropospheric haze, where the majority of the colour-producing particles, or 'chromophores', are thought to be located, and values of refractive index greater than that of ammonia ice were observed, indicating the presence of a foreign substance. Further ground-based observations from MUSE in the visible and from TEXES in the mid-Infrared combined with localised observations from Juno later this year should shed more light on the origin of the colour-producing substance in the Jovian clouds, as well as of any seasonal changes in colour.

Improving a Spectral Bin Microphysical Scheme Using TRMM Satellite Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Xiaowen; Tao, Wei-Kuo; Matsui, Toshihisa; Liu, Chuntao; Masunaga, Hirohiko

2010-01-01

Comparisons between cloud model simulations and observations are crucial in validating model performance and improving physical processes represented in the mod Tel.hese modeled physical processes are idealized representations and almost always have large rooms for improvements. In this study, we use data from two different sensors onboard TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission) satellite to improve the microphysical scheme in the Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) model. TRMM observed mature-stage squall lines during late spring, early summer in central US over a 9-year period are compiled and compared with a case simulation by GCE model. A unique aspect of the GCE model is that it has a state-of-the-art spectral bin microphysical scheme, which uses 33 different bins to represent particle size distribution of each of the seven hydrometeor species. A forward radiative transfer model calculates TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR) reflectivity and TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) 85 GHz brightness temperatures from simulated particle size distributions. Comparisons between model outputs and observations reveal that the model overestimates sizes of snow/aggregates in the stratiform region of the squall line. After adjusting temperature-dependent collection coefficients among ice-phase particles, PR comparisons become good while TMI comparisons worsen. Further investigations show that the partitioning between graupel (a high-density form of aggregate), and snow (a low-density form of aggregate) needs to be adjusted in order to have good comparisons in both PR reflectivity and TMI brightness temperature. This study shows that long-term satellite observations, especially those with multiple sensors, can be very useful in constraining model microphysics. It is also the first study in validating and improving a sophisticated spectral bin microphysical scheme according to long-term satellite observations.

What drives high flow events in the Swiss Alps? Recent developments in wavelet spectral analysis and their application to hydrology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaefli, B.; Maraun, D.; Holschneider, M.

2007-12-01

Extreme hydrological events are often triggered by exceptional co-variations of the relevant hydrometeorological processes and in particular by exceptional co-oscillations at various temporal scales. Wavelet and cross wavelet spectral analysis offers promising time-scale resolved analysis methods to detect and analyze such exceptional co-oscillations. This paper presents the state-of-the-art methods of wavelet spectral analysis, discusses related subtleties, potential pitfalls and recently developed solutions to overcome them and shows how wavelet spectral analysis, if combined to a rigorous significance test, can lead to reliable new insights into hydrometeorological processes for real-world applications. The presented methods are applied to detect potentially flood triggering situations in a high Alpine catchment for which a recent re-estimation of design floods encountered significant problems simulating the observed high flows. For this case study, wavelet spectral analysis of precipitation, temperature and discharge offers a powerful tool to help detecting potentially flood producing meteorological situations and to distinguish between different types of floods with respect to the prevailing critical hydrometeorological conditions. This opens very new perspectives for the analysis of model performances focusing on the occurrence and non-occurrence of different types of high flow events. Based on the obtained results, the paper summarizes important recommendations for future applications of wavelet spectral analysis in hydrology.

Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer for the Earth Observing System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glavich, Thomas A.; Beer, Reinhard

1991-01-01

A Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) for the Earth Observing System (EOS) series of polar-orbiting platforms is described. TES is aimed at studying tropospheric chemistry, in particular, the exchange of gases between the surface and the atmosphere, urban and regional pollution, acid rain precursors, sources and sinks of greenhouse gases, and the interchange of gases between the troposphere and the stratosphere. TES is a high-resolution (0.025/cm) infrared Fourier transform spectrometer operating in the passive thermal-emission mode in a very wide spectral range (600 to 4350/cm; 2.3 to 16.7 microns). TES has 32 spatial pixels in each of four optically conjugated linear detector arrays, each optimized for a different spectral region.

Color heterogeneity of the surface of Phobos - Relationships to geologic features and comparison to meteorite analogs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murchie, Scott L.; Britt, Daniel T.; Head, James W.; Pratt, Stephen F.; Fisher, Paul C.

1991-01-01

Color ratio images created from multispectral observations of Phobos are analyzed in order to characterize the spectral properties of Phobos' surface, to assess their spatial distributions and relationships with geologic features, and to compare Phobos' surface materials with possible meteorite analogs. Data calibration and processing is briefly discussed, and the observed spectral properties of Phobos and their lateral variations are examined. Attention is then given to the color properties of different types of impact craters, the origin of lateral variations in surface color, the relation between the spatial distribution of color properties and independently identifiable geologic features, and the relevance of color variation spatial distribution to the origin of the grooves.

A comprehensive comparative test of seven widely used spectral synthesis models against multi-band photometry of young massive-star clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wofford, A.; Charlot, S.; Bruzual, G.; Eldridge, J. J.; Calzetti, D.; Adamo, A.; Cignoni, M.; de Mink, S. E.; Gouliermis, D. A.; Grasha, K.; Grebel, E. K.; Lee, J. C.; Östlin, G.; Smith, L. J.; Ubeda, L.; Zackrisson, E.

2016-04-01

We test the predictions of spectral synthesis models based on seven different massive-star prescriptions against Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey (LEGUS) observations of eight young massive clusters in two local galaxies, NGC 1566 and NGC 5253, chosen because predictions of all seven models are available at the published galactic metallicities. The high angular resolution, extensive cluster inventory, and full near-ultraviolet to near-infrared photometric coverage make the LEGUS data set excellent for this study. We account for both stellar and nebular emission in the models and try two different prescriptions for attenuation by dust. From Bayesian fits of model libraries to the observations, we find remarkably low dispersion in the median E(B - V) (˜0.03 mag), stellar masses (˜104 M⊙), and ages (˜1 Myr) derived for individual clusters using different models, although maximum discrepancies in these quantities can reach 0.09 mag and factors of 2.8 and 2.5, respectively. This is for ranges in median properties of 0.05-0.54 mag, 1.8-10 × 104 M⊙, and 1.6-40 Myr spanned by the clusters in our sample. In terms of best fit, the observations are slightly better reproduced by models with interacting binaries and least well reproduced by models with single rotating stars. Our study provides a first quantitative estimate of the accuracies and uncertainties of the most recent spectral synthesis models of young stellar populations, demonstrates the good progress of models in fitting high-quality observations, and highlights the needs for a larger cluster sample and more extensive tests of the model parameter space.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

1989-01-01

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

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

PubMed

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

2014-09-19

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

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2014-09-01

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

Imaging Spectroscopy Enables Novel Applications and Continuity with the Landsat Record to Sustain Legacy Applications: An Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) and Landsat 8 OLI Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stavros, E. N.; Seidel, F.; Cable, M. L.; Green, R. O.; Freeman, A.

2017-12-01

While, imaging spectrometers offer additional information that provide value added products for applications that are otherwise underserved, there is need to demonstrate their ability to augment the multi-spectral (e.g., Landsat) optical record by both providing more frequent temporal revisit and lengthening the existing record. Here we test the hypothesis that imaging spectroscopic optical data is compatible with multi-spectral data to within ±5% radiometric accuracy, as desirable to continue the long-term Landsat data record. We use a coincident Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) flight with over-passing Operational Land Imager (OLI) data on Landsat 8 to document a procedure for simulating OLI multi-spectral bands from AVIRIS, evaluate influencing factors on the observed radiance, and assess AVIRIS radiometric accuracy compared to OLI. The procedure for simulating OLI data includes spectral convolution, accounting for atmospheric effects introduced by different sensor altitude and viewing geometries, and spatial resampling. After accounting for these influences, we expect the remaining differences between the simulated and the real OLI data result from differences in sensor calibration, surface bi-directional reflectance, from the different viewing geometries, and spatial sampling. The median radiometric percent difference for each band in the data used range from 0.6% to 8.3%. After bias-correction to minimize potential calibration discrepancies, we find no more than 1.2% radiometric percent difference for any OLI band. This analysis therefore successfully demonstrates that imaging spectrometer data can not only address novel applications, but also contribute to the Landsat-type or other multi-spectral data records to sustain legacy applications.

Encoding of Natural Sounds at Multiple Spectral and Temporal Resolutions in the Human Auditory Cortex

PubMed Central

Santoro, Roberta; Moerel, Michelle; De Martino, Federico; Goebel, Rainer; Ugurbil, Kamil; Yacoub, Essa; Formisano, Elia

2014-01-01

Functional neuroimaging research provides detailed observations of the response patterns that natural sounds (e.g. human voices and speech, animal cries, environmental sounds) evoke in the human brain. The computational and representational mechanisms underlying these observations, however, remain largely unknown. Here we combine high spatial resolution (3 and 7 Tesla) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with computational modeling to reveal how natural sounds are represented in the human brain. We compare competing models of sound representations and select the model that most accurately predicts fMRI response patterns to natural sounds. Our results show that the cortical encoding of natural sounds entails the formation of multiple representations of sound spectrograms with different degrees of spectral and temporal resolution. The cortex derives these multi-resolution representations through frequency-specific neural processing channels and through the combined analysis of the spectral and temporal modulations in the spectrogram. Furthermore, our findings suggest that a spectral-temporal resolution trade-off may govern the modulation tuning of neuronal populations throughout the auditory cortex. Specifically, our fMRI results suggest that neuronal populations in posterior/dorsal auditory regions preferably encode coarse spectral information with high temporal precision. Vice-versa, neuronal populations in anterior/ventral auditory regions preferably encode fine-grained spectral information with low temporal precision. We propose that such a multi-resolution analysis may be crucially relevant for flexible and behaviorally-relevant sound processing and may constitute one of the computational underpinnings of functional specialization in auditory cortex. PMID:24391486

A spectral reflectance study (0.4-2.5 μm) of selected playa evaporite mineral deposits and related geochemical processes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Crowley, James K.

1990-01-01

Playa evaporite mineral deposits show major compositional variations related to differences in lithology, hydrology, and groundwater geochemistry. The use of visible and near-infrared (VNIR) spectral reflectance measurements as a technique for investigating the mineralogy of playa efflorescent crusts is examined. Samples of efflorescent crust were collected from 4 playa: Bristol Dry Lake, Saline Valley, Teels Marsh, and Rhodes Marsh--all located in eastern California and western Nevada. Laboratory and field spectral analyses coupled with X-ray diffraction analyses of the crusts yielded the following observations: VNIR spectra of unweathered salt crusts can be used to infer the general chemistry of near-surface brines; VNIR spectra are very sensitive for detecting minor hydrate mineral phases contained in mixtures with anhydrous, spectrally featureless, minerals such as halite (NaCl) and thernardite (Na2So4); borate minerals exhibit particularly strong VNIR spectral features that permit small amounts of borate to be detected in efflorescent salt crusts; remote sensing spectral measurements of playa efflorescent crusts may have applications in global studies of playa brines and minerals.

BROADBAND TRANSMISSION SPECTROSCOPY OF THE SUPER-EARTH GJ 1214b SUGGESTS A LOW MEAN MOLECULAR WEIGHT ATMOSPHERE

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

Croll, Bryce; Jayawardhana, Ray; Albert, Loic

We use the Wide-field Infrared Camera (WIRCam) on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope to observe four transits of the super-Earth planet GJ 1214b in the near-infrared. For each transit, we observe GJ 1214 in two bands nearly simultaneously by rapidly switching the WIRCam filter wheel back and forth for the duration of the observations. By combining all our J-band ({approx}1.25 {mu}m) observations we find a transit depth, analogous to the planet-to-star radius ratio squared, in this band of (R{sub PJ} /R{sub *}){sup 2} = (1.338 {+-} 0.013)%-a value consistent with the optical transit depth reported by Charbonneau and collaborators. However, our best-fitmore » combined K{sub s}-band ({approx}2.15 {mu}m) transit depth is deeper: (R{sub PKs} /R{sub *}){sup 2} = (1.438 {+-} 0.019)%. Formally, our K{sub s}-band transits are deeper than the J-band transits observed simultaneously by a factor of (R{sub PKs} /R{sub PJ}){sup 2} = 1.072 {+-} 0.018-a 4{sigma} discrepancy. The most straightforward explanation for our deeper K{sub s}-band transit depth is a spectral absorption feature from the limb of the atmosphere of the planet; for the spectral absorption feature to be this prominent, the atmosphere of GJ 1214b must have a large-scale height and a low mean molecular weight. That is, its atmosphere would have to be hydrogen/helium dominated and this planet would be better described as a mini-Neptune. However, recently published observations from 0.78 to 1.0 {mu}m, by Bean and collaborators, show a lack of spectral features and transit depths consistent with those obtained by Charbonneau and collaborators. The most likely atmospheric composition for GJ 1214b that arises from combining all these observations is less clear; if the atmosphere of GJ 1214b is hydrogen/helium dominated, then it must have either a haze layer that is obscuring transit-depth differences at shorter wavelengths or significantly different spectral features from what current models predict. Our observations disfavor a water-world composition, but such a composition will remain a possibility for GJ 1214b until observations reconfirm our deeper K{sub s}-band transit depth or detect features at other wavelengths.« less

On Orders of Observables on Effect Algebras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dvurečenskij, Anatolij

2017-12-01

On the set of bounded observables on an effect algebra, the Olson order defined by spectral resolutions and the standard order defined by a system of σ-additive states are introduced. We show that sharp bounded observables form a Dedekind σ-complete sublattice of a Dedekind complete lattice under the Olson order. In addition, we compare both orders, and we illustrate them on different effect algebras.

Adaptation to spectrally-rotated speech.

PubMed

Green, Tim; Rosen, Stuart; Faulkner, Andrew; Paterson, Ruth

2013-08-01

Much recent interest surrounds listeners' abilities to adapt to various transformations that distort speech. An extreme example is spectral rotation, in which the spectrum of low-pass filtered speech is inverted around a center frequency (2 kHz here). Spectral shape and its dynamics are completely altered, rendering speech virtually unintelligible initially. However, intonation, rhythm, and contrasts in periodicity and aperiodicity are largely unaffected. Four normal hearing adults underwent 6 h of training with spectrally-rotated speech using Continuous Discourse Tracking. They and an untrained control group completed pre- and post-training speech perception tests, for which talkers differed from the training talker. Significantly improved recognition of spectrally-rotated sentences was observed for trained, but not untrained, participants. However, there were no significant improvements in the identification of medial vowels in /bVd/ syllables or intervocalic consonants. Additional tests were performed with speech materials manipulated so as to isolate the contribution of various speech features. These showed that preserving intonational contrasts did not contribute to the comprehension of spectrally-rotated speech after training, and suggested that improvements involved adaptation to altered spectral shape and dynamics, rather than just learning to focus on speech features relatively unaffected by the transformation.

A DOUBLE-PEAKED OUTBURST OF A 0535+26 OBSERVED WITH INTEGRAL, RXTE, AND SUZAKU

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

Caballero, I.; Pottschmidt, K.; Marcu, D. M.

2013-02-20

The Be/X-ray binary A 0535+26 showed a normal (type I) outburst in 2009 August. It is the fourth in a series of normal outbursts associated with the periastron, but is unusual because it presented a double-peaked light curve. The two peaks reached a flux of {approx}450 mCrab in the 15-50 keV range. We present results of the timing and spectral analysis of INTEGRAL, RXTE, and Suzaku observations of the outburst. The energy-dependent pulse profiles and their evolution during the outburst are studied. No significant differences with respect to other normal outbursts are observed. The centroid energy of the fundamental cyclotronmore » line shows no significant variation during the outburst. A spectral hardening with increasing luminosity is observed. We conclude that the source is accreting in the sub-critical regime. We discuss possible explanations for the double-peaked outburst.« less

X-ray Spectral Analysis of the Cataclysmic Variable LS Peg using XMM-Newton Observatory Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Talebpour Sheshvan, N.; Nabizadeh, A.; Balman, S.

2017-10-01

LS Peg is a Cataclysmic Variable (CV) suggested as Intermediate Polar (IP) because of similar properties to those observed in IP systems. We used archival XMM-Newton observation of LS Peg in order to study the X-ray characteristics of the system. We show LS Peg light curves in several different energy bands, and discuss about orbital modulations and power spectral analysis. Unlike the previous spectral analysis of the EPIC-MOS data by fitting a hot optically thin plasma emission model with a single temperature, we simultaneously fit EPIC spectrum (pn+MOS) using a composite model of absorption (tbabs) along with two different partial covering absorbers plus a multi-temperature plasma emission component in XSPEC. In addition, we find a Gaussian emission line at 6.4 keV. For LS Peg the maximum temperature of the plasma distribution is found to be ˜ 17.8 keV with a luminosity of ˜ 7.4×10^{32}erg s^{-1} translating to an accretion rate of ˜ 1.7×10 ^{-10} M_{⊙} yr^{-1}. We present spectra for orbital minimum and orbital maximum. In addition, we use SWIFT observations of the source in order to make a comparison. We elaborate on the geometry of accretion and absorption in the X-ray emitting region with articulation on the magnetic nature.

Field measurement of penetrator seismic coupling in sediments and volcanic rocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nakamura, Y.; Latham, G. V.; Frohlich, C.

1979-01-01

Field experiments were conducted to determine experimentally how well a seismometer installed using a penetrator would be coupled to the ground. A dry lake bed and a lava bed were chosen as test sites to represent geological environments of two widely different material properties. At each site, two half-scale penetrators were fired into the ground, a three-component geophone assembly was mounted to the aft end of each penetrator, and dummy penetrators were fired at various distances to generate seismic signals. The recorded signals were digitized, and cross-spectral analyses were performed to compare the observed signals in terms of power spectral density ratio, coherence and phase difference. The analyses indicate that seismometers deployed by penetrators will be as well coupled to the ground as are seismometers installed by conventional methods for the frequency range of interest in earthquake seismology, although some minor differences were observed at frequencies near the upper limit of the frequency band.

X-ray imaging spectroscopic diagnostics on Nike

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aglitskiy, Y.; Karasik, M.; Serlin, V.; Weaver, J. L.; Oh, J.; Obenschain, S. P.; Ralchenko, Yu.

2017-10-01

Electron temperature and density diagnostics of the laser plasma produced within the focal spot of the NRL's Nike laser are being explored with the help of X-ray imaging spectroscopy. Spectra of He-like and H-like ions were taken by Nike focusing spectrometers in a range of lower (1.8 kev, Si XIV) and higher (6.7 kev, Fe XXV) x-ray energies. Data that were obtained with spatial resolution were translated into the temperature and density as functions of distance from the target. As an example electron density was determined from He-like satellites to Ly-alpha in Si XIV. The dielectronic satellites with intensity ratios that are sensitive to collisional transfer of population between different triplet groups of double-excited states 2l2l' in Si XIII were observed with high spatial and spectral resolution Lineouts taken at different axial distances from the planar Si target show changing spectral shapes due to the different electron densities as determined by supporting non-LTE simulations. These shapes are relatively insensitive to the plasma temperature which was measured using different spectral lines. This work was supported by the US DOE/NNSA.

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

PubMed Central

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

2013-01-01

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

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

PubMed

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

2013-11-26

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

Allometric constraints to inversion of canopy structure from remote sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolf, A.; Berry, J. A.; Asner, G. P.

2008-12-01

Canopy radiative transfer models employ a large number of vegetation architectural and leaf biochemical attributes. Studies of leaf biochemistry show a wide array of chemical and spectral diversity that suggests that several leaf biochemical constituents can be independently retrieved from multi-spectral remotely sensed imagery. In contrast, attempts to exploit multi-angle imagery to retrieve canopy structure only succeed in finding two or three of the many unknown canopy arhitectural attributes. We examine a database of over 5000 destructive tree harvests from Eurasia to show that allometry - the covariation of plant form across a broad range of plant size and canopy density - restricts the architectural diversity of plant canopies into a single composite variable ranging from young canopies with many short trees with small crowns to older canopies with fewer trees and larger crowns. Moreover, these architectural attributes are closely linked to biomass via allometric constraints such as the "self-thinning law". We use the measured variance and covariance of plant canopy architecture in these stands to drive the radiative transfer model DISORD, which employs the Li-Strahler geometric optics model. This correlations introduced in the Monte Carlo study are used to determine which attributes of canopy architecture lead to important variation that can be observed by multi-angle or multi-spectral satellite observations, using the sun-view geometry characteristic of MODIS observations in different biomes located at different latitude bands. We conclude that although multi-angle/multi-spectral remote sensing is only sensitive to some of the many unknown canopy attributes that ecologists would wish to know, the strong allometric covariation between these attributes and others permits a large number of inferrences, such as forest biomass, that will be meaningful next-generation vegetation products useful for data assimilation.

TES Level 1 Algorithms: Interferogram Processing, Geolocation, Radiometric, and Spectral Calibration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Worden, Helen; Beer, Reinhard; Bowman, Kevin W.; Fisher, Brendan; Luo, Mingzhao; Rider, David; Sarkissian, Edwin; Tremblay, Denis; Zong, Jia

2006-01-01

The Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) on the Earth Observing System (EOS) Aura satellite measures the infrared radiance emitted by the Earth's surface and atmosphere using Fourier transform spectrometry. The measured interferograms are converted into geolocated, calibrated radiance spectra by the L1 (Level 1) processing, and are the inputs to L2 (Level 2) retrievals of atmospheric parameters, such as vertical profiles of trace gas abundance. We describe the algorithmic components of TES Level 1 processing, giving examples of the intermediate results and diagnostics that are necessary for creating TES L1 products. An assessment of noise-equivalent spectral radiance levels and current systematic errors is provided. As an initial validation of our spectral radiances, TES data are compared to the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) (on EOS Aqua), after accounting for spectral resolution differences by applying the AIRS spectral response function to the TES spectra. For the TES L1 nadir data products currently available, the agreement with AIRS is 1 K or better.

Spectral line-by-line pulse shaping of on-chip microresonator frequency combs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferdous, Fahmida; Miao, Houxun; Leaird, Daniel E.; Srinivasan, Kartik; Wang, Jian; Chen, Lei; Varghese, Leo Tom; Weiner, Andrew M.

2011-12-01

Recently, on-chip comb generation methods based on nonlinear optical modulation in ultrahigh-quality-factor monolithic microresonators have been demonstrated, where two pump photons are transformed into sideband photons in a four-wave-mixing process mediated by Kerr nonlinearity. Here, we investigate line-by-line pulse shaping of such combs generated in silicon nitride ring resonators. We observe two distinct paths to comb formation that exhibit strikingly different time-domain behaviours. For combs formed as a cascade of sidebands spaced by a single free spectral range that spread from the pump, we are able to compress stably to nearly bandwidth-limited pulses. This indicates high coherence across the spectra and provides new data on the high passive stability of the spectral phase. For combs where the initial sidebands are spaced by multiple free spectral ranges that then fill in to give combs with single free-spectral-range spacing, the time-domain data reveal partially coherent behaviour.

Depth Discrimination Using Rg-to-Sg Spectral Amplitude Ratios for Seismic Events in Utah Recorded at Local Distances

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

Tibi, Rigobert; Koper, Keith D.; Pankow, Kristine L.

Short-period fundamental-mode Rayleigh waves (Rg) are commonly observed on seismograms of anthropogenic seismic events and shallow, naturally occurring tectonic earthquakes (TEs) recorded at local distances. In the Utah region, strong Rg waves traveling with an average group velocity of about 1.8 km/s are observed at ~1 Hz on waveforms from shallow events ( depth<10 km ) recorded at distances up to about 150 km. At these distances, Sg waves, which are direct shear waves traveling in the upper crust, are generally the dominant signals for TEs. Here in this study, we leverage the well-known notion that Rg amplitude decreases dramaticallymore » with increasing event depth to propose a new depth discriminant based on Rg-to-Sg spectral amplitude ratios. The approach is successfully used to discriminate shallow events (both earthquakes and anthropogenic events) from deeper TEs in the Utah region recorded at local distances ( <150 km ) by the University of Utah Seismographic Stations (UUSS) regional seismic network. Using Mood’s median test, we obtained probabilities of nearly zero that the median Rg-to-Sg spectral amplitude ratios are the same between shallow events on the one hand (including both shallow TEs and anthropogenic events), and deeper earthquakes on the other, suggesting that there is a statistically significant difference in the estimated Rg-to-Sg ratios between the two populations. We also observed consistent disparities between the different types of shallow events (e.g., mining blasts vs. mining-induced earthquakes), implying that it may be possible to separate the subpopulations that make up this group. Lastly, this suggests that using local distance Rg-to-Sg spectral amplitude ratios one can not only discriminate shallow events from deeper events but may also be able to discriminate among different populations of shallow events.« less

SOSPEX, an interactive tool to explore SOFIA spectral cubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fadda, Dario; Chambers, Edward T.

2018-01-01

We present SOSPEX (SOFIA SPectral EXplorer), an interactive tool to visualize and analyze spectral cubes obtained with the FIFI-LS and GREAT instruments onboard the SOFIA Infrared Observatory. This software package is written in Python 3 and it is available either through Github or Anaconda.Through this GUI it is possible to explore directly the spectral cubes produced by the SOFIA pipeline and archived in the SOFIA Science Archive. Spectral cubes are visualized showing their spatial and spectral dimensions in two different windows. By selecting a part of the spectrum, the flux from the corresponding slice of the cube is visualized in the spatial window. On the other hand, it is possible to define apertures on the spatial window to show the corresponding spectral energy distribution in the spectral window.Flux isocontours can be overlapped to external images in the spatial window while line names, atmospheric transmission, or external spectra can be overplotted on the spectral window. Atmospheric models with specific parameters can be retrieved, compared to the spectra and applied to the uncorrected FIFI-LS cubes in the cases where the standard values give unsatisfactory results. Subcubes can be selected and saved as FITS files by cropping or cutting the original cubes. Lines and continuum can be fitted in the spectral window saving the results in Jyson files which can be reloaded later. Finally, in the case of spatially extended observations, it is possible to compute spectral momenta as a function of the position to obtain velocity dispersion maps or velocity diagrams.

S-NPP CrIS Full Resolution Sensor Data Record Processing and Evaluations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Y.; Han, Y.; Wang, L.; Tremblay, D. A.; Jin, X.; Weng, F.

2014-12-01

The Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) on Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership Satellite (S-NPP) is a Fourier transform spectrometer. It provides a total of 1305 channels in the normal mode for sounding the atmosphere. CrIS can also be operated in the full spectral resolution (FSR) mode, in which the MWIR and SWIR band interferograms are recorded with the same maximum path difference as the LWIR band and with spectral resolution of 0.625 cm-1 for all three bands (total 2211 channels). NOAA will operate CrIS in FSR mode in December 2014 and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). Up to date, the FSR mode has been commanded three times in-orbit (02/23/2012, 03/12/2013, and 08/27/2013). Based on CrIS Algorithm Development Library (ADL), CrIS full resolution Processing System (CRPS) has developed to generate the FSR Sensor Data Record (SDR). This code can also be run for normal mode and truncation mode SDRs with recompiling. Different calibration approaches are implemented in the code in order to study the ringing effect observed in CrIS normal mode SDR and to support to select the best calibration algorithm for J1. We develop the CrIS FSR SDR Validation System to quantify the CrIS radiometric and spectral accuracy, since they are crucial for improving its data assimilation in the numerical weather prediction, and for retrieving atmospheric trace gases. In this study, CrIS full resolution SDRs are generated from CRPS using the data collected from FSR mode of S-NPP, and the radiometric and spectral accuracy are assessed by using the Community Radiative Transfer Model (CRTM) and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) forecast fields. The biases between observation and simulations are evaluated to estimate the FOV-2-FOV variability and bias under clear sky over ocean. Double difference method and Simultaneous Nadir Overpass (SNO) method are also used to assess the CrIS radiance consistency with well-validated IASI. Two basic frequency validation methods (absolute and relative spectral validations) are used to assess the CrIS spectral accuracy. Results show that CrIS SDRs from FSR have similar radiometric and spectral accuracy as those from normal mode.

Planck 2013 results. IX. HFI spectral response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Planck Collaboration; Ade, P. A. R.; Aghanim, N.; Armitage-Caplan, C.; Arnaud, M.; Ashdown, M.; Atrio-Barandela, F.; Aumont, J.; Baccigalupi, C.; Banday, A. J.; Barreiro, R. B.; Battaner, E.; Benabed, K.; Benoît, A.; Benoit-Lévy, A.; Bernard, J.-P.; Bersanelli, M.; Bielewicz, P.; Bobin, J.; Bock, J. J.; Bond, J. R.; Borrill, J.; Bouchet, F. R.; Boulanger, F.; Bridges, M.; Bucher, M.; Burigana, C.; Cardoso, J.-F.; Catalano, A.; Challinor, A.; Chamballu, A.; Chary, R.-R.; Chen, X.; Chiang, H. C.; Chiang, L.-Y.; Christensen, P. R.; Church, S.; Clements, D. L.; Colombi, S.; Colombo, L. P. L.; Combet, C.; Comis, B.; Couchot, F.; Coulais, A.; Crill, B. P.; Curto, A.; Cuttaia, F.; Danese, L.; Davies, R. D.; de Bernardis, P.; de Rosa, A.; de Zotti, G.; Delabrouille, J.; Delouis, J.-M.; Désert, F.-X.; Dickinson, C.; Diego, J. M.; Dole, H.; Donzelli, S.; Doré, O.; Douspis, M.; Dupac, X.; Efstathiou, G.; Enßlin, T. A.; Eriksen, H. K.; Falgarone, E.; Finelli, F.; Forni, O.; Frailis, M.; Franceschi, E.; Galeotta, S.; Ganga, K.; Giard, M.; Giraud-Héraud, Y.; González-Nuevo, J.; Górski, K. M.; Gratton, S.; Gregorio, A.; Gruppuso, A.; Hansen, F. K.; Hanson, D.; Harrison, D.; Henrot-Versillé, S.; Hernández-Monteagudo, C.; Herranz, D.; Hildebrandt, S. R.; Hivon, E.; Hobson, M.; Holmes, W. A.; Hornstrup, A.; Hovest, W.; Huffenberger, K. M.; Hurier, G.; Jaffe, A. H.; Jaffe, T. R.; Jones, W. C.; Juvela, M.; Keihänen, E.; Keskitalo, R.; Kisner, T. S.; Kneissl, R.; Knoche, J.; Knox, L.; Kunz, M.; Kurki-Suonio, H.; Lagache, G.; Lamarre, J.-M.; Lasenby, A.; Laureijs, R. J.; Lawrence, C. R.; Leahy, J. P.; Leonardi, R.; Leroy, C.; Lesgourgues, J.; Liguori, M.; Lilje, P. B.; Linden-Vørnle, M.; López-Caniego, M.; Lubin, P. M.; Macías-Pérez, J. F.; Maffei, B.; Mandolesi, N.; Maris, M.; Marshall, D. J.; Martin, P. G.; Martínez-González, E.; Masi, S.; Massardi, M.; Matarrese, S.; Matthai, F.; Mazzotta, P.; McGehee, P.; Melchiorri, A.; Mendes, L.; Mennella, A.; Migliaccio, M.; Mitra, S.; Miville-Deschênes, M.-A.; Moneti, A.; Montier, L.; Morgante, G.; Mortlock, D.; Munshi, D.; Murphy, J. A.; Naselsky, P.; Nati, F.; Natoli, P.; Netterfield, C. B.; Nørgaard-Nielsen, H. U.; North, C.; Noviello, F.; Novikov, D.; Novikov, I.; Osborne, S.; Oxborrow, C. A.; Paci, F.; Pagano, L.; Pajot, F.; Paoletti, D.; Pasian, F.; Patanchon, G.; Perdereau, O.; Perotto, L.; Perrotta, F.; Piacentini, F.; Piat, M.; Pierpaoli, E.; Pietrobon, D.; Plaszczynski, S.; Pointecouteau, E.; Polenta, G.; Ponthieu, N.; Popa, L.; Poutanen, T.; Pratt, G. W.; Prézeau, G.; Prunet, S.; Puget, J.-L.; Rachen, J. P.; Reinecke, M.; Remazeilles, M.; Renault, C.; Ricciardi, S.; Riller, T.; Ristorcelli, I.; Rocha, G.; Rosset, C.; Roudier, G.; Rusholme, B.; Santos, D.; Savini, G.; Scott, D.; Shellard, E. P. S.; Spencer, L. D.; Starck, J.-L.; Stolyarov, V.; Stompor, R.; Sudiwala, R.; Sureau, F.; Sutton, D.; Suur-Uski, A.-S.; Sygnet, J.-F.; Tauber, J. A.; Tavagnacco, D.; Terenzi, L.; Tomasi, M.; Tristram, M.; Tucci, M.; Umana, G.; Valenziano, L.; Valiviita, J.; Van Tent, B.; Vielva, P.; Villa, F.; Vittorio, N.; Wade, L. A.; Wandelt, B. D.; Yvon, D.; Zacchei, A.; Zonca, A.

2014-11-01

The Planck High Frequency Instrument (HFI) spectral response was determined through a series of ground based tests conducted with the HFI focal plane in a cryogenic environment prior to launch. The main goal of the spectral transmission tests was to measure the relative spectral response (includingthe level of out-of-band signal rejection) of all HFI detectors to a known source of electromagnetic radiation individually. This was determined by measuring the interferometric output of a continuously scanned Fourier transform spectrometer with all HFI detectors. As there is no on-board spectrometer within HFI, the ground-based spectral response experiments provide the definitive data set for the relative spectral calibration of the HFI. Knowledge of the relative variations in the spectral response between HFI detectors allows for a more thorough analysis of the HFI data. The spectral response of the HFI is used in Planck data analysis and component separation, this includes extraction of CO emission observed within Planck bands, dust emission, Sunyaev-Zeldovich sources, and intensity to polarization leakage. The HFI spectral response data have also been used to provide unit conversion and colour correction analysis tools. While previous papers describe the pre-flight experiments conducted on the Planck HFI, this paper focusses on the analysis of the pre-flight spectral response measurements and the derivation of data products, e.g. band-average spectra, unit conversion coefficients, and colour correction coefficients, all with related uncertainties. Verifications of the HFI spectral response data are provided through comparisons with photometric HFI flight data. This validation includes use of HFI zodiacal emission observations to demonstrate out-of-band spectral signal rejection better than 108. The accuracy of the HFI relative spectral response data is verified through comparison with complementary flight-data based unit conversion coefficients and colour correction coefficients. These coefficients include those based upon HFI observations of CO, dust, and Sunyaev-Zeldovich emission. General agreement is observed between the ground-based spectral characterization of HFI and corresponding in-flight observations, within the quoted uncertainty of each; explanations are provided for any discrepancies.

Centrality Dependence of Charged-Hadron Transverse-Momentum Spectra in d+Au Collisions at (sNN)=200 GeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Ballintijn, M.; Barton, D. S.; Becker, B.; Betts, R. R.; Bickley, A. A.; Bindel, R.; Budzanowski, A.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Decowski, M. P.; García, E.; Gburek, T.; George, N.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gushue, S.; Halliwell, C.; Hamblen, J.; Harrington, A. S.; Henderson, C.; Hofman, D. J.; Hollis, R. S.; Hołyński, R.; Holzman, B.; Iordanova, A.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J. L.; Khan, N.; Kulinich, P.; Kuo, C. M.; Lee, J. W.; Lin, W. T.; Manly, S.; Mignerey, A. C.; Noell, A.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Park, I. C.; Pernegger, H.; Reed, C.; Remsberg, L. P.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Sagerer, J.; Sarin, P.; Sawicki, P.; Sedykh, I.; Skulski, W.; Smith, C. E.; Steinberg, P.; Stephans, G. S.; Sukhanov, A.; Teng, R.; Tonjes, M. B.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Verdier, R.; Veres, G. I.; Wadsworth, B.; Wolfs, F. L.; Wosiek, B.; Woźniak, K.; Wuosmaa, A. H.; Wysłouch, B.; Zhang, J.

2003-08-01

We have measured transverse momentum distributions of charged hadrons produced in d+Au collisions at (sNN)=200 GeV. The spectra were obtained for transverse momenta 0.25

Numerical simulations of thermoacoustic waves in transcritical fluids employing the spectral difference approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scalo, Carlo; Migliorino, Mario Tindaro; Chapelier, Jean-Baptiste

2017-11-01

We investigate the stability properties of thermoacoustically unstable planar waves in transcritical fluids via high-fidelity Navier-Stokes simulations based on a Spectral Difference (SD) discretization coupled with the Peng-Robinson equation of state and Chung's method for the fluid transport properties. A canonical thermoacoustically unstable standing-wave resonator filled with supercritical CO2 kept in pseudoboiling conditions in the stack is considered. Real fluid effects near the critical point are shown to boost thermoacoustic energy production, as also confirmed by companion eigenvalue analysis supporting the closure of the acoustic energy budgets. A kink in the eigenmode shape is observed at the location of pseudo phase change, consistent with the abrupt change in base impedance. The current study demonstrates a transformative approach to thermoacoustic energy generation, exploiting otherwise unwanted fluid dynamics instabilities commonly observed in aeronautical applications employing transcritical fluids.

Co-registered Topographical, Band Excitation Nanomechanical, and Mass Spectral Imaging Using a Combined Atomic Force Microscopy/Mass Spectrometry Platform

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

Ovchinnikova, Olga S.; Tai, Tamin; Bocharova, Vera

The advancement of a hybrid atomic force microscopy/mass spectrometry imaging platform demonstrating for the first time co-registered topographical, band excitation nanomechanical, and mass spectral imaging of a surface using a single instrument is reported. The mass spectrometry-based chemical imaging component of the system utilized nanothermal analysis probes for pyrolytic surface sampling followed by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization of the gas phase species produced with subsequent mass analysis. We discuss the basic instrumental setup and operation and the multimodal imaging capability and utility are demonstrated using a phase separated polystyrene/poly(2-vinylpyridine) polymer blend thin film. The topography and band excitation images showedmore » that the valley and plateau regions of the thin film surface were comprised primarily of one of the two polymers in the blend with the mass spectral chemical image used to definitively identify the polymers at the different locations. Data point pixel size for the topography (390 nm x 390 nm), band excitation (781 nm x 781 nm), mass spectrometry (690 nm x 500 nm) images was comparable and submicrometer in all three cases, but the data voxel size for each of the three images was dramatically different. The topography image was uniquely a surface measurement, whereas the band excitation image included information from an estimated 10 nm deep into the sample and the mass spectral image from 110-140 nm in depth. Moreover, because of this dramatic sampling depth variance, some differences in the band excitation and mass spectrometry chemical images were observed and were interpreted to indicate the presence of a buried interface in the sample. The spatial resolution of the mass spectral image was estimated to be between 1.5 m 2.6 m, based on the ability to distinguish surface features in that image that were also observed in the other images.« less

Co-registered Topographical, Band Excitation Nanomechanical, and Mass Spectral Imaging Using a Combined Atomic Force Microscopy/Mass Spectrometry Platform

DOE PAGES

Ovchinnikova, Olga S.; Tai, Tamin; Bocharova, Vera; ...

2015-03-18

The advancement of a hybrid atomic force microscopy/mass spectrometry imaging platform demonstrating for the first time co-registered topographical, band excitation nanomechanical, and mass spectral imaging of a surface using a single instrument is reported. The mass spectrometry-based chemical imaging component of the system utilized nanothermal analysis probes for pyrolytic surface sampling followed by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization of the gas phase species produced with subsequent mass analysis. We discuss the basic instrumental setup and operation and the multimodal imaging capability and utility are demonstrated using a phase separated polystyrene/poly(2-vinylpyridine) polymer blend thin film. The topography and band excitation images showedmore » that the valley and plateau regions of the thin film surface were comprised primarily of one of the two polymers in the blend with the mass spectral chemical image used to definitively identify the polymers at the different locations. Data point pixel size for the topography (390 nm x 390 nm), band excitation (781 nm x 781 nm), mass spectrometry (690 nm x 500 nm) images was comparable and submicrometer in all three cases, but the data voxel size for each of the three images was dramatically different. The topography image was uniquely a surface measurement, whereas the band excitation image included information from an estimated 10 nm deep into the sample and the mass spectral image from 110-140 nm in depth. Moreover, because of this dramatic sampling depth variance, some differences in the band excitation and mass spectrometry chemical images were observed and were interpreted to indicate the presence of a buried interface in the sample. The spatial resolution of the mass spectral image was estimated to be between 1.5 m 2.6 m, based on the ability to distinguish surface features in that image that were also observed in the other images.« less

Spectral properties of 441 radio pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jankowski, F.; van Straten, W.; Keane, E. F.; Bailes, M.; Barr, E. D.; Johnston, S.; Kerr, M.

2018-02-01

We present a study of the spectral properties of 441 pulsars observed with the Parkes radio telescope near the centre frequencies of 728, 1382 and 3100 MHz. The observations at 728 and 3100 MHz were conducted simultaneously using the dual-band 10-50 cm receiver. These high-sensitivity, multifrequency observations provide a systematic and uniform sample of pulsar flux densities. We combine our measurements with spectral data from the literature in order to derive the spectral properties of these pulsars. Using techniques from robust regression and information theory, we classify the observed spectra in an objective, robust and unbiased way into five morphological classes: simple or broken power law, power law with either low- or high-frequency cut-off and log-parabolic spectrum. While about 79 per cent of the pulsars that could be classified have simple power-law spectra, we find significant deviations in 73 pulsars, 35 of which have curved spectra, 25 with a spectral break and 10 with a low-frequency turn-over. We identify 11 gigahertz-peaked spectrum (GPS) pulsars, with 3 newly identified in this work and 8 confirmations of known GPS pulsars; 3 others show tentative evidence of GPS, but require further low-frequency measurements to support this classification. The weighted mean spectral index of all pulsars with simple power-law spectra is -1.60 ± 0.03. The observed spectral indices are well described by a shifted log-normal distribution. The strongest correlations of spectral index are with spin-down luminosity, magnetic field at the light-cylinder and spin-down rate. We also investigate the physical origin of the observed spectral features and determine emission altitudes for three pulsars.

Vertical temperature profile and mesospheric winds retrieval on Mars from CO ;millimeter observations. Comparison with general circulation model predictions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cavalié, T.; Billebaud, F.; Encrenaz, T.; Dobrijevic, M.; Brillet, J.; Forget, F.; Lellouch, E.

2008-10-01

Aims: We have recorded high spectral resolution spectra and derived precise atmospheric temperature profiles and wind velocities in the atmosphere of Mars. We have compared observations of the planetary mean thermal profile and mesospheric wind velocities on the disk, obtained with our millimetric observations of CO rotational lines, to predictions from the Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD) Mars General Circulation Model, as provided through the Mars Climate Database (MCD) numerical tool. Methods: We observed the atmosphere of Mars at CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) wavelengths with the IRAM 30-m antenna in June 2001 and November 2005. We retrieved the mean thermal profile of the planet from high and low spectral resolution data with an inversion method detailed here. High spectral resolution spectra were used to derive mesospheric wind velocities on the planetary disk. We also report here the use of 13CO(2-1) line core shifts to measure wind velocities at 40 km. Results: Neither the Mars Year 24 (MY24) nor the Dust Storm scenario from the Mars Climate Database (MCD) provides satisfactory fits to the 2001 and 2005 data when retrieving the thermal profiles. The Warm scenario only provides good fits for altitudes lower than 30 km. The atmosphere is warmer than predicted up to 60 km and then becomes colder. Dust loading could be the reason for this mismatch. The MCD MY24 scenario predicts a thermal inversion layer between 40 and 60 km, which is not retrieved from the high spectral resolution data. Our results are generally in agreement with other observations from 10 to 40 km in altitude, but our results obtained from the high spectral resolution spectra differ in the 40-70 km layer, where the instruments are the most sensitive. The wind velocities we retrieve from our 12CO observations confirm MCD predictions for 2001 and 2005. Velocities obtained from 13CO observations are consistent with MCD predictions in 2001, but are lower than predicted in 2005.

Correlation of different spectral lights with biomass accumulation and production of antioxidant secondary metabolites in callus cultures of medicinally important Prunella vulgaris L.

PubMed

Fazal, Hina; Abbasi, Bilal Haider; Ahmad, Nisar; Ali, Syed Shujait; Akbar, Fazal; Kanwal, Farina

2016-06-01

Light is one of the key elicitors that directly fluctuates plant developmental processes and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. In this study, the effects of various spectral lights on biomass accumulation and production of antioxidant secondary metabolites in callus cultures of Prunella vulgaris were investigated. Among different spectral lights, green light induced the maximum callogenic response (95%). Enhanced fresh biomass accumulation was observed in log phases on day-35, when callus cultures were exposed to yellow and violet lights. Yellow light induced maximum biomass accumulation (3.67g/100ml) from leaf explants as compared to control (1.27g/100ml). In contrast, violet lights enhanced biomass accumulation (3.49g/100ml) from petiole explant. Maximum total phenolics content (TPC; 23.9mg/g-DW) and total flavonoids content (TFC; 1.65mg/g-DW) were observed when cultures were grown under blue lights. In contrast, green and yellow lights enhanced total phenolics production (TPP; 112.52g/100ml) and total flavonoids production (TFP; 9.64g/100ml) as compared to control. The calli grown under green, red and blue lights enhanced DPPH-free radical scavenging activity (DFRSA; 91.3%, 93.1% and 93%) than control (56.44%) respectively. The DFRSA was correlated either with TPC and TFC or TPP and TFP. Furthermore, yellow lights enhanced superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and protease activities, however, the content of total protein (CTP) was higher in control cultures (186μg BSAE/mg FW) as compared to spectral lights. These results suggest that the exposure of callus cultures to various spectral lights have shown a key role in biomass accumulation and production of antioxidant secondary metabolites. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

CONTINUUM INTENSITY AND [O i] SPECTRAL LINE PROFILES IN SOLAR 3D PHOTOSPHERIC MODELS: THE EFFECT OF MAGNETIC FIELDS

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

Fabbian, D.; Moreno-Insertis, F., E-mail: damian@iac.es, E-mail: fmi@iac.es

2015-04-01

The importance of magnetic fields in three-dimensional (3D) magnetoconvection models of the Sun’s photosphere is investigated in terms of their influence on the continuum intensity at different viewing inclination angles and on the intensity profile of two [O i] spectral lines. We use the RH numerical radiative transfer code to perform a posteriori spectral synthesis on the same time series of magnetoconvection models used in our publications on the effect of magnetic fields on abundance determination. We obtain a good match of the synthetic disk-center continuum intensity to the absolute continuum values from the Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) observational spectrum; the matchmore » of the center-to-limb variation synthetic data to observations is also good, thanks, in part, to the 3D radiation transfer capabilities of the RH code. The different levels of magnetic flux in the numerical time series do not modify the quality of the match. Concerning the targeted [O i] spectral lines, we find, instead, that magnetic fields lead to nonnegligible changes in the synthetic spectrum, with larger average magnetic flux causing both of the lines to become noticeably weaker. The photospheric oxygen abundance that one would derive if instead using nonmagnetic numerical models would thus be lower by a few to several centidex. The inclusion of magnetic fields is confirmed to be important for improving the current modeling of the Sun, here in particular in terms of spectral line formation and of deriving consistent chemical abundances. These results may shed further light on the still controversial issue regarding the precise value of the solar oxygen abundance.« less

Actuator line simulations of a Joukowsky and Tjæreborg rotor using spectral element and finite volume methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleusberg, E.; Sarmast, S.; Schlatter, P.; Ivanell, S.; Henningson, D. S.

2016-09-01

The wake structure behind a wind turbine, generated by the spectral element code Nek5000, is compared with that from the finite volume code EllipSys3D. The wind turbine blades are modeled using the actuator line method. We conduct the comparison on two different setups. One is based on an idealized rotor approximation with constant circulation imposed along the blades corresponding to Glauert's optimal operating condition, and the other is the Tjffireborg wind turbine. The focus lies on analyzing the differences in the wake structures entailed by the different codes and corresponding setups. The comparisons show good agreement for the defining parameters of the wake such as the wake expansion, helix pitch and circulation of the helical vortices. Differences can be related to the lower numerical dissipation in Nek5000 and to the domain differences at the rotor center. At comparable resolution Nek5000 yields more accurate results. It is observed that in the spectral element method the helical vortices, both at the tip and root of the actuator lines, retain their initial swirl velocity distribution for a longer distance in the near wake. This results in a lower vortex core growth and larger maximum vorticity along the wake. Additionally, it is observed that the break down process of the spiral tip vortices is significantly different between the two methods, with vortex merging occurring immediately after the onset of instability in the finite volume code, while Nek5000 simulations exhibit a 2-3 radii period of vortex pairing before merging.

Noninvasive tumor detection using spectrally-resolved in-vivo imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kostenich, Gennady; Kimel, Sol; Malik, Zvi; Orenstein, Arie

2000-11-01

A novel spectral image-analysis system was used for tumor fluorescence and reflectance imaging in an animal model and in patients. Transcutaneous fluorescence imaging was carried out on Balb/c mice bearing subcutaneous C26 colon carcinoma after intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a metabolic precursor of protoporphyrin-IX (PP), and of a novel photosensitizer tetrahydroporphyrin (THP). Tumors were clearly observable by fluorescence detection using green light excitation. Tumor versus normal tissue uptake of the photosensitizing agents was determined by monitoring fluorescence intensity. Maximal PP accumulation in tumor was observed 3 h after i.p. injection of ALA, whereas THP showed selective accumulation in tumor 24 h after administration. Reflectance spectroscopy was employed to study pigmented human skin lesions (nevus, pigmented BCC and pigmented melanoma). In the near-infrared region (800-880 nm) pigmented BCC and melanoma exhibited a differently shaped reflectance spectrum compared to normal skin and nevus. Spatially and spectrally resolved imaging, in combination with mathematical algorithms (such as normalization, spectral similarity mapping and division) allowed unambiguous detection of malignancies. Optical biopsy results from a total of 51 patients showed 45 benign nevi, 3 pigmented BCC and 3 malignant melanomas, as confirmed by histology.

Models of formation and some algorithms of hyperspectral image processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Achmetov, R. N.; Stratilatov, N. R.; Yudakov, A. A.; Vezenov, V. I.; Eremeev, V. V.

2014-12-01

Algorithms and information technologies for processing Earth hyperspectral imagery are presented. Several new approaches are discussed. Peculiar properties of processing the hyperspectral imagery, such as multifold signal-to-noise reduction, atmospheric distortions, access to spectral characteristics of every image point, and high dimensionality of data, were studied. Different measures of similarity between individual hyperspectral image points and the effect of additive uncorrelated noise on these measures were analyzed. It was shown that these measures are substantially affected by noise, and a new measure free of this disadvantage was proposed. The problem of detecting the observed scene object boundaries, based on comparing the spectral characteristics of image points, is considered. It was shown that contours are processed much better when spectral characteristics are used instead of energy brightness. A statistical approach to the correction of atmospheric distortions, which makes it possible to solve the stated problem based on analysis of a distorted image in contrast to analytical multiparametric models, was proposed. Several algorithms used to integrate spectral zonal images with data from other survey systems, which make it possible to image observed scene objects with a higher quality, are considered. Quality characteristics of hyperspectral data processing were proposed and studied.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-09-01

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

Signal and noise level estimation for narrow spectral width returns observed by the Indian MST radar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hooper, D. A.

1999-07-01

Use is made of five sets of multibeam observations of the lower atmosphere made by the Indian mesosphere-stratosphere-troposphere (MST) radar. Two aspects of signal processing which can lead to serious underestimates of the signal-to-noise ratio are considered. First, a comparison is made of the effects of different data weighting windows applied to the inphase and quadrature components of the radar return samples prior to Fourier transformation. The relatively high degree of spectral leakage associated with the rectangular and Hamming windows can give rise to overestimates of the noise levels by up to 28 dB for the strongest signals. Use of the Hanning window is found to be the most appropriate for these particular data. Second, a technique for removing systematic dc biases from the data in the time domain is compared with the more well-known practice of correction in the frequency domain. The latter technique, which is often used to remove the effects of ground clutter, is shown to be particularly inappropriate for the characteristically narrow spectral width signals observed by the Indian MST radar. For cases of near-zero Doppler shift it can remove up to 30 dB of signal information. The consequences of noise and signal level discrepancies for studies of refractivity structures are discussed. It is shown that neither problem has a significant effect on Doppler shift or spectral width estimates.

Room temperature spectrally resolved single-molecule spectroscopy reveals new spectral forms and photophysical versatility of aequorea green fluorescent protein variants.

PubMed

Blum, Christian; Meixner, Alfred J; Subramaniam, Vinod

2004-12-01

It is known from ensemble spectroscopy at cryogenic temperatures that variants of the Aequorea green fluorescent protein (GFP) occur in interconvertible spectroscopically distinct forms which are obscured in ensemble room temperature spectroscopy. By analyzing the fluorescence of the GFP variants EYFP and EGFP by spectrally resolved single-molecule spectroscopy we were able to observe spectroscopically different forms of the proteins and to dynamically monitor transitions between these forms at room temperature. In addition to the predominant EYFP B-form we have observed the blue-shifted I-form thus far only seen at cryogenic temperatures and have followed transitions between these forms. Further we have identified for EYFP and for EGFP three more, so far unknown, forms with red-shifted fluorescence. Transitions between the predominant forms and the red-shifted forms show a dark time which indicates the existence of a nonfluorescent intermediate. The spectral position of the newly-identified red-shifted forms and their formation via a nonfluorescent intermediate hint that these states may account for the possible photoactivation observed in bulk experiments. The comparison of the single-protein spectra of the red-shifted EYFP and EGFP forms with single-molecule fluorescence spectra of DsRed suggest that these new forms possibly originate from an extended chromophoric pi-system analogous to the DsRed chromophore.

Lens-Aided Multi-Angle Spectroscopy (LAMAS) Reveals Small-Scale Outflow Structure in Quasars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, Paul J.

2006-06-01

Spectral differences between lensed quasar image components are common. Since lensing is intrinsically achromatic, these differences are typically explained as the effect of either microlensing, or as light path time delays sampling intrinsic quasar spectral variability. Here we advance a novel third hypothesis: some spectral differences are due to small line-of-sight differences through quasar disk wind outflows. In particular, we propose that variable spectral differences seen only in component A of the widest separation lens SDSS J1004+4112 are due to differential absorption along the sight lines. The absorber properties required by this hypothesis are akin to known broad absorption line (BAL) outflows but must have a broader, smoother velocity profile. We interpret the observed C IV emission-line variability as further evidence for spatial fine structure transverse to the line of sight. Since outflows are likely to be rotating, such absorber fine structure can consistently explain some of the UV and X-ray variability seen in AGNs. The implications are many: (1) Spectroscopic differences in other lensed objects may be due to this ``lens-aided multi-angle spectroscopy'' (LAMAS). (2) Outflows have fine structure on size scales of arcseconds, as seen from the nucleus. (3) Assuming either broad absorption line region sizes proposed in recent wind models, or typically assumed continuum emission region sizes, LAMAS and/or variability provide broadly consistent absorber size scale estimates of ~1015 cm. (4) Very broad smooth absorption may be ubiquitous in quasar spectra, even when no obvious troughs are seen.

Hydrocarbon Spectral Database

National Institute of Standards and Technology Data Gateway

SRD 115 Hydrocarbon Spectral Database (Web, free access)   All of the rotational spectral lines observed and reported in the open literature for 91 hydrocarbon molecules have been tabulated. The isotopic molecular species, assigned quantum numbers, observed frequency, estimated measurement uncertainty and reference are given for each transition reported.

Diatomic Spectral Database

National Institute of Standards and Technology Data Gateway

SRD 114 Diatomic Spectral Database (Web, free access)   All of the rotational spectral lines observed and reported in the open literature for 121 diatomic molecules have been tabulated. The isotopic molecular species, assigned quantum numbers, observed frequency, estimated measurement uncertainty, and reference are given for each transition reported.

Triatomic Spectral Database

National Institute of Standards and Technology Data Gateway

SRD 117 Triatomic Spectral Database (Web, free access)   All of the rotational spectral lines observed and reported in the open literature for 55 triatomic molecules have been tabulated. The isotopic molecular species, assigned quantum numbers, observed frequency, estimated measurement uncertainty and reference are given for each transition reported.

Information content of IRIS spectra. [from Nimbus 4 satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Price, J. C.

1974-01-01

Spectra from the satellite instrument IRIS (infra red interferometer spectrometer) were examined to find the number of independent variables needed to describe these broadband high spectral resolution data. The radiated power in the atmospheric window from 771 to 981/cm was the first parameter chosen for fitting observed spectra. At succeeding levels of analysis the residual variability (observed spectrum - best fit spectrum) in an ensemble of observations was partioned into spectral eigenvectors. The eigenvector describing the largest fraction of this variability was examined for a strong spectral signature; the power in the corresponding spectral band was then used as the next fitting parameter. The measured power in nine spectral intervals, when inserted in the spectral fitting functions, was adequate to describe most spectra to within the noise level of IRIS. Considerations of relative signal strength and scales of atmospheric variability suggest a combination sounder (multichannel-broad field of view) scanner (window channel-small field of view) as an efficient observing instrument.

High-angular-resolution stellar imaging with occultations from the Cassini spacecraft - III. Mira

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, Paul N.; Tuthill, Peter G.; Nicholson, Philip D.; Hedman, Matthew M.

2016-04-01

We present an analysis of spectral and spatial data of Mira obtained by the Cassini spacecraft, which not only observed the star's spectra over a broad range of near-infrared wavelengths, but was also able to obtain high-resolution spatial information by watching the star pass behind Saturn's rings. The observed spectral range of 1-5 microns reveals the stellar atmosphere in the crucial water-bands which are unavailable to terrestrial observers, and the simultaneous spatial sampling allows the origin of spectral features to be located in the stellar environment. Models are fitted to the data, revealing the spectral and spatial structure of molecular layers surrounding the star. High-resolution imagery is recovered revealing the layered and asymmetric nature of the stellar atmosphere. The observational data set is also used to confront the state-of-the-art cool opacity-sampling dynamic extended atmosphere models of Mira variables through a detailed spectral and spatial comparison, revealing in general a good agreement with some specific departures corresponding to particular spectral features.

Information content in Iris spectra. [Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer of Nimbus 4 satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Price, J. C.

1975-01-01

Spectra from the satellite instrument Iris (infrared interferometer spectrometer) were examined to find the number of independent variables needed to describe the broad-band high-resolution spectral data. The radiated power in the atmospheric window from 771 to 981 per cm was the first parameter chosen for fitting observed spectra. At succeeding levels of analysis, the residual variability (observed spectrum minus best-fit spectrum) in an ensemble of observations was partitioned into spectral eigenvectors. The eigenvector describing the largest fraction of this variability was examined for a strong spectral signature; the power in the corresponding spectral band was then used as the next fitting parameter. The measured power in nine spectral intervals, when it was inserted in the spectral-fitting functions, was adequate to describe most spectra to within the noise level of Iris. Considerations of relative signal strength and scales of atmospheric variability suggest a combination sounder (multichannel, broad field of view) scanner (window channel, small field of view) as an efficient observing instrument.

Experimental illumination of natural habitat—an experimental set-up to assess the direct and indirect ecological consequences of artificial light of different spectral composition

PubMed Central

Spoelstra, Kamiel; van Grunsven, Roy H. A.; Donners, Maurice; Gienapp, Phillip; Huigens, Martinus E.; Slaterus, Roy; Berendse, Frank; Visser, Marcel E.; Veenendaal, Elmar

2015-01-01

Artificial night-time illumination of natural habitats has increased dramatically over the past few decades. Generally, studies that assess the impact of artificial light on various species in the wild make use of existing illumination and are therefore correlative. Moreover, studies mostly focus on short-term consequences at the individual level, rather than long-term consequences at the population and community level—thereby ignoring possible unknown cascading effects in ecosystems. The recent change to LED lighting has opened up the exciting possibility to use light with a custom spectral composition, thereby potentially reducing the negative impact of artificial light. We describe here a large-scale, ecosystem-wide study where we experimentally illuminate forest-edge habitat with different spectral composition, replicated eight times. Monitoring of species is being performed according to rigid protocols, in part using a citizen-science-based approach, and automated where possible. Simultaneously, we specifically look at alterations in behaviour, such as changes in activity, and daily and seasonal timing. In our set-up, we have so far observed that experimental lights facilitate foraging activity of pipistrelle bats, suppress activity of wood mice and have effects on birds at the community level, which vary with spectral composition. Thus far, we have not observed effects on moth populations, but these and many other effects may surface only after a longer period of time. PMID:25780241

Monitoring equilibrium reaction dynamics of a nearly barrierless molecular rotor using ultrafast vibrational echoes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nilsen, Ian A.; Osborne, Derek G.; White, Aaron M.; Anna, Jessica M.; Kubarych, Kevin J.

2014-10-01

Using rapidly acquired spectral diffusion, a recently developed variation of heterodyne detected infrared photon echo spectroscopy, we observe ˜3 ps solvent independent spectral diffusion of benzene chromium tricarbonyl (C6H6Cr(CO)3, BCT) in a series of nonpolar linear alkane solvents. The spectral dynamics is attributed to low-barrier internal torsional motion. This tripod complex has two stable minima corresponding to staggered and eclipsed conformations, which differ in energy by roughly half of kBT. The solvent independence is due to the relative size of the rotor compared with the solvent molecules, which create a solvent cage in which torsional motion occurs largely free from solvent damping. Since the one-dimensional transition state is computed to be only 0.03 kBT above the higher energy eclipsed conformation, this model system offers an unusual, nearly barrierless reaction, which nevertheless is characterized by torsional coordinate dependent vibrational frequencies. Hence, by studying the spectral diffusion of the tripod carbonyls, it is possible to gain insight into the fundamental dynamics of internal rotational motion, and we find some evidence for the importance of non-diffusive ballistic motion even in the room-temperature liquid environment. Using several different approaches to describe equilibrium kinetics, as well as the influence of reactive dynamics on spectroscopic observables, we provide evidence that the low-barrier torsional motion of BCT provides an excellent test case for detailed studies of the links between chemical exchange and linear and nonlinear vibrational spectroscopy.

Characterizing riverbed sediment using high-frequency acoustics 2: scattering signatures of Colorado River bed sediment in Marble and Grand Canyons

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buscombe, Daniel D.; Grams, Paul E.; Kaplinski, Matt A.

2014-01-01

In this, the second of a pair of papers on the statistical signatures of riverbed sediment in high-frequency acoustic backscatter, spatially explicit maps of the stochastic geometries (length- and amplitude-scales) of backscatter are related to patches of riverbed surfaces composed of known sediment types, as determined by geo-referenced underwater video observations. Statistics of backscatter magnitudes alone are found to be poor discriminators between sediment types. However, the variance of the power spectrum, and the intercept and slope from a power-law spectral form (termed the spectral strength and exponent, respectively) successfully discriminate between sediment types. A decision-tree approach was able to classify spatially heterogeneous patches of homogeneous sands, gravels (and sand-gravel mixtures), and cobbles/boulders with 95, 88, and 91% accuracy, respectively. Application to sites outside the calibration, and surveys made at calibration sites at different times, were plausible based on observations from underwater video. Analysis of decision trees built with different training data sets suggested that the spectral exponent was consistently the most important variable in the classification. In the absence of theory concerning how spatially variable sediment surfaces scatter high-frequency sound, the primary advantage of this data-driven approach to classify bed sediment over alternatives is that spectral methods have well understood properties and make no assumptions about the distributional form of the fluctuating component of backscatter over small spatial scales.

Experimental illumination of natural habitat--an experimental set-up to assess the direct and indirect ecological consequences of artificial light of different spectral composition.

PubMed

Spoelstra, Kamiel; van Grunsven, Roy H A; Donners, Maurice; Gienapp, Phillip; Huigens, Martinus E; Slaterus, Roy; Berendse, Frank; Visser, Marcel E; Veenendaal, Elmar

2015-05-05

Artificial night-time illumination of natural habitats has increased dramatically over the past few decades. Generally, studies that assess the impact of artificial light on various species in the wild make use of existing illumination and are therefore correlative. Moreover, studies mostly focus on short-term consequences at the individual level, rather than long-term consequences at the population and community level-thereby ignoring possible unknown cascading effects in ecosystems. The recent change to LED lighting has opened up the exciting possibility to use light with a custom spectral composition, thereby potentially reducing the negative impact of artificial light. We describe here a large-scale, ecosystem-wide study where we experimentally illuminate forest-edge habitat with different spectral composition, replicated eight times. Monitoring of species is being performed according to rigid protocols, in part using a citizen-science-based approach, and automated where possible. Simultaneously, we specifically look at alterations in behaviour, such as changes in activity, and daily and seasonal timing. In our set-up, we have so far observed that experimental lights facilitate foraging activity of pipistrelle bats, suppress activity of wood mice and have effects on birds at the community level, which vary with spectral composition. Thus far, we have not observed effects on moth populations, but these and many other effects may surface only after a longer period of time. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volodko, Dmitriy

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

Chemical, multispectral, and textural constraints on the composition and origin of rocks at the Mars Pathfinder landing site

USGS Publications Warehouse

McSween, H.Y.; Murchie, S.L.; Crisp, J.A.; Bridges, N.T.; Anderson, R.C.; Bell, J.F.; Britt, D.T.; Brückner, J.; Dreibus, G.; Economou, T.; Ghosh, A.; Golombek, M.P.; Greenwood, J.P.; Johnson, J. R.; Moore, H.J.; Morris, R.V.; Parker, T.J.; Rieder, R.; Singer, R.; Wänke, H.

1999-01-01

Rocks at the Mars Pathfinder site are probably locally derived. Textures on rock surfaces may indicate volcanic, sedimentary, or impact-generated rocks, but aeolian abration and dust coatings prevent unambiguous interpretation. Multispectral imaging has resolved four spectral classes of rocks: gray and red, which occur on different surfaces of the same rocks; pink, which is probably soil crusts; and maroon, which occurs as large boulders, mostly in the far field. Rocks are assigned to two spectral trends based on the position of peak reflectance: the primary spectral trend contains gray, red, and pink rocks; maroon rocks constitute the secondary spectral trend. The spatial pattern of spectral variations observed is oriented along the prevailing wind direction. The primary spectral trend arises from thin ferric coatings of aeolian dust on darker rocks. The secondary spectral trend is apparently due to coating by a different mineral, probably maghemite or ferrihydrite. A chronology based on rock spectra suggests that rounded maroon boulders constitute the oldest petrologic unit (a flood deposit), succeeded by smaller cobbles possibly deposited by impact, and followed by aeolian erosion and deposition. Nearly linear chemical trends in alpha proton X-ray spectrometer rock compositions are interpreted as mixing lines between rock and adhering dust, a conclusion supported by a correlation between sulfur abundance and red/blue spectral ratio. Extrapolations of regression lines to zero sulfur give the composition of a presumed igneous rock. The chemistry and normative mineralogy of the sulfur-free rock resemble common terrestrial volcanic rocks, and its classification corresponds to andesite. Igneous rocks of this composition may occur with clastic sedimentary rocks or impact melts and breccias. However, the spectral mottling expected on conglomerates or breccias is not observed in any APXS-analyzed rocks. Interpretation of the rocks as andesites is complicated by absence of a "1 μm" pyroxene absorption band. Plausible explanations include impact glass, band masking by magnetite, or presence of calcium- and iron-rich pyroxenes and olivine which push the absorption band minimum past the imager's spectral range. The inferred andesitic composition is most similar to terrestrial anorogenic icelandites, formed by fractionation of tholeiitic basaltic magmas. Early melting of a relatively primitive Martian mantle could produce an appropriate parent magma, supporting the ancient age of Pathfinder rocks inferred from their incorporation in Hesperian flood deposits. Although rocks of andesitic composition at the Pathfinder site may represent samples of ancient Martian crust, inferences drawn about a necessary role for water or plate tectonics in their petrogenesis are probably unwarranted.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-12-01

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

Stone former urine proteome demonstrates a cationic shift in protein distribution compared to normal.

PubMed

Kolbach-Mandel, Ann M; Mandel, Neil S; Hoffmann, Brian R; Kleinman, Jack G; Wesson, Jeffrey A

2017-08-01

Many urine proteins are found in calcium oxalate stones, yet decades of research have failed to define the role of urine proteins in stone formation. This urine proteomic study compares the relative amounts of abundant urine proteins between idiopathic calcium oxalate stone forming and non-stone forming (normal) cohorts to identify differences that might correlate with disease. Random mid-morning urine samples were collected following informed consent from 25 stone formers and 14 normal individuals. Proteins were isolated from urine using ultrafiltration. Urine proteomes for each sample were characterized using label-free spectral counting mass spectrometry, so that urine protein relative abundances could be compared between the two populations. A total of 407 unique proteins were identified with the 38 predominant proteins accounting for >82% of all sample spectral counts. The most highly abundant proteins were equivalent in stone formers and normals, though significant differences were observed in a few moderate abundance proteins (immunoglobulins, transferrin, and epidermal growth factor), accounting for 13 and 10% of the spectral counts, respectively. These proteins contributed to a cationic shift in protein distribution in stone formers compared to normals (22% vs. 18%, p = 0.04). Our data showing only small differences in moderate abundance proteins suggest that no single protein controls stone formation. Observed increases in immunoglobulins and transferrin suggest increased inflammatory activity in stone formers, but cannot distinguish cause from effect in stone formation. The observed cationic shift in protein distribution would diminish protein charge stabilization, which could lead to protein aggregation and increased risk for crystal aggregation.

Hyperspectral remote sensing techniques for early detection of plant diseases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krezhova, Dora; Maneva, Svetla; Zdravev, Tomas

Hyperspectral remote sensing is an emerging, multidisciplinary field with diverse applications in Earth observation. Nowadays spectral remote sensing techniques allow presymptomatic monitoring of changes in the physiological state of plants with high spectral resolution. Hyperspectral leaf reflectance and chlorophyll fluorescence proved to be highly suitable for identification of growth anomalies of cultural plants that result from the environmental changes and different stress factors. Hyperspectral technologies can find place in many scientific areas, as well as for monitoring of plants status and functioning to help in making timely management decisions. This research aimed to detect a presence of viral infection in young pepper plants (Capsicum annuum L.) caused by Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV) by using hyperspectral reflectance and fluorescence data and to assess the effect of some growth regulators on the development of the disease. In Bulgaria CMV is one of the widest spread pathogens, causing the biggest economical losses in crop vegetable production. Leaf spectral reflectance and fluorescence data were collected by a portable fibre-optics spectrometer in the spectral ranges 450÷850 nm and 600-900 nm. Greenhouse experiment with pepper plants of two cultivars, Sivria (sensitive to CMV) and Ostrion (resistant to CMV) were used. The plants were divided into six groups. The first group consisted of healthy (control) plants. At growth stage 4-6 expanded leaf, the second group was inoculated with CMV. The other four groups were treated with growth regulators: Spermine, MEIA (beta-monomethyl ester of itaconic acid), BTH (benzo(1,2,3)thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid-S-methyl ester) and Phytoxin. On the next day, the pepper plants of these four groups were inoculated with CMV. The viral concentrations in the plants were determined by the serological method DAS-ELISA. Statistical, first derivative and cluster analysis were applied and several vegetation indices were calculated for assessment the differences between the spectral data of healthy and injured (stressed) plants of two cultivars. The averaged reflectance spectra for all groups were analyzed in the most informative for green plants spectral ranges: green, red, red edge, and near infrared. Fluorescence spectra were analyzed at five characteristic wavelengths located at the maximums of the emitted radiation and at the forefronts and rear slopes. On the 7th day no visual changes in the leaves occurred but a decrease of spectral reflectance was established in the green and red ranges for all cases of two cultivars. On the 14th day an increase of the number of statistically significant differences between spectral reflectance of healthy and treated plants was observed. A shift of the red edge position to the blue region was observed for the case of treatment only with CMV. The growth regulator MEIA is with the best preventing action on the leaves. The correlation of the results from spectral analyses and the DAS-ELISA findings for presence of CMV demonstrates the efficiency and sensitivity of these remote sensing techniques for reliable diagnosis of viral infection and injuries of the plants.

Contribution of low-temperature single-molecule techniques to structural issues of pigment–protein complexes from photosynthetic purple bacteria

PubMed Central

Löhner, Alexander; Cogdell, Richard

2018-01-01

As the electronic energies of the chromophores in a pigment–protein complex are imposed by the geometrical structure of the protein, this allows the spectral information obtained to be compared with predictions derived from structural models. Thereby, the single-molecule approach is particularly suited for the elucidation of specific, distinctive spectral features that are key for a particular model structure, and that would not be observable in ensemble-averaged spectra due to the heterogeneity of the biological objects. In this concise review, we illustrate with the example of the light-harvesting complexes from photosynthetic purple bacteria how results from low-temperature single-molecule spectroscopy can be used to discriminate between different structural models. Thereby the low-temperature approach provides two advantages: (i) owing to the negligible photobleaching, very long observation times become possible, and more importantly, (ii) at cryogenic temperatures, vibrational degrees of freedom are frozen out, leading to sharper spectral features and in turn to better resolved spectra. PMID:29321265

The spectral energy distribution of the scattered light from dark clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mattila, Kalevi; Schnur, G. F. O.

1989-01-01

A dark cloud is exposed to the ambient radiation field of integrated starlight in the Galaxy. Scattering of starlight by the dust particles gives rise to a diffuse surface brightness of the dark nebula. The intensity and the spectrum of this diffuse radiation can be used to investigate, e.g., the scattering parameters of the dust, the optical thickness of the cloud, and as a probe of the ambient radiation field at the location of the cloud. An understanding of the scattering process is also a prerequisite for the isolation of broad spectral features due to fluorescence or to any other non-scattering origin of the diffuse light. Model calculations are presented for multiple scattering in a spherical cloud. These calculations show that the different spectral shapes of the observed diffuse light can be reproduced with standard dust parameters. The possibility to use the observed spectrum as a diagnostic tool for analyzing the thickness of the cloud and the dust particle is discussed.

Biomedical application of wavelets: analysis of electroencephalograph signals for monitoring depth of anesthesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbate, Agostino; Nayak, A.; Koay, J.; Roy, R. J.; Das, Pankaj K.

1996-03-01

The wavelet transform (WT) has been used to study the nonstationary information in the electroencephalograph (EEG) as an aid in determining the anesthetic depth. A complex analytic mother wavelet is utilized to obtain the time evolution of the various spectral components of the EEG signal. The technique is utilized for the detection and spectral analysis of transient and background processes in the awake and asleep states. It can be observed that the response of both states before the application of the stimulus is similar in amplitude but not in spectral contents, which suggests a background activity of the brain. The brain reacts to the external stimulus in two different modes depending on the state of consciousness of the subject. In the case of awake state, there is an evident increase in response, while for the sleep state a reduction in this activity is observed. This analysis seems to suggest that the brain has an ongoing background process that monitors external stimulus in both the sleep and awake states.

Properties of the Second Outburst of the Bursting Pulsar (GRO J1744-28) as Observed with BASTE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woods, Peter M.; Kouveliotou, Chryssa; VanParadus, Jan; Briggs, Michael S.; Wilson, C. A.; Deal, Kim; Harmon, B. A.; Fishman, G. J.; Lewin, W. H. G.; Kommers, J.

1999-01-01

One year after its discovery, the Bursting Pulsar (GRO J1744-28) went into outburst again, displaying the hard X-ray bursts and pulsations that make this source unique. We report on BATSE (Burst and Transient Source Experiment) observations of both the persistent and burst emission for this second outburst and draw comparisons with the first. The second outburst was smaller than the first in both duration and peak luminosity. The persistent flux, burst peak flux, and burst fluence were all reduced in amplitude by a factor of approximately 1.7. Despite these differences, the two outbursts were very similar with respect to the burst occurrence rate, the durations and spectra of bursts, the absence of spectral evolution during bursts, and the evolution of the ratio alpha of average persistent to burst luminosity. Although no spectral evolution was found within individual bursts, we find evidence for a small (20%) variation of the spectral temperature during the course of the second outburst.

Spectral and diurnal variations in clear sky planetary albedo

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Briegleb, B.; Ramanathan, V.

1982-01-01

Spectral and diurnal variations in the clear sky planetary albedo of the earth are calculated using a radiative transfer model to obtain January and July values for a 5 deg x 5 deg global grid. The model employs observed climatological values of temperatures, humidities, snow and sea-ice cover. The diurnal cycle of clear sky albedo is calculated in the following intervals: 0.2-0.5, 0.5-0.7, and 0.7-4 microns. Observed ozone distribution is specified as a function of latitude and season. The 0.2-0.5 micron spectral albedo is 10-20% higher than the total albedo for all latitudes because of Rayleigh scattering; the 0.5-0.7 micron albedo differs from the total albedo by 1-2% for most latitudes, while the 0.7-4 micron albedo is 5-10% lower than the total because of strong atmospheric absorption. Planetary albedo decreases from morning to local noon, with diurnal variations being particularly strong over water.

An Example Crossover Experiment for Testing New Vicarious Calibration Techniques for Satellite Ocean Color Radiometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Voss, Kenneth J.; McLean, Scott; Lewis, Marlon; Johnson, Carol; Flora, Stephanie; Feinholz, Michael; Yarbrough, Mark; Trees, Charles; Twardowski, Mike; Clark, Dennis

2010-01-01

Vicarious calibration of ocean color satellites involves the use of accurate surface measurements of water-leaving radiance to update and improve the system calibration of ocean color satellite sensors. An experiment was performed to compare a free-fall technique with the established MOBY measurement. We found in the laboratory that the radiance and irradiance instruments compared well within their estimated uncertainties for various spectral sources. The spectrally averaged differences between the NIST values for the sources and the instruments were less than 2.5% for the radiance sensors and less than 1.5% for the irradiance sensors. In the field, the sensors measuring the above-surface downwelling irradiance performed nearly as well as they had in the laboratory, with an average difference of less than 2%. While the water-leaving radiance, L(sub w) calculated from each instrument agreed in almost all cases within the combined instrument uncertainties (approximately 7%), there was a relative bias between the two instrument classes/techniques that varied spectrally. The spectrally averaged (400 nm to 600 nm) difference between the two instrument classes/techniques was 3.1 %. However the spectral variation resulted in the free fall instruments being 0.2% lower at 450 nm and 5.9% higher at 550 nm. Based on the analysis of one matchup, the bias in the L(sub w), was similar to that observed for L(sub u)(1 m) with both systems, indicating the difference did not come from propagating L(sub u)(1 m) to L(sub w).

Spectral-Spatial Scale Invariant Feature Transform for Hyperspectral Images.

PubMed

Al-Khafaji, Suhad Lateef; Jun Zhou; Zia, Ali; Liew, Alan Wee-Chung

2018-02-01

Spectral-spatial feature extraction is an important task in hyperspectral image processing. In this paper we propose a novel method to extract distinctive invariant features from hyperspectral images for registration of hyperspectral images with different spectral conditions. Spectral condition means images are captured with different incident lights, viewing angles, or using different hyperspectral cameras. In addition, spectral condition includes images of objects with the same shape but different materials. This method, which is named spectral-spatial scale invariant feature transform (SS-SIFT), explores both spectral and spatial dimensions simultaneously to extract spectral and geometric transformation invariant features. Similar to the classic SIFT algorithm, SS-SIFT consists of keypoint detection and descriptor construction steps. Keypoints are extracted from spectral-spatial scale space and are detected from extrema after 3D difference of Gaussian is applied to the data cube. Two descriptors are proposed for each keypoint by exploring the distribution of spectral-spatial gradient magnitude in its local 3D neighborhood. The effectiveness of the SS-SIFT approach is validated on images collected in different light conditions, different geometric projections, and using two hyperspectral cameras with different spectral wavelength ranges and resolutions. The experimental results show that our method generates robust invariant features for spectral-spatial image matching.

BeppoSAX Observations of MKN 110

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nicastro, Fabrizio; Oliversen, Ronald J. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Mkn 110 is a bright, nearby Seyfert 1 galaxy, which underwent a long optical monitoring campaign, during the past 12 years. Optical observations show that Mkn 110 vary, both in flux and spectral shape. The intensity and width of its Broad Emission Lines (BELs) also vary, from typical Seyfert 1, to typical Narrow Line Seyfert 1 (NLSyl) values, so suggesting that this could be the first supermassive black holes where accretion state related transitions, as frequently observed in stellar-size black holes, have finally been observed. To verify these suggestions we asked to monitor Mkn 110 with BeppoSAX with three 50 ksec observations six months apart. The goal of the proposal was to observe spectral variations in X-ray, already suggested by previous, existing ROSAT (Roentgen Satellite) and ASCA (Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics) observations of the same source. The first of these three SAX (Satellite per Astronomia X) observations was taken on May 2000, and lacks the Low-Energy instrument (0.1-2 keV is the band in which NLSy1 and Sy1 X-ray spectra differ most).

Calibration Improvements in the Detector-to-Detector Differences for the MODIS Ocean Color Bands

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Yonghong; Angal, Amit; Wu, Aisheng; Geng, Xu; Link, Daniel; Xiong, Xiaoxiong

2016-01-01

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), a major instrument within NASAs Earth Observation System missions, has operated for over 16 and 14 years onboard the Terra and Aqua satellites, respectively. Its reflective solar bands (RSB) covering a spectral range from 0.4 to 2.1 micrometers are primarily calibrated using the on-board solar diffuser(SD), with its on-orbit degradation monitored using the Solar Diffuser Stability Monitor. RSB calibrations are supplemented by near-monthly lunar measurements acquired from the instruments space-view port. Nine bands (bands 8-16) in the visible to near infrared spectral range from 0.412 to 0.866 micrometers are primarily used for ocean color observations.During a recent reprocessing of ocean color products, performed by the NASA Ocean Biology Processing Group, detector-to-detector differences of up to 1.5% were observed in bands 13-16 of Terra MODIS. This paper provides an overview of the current approach to characterize the MODIS detector-to-detector differences. An alternative methodology was developed to mitigate the observed impacts for bands 13-16. The results indicated an improvement in the detector residuals and in turn are expected to improve the MODIS ocean color products. This paper also discusses the limitations,subsequent enhancements, and the improvements planned for future MODIS calibration collections.

First Steps Towards a Homogeneous Solar Spectral Irradiance Data Set: Selection, merging and quality assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scholl, Micha; Kretzschmar, Matthieu; Dudok de Wit, Thierry

2014-05-01

The Sun varies over different timescales, from minutes to months, decades and millennia. Its variation is an important driver of terrestrial climate change and as such a significant input to climate models. While several observations exist to date over a broad frequency range, they are sparse over both frequency and time. As part of the SOLID (First European comprehensive SOlar Irradiance Data Exploitation) project we will show first results of constructing a homogeneous solar spectral irradiance data set of the UV. By combining a large variety of solar spectral irradiance data sets, we aim to reconstruct spectral solar variability further back in time and to deliver a data set that can be used by others, e.g. climate researchers in order to account for the non-constant solar forcing. We present the data used, together with preliminary internal uncertainty and error-estimates, self-consistent quality assessments, gap-filling methods and selection criteria. We use a combination of observed solar spectral irradiance from several missions, starting with OSO III in 1967, as well as available proxy data to identify outliers and trace them back to either instrumental or physical cause. The SOLID project is part of the seventh European framework programme. SOLID brings together representatives from all European solar space experiments and European teams specialized in irradiance modelling, reconstruction and solar image processing.

ROSAT PSPC and HRI Observations of Supernova Remnant G292.0+1.8

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hughes, John P.

1999-01-01

The supernova remnant G292.0+1.8 was observed by the ROSAT PSPC for 18 ksec as part of this grant. Considerable effort was put into the analysis of the PSPC spectra. The major work went into nonequilibrium ionization joint spectral fits with the Einstein SSS and EXOSAT ME data which indicated that the two spatial regions of this remnant (a central bar and a plateau region covering a larger extent) had similar abundances, but different excitation conditions (temperature and ionization state), an important conclusion, if true. Unfortunately as this work was being finished, new ASCA data revealed the presence of a previously unknown, spectrally hard X-ray source near the center of the remnant which contaminated the SSS and ME data and as a consequence made our detailed spectral analysis done up until then un-publishable. We searched for evidence of this hard source in the PSPC data both spectrally and using timing searches (for a pulsar), but found nothing significant. ROSAT HRI data were also obtained on this remnant. These data were compared to the Einstein HRI data to search for evidence of spectral variations with position and possible expansion of the X-ray remnant. One feature in the remnant appears to have changed in brightness although it is not clear what is the cause of the change. No evidence for the hard ASCA source was apparent in the HRI data.

Electron Spectral Breaking Caused by Magnetic Reconnection in Impulsive Flare Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Lun C.

2018-05-01

Using data from the Wind/3D Plasma and Energetic Particle (3DP) instrument, we have analyzed the energy spectral difference of low-energy electrons between the “impulsive” and “gradual” solar energetic particle (SEP) events during solar cycle 23. Since simulations reveal that in the exhaust of magnetic reconnection sites, electrons could form a beam structure in which the parallel speed is limited by the electron Alfvén speed (V Ae), their spectral steepening should be observable at the electron energy E e, corresponding to V Ae. In addition, the analysis of transversely oscillating coronal loops shows that in the loop-top region, where the reconnection site is located, V Ae corresponds to E e < 15 keV. We hence search for the spectral steepening of electrons in this E e range. In our search we have taken the effect of local particle acceleration at reconnecting current sheets into consideration. The effect may occur in the solar wind and impact the observed time-intensity profiles of SEPs. Our analysis shows that in the impulsive flare event, the electron spectral steepening occurs at E e = 7 ± 2 keV, whereas no steepening is seen in the gradual event. Therefore, the comparison between the impulsive and gradual SEP event lists provided by this work could be important for future investigations of particle acceleration in the corona and the solar wind.

Verification of the Velocity Structure in Mexico Basin Using the H/V Spectral Ratio of Microtremors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsushima, S.; Sanchez-Sesma, F. J.; Nagashima, F.; Kawase, H.

2011-12-01

The authors have been proposing a new theory to calculate the Horizontal-to-Vertical (H/V) spectral ratio of microtremors assuming that the wave field is completely diffuse and have attempted to apply the theory to understand the observed microtremor data. It is anticipated that this new theory can be applied to detect the subsurface velocity structure beneath urban area. Precise information about the subsurface velocity structure is essential for predicting strong ground motion accurately, which is necessary to mitigate seismic disaster. Mexico basin, who witnessed severe damage during the 1985 Michoacán Earthquake (Ms 8.1) several hundreds of kilometers away from the source region, is an interesting location in which the reassessment of soil properties is urgent. Because of subsidence, having improved estimates of properties is mandatory. In order to estimate possible changes in the velocity structure in the Mexico basin, we measured microtremors at strong motion observation sites in Mexico City. At those sites, information about the velocity profiles are available. Using the obtained data, we derive observed H/V spectral ratio and compare it with the theoretical H/V spectral ratio to gauge the goodness of our new theory. First we compared the observed H/V spectral ratios for five stations to see the diverse characteristics of this measurement. Then we compared the observed H/V spectral ratios with the theoretical predictions to confirm our theory. We assumed the velocity model of previous surveys at the strong motions observation sites as an initial model. We were able to closely fit both the peak frequency and amplitude of the observed H/V spectral ratio, by the theoretical H/V spectral ratio calculated by our new method. These results show that we have a good initial model. However, the theoretical estimates need some improvement to perfectly fit the observed H/V spectral ratio. This may be an indication that the initial model needs some adjustments. We explore how to improve the velocity model based on the comparison between observations and theory.

Simulator spectral characterization using balloon calibrated solar cells with narrow band pass filters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodelle, G. S.; Brooks, G. R.; Seaman, C. H.

1981-01-01

The development and implementation of an instrument for spectral measurement of solar simulators for testing solar cell characteristics is reported. The device was constructed for detecting changes in solar simulator behavior and for comparing simulator spectral irradiance to solar AM0 output. It consists of a standard solar cell equipped with a band pass filter narrow enough so that, when flown on a balloon to sufficient altitude along with sufficient numbers of cells, each equipped with filters of different bandpass ratings, the entire spectral response of the standard cell can be determined. Measured short circuit currents from the balloon flights thus produce cell devices which, when exposed to solar simulator light, have a current which does or does not respond as observed under actual AM0 conditions. Improvements of the filtered cells in terms of finer bandpass filter tuning and measurement of temperature coefficients are indicated.

Multispectral image fusion for target detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leviner, Marom; Maltz, Masha

2009-09-01

Various different methods to perform multi-spectral image fusion have been suggested, mostly on the pixel level. However, the jury is still out on the benefits of a fused image compared to its source images. We present here a new multi-spectral image fusion method, multi-spectral segmentation fusion (MSSF), which uses a feature level processing paradigm. To test our method, we compared human observer performance in an experiment using MSSF against two established methods: Averaging and Principle Components Analysis (PCA), and against its two source bands, visible and infrared. The task that we studied was: target detection in the cluttered environment. MSSF proved superior to the other fusion methods. Based on these findings, current speculation about the circumstances in which multi-spectral image fusion in general and specific fusion methods in particular would be superior to using the original image sources can be further addressed.

The Rhythm of Fairall 9. I. Observing the Spectral Variability With XMM-Newton and NuSTAR

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lohfink, A. M.; Reynolds, S. C.; Pinto, C.; Alston, W.; Boggs, S. E.; Christensen, F. E.; Craig, W. W.; Fabian, A.C; Hailey, C. J.; Harrison, F. A.;

Evaluation of spatial, radiometric and spectral thematic mapper performance for coastal studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klemas, V.

1985-01-01

The main emphasis of the research was to determine what effect different wetland plant canopies would have upon observed reflectance in Thematic Mapper bands. The three major vegetation canopy types (broadleaf, gramineous and leafless) produce unique spectral responses for a similar quantity of live biomass. Biomass estimates computed from spectral data were most similar to biomass estimates determined from harvest data when models developed for a specific canopy were used. In other words, the spectral biomass estimate of a broadleaf canopy was most similar to the harvest biomass estimate when a broadleaf canopy radiance model was used. Work is continuing to more precisely determine regression coefficients for each canopy type and to model the change in the coefficients with various combinations of canopy types. Researchers suspect that textural and spatial considerations can be used to identify canopy types and improve biomass estimates from Thematic Mapper data.

Absolute spectral response measurements of different photodiodes useful for applications in the UV spectral region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pelizzo, Maria G.; Ceccherini, Paolo; Garoli, Denis; Masut, Pietro; Nicolosi, Piergiorgio

2004-09-01

Long UV radiation exposure can result in damages of biological tissues, as burns, skin aging, erythema and even melanoma cancer. In the past years an increase of melanoma cancer has been observed and associated to the atmospheric ozone deployment. Attendance of sun tanning unit centers has become a huge social phenomena, and the maximum UV radiation dose that a human being can receive is regulated by law. On the other side, UV radiation is largely used for therapeutic and germicidal purposes. In all these areas, spectroradiometer and radiomenter are needed for monitoring UVA (315-400 nm), UVB (280-315 nm) and UVC (100-280 nm) irradiance. We have selected some commercial photodiodes which can be used as solid state detectors in these instruments. We have characterized them by measuring their absolute spectral response in the 200 - 400 nm spectral range.

Spectral estimates of solar radiation intercepted by corn canopies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

1982-01-01

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

Rare-earth doped transparent ceramics for spectral filtering and quantum information processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kunkel, Nathalie; Ferrier, Alban; Thiel, Charles W.; Ramírez, Mariola O.; Bausá, Luisa E.; Cone, Rufus L.; Ikesue, Akio; Goldner, Philippe

2015-09-01

Homogeneous linewidths below 10 kHz are reported for the first time in high-quality Eu3+ doped Y 2O3 transparent ceramics. This result is obtained on the 7F0→5D0 transition in Eu3+ doped Y 2O3 ceramics and corresponds to an improvement of nearly one order of magnitude compared to previously reported values in transparent ceramics. Furthermore, we observed spectral hole lifetimes of ˜15 min that are long enough to enable efficient optical pumping of the nuclear hyperfine levels. Additionally, different Eu3+ concentrations (up to 1.0%) were studied, resulting in an increase of up to a factor of three in the peak absorption coefficient. These results suggest that transparent ceramics can be useful in applications where narrow and deep spectral holes can be burned into highly absorbing lines, such as quantum information processing and spectral filtering.

Mineralogy of Mare Serenitatis on the near side of the Moon based on Chandrayaan-1 Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaur, Prabhjot; Bhattacharya, Satadru; Chauhan, Prakash; Ajai; Kiran Kumar, A. S.

2013-01-01

Spectral analysis of Mare Serenitatis has been carried out using Chandrayaan-1 Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) data in order to map the compositional diversity of the basaltic units that exist in the basin. Mare Serenitatis is characterized by multiple basaltic flows of different ages indicating a prolonged volcanism subsequent to the basin formation event. Reflectance spectra of fresh craters from the Mare Serenitatis have been analyzed to study the nature and location of the spectral absorption features around 1- and 2-μm respectively, arising due to the electronic charge transition of Fe2+ in the crystal lattice of pyroxenes and/or olivine. Chandrayaan-1 M3 data have been utilized to obtain an Integrated Band Depth (IBD) mosaic of the Serenitatis basin. Based on the spectral variations observed in the IBD mosaic, 13 spectral units have been mapped in the Mare Serenitatis. In the present study, we have also derived spectral band parameters, namely, band center, band strength, band area and band area ratio from the M3 data to study the mineralogical and compositional variations amongst the basaltic units of the studied basin. On the basis of spectral band parameter analysis, the pyroxene compositions of the basaltic units have been determined, which vary from low to intermediate end of the high-Ca pyroxene and probably represent a sub-calcic to calcic augite compositional range. Detailed spectral analyses reveal little variations in the mafic mineralogy of the mare basalts in terms of pyroxene chemistry. The uniformity in pyroxene composition across the basaltic units of Mare Serenitatis, therefore, suggest a probably stable basaltic source region, which might not have experienced large-scale fractionation during the prolonged volcanism that resulted in filling of the large Serenitatis basin.

Vector dissipative soliton resonance in a fiber laser.

PubMed

Luo, Zhi-Chao; Ning, Qiu-Yi; Mo, Hai-Lan; Cui, Hu; Liu, Jin; Wu, Li-Jun; Luo, Ai-Ping; Xu, Wen-Cheng

2013-04-22

We report on the vector nature of rectangular pulse operating in dissipative soliton resonance (DSR) region in a passively mode-locked fiber laser. Apart from the typical signatures of DSR, the rectangular pulse trapping of two polarization components centered at different wavelengths was observed and they propagated as a group-velocity locked vector soliton. Moreover, the polarization resolved soliton spectra show different spectral distributions. The observed results will enhance the understanding of fundamental physics of DSR phenomenon.

Molecular line tracers of high-mass star forming regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagy, Zsofia; Van der Tak, Floris; Ossenkopf, Volker; Bergin, Edwin; Black, John; Faure, Alexandre; Fuller, Gary; Gerin, Maryvonne; Goicoechea, Javier; Joblin, Christine; Le Bourlot, Jacques; Le Petit, Franck; Makai, Zoltan; Plume, Rene; Roellig, Markus; Spaans, Marco; Tolls, Volker

2013-07-01

High-mass stars influence their environment in different ways including feedback via their FUV radiation. The penetration of FUV photons into molecular clouds creates Photon Dominated Regions (PDRs) with different chemical layers where the mainly ionized medium changes into mainly molecular. Different chemical layers in PDRs are traced by different species observable at sub-mm and Far Infrared wavelengths. In this poster we present results from two molecular line surveys. One of them is the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) Spectral Legacy Survey (SLS) toward the luminous (>10^7 L_Sun), massive (~10^6 M_Sun), and distant (11.4 kpc) star-forming region W49A. The SLS images a 2x2 arcminute field toward W49A in the 330-373 GHz frequency range. The detected molecular lines reveal a complex chemistry and the importance of FUV-irradiation in the heating and chemistry of the region. The other line survey presented in the poster is part of the HEXOS (Herschel observations of EXtra-Ordinary Sources, PI: E. Bergin) key program using the Herschel Space Observatory and is toward the nearby (~420 pc) prototypical edge-on Orion Bar PDR and the dense molecular condensation Orion S. Reactive ions, such as CH+, SH+, and CO+, detected as a part of this line survey trace the warm (~500-1000 K) surface region of PDRs. Spectrally resolved HIFI and spectrally unresolved PACS spectra give constraints on the chemistry and excitation of reactive ions in these regions.

MultiWaveLink: An interactive data base for the coordination of multiwavelength and multifacility observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cordova, F. A.

1993-01-01

MultiWaveLink is an interactive, computerized data base that was developed to facilitate a multi-wavelength approach to studying astrophysical sources. It can be used to access information about multiwavelenth resources (observers, telescopes, data bases and analysis facilities) or to organize observing campaigns that require either many telescopes operating in different spectral regimes or a network of similar telescopes circumspanning the Earth.

The Multi-component X-ray Emission of 3C 273

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soldi, S.; Türler, M.; Paltani, S.; Courvoisier, T. J.-L.

2009-05-01

3C 273 is the brightest quasar in the sky and among the most extensively observed and studied AGN, therefore one of the most suitable targets for a long-term, multi-frequency study. The superposition of a thermal Comptonisation component, similar to that observed in Seyfert galaxies, and of a non-thermal component, related to the jet emission, seems to explain some of the spectral and timing properties of the X-ray emission of 3C 273. Yet, during some observations this dichotomy has not been observed and the variability properties could also be consistent with a single-component scenario, characterised by two parameters varying independently. In order to understand the nature of the X-ray emission in 3C 273, a series of observations up to 80-100 keV, possibly catching the source in different flux states, are essential. Simbol-X will be able to study the emission of 3C 273 in the broad 0.5-80 keV band with high sensitivity, allowing us to disentangle the emission from different spectral components, with 20-30 ks long observations. In addition, the shape and the origin of the high-energy emission of this quasar will be further constrained thanks to the AGILE and Fermi satellites, monitoring the γ-ray sky in the MeV-GeV energy domain.

Visible and near-infrared multispectral analysis of rocks at Meridiani Planum, Mars, by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Farrand, W. H.; Bell, J.F.; Johnson, J. R.; Jolliff, B.L.; Knoll, A.H.; McLennan, S.M.; Squyres, S. W.; Calvin, W.M.; Grotzinger, J.P.; Morris, R.V.; Soderblom, J.; Thompson, S.D.; Watters, W.A.; Yen, A. S.

2007-01-01

Multispectral measurements in the visible and near infrared of rocks at Meridiani Planum by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's Pancam are described. The Pancam multispectral data show that the outcrops of the Burns formation consist of two main spectral units which in stretched 673, 535, 432 nm color composites appear buff- and purple-colored. These units are referred to as the HFS and LFS spectral units based on higher and lower values of 482 to 535 nm slope. Spectral characteristics are consistent with the LFS outcrop consisting of less oxidized, and the HFS outcrop consisting of more oxidized, iron-bearing minerals. The LFS surfaces are not as common and appear, primarily, at the distal ends of outcrop layers and on steep, more massive surfaces, locations that are subject to greater eolian erosion. Consequently, the HFS surfaces are interpreted as a weathering rind. Further inherent spectral differences between layer's and between different outcrop map units, both untouched and patches abraded by the rover's Rock Abrasion Tool, are also described. Comparisons of the spectral parameters of the Meridiani outcrop with a set of laboratory reflectance measurements of Fe3+-bearing minerals show that the field of outcrop measurements plots near the fields of hematite, ferrihydrite, poorly crystalline goethite, and schwertmannite. Rind and fracture fill materials, observed intermittently at outcrop exposures, are intermediate in their spectral character between both the HFS and LFS spectral classes and other, less oxidized, surface materials (basaltic sands, spherules, and cobbles). Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union.

Two Highly-Complementary Future Instruments for Climate Studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopp, Greg; Pilewskie, Peter

2017-04-01

Measurements of the total solar irradiance (TSI) provide the most accurate knowledge of the net energy powering the Earth's climate system and thus give the incoming side of the Earth's radiative energy balance. The spectral distribution of this radiant energy, the spectral solar irradiance (SSI), determines how that incoming energy interacts with different components of the Earth's coupled ocean-atmosphere-surface climate system. Spatially- and spectrally-resolved Earth-reflected measurements of this shortwave radiation indicate the relative amount of the incident sunlight that is absorbed by different spatial regions and ecosystems around the globe. Particularly if very accurate and acquired over sufficiently long periods of time, those outgoing radiance measurements can lead to improved quantification of and physical understandings of the local and global processes causing climate change. Two upcoming and very complementary missions provide these measurements. The soon-to-be-launched Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS) acquires the solar-irradiance measurements, with the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) providing highly-accurate values of the TSI and the Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM) measuring the SSI. The recently-selected CLARREO Pathfinder (CPF) is a technology-demonstration mission that measures the solar-reflected radiation via spatially- and spectrally-resolved observations of Earth scenes from its HyperSpectral Imager for Climate Science (HySICS), a spaceflight version of a high-altitude balloon-flight imaging spectrometer that achieves high radiometric accuracies via in-flight cross-calibrations directly tied to the SSI. We give an overview of the TSIS and the CPF, describing their instruments, the high complementarity of their measurements and intended uncertainties, and their planned timelines and current status.

Comparison of several satellite-derived Sun-Induced Fluorescence products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bacour, C.; Maignan, F.; MacBean, N.; Köhler, P.; Vountas, M.; Khosravi, N.; Guanter, L.; Joiner, J.; Frankenberg, C.; Somkuti, P.; Peylin, P.

2017-12-01

Large uncertainties remain in our representation of the global carbon budget, in particular regarding the spatial and temporal dynamics of the net land surface CO2 fluxes along with its two constitutive components, photosynthesis and respiration. Bolstered by the evidenced linear relationship between remotely sensed sun-induced fluorescence (SIF) and plant gross carbon uptake (GPP - gross primary productivity) at broad spatial and temporal scales, satellite SIF products are foreseen to provide significant constraint on one of the key component of the terrestrial carbon cycle, and ultimately to help reducing the uncertainties in the projections of the fate of carbon sinks and sources under a changing climate.Global SIF estimates are now "routinely" produced from observations of space-borne spectrometers having sufficient spectral resolution/sampling in solar Fraunhofer lines or atmospheric absorption bands in the visible - near-infrared domain. Differences between SIF products derived from different instruments are expected depending on evaluated wavelengths (SIF has a spectral signature with maxima around 685 and 740 nm) and their own observation characteristics (time of satellite overpass, spatial resolution, revisit frequency, spectral resolution, etc.). For instance, SIF products estimated at 760 nm (GOSAT, OCO-2) are about 1.5 times lower than estimates at 740 nm (GOME-2, SCIAMACHY). However, as highlighted by Köhler et al. (2015), strong discrepancies in SIF absolute values may arise for products derived from the same set of observations (GOME-2) but using different estimation algorithms. In the view of using satellite SIF products to calibrate terrestrial biosphere models (e.g. through data assimilation), this is highly problematic, especially for evergreen ecosystems where SIF magnitude is the only observational constraint that can be made use of.In this study, we compare several gridded satellite SIF products and quantify their similarities/discrepancies with respect to both their absolute value and seasonality (plant phenology): GOME-2, OCO2, GOSAT, and SCIAMACHY. Our main objective is to assess the potential impacts of their differences in a data assimilation perspective.

PREVALENCE OF FOVEOLAR LUCENCY WITH DIFFERENT GAS TAMPONADES IN SURGICALLY CLOSED MACULAR HOLES ASSESSED BY SPECTRAL DOMAIN OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY.

PubMed

Zarranz-Ventura, Javier; Ellabban, Abdallah A; Sim, Dawn A; Keane, Pearse A; Kirkpatrick, James N; Sallam, Ahmed A B

2017-07-07

To evaluate the prevalence of foveolar lucency (FL) in surgically closed macular holes by spectral domain optical coherence tomography. One hundred forty-two eyes of 132 patients underwent pars plana vitrectomy, internal limiting membrane peeling, and gas tamponade in a 60-month time frame. Anatomical success and FL rates assessed by spectral domain optical coherence tomography, mean preoperative, and postoperative best-measured visual acuity and surgical details were retrospectively analyzed. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography confirmed closed holes with FL in 33.7% (34/101) of eyes at 1 month, 7.3% (9/123) at 3 months, 4.6% (6/129) at 6 months, and 3% (4/133) at 12 months. Prevalence of FL in closed holes at Month 1 was lower in C3F8-treated eyes (9.5%, 2/21) compared with C2F6 (40.9%, 18/44, P = 0.03) and SF6-treated eyes (38.9%, 14/36, P = 0.05). No differences were observed at Month 3. No differences in best-measured visual acuity change were observed between closed holes with or without FL at Month 1 (-0.14 ± 0.19 vs. -0.11 ± 0.23, P = 0.48) or any of the other time points. Temporary FL is a highly prevalent feature in successfully closed macular holes. Eyes treated with C3F8 gas had lower rates of FL at Month 1 than C2F6 and SF6-treated eyes. The presence of FL in closed holes does not seem to have any effect on the visual outcomes.

Multi-spectral window radiance observations of Cirrus from satellite and aircraft, November 2, 1986 Project FIRE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, William L.; Revercomb, H. E.; Howell, H. B.; Lin, M.-X.

1990-01-01

High resolution infrared radiance spectra achieved from the NASA ER2 airborne HIS experiment are used to analyze the spectral emissivity properties of cirrus clouds within the 8 to 12 micron atmospheric window region. Observations show that the cirrus emissivity generally decreases with increasing wavenumber (i.e., decreasing wavelength) within this band. A very abrupt decrease in emissivity (increase in brightness temperature) exists between 930/cm (10.8 microns) and 1000/cm (10.0 microns), the magnitude of the change being associated with the cirrus optical thickness as observed by lidar. The HIS observations are consistent with theoretical calculations of the spectral absorption coefficient for ice. The HIS observations imply that cirrus clouds can be detected unambiguously from the difference in brightness temperatures observed within the 8.2 and 11.0 micron window regions of the HIRS sounding radiometer flying on the operational NOAA satellites. This ability is demonstrated using simultaneous 25 km resolution HIRS observations and 1 km resolution AVHRR imagery achieved from the NOAA-9 satellite. Finally, the cirrus cloud location estimates combined with the 6.7 micron channel moisture imagery portray the boundaries of the ice/vapor phase of the upper troposphere moisture. This phase distinction is crucial for infrared radiative transfer considerations for weather and climate models, since upper tropospheric water vapor has little effect on the Earth's outgoing radiation whereas cirrus clouds have a very large attenuating effect.

Review: advances in in situ and satellite phenological observations in Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagai, Shin; Nasahara, Kenlo Nishida; Inoue, Tomoharu; Saitoh, Taku M.; Suzuki, Rikie

2016-04-01

To accurately evaluate the responses of spatial and temporal variation of ecosystem functioning (evapotranspiration and photosynthesis) and services (regulating and cultural services) to the rapid changes caused by global warming, we depend on long-term, continuous, near-surface, and satellite remote sensing of phenology over wide areas. Here, we review such phenological studies in Japan and discuss our current knowledge, problems, and future developments. In contrast with North America and Europe, Japan has been able to evaluate plant phenology along vertical and horizontal gradients within a narrow area because of the country's high topographic relief. Phenological observation networks that support scientific studies and outreach activities have used near-surface tools such as digital cameras and spectral radiometers. Differences in phenology among ecosystems and tree species have been detected by analyzing the seasonal variation of red, green, and blue digital numbers (RGB values) extracted from phenological images, as well as spectral reflectance and vegetation indices. The relationships between seasonal variations in RGB-derived indices or spectral characteristics and the ecological and CO2 flux measurement data have been well validated. In contrast, insufficient satellite remote-sensing observations have been conducted because of the coarse spatial resolution of previous datasets, which could not detect the heterogeneous plant phenology that results from Japan's complex topography and vegetation. To improve Japanese phenological observations, multidisciplinary analysis and evaluation will be needed to link traditional phenological observations with "index trees," near-surface and satellite remote-sensing observations, "citizen science" (observations by citizens), and results published on the Internet.

How Does the Shape of the Stellar Spectrum Affect the Raman Scattering Features in the Albedo of Exoplanets?

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

Oklopčić, Antonija; Hirata, Christopher M.; Heng, Kevin, E-mail: oklopcic@astro.caltech.edu

The diagnostic potential of the spectral signatures of Raman scattering, imprinted in planetary albedo spectra at short optical wavelengths, has been demonstrated in research on planets in the solar system, and has recently been proposed as a probe of exoplanet atmospheres, complementary to albedo studies at longer wavelengths. Spectral features caused by Raman scattering offer insight into the properties of planetary atmospheres, such as the atmospheric depth, composition, and temperature, as well as the possibility of detecting and spectroscopically identifying spectrally inactive species, such as H{sub 2} and N{sub 2}, in the visible wavelength range. Raman albedo features, however, dependmore » on both the properties of the atmosphere and the shape of the incident stellar spectrum. Identical planetary atmospheres can produce very different albedo spectra depending on the spectral properties of the host star. Here we present a set of geometric albedo spectra calculated for atmospheres with H{sub 2}/He, N{sub 2}, and CO{sub 2} composition, irradiated by different stellar types ranging from late A to late K stars. Prominent albedo features caused by Raman scattering appear at different wavelengths for different types of host stars. We investigate how absorption due to the alkali elements sodium and potassium may affect the intensity of Raman features, and we discuss the preferred strategies for detecting Raman features in future observations.« less

Chemical Source Inversion using Assimilated Constituent Observations in an Idealized Two-dimensional System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tangborn, Andrew; Cooper, Robert; Pawson, Steven; Sun, Zhibin

2009-01-01

We present a source inversion technique for chemical constituents that uses assimilated constituent observations rather than directly using the observations. The method is tested with a simple model problem, which is a two-dimensional Fourier-Galerkin transport model combined with a Kalman filter for data assimilation. Inversion is carried out using a Green's function method and observations are simulated from a true state with added Gaussian noise. The forecast state uses the same spectral spectral model, but differs by an unbiased Gaussian model error, and emissions models with constant errors. The numerical experiments employ both simulated in situ and satellite observation networks. Source inversion was carried out by either direct use of synthetically generated observations with added noise, or by first assimilating the observations and using the analyses to extract observations. We have conducted 20 identical twin experiments for each set of source and observation configurations, and find that in the limiting cases of a very few localized observations, or an extremely large observation network there is little advantage to carrying out assimilation first. However, in intermediate observation densities, there decreases in source inversion error standard deviation using the Kalman filter algorithm followed by Green's function inversion by 50% to 95%.

High-emulation mask recognition with high-resolution hyperspectral video capture system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Jiao; Fang, Xiaojing; Li, Shoufeng; Wang, Yongjin

2014-11-01

We present a method for distinguishing human face from high-emulation mask, which is increasingly used by criminals for activities such as stealing card numbers and passwords on ATM. Traditional facial recognition technique is difficult to detect such camouflaged criminals. In this paper, we use the high-resolution hyperspectral video capture system to detect high-emulation mask. A RGB camera is used for traditional facial recognition. A prism and a gray scale camera are used to capture spectral information of the observed face. Experiments show that mask made of silica gel has different spectral reflectance compared with the human skin. As multispectral image offers additional spectral information about physical characteristics, high-emulation mask can be easily recognized.

Advancement of Optical Component Control for an Imaging Fabry-Perot Interferometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larar, Allen M.; Cook, William B.; Flood, Michael A.; Campbell, Joel F.; Boyer, Charles M.

2009-01-01

Risk mitigation activities associated with a prototype imaging Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FPI) system are continuing at the NASA Langley Research Center. The system concept and technology center about enabling and improving future space-based atmospheric composition missions, with a current focus on observing tropospheric ozone around 9.6 micron, while having applicability toward measurement in different spectral regions and other applications. Recent activities have focused on improving an optical element control subsystem to enable precise and accurate positioning and control of etalon plates; this is needed to provide high system spectral fidelity critical for enabling the required ability to spectrally-resolve atmospheric line structure. The latest results pertaining to methodology enhancements, system implementation, and laboratory characterization testing will be reported

Ammonia in Jupiter's troposphere: a comparison of ground-based 5-μm high-resolution spectroscopy and Juno MWR observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giles, R.; Orton, G.; Fletcher, L. N.; Irwin, P. G.; Sinclair, J. A.

2017-12-01

Latitudinally-resolved 5-micron observations of Jupiter from the CRIRES instrument at the Very Large Telescope are used to measure the spatial variability in Jupiter's tropospheric ammonia (NH3) abundance and these results are compared to the results from Juno's Microwave Radiometer (MWR). The 5-micron spectral region is an atmospheric window, allowing us to probe down to Jupiter's middle troposphere. The high-resolution 2012 CRIRES observations include several spectrally-resolved NH3 absorption features; these features probe slightly different pressure levels, allowing the NH3 vertical profile at 1-4 bar to be constrained. We find that in regions of low cloud opacity, the NH3 abundance must decrease with altitude within this pressure range. The CRIRES observations do not provide evidence for any significant belt-zone variability in NH3, as any difference in the spectral shape can be accounted for by the large differences in cloud opacity between the cloudy zones and the cloud-free belts. However, we do find evidence for a strong localised enhancement in NH3 on the southern edge of the North Equatorial Belt (4-6°N). These results can be directly compared with observations from the Juno mission's MWR experiment. Li et al. (2017, doi 10.1002/2017GL073159) have used MWR data to retrieve NH3 abundances at pressure levels of 1-100 bar. In bright, cloud-free regions of the planet, the two datasets are broadly consistent, including the asymmetrical enhancement on the southern edge of the NEB. However, in the cool, cloudy Equatorial Zone, the MWR retrieved abundances are significantly higher than those from CRIRES and forward modeling shows that the MWR vertical distributions are unable to fit the CRIRES data. We will investigate possible explanations for this discrepancy, including the role of tropospheric clouds and temperature variations.

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

Abeysekara, A. U.; Flinders, A.; Archambault, S.

Blazars are variable emitters across all wavelengths over a wide range of timescales, from months down to minutes. It is therefore essential to observe blazars simultaneously at different wavelengths, especially in the X-ray and gamma-ray bands, where the broadband spectral energy distributions usually peak. In this work, we report on three “target-of-opportunity” observations of Mrk 421, one of the brightest TeV blazars, triggered by a strong flaring event at TeV energies in 2014. These observations feature long, continuous, and simultaneous exposures with XMM-Newton (covering the X-ray and optical/ultraviolet bands) and VERITAS (covering the TeV gamma-ray band), along with contemporaneous observationsmore » from other gamma-ray facilities (MAGIC and Fermi -Large Area Telescope) and a number of radio and optical facilities. Although neither rapid flares nor significant X-ray/TeV correlation are detected, these observations reveal subtle changes in the X-ray spectrum of the source over the course of a few days. We search the simultaneous X-ray and TeV data for spectral hysteresis patterns and time delays, which could provide insight into the emission mechanisms and the source properties (e.g., the radius of the emitting region, the strength of the magnetic field, and related timescales). The observed broadband spectra are consistent with a one-zone synchrotron self-Compton model. We find that the power spectral density distribution at ≳4 × 10{sup −4} Hz from the X-ray data can be described by a power-law model with an index value between 1.2 and 1.8, and do not find evidence for a steepening of the power spectral index (often associated with a characteristic length scale) compared to the previously reported values at lower frequencies.« less

Solar spectral irradiance variability in cycle 24: observations and models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marchenko, Sergey V.; DeLand, Matthew T.; Lean, Judith L.

2016-12-01

Utilizing the excellent stability of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), we characterize both short-term (solar rotation) and long-term (solar cycle) changes of the solar spectral irradiance (SSI) between 265 and 500 nm during the ongoing cycle 24. We supplement the OMI data with concurrent observations from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2) and Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) instruments and find fair-to-excellent, depending on wavelength, agreement among the observations, and predictions of the Naval Research Laboratory Solar Spectral Irradiance (NRLSSI2) and Spectral And Total Irradiance REconstruction for the Satellite era (SATIRE-S) models.

Determination of chromophore distribution in skin by spectral imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saknite, Inga; Lange, Marta; Jakovels, Dainis; Spigulis, Janis

2012-10-01

Possibilities to determine chromophore distribution in skin by spectral imaging were explored. Simple RGB sensor devices were used for image acquisition. Totally 200 images of 40 different bruises of 20 people were obtained in order to map chromophores bilirubin and haemoglobin. Possibilities to detect water in vitro and in vivo were estimated by using silicon photodetectors and narrow band LEDs. The results show that it is possible to obtain bilirubin and haemoglobin distribution maps and observe changes of chromophore parameter values over time by using a simple RGB imaging device. Water in vitro was detected by using differences in absorption at 450 nm and 950 nm, and 650 nm and 950 nm.

Low-Resolution Near-infrared Stellar Spectra Observed by the Cosmic Infrared Background Experiment (CIBER)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Min Gyu; Lee, Hyung Mok; Arai, Toshiaki; Bock, James; Cooray, Asantha; Jeong, Woong-Seob; Kim, Seong Jin; Korngut, Phillip; Lanz, Alicia; Lee, Dae Hee; Lee, Myung Gyoon; Matsumoto, Toshio; Matsuura, Shuji; Nam, Uk Won; Onishi, Yosuke; Shirahata, Mai; Smidt, Joseph; Tsumura, Kohji; Yamamura, Issei; Zemcov, Michael

2017-02-01

We present near-infrared (0.8-1.8 μm) spectra of 105 bright ({m}J < 10) stars observed with the low-resolution spectrometer on the rocket-borne Cosmic Infrared Background Experiment. As our observations are performed above the Earth's atmosphere, our spectra are free from telluric contamination, which makes them a unique resource for near-infrared spectral calibration. Two-Micron All-Sky Survey photometry information is used to identify cross-matched stars after reduction and extraction of the spectra. We identify the spectral types of the observed stars by comparing them with spectral templates from the Infrared Telescope Facility library. All the observed spectra are consistent with late F to M stellar spectral types, and we identify various infrared absorption lines.

Spectrally-resolved internal quantum efficiency and carrier dynamics of semipolar [Formula: see text] core-shell triangular nanostripe GaN/InGaN LEDs.

PubMed

Okur, Serdal; Rishinaramangalam, Ashwin K; Mishkat-Ul-Masabih, Saadat; Nami, Mohsen; Liu, Sheng; Brener, Igal; Brueck, Steven R J; Feezell, Daniel F

2018-06-08

We investigate the spectrally resolved internal quantum efficiency (IQE) and carrier dynamics in semipolar [Formula: see text] core-shell triangular nanostripe light-emitting diodes (TLEDs) using temperature-dependent photoluminescence (TDPL) and time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) at various excitation energy densities. Using electroluminescence, photoluminescence, and cathodoluminescence measurements, we verify the origins of the broad emission spectra from the nanostructures and confirm that localized regions of high-indium-content InGaN exist along the apex of the nanostructures. Spectrally resolved IQE measurements are then performed, with the spectra integrated from 400-450 nm and 450-500 nm to obtain the IQE of the QWs mainly near the sidewalls and apex of the TLEDs, respectively. TDPL and TRPL are used to decouple the radiative and non-radiative carrier lifetimes for different regions of the emission spectra. We observe that the IQE is higher for the spectral region between 450 nm and 500 nm compared to the IQE between 400 and 450 nm. This result is in contrast to the typical observation that the IQE of planar GaN-based LEDs is lower for longer wavelengths (i.e., higher indium contents). We also observe a longer non-radiative recombination lifetime for the longer wavelength portion of the spectrum. Several explanations are proposed for the improved IQE and longer non-radiative lifetime observed near the apex of the nanostructures. The results show that nanostructures may be leveraged to design more efficient green LEDs, potentially addressing a long-standing challenge in GaN-based materials.

High-resolution observations of low-luminosity gigahertz-peaked spectrum and compact steep-spectrum sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collier, J. D.; Tingay, S. J.; Callingham, J. R.; Norris, R. P.; Filipović, M. D.; Galvin, T. J.; Huynh, M. T.; Intema, H. T.; Marvil, J.; O'Brien, A. N.; Roper, Q.; Sirothia, S.; Tothill, N. F. H.; Bell, M. E.; For, B.-Q.; Gaensler, B. M.; Hancock, P. J.; Hindson, L.; Hurley-Walker, N.; Johnston-Hollitt, M.; Kapińska, A. D.; Lenc, E.; Morgan, J.; Procopio, P.; Staveley-Smith, L.; Wayth, R. B.; Wu, C.; Zheng, Q.; Heywood, I.; Popping, A.

2018-06-01

We present very long baseline interferometry observations of a faint and low-luminosity (L1.4 GHz < 1027 W Hz-1) gigahertz-peaked spectrum (GPS) and compact steep-spectrum (CSS) sample. We select eight sources from deep radio observations that have radio spectra characteristic of a GPS or CSS source and an angular size of θ ≲ 2 arcsec, and detect six of them with the Australian Long Baseline Array. We determine their linear sizes, and model their radio spectra using synchrotron self-absorption (SSA) and free-free absorption (FFA) models. We derive statistical model ages, based on a fitted scaling relation, and spectral ages, based on the radio spectrum, which are generally consistent with the hypothesis that GPS and CSS sources are young and evolving. We resolve the morphology of one CSS source with a radio luminosity of 10^{25} W Hz^{-1}, and find what appear to be two hotspots spanning 1.7 kpc. We find that our sources follow the turnover-linear size relation, and that both homogeneous SSA and an inhomogeneous FFA model can account for the spectra with observable turnovers. All but one of the FFA models do not require a spectral break to account for the radio spectrum, while all but one of the alternative SSA and power-law models do require a spectral break to account for the radio spectrum. We conclude that our low-luminosity sample is similar to brighter samples in terms of their spectral shape, turnover frequencies, linear sizes, and ages, but cannot test for a difference in morphology.

Observation and theory of reorientation-induced spectral diffusion in polarization-selective 2D IR spectroscopy.

PubMed

Kramer, Patrick L; Nishida, Jun; Giammanco, Chiara H; Tamimi, Amr; Fayer, Michael D

2015-05-14

In nearly all applications of ultrafast multidimensional infrared spectroscopy, the spectral degrees of freedom (e.g., transition frequency) and the orientation of the transition dipole are assumed to be decoupled. We present experimental results which confirm that frequency fluctuations can be caused by rotational motion and observed under appropriate conditions. A theory of the frequency-frequency correlation function (FFCF) observable under various polarization conditions is introduced, and model calculations are found to reproduce the qualitative trends in FFCF rates. The FFCF determined with polarization-selective two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy is a direct reporter of the frequency-rotational coupling. For the solute methanol in a room temperature ionic liquid, the FFCF of the hydroxyl (O-D) stretch decays due to spectral diffusion with different rates depending on the polarization of the excitation pulses. The 2D IR vibrational echo pulse sequence consists of three excitation pulses that generate the vibrational echo, a fourth pulse. A faster FFCF decay is observed when the first two excitation pulses are polarized perpendicular to the third pulse and the echo, 〈XXY Y〉, than in the standard all parallel configuration, 〈XXXX〉, in which all four pulses have the same polarization. The 2D IR experiment with polarizations 〈XY XY〉 ("polarization grating" configuration) gives a FFCF that decays even more slowly than in the 〈XXXX〉 configuration. Polarization-selective 2D IR spectra of bulk water do not exhibit polarization-dependent FFCF decays; spectral diffusion is effectively decoupled from reorientation in the water system.

Observation and theory of reorientation-induced spectral diffusion in polarization-selective 2D IR spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kramer, Patrick L.; Nishida, Jun; Giammanco, Chiara H.; Tamimi, Amr; Fayer, Michael D.

2015-05-01

In nearly all applications of ultrafast multidimensional infrared spectroscopy, the spectral degrees of freedom (e.g., transition frequency) and the orientation of the transition dipole are assumed to be decoupled. We present experimental results which confirm that frequency fluctuations can be caused by rotational motion and observed under appropriate conditions. A theory of the frequency-frequency correlation function (FFCF) observable under various polarization conditions is introduced, and model calculations are found to reproduce the qualitative trends in FFCF rates. The FFCF determined with polarization-selective two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectroscopy is a direct reporter of the frequency-rotational coupling. For the solute methanol in a room temperature ionic liquid, the FFCF of the hydroxyl (O-D) stretch decays due to spectral diffusion with different rates depending on the polarization of the excitation pulses. The 2D IR vibrational echo pulse sequence consists of three excitation pulses that generate the vibrational echo, a fourth pulse. A faster FFCF decay is observed when the first two excitation pulses are polarized perpendicular to the third pulse and the echo, , than in the standard all parallel configuration, , in which all four pulses have the same polarization. The 2D IR experiment with polarizations ("polarization grating" configuration) gives a FFCF that decays even more slowly than in the configuration. Polarization-selective 2D IR spectra of bulk water do not exhibit polarization-dependent FFCF decays; spectral diffusion is effectively decoupled from reorientation in the water system.

Spectrally-resolved internal quantum efficiency and carrier dynamics of semipolar (10\\bar{1}1) core-shell triangular nanostripe GaN/InGaN LEDs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okur, Serdal; Rishinaramangalam, Ashwin K.; Mishkat-Ul-Masabih, Saadat; Nami, Mohsen; Liu, Sheng; Brener, Igal; Brueck, Steven R. J.; Feezell, Daniel F.

2018-06-01

We investigate the spectrally resolved internal quantum efficiency (IQE) and carrier dynamics in semipolar (10\\bar{1}1) core–shell triangular nanostripe light-emitting diodes (TLEDs) using temperature-dependent photoluminescence (TDPL) and time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) at various excitation energy densities. Using electroluminescence, photoluminescence, and cathodoluminescence measurements, we verify the origins of the broad emission spectra from the nanostructures and confirm that localized regions of high-indium-content InGaN exist along the apex of the nanostructures. Spectrally resolved IQE measurements are then performed, with the spectra integrated from 400–450 nm and 450–500 nm to obtain the IQE of the QWs mainly near the sidewalls and apex of the TLEDs, respectively. TDPL and TRPL are used to decouple the radiative and non-radiative carrier lifetimes for different regions of the emission spectra. We observe that the IQE is higher for the spectral region between 450 nm and 500 nm compared to the IQE between 400 and 450 nm. This result is in contrast to the typical observation that the IQE of planar GaN-based LEDs is lower for longer wavelengths (i.e., higher indium contents). We also observe a longer non-radiative recombination lifetime for the longer wavelength portion of the spectrum. Several explanations are proposed for the improved IQE and longer non-radiative lifetime observed near the apex of the nanostructures. The results show that nanostructures may be leveraged to design more efficient green LEDs, potentially addressing a long-standing challenge in GaN-based materials.

Unlocking the secrets of Venus surface mineralogy from orbit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Helbert, J.; Maturilli, A.; Ferrari, S.; Dyar, M. D.; Mueller, N. T.; Smrekar, S. E.; Koulen, J.

2016-12-01

The surface composition of a planet is a key to understand its interior and evolution. Proper interpretations of Venus surface observations in the near-infrared require a dedicated laboratory effort. The atmosphere of Venus dictates which spectral bands on the surface can be observed. This places severe constraints on the ability to identify rock-forming minerals. To complicate matters further, we cannot observe reflectance, as would be the standard at 1 mm. Observations are obtained on the night side where the thermal emission of the surface is measured directly. Finally, high surface temperatures are known to affect band positions of mineral spectra as expected from crystal field theory. Over the last year we have started at the Planetary Spectroscopy Laboratory (PSL) at DLR in Berlin, Germany to systematically build a spectral library for rocks and minerals under Venus thermal conditions. Using funding from the European Union as part of the EuroPlanet consortium we extended the spectral coverage for high temperature measurements down to 0.7 micron. The spectral library will be key in understanding and modeling differences in emissivity between ambient and Venus conditions, potentially enabling calibration transfer between datasets. We can show that the expected emissivity variation between felsic and mafic minerals would be observable even with the limited number of surface windows available. Furthermore the absolute emissivity derived from our laboratory measurements at Venus temperature match in situ reflectivity data from the Venera 9 and 10 landing sites in the same bands. Based on experience gained from using the VIRTIS instrument on Venus Express to observe the surface of Venus and the new high temperature laboratory experiments, we have developed the multi-spectral Venus Emissivity Mapper (VEM) to study the surface of Venus. VEM imposes minimal requirements on the spacecraft and mission design and can therefore be added to any future Venus mission. Ideally, the VEM instrument will be combined with a high-resolution radar mapper to provide accurate topographic information, as it will be the case for the proposed NASA Discovery VERITAS mission or the ESA EnVision M5 proposal.

On the Origin of the Flare Emission in IRIS ’ SJI 2832 Filter:Balmer Continuum or Spectral Lines?

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

Kleint, Lucia; Krucker, Säm; Heinzel, Petr

Continuum (“white-light,” WL) emission dominates the energetics of flares. Filter-based observations, such as the IRIS SJI 2832 filter, show WL-like brightenings during flares, but it is unclear whether the emission arises from real continuum emission or enhanced spectral lines, possibly turning into emission. The difficulty in filter-based observations, contrary to spectral observations, is to determine which processes contribute to the observed brightening during flares. Here we determine the contribution of the Balmer continuum and the spectral line emission to IRIS ’ SJI 2832 emission by analyzing the appropriate passband in simultaneous IRIS NUV spectra. We find that spectral line emissionmore » can contribute up to 100% to the observed slitjaw images (SJI) emission, that the relative contributions usually temporally vary, and that the highest SJI enhancements that are observed are most likely because of the Balmer continuum. We conclude that care should be taken when calling SJI 2832 a continuum filter during flares, because the influence of the lines on the emission can be significant.« less

Contribution of the AIRS Shortwave Sounding Channels to Retrieval Accuracy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Susskind, Joel; Kouvaris, Louis

2006-01-01

AIRS contains 2376 high spectral resolution channels between 650/cm and 2665/cm, including channels in both the 15 micron (near 667/cm) and 4.2 micron (near 2400/cm) COP sounding bands. Use of temperature sounding channels in the 15 micron CO2 band has considerable heritage in infra-red remote sensing. Channels in the 4.2 micron CO2 band have potential advantages for temperature sounding purposes because they are essentially insensitive to absorption by water vapor and ozone, and also have considerably sharper lower tropospheric temperature sounding weighting functions than do the 15 micron temperature sounding channels. Potential drawbacks with regard to use of 4.2 micron channels arise from effects on the observed radiances of solar radiation reflected by the surface and clouds, as well as effects of non-local thermodynamic equilibrium on shortwave observations during the day. These are of no practical consequences, however, when properly accounted for. We show results of experiments performed utilizing different spectral regions of AIRS, conducted with the AIRS Science Team candidate Version 5 algorithm. Experiments were performed using temperature sounding channels within the entire AIRS spectral coverage, within only the spectral region 650/cm to 1614 /cm; and within only the spectral region 1000/cm-2665/cm. These show the relative importance of utilizing only 15 micron temperature sounding channels, only the 4.2 micron temperature sounding channels, and both, with regards to sounding accuracy. The spectral region 2380/cm to 2400/cm is shown to contribute significantly to improve sounding accuracy in the lower troposphere, both day and night.

Sea ice algae chlorophyll a concentrations derived from under-ice spectral radiation profiling platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lange, Benjamin A.; Katlein, Christian; Nicolaus, Marcel; Peeken, Ilka; Flores, Hauke

2016-12-01

Multiscale sea ice algae observations are fundamentally important for projecting changes to sea ice ecosystems, as the physical environment continues to change. In this study, we developed upon previously established methodologies for deriving sea ice-algal chlorophyll a concentrations (chl a) from spectral radiation measurements, and applied these to larger-scale spectral surveys. We conducted four different under-ice spectral measurements: irradiance, radiance, transmittance, and transflectance, and applied three statistical approaches: Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF), Normalized Difference Indices (NDI), and multi-NDI. We developed models based on ice core chl a and coincident spectral irradiance/transmittance (N = 49) and radiance/transflectance (N = 50) measurements conducted during two cruises to the central Arctic Ocean in 2011 and 2012. These reference models were ranked based on two criteria: mean robustness R2 and true prediction error estimates. For estimating the biomass of a large-scale data set, the EOF approach performed better than the NDI, due to its ability to account for the high variability of environmental properties experienced over large areas. Based on robustness and true prediction error, the three most reliable models, EOF-transmittance, EOF-transflectance, and NDI-transmittance, were applied to two remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and two Surface and Under-Ice Trawl (SUIT) spectral radiation surveys. In these larger-scale chl a estimates, EOF-transmittance showed the best fit to ice core chl a. Application of our most reliable model, EOF-transmittance, to an 85 m horizontal ROV transect revealed large differences compared to published biomass estimates from the same site with important implications for projections of Arctic-wide ice-algal biomass and primary production.

A Critical Examination of Figure of Merit (FOM). Assessing the Goodness-of-Fit in Gamma/X-ray Peak Analysis

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

Croft, S.; Favalli, Andrea; Weaver, Brian Phillip

2015-10-06

In this paper we develop and investigate several criteria for assessing how well a proposed spectral form fits observed spectra. We consider the classical improved figure of merit (FOM) along with several modifications, as well as criteria motivated by Poisson regression from the statistical literature. We also develop a new FOM that is based on the statistical idea of the bootstrap. A spectral simulator has been developed to assess the performance of these different criteria under multiple data configurations.

Investigating the 3D Structure of the Winds of Hot Supergiants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klement, Robert

2018-04-01

An observational effort targeting supergiant stars of spectral classes B and A has been started using the VEGA high spectral resolution visible beam combiner at the CHARA array. The H-alpha emission from the structured stellar winds was resolved with respect to the surrounding continuum, showing signs of inhomogenities in the circumstellar environments as well as temporal variability on different time scales. We have begun a radiative transfer modelling effort to investigate the clumpy structure of the stellar winds and the origin of the inhomogenities, probably linked to the stellar photosphere features.

Evaluation for relationship among source parameters of underground nuclear tests in Northern Korean Peninsula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, G.; Che, I. Y.

2017-12-01

We evaluated relationship among source parameters of underground nuclear tests in northern Korean Peninsula using regional seismic data. Dense global and regional seismic networks are incorporated to measure locations and origin times precisely. Location analyses show that distance among the locations is tiny on a regional scale. The tiny location-differences validate a linear model assumption. We estimated source spectral ratios by excluding path effects based spectral ratios of the observed seismograms. We estimated empirical relationship among depth of burials and yields based on theoretical source models.

Multispectral sensing of citrus young tree decline

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edwards, G. J.; Ducharme, E. P.; Schehl, T.

1975-01-01

Computer processing of MSS data to identify and map citrus trees affected by young tree decline is analyzed. The data were obtained at 1500-feet altitude in six discrete spectral bands covering regions from 0.53 to 1.3 millimicrons as well as from instrumental ground truths of tree crowns. Measurable spectral reflectance intensity differences are observed in the leaves of healthy and diseased trees, especially at wavelengths of 500 to 600 nm and 700 to 800 nm. The overall accuracy of the method is found to be 89%.

Leaf Phenology of Amazonian Canopy Trees as Revealed by Spectral and Physiochemical Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chavana-Bryant, C.; Gerard, F. F.; Malhi, Y.; Enquist, B. J.; Asner, G. P.

2013-12-01

The phenological dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems reflect the response of the Earth's biosphere to inter- and intra-annual dynamics of climatic and hydrological regimes. Some Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (GDVMs) have predicted that by 2050 the Amazon rainforest will begin to dieback (Cox et al. 2000, Nature) or that the ecosystem will become unsustainable (Salazar et al. 2007, GRL). One major component in DGVMs is the simulation of vegetation phenology, however, modelers are challenged with the estimation of tropical phenology which is highly complex. Current modeled phenology is based on observations of temperate vegetation and accurate representation of tropical phenology is long overdue. Remote sensing (RS) data are a key tool in monitoring vegetation dynamics at regional and global scales. Of the many RS techniques available, time-series analysis of vegetation indices (VIs) has become the most common approach in monitoring vegetation phenology (Samanta et al. 2010, GRL; Bradley et al. 2011, GCB). Our research focuses on investigating the influence that age related variation in the spectral reflectance and physiochemical properties of leaves may have on VIs of tropical canopies. In order to do this, we collected a unique leaf and canopy phenological dataset at two different Amazonian sites: Inselberg, French Guyana (FG) and Tambopata, Peru (PE). Hyperspectral reflectance measurements were collected from 4,102 individual leaves sampled to represent different leaf ages and vertical canopy positions (top, mid and low canopy) from 20 different canopy tree species (8 in FG and 12 in PE). These leaf spectra were complemented with 1) leaf physical measurements: fresh and dry weight, area and thickness, LMA and LWC and 2) leaf chemical measurements: %N, %C, %P, C:N and d13C. Canopy level observations included top-of-canopy reflectance measurements obtained using a multispectral 16-band radiometer, leaf demography (tot. number and age distribution) and branch structural measurements (space between leaves, min. and max. season's growth and diameter) of two 1m branches harvested from each canopy level. Both leaf and canopy-level observations where collected monthly when trees where not in flush and weekly during the period of leaf flushing. Here, we present our leaf spectral and physiochemical results. Results show 1) changes in leaf spectral and physiochemical properties related to leaf age, 2) the most significant changes in the leaves' spectrum during different stages in their life cycle, and 3) how leaf spectral changes are related to changes in the chemical and physical properties of the leaves as they progress through their life cycle. Future work will involve the incorporation of leaf and canopy observations into a light canopy interaction model to investigate the possibility that seasonal variation in VIs may be driven by leaf aging as well as by the shedding or appearance of new leaves.

Microearthquake spectra from the Anza, California, seismic network: site response and source scaling

USGS Publications Warehouse

Frankel, Arthur D.; Wennerberg, Leif

1989-01-01

We analyzed spectra of local microearthquakes recorded by the Anza, California, seismic network to isolate the effects of site response and to investigate the scaling of source parameters for small earthquakes. Spectra of microearthquakes (M < 2; Mo< 1019 dyne-cm) at Anza have shapes characteristic of the receiver sites and are generally independent of the source region. Thus, the site response is a major conditioner of the observed spectral shape. To remove the effects of site response from the spectra of a M ∼ 3 event and isolate its source spectrum, we divided by the spectra of an adjacent aftershock used as an empirical Green's function event. The spectral ratios indicate that the apparent corner frequencies of small earthquakes (Mo < 1019dyne-cm) observed at even the high-fmax stations on hard rock are much lower than the source corner frequencies. The spectral ratios are consistent with stress drop remaining constant with decreasing seismic moment, for events with moments as small as 1018 dyne-cm. The spectral ratios display remarkable agreement between sites which showed vast differences in their original spectra, indicating that the spectral division effectively removed the site response. The source spectrum of the M ∼ 3 event has a high-frequency spectral fall-off of about ω−2. An apparent dependence of high-frequency fall-off with seismic moment in the original spectra can also be explained by the effects of site response. The difference between the P- and S-wave corner frequencies and high-frequency roll-offs in the observed spectra for these events is the result of the site response and is not a source property. The shapes of the spectra of microearthquakes at Anza can largely be explained by attenuation at shallow depth with a frequency-independent Q. For some sites, near-surface resonances are also apparent in the spectra of microearthquakes. It is indicated by t* values determined for each site that Qp ∼ Qsfor the shallow low-Q layer. Further evidence of low near-surface Q is observed in the anomalous spectra of an unusually shallow earthquake (source depth ∼ 1 km) in the network. The spectra from this shallow event are depleted in high-frequency energy at most stations, relative to those of deeper events. This observation can be explained by a low-Q surficial zone. For stations of the network situated on alluvium, this low-Q layer has a maximum thickness of about 3 km and maximum P- and S-wave Q values of 30 to 50.

The cloud radiation impact from optics simulation and airborne observation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melnikova, Irina; Kuznetsov, Anatoly; Gatebe, Charles

2017-02-01

The analytical approach of inverse asymptotic formulas of the radiative transfer theory is used for solving inverse problems of cloud optics. The method has advantages because it does not impose strict constraints, but it is tied to the desired solution. Observations are accomplished in extended stratus cloudiness, above a homogeneous ocean surface. Data from NASA`s Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR) during two airborne experiments (SAFARI-2000 and ARCTAS-2008) were analyzed. The analytical method of inverse asymptotic formulas was used to retrieve cloud optical parameters (optical thickness, single scattering albedo and asymmetry parameter of the phase function) and ground albedo in all 8 spectral channels independently. The method is free from a priori restrictions and there is no links to parameters, and it has been applied to data set of different origin and geometry of observations. Results obtained from different airborne, satellite and ground radiative experiments appeared consistence and showed common features of values of cloud parameters and its spectral dependence (Vasiluev, Melnikova, 2004; Gatebe et al., 2014). Optical parameters, retrieved here, are used for calculation of radiative divergence, reflected and transmitted irradiance and heating rates in cloudy atmosphere, that agree with previous observational data.

Broadband Transmission Spectroscopy of the Super-Earth GJ 1214b Suggests a Low Mean Molecular Weight Atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Croll, Bryce; Albert, Loic; Jayawardhana, Ray; Miller-Ricci Kempton, Eliza; Fortney, Jonathan J.; Murray, Norman; Neilson, Hilding

2011-08-01

We use the Wide-field Infrared Camera (WIRCam) on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope to observe four transits of the super-Earth planet GJ 1214b in the near-infrared. For each transit, we observe GJ 1214 in two bands nearly simultaneously by rapidly switching the WIRCam filter wheel back and forth for the duration of the observations. By combining all our J-band (~1.25 μm) observations we find a transit depth, analogous to the planet-to-star radius ratio squared, in this band of (RPJ /R *)2 = (1.338 ± 0.013)%—a value consistent with the optical transit depth reported by Charbonneau and collaborators. However, our best-fit combined K s-band (~2.15 μm) transit depth is deeper: (RPKs /R *)2 = (1.438 ± 0.019)%. Formally, our K s-band transits are deeper than the J-band transits observed simultaneously by a factor of (RPKs /RPJ )2 = 1.072 ± 0.018—a 4σ discrepancy. The most straightforward explanation for our deeper K s-band transit depth is a spectral absorption feature from the limb of the atmosphere of the planet; for the spectral absorption feature to be this prominent, the atmosphere of GJ 1214b must have a large-scale height and a low mean molecular weight. That is, its atmosphere would have to be hydrogen/helium dominated and this planet would be better described as a mini-Neptune. However, recently published observations from 0.78 to 1.0 μm, by Bean and collaborators, show a lack of spectral features and transit depths consistent with those obtained by Charbonneau and collaborators. The most likely atmospheric composition for GJ 1214b that arises from combining all these observations is less clear; if the atmosphere of GJ 1214b is hydrogen/helium dominated, then it must have either a haze layer that is obscuring transit-depth differences at shorter wavelengths or significantly different spectral features from what current models predict. Our observations disfavor a water-world composition, but such a composition will remain a possibility for GJ 1214b until observations reconfirm our deeper K s-band transit depth or detect features at other wavelengths. Based on observations obtained with WIRCam, a joint project of CFHT, Taiwan, Korea, Canada, France, at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) which is operated by the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, the Institute National des Sciences de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique of France, and the University of Hawaii.

Cross-calibration of the Terra MODIS, Landsat 7 ETM+ and EO-1 ALI sensors using near-simultaneous surface observation over the Railroad Valley Playa, Nevada, test site

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chander, G.; Angal, A.; Choi, T.; Meyer, D.J.; Xiong, X.; Teillet, P.M.

2007-01-01

A cross-calibration methodology has been developed using coincident image pairs from the Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the Landsat 7 (L7) Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) and the Earth Observing EO-1 Advanced Land Imager (ALI) to verify the absolute radiometric calibration accuracy of these sensors with respect to each other. To quantify the effects due to different spectral responses, the Relative Spectral Responses (RSR) of these sensors were studied and compared by developing a set of "figures-of-merit." Seven cloud-free scenes collected over the Railroad Valley Playa, Nevada (RVPN), test site were used to conduct the cross-calibration study. This cross-calibration approach was based on image statistics from near-simultaneous observations made by different satellite sensors. Homogeneous regions of interest (ROI) were selected in the image pairs, and the mean target statistics were converted to absolute units of at-sensor reflectance. Using these reflectances, a set of cross-calibration equations were developed giving a relative gain and bias between the sensor pair.

Models of tremor and low-frequency earthquake swarms on Montserrat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neuberg, J.; Luckett, R.; Baptie, B.; Olsen, K.

2000-08-01

Recent observations from Soufrière Hills volcano in Montserrat reveal a wide variety of low-frequency seismic signals. We discuss similarities and differences between hybrid earthquakes and long-period events, and their role in explosions and rockfall events. These events occur usually in swarms, and occasionally merge into tremor, an observation that can shed further light on the generation and composition of harmonic tremor. We use a 2D finite difference method to model major features of low-frequency seismic signatures and compare them with the observations. A depth-dependent velocity model for a fluid-filled conduit is introduced which accounts for the varying gas-content in the magma, and the impact on the seismic signals is discussed. We carefully analyse episodes of tremor that show shifting spectral lines and model those in terms of changes in the gas content of the magma as well as in terms of a time-dependent triggering mechanism of low-frequency resonances. In this way we explain the simultaneous occurrence of low-frequency events and tremor with a spectral content comprising integer harmonics.

Comparison of Geosynchronous Satellites Spectral Signatures During Glint Season

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weisz, D.; Dunsmore, A.; Key, J.; Tucker, R.; Weld, E.; Chun, F.; Tippets, R.

2016-09-01

Cadets in the Department of Physics at the United States Air Force Academy are using the technique of slitless spectroscopy to analyze the spectra from geostationary satellites during glint season. The equinox periods of the year are particularly favorable for earth-based observers to detect specular reflections off satellites (glints), which have been observed in the past using broadband photometry techniques. Three seasons of glints were observed and analyzed for multiple satellites, as measured across the visible spectrum using a diffraction grating on the Academy's 16-inch, f/8.2 telescope. It is clear from the results that the glint maximum wavelength decreases relative to the time periods before and after the glint, and that the spectral reflectance during the glint is less like a blackbody. The glint spectra are also quantitatively compared to different blackbody curves and the solar spectrum by means of absolute differences. Our initial analysis appears to indicate a potential method of determining relative power capacity. These results are consistent with the presumption that solar panels are the predominant source of specular reflection.

RXTE Observation of 4U 1630-47 During its 1998 Outburst

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dieters, Stefan W.

1999-01-01

During the 1998 outburst of 4U 1630-47 it was extensively observed with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). In order to cover the outburst more thoroughly our data (Obs. ID: 30178-0[1-2]- ) were combined with those of Cui et al. (Obs. ID: 30188-02-). These observations were later compared with the complementary observations. Power density and energy spectra have been made for each observation. The data was used to place radio and hard X-ray observations within context. Analysis of SAX (Satellite per Astronomia a raggi X) and BATSE (Burst and Transient Source Experiment) data was also included within the study. The count rate and position in hardness-intensity, color-color diagrams and simple spectral fits are used to track the concurrent spectral changes. The source showed seven distinct types of timing behavior, most of which show differences with the canonical black hole spectral/timing states. In marked contrast to previous outbursts, we find quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) signals during nearly all stages of the outburst with frequencies between 0.06 Hz and 14 Hz and a remarkable variety of other characteristics. In particular we find large (up to 23% rms) amplitude QPO on the early rise. Later, slow 0.1 Hz semi- regular short (- 5 sec), 9 to 16% deep dips dominate the light curve. At this time there are two QPOS, one stable near 13.5 Hz and the other whose frequency drops from 6-8 Hz to - 4.5 Hz during the dips. BeppoSAX observations during the very late declining phase show 4U 1630-47 in a low state. These results will shortly be published. We are completing a detailed analysis of the energy spectra (in preparation). The QPO/noise properties are being correlated with the concurrent spectral changes. Detailed studies of the QPO are being undertaken using sophisticated timing analysis methods. Finally a comparison with the other outbursts of 1630-47 is being made.

A whole image approach using field measurements for transforming EO1 Hyperion hyperspectral data into canopy reflectance spectra

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ramsey, Elijah W.; Nelson, G.

2005-01-01

To maximize the spectral distinctiveness (information) of the canopy reflectance, an atmospheric correction strategy was implemented to provide accurate estimates of the intrinsic reflectance from the Earth Observing 1 (EO1) satellite Hyperion sensor signal. In rendering the canopy reflectance, an estimate of optical depth derived from a measurement of downwelling irradiance was used to drive a radiative transfer simulation of atmospheric scattering and attenuation. During the atmospheric model simulation, the input whole-terrain background reflectance estimate was changed to minimize the differences between the model predicted and the observed canopy reflectance spectra at 34 sites. Lacking appropriate spectrally invariant scene targets, inclusion of the field and predicted comparison maximized the model accuracy and, thereby, the detail and precision in the canopy reflectance necessary to detect low percentage occurrences of invasive plants. After accounting for artifacts surrounding prominent absorption features from about 400nm to 1000nm, the atmospheric adjustment strategy correctly explained 99% of the observed canopy reflectance spectra variance. Separately, model simulation explained an average of 88%??9% of the observed variance in the visible and 98% ?? 1% in the near-infrared wavelengths. In the 34 model simulations, maximum differences between the observed and predicted reflectances were typically less than ?? 1% in the visible; however, maximum reflectance differences higher than ?? 1.6% (

Latittudinal and energy dependence of energetic neutral atom spectral indices measured by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer

DOE PAGES

Desai, M. I.; Allegrini, F.; Dayeh, M. A.; ...

2015-03-30

Here, we investigate the latitudinal and energy dependence of the globally distributed 0.5-6 keV energetic neutral atom (ENA) spectra measured by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) during the first 3 yrs of the mission. Our results are: (1) the ENA spectral indices at the two lowest energies (0.89 and 1.47 keV) exhibit no clear trend with ecliptic latitude θ, while those at ~2.29 and ~3.41 keV exhibit a clear latitudinal pattern; flatter spectra occur above 60° latitude and steeper spectra occur ±30° of the equator. (2) The latitudinal dependence of the spectral indices at different energies can be represented bymore » the cosine function γ =a 0 + a 1 cos (a 2θ) with unique offsets, amplitudes, and phase angles; the higher energy ENA indices transition to successively larger amplitudes within ±45° of the equator. The results confirm the previously reported latitudinal organization of the ENA spectra and their remarkable similarity to that of the solar wind (SW) speed observed by Ulysses in the inner heliosphere. And while earlier studies showed that the ~0.5-6 keV globally distributed ENA spectral indices could be represented as single power laws over much of the sky, our new results indicate that this is an over-simplification because the spectral indices have an energy and latitude dependence. Furthermore, this dependence is an important factor that must be taken into consideration by models and simulations that seek to map the IBEX ENA observations back to the latitudinal profile of the SW speed structure observed in the inner heliosphere.« less

Latitudinal and Energy Dependence of Energetic Neutral Atom Spectral Indices Measured by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desai, M. I.; Allegrini, F.; Dayeh, M. A.; Funsten, H.; Heerikhuisen, J.; McComas, D. J.; Fuselier, S. A.; Pogorelov, N.; Schwadron, N. A.; Zank, G. P.; Zirnstein, E. J.

2015-04-01

We investigate the latitudinal and energy dependence of the globally distributed 0.5-6 keV energetic neutral atom (ENA) spectra measured by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) during the first 3 yrs of the mission. Our results are: (1) the ENA spectral indices at the two lowest energies (0.89 and 1.47 keV) exhibit no clear trend with ecliptic latitude θ, while those at ˜2.29 and ˜3.41 keV exhibit a clear latitudinal pattern; flatter spectra occur above 60° latitude and steeper spectra occur ±30° of the equator. (2) The latitudinal dependence of the spectral indices at different energies can be represented by the cosine function γ ={{a}0}+{{a}1}cos ({{a}2}θ ) with unique offsets, amplitudes, and phase angles; the higher energy ENA indices transition to successively larger amplitudes within ±45° of the equator. Our results confirm the previously reported latitudinal organization of the ENA spectra and their remarkable similarity to that of the solar wind (SW) speed observed by Ulysses in the inner heliosphere. While earlier studies showed that the ˜0.5-6 keV globally distributed ENA spectral indices could be represented as single power laws over much of the sky, our new results indicate that this is an over-simplification because the spectral indices have an energy and latitude dependence. This dependence is an important factor that must be taken into consideration by models and simulations that seek to map the IBEX ENA observations back to the latitudinal profile of the SW speed structure observed in the inner heliosphere.

Fat suppression in magnetic resonance imaging of the head and neck region: is the two-point DIXON technique superior to spectral fat suppression?

PubMed

Wendl, Christina M; Eiglsperger, Johannes; Dendl, Lena-Marie; Brodoefel, Harald; Schebesch, Karl-Michael; Stroszczynski, Christian; Fellner, Claudia

2018-05-01

The aim of our study was to systematically compare two-point Dixon fat suppression (FS) and spectral FS techniques in contrast enhanced imaging of the head and neck region. Three independent readers analysed coronal T 1 weighted images recorded after contrast medium injection with Dixon and spectral FS techniques with regard to FS homogeneity, motion artefacts, lesion contrast, image sharpness and overall image quality. 85 patients were prospectively enrolled in the study. Images generated with Dixon-FS technique were of higher overall image quality and had a more homogenous FS over the whole field of view compared with the standard spectral fat-suppressed images (p < 0.001). Concerning motion artefacts, flow artefacts, lesion contrast and image sharpness no statistically significant difference was observed. The Dixon-FS technique is superior to the spectral technique due to improved homogeneity of FS and overall image quality while maintaining lesion contrast. Advances in knowledge: T 1 with Dixon FS technique offers, compared to spectral FS, significantly improved FS homogeneity and over all image quality in imaging of the head and neck region.

Evolution of the characteristics of Parametric X-ray Radiation from textured polycrystals under different observation angles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alekseev, V. I.; Eliseyev, A. N.; Irribarra, E.; Kishin, I. A.; Klyuev, A. S.; Kubankin, A. S.; Nazhmudinov, R. M.; Zhukova, P. N.

2018-02-01

The Parametric X-Ray radiation (PXR) spectra and yield dependencies on the orientation angle are measured during the interaction of 7 MeV electrons with a tungsten textured polycrystalline foil for different observation angles. The effects of PXR spectral density increase and PXR yield orientation dependence broadening in the backward direction is shown experimentally for the first time. The experimental results are compared with PXR kinematical theories for both mosaic crystals and polycrystals.

Altered cerebral blood flow velocity features in fibromyalgia patients in resting-state conditions

PubMed Central

Rodríguez, Alejandro; Tembl, José; Mesa-Gresa, Patricia; Muñoz, Miguel Ángel; Montoya, Pedro

2017-01-01

The aim of this study is to characterize in resting-state conditions the cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) signals of fibromyalgia patients. The anterior and middle cerebral arteries of both hemispheres from 15 women with fibromyalgia and 15 healthy women were monitored using Transcranial Doppler (TCD) during a 5-minute eyes-closed resting period. Several signal processing methods based on time, information theory, frequency and time-frequency analyses were used in order to extract different features to characterize the CBFV signals in the different vessels. Main results indicated that, in comparison with control subjects, fibromyalgia patients showed a higher complexity of the envelope CBFV and a different distribution of the power spectral density. In addition, it has been observed that complexity and spectral features show correlations with clinical pain parameters and emotional factors. The characterization features were used in a lineal model to discriminate between fibromyalgia patients and healthy controls, providing a high accuracy. These findings indicate that CBFV signals, specifically their complexity and spectral characteristics, contain information that may be relevant for the assessment of fibromyalgia patients in resting-state conditions. PMID:28700720

Constraining Anisotropic Lorentz Violation via the Spectral-lag Transition of GRB 160625B

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

Wei, Jun-Jie; Wu, Xue-Feng; Shao, Lang

Violations of Lorentz invariance can lead to an energy-dependent vacuum dispersion of light, which results in arrival-time differences of photons with different energies arising from a given transient source. In this work, direction-dependent dispersion constraints are obtained on nonbirefringent Lorentz-violating effects using the observed spectral lags of the gamma-ray burst GRB 160625B. This burst has unusually large high-energy photon statistics, so we can obtain constraints from the true spectral time lags of bunches of high-energy photons rather than from the rough time lag of a single highest-energy photon. Also, GRB 160625B is the only burst to date having a well-definedmore » transition from positive lags to negative lags, providing a unique opportunity to distinguish Lorentz-violating effects from any source-intrinsic time lag in the emission of photons of different energy bands. Our results place comparatively robust two-sided constraints on a variety of isotropic and anisotropic coefficients for Lorentz violation, including the first bounds on Lorentz-violating effects from operators of mass dimension 10 in the photon sector.« less

Altered cerebral blood flow velocity features in fibromyalgia patients in resting-state conditions.

PubMed

Rodríguez, Alejandro; Tembl, José; Mesa-Gresa, Patricia; Muñoz, Miguel Ángel; Montoya, Pedro; Rey, Beatriz

2017-01-01

The aim of this study is to characterize in resting-state conditions the cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) signals of fibromyalgia patients. The anterior and middle cerebral arteries of both hemispheres from 15 women with fibromyalgia and 15 healthy women were monitored using Transcranial Doppler (TCD) during a 5-minute eyes-closed resting period. Several signal processing methods based on time, information theory, frequency and time-frequency analyses were used in order to extract different features to characterize the CBFV signals in the different vessels. Main results indicated that, in comparison with control subjects, fibromyalgia patients showed a higher complexity of the envelope CBFV and a different distribution of the power spectral density. In addition, it has been observed that complexity and spectral features show correlations with clinical pain parameters and emotional factors. The characterization features were used in a lineal model to discriminate between fibromyalgia patients and healthy controls, providing a high accuracy. These findings indicate that CBFV signals, specifically their complexity and spectral characteristics, contain information that may be relevant for the assessment of fibromyalgia patients in resting-state conditions.

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

PubMed Central

Shen, Yi; Kern, Allison B.

2018-01-01

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

High-resolution CASSINI-VIMS mosaics of Titan and the icy Saturnian satellites

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jaumann, R.; Stephan, K.; Brown, R.H.; Buratti, B.J.; Clark, R.N.; McCord, T.B.; Coradini, A.; Capaccioni, F.; Filacchione, G.; Cerroni, P.; Baines, K.H.; Bellucci, G.; Bibring, J.-P.; Combes, M.; Cruikshank, D.P.; Drossart, P.; Formisano, V.; Langevin, Y.; Matson, D.L.; Nelson, R.M.; Nicholson, P.D.; Sicardy, B.; Sotin, Christophe; Soderbloom, L.A.; Griffith, C.; Matz, K.-D.; Roatsch, Th.; Scholten, F.; Porco, C.C.

2006-01-01

The Visual Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) onboard the CASSINI spacecraft obtained new spectral data of the icy satellites of Saturn after its arrival at Saturn in June 2004. VIMS operates in a spectral range from 0.35 to 5.2 ??m, generating image cubes in which each pixel represents a spectrum consisting of 352 contiguous wavebands. As an imaging spectrometer VIMS combines the characteristics of both a spectrometer and an imaging instrument. This makes it possible to analyze the spectrum of each pixel separately and to map the spectral characteristics spatially, which is important to study the relationships between spectral information and geological and geomorphologic surface features. The spatial analysis of the spectral data requires the determination of the exact geographic position of each pixel on the specific surface and that all 352 spectral elements of each pixel show the same region of the target. We developed a method to reproject each pixel geometrically and to convert the spectral data into map projected image cubes. This method can also be applied to mosaic different VIMS observations. Based on these mosaics, maps of the spectral properties for each Saturnian satellite can be derived and attributed to geographic positions as well as to geological and geomorphologic surface features. These map-projected mosaics are the basis for all further investigations. ?? 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Grain size mapping in shallow rivers using spectral information: a lab spectroradiometry perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niroumand-Jadidi, Milad; Vitti, Alfonso

2017-10-01

Every individual attribute of a riverine environment defines the overall spectral signature to be observed by an optical sensor. The spectral characteristic of riverbed is influenced not only by the type but also the roughness of substrates. Motivated by this assumption, potential of optical imagery for mapping grain size of shallow rivers (< 1 m deep) is examined in this research. The previous studies concerned with grain size mapping are all built upon the texture analysis of exposed bed material using very high resolution (i.e. cm resolution) imagery. However, the application of texturebased techniques is limited to very low altitude sensors (e.g. UAVs) to ensure the sufficient spatial resolution. Moreover, these techniques are applicable only in the presence of exposed substrates along the river channel. To address these drawbacks, this study examines the effectiveness of spectral information to make distinction among grain sizes for submerged substrates. Spectroscopic experiments are performed in controlled condition of a hydraulic lab. The spectra are collected over a water flume in a range of water depths and bottoms with several grain sizes. A spectral convolution is performed to match the spectra to WorldView-2 spectral bands. The material type of substrates is considered the same for all the experiments with only variable roughness/size of grains. The spectra observed over dry beds revealed that the brightness/reflectance increases with the grain size across all the spectral bands. Based on this finding, the above-water spectra over a river channel are simulated considering different grain sizes in the bottom. A water column correction method is then used to retrieve the bottom reflectances. Then the inferred bottom reflectances are clustered to segregate among grain sizes. The results indicate high potential of the spectral approach for clustering grain sizes (overall accuracy of 92%) which opens up some horizons for mapping this valuable attribute of rivers using remotely sensed data.

Time Resolved X-Ray Spectral Analysis of Class II YSOs in NGC 2264 During Optical Dips and Bursts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guarcello, Mario Giuseppe; Flaccomio, Ettore; Micela, Giuseppina; Argiroffi, Costanza; Venuti, Laura

2016-07-01

Pre-Main Sequence stars are variable sources. The main mechanisms responsible for their variability are variable extinction, unsteady accretion, and rotational modulation of both hot and dark photospheric spots and X-ray active regions. In stars with disks this variability is thus related to the morphology of the inner circumstellar region (<0.1 AU) and that of photosphere and corona, all impossible to be spatially resolved with present day techniques. This has been the main motivations of the Coordinated Synoptic Investigation of NGC2264, a set of simultaneous observations of NGC2264 with 15 different telescopes.We analyze the X-ray spectral properties of stars with disks extracted during optical bursts and dips in order to unveil the nature of these phenomena. Stars are analyzed in two different samples. In stars with variable extinction a simultaneous increase of optical extinction and X-ray absorption is searched during the optical dips; in stars with accretion bursts we search for soft X-ray emission and increasing X-ray absorption during the bursts. In 9/33 stars with variable extinction we observe simultaneous increase of X-ray absorption and optical extinction. In seven dips it is possible to calculate the NH/AV ratio in order to infer the composition of the obscuring material. In 5/27 stars with optical accretion bursts, we observe soft X-ray emission during the bursts that we associate to the emission of accreting gas. It is not surprising that these properties are not observed in all the stars with dips and bursts since favorable geometric configurations are required. The observed variable absorption during the dips is mainly due to dust-free material in accretion streams. In stars with accretion bursts we observe in average a larger soft X-ray spectral component not observed in non accreting stars. This indicates that this soft X-ray emission arises from the accretion shocks.

Changeable camouflage: how well can flounder resemble the colour and spatial scale of substrates in their natural habitats?

PubMed Central

Akkaynak, Derya; Siemann, Liese A.; Barbosa, Alexandra

2017-01-01

Flounder change colour and pattern for camouflage. We used a spectrometer to measure reflectance spectra and a digital camera to capture body patterns of two flounder species camouflaged on four natural backgrounds of different spatial scale (sand, small gravel, large gravel and rocks). We quantified the degree of spectral match between flounder and background relative to the situation of perfect camouflage in which flounder and background were assumed to have identical spectral distribution. Computations were carried out for three biologically relevant observers: monochromatic squid, dichromatic crab and trichromatic guitarfish. Our computations present a new approach to analysing datasets with multiple spectra that have large variance. Furthermore, to investigate the spatial match between flounder and background, images of flounder patterns were analysed using a custom program originally developed to study cuttlefish camouflage. Our results show that all flounder and background spectra fall within the same colour gamut and that, in terms of different observer visual systems, flounder matched most substrates in luminance and colour contrast. Flounder matched the spatial scales of all substrates except for rocks. We discuss findings in terms of flounder biology; furthermore, we discuss our methodology in light of hyperspectral technologies that combine high-resolution spectral and spatial imaging. PMID:28405370

Changeable camouflage: how well can flounder resemble the colour and spatial scale of substrates in their natural habitats?

PubMed

Akkaynak, Derya; Siemann, Liese A; Barbosa, Alexandra; Mäthger, Lydia M

2017-03-01

Flounder change colour and pattern for camouflage. We used a spectrometer to measure reflectance spectra and a digital camera to capture body patterns of two flounder species camouflaged on four natural backgrounds of different spatial scale (sand, small gravel, large gravel and rocks). We quantified the degree of spectral match between flounder and background relative to the situation of perfect camouflage in which flounder and background were assumed to have identical spectral distribution. Computations were carried out for three biologically relevant observers: monochromatic squid, dichromatic crab and trichromatic guitarfish. Our computations present a new approach to analysing datasets with multiple spectra that have large variance. Furthermore, to investigate the spatial match between flounder and background, images of flounder patterns were analysed using a custom program originally developed to study cuttlefish camouflage. Our results show that all flounder and background spectra fall within the same colour gamut and that, in terms of different observer visual systems, flounder matched most substrates in luminance and colour contrast. Flounder matched the spatial scales of all substrates except for rocks. We discuss findings in terms of flounder biology; furthermore, we discuss our methodology in light of hyperspectral technologies that combine high-resolution spectral and spatial imaging.

Latitudinal Spectral Variations on Asteroid 101955 Bennu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Binzel, Richard P.; DeMeo, F.

2013-10-01

Asteroid 101955 Bennu (1999 RQ36) is the sample return target for the OSIRIS-REx mission. From multiple observations at different aspect angles, we detect a slight but deemed reliable spectral slope difference between the polar and equatorial regions of Bennu. We explore whether these may be compositional or grain-size effects. Surface variations may be a consequence of polar-to-equatorial migration of regolith as modeled by Walsh et al. (2008; Nature 454, 188) as a consequence of spin-up induced by the YORP (Yarkovsky-O’Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack) thermal effect. Our results are based on near-infrared spectral measurements of 101955 Bennu obtained on May 2, 2012 UT using the 6.5m Baade Telescope at the Magellan Observatory in Las Campanas, Chile. Additional Magellan 6.5m observations were obtained in July 2011. At Magellan, we utilized the FIRE (Folded-port InfraRed Echellette) spectrograph (Simcoe et al. 2010; Proc. SPIE 7735) over the wavelength range 0.8- to 2.3-microns. We compare these new Magellan data with previous results (Clark et al. 2011; Icarus 216, 462) where asteroid Bennu was measured in September 2005 using the NASA IRTF 3-m using the SpeX instrument (Rayner et al. 2003, PASP 115, 362) over a similar wavelength range.

Self-Optimizing Photoelectrochemical Growth of Nanopatterned Se–Te Films in Response to the Spectral Distribution of Incident Illumination

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

Carim, Azhar I.; Batara, Nicolas A.; Premkumar, Anjali

2015-09-02

Photoelectrochemical growth of Se–Te films spontaneously produces highly ordered, nanoscale lamellar morphologies with periodicities that can be tuned by varying the illumination wavelength during deposition. This phenomenon has been characterized further herein by determining the morphologies of photoelectrodeposited Se–Te films in response to tailored spectral illumination profiles. Se–Te films grown under illumination from four different sources, having similar average wavelengths but having spectral bandwidths that spanned several orders of magnitude, all nevertheless produced similar structures which had a single, common periodicity as quantitatively identified via Fourier analysis. Film deposition using simultaneous illumination from two narrowband sources, which differed in averagemore » wavelength by several hundred nanometers, resulted in a structure with only a single periodicity intermediate between the periods observed when either source alone was used. This single periodicity could be varied by manipulating the relative intensity of the two sources. An iterative model that combined full-wave electromagnetic effects with Monte Carlo growth simulations, and that considered only the fundamental light-material interactions during deposition, was in accord with the morphologies observed experimentally. Simulations of light absorption and concentration in idealized lamellar arrays, in conjunction with all of the available data, additionally indicated that a self-optimization of the periodicity of the nanoscale pattern, resulting in the maximization of the anisotropy of interfacial light absorption in the three-dimensional structure, is consistent with the observed growth process of such films.« less

Spatial variability of the Black Sea surface temperature from high resolution modeling and satellite measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mizyuk, Artem; Senderov, Maxim; Korotaev, Gennady

2016-04-01

Large number of numerical ocean models were implemented for the Black Sea basin during last two decades. They reproduce rather similar structure of synoptical variability of the circulation. Since 00-s numerical studies of the mesoscale structure are carried out using high performance computing (HPC). With the growing capacity of computing resources it is now possible to reconstruct the Black Sea currents with spatial resolution of several hundreds meters. However, how realistic these results can be? In the proposed study an attempt is made to understand which spatial scales are reproduced by ocean model in the Black Sea. Simulations are made using parallel version of NEMO (Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean). A two regional configurations with spatial resolutions 5 km and 2.5 km are described. Comparison of the SST from simulations with two spatial resolutions shows rather qualitative difference of the spatial structures. Results of high resolution simulation are compared also with satellite observations and observation-based products from Copernicus using spatial correlation and spectral analysis. Spatial scales of correlations functions for simulated and observed SST are rather close and differs much from satellite SST reanalysis. Evolution of spectral density for modelled SST and reanalysis showed agreed time periods of small scales intensification. Using of the spectral analysis for satellite measurements is complicated due to gaps. The research leading to this results has received funding from Russian Science Foundation (project № 15-17-20020)

Influence of image compression on the interpretation of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography in exudative age-related macular degeneration

PubMed Central

Kim, J H; Kang, S W; Kim, J-r; Chang, Y S

2014-01-01

Purpose To evaluate the effect of image compression of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) images in the examination of eyes with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods Thirty eyes from 30 patients who were diagnosed with exudative AMD were included in this retrospective observational case series. The horizontal OCT scans centered at the center of the fovea were conducted using spectral-domain OCT. The images were exported to Tag Image File Format (TIFF) and 100, 75, 50, 25 and 10% quality of Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format. OCT images were taken before and after intravitreal ranibizumab injections, and after relapse. The prevalence of subretinal and intraretinal fluids was determined. Differences in choroidal thickness between the TIFF and JPEG images were compared with the intra-observer variability. Results The prevalence of subretinal and intraretinal fluids was comparable regardless of the degree of compression. However, the chorio–scleral interface was not clearly identified in many images with a high degree of compression. In images with 25 and 10% quality of JPEG, the difference in choroidal thickness between the TIFF images and the respective JPEG images was significantly greater than the intra-observer variability of the TIFF images (P=0.029 and P=0.024, respectively). Conclusions In OCT images of eyes with AMD, 50% of the quality of the JPEG format would be an optimal degree of compression for efficient data storage and transfer without sacrificing image quality. PMID:24788012

Optimizing observations of drizzle onset with millimeter-wavelength radars

DOE PAGES

Acquistapace, Claudia; Kneifel, Stefan; Löhnert, Ulrich; ...

2017-05-12

Cloud Doppler radars are increasingly used to study cloud and precipitation microphysical processes. Typical bulk cloud properties such as liquid or ice content are usually derived using the first three standard moments of the radar Doppler spectrum. Recent studies demonstrated the value of higher moments for the reduction of retrieval uncertainties and for providing additional insights into microphysical processes. Large effort has been undertaken, e.g., within the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program to ensure high quality of radar Doppler spectra. However, a systematic approach concerning the accuracy of higher moment estimates and sensitivity to basic radar system settings, such asmore » spectral resolution, integration time and beam width, are still missing. Here In this study, we present an approach on how to optimize radar settings for radar Doppler spectra moments in the specific context of drizzle detection. The process of drizzle development has shown to be particularly sensitive to higher radar moments such as skewness. We collected radar raw data (I/Q time series) from consecutive zenith-pointing observations for two liquid cloud cases observed at the cloud observatory JOYCE in Germany. The I/Q data allowed us to process Doppler spectra and derive their moments using different spectral resolutions and integration times during identical time intervals. This enabled us to study the sensitivity of the spatiotemporal structure of the derived moments to the different radar settings. The observed signatures were further investigated using a radar Doppler forward model which allowed us to compare observed and simulated sensitivities and also to study the impact of additional hardware-dependent parameters such as antenna beam width. For the observed cloud with drizzle onset we found that longer integration times mainly modify spectral width ( S w) and skewness ( S k), leaving other moments mostly unaffected. An integration time of 2 s seems to be an optimal compromise: both observations and simulations revealed that a 10 s integration time – as it is widely used for European cloud radars – leads to a significant turbulence-induced increase of S w and reduction of S k compared to 2 s integration time. This can lead to significantly different microphysical interpretations with respect to drizzle water content and effective radius. A change from 2 s to even shorter integration times (0. 4 s) has much smaller effects on S w and S k. We also find that spectral resolution has a small impact on the moment estimations, and thus on the microphysical interpretation of the drizzle signal. Even the coarsest spectral resolution studied, 0. 08 ms -1, seems to be appropriate for calculation moments of drizzling clouds. Moreover, simulations provided additional insight into the microphysical interpretation of the skewness signatures observed: in low (high)-turbulence conditions, only drizzle larger than 20 µm (40 µm) can generate S k values above the S k noise level (in our case 0.4). Higher S k values are also obtained in simulations when smaller beam widths are adopted.« less

Discriminant Analysis of Time Series in the Presence of Within-Group Spectral Variability.

PubMed

Krafty, Robert T

2016-07-01

Many studies record replicated time series epochs from different groups with the goal of using frequency domain properties to discriminate between the groups. In many applications, there exists variation in cyclical patterns from time series in the same group. Although a number of frequency domain methods for the discriminant analysis of time series have been explored, there is a dearth of models and methods that account for within-group spectral variability. This article proposes a model for groups of time series in which transfer functions are modeled as stochastic variables that can account for both between-group and within-group differences in spectra that are identified from individual replicates. An ensuing discriminant analysis of stochastic cepstra under this model is developed to obtain parsimonious measures of relative power that optimally separate groups in the presence of within-group spectral variability. The approach possess favorable properties in classifying new observations and can be consistently estimated through a simple discriminant analysis of a finite number of estimated cepstral coefficients. Benefits in accounting for within-group spectral variability are empirically illustrated in a simulation study and through an analysis of gait variability.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Solar spectral irradiance (Marchenko+, 2014)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marchenko, S. V.; Deland, M. T.

2017-03-01

Combining the contemporaneous Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and GOME-2 observations with the records from previous solar cycles, we construct the normalized (to the Mg II doublet at 280 nm) solar variability spectrum in the 170-795 nm spectral range, which could be used in combination with a reference spectrum (e.g., Thuillier et al. 2004, Solar Variability and its Effects on Climate (Geophysical Monograph 141), ed. J. M. Pup et al. (Washington, DC: AGU Geophysical Monograph Series), 171) to reproduce a dynamical solar spectrum at any epoch.The remote-sensing OMI (part of the Aura instrumental suite; Levelt et al., 2006ITGRS..44.1093L) has collected information about trace gases in the Earth's atmosphere since 2004 July. OMI comprises three different spectral channels, UV1 (264-311 nm spectral domain, resolution δλ = 0.63 nm), UV2 (307-383 nm, δλ = 0.42 nm), and VIS (349-504 nm, δλ = 0.63 nm), each acquiring data through partially shared optical pathways (Dobber et al., 2006ITGRS..44.1209D). The UV1 and UV2 light falls on the same CCD detector while VIS spectra are recorded by a different CCD. (1 data file).

Variations of the TeV energy spectrum at different flux levels of Mkn 421 observed with the HEGRA system of Cherenkov telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aharonian, F.; Akhperjanian, A.; Beilicke, M.; Bernlöhr, K.; Börst, H.; Bojahr, H.; Bolz, O.; Coarasa, T.; Contreras, J.; Cortina, J.; Costamante, L.; Denninghoff, S.; Fonseca, V.; Girma, M.; Götting, N.; Heinzelmann, G.; Hermann, G.; Heusler, A.; Hofmann, W.; Horns, D.; Jung, I.; Kankanyan, R.; Kestel, M.; Kettler, J.; Kohnle, A.; Konopelko, A.; Kornmeyer, H.; Kranich, D.; Krawczynski, H.; Lampeitl, H.; Lopez, M.; Lorenz, E.; Lucarelli, F.; Mang, O.; Meyer, H.; Mirzoyan, R.; Milite, M.; Moralejo, A.; Ona, E.; Panter, M.; Plyasheshnikov, A.; Pühlhofer, G.; Rauterberg, G.; Reyes, R.; Rhode, W.; Ripken, J.; Rowell, G.; Sahakian, V.; Samorski, M.; Schilling, M.; Siems, M.; Sobzynska, D.; Stamm, W.; Tluczykont, M.; Völk, H. J.; Wiedner, C. A.; Wittek, W.; Remillard, R. A.

2002-10-01

The nearby BL Lacertae (BL Lac) object Markarian 421 (Mkn 421) at a red shift z=0.031 was observed to undergo strong TeV gamma -ray outbursts in the observational periods from December 1999 until May 2001. The time averaged flux level F(E>1 TeV) in the 1999/2000 season was (1.43+/-0.04) x 10-11 ph cm-2 s-1, whereas in the 2000/2001 season the average integral flux increased to (4.19+/-0.04) x 10-11 ph cm-2 s-1. Both energy spectra are curved and well fit by a power law with an exponential cut-off energy at 3.6(+0.4-0.3)_stat(+0.9-0.8)_sys TeV. The respective energy spectra averaged over each of the two time periods indicate a spectral hardening for the 2000/2001 spectrum. The photon index changes from 2.39+/-0.09_stat for 1999/2000 to 2.19+/-0.02_stat in 2000/2001. The energy spectra derived for different average flux levels ranging from 0.5 to 10 x 10-11 ph cm-2 s-1 follow a clear correlation of photon index and flux level. Generally, the energy spectra are harder for high flux levels. From January to April 2001 Mkn 421 showed rapid variability (doubling time as short as 20 min), accompanied with a spectral hardening with increasing flux level within individual nights. For two successive nights (MJD 51989-51991, March 21-23, 2001), this correlation of spectral hardness and change in flux has been observed within a few hours. The cut-off energy for the Mkn 421 TeV spectrum remains within the errors constant for the different flux levels and differs by Delta E=2.6+/-0.6_stat+/-0.6_sys TeV from the value determined for Mkn 501. This indicates that the observed exponential cut-off in the energy spectrum of Mkn 421 is not solely caused by absorption of multi-TeV photons by pair-production processes with photons of the extragalactic near/mid infrared background radiation.

How Continuous Observations of Shortwave Reflectance Spectra Can Narrow the Range of Shortwave Climate Feedbacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feldman, D.; Collins, W. D.; Wielicki, B. A.; Shea, Y.; Mlynczak, M. G.; Kuo, C.; Nguyen, N.

2017-12-01

Shortwave feedbacks are a persistent source of uncertainty for climate models and a large contributor to the diagnosed range of equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) for the international multi-model ensemble. The processes that contribute to these feedbacks affect top-of-atmosphere energetics and produce spectral signatures that may be time-evolving. We explore the value of such spectral signatures for providing an observational constraint on model ECS by simulating top-of-atmosphere shortwave reflectance spectra across much of the energetically-relevant shortwave bandpass (300 to 2500 nm). We present centennial-length shortwave hyperspectral simulations from low, medium and high ECS models that reported to the CMIP5 archive as part of an Observing System Simulation Experiment (OSSE) in support of the CLimate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO). Our framework interfaces with CMIP5 archive results and is agnostic to the choice of model. We simulated spectra from the INM-CM4 model (ECS of 2.08 °K/2xCO2), the MIROC5 model (ECS of 2.70 °K/2xCO2), and the CSIRO Mk3-6-0 (ECS of 4.08 °K/2xCO2) based on those models' integrations of the RCP8.5 scenario for the 21st Century. This approach allows us to explore how perfect data records can exclude models of lower or higher climate sensitivity. We find that spectral channels covering visible and near-infrared water-vapor overtone bands can potentially exclude a low or high sensitivity model with under 15 years' of absolutely-calibrated data. These different spectral channels are sensitive to model cloud radiative effect and cloud height changes, respectively. These unprecedented calculations lay the groundwork for spectral simulations of perturbed-physics ensembles in order to identify those shortwave observations that can help narrow the range in shortwave model feedbacks and ultimately help reduce the stubbornly-large range in model ECS.

Computerized simulation of color appearance for anomalous trichromats using the multispectral image.

PubMed

Yaguchi, Hirohisa; Luo, Junyan; Kato, Miharu; Mizokami, Yoko

2018-04-01

Most color simulators for color deficiencies are based on the tristimulus values and are intended to simulate the appearance of an image for dichromats. Statistics show that there are more anomalous trichromats than dichromats. Furthermore, the spectral sensitivities of anomalous cones are different from those of normal cones. Clinically, the types of color defects are characterized through Rayleigh color matching, where the observer matches a spectral yellow to a mixture of spectral red and green. The midpoints of the red/green ratios deviate from a normal trichromat. This means that any simulation based on the tristimulus values defined by a normal trichromat cannot predict the color appearance of anomalous Rayleigh matches. We propose a computerized simulation of the color appearance for anomalous trichromats using multispectral images. First, we assume that anomalous trichromats possess a protanomalous (green shifted) or deuteranomalous (red shifted) pigment instead of a normal (L or M) one. Second, we assume that the luminance will be given by L+M, and red/green and yellow/blue opponent color stimulus values are defined through L-M and (L+M)-S, respectively. Third, equal-energy white will look white for all observers. The spectral sensitivities of the luminance and the two opponent color channels are multiplied by the spectral radiance of each pixel of a multispectral image to give the luminance and opponent color stimulus values of the entire image. In the next stage of color reproduction for normal observers, the luminance and two opponent color channels are transformed into XYZ tristimulus values and then transformed into sRGB to reproduce a final image for anomalous trichromats. The proposed simulation can be used to predict the Rayleigh color matches for anomalous trichromats. We also conducted experiments to evaluate the appearance of simulated images by color deficient observers and verified the reliability of the simulation.

Different event-related patterns of gamma-band power in brain waves of fast- and slow-reacting subjects.

PubMed Central

Jokeit, H; Makeig, S

1994-01-01

Fast- and slow-reacting subjects exhibit different patterns of gamma-band electroencephalogram (EEG) activity when responding as quickly as possible to auditory stimuli. This result appears to confirm long-standing speculations of Wundt that fast- and slow-reacting subjects produce speeded reactions in different ways and demonstrates that analysis of event-related changes in the amplitude of EEG activity recorded from the human scalp can reveal information about event-related brain processes unavailable using event-related potential measures. Time-varying spectral power in a selected (35- to 43-Hz) gamma frequency band was averaged across trials in two experimental conditions: passive listening and speeded reacting to binaural clicks, forming 40-Hz event-related spectral responses. Factor analysis of between-subject event-related spectral response differences split subjects into two near-equal groups composed of faster- and slower-reacting subjects. In faster-reacting subjects, 40-Hz power peaked near 200 ms and 400 ms poststimulus in the react condition, whereas in slower-reacting subjects, 40-Hz power just before stimulus delivery was larger in the react condition. These group differences were preserved in separate averages of relatively long and short reaction-time epochs for each group. gamma-band (20-60 Hz)-filtered event-related potential response averages did not differ between the two groups or conditions. Because of this and because gamma-band power in the auditory event-related potential is small compared with the EEG, the observed event-related spectral response features must represent gamma-band EEG activity reliably induced by, but not phase-locked to, experimental stimuli or events. PMID:8022783

Mapping the Solar Wind from its Source Region into the Outer Corona

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Esser, Ruth

1998-01-01

Knowledge of the radial variation of the plasma conditions in the coronal source region of the solar wind is essential to exploring coronal heating and solar wind acceleration mechanisms. The goal of the present proposal is to determine as many plasma parameters in that region as possible by coordinating different observational techniques, such as Interplanetary Scintillation Observations, spectral line intensity observations, polarization brightness measurements and X-ray observations. The inferred plasma parameters are then used to constrain solar wind models.

A metric space for Type Ia supernova spectra: a new method to assess explosion scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sasdelli, Michele; Hillebrandt, W.; Kromer, M.; Ishida, E. E. O.; Röpke, F. K.; Sim, S. A.; Pakmor, R.; Seitenzahl, I. R.; Fink, M.

2017-04-01

Over the past years, Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) have become a major tool to determine the expansion history of the Universe, and considerable attention has been given to, both, observations and models of these events. However, until now, their progenitors are not known. The observed diversity of light curves and spectra seems to point at different progenitor channels and explosion mechanisms. Here, we present a new way to compare model predictions with observations in a systematic way. Our method is based on the construction of a metric space for SN Ia spectra by means of linear principal component analysis, taking care of missing and/or noisy data, and making use of partial least-squares regression to find correlations between spectral properties and photometric data. We investigate realizations of the three major classes of explosion models that are presently discussed: delayed-detonation Chandrasekhar-mass explosions, sub-Chandrasekhar-mass detonations and double-degenerate mergers, and compare them with data. We show that in the principal component space, all scenarios have observed counterparts, supporting the idea that different progenitors are likely. However, all classes of models face problems in reproducing the observed correlations between spectral properties and light curves and colours. Possible reasons are briefly discussed.

A comparison of CIE L*a*b* and spectral methods for the analysis of fading in sliced cured ham

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheridan, C.; O'Farrell, M.; Lewis, E.; Flanagan, C.; Kerry, J.; Jackman, N.

2007-06-01

In the modern retail environment, the appearance of a product is frequently the only quality indicator available to consumers. This is especially true of products such as sliced ham that have been sealed into packages to maintain product freshness. It has been shown that sliced ham products undergo discolouration from their original pink colour to a pale grey colour when exposed to a combination of oxygen and light. This is unappealing to consumers who expect a pink colour for sliced ham. An investigation is made into a sensor that would monitor the initial colour status of cured ham before packaging in order to determine the amount of time left before the ham fades to an unsatisfactory colour. For this sensor to operate, appropriate analysis of the appearance of the meat is required. Two methods for the measurement of the fading were investigated—CIE L*a*b* measurements and analysis of the spectral reflectance of the colour of the ham. Several sliced ham products with differing amounts of fading were examined using both methods. It was observed that the products used covered a wide range of variation in colour. Reproducibility of CIE L*a*b* values proved to be quite difficult and significant overlapping of the L* (lightness) and a* (redness) values measured for pink and grey coloured ham was observed. The variations in these values can be attributed to differences in the intensity of reflected light for different products. L*a*b* measurements are sensitive to light intensity and pigment concentration. Analysis of the spectral reflectance readings did not encounter these problems as the spectral response was normalized (to reduce intensity errors) before data analysis was carried out on the spectral shape or 'pattern' using principal component analysis (PCA) and artificial neural networks (ANN). A classifier based on PCA and ANN was successfully implemented that can discriminate different stages of fading for the ham slices. A case study was carried out on ham slices that had two different initial colours—light and dark. The results of the case study show that the sensor system can better discriminate between a light initial colour and a dark faded colour than the CIE L*a*b* colour measurement system.

Solar Spectral Irradiance Variability in Cycle 24: Model Predictions and OMI Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marchenko, S.; DeLand, M.; Lean, J.

2016-01-01

Utilizing the excellent stability of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), we characterize both short-term (solar rotation) and long-term (solar cycle) changes of the solar spectral irradiance (SSI) between 265-500 nanometers during the ongoing Cycle 24. We supplement the OMI data with concurrent observations from the GOME-2 (Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment - 2) and SORCE (Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment) instruments and find fair-to-excellent agreement between the observations and predictions of the NRLSSI2 (Naval Research Laboratory Solar Spectral Irradiance - post SORCE) and SATIRE-S (the Naval Research Laboratory's Spectral And Total Irradiance REconstruction for the Satellite era) models.

Hungaria Asteroid Region Telescopic Spectral Survey (HARTSS) II: Spectral Homogeneity Among Hungaria Family Asteroids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lucas, Michael P.; Emery, Joshua; Pinilla-Alonso, Noemi; Lindsay, Sean S.; MacLennan, Eric M.; Cartwright, Richard; Reddy, Vishnu; Sanchez, Juan A.; Thomas, Cristina A.; Lorenzi, Vania

2017-10-01

Spectral observations of asteroid family members provide valuable information regarding parent body interiors, the source regions of near-Earth asteroids, and the link between meteorites and their parent bodies. Hungaria family asteroids constitute the closest samples to the Earth from a collisional family (~1.94 AU), permitting observations of smaller fragments than accessible for Main Belt families. We have carried out a ground-based observational campaign - Hungaria Asteroid Region Telescopic Spectral Survey (HARTSS) - to record reflectance spectra of these preserved samples from the inner-most primordial asteroid belt. During HARTSS phase one (Lucas et al. [2017]. Icarus 291, 268-287) we found that ~80% of the background population is comprised of stony S-complex asteroids that exhibit considerable spectral and mineralogical diversity. In HARTSS phase two, we turn our attention to family members and hypothesize that the Hungaria collisional family is homogeneous. We test this hypothesis through taxonomic classification, albedo estimates, and spectral properties.During phase two of HARTSS we acquired near-infrared (NIR) spectra of 50 new Hungarias (19 family; 31 background) with SpeX/IRTF and NICS/TNG. We analyzed X-type family spectra for NIR color indices (0.85-J J-K), and a subtle ~0.9 µm absorption feature that may be attributed to Fe-poor orthopyroxene. Surviving fragments of an asteroid collisional family typically exhibit similar taxonomies, albedos, and spectral properties. Spectral analysis of X-type Hungaria family members and independently calculated WISE albedo determinations for 428 Hungaria asteroids is consistent with this scenario. Furthermore, ~1/4 of the background population exhibit similar spectral properties and albedos to family X-types.Spectral observations of 92 Hungaria region asteroids acquired during both phases of HARTSS uncover a compositionally heterogeneous background and spectral homogeneity down to ~2 km for collisional family members. Taxonomy, albedos, and spectral properties reveal that the Hungaria family progenitor was an igneous body that formed under reduced conditions, and was compositionally consistent with the enstatite achondrite (i.e., aubrite) meteorite group.

Winds from cool stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dupree, A. K.

1995-01-01

Spectral observations of cool stars enable study of the presence and character of winds and the mass loss process in objects with effective temperatures, gravities, and atmospheric compositions which differ from that of the Sun. A wealth of recent spectroscopic measurements from the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer complement high resolution ground-based measures in the optical and infrared spectral regions. Such observations when combined with realistic semi-empirical atmospheric modeling allow us to estimate the physical conditions in the atmospheres and winds of many classes of cool stars. Line profiles support turbulent heating and mass motions. In low gravity stars, evidence is found for relatively fast (approximately 200 km s(exp -1)), warm winds with rapid acceleration occurring in the chromosphere. In some cases outflows commensurate with stellar escape velocities are present. Our current understanding of cool star winds will be reviewed including the implications of stellar observations for identification of atmospheric heating and acceleration processes.

90 GHz Observations of M87 and Hydra A

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cotton, W. D.; Mason, B. S.; Dicker, S. R.; Korngut, P. M.; Devlin, M. J.; Aquirre, J.; Benford, D. J.; Moseley, S. H.; Staguhn, J. G.; Irwin, K. D.;

[Quantitative relationships between hyper-spectral vegetation indices and leaf area index of rice].

PubMed

Tian, Yong-Chao; Yang, Jie; Yao, Xia; Zhu, Yan; Cao, Wei-Xing

2009-07-01

Based on field experiments with different rice varieties under different nitrogen application levels, the quantitative relationships of rice leaf area index (LAI) with canopy hyper-spectral parameters at different growth stages were analyzed. Rice LAI had good relationships with several hyper-spectral vegetation indices, the correlation coefficient being the highest with DI (difference index), followed by with RI (ratio index), and NI (normalized index), based on the spectral reflectance or the first derivative spectra. The two best spectral indices for estimating LAI were the difference index DI (854, 760) (based on two spectral bands of 850 nm and 760 nm) and the difference index DI (D676, D778) (based on two first derivative bands of 676 nm and 778 nm). In general, the hyper-spectral vegetation indices based on spectral reflectance performed better than the spectral indices based on the first derivative spectra. The tests with independent dataset suggested that the rice LAI monitoring models with difference index DI (854,760) as the variable could give an accurate LAI estimation, being available for estimation of rice LAI.

A new multi-spectral feature level image fusion method for human interpretation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leviner, Marom; Maltz, Masha

2009-03-01

Various different methods to perform multi-spectral image fusion have been suggested, mostly on the pixel level. However, the jury is still out on the benefits of a fused image compared to its source images. We present here a new multi-spectral image fusion method, multi-spectral segmentation fusion (MSSF), which uses a feature level processing paradigm. To test our method, we compared human observer performance in a three-task experiment using MSSF against two established methods: averaging and principle components analysis (PCA), and against its two source bands, visible and infrared. The three tasks that we studied were: (1) simple target detection, (2) spatial orientation, and (3) camouflaged target detection. MSSF proved superior to the other fusion methods in all three tests; MSSF also outperformed the source images in the spatial orientation and camouflaged target detection tasks. Based on these findings, current speculation about the circumstances in which multi-spectral image fusion in general and specific fusion methods in particular would be superior to using the original image sources can be further addressed.

Jet Mixing Noise Scaling Laws SHJAR Data Vs. Predictions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khavaran, Abbas; Bridges, James

2008-01-01

High quality jet noise spectral data measured at the anechoic dome at the NASA Glenn Research Center is used to examine a number of jet noise scaling laws. Configurations considered in the present study consist of convergent as well as convergent-divergent axisymmetric nozzles. The spectral measurements are shown in narrow band and cover 8193 equally spaced points in a typical Strouhal number range of (0.01 10.0). Measurements are reported as lossless (i.e. atmospheric attenuation is added to as-measured data), and at 24 equally spaced angles (50deg to 165deg) on a 100-diameter arc. Following the work of Viswanathan [Ref. 1], velocity power laws are derived using a least square fit on spectral power density as a function of jet temperature and observer angle. The goodness of the fit is studied at each angle, and alternative relationships are proposed to improve the spectral collapse when certain conditions are met. On the application side, power laws are extremely useful in identifying components from various noise generation mechanisms. From this analysis, jet noise prediction tools can be developed with physics derived from the different spectral components.

Experimental Investigation of Spectra of Dynamical Maps and their Relation to non-Markovianity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Shang; Wang, Yi-Tao; Ke, Zhi-Jin; Liu, Wei; Meng, Yu; Li, Zhi-Peng; Zhang, Wen-Hao; Chen, Geng; Tang, Jian-Shun; Li, Chuan-Feng; Guo, Guang-Can

2018-02-01

The spectral theorem of von Neumann has been widely applied in various areas, such as the characteristic spectral lines of atoms. It has been recently proposed that dynamical evolution also possesses spectral lines. As the most intrinsic property of evolution, the behavior of these spectra can, in principle, exhibit almost every feature of this evolution, among which the most attractive topic is non-Markovianity, i.e., the memory effects during evolution. Here, we develop a method to detect these spectra, and moreover, we experimentally examine the relation between the spectral behavior and non-Markovianity by engineering the environment to prepare dynamical maps with different non-Markovian properties and then detecting the dynamical behavior of the spectral values. These spectra will lead to a witness for essential non-Markovianity. We also experimentally verify another simplified witness method for essential non-Markovianity. Interestingly, in both cases, we observe the sudden transition from essential non-Markovianity to something else. Our work shows the role of the spectra of evolution in the studies of non-Makovianity and provides the alternative methods to characterize non-Markovian behavior.

Few-photon color imaging using energy-dispersive superconducting transition-edge sensor spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niwa, Kazuki; Numata, Takayuki; Hattori, Kaori; Fukuda, Daiji

2017-04-01

Highly sensitive spectral imaging is increasingly being demanded in bioanalysis research and industry to obtain the maximum information possible from molecules of different colors. We introduce an application of the superconducting transition-edge sensor (TES) technique to highly sensitive spectral imaging. A TES is an energy-dispersive photodetector that can distinguish the wavelength of each incident photon. Its effective spectral range is from the visible to the infrared (IR), up to 2800 nm, which is beyond the capabilities of other photodetectors. TES was employed in this study in a fiber-coupled optical scanning microscopy system, and a test sample of a three-color ink pattern was observed. A red-green-blue (RGB) image and a near-IR image were successfully obtained in the few-incident-photon regime, whereas only a black and white image could be obtained using a photomultiplier tube. Spectral data were also obtained from a selected focal area out of the entire image. The results of this study show that TES is feasible for use as an energy-dispersive photon-counting detector in spectral imaging applications.

Few-photon color imaging using energy-dispersive superconducting transition-edge sensor spectrometry.

PubMed

Niwa, Kazuki; Numata, Takayuki; Hattori, Kaori; Fukuda, Daiji

2017-04-04

Highly sensitive spectral imaging is increasingly being demanded in bioanalysis research and industry to obtain the maximum information possible from molecules of different colors. We introduce an application of the superconducting transition-edge sensor (TES) technique to highly sensitive spectral imaging. A TES is an energy-dispersive photodetector that can distinguish the wavelength of each incident photon. Its effective spectral range is from the visible to the infrared (IR), up to 2800 nm, which is beyond the capabilities of other photodetectors. TES was employed in this study in a fiber-coupled optical scanning microscopy system, and a test sample of a three-color ink pattern was observed. A red-green-blue (RGB) image and a near-IR image were successfully obtained in the few-incident-photon regime, whereas only a black and white image could be obtained using a photomultiplier tube. Spectral data were also obtained from a selected focal area out of the entire image. The results of this study show that TES is feasible for use as an energy-dispersive photon-counting detector in spectral imaging applications.

Multimodal fiber-probe spectroscopy for the diagnostics and classification of bladder tumors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anand, Suresh; Cicchi, Riccardo; Fantechi, Riccardo; Gacci, Mauro; Nesi, Gabriella; Carini, Marco; Pavone, Francesco S.

2017-02-01

The gold standard for the detection of bladder cancer is white light cystoscopy, followed by an invasive biopsy and pathological examination. Tissue pathology is time consuming and often prone to sampling errors. Recently, optical spectroscopy techniques have evolved as promising techniques for the detection of neoplasia. The specific goal of this study is to evaluate the application of combined auto-fluorescence (excited using 378 nm and 445 nm wavelengths) and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy to discriminate normal bladder tissue from tumor at different grades. The fluorescence spectrum at both excitation wavelengths showed an increased spectral intensity in tumors with respect to normal tissues. Reflectance data indicated an increased reflectance in the wavelength range 610 nm - 700 nm for different grades of tumors, compared to normal tissues. The spectral data were further analyzed using principal component analysis for evaluating the sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing tumor. The spectral differences observed between various grades of tumors provides a strong genesis for the future evaluation on a larger patient population to achieve statistical significance. This study indicates that a combined spectroscopic strategy, incorporating fluorescence and reflectance spectroscopy, could improve the capability for diagnosing bladder tumor as well as for differentiating tumors in different grades.

Optical spectroscopy diagnosis for serum of normal and digestive canal cancer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiaozhou; Jin, Huiqiang; Wang, Yuepeng

2003-07-01

To investigate the spectral specialities of digestive cancer serum for diagnosis, fluorescence and Raman spectra of normal, digestive cancer (both before and after operation), such as stomach cancer, esophagus cancer and atrophic gastritis sera were measured in the visible region in this study. Results demonstrate several points. First, all spectra except esophagus cancer were characterized by three sharp peaks (A, B and C), but we cannot differentiate them from each other at once. The intensity of each peak was different in different spectrum. Second, after samples were radiated by laser, fluorescence weakend along with red shift of its band center, and spectral changes of normal and stomach cancer (after operation) cases were different from other samples. It was also observed that spectral changes of atrophic gastritis were very similar with stomach cancer (such as the red shift of fluorescence peak is more than 12 nm) after radiated by laser, however, there are still some distinctions that can be used to differentiate them from each other. At last, a notable difference is that the relative intensity of peak C excited by 488.0 nm is higher than excited by 514.5 nm in spectrum of stomach cancer, whereas lower in other cases.

Spectral Confusion for Cosmological Surveys of Redshifted C II Emission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kogut, A.; Dwek, E.; Moseley, S. H.

2015-01-01

Far-infrared cooling lines are ubiquitous features in the spectra of star-forming galaxies. Surveys of redshifted fine-structure lines provide a promising new tool to study structure formation and galactic evolution at redshifts including the epoch of reionization as well as the peak of star formation. Unlike neutral hydrogen surveys, where the 21 cm line is the only bright line, surveys of redshifted fine-structure lines suffer from confusion generated by line broadening, spectral overlap of different lines, and the crowding of sources with redshift. We use simulations to investigate the resulting spectral confusion and derive observing parameters to minimize these effects in pencilbeam surveys of redshifted far-IR line emission. We generate simulated spectra of the 17 brightest far-IR lines in galaxies, covering the 150-1300 µm wavelength region corresponding to redshifts 0 < z < 7, and develop a simple iterative algorithm that successfully identifies the 158 µm [C II] line and other lines. Although the [C II] line is a principal coolant for the interstellar medium, the assumption that the brightest observed lines in a given line of sight are always [C II] lines is a poor approximation to the simulated spectra once other lines are included. Blind line identification requires detection of fainter companion lines from the same host galaxies, driving survey sensitivity requirements. The observations require moderate spectral resolution 700 < R < 4000 with angular resolution between 20? and 10', sufficiently narrow to minimize confusion yet sufficiently large to include a statistically meaningful number of sources.

Analysis of stimulated Raman backscatter and stimulated Brillouin backscatter in experiments performed on SG-III prototype facility with a spectral analysis code

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

Hao, Liang; Zhao, Yiqing; Hu, Xiaoyan

2014-07-15

Experiments about the observations of stimulated Raman backscatter (SRS) and stimulated Brillouin backscatter (SBS) in Hohlraum were performed on Shenguang-III (SG-III) prototype facility for the first time in 2011. In this paper, relevant experimental results are analyzed for the first time with a one-dimension spectral analysis code, which is developed to study the coexistent process of SRS and SBS in Hohlraum plasma condition. Spectral features of the backscattered light are discussed with different plasma parameters. In the case of empty Hohlraum experiments, simulation results indicate that SBS, which grows fast at the energy deposition region near the Hohlraum wall, ismore » the dominant instability process. The time resolved spectra of SRS and SBS are numerically obtained, which agree with the experimental observations. For the gas-filled Hohlraum experiments, simulation results show that SBS grows fastest in Au plasma and amplifies convectively in C{sub 5}H{sub 12} gas, whereas SRS mainly grows in the high density region of the C{sub 5}H{sub 12} gas. Gain spectra and the spectra of backscattered light are simulated along the ray path, which clearly show the location where the intensity of scattered light with a certain wavelength increases. This work is helpful to comprehend the observed spectral features of SRS and SBS. The experiments and relevant analysis provide references for the ignition target design in future.« less

Spatial variability of oceanic phycoerythrin spectral types derived from airborne laser-induced fluorescence emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoge, Frank E.; Wright, C. Wayne; Kana, Todd M.; Swift, Robert N.; Yungel, James K.

1998-07-01

We report spatial variability of oceanic phycoerythrin spectral types detected by means of a blue spectral shift in airborne laser-induced fluorescence emission. The blue shift of the phycoerythrobilin fluorescence is known from laboratory studies to be induced by phycourobilin chromophore substitution at phycoerythrobilin chromophore sites in some strains of phycoerythrin-containing marine cyanobacteria. The airborne 532-nm laser-induced phycoerythrin fluorescence of the upper oceanic volume showed distinct segregation of cyanobacterial chromophore types in a flight transect from coastal water to the Sargasso Sea in the western North Atlantic. High phycourobilin levels were restricted to the oceanic (oligotrophic) end of the flight transect, in agreement with historical ship findings. These remotely observed phycoerythrin spectral fluorescence shifts have the potential to permit rapid, wide-area studies of the spatial variability of spectrally distinct cyanobacteria, especially across interfacial regions of coastal and oceanic water masses. Airborne laser-induced phytoplankton spectral fluorescence observations also further the development of satellite algorithms for passive detection of phytoplankton pigments. Optical modifications to the NASA Airborne Oceanographic Lidar are briefly described that permitted observation of the fluorescence spectral shifts.

Simulating charge transport to understand the spectral response of Swept Charge Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Athiray, P. S.; Sreekumar, P.; Narendranath, S.; Gow, J. P. D.

2015-11-01

Context. Swept Charge Devices (SCD) are novel X-ray detectors optimized for improved spectral performance without any demand for active cooling. The Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) experiment onboard the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft used an array of SCDs to map the global surface elemental abundances on the Moon using the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique. The successful demonstration of SCDs in C1XS spurred an enhanced version of the spectrometer on Chandrayaan-2 using the next-generation SCD sensors. Aims: The objective of this paper is to demonstrate validation of a physical model developed to simulate X-ray photon interaction and charge transportation in a SCD. The model helps to understand and identify the origin of individual components that collectively contribute to the energy-dependent spectral response of the SCD. Furthermore, the model provides completeness to various calibration tasks, such as generating spectral matrices (RMFs - redistribution matrix files), estimating efficiency, optimizing event selection logic, and maximizing event recovery to improve photon-collection efficiency in SCDs. Methods: Charge generation and transportation in the SCD at different layers related to channel stops, field zones, and field-free zones due to photon interaction were computed using standard drift and diffusion equations. Charge collected in the buried channel due to photon interaction in different volumes of the detector was computed by assuming a Gaussian radial profile of the charge cloud. The collected charge was processed further to simulate both diagonal clocking read-out, which is a novel design exclusive for SCDs, and event selection logic to construct the energy spectrum. Results: We compare simulation results of the SCD CCD54 with measurements obtained during the ground calibration of C1XS and clearly demonstrate that our model reproduces all the major spectral features seen in calibration data. We also describe our understanding of interactions at different layers of SCD that contribute to the observed spectrum. Using simulation results, we identify the origin of different spectral features and quantify their contributions.

SPECTRAL TYPES OF RED SUPERGIANTS IN NGC 6822 AND THE WOLF-LUNDMARK-MELOTTE GALAXY

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

Levesque, Emily M.; Massey, Philip, E-mail: Emily.Levesque@colorado.edu

We present moderate-resolution spectroscopic observations of red supergiants (RSGs) in the low-metallicity Local Group galaxies NGC 6822 (Z = 0.4 Z{sub Sun} ) and Wolf-Lundmark-Melotte (WLM; Z = 0.1 Z{sub Sun} ). By combining these observations with reduction techniques for multislit data reduction and flux calibration, we are able to analyze spectroscopic data of 16 RSGs in NGC 6822 and spectrophotometric data of 11 RSGs in WLM. Using these observations, we determine spectral types for these massive stars, comparing them to Milky Way and Magellanic Cloud RSGs and thus extending observational evidence of the abundance-dependent shift of RSG spectral typesmore » to lower metallicities. In addition, we have uncovered two RSGs with unusually late spectral types (J000158.14-152332.2 in WLM, with a spectral type of M3 I, and J194453.46-144552.6 in NGC 6822, with a spectral type of M4.5 I) and a third RSG (J194449.96-144333.5 in NGC 6822) whose spectral type has varied from an M2.5 in 1997 to a K5 in 2008. All three of these stars could potentially be members of a recently discovered class of extreme RSG variables.« less

Influence of the correlated color temperature of a light source on the color discrimination capacity of the observer.

PubMed

Pardo, Pedro J; Cordero, Eduardo M; Suero, María Isabel; Pérez, Ángel L

2012-02-01

It is well known that there are different preferences in correlated color temperature of light sources for daily living activities or for viewing artistic paintings. There are also data relating the capacity of observers to make judgments on color differences with the spectral power distribution of the light source used. The present work describes a visual color discrimination experiment whose results confirm the existence of a relationship between the correlated color temperature of a light source and the color discrimination capacities of the observers. © 2012 Optical Society of America

High resolution remote sensing information identification for characterizing uranium mineralization setting in Namibia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jie-Lin; Wang, Jun-hu; Zhou, Mi; Huang, Yan-ju; Xuan, Yan-xiu; Wu, Ding

2011-11-01

The modern Earth Observation System (EOS) technology takes important role in the uranium geological exploration, and high resolution remote sensing as one of key parts of EOS is vital to characterize spectral and spatial information of uranium mineralization factors. Utilizing satellite high spatial resolution and hyperspectral remote sensing data (QuickBird, Radarsat2, ASTER), field spectral measurement (ASD data) and geological survey, this paper established the spectral identification characteristics of uranium mineralization factors including six different types of alaskite, lower and upper marble of Rössing formation, dolerite, alkali metasomatism, hematization and chloritization in the central zone of Damara Orogen, Namibia. Moreover, adopted the texture information identification technology, the geographical distribution zones of ore-controlling faults and boundaries between the different strata were delineated. Based on above approaches, the remote sensing geological anomaly information and image interpretation signs of uranium mineralization factors were extracted, the metallogenic conditions were evaluated, and the prospective areas have been predicted.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

2001-01-01

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

Modeling Climate Responses to Spectral Solar Forcing on Centennial and Decadal Time Scales

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wen, G.; Cahalan, R.; Rind, D.; Jonas, J.; Pilewskie, P.; Harder, J.

2012-01-01

We report a series of experiments to explore clima responses to two types of solar spectral forcing on decadal and centennial time scales - one based on prior reconstructions, and another implied by recent observations from the SORCE (Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment) SIM (Spectral 1rradiance Monitor). We apply these forcings to the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) Global/Middle Atmosphere Model (GCMAM). that couples atmosphere with ocean, and has a model top near the mesopause, allowing us to examine the full response to the two solar forcing scenarios. We show different climate responses to the two solar forCing scenarios on decadal time scales and also trends on centennial time scales. Differences between solar maximum and solar minimum conditions are highlighted, including impacts of the time lagged reSponse of the lower atmosphere and ocean. This contrasts with studies that assume separate equilibrium conditions at solar maximum and minimum. We discuss model feedback mechanisms involved in the solar forced climate variations.

Differentiation of bacterial colonies and temporal growth patterns using hyperspectral imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehrübeoglu, Mehrube; Buck, Gregory W.; Livingston, Daniel W.

2014-09-01

Detection and identification of bacteria are important for health and safety. Hyperspectral imaging offers the potential to capture unique spectral patterns and spatial information from bacteria which can then be used to detect and differentiate bacterial species. Here, hyperspectral imaging has been used to characterize different bacterial colonies and investigate their growth over time. Six bacterial species (Pseudomonas fluorescens, Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerogenes) were grown on tryptic soy agar plates. Hyperspectral data were acquired immediately after, 24 hours after, and 96 hours after incubation. Spectral signatures from bacterial colonies demonstrated repeatable measurements for five out of six species. Spatial variations as well as changes in spectral signatures were observed across temporal measurements within and among species at multiple wavelengths due to strengthening or weakening reflectance signals from growing bacterial colonies based on their pigmentation. Between-class differences and within-class similarities were the most prominent in hyperspectral data collected 96 hours after incubation.

Spectral distortions of the cosmic microwave background

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, Fred C.; Mcdowell, Jonathan C.; Freese, Katherine; Levin, Janna

1989-01-01

Recent experiments indicate that the spectrum of the cosmic microwave background deviates from a pure blackbody; here, spectral distortions produced by cosmic dust are considered. The main result is that cosmic dust in conjunction with an injected radiation field (perhaps produced by an early generation of very massive stars) can explain the observed spectral distortions without violating existing cosmological constraints. In addition, it is shown that Compton y-distortions can also explain the observed spectral shape, but the energetic requirements are more severe.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khairullina, Alphiya Y.; Oleinik, Tatiana V.

1995-01-01

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

Effect of toxicity of Ag nanoparticles on SERS spectral variance of bacteria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Li; Chen, Shaode; Zhang, Kaisong

2015-02-01

Ag nanoparticles (NPs) have been extensively utilized in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy for bacterial identification. However, Ag NPs are toxic to bacteria. Whether such toxicity can affect SERS features of bacteria and interfere with bacterial identification is still unknown and needed to explore. Here, by carrying out a comparative study on non-toxic Au NPs with that on toxic Ag NPs, we investigated the influence of nanoparticle concentration and incubation time on bacterial SERS spectral variance, both of which were demonstrated to be closely related to the toxicity of Ag NPs. Sensitive spectral alterations were observed on Ag NPs with increase of NPs concentration or incubation time, accompanied with an obvious decrease in number of viable bacteria. In contrast, SERS spectra and viable bacterial number on Au NPs were rather constant under the same conditions. A further analysis on spectral changes demonstrated that it was cell response (i.e. metabolic activity or death) to the toxicity of Ag NPs causing spectral variance. However, biochemical responses to the toxicity of Ag were very different in different bacteria, indicating the complex toxic mechanism of Ag NPs. Ag NPs are toxic to a great variety of organisms, including bacteria, fungi, algae, protozoa etc., therefore, this work will be helpful in guiding the future application of SERS technique in various complex biological systems.

Retrieval Of Cloud Pressure And Chlorophyll Content Using Raman Scattering In GOME Ultraviolet Spectra

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Atlas, Robert (Technical Monitor); Joiner, Joanna; Vasikov, Alexander; Flittner, David; Gleason, James; Bhartia, P. K.

2002-01-01

Reliable cloud pressure estimates are needed for accurate retrieval of ozone and other trace gases using satellite-borne backscatter ultraviolet (buv) instruments such as the global ozone monitoring experiment (GOME). Cloud pressure can be derived from buv instruments by utilizing the properties of rotational-Raman scattering (RRS) and absorption by O2-O2. In this paper we estimate cloud pressure from GOME observations in the 355-400 nm spectral range using the concept of a Lambertian-equivalent reflectivity (LER) surface. GOME has full spectral coverage in this range at relatively high spectral resolution with a very high signal-to-noise ratio. This allows for much more accurate estimates of cloud pressure than were possible with its predecessors SBUV and TOMS. We also demonstrate the potential capability to retrieve chlorophyll content with full-spectral buv instruments. We compare our retrieved LER cloud pressure with cloud top pressures derived from the infrared ATSR instrument on the same satellite. The findings confirm results from previous studies that showed retrieved LER cloud pressures from buv observations are systematically higher than IR-derived cloud-top pressure. Simulations using Mie-scattering radiative transfer algorithms that include O2-O2 absorption and RRS show that these differences can be explained by increased photon path length within and below cloud.

Development of Response Spectral Ground Motion Prediction Equations from Empirical Models for Fourier Spectra and Duration of Ground Motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bora, S. S.; Scherbaum, F.; Kuehn, N. M.; Stafford, P.; Edwards, B.

2014-12-01

In a probabilistic seismic hazard assessment (PSHA) framework, it still remains a challenge to adjust ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) for application in different seismological environments. In this context, this study presents a complete framework for the development of a response spectral GMPE easily adjustable to different seismological conditions; and which does not suffer from the technical problems associated with the adjustment in response spectral domain. Essentially, the approach consists of an empirical FAS (Fourier Amplitude Spectrum) model and a duration model for ground motion which are combined within the random vibration theory (RVT) framework to obtain the full response spectral ordinates. Additionally, FAS corresponding to individual acceleration records are extrapolated beyond the frequency range defined by the data using the stochastic FAS model, obtained by inversion as described in Edwards & Faeh, (2013). To that end, an empirical model for a duration, which is tuned to optimize the fit between RVT based and observed response spectral ordinate, at each oscillator frequency is derived. Although, the main motive of the presented approach was to address the adjustability issues of response spectral GMPEs; comparison, of median predicted response spectra with the other regional models indicate that presented approach can also be used as a stand-alone model. Besides that, a significantly lower aleatory variability (σ<0.5 in log units) in comparison to other regional models, at shorter periods brands it to a potentially viable alternative to the classical regression (on response spectral ordinates) based GMPEs for seismic hazard studies in the near future. The dataset used for the presented analysis is a subset of the recently compiled database RESORCE-2012 across Europe, Middle East and the Mediterranean region.

A 3D Joint Simulation Platform for Multiband_A Case Study in the Huailai Soybean and Maize Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Y.; Qinhuo, L.; Du, Y.; Huang, H.

2016-12-01

Canopy radiation and scattering signal contains abundant vegetation information. One can quantitatively retrieve the biophysical parameters by building canopy radiation and scattering models and inverting them. Joint simulation of the 3D models for different spectral (frequency) domains may produce complementary advantages and improves the precision. However, most of the currently models were based on one or two spectral bands (e.g. visible and thermal inferred bands, or visible and microwave bands). This manuscript established a 3D radiation and scattering simulation system which can simulate the BRDF, DBT, and backscattering coefficient based on the same structural description. The system coupled radiosity graphic model, Thermal RGM model and coherent microwave model by Yang Du for VIS/NIR, TIR, and MW, respectively. The models simulating the leaf spectral characteristics, component temperatures and dielectric properties were also coupled into the joint simulation system to convert the various parameters into fewer but more unified parameters. As a demonstration of our system, we applied the established system to simulate a mixed field with soybeans and maize based on the Huailai experiment data in August, 2014. With the help of Xfrog software, we remodeled soybean and maize in ".obj" and ".mtl" format. We extracted the structure information of the soybean and maize by statistics of the ".obj" files. We did simulations on red, NIR, TIR, C and L band. The simulation results were validated by the multi-angular observation data of Huailai experiment. Also, the spacial distribution (horizontal and vertical), leaf area index (LAI), leaf angle distribution (LAD), vegetation water content (VWC) and the incident observation geometry were analyzed in details. Validated by the experiment data, we indicate that the simulations of multiband were quite well. Because the crops were planted in regular rows and the maize and soybeans were with different height, different LAI, different LAD and different VWC, we did the sensitive analysis by changing on one of them and fixed the other parameters. The analysis showed that the parameters influenced the radiation and scattering signal of different spectral (frequency) with varying degrees.

Age-Associated Changes in the Spectral and Statistical Parameters of Surface Electromyogram of Tibialis Anterior.

PubMed

Siddiqi, Ariba; Arjunan, Sridhar Poosapadi; Kumar, Dinesh Kant

2016-01-01

Age-related neuromuscular change of Tibialis Anterior (TA) is a leading cause of muscle strength decline among the elderly. This study has established the baseline for age-associated changes in sEMG of TA at different levels of voluntary contraction. We have investigated the use of Gaussianity and maximal power of the power spectral density (PSD) as suitable features to identify age-associated changes in the surface electromyogram (sEMG). Eighteen younger (20-30 years) and 18 older (60-85 years) cohorts completed two trials of isometric dorsiflexion at four different force levels between 10% and 50% of the maximal voluntary contraction. Gaussianity and maximal power of the PSD of sEMG were determined. Results show a significant increase in sEMG's maximal power of the PSD and Gaussianity with increase in force for both cohorts. It was also observed that older cohorts had higher maximal power of the PSD and lower Gaussianity. These age-related differences observed in the PSD and Gaussianity could be due to motor unit remodelling. This can be useful for noninvasive tracking of age-associated neuromuscular changes.

Variable Circumstellar Disks of “Classical” Be Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerhartz, Cody; Bjorkman, K. S.; Wisniewski, J. P.

2013-06-01

Circumstellar disks are common among many stars, all spectral types, and at different stages of their lifetimes. Among the near-main sequence “Classical” Be stars, there is growing evidence that these disks can form, dissipate, and reform, on timescales that are differ from case to case. We present data for a subset of cases where observations have been obtained throughout the different phases of the disk cycle. Using data obtained with the SpeX instrument at the NASA IRTF, we examine the IR spectral line variability of these stars to better understand the timescales and the physical mechanisms involved. The primary focus in this study are the V/R variations that are observed in the sample. The second stage of our project is to examine a sample of star clusters known to contain Be stars, with the goal to develop a more statistically significant sample of variable circumstellar disk systems. With a robust multi-epoch study we can determine whether these Be stars exhibit disk-loss or disk-renewal phases. The larger sample will enable a better understanding of the prevalence of these disk events.

Spectroscopic characterization of natural calcite minerals.

PubMed

Gunasekaran, S; Anbalagan, G

2007-11-01

The FT-IR, FT-Raman, NMR spectral data of ten different limestone samples have been compared. FT-IR and FT-Raman spectral data show that calcium carbonate in limestone, principally in the form of calcite, as identified by its main absorption bands at 1426, 1092, 876 and 712 cm(-1). The sharp diffractions at the d-spacings, 3.0348, 1.9166 and 1.8796 confirm the presence of calcite structure and the calculated lattice parameters are: a=4.9781 A, c=17.1188 A. The range of 13C chemical shifts for different limestone samples is very small, varying from 198.38 to 198.42 ppm. The observed chemical shifts are consistent with the identical C-O bonding in different limestone samples. 27Al MAS NMR spectra of the samples exhibit a central line at 1 ppm and another line at 60 ppm corresponding to octahedral and tetrahedral Al ions, respectively. The five component resonances were observed in 29Si MAS NMR spectrum of limestone and these resonances were assigned to Si (4 Al), Si (3 Al), Si (2 Al), Si (1 Al) and Si (0 Al) from low field to high field.

Dust emission in simulated dwarf galaxies using GRASIL-3D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos-Santos, I. M.; Domínguez-Tenreiro, R.; Granato, G. L.; Brook, C. B.; Obreja, A.

2017-03-01

Recent Herschel observations of dwarf galaxies have shown a wide diversity in the shapes of their IR-submm spectral energy distributions as compared to more massive galaxies, presenting features that cannot be explained with the current models. In order to understand the physics driving these differences, we have computed the emission of a sample of simulated dwarf galaxies using the radiative transfer code GRASIL-3D. This code separately treats the radiative transfer in dust grains from molecular clouds and cirri. The simulated galaxies have masses ranging from 10^6-10^9 M_⊙ and have evolved within a Local Group environment by using CLUES initial conditions. We show that their IR band luminosities are in agreement with observations, with their SEDs reproducing naturally the particular spectral features observed. We conclude that the GRASIL-3D two-component model gives a physical interpretation to the emission of dwarf galaxies, with molecular clouds (cirri) as the warm (cold) dust components needed to recover observational data.

Influence of dust particles on the neon spectral line intensities at the uniform positive column of dc discharge at the space apparatus “Plasma Kristall-4”

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Usachev, A. D.; Zobnin, A. V.; Shonenkov, A. V.; Lipaev, A. M.; Molotkov, V. I.; Petrov, O. F.; Fortov, V. E.; Pustyl'nik, M. Y.; Fink, M. A.; Thoma, M. A.; Thomas, H. M.; Padalka, G. I.

2018-01-01

Influence of the elongated dust cloud on the intensities of different neon spectral lines in visible and near ir spectral ranges in the uniform positive column has been experimentally investigated using the Russian-European space apparatus “Plasma Kristall-4” (SA PK-4) on board of the International Space Station (ISS). The investigation was performed in the low pressure (0.5 mbar) direct current (dc, 1 mA) gas discharge in neon. Microgravity allowed us to perform experiments with a large dust cloud in the steady-state regime. To avoid the dust cloud drift in the dc electric field a switching dc polarity discharge mode has been applied. During the experiment a dust cloud of 9 mm in diameter in the discharge tube of 30 mm in diameter with the length of about 100 mm has been observed in the steady-state regime. In this regard, the intensities of neon spectral lines corresponding to 3p → 3s electronic transitions have increased by a factor of 1.4 times, while the intensities of neon spectral lines corresponding to 3d → 3p electronic transitions have increased by a factor of 1.6 times. The observed phenomenon is explained on the basis of the Schottky approach by a self-consistent rising dc electric field in the dusty plasma cloud resulting in an increase of the electron temperature.

Observer model optimization of a spectral mammography system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fredenberg, Erik; Åslund, Magnus; Cederström, Björn; Lundqvist, Mats; Danielsson, Mats

2010-04-01

Spectral imaging is a method in medical x-ray imaging to extract information about the object constituents by the material-specific energy dependence of x-ray attenuation. Contrast-enhanced spectral imaging has been thoroughly investigated, but unenhanced imaging may be more useful because it comes as a bonus to the conventional non-energy-resolved absorption image at screening; there is no additional radiation dose and no need for contrast medium. We have used a previously developed theoretical framework and system model that include quantum and anatomical noise to characterize the performance of a photon-counting spectral mammography system with two energy bins for unenhanced imaging. The theoretical framework was validated with synthesized images. Optimal combination of the energy-resolved images for detecting large unenhanced tumors corresponded closely, but not exactly, to minimization of the anatomical noise, which is commonly referred to as energy subtraction. In that case, an ideal-observer detectability index could be improved close to 50% compared to absorption imaging. Optimization with respect to the signal-to-quantum-noise ratio, commonly referred to as energy weighting, deteriorated detectability. For small microcalcifications or tumors on uniform backgrounds, however, energy subtraction was suboptimal whereas energy weighting provided a minute improvement. The performance was largely independent of beam quality, detector energy resolution, and bin count fraction. It is clear that inclusion of anatomical noise and imaging task in spectral optimization may yield completely different results than an analysis based solely on quantum noise.

Detecting Weak Spectral Lines in Interferometric Data through Matched Filtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loomis, Ryan A.; Öberg, Karin I.; Andrews, Sean M.; Walsh, Catherine; Czekala, Ian; Huang, Jane; Rosenfeld, Katherine A.

2018-04-01

Modern radio interferometers enable observations of spectral lines with unprecedented spatial resolution and sensitivity. In spite of these technical advances, many lines of interest are still at best weakly detected and therefore necessitate detection and analysis techniques specialized for the low signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) regime. Matched filters can leverage knowledge of the source structure and kinematics to increase sensitivity of spectral line observations. Application of the filter in the native Fourier domain improves S/N while simultaneously avoiding the computational cost and ambiguities associated with imaging, making matched filtering a fast and robust method for weak spectral line detection. We demonstrate how an approximate matched filter can be constructed from a previously observed line or from a model of the source, and we show how this filter can be used to robustly infer a detection significance for weak spectral lines. When applied to ALMA Cycle 2 observations of CH3OH in the protoplanetary disk around TW Hya, the technique yields a ≈53% S/N boost over aperture-based spectral extraction methods, and we show that an even higher boost will be achieved for observations at higher spatial resolution. A Python-based open-source implementation of this technique is available under the MIT license at http://github.com/AstroChem/VISIBLE.

Coexpression of CdSe and CdSe/CdS quantum dots in live cells using molecular hyperspectral imaging technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Qingli; Peng, Hui; Wang, Jing; Wang, Yiting; Guo, Fangmin

2015-11-01

A direct spatial and spectral observation of CdSe and CdSe/CdS quantum dots (QDs) as probes in live cells is performed by using a custom molecular hyperspectral imaging (MHI) system. Water-soluble CdSe and CdSe/CdS QDs are synthesized in aqueous solution under the assistance of high-intensity ultrasonic irradiation and incubated with colon cancer cells for bioimaging. Unlike the traditional fluorescence microscopy methods, MHI technology can identify QD probes according to their spectral signatures and generate coexpression and stain titer maps by a clustering method. The experimental results show that the MHI method has potential to unmix biomarkers by their spectral information, which opens up a pathway of optical multiplexing with many different QD probes.

Changes in vegetation spectra with deterioration of leaves under two methods of preservation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Labovitz, M. L.; Masuoka, E. J.; Feldmann, S. G.

1981-01-01

An experiment to measure changes in leaf spectra under different methods of preservation over time was conducted. The spectral measurements were made by a three band hand held radiometer which simulated three Thematic Mapper (TM) bands: TM3, TM4, and TM5. Daily spectral measurements of white oak leaves under three preservation treatments were made. The spectral readings over three treatments (fresh, bottled, and bagged vegetation) were indistinguishable in bands TM3 and TM5 for up to 4 days after collection. After that time bagged and bottled samples showed significant increases in reflected energy caused by loss of chlorophyll from and dehydration of the vegetation. No significant variation in the reflectance values from TM4 over preservation type for the experimental period was observed.

Spectral reconstruction of dental X-ray tubes using laplace inverse transform of the attenuation curve

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malezan, A.; Tomal, A.; Antoniassi, M.; Watanabe, P. C. A.; Albino, L. D.; Poletti, M. E.

2015-11-01

In this work, a spectral reconstruction methodology for diagnostic X-ray, using Laplace inverse transform of the attenuation, was successfully applied to dental X-ray equipments. The attenuation curves of 8 commercially available dental X-ray equipment, from 3 different manufactures (Siemens, Gnatus and Dabi Atlante), were obtained by using an ionization chamber and high purity aluminium filters, while the kVp was obtained with a specific meter. A computational routine was implemented in order to adjust a model function, whose inverse Laplace transform is analytically known, to the attenuation curve. This methodology was validated by comparing the reconstructed and the measured (using semiconductor detector of cadmium telluride) spectra of a given dental X-ray unit. The spectral reconstruction showed the Dabi Atlante equipments generating similar shape spectra. This is a desirable feature from clinic standpoint because it produces similar levels of image quality and dose. We observed that equipments from Siemens and Gnatus generate significantly different spectra, suggesting that, for a given operating protocol, these units will present different levels of image quality and dose. This fact claims for the necessity of individualized operating protocols that maximize image quality and dose. The proposed methodology is suitable to perform a spectral reconstruction of dental X-ray equipments from the simple measurements of attenuation curve and kVp. The simplified experimental apparatus and the low level of technical difficulty make this methodology accessible to a broad range of users. The knowledge of the spectral distribution can help in the development of operating protocols that maximize image quality and dose.

Can we use the ozone response in a CCM to say which solar spectral irradiance is most likely correct?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ball, William; Rozanov, Eugene; Shapiro, Anna

2015-04-01

Ozone plays a key role in the temperature structure of the Earth's atmosphere and absorbs damaging ultraviolet (UV) solar radiation. Evidence suggests that variations in stratospheric ozone resulting from changes in solar UV output may have an important role to play in weather over the North Atlantic and Europe on decadal timescales through a "top-down" coupling with the troposphere. However, the magnitude of the stratospheric response to the Sun over the 11-year solar cycle (SC) depends primarily on how much the UV changes. SC UV changes differ significantly between different observational instruments and the observations and models. The substantial disagreements between existing SSI datasets lead to different atmospheric responses when they are used in climate models and, therefore, we still cannot fully understand and simulate the ozone variability. We use the SOCOL chemistry-climate model, in specified dynamics mode, to calculate the atmospheric response from using different spectral irradiance from the SATIRE-S and NRLSSI models and with SORCE observations and a constant Sun. We compare the ozone and hydroxl results from these runs with observations to try to determine which SSI dataset is most likely to be correct. This is important to get a better understanding of which SSI dataset should be used in climate modelling and what magnitude of UV variability the Sun has. This will lead to a better understanding of the Sun's influence upon our climate and weather.

Fine structure of the low-frequency spectra of heart rate and blood pressure

PubMed Central

Kuusela, Tom A; Kaila, Timo J; Kähönen, Mika

2003-01-01

Background The aim of this study was to explore the principal frequency components of the heart rate and blood pressure variability in the low frequency (LF) and very low frequency (VLF) band. The spectral composition of the R–R interval (RRI) and systolic arterial blood pressure (SAP) in the frequency range below 0.15 Hz were carefully analyzed using three different spectral methods: Fast Fourier transform (FFT), Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD), and autoregression (AR). All spectral methods were used to create time–frequency plots to uncover the principal spectral components that are least dependent on time. The accurate frequencies of these components were calculated from the pole decomposition of the AR spectral density after determining the optimal model order – the most crucial factor when using this method – with the help of FFT and WVD methods. Results Spectral analysis of the RRI and SAP of 12 healthy subjects revealed that there are always at least three spectral components below 0.15 Hz. The three principal frequency components are 0.026 ± 0.003 (mean ± SD) Hz, 0.076 ± 0.012 Hz, and 0.117 ± 0.016 Hz. These principal components vary only slightly over time. FFT-based coherence and phase-function analysis suggests that the second and third components are related to the baroreflex control of blood pressure, since the phase difference between SAP and RRI was negative and almost constant, whereas the origin of the first component is different since no clear SAP–RRI phase relationship was found. Conclusion The above data indicate that spontaneous fluctuations in heart rate and blood pressure within the standard low-frequency range of 0.04–0.15 Hz typically occur at two frequency components rather than only at one as widely believed, and these components are not harmonically related. This new observation in humans can help explain divergent results in the literature concerning spontaneous low-frequency oscillations. It also raises methodological and computational questions regarding the usability and validity of the low-frequency spectral band when estimating sympathetic activity and baroreflex gain. PMID:14552660

Fine structure of the low-frequency spectra of heart rate and blood pressure.

PubMed

Kuusela, Tom A; Kaila, Timo J; Kähönen, Mika

2003-10-13

The aim of this study was to explore the principal frequency components of the heart rate and blood pressure variability in the low frequency (LF) and very low frequency (VLF) band. The spectral composition of the R-R interval (RRI) and systolic arterial blood pressure (SAP) in the frequency range below 0.15 Hz were carefully analyzed using three different spectral methods: Fast Fourier transform (FFT), Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD), and autoregression (AR). All spectral methods were used to create time-frequency plots to uncover the principal spectral components that are least dependent on time. The accurate frequencies of these components were calculated from the pole decomposition of the AR spectral density after determining the optimal model order--the most crucial factor when using this method--with the help of FFT and WVD methods. Spectral analysis of the RRI and SAP of 12 healthy subjects revealed that there are always at least three spectral components below 0.15 Hz. The three principal frequency components are 0.026 +/- 0.003 (mean +/- SD) Hz, 0.076 +/- 0.012 Hz, and 0.117 +/- 0.016 Hz. These principal components vary only slightly over time. FFT-based coherence and phase-function analysis suggests that the second and third components are related to the baroreflex control of blood pressure, since the phase difference between SAP and RRI was negative and almost constant, whereas the origin of the first component is different since no clear SAP-RRI phase relationship was found. The above data indicate that spontaneous fluctuations in heart rate and blood pressure within the standard low-frequency range of 0.04-0.15 Hz typically occur at two frequency components rather than only at one as widely believed, and these components are not harmonically related. This new observation in humans can help explain divergent results in the literature concerning spontaneous low-frequency oscillations. It also raises methodological and computational questions regarding the usability and validity of the low-frequency spectral band when estimating sympathetic activity and baroreflex gain.

The price for reduced light toxicity: Do endoilluminator spectral filters decrease color contrast during Brilliant Blue G-assisted chromovitrectomy?

PubMed

Henrich, Paul B; Valmaggia, Christophe; Lang, Corina; Cattin, Philippe C

2014-03-01

Vitreoretinal surgeons have been slow to adopt the use of spectral filters for endoillumination to reduce retinal light toxicity. This study shows that spectral filters can be used without a loss in color contrast during brilliant blue G chromovitrectomy. To evaluate the influence of intra operative spectral light filters on perceivable contrast during Brilliant Blue G chromovitrectomy, a prospective, observational clinical study was carried out on 59 consecutive Brilliant Blue G chromovitrectomy interventions in 59 patients admitted for macular holes, macular pucker or vitreomacular traction syndromes. Subsequent to peeling of the internal limiting membrane, six different illumination modes were enabled consecutively: mercury vapor, mercury vapor/xenon, and xenon followed by xenon combined with an amber, green or yellow spectral filter. Main outcome measure was the chromaticity spread between stained internal limiting membrane and unstained retina as a measure for the color contrast perceived by the human eye. Mean chromaticity scores were similar for all light sources: mercury vapor 7.97, mercury vapor/xenon 7.96 (p = 0.96), and xenon 7.41 (p = 0.55). Compared to xenon, the additional use of endoillumination spectral filters did not change contrast recognizability: Chromaticity scores were 9.38 for the amber filter (p = 0.13), 6.63 for the green and 7.02 for the yellow filter (p = 0.37 and 0.64, respectively). When comparing the different filters head-to-head, the amber filter was superior to the green filter (p = 0.03), while the yellow was intermediate and not significantly different from either the amber (p = 0.08) or the green filter (p = 0.51). Color contrast perceptibility during Brilliant Blue G assisted chromovitrectomy is similar with mercury vapor, mercury vapor/xenon or xenon light sources. Spectral filters do not decrease color contrast recognizability. Head-to-head comparison shows a significant advantage for the amber over the green filter with respect to contrast generation, the yellow filter is intermediate. As spectral filters are known to greatly reduce retinal light toxicity, we suggest donor eye studies to validate whether the amber filter should be generally recommended for Brilliant Blue G chromovitrectomy.

The value of energy spectral CT in the differential diagnosis between benign and malignant soft tissue masses of the musculoskeletal system.

PubMed

Sun, Xin; Shao, Xiaodong; Chen, Haisong

2015-06-01

To explore the value of energy spectral CT in the differential diagnosis between benign and malignant tumor of the musculoskeletal system. Energy spectral CT scan was performed on 100 patients with soft tissue mass caused by musculoskeletal tumors found by MRI. Solid areas with homogenous density were chosen as region of interests (ROI), avoiding necrosis, hemorrhage and calcification region. Select the optimal keV on single energy images, and then the keV-CT curve was automatically generated. All 100 cases of tumors proved by histological examination were divided into four groups, 38 cases were in benign group, 10 cases in borderline group, 49 cases in malignant group, and 3 cases of lipoma (that were analyzed separately since its curve was arc shaped, significantly different from other curves). The formula used to calculate the slope of spectral curve was as follows: slope=(Hu40 keV-Hu80 keV)/40. As the slope was steep within the range of 40-80 keV based on preliminary observations, 40 keV and 80 keV were used as the reference points to calculate the slope value of the energy spectral curve. Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test was applied for statistical analysis, and P<0.05 was considered to indicate a statistically significant difference. The spectral curve of benign group was gradually falling type with a mean slope of 0.75 ± 0.30, that of malignant group was sharply falling type with a mean slope of 1.64 ± 1.00, and that of borderline group was a falling type between the above two groups with a mean slope of 1.34 ± 0.45. The differences of slopes between benign and malignant group, benign and borderline group were of statistical significance (P<0.05) respectively. The spectral curves of 3 cases of lipoma showed arc shaped rising type with a mean slope of -2.00. Spectral curve is useful in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant tumor of the musculoskeletal system. Arc shaped curve is a specific sign for tumors containing abundant fat. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

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

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

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

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

DOE PAGES

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

2017-09-01

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

The spectral properties of interplanetary dust particles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sandford, Scott A.

1988-01-01

The observed spectral and mineralogical properties of interplanetary dust particles (IDP) allows the conclusion that: (1) the majority of IDP infrared spectra are dominated by olivine, pyroxene, or layer lattice silicate minerals, (2) to the first order the emission spectra of comets Halley and Kohoutek can be matched by mixtures of these IDP infrared types, implying that comets contain mixtures of these different crystalline silicates and may vary from comet to comet and perhaps even within a single comet, (3) do not expect to observe a single 20 micron feature in cometary spectra, (4) carbonaceous materials dominate the visible spectra properties of the IDPs even though the mass in these particles consists primarily of silicates, and (5) the particle characteristics summarized need to be properly accounted for in future cometary emission models.

Hyperspectral optical imaging of two different species of lepidoptera

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

In this article, we report a hyperspectral optical imaging application for measurement of the reflectance spectra of photonic structures that produce structural colors with high spatial resolution. The measurement of the spectral reflectance function is exemplified in the butterfly wings of two different species of Lepidoptera: the blue iridescence reflected by the nymphalid Morpho didius and the green iridescence of the papilionid Papilio palinurus. Color coordinates from reflectance spectra were calculated taking into account human spectral sensitivity. For each butterfly wing, the observed color is described by a characteristic color map in the chromaticity diagram and spreads over a limited volume in the color space. The results suggest that variability in the reflectance spectra is correlated with different random arrangements in the spatial distribution of the scales that cover the wing membranes. Hyperspectral optical imaging opens new ways for the non-invasive study and classification of different forms of irregularity in structural colors. PMID:21711872

Progress of the LANL Low Temperature/Low Frequency Air Opacity Project - Optical Theory for HET-project: an update, April 2015

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

Timmermans, Eddy Marcel Elvire; Nisoli, Cristiano; Mozyrsky, Dima

Light radiated from a hot, opaque thermal emitter originates mostly from near the surface at which the object becomes opaque (the surface of last scattering). To be specific, we define the “optical surface” as the surface at which the optical depth, as observed from a detector, takes on the value of 1. The optical depth along a line of sight depends on the wavelength dependent. Accumulating light in different spectral bands, spectral detector then records light from different surfaces, a structure that we can picture somewhat like the layers of an onion. The theoretical framework that predicts the emitted spectralmore » signal is radioactive transfer.« less

Diurnal Variability in Chlorophyll-a, Carotenoids, CDOM and SO₄(2-) Intensity of Offshore Seawater Detected by an Underwater Fluorescence-Raman Spectral System.

PubMed

Chen, Jing; Ye, Wangquan; Guo, Jinjia; Luo, Zhao; Li, Ying

2016-07-13

A newly developed integrated fluorescence-Raman spectral system (λex = 532 nm) for detecting Chlorophyll-a (chl-a), Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM), carotenoids and SO₄(2-) in situ was used to successfully investigate the diurnal variability of all above. Simultaneously using the integration of fluorescence spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy techniques provided comprehensive marine information due to the complementarity between the different excitation mechanisms and different selection rules. The investigation took place in offshore seawater of the Yellow Sea (36°05'40'' N, 120°31'32'' E) in October 2014. To detect chl-a, CDOM, carotenoids and SO₄(2-), the fluorescence-Raman spectral system was deployed. It was found that troughs of chl-a and CDOM fluorescence signal intensity were observed during high tides, while the signal intensity showed high values with larger fluctuations during ebb-tide. Chl-a and carotenoids were influenced by solar radiation within a day cycle by different detection techniques, as well as displaying similar and synchronous tendency. CDOM fluorescence cause interference to the measurement of SO₄(2-). To avoid such interference, the backup Raman spectroscopy system with λex = 785 nm was employed to detect SO₄(2-) concentration on the following day. The results demonstrated that the fluorescence-Raman spectral system has great potential in detection of chl-a, carotenoids, CDOM and SO₄(2-) in the ocean.

UTILIZATION OF FUNDUS AUTOFLUORESCENCE, SPECTRAL DOMAIN OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY, AND ENHANCED DEPTH IMAGING IN THE CHARACTERIZATION OF BIETTI CRYSTALLINE DYSTROPHY IN DIFFERENT STAGES.

PubMed

Li, Qian; Li, Yang; Zhang, Xiaohui; Xu, Zhangxing; Zhu, Xiaoqing; Ma, Kai; She, Haicheng; Peng, Xiaoyan

2015-10-01

To characterize Bietti crystalline dystrophy (BCD) in different stages using multiple imaging modalities. Sixteen participants clinically diagnosed as BCD were included in the retrospective study and were categorized into 3 stages according to fundus photography. Eleven patients were genetically confirmed. Fundus autofluorescence, spectral domain optical coherence tomography, and enhanced depth imaging features of BCD were analyzed. On fundus autofluorescence, the abnormal autofluorescence was shown to enlarge in area and decrease in intensity with stages. Using spectral domain optical coherence tomography, the abnormalities in Stage 1 were observed to localize in outer retinal layers, whereas in Stage 2 and Stage 3, more extensive retinal atrophy was seen. In enhanced depth imaging, the subfoveal choroidal layers were delineated clearly in Stage 1; in Stage 2, destructions were primarily found in the choriocapillaris with associated alterations in the outer vessels; Stage 3 BCD displayed severe choroidal thinning. Choroidal neovascularization and macular edema were exhibited with high incidence. IVS6-8del17bp/inGC of the CYP4V2 gene was the most common mutant allele. Noninvasive fundus autofluorescence, spectral domain optical coherence tomography, and enhanced depth imaging may help to characterize the chorioretinal pathology of BCD at different degrees, and therefore, we propose staging of BCD depending on those methods. Physicians should be cautious of the vision-threatening complications of the disease.

Climate variability related to the 11 year solar cycle as represented in different spectral solar irradiance reconstructions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruschke, Tim; Kunze, Markus; Misios, Stergios; Matthes, Katja; Langematz, Ulrike; Tourpali, Kleareti

2016-04-01

Advanced spectral solar irradiance (SSI) reconstructions differ significantly from each other in terms of the mean solar spectrum, that is the spectral distribution of energy, and solar cycle variability. Largest uncertainties - relative to mean irradiance - are found for the ultraviolet range of the spectrum, a spectral region highly important for radiative heating and chemistry in the stratosphere and troposphere. This study systematically analyzes the effects of employing different SSI reconstructions in long-term (40 years) chemistry-climate model (CCM) simulations to estimate related uncertainties of the atmospheric response. These analyses are highly relevant for the next round of CCM studies as well as climate models within the CMIP6 exercise. The simulations are conducted by means of two state-of-the-art CCMs - CESM1(WACCM) and EMAC - run in "atmosphere-only"-mode. These models are quite different with respect to the complexity of the implemented radiation and chemistry schemes. CESM1(WACCM) features a chemistry module with considerably higher spectral resolution of the photolysis scheme while EMAC employs a radiation code with notably higher spectral resolution. For all simulations, concentrations of greenhouse gases and ozone depleting substances, as well as observed sea surface temperatures (SST) are set to average conditions representative for the year 2000 (for SSTs: mean of decade centered over year 2000) to exclude anthropogenic influences and differences due to variable SST forcing. Only the SSI forcing differs for the various simulations. Four different forcing datasets are used: NRLSSI1 (used as a reference in all previous climate modeling intercomparisons, i.e. CMIP5, CCMVal, CCMI), NRLSSI2, SATIRE-S, and the SSI forcing dataset recommended for the CMIP6 exercise. For each dataset, a solar maximum and minimum timeslice is integrated, respectively. The results of these simulations - eight in total - are compared to each other with respect to their shortwave heating rate differences (additionally collated with line-by-line calculations using libradtran), differences in the photolysis rates, as well as atmospheric circulation features (temperature, zonal wind, geopotential height, etc.). It is shown that atmospheric responses to the different SSI datasets differ significantly from each other. This is a result from direct radiative effects as well as indirect effects induced by ozone feedbacks. Differences originating from using different SSI datasets for the same level of solar activity are in the same order of magnitude as those associated with the 11 year solar cycle within a specific dataset. However, the climate signals related to the solar cycle are quite comparable across datasets.

Io’s volcanoes at high spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution from ground-based observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Kleer, Katherine R.; de Pater, Imke

2017-10-01

Io’s dynamic volcanic eruptions provide a laboratory for studying large-scale volcanism on a body vastly different from Earth, and for unraveling the connections between tidal heating and the geological activity it powers. Ground-based near-infrared observatories allow for high-cadence, long-time-baseline observing programs using diverse instrumentation, and yield new information into the nature and variability of this activity. I will summarize results from four years of ground-based observations of Io’s volcanism, including: (1) A multi-year cadence observing campaign using adaptive optics on 8-10 meter telescopes, which places constraints on tidal heating models through sampling the spatial distribution of Io’s volcanic heat flow, and provides estimates of the occurrence rate of Io’s most energetic eruptions; (2) High-spectral-resolution (R~25,000) studies of Io’s volcanic SO gas emission at 1.7 microns, which resolves this rovibronic line into its different branches, and thus contains detailed information on the temperature and thermal state of the gas; and (3) The highest-spatial-resolution map ever produced of the entire Loki Patera, a 20,000 km2 volcanic feature on Io, derived from adaptive-optics observations of an occultation of Io by Europa. The map achieves a spatial resolution of ~10 km and indicates compositional differences across the patera. These datasets both reveal specific characteristics of Io’s individual eruptions, and provide clues into the sub-surface systems connecting Io’s tidally-heated interior to its surface expressions of volcanism.

NuSTAR OBSERVATIONS OF MAGNETAR 1E 1048.1–5937

DOE PAGES

Yang, C.; Archibald, R. F.; Vogel, J. K.; ...

2016-10-28

We report on simultaneous Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and XMM-Newton observations of the magnetar 1E 1048.1-5937, along with Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) data for the same source. The NuSTAR data provide a clear detection of this magnetar’s persistent emission up to 20 keV. We detect a previously unreported small secondary peak in the average pulse profile in the 7–10 keV band, which grows to an amplitude comparable to that of the main peak in the 10–20 keV band. We show using RXTE data that this secondary peak is likely transient. We find that the pulsed fraction increases withmore » energy from a value of ~0.55 at ~2 keV to a value of ~0.75 near 8 keV but shows evidence of decreasing at higher energies. After filtering out multiple bright X-ray bursts during the observation, we find that the phase-averaged spectrum from combined NuSTAR and XMM data is well described by an absorbed double blackbody plus power-law model, with no evidence for the spectral turn-up near ~10 keV as has been seen in some other magnetars. Our data allow us to rule out a spectral turn-up similar to those seen in magnetars 4U 0142+61 and 1E 2259+586 of ΔΓ≳2, where ΔΓ is the difference between the softband and hard-band photon indexes. The lack of spectral turn-up is consistent with what has been observed from an active subset of magnetars given previously reported trends suggesting that the degree of spectral turn-up is correlated with spin-down rate and/or spin-inferred magnetic field.« less

The Composition of M-type Asteroids: Synthesis of Spectroscopic and Radar Observations.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bell, Maureen; Clark, B. E.; Shepard, M. K.; Issacs, R. A.; Cloutis, E. A.; Fornasier, S.; Bus, S. J.

2010-10-01

We have conducted a radar-driven observational campaign of 22 main-belt asteroids (MBAs) focused on Bus-DeMeo Xc- and Xk-type objects (Tholen X and M class asteroids) using the Arecibo radar and NASA Infrared Telescope Facilities (IRTF). Sixteen of our targets were near-simultaneously observed with radar. We find that most of the highest metal-content asteroids, as suggested by radar, tend to exhibit silicate absorption features at both 0.9 and 1.9 microns, and the lowest metal-content asteroids tend to exhibit either no bands or only the 0.9 microns band. Eleven of the asteroids were observed at several rotational longitudes in the near-infrared and significant variations in continuum slope were found for nine in the spectral regions 1.1-1.45 microns and 1.6-2.3 microns. Compositional evidence is derived from our target asteroid spectra using two different methods: 1) a Chi-squared search for spectral matches in the RELAB database, and 2) parametric comparisons with meteorites. We find that for four of the seven asteroids with the highest iron abundances, our spectral results are consistent with each other and with the radar evidence pointing to an iron meteorite composition (16 Psyche, 216 Kleopatra, 347 Pariana, and 779 Nina). Four asteroids have radar analogs consistent with either our parametric comparison or our RELAB analog type (21 Lutetia, 135 Hertha, 497 Iva, and 758 Mancunia ). The remaining eight asteroids (22 Kalliope, 97 Klotho, 110 Lydia, 129 Antigone, 224 Oceana, 678 Fredegundis, 771 Libera, and 785 Zwetana) have ambiguous compositional interpretations when comparing the spectral analogs to the radar analogs.

Angular shaping of fluorescence from synthetic opal-based photonic crystal.

PubMed

Boiko, Vitalii; Dovbeshko, Galyna; Dolgov, Leonid; Kiisk, Valter; Sildos, Ilmo; Loot, Ardi; Gorelik, Vladimir

2015-01-01

Spectral, angular, and temporal distributions of fluorescence as well as specular reflection were investigated for silica-based artificial opals. Periodic arrangement of nanosized silica globules in the opal causes a specific dip in the defect-related fluorescence spectra and a peak in the reflectance spectrum. The spectral position of the dip coincides with the photonic stop band. The latter is dependent on the size of silica globules and the angle of observation. The spectral shape and intensity of defect-related fluorescence can be controlled by variation of detection angle. Fluorescence intensity increases up to two times at the edges of the spectral dip. Partial photobleaching of fluorescence was observed. Photonic origin of the observed effects is discussed.

Discovery and Monitoring of a New Black Hole Candidate XTE J1752-223 with RXTE: RMS Spectrum Evolution, BH Mass and the Source Distance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaposhinikov, Nikolai; Markwardt, Craig; Swank, Jean; Krimm, Hans

2010-01-01

We report on the discovery and monitoring observations of a new galactic black hole candidate XTE J1752-223 by Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). The new source appeared on the X-ray sky on October 21 2009 and was active for almost 8 months. Phenomenologically, the source exhibited the low-hard/highsoft spectral state bi-modality and the variability evolution during the state transition that matches standard behavior expected from a stellar mass black hole binary. We model the energy spectrum throughout the outburst using a generic Comptonization model assuming that part of the input soft radiation in the form of a black body spectrum gets reprocessed in the Comptonizing medium. We follow the evolution of fractional root-mean-square (RMS) variability in the RXTE/PCA energy band with the source spectral state and conclude that broad band variability is strongly correlated with the source hardness (or Comptonized fraction). We follow changes in the energy distribution of rms variability during the low-hard state and the state transition and find further evidence that variable emission is strongly concentrated in the power-law spectral component. We discuss the implication of our results to the Comptonization regimes during different spectral states. Correlations of spectral and variability properties provide measurements of the BH mass and distance to the source. The spectral-timing correlation scaling technique applied to the RXTE observations during the hardto- soft state transition indicates a mass of the BH in XTE J1752-223 between 8 and 11 solar masses and a distance to the source about 3.5 kiloparsec.

Molecular and structural characteristics in toxic algae cultures of Ostreopsis ovata and Ostreopsis spp. evidenced by FTIR and FTNIR spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mecozzi, Mauro; Pietroletti, Marco; Tornambè, Andrea

2011-05-01

In this article we investigated the compositional and structural characteristics of the principal biomolecules such as carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and chlorophyll pigments present in biofilm cultures of Ostreopsis spp. and in batch cultures of Ostreopsis ovata. Our approach based on the use of infrared (FTIR) and near infrared (FTNIR) spectroscopy showed the marked differences existing between biofilm cultures and batch cultures. FTIR spectroscopy showed the higher contents of polysaccharides and chlorophyll pigments in O. ovata from batch cultures with respect to Ostreopsis spp. Second derivative FTIR spectroscopy showed different features concerning the secondary structure of proteins because in O. ovata samples the beta sheet and beta turn structures were observed whereas in Ostreopsis spp. samples the alpha helix structure was the most evident. FTNIR spectroscopy showed other structural differences observed existing between O. ovata and Ostreopsis spp. mainly related to hydrogen bond interactions determining more packed structures in the nucleus of O. ovata. In addition, the interpretation of FTIR and FTNIR spectral information was also supported by the application of two statistical methods, the independent component analysis (ICA) and the spectral cross correlation analysis (SCCA). ICA was used as spectral deconvolution technique to separate the effects of the interference bicarbonate ion from algal FTIR spectra so to verify the high similar qualitative composition of the three biofilm samples of Ostreopsis spp. At last, SCCA applied to FTIR and FTNIR spectra was useful to evidence some structural differences involving -CH and CH 2 groups of aliphatic chains in O. ovata and Ostreopsis spp. samples. Though preliminary, these results agree with some previous studies suggesting that the presence of different ecophysiological characteristics in O. ovata and Ostreopsis spp. depending on the parameters related to the condition growth.

Understanding the Cryosphere of Europa Using Imaging Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blaney, D. L.; Green, R. O.; Hibbitts, C.; Clark, R. N.; Dalton, J. B.; Davies, A. G.; Langevin, Y.; Hedman, M.; Lunine, J. I.; McCord, T. B.; Murchie, S. L.; Paranicas, C.; Seelos, F. P.; Soderblom, J. M.; Diniega, S.

2017-12-01

Europa's surface expresses a complex interplay of geologic processes driven by the ocean beneath the cryosphere that are subsequently modified by the Jovian environment once exposed on the surface. Several recent Earth-based observations of Europa's tenuous atmosphere suggest that there may in fact be active plumes [1,2,3]. However, the frequency and the duration of activity at any specific location cannot be precisely determined by these observations, but could be with spacecraft observations. For instance, recently active areas on Europa from plumes or other processes may result in distinctive spectral signatures on the surface. Possible spectral signatures that may indicate recent activity include: differences in ice grain size or ice crystallinity; the lack of radiolytic signatures (e.g. a deficit in species due to implantation, radiation darkening of salts, degradation of organic compounds); and thermal anomalies. The Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (MISE) on NASA's Europa Clipper Mission will be able to map these species thus enabling the identification of these deposits and other young and/or least processed areas. These signatures may also enable a relative geochronology for Europa to be developed. For example, recent work by Proctor et al [4] finds that bands of different stratigraphic ages have different spectral features potentially due to radiation effects on the deposits. We will explore borrowing analyses techniques from earth observing missions of the Arctic. On Earth, data from the Airborne Visible / Infrared Imaging Spectrometer Next Generation (AVRIS-NG) (https://avirisng.jpl.nasa.gov/aviris-ng.html) is being used to explore Earth's cryosphere. AVRIS-NG data collected from the Greenland ice sheet and high latitude sea ice is being used to map of key ice properties such as grain size and contaminants. These data and processing approaches will be used to explore and validate imaging spectroscopy approaches which MISE might use on Europa.

Updated search for spectral lines from Galactic dark matter interactions with pass 8 data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope

DOE PAGES

Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Albert, A.; ...

2015-06-15

Dark matter in the Milky Way may annihilate directly into γ rays, producing a monoenergetic spectral line. Therefore, detecting such a signature would be strong evidence for dark matter annihilation or decay. We search for spectral lines in the Fermi Large Area Telescope observations of the Milky Way halo in the energy range 200 MeV–500 GeV using analysis methods from our most recent line searches. The main improvements relative to previous works are our use of 5.8 years of data reprocessed with the Pass 8 event-level analysis and the additional data resulting from the modified observing strategy designed to increasemore » exposure of the Galactic center region. Furthermore, we search in five sky regions selected to optimize sensitivity to different theoretically motivated dark matter scenarios and find no significant detections. In addition to presenting the results from our search for lines, we also investigate the previously reported tentative detection of a line at 133 GeV using the new Pass 8 data.« less

Properties of the Second Outburst of the Bursting Pulsar (GRO J1744-28) as Observed with BATSE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woods, P.; Kouveliotou, C.; vanParadijs, J.; Briggs, M. S.; Wilson, C. A.; Deal, K. J.; Harmon, B. A.; Fishman, G. J.; Lewin, W. H.; Kommers, J.

1998-01-01

One year after its discovery, the Bursting Pulsar (GRO J1744-28) went into outburst again, displaying the hard X-ray bursts and pulsations that make this source unique. We report on Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) observations of both the persistent and burst emission for this second outburst and draw comparisons to the first. The second outburst was smaller than the first in both duration and peak luminosity. The persistent flux, burst peak flux and burst fluence were all reduced in amplitude by a factor approximately 1.7. Despite these differences, the average burst occurrence rate and average burst durations were roughly the same through each outburst. Similar to the first outburst, no spectral evolution was found within bursts and the parameter alpha was very small at the start of the outburst (alpha = 2.1 +/- 1.7 on 1996 December 2). Although no spectral evolution was found within individual bursts, we find evidence for a small (20%) variation of the spectral temperature during the course of the second outburst.

Spectral Deconvolution of the 6196 and 6614 Å Diffuse Interstellar Bands Supports a Common-carrier Origin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernstein, L. S.; Shroll, R. M.; Galazutdinov, G. A.; Beletsky, Y.

2018-06-01

We explore the common-carrier hypothesis for the 6196 and 6614 Å diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs). The observed DIB spectra are sharpened using a spectral deconvolution algorithm. This reveals finer spectral features that provide tighter constraints on candidate carriers. We analyze a deconvolved λ6614 DIB spectrum and derive spectroscopic constants that are then used to model the λ6196 spectra. The common-carrier spectroscopic constants enable quantitative fits to the contrasting λ6196 and λ6614 spectra from two sightlines. Highlights of our analysis include (1) sharp cutoffs for the maximum values of the rotational quantum numbers, J max = K max, (2) the λ6614 DIB consisting of a doublet and a red-tail component arising from different carriers, (3) the λ6614 doublet and λ6196 DIBs sharing a common carrier, (4) the contrasting shapes of the λ6614 doublet and λ6196 DIBs arising from different vibration–rotation Coriolis coupling constants that originate from transitions from a common ground state to different upper electronic state degenerate vibrational levels, and (5) the different widths of the two DIBs arising from different effective rotational temperatures associated with principal rotational axes that are parallel and perpendicular to the highest-order symmetry axis. The analysis results suggest a puckered oblate symmetric top carrier with a dipole moment aligned with the highest-order symmetry axis. An example candidate carrier consistent with these specifications is corannulene (C20H10), or one of its symmetric ionic or dehydrogenated forms, whose rotational constants are comparable to those obtained from spectral modeling of the DIB profiles.

X-ray Variability Characteristics of the Narrow line SEYFERT 1 MKN 766 I: Energy Dependent Timing Properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Markowitz, A.; Turner, T. J.; Papadakis, I.; Arevalo, P.; Reeves, J. N.; Miller, L.

2007-01-01

We present the energy-dependent power spectral density (PSD) and cross-spectral properties of Mkn 766 obtained from a six-revolution XMM-Newton observation in 2005. The resulting PSDs, which have highest temporal frequency resolution for an AGN PSD to date, show breaks which increase in temporal frequency as photon energy increases; break frequencies differ by an average of approx.0.4 in the log between the softest and hardest bands. The consistency of the 2001 and 2005 observations variability properties, namely PSD shapes and the linear rms-flux relation, suggests the 2005 observation is simply a low-flux extension of the 2001 observation. The coherence function is measured to be approx.0.6-0.9 at temporal frequencies below the PSD break, and is lower for relatively larger energy band separation; coherence also drops significantly towards zero above the PSD break frequency. Temporal frequency-dependent soft-to-hard time lags are detected in this object for the first time: lags increase towards longer time scales and as energy separation increases. Cross-spectral properties are the thus consistent with previous measurements for Mkn 766 (Vaughan & Fabian 2003) and other accreting black hole systems. The results are discussed in the context of several variability models, including those based on inwardly-propagating viscosity variations in the accretion disk.

Influence of aerosols on surface reaching spectral irradiance and introduction to a new technique for estimating aerosol radiative forcing from spectral flux measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rao, R. R.

2015-12-01

Aerosol radiative forcing estimates with high certainty are required in climate change studies. The approach in estimating the aerosol radiative forcing by using the chemical composition of aerosols is not effective as the chemical composition data with radiative properties are not widely available. In this study we look into the approach where ground based spectral radiation flux measurements along with an RT model is used to estimate radiative forcing. Measurements of spectral flux were made using an ASD spectroradiometer with 350 - 1050 nm wavelength range and 3nm resolution for around 54 clear-sky days during which AOD range was around 0.1 to 0.7. Simultaneous measurements of black carbon were also made using Aethalometer (Magee Scientific) which ranged from around 1.5 ug/m3 to 8 ug/m3. All the measurements were made in the campus of Indian Institute of Science which is in the heart of Bangalore city. The primary study involved in understanding the sensitivity of spectral flux to change in the mass concentration of individual aerosol species (Optical properties of Aerosols and Clouds -OPAC classified aerosol species) using the SBDART RT model. This made us clearly distinguish the region of influence of different aerosol species on the spectral flux. Following this, a new technique has been introduced to estimate an optically equivalent mixture of aerosol species for the given location. The new method involves an iterative process where the mixture of aerosol species are changed in OPAC model and RT model is run as long as the mixture which mimics the measured spectral flux within 2-3% deviation from measured spectral flux is obtained. Using the optically equivalent aerosol mixture and RT model aerosol radiative forcing is estimated. The new method is limited to clear sky scenes and its accuracy to derive an optically equivalent aerosol mixture reduces when diffuse component of flux increases. Our analysis also showed that direct component of spectral flux is more sensitive to different aerosol species than total spectral flux which was also supported by our observed data.

On the IceCube spectral anomaly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palladino, Andrea; Spurio, Maurizio; Vissani, Francesco

2016-12-01

Recently it was noted that different IceCube datasets are not consistent with the same power law spectrum of the cosmic neutrinos: this is the IceCube spectral anomaly, that suggests that they observe a multicomponent spectrum. In this work, the main possibilities to enhance the description in terms of a single extragalactic neutrino component are examined. The hypothesis of a sizable contribution of Galactic high-energy neutrino events distributed as E-2.7 [Astrophys. J. 826 (2016) 185] is critically analyzed and its natural generalization is considered. The stability of the expectations is studied by introducing free parameters, motivated by theoretical considerations and observational facts. The upgraded model here examined has 1) a Galactic component with different normalization and shape E-2.4 2) an extragalactic neutrino spectrum based on new data; 3) a non-zero prompt component of atmospheric neutrinos. The two key predictions of the model concern the `high-energy starting events' collected from the Southern sky. The Galactic component produces a softer spectrum and a testable angular anisotropy. A second, radically different class of models, where the second component is instead isotropic, plausibly extragalactic and with a relatively soft spectrum, is disfavored instead by existing observations of muon neutrinos from the Northern sky and below few 100 TeV.

The outburst decay of the low magnetic field magnetar SWIFT J1822.3-1606: phase-resolved analysis and evidence for a variable cyclotron feature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez Castillo, Guillermo A.; Israel, Gian Luca; Tiengo, Andrea; Salvetti, David; Turolla, Roberto; Zane, Silvia; Rea, Nanda; Esposito, Paolo; Mereghetti, Sandro; Perna, Rosalba; Stella, Luigi; Pons, José A.; Campana, Sergio; Götz, Diego; Motta, Sara

2016-03-01

We study the timing and spectral properties of the low-magnetic field, transient magnetar SWIFT J1822.3-1606 as it approached quiescence. We coherently phase-connect the observations over a time-span of ˜500 d since the discovery of SWIFT J1822.3-1606 following the Swift-Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) trigger on 2011 July 14, and carried out a detailed pulse phase spectroscopy along the outburst decay. We follow the spectral evolution of different pulse phase intervals and find a phase and energy-variable spectral feature, which we interpret as proton cyclotron resonant scattering of soft photon from currents circulating in a strong (≳1014 G) small-scale component of the magnetic field near the neutron star surface, superimposed to the much weaker (˜3 × 1013 G) magnetic field. We discuss also the implications of the pulse-resolved spectral analysis for the emission regions on the surface of the cooling magnetar.

M dwarf spectra from 0.6 to 1.5 micron - A spectral sequence, model atmosphere fitting, and the temperature scale

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kirkpatrick, J. D.; Kelly, Douglas M.; Rieke, George H.; Liebert, James; Allard, France; Wehrse, Rainer

1993-01-01

Red/infrared (0.6-1.5 micron) spectra are presented for a sequence of well-studied M dwarfs ranging from M2 through M9. A variety of temperature-sensitive features useful for spectral classification are identified. Using these features, the spectral data are compared to recent theoretical models, from which a temperature scale is assigned. The red portion of the model spectra provide reasonably good fits for dwarfs earlier than M6. For layer types, the infrared region provides a more reliable fit to the observations. In each case, the wavelength region used includes the broad peak of the energy distribution. For a given spectral type, the derived temperature sequence assigns higher temperatures than have earlier studies - the difference becoming more pronounced at lower luminosities. The positions of M dwarfs on the H-R diagram are, as a result, in closer agreement with theoretical tracks of the lower main sequence.

Rare-earth doped transparent ceramics for spectral filtering and quantum information processing

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

Kunkel, Nathalie, E-mail: nathalie.kunkel@chimie-paristech.fr; Goldner, Philippe, E-mail: philippe.goldner@chimie-paristech.fr; Ferrier, Alban

2015-09-01

Homogeneous linewidths below 10 kHz are reported for the first time in high-quality Eu{sup 3+} doped Y {sub 2}O{sub 3} transparent ceramics. This result is obtained on the {sup 7}F{sub 0}→{sup 5}D{sub 0} transition in Eu{sup 3+} doped Y {sub 2}O{sub 3} ceramics and corresponds to an improvement of nearly one order of magnitude compared to previously reported values in transparent ceramics. Furthermore, we observed spectral hole lifetimes of ∼15 min that are long enough to enable efficient optical pumping of the nuclear hyperfine levels. Additionally, different Eu{sup 3+} concentrations (up to 1.0%) were studied, resulting in an increase ofmore » up to a factor of three in the peak absorption coefficient. These results suggest that transparent ceramics can be useful in applications where narrow and deep spectral holes can be burned into highly absorbing lines, such as quantum information processing and spectral filtering.« less

Can Measurements of the Near-Infrared Solar Spectral Irradiance be Reconciled? A New Ground-Based Assessment Between 4,000 and 10,000 cm-1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elsey, Jonathan; Coleman, Marc D.; Gardiner, Tom; Shine, Keith P.

2017-10-01

The near-infrared solar spectral irradiance (SSI) is of vital importance for understanding the Earth's radiation budget, and in Earth observation applications. Differences between previously published solar spectra (including the commonly used ATLAS3 spectrum) reach up to 10% at the low wavenumber end of the 4,000-10,000 cm-1 (2.5-1 μm) spectral region. The implications for the atmospheric sciences are significant, since this spectral region contains 25% of the incoming total solar irradiance. This work details an updated analysis of the CAVIAR SSI, featuring additional analysis techniques and an updated uncertainty budget using a Monte Carlo method. We report good consistency with ATLAS3 in the 7,000-10,000 cm-1 region where there is confidence in these results due to agreement with other spectra, but 7% lower in the 4,000-7,000 cm-1 region, in general agreement with several other analyses.

[Analysis of different health status based on characteristics of the facial spectrum photometric color].

PubMed

Xu, Jiatuo; Wu, Hongjin; Lu, Luming; Tu, Liping; Zhang, Zhifeng; Chen, Xiao

2012-12-01

This paper is aimed to observe the difference of facial color of people with different health status by spectral photometric color measuring technique according to the theory of facial color diagnosis in Internal Classic. We gathered the facial color information about the health status of persons in healthy group (183), sub-healthy group (287) and disease group (370) respectively. The information included L, a, b, C values and reflection of different wavelengths in 400-700nm with CM-2600D spectral photometric color measuring instrument on 8 points. The results indicated that overall complexion color values of the people in the three groups were significantly different. The persons in the disease group looked deep dark in features. The people in the sub-healthy group looked pale in features. The loci L, a, b, C values were with varying degrees of significant differences (P < 0.05) at 6 points among the groups, and the central position of the face in all the groups was the position with most significant differences. Comparing the facial color information at the same point of the people in the three groups, we obtained each group's diagnostic special point. There existed diagnostic values in distinguishing disease status and various status of health in some degree by spectral photometric color measuring technique. The present method provides a prosperous quantitative basis for Chinese medical inspection of the complexion diagnosis.

Vibrational spectroscopy of water in hydrated lipid multi-bilayers. II. Two-dimensional infrared and peak shift observables within different theoretical approximations.

PubMed

Gruenbaum, Scott M; Pieniazek, Piotr A; Skinner, J L

2011-10-28

In a previous report, we calculated the infrared absorption spectrum and both the isotropic and anisotropic pump-probe signals for the OD stretch of isotopically dilute water in dilauroylphosphatidylcholine (DLPC) multi-bilayers as a function of the lipid hydration level. These results were then compared to recent experimental measurements and are in generally good agreement. In this paper, we will further investigate the structure and dynamics of hydration water using molecular dynamics simulations and calculations of the two-dimensional infrared and vibrational echo peak shift observables for hydration water in DLPC membranes. These observables have not yet been measured experimentally, but future comparisons may provide insight into spectral diffusion processes and hydration water heterogeneity. We find that at low hydration levels the motion of water molecules inside the lipid membrane is significantly arrested, resulting in very slow spectral diffusion. At higher hydration levels, spectral diffusion is more rapid, but still slower than in bulk water. We also investigate the effects of several common approximations on the calculation of spectroscopic observables by computing these observables within multiple levels of theory. The impact of these approximations on the resulting spectra affects our interpretation of these measurements and reveals that, for example, the cumulant approximation, which may be valid for certain systems, is not a good approximation for a highly heterogeneous environment such as hydration water in lipid multi-bilayers.

Spectral method for a kinetic swarming model

DOE PAGES

Gamba, Irene M.; Haack, Jeffrey R.; Motsch, Sebastien

2015-04-28

Here we present the first numerical method for a kinetic description of the Vicsek swarming model. The kinetic model poses a unique challenge, as there is a distribution dependent collision invariant to satisfy when computing the interaction term. We use a spectral representation linked with a discrete constrained optimization to compute these interactions. To test the numerical scheme we investigate the kinetic model at different scales and compare the solution with the microscopic and macroscopic descriptions of the Vicsek model. Lastly, we observe that the kinetic model captures key features such as vortex formation and traveling waves.

Deformation effect on spectral statistics of nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabri, H.; Jalili Majarshin, A.

2018-02-01

In this study, we tried to get significant relations between the spectral statistics of atomic nuclei and their different degrees of deformations. To this aim, the empirical energy levels of 109 even-even nuclei in the 22 ≤ A ≤ 196 mass region are classified as their experimental and calculated quadrupole, octupole, hexadecapole and hexacontatetrapole deformations values and analyzed by random matrix theory. Our results show an obvious relation between the regularity of nuclei and strong quadrupole, hexadecapole and hexacontatetrapole deformations and but for nuclei that their octupole deformations are nonzero, we have observed a GOE-like statistics.

Analysis of LIF-Raman spectroscopy for the diagnosis of normal and liver diseases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiaozhou; Yang, Tianyue; Yu, Ting; Sun, Ruomin; Li, Siqi

2011-07-01

In this paper, 514.5nm argon ion laser induced human serum Raman and auto-fluorescence spectra of normal, liver cirrhosis and liver cancer were measured and analyzed. The spectral differences between these three types of serums were observed and given brief explanations. Three parameters α, φ and Δλ were introduced to describe characteristics of each type of spectrum. Experimental results showed that these parameters might be applicable for discrimination of normal, liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, which will provide some reference values to explore the method of laser spectral diagnosis of cancer.

Spectral flux from low-density photospheres - Numerical results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hershkowitz, S.; Linder, E.; Wagoner, R. V.

1986-01-01

Radiative transfer through sharp, quasi-static atmospheres whose opacity is dominated by hydrogen is considered at densities low enough that scattering usually dominates absorption and radiative excitations usually dominate collisional excitations. Numerical results for the continuum spectral flux are obtained for effective temperatures T(e) = 6000-16,000 K and scale heights Delta-R = 10 to the 10th - 10 to the 14th cm. Spectra are significantly different than if LTE level populations were assumed. Comparison with observations of the Type II supernova 1980k tends to increase the value of the Hubble constant previously obtained by the Baade (1926) method.

Differential NICMOS Spectrophotometry at High S/N

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gilliland, Ronald L.

2006-01-01

Transiting extrasolar planets present an opportunity for probing atmospheric conditions and constituents by taking advantage of different apparent radii, hence transit depth as a function of wavelength. Strong near-IR bands should support detection of water vapor via G141 spectroscopy of the bright star HD 209458 (H=6.13) by comparing in- and out-of-transit ratios of in- and out-of-band spectral intensity ratios. The reduction and analysis of science observations in which the goal is to support 1 part in 10,000, or better, development of spectral diagnostics using NICMOS grism-based spectroscopy is discussed.

Spectral monitoring of toluene and ethanol in gasoline blends using Fourier-Transform Raman spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortega Clavero, Valentin; Weber, Andreas; Schröder, Werner; Curticapean, Dan; Meyrueis, Patrick; Javahiraly, Nicolas

2013-04-01

The combination of fossil-derived fuels with ethanol and methanol has acquired relevance and attention in several countries in recent years. This trend is strongly affected by market prices, constant geopolitical events, new sustainability policies, new laws and regulations, etc. Besides bio-fuels these materials also include different additives as anti-shock agents and as octane enhancer. Some of the chemical compounds in these additives may have harmful properties for both environment and public health (besides the inherent properties, like volatility). We present detailed Raman spectral information from toluene (C7H8) and ethanol (C2H6O) contained in samples of ElO gasoline-ethanol blends. The spectral information has been extracted by using a robust, high resolution Fourier-Transform Raman spectrometer (FT-Raman) prototype. This spectral information has been also compared with Raman spectra from pure additives and with standard Raman lines in order to validate its accuracy in frequency. The spectral information is presented in the range of 0 cm-1 to 3500 cm-1 with a resolution of 1.66cm-1. This allows resolving tight adjacent Raman lines like the ones observed around 1003cm-1 and 1030cm-1 (characteristic lines of toluene). The Raman spectra obtained show a reduced frequency deviation when compared to standard Raman spectra from different calibration materials. The FT-Raman spectrometer prototype used for the analysis consist basically of a Michelson interferometer and a self-designed photon counter cooled down on a Peltier element arrangement. The light coupling is achieved with conventional62.5/125μm multi-mode fibers. This FT-Raman setup is able to extract high resolution and frequency precise Raman spectra from the additives in the fuels analyzed. The proposed prototype has no additional complex hardware components or costly software modules. The mechanical and thermal disturbances affecting the FT-Raman system are mathematically compensated by accurately extracting the optical path information of the Michelson interferometer. This is accomplished by generating an additional interference pattern with a λ = 632.8 nm Helium-Neon laser (HeNe laser). It enables the FT-Raman system to perform reliable and clean spectral measurements from the materials under observation.

Galactic cold cores. VI. Dust opacity spectral index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2015-12-01

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

The Benard problem: A comparison of finite difference and spectral collocation eigen value solutions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Skarda, J. Raymond Lee; Mccaughan, Frances E.; Fitzmaurice, Nessan

1995-01-01

The application of spectral methods, using a Chebyshev collocation scheme, to solve hydrodynamic stability problems is demonstrated on the Benard problem. Implementation of the Chebyshev collocation formulation is described. The performance of the spectral scheme is compared with that of a 2nd order finite difference scheme. An exact solution to the Marangoni-Benard problem is used to evaluate the performance of both schemes. The error of the spectral scheme is at least seven orders of magnitude smaller than finite difference error for a grid resolution of N = 15 (number of points used). The performance of the spectral formulation far exceeded the performance of the finite difference formulation for this problem. The spectral scheme required only slightly more effort to set up than the 2nd order finite difference scheme. This suggests that the spectral scheme may actually be faster to implement than higher order finite difference schemes.

Revisit to the RXTE and ASCA Data for GRO J1655-40: Effects of Radiative Transfer in Corona and Color Hardening in the Disk

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhang, S. Nan; Zhang, Xiaoling; Wu, Xuebing; Yao, Yangsen; Sun, Xuejun; Xu, Haiguang; Cui, Wei; Chen, Wan; Harmon, B. A.; Robinson, C. R.

1999-01-01

The results of spectral modeling of the data for a series of RXTE observations and four ASCA observations of GRO J1655-40 are presented. The thermal Comptonization model is used instead of the power-law model for the hard component of the two-component continuum spectra. The previously reported dramatic variations of the apparent inner disk radius of GRO J1655-40 during its outburst may be due to the inverse Compton scattering in the hot corona. A procedure is developed for making the radiative transfer correction to the fitting parameters from RXTE data and a more stable inner disk radius is obtained. A practical process of determining the color correction (hardening) factor from observational data is proposed and applied to the four ASCA observations of GRO J1655-40. We found that the color correction factor may vary significantly between different observations and the finally corrected physical inner disk radius remains reasonably stable over a large range of luminosity and spectral states.

Minimum-Light Spectral Classifications for M-Type Mira Variables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wing, Robert F.

2015-08-01

Many bright, well-known Mira variables, including most of the 378 stars for which the AAVSO publishes predicted dates of maximum and minimum in its annual Bulletins, have never been spectroscopically observed close to the time of minimum light, and consequently their catalogued ranges in spectral type are often grossly and misleadingly under-represented. In an effort to improve this situation, for the past 12 years I have been using my 6-color system of narrow-band classification photometry to observe Miras predicted to be near minimum light at the times of my biannual observing runs with the CTIO 0.9-m telescope (operated by the SMARTS consortium). The 6-color system measures the 7100 A band of TiO, which serves to classify stars in the interval K4 to M8, and the 1.06 micron band of VO, which is effective for stars of type M8 and later. To date I have made 431 observations of approximately 220 different (and mostly southern) Miras. Examples are shown of the observed 6-color spectra, and the classifications derived from them.

SDP_mharwit_1: Demonstration of HIFI Linear Polarization Analysis of Spectral Features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harwit, M.

2010-03-01

We propose to observe the polarization of the 621 GHz water vapor maser in VY Canis Majoris to demonstrate the capability of HIFI to make polarization observations of Far-Infrared/Submillimeter spectral lines. The proposed Demonstration Phase would: - Show that HIFI is capable of interesting linear polarization measurements of spectral lines; - Test out the highest spectral resolving power to sort out closely spaced Doppler components; - Determine whether the relative intensities predicted by Neufeld and Melnick are correct; - Record the degree and direction of linear polarization for the closely-Doppler shifted peaks.

Solar UV Variations During the Decline of Cycle 23

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeLand, Matthew, T.; Cebula, Richard P.

2011-01-01

Characterization of temporal and spectral variations in solar ultraviolet irradiance over a solar cycle is essential for understanding the forcing of Earth's atmosphere and climate. Satellite measurements of solar UV variability for solar cycles 21, 22, and 23 show consistent solar cycle irradiance changes at key wavelengths (e.g. 205 nm, 250 nm) within instrumental uncertainties. All historical data sets also show the same relative spectral dependence for both short-term (rotational) and long-term (solar cycle) variations. Empirical solar irradiance models also produce long-term solar UV variations that agree well with observational data. Recent UV irradiance data from the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM) and Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE) instruments covering the declining phase of Cycle 23 present a different picture oflong-term solar variations from previous results. Time series of SIM and SOLSTICE spectral irradiance data between 2003 and 2007 show solar variations that greatly exceed both previous measurements and predicted irradiance changes over this period, and the spectral dependence of the SIM and SOLSTICE variations during these years do not show features expected from solar physics theory. The use of SORCE irradiance variations in atmospheric models yields substantially different middle atmosphere ozone responses in both magnitude and vertical structure. However, short-term solar variability derived from SIM and SOLSTICE UV irradiance data is consistent with concurrent solar UV measurements from other instruments, as well as previous results, suggesting no change in solar physics. Our analysis of short-term solar variability is much less sensitive to residual instrument response changes than the observations of long-term variations. The SORCE long-term UV results can be explained by under-correction of instrument response changes during the first few years of measurements, rather than requiring an unexpected change in the physical behavior of the Sun.

Approximating Reflectance and Transmittance of Vegetation Using Multiple Spectral Invariants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mottus, M.

2011-12-01

Canopy spectral invariants, eigenvalues of the radiative transfer equation and photon recollision probability are some of the new theoretical tools that have been applied in remote sensing of vegetation and atmosphere. The theoretical approach based on spectral invariants, informally also referred to as the p-theory, owns its attractivity to several factors. Firstly, it provides a rapid and physically-based way of describing canopy scattering. Secondly, the p-theory aims at parameterizing canopy structure in reflectance models using a simple and intuitive concept which can be applied at various structural levels, from shoot to tree crown. The theory has already been applied at scales from the molecular level to forest stands. The most important shortcoming of the p-theory lies in its inability to predict the directionality of scattering. The theory is currently based on only one physical parameter, the photon recollision probability p. It is evident that one parameter cannot contain enough information to reasonably predict the observed complex reflectance patterns produced by natural vegetation canopies. Without estimating scattering directionality, however, the theory cannot be compared with even the most simple (and well-tested) two-stream vegetation reflectance models. In this study, we evaluate the possibility to use additional parameters to fit the measured reflectance and transmittance of a vegetation stand. As a first step, the parameters are applied to separate canopy scattering into reflectance and transmittance. New parameters are introduced following the general approach of eigenvector expansion. Thus, the new parameters are coined higher-order spectral invariants. Calculation of higher-order invariants is based on separating first-order scattering from total scattering. Thus, the method explicitly accounts for different view geometries with different fractions of visible sunlit canopy (e.g., hot-spot). It additionally allows to produce different irradiation levels on leaf surfaces for direct and diffuse incidence, thus (in theory) allowing more accurate calculation of potential photosynthesis rates. Similarly to the p-theory, the use of multiple spectral invariants facilitates easy parametrization of canopy structure and scaling between different structural levels (leaf-shoot-stand). Spectral invariant-based remote sensing approaches are well suited for relatively large pixels even when no detailed ground truth information is available. In a case study, the theory of multiple spectral invariants was applied to measured canopy scattering. Spectral reflectance and transmittance measurements were carried out in gray alder (Alnus incana) plantation at Tartu Observatory, Estonia, in August 2006. The equations produced by the theory of spectral invariants were fitted to measured radiation fluxes. Preliminary results indicate that quantities with invariant-like behavior may indeed be used to approximate canopy scattering directionality.

First Retrieval of Surface Lambert Albedos From Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter CRISM Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGuire, P. C.; Arvidson, R. E.; Murchie, S. L.; Wolff, M. J.; Smith, M. D.; Martin, T. Z.; Milliken, R. E.; Mustard, J. F.; Pelkey, S. M.; Lichtenberg, K. A.; Cavender, P. J.; Humm, D. C.; Titus, T. N.; Malaret, E. R.

2006-12-01

We have developed a pipeline-processing software system to convert radiance-on-sensor for each of 72 out of 544 CRISM spectral bands used in global mapping to the corresponding surface Lambert albedo, accounting for atmospheric, thermal, and photoclinometric effects. We will present and interpret first results from this software system for the retrieval of Lambert albedos from CRISM data. For the multispectral mapping modes, these pipeline-processed 72 spectral bands constitute all of the available bands, for wavelengths from 0.362-3.920 μm, at 100-200 m/pixel spatial resolution, and ~ 0.006\\spaceμm spectral resolution. For the hyperspectral targeted modes, these pipeline-processed 72 spectral bands are only a selection of all of the 544 spectral bands, but at a resolution of 15-38 m/pixel. The pipeline processing for both types of observing modes (multispectral and hyperspectral) will use climatology, based on data from MGS/TES, in order to estimate ice- and dust-aerosol optical depths, prior to the atmospheric correction with lookup tables based upon radiative-transport calculations via DISORT. There is one DISORT atmospheric-correction lookup table for converting radiance-on-sensor to Lambert albedo for each of the 72 spectral bands. The measurements of the Emission Phase Function (EPF) during targeting will not be employed in this pipeline processing system. We are developing a separate system for extracting more accurate aerosol optical depths and surface scattering properties. This separate system will use direct calls (instead of lookup tables) to the DISORT code for all 544 bands, and it will use the EPF data directly, bootstrapping from the climatology data for the aerosol optical depths. The pipeline processing will thermally correct the albedos for the spectral bands above ~ 2.6 μm, by a choice between 4 different techniques for determining surface temperature: 1) climatology, 2) empirical estimation of the albedo at 3.9 μm from the measured albedo at 2.5 μm, 3) a physical thermal model (PTM) based upon maps of thermal inertia from TES and coarse-resolution surface slopes (SS) from MOLA, and 4) a photoclinometric extension to the PTM that uses CRISM albedos at 0.41 μm to compute the SS at CRISM spatial resolution. For the thermal correction, we expect that each of these 4 different techniques will be valuable for some fraction of the observations.

Comparison of lithological mapping results from airborne hyperspectral VNIR-SWIR, LWIR and combined data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Jilu; Rogge, Derek; Rivard, Benoit

2018-02-01

This study investigates using the Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging Systems (AISA) visible and short-wave infrared (SWIR) and Spatially Enhanced Broadband Array Spectrograph System (SEBASS) longwave infrared (LWIR) (2 and 4 m spatial resolution, respectively) imagery independently and in combination to produce detailed lithologic maps in a subarctic region (Cape Smith Belt, Nunavik, Canada) where regionally metamorphosed lower greenschist mafic, ultramafic and sedimentary rocks are exposed in the presence of lichen coatings. We make use of continuous wavelet analysis (CWA) to improve the radiometric quality of the imagery through the minimization of random noise and the enhancement of spectral features, the minimization of residual errors in the ISAC radiometric correction and target temperature estimation in the case of the LWIR data, the minimization of line to line residual calibration effects that lead to inconsistencies in data mosaics, and the reduction in variability of the spectral continuum introduced by variable illumination and topography. The use of CWA also provides a platform to directly combine the wavelet scale spectral profiles of the SWIR and LWIR after applying a scalar correction factor to the LWIR such that the dynamic range of two data sets have equal weight. This is possible using CWA as the datasets are normalized to a zero mean allowing spectra from different spectral regions to be adjoined. Lithologic maps are generated using an iterative spectral unmixing approach with image spectral endmembers extracted from the SWIR and LWIR imagery based on locations defined from previous work of the study area and field mapping information. Unmixing results of the independent SWIR and LWIR data, and the combined data show clear benefits to using the CWA combined imagery. The analysis showed SWIR and LWIR imagery highlight similar regions and spatial distributions for the three ultramafic units (dunite, peridotite, pyroxenite). However, significant differences are observed for quartz-rich sediments, with the SWIR overestimating the distribution of these rocks whereas the LWIR provided more consistent results compared with existing maps. Both SWIR and LWIR imagery were impacted by the pervasive lichen coatings on the mafic rocks (basalts and gabbros), although the SWIR provided better results than the LWIR. Limitations observed for the independent data sets were removed using the combined spectral data resulting in all geologically meaningful units mapped correctly in comparison with existing geological maps.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2014-04-01

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

First results of the observations of trace gases in the Martian atmosphere by the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer onboard the Mars Express

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Titov, D. V.; Ignatiev, N.; Formisano, V.; Grassi, D.; Giuranna, M.; Maturilli, A.; Piccioni, G.; Moroz, V. I.; Lellouch, E.; Encrenaz, T.; Pfs Team

High spectral resolution observations of Mars by the PFS/Mars Express provide new insight into the atmospheric composition. Spectral features of atmospheric CO2 and its isotopes at 15, 4.3, 2.7, 1.4 μ m, CO at 4.7 and 2.35 μ m, and H2O at 40, 2.56, and 1.38 μ m as well as solar spectral features are clearly identified in the PFS spectra. HDO spectral details at 3.7 μ m were also tentatively detected. The paper will present qualitative and quantitative analysis of the PFS spectra in the regions of spectral bands of trace gases. Abundance of minor constituents will be determined using complete radiative transfer modeling including possible non-LTE effects. We will also present results of search for other minor species with emphasis on the limb observations that provide higher air mass factor.

Visible/Near-Infrared Spectral Properties of MUSES C Target Asteroid 25143 Itokawa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jarvis, K. S.; Vilas, F.; Kelley, M. S.; Abell, P. A.

2004-01-01

The Japanese MUSES C mission launched the Hayabusa spacecraft last May 15, 2003, to encounter and study the near-Earth asteroid 25143 Itokawa. The spacecraft will obtain visible images through broadband filters similar to the ECAS filters, and near-infrared spectra from 0.85 - 2.1 microns. In preparation for this encounter, opportunities to study the asteroid with Earth-based telescopes have been fully leveraged. Visible and near-infrared spectral observations were made of asteroid 25143 Itokawa during several nights of March, 2001, around the last apparition. We report here on the results of extensive spectral observations made to address the questions of compositional variations across the surface of the asteroid (as determined by the rotational period and shape model); variations in phase angle (Sun-Itokawa-Earth angle) on spectral characteristics; and predictions of Itokawa observations by Hayabusa based on the spectral resolution and responsivity of the NIRS and AMICA instruments.

Ionospheric model-observation comparisons: E layer at Arecibo Incorporation of SDO-EVE solar irradiances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sojka, Jan J.; Jensen, Joseph B.; David, Michael; Schunk, Robert W.; Woods, Tom; Eparvier, Frank; Sulzer, Michael P.; Gonzalez, Sixto A.; Eccles, J. Vincent

2014-05-01

This study evaluates how the new irradiance observations from the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) can, with its high spectral resolution and 10 s cadence, improve the modeling of the E region. To demonstrate this a campaign combining EVE observations with that of the NSF Arecibo incoherent scatter radar (ISR) was conducted. The ISR provides E region electron density observations with high-altitude resolution, 300 m, and absolute densities using the plasma line technique. Two independent ionospheric models were used, the Utah State University Time-Dependent Ionospheric Model (TDIM) and Space Environment Corporation's Data-Driven D Region (DDDR) model. Each used the same EVE irradiance spectrum binned at 1 nm resolution from 0.1 to 106 nm. At the E region peak the modeled TDIM density is 20% lower and that of the DDDR is 6% higher than observed. These differences could correspond to a 36% lower (TDIM) and 12% higher (DDDR) production rate if the differences were entirely attributed to the solar irradiance source. The detailed profile shapes that included the E region altitude and that of the valley region were only qualitatively similar to observations. Differences on the order of a neutral-scale height were present. Neither model captured a distinct dawn to dusk tilt in the E region peak altitude. A model sensitivity study demonstrated how future improved spectral resolution of the 0.1 to 7 nm irradiance could account for some of these model shortcomings although other relevant processes are also poorly modeled.