Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Higer, A. L..
ERTS-1 is described as a near real time, data relay system for south Florida water quantity and quality monitoring. An ecological model of the Shark River Slough in Everglades National Park is also presented.
There are no author-identified significant results in this report.
The author has identified the following significant results. LANDSAT 1 and Skylab (S192) data from the Green Swamp area of central Florida were categorized into five classes: water, cypress, other wetlands, pine, and pasture. These categories were compared with similar categories on a detailed vegetative map made using low altitude aerial photography. Agreement of LANDSAT and Skylab categorized data with the vegetation map was 87 percent and 83 percent respectively. The Green Swamp vegetative categories may be widespread but often consist of numerous small isolated areas, because LANDSAT has a greater resolution than Skylab, it is more favorable for mapping the small vegetative categories.
There are no author-identified significant results in this report.
The techniques used and the results achieved in the successful application of Skylab Multispectral Scanner (EREP S-192) high-density digital tape data for the automatic categorizing and mapping of land-water cover types in the Green Swamp of Florida were summarized. Data was provided from Skylab pass number 10 on 13 June 1973. Significant results achieved included the automatic mapping of a nine-category and a three-category land-water cover map of the Green Swamp. The land-water cover map was used to make interpretations of a hydrologic condition in the Green Swamp. This type of use marks a significant breakthrough in the processing and utilization of EREP S-192 data.
A prototype data acquisition and dissemination network and its effectiveness in improving and/or solving hydrologic problems in southern Florida are evaluated. The network utilized LANDSAT MSS imagery and in situ monitoring by LANDSAT-DCS. Results show water level and rain fall measurements were collected and disseminated in less than two hours, a significant improvement over conventional methods which took up to two months. Improved network performance has also aided the development of water budgets and water distribution to the people, funa, and flora in the area. Imagery from LANDSAT was also found to enhance the utility of ground measurements.
The author has identified the following significant results. The usefullness of ERTS 1 to improving the overall effectiveness of collecting and disseminating data was evaluated. ERTS MSS imagery and in situ monitoring by DCS were used to evaluate their separate and combined capabilities. Twenty data collection platforms were established in southern Florida. Water level and rainfall measurements were collected and disseminated to users in less than 2 hours, a significant improvement over conventional techniques requiring 2 months. ERTS imagery was found to significantly enhance the utility of ground measurements. Water stage was correlated with water surface areas from imagery in order to obtain water stage-volume relations. Imagery provided an economical basis for extrapolating water parameters from the point samples to unsampled data and provided a synoptic view of water mass boundaries that no amount of ground sampling or monitoring could provide.
In December of 1974 the John F. Kennedy Space Center, NASA, and the Water Resources Division, United States Geological Survey (USGS), acquired photographic, thermal, and multispectral data over the Cumberland region of eastern Tennessee. This data was effectively used to delineate ground water sources, and surface water runoff into river systems in the Cumberlands. The data, coupled with an overview of the area from the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS), could be useful in determining hydrologic conditions in coal mining regions of the Appalachians.
There are no author-identified significant results in this report.
A prototype multiparameter data acquisition network, installed and operated by the U.S. Geological Survey is a viable approach for obtaining near real-time data needed to solve hydrologic problems confronting nearly 2.5 million residents of south Florida. Selected water quantity and quality data obtained from ground stations are transmitted for relay via ERTS-1 to NASA receiving stations in virtual real time. This data relay system has been very reliable and, by coupling the ground information with ERTS imagery, a modeling technique is available for water resource management in south Florida. An ecological model has been designed for the Shark River Slough in Everglades National Park.
There are no author-identified significant results in this report.
There are no author-identified significant results in this report.
There are no author-identified significant results in this report.
ERTS-1 MSS imagery coupled with data collection platforms relaying virtual real time data for modeling subtropical water level dynamics distribution in south Florida
Detection of turbidity dynamics in Tampa Bay, Florida using multispectral imagery from ERTS-1
There are no author-identified significant results in this report.
In 1970, Congress authorized the deepening of the Tampa Bay channel (Rivers and Harbors Act of 1970) from 34 to 44 feet. In order to determine the effects of this deepening on circulation, water quality, and biota, during and after the construction, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Tampa Port Authority, has collected data and developed a digital simulation model of the bay. In addition to data collected using conventional tools, use is being made of data collected from ERTS-1. Return beam vidicon (RBV) multispectral data were collected, while a shell dredging barge was operating in the bay, and used for turbidity recognition and unique spectral signatures representative of type and amount of material in suspension. A three-dimensional concept of the dynamics of the plume was achieved by superimposing the parts of the plume recognized in each RBV band. This provides a background for automatic computer processing of ERTS data and three-dimensional modeling of turbidity plumes.
There are no author-identified significant results in this report.