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At least 181 records · Page 10

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NASA NTRS1981

A subsynoptic-scale kinetic energy study of the Red River Valley tornado outbreak (AVE-SESAME 1)

The subsynoptis-scale kinetic energy balance during the Red River Valley tornado outbreak is presented in order to diagnose storm environment interactions. Area-time averaged energetics indicate that horizontal flux convergence provides the major energy source to the region, while cross contour flow provides the greatest sink. Maximum energy variability is found in the upper levels in association with jet stream activity. Area averaged energetics at individual observation times show that the energy balance near times of maximum storm activity differs considerably from that of the remaining periods. The local kinetic energy balance over Oklahoma during the formation of a limited jet streak receives special attention. Cross contour production of energy is the dominant local source for jet development. Intense convection producing the Red River Valley tornadoes may have contributed to this local development by modifying the surrounding environment.

Jedlovec, G. J.↗

NASA NTRS1981

The Tempe volcanic province of Mars and comparisons with the Snake River Plains of Idaho

The Tempe volcanic region of Mars, a relatively low plain of probable basaltic flood lava affinity, is shown to be comparable in many respects to features of the Snake River Plains of Idaho, including both scale and type of features observed. Superimposed upon the Tempe plain are a variety of features that appear structurally controlled, along an orientation of N60 deg E; comprising low shields, irregular hills that may be silicic domes, and possible composite cones. The Tempe/Snake River match is held to be the first in which direct comparison can be made between Martian and terrestrial geologic-geomorphic features without encountering problems of scale.

Plescia, J. B.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Manual versus digital Landsat analysis for modeling river flooding

The comparative value of manual versus digital image analysis for determining flood boundaries is being examined in a study of the use of Landsat data for modeling flooding of the Black River, in northern New York. The work is an extension of an earlier study in which Black River flooding was assessed through visually interpreted, multi-date Landsat band 7 images. Based on the results to date, it appears that neither color-additive viewing nor digital analysis of Landsat data provide improvement in accuracy over visual analysis of band 7 images, for delineating the boundaries of flood-affected areas.

Philipson, W. R.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Manual versus digital Landsat analysis for delineating river flooding

It has been found that flood boundary information derived from Landsat images, acquired at different flood stages, could be used to develop an empirical model for estimating the extent of flooding on the basis of in situ measurements of river discharge. An investigation was undertaken to determine whether improved results might have been obtained through digital image analysis or by including other Landsat spectral bands. The study area encompasses a highly flood-prone reach of the Black River in Lewis County, NY. It was found that visual analysis of aerial photographs and a Landsat band 7 image gave similar results. Visual and digital analysis of Landsat band 7 data gave similar results, and digital analysis of Landsat band 7 data gave results which were at least as good as digital analysis of combinations of spectral bands.

Philipson, W. R.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Utilization of Meteorological Satellite Imagery for World-Wide Environmental Monitoring the Lower Mississippi River Flood of 1979 - Case 1

The 1979 Lower Mississippi River flood was selected as a test case of environmental disaster monitoring utilizing NOAA-n imagery. A small scale study of the St. Louis Missouri area comparing ERTS-1 (LANDSAT) and NOAA-2 imagery and flood studies using only LANDSAT imagery for mapping the Rad River of the North, and Nimbus-5 imagery for East Australia show the nonmeteorological applications of NOAA satellites. While the level of NOAA-n imagery detail is not that of a LANDSAT image, for operational environmental monitoring users the NOAA-n imagery may provide acceptable linear resolution and spectral isolation.

Helfert, M. R.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Analysis of thematic mapper simulator data acquired during winter season over Pearl River, Mississippi, test site

Digital processed aircraft-acquired thematic mapping simulator (TMS) data collected during the winter season over a forested site in southern Mississippi are presented to investigate the utility of TMS data for use in forest inventories and monitoring. Analyses indicated that TMS data are capable of delineating the mixed forest land cover type to an accuracy of 92.5 % correct. The accuracies associated with river bottom forest and pine forest were 95.5 and 91.5 % correct. The accuracies associated with river bottom forest and pine forest were 95.5 and 91.5 % correct, respectively. The figures reflect the performance for products produced using the best subset of channels for each forest cover type. It was found that the choice of channels (subsets) has a significant effect on the accuracy of classification produced, and that the same channels are not the most desirable for all three forest types studied. Both supervised and unsupervised spectral signature development techniques are evaluated; the unsupervised methods proved unacceptable for the three forest types considered.

Anderson, J. E.↗

NASA NTRS1982

The Snake River Plain, Idaho - Representative of a new category of volcanism

Studies of the volcanic geology of the Snake River Plain, Idaho, and comparison with other basaltic regions suggest a new category of volcanic activity, termed basaltic plains volcanism. Typified by the Snake River Plain, this style of volcanism is intermediate between basaltic flood (or plateau) eruptions and Hawaiian volcanism. Characteristics that are common to both Hawaiian and plains volcanism are: multiple lava flow units which erupt primarily from point sources, formation of low shields, and frequent emplacement through lava tubes or channels. Characteristics that are common to both flood basalts and plains volcanism are: high volume flows, vents aligned along rift zones, and planar surfaces. The recognition of plains volcanism in other areas provides a means to interpret the style of eruption and volcanic history.

Greeley, R.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Application of remote sensing to land and water resource planning: The Pocomoke River Basin, Maryland

Because of the size of the Pocomoke River Basin, the inaccessibility of certain areas, and study time constraints, several remote sensing techniques were used to collect base information on the river corridor, (a 23.2 km channel) and on a 1.2 km wooded floodplain. This information provided an adequate understanding of the environment and its resources, thus enabling effective management options to be designed. The remote sensing techniques used for assessment included manual analysis of high altitude color-infrared photography, computer-assisted analysis of LANDSAT-2 imagery, and the application of airborne oceanographic Lidar for topographic mapping. Results show that each techniques was valuable in providing the needed base data necessary for resource planning.

Wildesen, S. E.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Experiments examining the shapes of isolated bars in comparison with those occurring in braided rivers

Sand bars and islands within braided rivers have characteristic rhomboid or diamond shapes, often becoming very complex in form as the density of islands increases. Similar forms are observed in the martian outflow channels where the islands occur in groups. This contrasts with the more isolated martian islands which have airfoil shapes, as do isolated streamlined islands in rivers and in the Channeled Scabland. These observations indicate that the bar and island forms are controlled by the density of the islands, with increasing island interaction and flow modification as the density increases. As a continuation of previous flume experiments on the shapes of isolated islands, a new series of experiments investigate the modifications produced by a progressive increase in island density, finally leading to a true braided system.

Komar, P. D.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Integration of Landsat data into the Saginaw River Basin geographic information system

One of the objectives of the Saginaw River Basin study is related to the development of a computer model to predict flood damages. The computer model is to be operational in June 1985. In order to achieve this objective, the input of land-use data into a data base consisting of 198,000 grid cells will be required. A planning technique using Spatial Analysis Methodology (SAM) was developed by the Corps of Engineers Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) to systematically handle these data. The HEC-SAM system uses the spatially oriented map data in a series of data management and analysis software programs for input to the Corps hydrologic and environmental models. Attention is given to data base development, Landsat digital data, the placement of the Landsat data into the grid cell data base, and the development of the land cover classification. The Landsat-2 MSS scene covering 85 percent of the Saginaw River Basin was geometrically corrected to a UTM coordinate system.

Mckim, H. L.↗

NASA NTRS1985

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

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

Stucky, R. K.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Peat landforms along the Albany River, northern Ontario. An ecological study of peat landforms in Canada and Alaska

During the summer of 1985 a field investigation was started in the Hudson Bay lowland region of northern Ontario, which represents the largest expanse of peatland in North America and is an important sink in the global carbon cycle. A key area in the lowlands is situated along the Albany River near the confluence of the Chepay River. Here the striking vegetation-landforms are transitional between those found on the bed of Glacial Lake Agassiz in northern Minnesota and southern Manitoba and the more northern peatlands in the Hudson Bay lowland region. In peatland studies elsewhere the landform patterns have been used not only to classify different peatland types but also as an indicator of potential developmetnal trends. The study area is generally defined by that covered by the TM scene E-40062-15532 taken on Sept. 16, 1982. The purpose of the field work is to acquire sufficent information to interpret the TM imagery and test various hypotheses on peatland development on the gasis of the pattern transitions.

Glaser, P. H.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Development of Archean crust in the Wind River Mountains, Wyoming

The Wind River Mountains are a NW-SE trending range composed almost entirely of high-grade Archean gneiss and granites which were thrust to the west over Phanerozoic sediments during the Laramide orogeny. Late Archean granites make up over 50% of the exposed crust and dominates the southern half of the range, while older orthogneisses and magnatites form most of the northen half of the range. Locally these gneisses contain enclaves of supracrustal rocks, which appear to be the oldest preserved rocks in the range. Detailed work in the Medina Mountain area of the central Wind River Mountains and reconnaissance work throughout much of the northern part of the range has allowed definition of the sequence of events which marked crustal development in this area. The sequence of events are described.

Frost, C. D.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Ohio River main stem study - The role of geographic information systems and remote sensing in flood damage assessments

The Pittsburgh District, Corps of Engineers, has conducted feasibility analyses of various procedures for performing flood damage assessments along the main stem of the Ohio River. Procedures using traditional, although highly automated, techniques and those based on geographic information systems have been evaluated at a test site, the City of New Martinsville, Wetzel County, WV. The flood damage assessments of the test site developed from an automated, conventional structure-by-structure appraisal served as the ground truth data set. A geographic information system was developed for the test site which includes data on hydraulic reach, ground and reference flood elevations, and land use/cover. Damage assessments were made using land use mapping developed from an exhaustive field inspection of each tax parcel. This ground truth condition was considered to provide the best comparison of flood damages to the conventional approach. Also, four land use/cover data sets were developed from Thematic Mapper Simulator (TMS) and Landsat-4 Thematic Mapper (TM) data. One of these was also used to develop a damage assessment of the test site. This paper presents the comparative absolute and relative accuracies of land use/cover mapping and flood damage assessments, and the recommended role of geographic information systems aided by remote sensing for conducting flood damage assessments and updates along the main stem of the Ohio River.

Edwardo, H. A.↗

NASA NTRS1986

The Red River Valley archeological project

The Red River Valley Archeology Project is a long-term effort involving numerous individuals and institutions engaged in archeological investigations in the Texas and Oklahoma portions of the Red River Valley. To date the focus of the project was on site location. The project acquired both Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS), TMS, and color infrared photographs over a significant portion of the project area in an effort to define signatures for archeological sites and to assist in the detailed geomorphological mapping of the flood plain. Preliminary analysis of acquired data indicates that both the TIMS and TMS can make a substantial contribution to landform definition, the identification of cultural resources, and to the clarification of site-landform correlations in this riverine environment.

Bennett, Jack↗

NASA NTRS1987

Influence of the Yukon River on the Bering Sea

The distribution of near-surface, turbid water, discharged by the Yukon River, was studied based on analysis of satellite imagery. The interannual analyses indicates that the net flow of near-surface, turbid water is northward of the delta across the entrance to Norton Sound. Only turbid water to the east enters Norton Sound and consists of 25% of the total area. Approximately 10% of the water circulates into the sound along the southern coast and is lost to view in the vicinity of Unalakleet. Suspended sediments transported by this southern circulation are primarily deposited along the southern coast. Three distinct zones within the turbid water were identified based on relative brightness levels. These zones appear to be primarily related to differences in suspended-sediment concentrations and position of the sediments in the water column. The extent of turbid water varies seasonally. It is most extensive June through October even though discharge of the Yukon River decreases substantially after July.

Dean, K.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Nd and Sr isotope systematics of river water suspended material - Implications for crustal evolution

Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr isotopic data on suspended material from rivers draining a variety of rock types and ages are presented. The bulk load of rivers and their source rocks are compared in terms of their isotopic characteristics and model ages. The Nd and Sr isotope systematics of the upper crust exposed to weathering are obtained along with the Nd model age distribution of the North American continental surface. The average Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr isotopic parameters for the upper continental crust today are refined.

Goldstein, Steven J.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Buoyant surface jet analysis of the Yukon River

Thermal infrared satellite imagery of the discharge from the Yukon River obtained on July 5, 1985 was compared with hydraulic theory for the dilution of buoyant surface jets. In a crossflow, the theory predicts that the plume will follow an x exp 1/3 trajectory where x is distance alongshore, and that the plume temperature will decay according to x exp - 1/6 due to mixing with the receiving water. Measurements of the Yukon River discharge indicate very good agreement with the predicted trajectory, and less, but acceptable, agreement with the predicted dilution. Large scale thermal fronts are also observable in the thermal imagery; the fronts may be associated with excursions of the plume due to tidal currents.

Gosink, J. P.↗