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The use of remotely sensed data for eliminating abuses and mismanagement of land and water resources in Michigan is discussed. Applications discussed include inventory of mosquito breeding sites; analysis of biomass in old field ecosystems used for wastewater recycling; areas for agricultural use; and preservation of the Grand Mere Dune environment. Services to users are described and contact activities reported.
The use of a photovoltaic power system to operate an electric refrigerator at a trail construction camp at Isle Royale, Michigan is investigated. The use of P/V power for refrigeration in a remote installation is demonstrated. System design as well as predicted and measured system performance are presented.
Spatial misregistration of multispectral scanner data occurs when two or more spectral band signals supposedly representing the same location are in fact data values generated from two or more overlapping or entirely different ground locations. A study was performed at the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan to determine what effect spatial misregistration may have on the accuracy of recognition processing of agriculturally oriented scanner data. It was found that misregistration severely reduces the availability of field center pixels and introduces significant errors in the classification accuracy and correct proportion estimation of a scene containing an inflated number of mixture pixels.
Signature extension is intended to increase the space-time range over which a set of training statistics can be used to classify data without significant loss of recognition accuracy. A first cluster matching algorithm MASC (Multiplicative and Additive Signature Correction) was developed at the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan to test the concept of using associations between training and recognition area cluster statistics to define an average signature transformation. A more recent signature extension module CROP-A (Cluster Regression Ordered on Principal Axis) has shown evidence of making significant associations between training and recognition area cluster statistics, with the clusters to be matched being selected automatically by the algorithm.
This report describes a computer-based information system designed to assist in the integration of commonly available spatial data for regional planning and resource analysis. The Resource Analysis Program (RAP) provides a variety of analytical and mapping phases for single factor or multi-factor analyses. The unique analytical and graphic capabilities of RAP are demonstrated with a study conducted in Windsor Township, Eaton County, Michigan. For this study, soil, land cover/use, topographic and geological maps were used as a data base to develop an eleven map portfolio. The major themes of the portfolio are land cover/use, nonpoint water pollution, waste disposal, and ground water recharge.
Rocket observations of the lower ionosphere in the winter of 1971 at two locations show differences of electron density which are attributed to enhancements of nitric oxide and energetic electron fluxes precipitated into the mesosphere during the poststorm phase of a geomagnetic storm. Electron density distributions were observed above Wallops Island, Virginia, and Keweenaw, Michigan, larger values occurring at Keweenaw. Energetic electron fluxes were greater at Keweenaw (L = 3.9) than at Wallops Island (L = 2.5). While particle ionization was the dominant factor in establishing the electron density during one measurement at Keweenaw, particles were not present two days earlier, even though the electron density distribution was significantly larger than that observed at Wallops Island on both occasions. An accompanying ion composition profile measured at Keweenaw during the earlier flight showed NO(+) to be the dominant ion to 76 km, where the concentration of hydrated ions H3O(+).(H2O)n, exceeded that of NO(+).
The application of airborne infrared technology to the requirements for energy conservation in buildings was studied. Quantitative airborne data of the City of Ypsilanti, Michigan, were collected and processed to identify roof temperatures. A thermal scanner was flown at an altitude of 1,200 feet with two thermal bands 8.2-9.3 micrometers and 10.4-12.5 micrometers recorded by an analog system. Calibration was achieved by standard hot and cold plates. Using a thermal model to interpret ceiling insulation status, environmental factors were found to influence the relation between roof temperature and insulation. These include interior and sky temperatures, roofing materials, and the pitch and orientation of the roof. A follow-up mail survey established the ability to identify insulated and uninsulated houses from the airborne infrared data.
The feasibility of a synthetic aperture radar for search and rescue applications was demonstrated with aircraft experiments. One experiment was conducted using the ERIM four-channel radar and several test sites in the Michigan area. In this test simple corner-reflector targets were successfully imaged. Results from this investigation were positive and indicate that the concept can be used to investigate new approaches focused on the development of a global search and rescue system. An orbital experiment to demonstrate the application of synthetic aperture radar to search and rescue is proposed using the space shuttle.
Langley Research Center, NASA, is developing a concept for using a spaceborne synthetic aperture radar with passive reflectors for search and rescue applications. The feasibility of a synthetic aperture radar for search and rescue applications has been demonstrated with aircraft experiments. One experiment was conducted using the ERIM four-channel radar and several test sites in the Michigan area. In this test simple corner-reflector targets were successfully imaged. Results from this investigation were positive and indicate that the concept can be used to investigate new approaches focused on the development of a global search and rescue system. An orbital experiment to demonstrate the application of synthetic aperture radar to search and rescue is proposed using the space shuttle.
The experiment was performed using the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan's (ERIM) dual-frequency and dual-polarization side-looking SAR system on board a C-46 aircraft. For each frequency, horizontally polarized pulses were transmitted and both horizontally and vertically polarized return signals were recorded on the signal film simultaneously. The test sites were located in St. Charles, Missouri; Centralia, Missouri; and Lafayette, Indiana. Each test site was a 4.83 km by 8.05 km (3 mile by 5 mile) rectangular strip of terrain. Concurrent with SAR overflight, ground soil samples of 0-to-2.5 cm and 0-to-15 cm layers were collected for soil moisture estimation. The surface features were also noted. Hard-copy image films and the digital data produced via optical processing of the signal films are analyzed in this report to study the relationship of radar backscatter to the moisture content and the surface roughness. Many difficulties associated with processing and analysis of the SAR imagery are noted. In particular, major uncertainty in the quantitative analysis appeared due to the difficulty of quality reproduction of digital data from the signal films.
The internal structure of the Michigan Evaluation Aid for Perphormability (METAPHOR), an interactive software package to facilitate performability modeling and evaluation is described. Revised supplemented guides are prepared in order to maintain an up-to-date documentation of the system. Programmed tools to facilitate each step of performability model construction and model solution are given.
Tests, test results, examination and evaluation by Underwriters Laboratory, Inc., of a single family solar heating and hot water system consisting of collector, storage, control, transport, and data acquisition are presented. The structural characteristics of the solar flat plate collectors were evaluated according to snow and wind loads indicated in various building codes to determine their suitability for use both Michigan and Pennsylvania where prototype systems were installed. The flame spread classification of the thermal insulation is discussed and the fire tests conducted on components are described. The operation and dielectrics withstand tests of the energy transport module indicate the module is capable of rated air delivery. Tests of the control panel indicate the relay coil temperatures exceed the temperature limits allowed for the insulating materials involved.
A light twin-engine aircraft has been instrumented with a carbon monoxide remote gas sensor system and test flown over the Southern Lake Michigan basin during August, 1976. The remote sensor is based on the gas filter correlation technique. The radiance levels from the sensor along with the data on the surface temperature, air temperature, dewpoint, and altitude were digitized and recorded on seven-track magnetic tape. Air samples were collected at various altitudes over selected sites for later analysis of carbon monoxide concentration and comparison with the inferred concentration from the remote sensor. The values of carbon monoxide obtained from the air samples and the values inferred from the remote sensor for data collected over water are in good agreement.
The University of Michigan minipod, which is released from a balloon and floats down on a parachute, is designed for stratospheric testing. The present paper briefly describes the evolution of antenna designs for the minipod 1.5 GHz transceiver, which communicates with and relays information to an aircraft and ground station. The following stages are noted: ordinary monopole, crossed dipole, capacitative antenna, fat monopole, the addition of parasitic elements, and a thinner monopole with taper.
A list of 43 candidate RS CVn binary systems in the far southern hemisphere of the sky (south of -40 deg declination) is presented. The candidate systems were selected from the first two volumes of the Michigan Spectral Catalog (1975, 1978), which provides MK classifications for southern HD stars and identifies any unusual characteristics noted for individual stellar spectra. The selection criteria used were: (1) the occurrence of Ca II H and K emission; (2) known or suspected binary nature; (3) regular light variations of zero to one magnitude; and (4) spectral type between F0 and K2 and luminosity less than bright giant (II).
This paper examines the auroral excitation mechanisms using data collected in a satellite/rocket/aurora coordination. Past theories considered that variation with altitude of the emission from the O(1S) state is the same as that from the N2(+) first negative band system. Actually, the source function for O(1S) does not covary with N2(+) but has a smaller scale height. The covariation is due to quenching of the source function by O(3P). The steadiness of the aurora in a flight of the Michigan Airglow Payload allows the profile to be differentiated for direct comparison with theory. It is concluded that when most of the relevant variables for production of the O(1S) state are simultaneously measured in aurora, the major source functions are dissociative recombination of O2(+) above 210 km to apogee at 250 km, and below 180 km the energy transfer from N2(A3sigma) in the oxygen atom quenching reaction.
The paper reports the two observing programs conducted to compare two techniques which have been proposed as methods for performing the requisite Fourier transformations in very large multichannel spectrum analysers (MCSA): the direct digital FFT and optical transform processor. The details of the observations at NRAO utilizing a direct digital FFT are given. A description of the NAIC, Arecibo observations utilizing an optical processor at the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (ERIM) and a microdensitometer at Electromagnetics System Laboratories (ESL) is presented. For both observing programs, statistical analysis of the power spectra produced by the nonreal-time MCSAs (or post-processing) was accomplished.
Geometric albedos in 48 adjacent 50 A bands from 3250 to 5600 A have been derived from observations of Uranus and Neptune. The solar analog found in earlier papers (Hardorp 1978, 1980) was chosen for these reductions, so these albedos are more reliable systematically than earlier ones and allow a choice among the scattering models of Savage et al. (1980). Green methane bands are stronger on Neptune. Strong solar absorption lines are found to be partially filled in by Raman-scattering. Neglect of this effect caused Croft et al. (1972) to find a solar color that is too blue. It probably also affected the classification of G-type stars in the Michigan Spectral Catalogue as well as Garrison's (1979) interpretation of IUE observations.