Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “hyperspectral analysis”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 289 records · Page 16

Terahertz near-field imaging of sidewall-induced losses in superconducting qubits

Correlating superconducting qubit performance with advanced materials analysis is a key strategy for improving coherence. Existing diagnostics for key properties, such as dielectric loss, structural discontinuity, and interface heterogeneity, often rely on destructive electron microscopy or low-throughput millikelvin measurements. Here, in this study, we demonstrate noninvasive terahertz (THz) nano-imaging/spectroscopy of encapsulated niobium transmon qubits as a high-throughput proxy for performance evaluation. We identify large variations in sidewall near-field signals, implicating sidewall loss and discontinuity as major coherence limiters, and also use THz hyperspectral line scans to probe dielectric responses and field participation at Al junction interfaces.

Kim, Richard H. J. [Ames Laboratory (AMES), Ames, ↗

Progressive TDI Measurements with the PACE OCI ETU

The Plankton Aerosol Cloud ocean Ecosystem (PACE) Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) has completed the ground test program for its engineering unit (ETU) and testing of the flight unit will begin in the near future. OCIis a grating spectrometer with hyperspectral coverage from about 340 nm to 885 nm with 9 additional filtered channels in the SWIR. Two CCDs are used as detectors for the hyperspectral channels. One important operating mode of the CCDs on OCI is progressive time delay integration (or PTDI). In this mode, the charge in the CCD can be held for multiples of the nominal integration times. A series of these measurements can be made with progressively increasing multiples of the nominal integration time as the instrument scans across a uniform source. Ground testing with this operating mode on OCI ETU has shown promising results. This work will present measurements taken with the PTDI mode and the analysis of OCI ETU linearity and dynamic range

PACE↗

NASA Tech Briefs, March 2011

Topics covered include: Optimal Tuner Selection for Kalman-Filter-Based Aircraft Engine Performance Estimation; Airborne Radar Interferometric Repeat-Pass Processing; Plug-and-Play Environmental Monitoring Spacecraft Subsystem; Power-Combined GaN Amplifier with 2.28-W Output Power at 87 GHz; Wallops Ship Surveillance System; Source Lines Counter (SLiC) Version 4.0; Guidance, Navigation, and Control Program; Single-Frame Terrain Mapping Software for Robotic Vehicles; Auto Draw from Excel Input Files; Observation Scheduling System; CFDP for Interplanetary Overlay Network; X-Windows Widget for Image Display; Binary-Signal Recovery; Volumetric 3D Display System with Static Screen; MMIC Replacement for Gunn Diode Oscillators; Feature Acquisition with Imbalanced Training Data; Mount Protects Thin-Walled Glass or Ceramic Tubes from Large Thermal and Vibration Loads; Carbon Nanotube-Based Structural Health Monitoring Sensors; Wireless Inductive Power Device Suppresses Blade Vibrations; Safe, Advanced, Adaptable Isolation System Eliminates the Need for Critical Lifts; Anti-Rotation Device Releasable by Insertion of a Tool; A Magnetically Coupled Cryogenic Pump; Single Piezo-Actuator Rotary-Hammering Drill; Fire-Retardant Polymeric Additives; Catalytic Generation of Lift Gases for Balloons; Ionic Liquids to Replace Hydrazine; Variable Emittance Electrochromics Using Ionic Electrolytes and Low Solar Absorptance Coatings; Spacecraft Radiator Freeze Protection Using a Regenerative Heat Exchanger; Multi-Mission Power Analysis Tool; Correction for Self-Heating When Using Thermometers as Heaters in Precision Control Applications; Gravitational Wave Detection with Single-Laser Atom Interferometers; Titanium Alloy Strong Back for IXO Mirror Segments; Improved Ambient Pressure Pyroelectric Ion Source; Multi-Modal Image Registration and Matching for Localization of a Balloon on Titan; Entanglement in Quantum-Classical Hybrid; Algorithm for Autonomous Landing; Quantum-Classical Hybrid for Information Processing; Small-Scale Dissipation in Binary-Species Transitional Mixing Layers; Superpixel-Augmented Endmember Detection for Hyperspectral Images; Coding for Parallel Links to Maximize the Expected Value of Decodable Messages; and Microwave Tissue Soldering for Immediate Wound Closure.

Source record↗

Texturecam: A Smart Camera for Microscale, Mesoscale, and Deep Space Applications

The TextureCam project is developing a 'smart camera' that can classify geologic surfaces in planetary images. This would allow autonomous spacecraft to collect data opportunisitcally during intervals between communications with Earth, such as during long traverses. Its surface classifications can identify new targets that were not anticipated in advance. The spacecraft might use this information to target these features with high-resolution instruments such as spectrometers nd narrow-field cameras. Classifications could also inform data 'triage' decisions, identifying high value images for prioritized downlink. Finally, the surface classification can serve as compressed maps of image content. Each of these strategies can improve the science data returned at each command cycle and speed reconnaissance during site survey and astrobiology investigation. Our first year of development has completed the image analysis algorithms and validated them in software tests. Here we survey these initial results and explore several application areas relevant to Mars and beyond.

Hyperspectral imagery↗

Forward and Inverse Models for Satellite Remote Sensors using Principal Component Analysis

Satellite remote sensors such as AIRS on Aqua, CrIS on S-NPP, NOAA20 and JPSS-2, IASI on Metop A, B, and C make millions of observations each day with thousands of spectral channels for each observation; this poses challenges for efficiently inversion of the inherently large dataset as needed to retrieve atmospheric and surface properties. This presentation will illustrate the use of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to speed up radiative transfer forward model calculations and to stabilize the inversion algorithms. A Principal Component-based radiative transfer model (PCRTM) developed at NASA Langley Research Center can simulate top of atmosphere (TOA) radiance or reflectance spectra from 50 cm-1 to 50000 cm-1 (200 m to 0.20 m quickly and accurately. PCRTM demonstrated very high accuracy relative to reference line-by-line radiative transfer models and it saves orders of magnitude computational time. Examples of the PCRTM model developed for hyperspectral sensors such as AIRS, CrIS, IASI, NAST-I, SHIS, CPF, TEMPO, SBG, OMI, and SCIAMACHY will be presented. In addition to using the PCRTM as forward model, the NASA Langley developed inversion algorithm also uses PCA to compress the state vector into a compressed dimension to speed up and stabilize the inversion process. Examples of retrieved atmospheric temperature, water vapor, CO2, CO, CH4, N2O, and O3 profiles, cloud properties (optical depth, size, phase, and height), and surface properties (surface emissivity spectra and skin temperatures) will be presented. This algorithm is being transitioned to the NASA Sounder SIPS and NASA's Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC).

forward model↗

Arctic Tundra Vegetation Functional Types Based on Photosynthetic Physiology and Optical Properties

Non-vascular plants (lichens and mosses) are significant components of tundra landscapes and may respond to climate change differently from vascular plants affecting ecosystem carbon balance. Remote sensing provides critical tools for monitoring plant cover types, as optical signals provide a way to scale from plot measurements to regional estimates of biophysical properties, for which spatial-temporal patterns may be analyzed. Gas exchange measurements were collected for pure patches of key vegetation functional types (lichens, mosses, and vascular plants) in sedge tundra at Barrow, AK. These functional types were found to have three significantly different values of light use efficiency (LUE) with values of 0.013 plus or minus 0.0002, 0.0018 plus or minus 0.0002, and 0.0012 plus or minus 0.0001 mol C mol (exp -1) absorbed quanta for vascular plants, mosses and lichens, respectively. Discriminant analysis of the spectra reflectance of these patches identified five spectral bands that separated each of these vegetation functional types as well as nongreen material (bare soil, standing water, and dead leaves). These results were tested along a 100 m transect where midsummer spectral reflectance and vegetation coverage were measured at one meter intervals. Along the transect, area-averaged canopy LUE estimated from coverage fractions of the three functional types varied widely, even over short distances. The patch-level statistical discriminant functions applied to in situ hyperspectral reflectance data collected along the transect successfully unmixed cover fractions of the vegetation functional types. The unmixing functions, developed from the transect data, were applied to 30 m spatial resolution Earth Observing-1 Hyperion imaging spectrometer data to examine variability in distribution of the vegetation functional types for an area near Barrow, AK. Spatial variability of LUE was derived from the observed functional type distributions. Across this landscape, a fivefold variation in tundra LUE was observed. LUE calculated from the functional type cover fractions was also correlated to a spectral vegetation index developed to detect vegetation chlorophyll content. The concurrence of these alternate methods suggest that hyperspectral remote sensing can distinguish functionally distinct vegetation types and can be used to develop regional estimates of photosynthetic LUE in tundra landscapes.

VEGETATION↗

Evaluating the Impact of Geostationary Sounders in the Context of International Coordination

The proposed NOAA/NASA Geostationary eXtended Observations (GeoXO) program plans to include a hyperspectral infrared (IR) sounder (GXS) on its central satellite, joining international counterparts. Ahead of launch, the NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) assessed the potential effectiveness of GXS both as a lone sounder in a GEO orbit and as part of a global ring of such instruments. Using an observing system simulation experiment (OSSE) framework from a global numerical weather prediction (NWP) perspective, the ability of GXS and the global ring to improve weather prediction of thermodynamic variables was assessed both globally and regionally. GXS dominated regional analysis and forecast improvements and contributed significantly to global increases in forecast skill. However, more sustained global improvements on the order of 4 days rely on international partnerships. Over CONUS, the FSOI metric showed the GXS observations provide the strongest radiance impact on the moist energy error norm reduction. Additionally, GXS shows the capability to improve hurricane forecast track errors, resulting in improved forecast warnings. Overall, the persistent atmospheric profile information from GXS over much of the western hemisphere provide an opportunity to improve the representation of weather systems and their forecasts.

Erica L. McGrath-Spangler↗

Evaluating the Impact of Geostationary Sounders in the Context of International Coordination

The proposed NOAA/NASA Geostationary eXtended Observations (GeoXO) program plans to include a hyperspectral infrared (IR) sounder (GXS) on its central satellite, joining international counterparts. Ahead of launch, the NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) assessed the potential effectiveness of GXS both as a lone sounder in a GEO orbit and as part of a global ring of such instruments. Using an observing system simulation experiment (OSSE) framework from a global numerical weather prediction (NWP) perspective, the ability of GXS and the global ring to improve weather prediction of thermodynamic variables was assessed both globally and regionally. GXS dominated regional analysis and forecast improvements and contributed significantly to global increases in forecast skill. However, more sustained global improvements on the order of 4 days rely on international partnerships. Over CONUS, the FSOI metric showed the GXS observations provide the strongest radiance impact on the moist energy error norm reduction. Additionally, GXS shows the capability to improve hurricane forecast track errors, resulting in improved forecast warnings. Overall, the persistent atmospheric profile information from GXS over much of the western hemisphere provide an opportunity to improve the representation of weather systems and their forecasts.

Erica McGrath-Spangler↗

Three Years of Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Radiometric Calibration Validation using Sea Surface Temperatures

This paper evaluates the absolute accuracy and stability of the radiometric calibration of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) by analyzing the difference between the brightness temperatures measured at 2616 cm(exp -1) and those calculated at the top of the atmosphere (TOA), using the Real-Time Global Sea Surface Temperature (RTGSST) for cloud-free night tropical oceans between +/- 30 degrees latitude. The TOA correction is based on radiative transfer. The analysis of the first 3 years of AIRS radiances verifies the absolute calibration at 2616 cm(exp -1) to better than 200 mK, with better than 16 mK/yr stability. The AIRS radiometric calibration uses an internal full aperture wedge blackbody with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) traceable prelaunch calibration coefficients. The calibration coefficients have been unchanged since launch. The analysis uses very tight cloud filtering, which selects about 7000 cloud-free tropical ocean spectra per day, about 0.5% of the data. The absolute accuracy and stability of the radiometry demonstrated at 2616 cm(sup -1) are direct consequences of the implementation of AIRS as a thermally controlled, cooled grating-array spectrometer and meticulous attention to details. Comparable radiometric performance is inferred from the AIRS design for all 2378 channels. AIRS performance sets the benchmark for what can be achieved with a state-of-the-art hyperspectral radiometer from polar orbit and what is expected from future hyperspectral sounders. AIRS was launched into a 705 km altitude polar orbit on NASA's Earth Observation System (EOS) Aqua spacecraft on 4 May 2002. AIRS covers the 3.7-15.4 micron region of the thermal infrared spectrum with a spectral resolution of nu/Delta nu = 1200 and has returned 3.7 million spectra of the upwelling radiance each day since the start of routine data gathering in September 2002.

climate↗

Developing a Community of Practice for Applied Uses of Future PACE Data to Address Marine Food Security Challenges

External interaction:The Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission will include a hyperspectral imaging radiometer to advance ecosystem monitoring beyond heritage retrievals of the concentration of surface chlorophyll and other traditional ocean color variables, offering potential for novel science and applications. PACE is the first NASA ocean color mission to occur under the agency's new and evolving effort to directly engage practical end users prior to satellite launch to increase adoption of this freely available data toward societal challenges. Here we describe early efforts to engage a community of practice around marine food-related resource management, business decisions, and policy analysis. Obviously one satellite cannot meet diverse end user needs at all scales and locations, but understanding downstream needs helps in the assessment of information gaps and planning how to optimize the unique strengths of PACE data in combination with the strengths of other satellite retrievals, in situ measurements, and models. Higher spectral resolution data from PACE can be fused with information from satellites with higher spatial or temporal resolution, plus other information, to enable identification and tracking of new marine biological indicators to guide sustainable management. Accounting for the needs of applied researchers as well as non-traditional users of satellite data early in the PACE mission process will ultimately serve to broaden the base of informed users and facilitate faster adoption of the most advanced science and technology toward the challenge of mitigating food insecurity.

Schollaert Uz, Stephanie↗

Dimension Reduction of Hyperspectral Data on Beowulf Clusters

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.

El-Ghazawi, Tarek↗

Radiometric Calibration of the AWiFS Sensor and a Cross-calibration Enhanced Vicarious Calibration Technique

Using vicarious calibration validation of moderate resolution sensors such as AWiFS is complicated by requiring more land area to ensure proper registration and sufficient pixel numbers. A trial AWiFS calibration was performed on a grass site that consisted of two dramatically different grass heights. Ground truth data was collected over relatively small areas representing only a few pixels. The radiometric gain results for each of these areas will be reported. To enhance this analysis, since a near coincidence high resolution image was collected, the high resolution data was effectively resized to produce pixels comparable to AWiFS and the atmospheric model was used to produce a top of canopy radiance map. Multiple uniform vegetated areas of several radiances were then identified and subsequently propagated to the top of atmosphere viewpoint of the moderate resolution (AWiFS) satellite. The radiometric gain was then calculated based on the vendor high resolution satellite gains (for the 3 bands with comparable wavelengths). Band-to-band conversion was performed assuming a hyperspectral reflectance based on the standard vegetated site. The initial comparison produces AWiFS radiometric gain values that agree to better than 10% of the values measured using the standard vicarious gain technique.

Aaron, David↗

Validation of Modis Cloud Liquid Water Path to Prepare for Pace Evaluation Efforts

The Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission will launch in January 2024, extending and improving NASA’s global satellite observations in its eponymous domains. PACE’s hyperspectral Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) will offer daily near-global spatial coverage with a 1.2 km horizontal pixel size at the subsatellite point. PACE will also have two multi-angle polarimeters (HARP2 and SPEXone) capable of advanced atmospheric characterization. Validation of cloud retrievals is challenging. Here we evaluate liquid water path (LWP) from MODIS from the standard (MOD06) product. The same cloud optical properties retrieval algorithm will be applied to OCI data. This will allow us to understand the expected performance of this algorithm and to develop the processing and analysis code needed to evaluate PACE data. Please tell us what you think and if we should be doing something differently!

MODIS↗

Determining the Optimal Spectral Sampling Frequency and Uncertainty Thresholds for Hyperspectral Remote Sensing of Ocean Color

Using a modified geostatistical technique, empirical variograms were constructed from the first derivative of several diverse remote sensing reflectance and phytoplankton absorbance spectra to describe how data points are correlated with distance across the spectra. The maximum rate of information gain is measured as a function of the kurtosis associated with the Gaussian structure of the output, and is determined for discrete segments of spectra obtained from a variety of water types (turbid river filaments, coastal waters, shelf waters, a dense Microcystis bloom, and oligotrophic waters), as well as individual and mixed phytoplankton functional types (PFTs; diatoms, chlorophytes, cyanobacteria, coccolithophores). Results show that a continuous spectrum of 5 to 7 nm spectral resolution is optimal to resolve the variability across mixed reflectance and absorbance spectra. In addition, the impact of uncertainty on subsequent derivative analysis is assessed, showing that a limit of 3 Gaussian noise (SNR 66) is tolerated without smoothing the spectrum, and 13 (SNR 15) noise is tolerated with smoothing.

Noise in imaging systems↗

Preliminary Analysis of AVIRIS Data for Tectonostratigraphic Assessment of Northern Guerrero State, Southern Mexico

The tectonostratigraphic evolution of the southern margin of the North America Plate in Mexico is still in debate. Recent explanations assert Laramide age (Campanian-Eocene) accretion of far-travelled oceanic terranes. In 1989, we began an effort to bring new data to this debate through field mapping, incorporating Landsat Thematic Mapper and digital elevation data, along a 30 km by 250 km, east-west geologic transect of northern Guerrero State. Covering the region from Huetamo, Michoacan, to Papalutla, Guerrero (between latitude 18-19 deg N and longitude 101-99 deg W), our mapping results show that no stratigraphic incompatibilities suggesting terrane accretion exist in the region. In November 1994, AVIRIS data were acquired along the geologic transect in order to refine our stratigraphic assessment. One objective of this hyperspectral survey was to improve mapping of limestone, dolostone and gypsum-bearing facies of the Morelos Formation which record rudist carbonate platform environments during mid-Cretaceous time.

Lang, Harold R.↗

Remote Sensing Requirements Development: A Simulation-Based Approach

Earth science research and application requirements for multispectral data have often been driven by currently available remote sensing technology. Few parametric studies exist that specify data required for certain applications. Consequently, data requirements are often defined based on the best data available or on what has worked successfully in the past. Since properties such as spatial resolution, swath width, spectral bands, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), data quantization and band-to-band registration drive sensor platform and spacecraft system architecture and cost, analysis of these criteria is important to optimize system design objectively. Remote sensing data requirements are also linked to calibration and characterization methods. Parameters such as spatial resolution, radiometric accuracy and geopositional accuracy affect the complexity and cost of calibration methods. However, few studies have quantified the true accuracies required for specific problems. As calibration methods and standards are proposed, it is important that they be tied to well-known data requirements. The Application Research Toolbox (ART) developed at the John C. Stennis Space Center provides a simulation-based method for multispectral data requirements development. The ART produces simulated datasets from hyperspectral data through band synthesis. Parameters such as spectral band shape and width, SNR, data quantization, spatial resolution and band-to-band registration can be varied to create many different simulated data products. Simulated data utility can then be assessed for different applications so that requirements can be better understood.

Zanoni, Vicki↗

Remote Sensing System Requirements Development: A Simulation-Based Approach

Earth science research and application requirements for multispectral data have often been driven by currently available remote sensing technology. Few parametric studies exist that specify data required for certain applications. Consequently, data requirements are often defined based on the best data available or on what has worked successfully in the past. Since properites such as spatial resolution, swath width, spectral bands, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), data quantization, and band-to-band registration drive sensor platform and spaceraft system architecture and cost, analysis of these criteria is important to objectively optimize system design. Remote sensing data requirements are also linked to calibration and characterization methods. Parameters such as spatial resolution, radiometric accuracy, and geopositional accuracy affect the complexity and cost of calibration methods. However, there are few studies that quantify the true accuracies required for specific problems. As calibration methods and standards are proposed, it is important that they be tied to well-known data requirements. The Application Research Toolbox (ART) developed at Stennis Space Center provides a simulation-based method for multispectral data requirements development. The ART produces simulated data sets from hyperspectral data through band synthesis. Parameters such as spectral band shape and width, SNR, data quantization, spatial resolution, and band-to-band registration can be varied to create many different simulated data products. Simulated data utility can then be assessed for different applications so that requirements can be better understood. This paper describes the ART and its applicability for rigorously deriving remote sensing data requirements.

Zanoni, Vicki↗

High-Resolution Mapping of SO2 Using Airborne Observations from the GeoTASO Instrument During the KORUS-AQ Field Study: PCA-Based Vertical Column Retrievals

The Geostationary Trace gas and Aerosol Sensor Optimization (GeoTASO) instrument is an airborne hyperspectral spectrometer measuring backscattered solar radiation in the ultraviolet (290–400 nm) and visible (415–695 nm) wavelength regions. This paper presents high-resolution sulfur dioxide (SO2) maps over the Korean Peninsula, produced by SO2 retrievals from GeoTASO measurements during the Korea–United States Air Quality Field Study (KORUS-AQ) from May to June 2016. The highly sensitive GeoTASO instrument with a spatial resolution of ~250 m × 250 m can detect point emission sources of SO2 within its fields of view, even without merging multiple overlapping observations. To retrieve SO2 vertical columns from the GeoTASO measurements, we apply an algorithm based on principal component analysis (PCA), which is effective in suppressing noise and biases in SO2 retrievals. The retrievals successfully capture SO2 plumes and various point sources such as power plants, a petrochemical complex, and a steel mill, located in South Chungcheong Province, some of which are not detected by a ground-based in situ measurement network. Spatial distributions of SO2 from GeoTASO observations in source areas are consistent with those from the Stack Tele-Monitoring System reports and airborne in situ SO2 measurements. Comparisons of SO2 retrievals from GeoTASO and existing satellite sensors demonstrate the significance of high-resolution SO2 observations, by indicating that GeoTASO detects small SO2 emission sources that are not precisely resolved by single overpasses of satellites. To assess future geostationary SO2 observations having a higher spatial resolution, we upscale the GeoTASO SO2 retrievals to a spatial resolution of the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS). Since the upscaled GeoTASO retrievals also detect SO2 plumes clearly, we expect from GEMS to identify even small SO2 emission sources over Asia.

Chong, Heesung↗