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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2006

Projecting Future Urbanization with Prescott College's Spatial Growth Model to Promote Environmental Sustainability and Smart Growth, A Case Study in Atlanta, Georgia

Planning is an integral element of good management and necessary to anticipate events not merely respond to them. Projecting the quantity and spatial distribution of urban growth is essential to effectively plan for the delivery of city services and to evaluate potential environmental impacts. The major drivers of growth in large urban areas are increasing population, employment opportunities, and quality of life attractors such as a favorable climate and recreation opportunities. The spatial distribution of urban growth is dictated by the amount and location of developable land, topography, energy and water resources, transportation network, climate change, and the existing land use configuration. The Atlanta region is growing very rapidly both in population and the consumption of forestland or low-density residential development. Air pollution and water availability are significant ongoing environmental issues. The Prescott Spatial Growth Model (SGM) was used to make growth projections for the metropolitan Atlanta region to 2010,2020 and 2030 and results used for environmental assessment in both business as usual and smart growth scenarios. The Prescott SGM is a tool that uses an ESRI ArcView extension and can be applied at the parcel level or more coarse spatial scales and can accommodate a wide range of user inputs to develop any number of growth rules each of which can be weighted depending on growth assumptions. These projections were used in conjunction with meteorological and air quality models to evaluate future environmental impacts. This presentation will focus on the application of the SGM to the 13-County Atlanta Regional Commission planning jurisdiction as a case study. The SGM will be described, including how rule sets are developed and the decision process for allocation of future development to available land use categories. Data inputs required to effectively run the model will be discussed. Spatial growth projections for ten, twenty, and thirty year planning horizons will be presented and results discussed, including regional climate and air quality impacts.

Estes, Maurice G., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Health and Environment Linked for Information Exchange (HELIX)-Atlanta: A CDC-NASA Joint Environmental Public Health Tracking Collaborative Project

HELIX-Atlanta was developed to support current and future state and local EPHT programs to implement data linking demonstration projects which could be part of the CDC EPHT Network. HELIX-Atlanta is a pilot linking project in Atlanta for CDC to learn about the challenges the states will encounter. NASA/MSFC and the CDC are partners in linking environmental and health data to enhance public health surveillance. ~ The use of NASA technology creates value added geospatial products from existing environmental data sources to facilitate public health linkages. Proving the feasibility of the approach is the main objective

Al-Hamdan, Mohammad↗
NASA NTRS1989

Ozone trends in Atlanta, Georgia - Have emission controls been effective?

Nine years of summertime ozone data from the Atlanta metropolitan area are analyzed and compared to local emissions of volatile organic carbon and nitrogen oxides. Trends from 1979 to 1987 were studied for the number of days per year ozone exceeded the NAAQS standard, the second-highest ozone level observed per year, and the first quartile summertime average ozone observed, as well as the mean difference between the ozone level observed downwind and upwind of the city. Because this last parameter is sensitive to chemical factors but relatively insensitive to the number of days each year with meteorological conditions conducive to ozone formation, its trend may be best suited for determining how effective emission controls have been in reducing O3 in the Atlanta area. In spite of the fact that sizeable reductions have been claimed for volatile organic carbon emissions over the past several years, the data give no indication that ozone levels have decreased and in fact, imply that summertime ozone production may have increased. The results imply that either emissions have not decreased as much as has been claimed or that ozone is not sensitive to anthropogenic volatile organic carbon emissions.

Lindsay, Ronald W.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Remote Sensing of Atlanta's Urban Sprawl and the Distribution of Land Cover and Surface Temperatures

Between 1973 and 1992, an average of 20 ha of forest was lost each day to urban expansion of Atlanta, Georgia. Urban surfaces have very different thermal properties than natural surfaces-storing solar energy throughout the day and continuing to release it as sensible heat well after sunset. The resulting heat island effect serves as catalysts for chemical reactions from vehicular exhaust and industrialization leading to a deterioration in air quality. In this study, high spatial resolution multispectral remote sensing data has been used to characterize the type, thermal properties, and distribution of land surface materials throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area. Ten-meter data were acquired with the Advanced Thermal and Land Applications Sensor (ATLAS) on May 11 and 12, 1997. ATLAS is a 15-channel multispectral scanner that incorporates the Landsat TM bands with additional bands in the middle reflective infrared and thermal infrared range. The high spatial resolution permitted discrimination of discrete surface types (e.g., concrete, asphalt), individual structures (e.g., buildings, houses) and their associated thermal characteristics. There is a strong temperature contrast between vegetation and anthropomorphic features. Vegetation has a modal temperature at about 20 C, whereas asphalt shingles, pavement, and buildings have a modal temperature of about 39 C. Broad-leaf vegetation classes are indistinguishable on a thermal basis alone. There is slightly more variability (plus or minus 5 C) among the urban surfaces. Grasses, mixed vegetation and mixed urban surfaces are intermediate in temperature and are characterized by broader temperature distributions with modes of about 29 C. Thermal maps serve as a basis for understanding the distribution of "hotspots", i.e., how landscape features and urban fabric contribute the most heat to the lower atmosphere.

Laymon, Charles A.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Urban Heat Islands and Summertime Convective Thunderstorms in Atlanta: Three Case Studies

Data from both 27 sites in the Atlanta mesonet surface meteorological network and eight National Weather Service sites were analyzed for the period from 26 July to 3 August 1996. Analysis of the six precipitation events over the city during the period (each on a different day) showed that its urban heat island (UHI) induced a convergence zone that initiated three of the storms at different times of the day, i.e., 0630,0845, and 1445 EDT. Previous analysis has shown that New York City (NYC) effects summer daytime thunderstorm formation and/or movement. That study found that during nearly calm regional flow conditions the NYC UHI initiates convective activity. Moving thunderstorms, however, tended to bifurcate and to move around the city, due to its building barrier effect. The current Atlanta results thus agree with the NYC results with respect to thunderstorm initiation.

Bornstein, Robert↗
NASA NTRS2001

Remote Sensing of Atlanta's Urban Sprawl and the Distribution of Land Cover and Surface Temperature

Between 1973 and 1992, an average of 20 ha of forest was lost each day to urban expansion of Atlanta, Georgia. Urban surfaces have very different thermal properties than natural surfaces-storing solar energy throughout the day and continuing to release it as sensible heat well after sunset. The resulting heat island effect serves as catalysts for chemical reactions from vehicular exhaust and industrialization leading to a deterioration in air quality. In this study, high spatial resolution multispectral remote sensing data has been used to characterize the type, thermal properties, and distribution of land surface materials throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area. Ten-meter data were acquired with the Advanced Thermal and Land Applications Sensor (ATLAS) on May 11 and 12, 1997. ATLAS is a 15-channel multispectral scanner that incorporates the Landsat TM bands with additional bands in the middle reflective infrared and thermal infrared range. The high spatial resolution permitted discrimination of discrete surface types (e.g., concrete, asphalt), individual structures (e.g., buildings, houses) and their associated thermal characteristics. There is a strong temperature contrast between vegetation and anthropomorphic features. Vegetation has a modal temperature at about 20 C, whereas asphalt shingles, pavement, and buildings have a modal temperature of about 39 C. Broad-leaf vegetation classes are indistinguishable on a thermal basis alone. There is slightly more variability (+/-5 C) among the urban surfaces. Grasses, mixed vegetation and mixed urban surfaces are intermediate in temperature and are characterized by broader temperature distributions with modes of about 29 C. Thermal maps serve as a basis for understanding the distribution of "hotspots", i.e., how landscape features and urban fabric contribute the most heat to the lower atmosphere.

Laymon, Charles A.↗
NASA NTRS2007

High Spatial Resolution Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing Data for Analysis of the Atlanta, Georgia, Urban Heat Island Effect and Its Impacts on the Environment

The twenty-first century is the first "urban century" according to the United Nations Development Program. The focus of cities reflects awareness of the growing percentage of the world's population that lives in urban areas. In environmental terms, cities are the original producers of many of the global problems related to waste disposal, air and water pollution, and associated environmental and ecological challenges. Expansion of cities, both in population and areal extent, is a relentless process. In 2000, approximately 3 billion people representing about 40% of the global population, resided in urban areas. Urban population will continue to rise substantially over the next several decades according to UN estimates, and most of this growth will Occur in developing countries. The UN estimates that by 2025, 60% of the world's population will live in urban areas. As a consequence, the number of"megacities" (those cities with populations of 10 million inhabitants or more) will increase by 100 by 2025. Thus, there is a critical need to understand urban areas and what their impacts are on environmental, ecological and hydrologic resources, as well as on the local, regional, and even global climate. One of the more egregious side effects of urbanization is the increase in surface and air temperatures that lead to deterioration in air quality. In the United States, under the more stringent air quality guidelines established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1997, nearly 300 counties in 34 states will not meet these new air quality standards for ground level ozone. Mitigation of the urban heat island (UHI) effect is actively being evaluated as a possible way to reduce ground ozone levels in cities and assist states in improving air quality. Foremost in the analysis of how the UHI affects air quality and other environmental factors is the use of remote sensing technology and data to characterize urban land covers in sufficient detail to quantifiably measure the impact of increased urban heating on air quality. The urban landscape impacts surface thermal energy exchanges that determine development of the UHI. This paper will illustrate how we are using high spatial remote sensing data collected over the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area in conjunction with other geographic information, to perform a detailed urban land cover classification and to determine the contribution of these land covers to the urban heat island effect. Also, the spatial arrangement of the land covers and the impact on urban heating from these selected patterns of development are evaluated. Additionally, this paper will show how these data are being used as inputs to improve air quality modeling for Atlanta, including potential benefits from UHI mitigation.

Quattrochi, Dale A.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Environmental Public Health Survelliance for Exposure to Respiratory Health Hazards: A Joint NASA/CDC Project to Use Remote Sensing Data for Estimating Airborne Particulate Matter Over the Atlanta, Georgia Metropolitan Area

Describes the public health surveillance efforts of NASA, in a joint effort with the Center for Disease Control (CDC). NASA/MSFC and the CDC are partners in linking nvironmental and health data to enhance public health surveillance. The use of NASA technology creates value - added geospatial products from existing environmental data sources to facilitate public health linkages. The venture sought to provide remote sensing data for the 5-country Metro-Atlanta area and to integrate this environmental data with public health data into a local network, in an effort to prevent and control environmentally related health effects. Remote sensing data used environmental data (Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] Air Quality System [AQS] ground measurements and MODIS Aerosol Optical Depth [AOD]) to estimate airborne particulate matter over Atlanta, and linked this data with health data related to asthma. The study proved the feasibility of linking environmental data (MODIS particular matter estimates and AQS) with health data (asthma). Algorithms were developed for QC, bias removal, merging MODIS and AQS particulate matter data, as well as for other applications. Additionally, a Business Associate Agreement was negotiated for a health care provider to enable sharing of Protected Health Information.

Quattrochi, Dale A.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Investigation Into the Use of Satellite Data in Aiding Characterization of Particulate Air Quality in the Atlanta, Georgia Metropolitan Area

Poor air quality episodes occur often in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. The primary focus of this research is to assess the capability of satellites as a tool in characterizing air quality in Atlanta. Results indicate that intra-city PM2.5 concentrations show similar patterns as other U.S. urban areas, with the highest concentrations occurring within the city. Both PM2.5 and MODIS AOD show more increases in the summer than spring, yet MODIS AOD doubles in the summer unlike PM2.5. A majority of OMI AI is below 0.5. Using this value as an ambient measure of carbonaceous aerosols in the urban area, aerosol transport events can be identified. Our results indicate that MODIS AOD is well correlated with PM2.5 on a yearly and seasonal basis with correlation coefficients as high as 0.8 for Terra and 0.7 for Aqua. A possible alternative view of the PM2.5 and AOD relationship is seen through the use of AOD thresholds. These probabilistic thresholds provide a means to describe the AQI through the use of past AOD for a specific area. We use the NAAQS to classify the AOD into different AQI codes, and probabilistically determine thresholds of AOD that represent the majority of a specific AQI category. For example, the majority 80% of moderate AQI days have AOD values between 0.5 - 0.6. The development of thresholds could be a tool used to evaluate air quality from the use of satellites in regions where there are sparse ground-based measurements of PM2.5.

Alston, Erica J.↗
NASA NTRS1975

The measurement of meteor winds over Atlanta /34 N, 84 W/

An all-sky, continuous wave radio meteor wind facility has been installed in Atlanta. A double sideband suppressed carrier CW transmitter, operating at around 32.5 MHz, with an rms output of 2 kW, has been installed, and a receiving site was established at 27 km away. Details of the equipment, together with height/time profiles of mean wind circulation and tides between 80 and 100 km, measured from August 9 to September 4, 1974, are presented.

Roper, R. G.↗
NASA NTRS1976

The Atlanta tornado of 1975

Joint observations by radar and high-frequency sferics detectors at Georgia Institute of Technology provided unique data on the Atlanta tornado of Mar. 24, 1975. The classic hook echo was detected by radar at a range of about 26 km, 15 min before the tornado touched down. While the tornado was on the ground the sferics burst rate was very low, despite very high values recorded immediately before and after this interval. This observation, together with visual reports of a strong cloud-to-ground discharge at the time of tornado touchdown, suggests an interaction of the tornado with the electric field of the storm.

Greneker, E. F.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Winds from the Atlanta /34 deg N, 84 deg W/ radio meteor wind facility

A brief description of the Georgia Tech radio meteor wind facility is followed by a tabular presentation and discussion of winds measured over Atlanta (34 deg N, 84 deg W) for the first three intervals of the URSI/IAGA Cooperative Tidal Observations Program (CTOP). The pervailing zonal wind measured during August 1974, being easterly, is significantly different from that measured during October 1975 and January 1976, and is not typical of winds measured in August 1975 and August 1976, when westerlies predominated. The complicated tidal picture is detailed, but is not easily summarized.

Roper, R. G.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Solar hot water system installed at Day's Lodge, Atlanta, Georgia

The solar energy hot water system installed in the Days Inns of America, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia is described. This system provides for 81 percent of the total hot water demand. There are two separate systems, each serving one building of the lodge (total of 65 suites). The entire system contains only potable city water. The 1024 square feet of Grumman Sunstream Model 332 liquid flat plate collectors and the outside piping drain whenever the collector plates approach freezing or when power is interrupted. Solar heated water from the two above ground cement lined steel tanks (1000 gallon tank) is drawn into the electric Domestic Hot Water (DHW) tanks as hot water is drawn. Electric resistance units in the DHW tanks top off the solar heated water, if needed, to reach thermostat setting.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1988

High-ozone events in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1983 and 1984

Measurements of ozone levels and meterological parameters were analyzed to determine the relative importance of transport-related processes and photochemical production in causing high-ozone events in and around the Atlanta metropolitan area. Back-trajectories calculated by the Branching Air Trajectory Model indicate that the air associated with high-ozone events had often traveled a significant distance within the previous 3 days: for days with ozone levels above 100 ppbv, half of the calculated trajectories showed that the air had traveled over 600 km, with half of those coming from the northwest quadrant. Six-hour vector-averaged winds were used to find that the concentrations of ozone in the air leaving the metropolitan area averaged 20-40 ppbv more than that entering the area.

Lindsay, Ronald W.↗
NASA NTRS1997

A Study of the Role of Clouds in the Relationship Between Land Use/Land Cover and the Climate and Air Quality of the Atlanta Area

The goal of Project ATLANTA is to derive a better scientific understanding of how land cover changes associated with urbanization affect local and regional climate and air quality. Clouds play a significant role in this relationship. Using GOES images, we found that in a 63-day period (5 July-5 September 1996) there were zero days which were clear for the entire daylight period. Days which are cloud-free in the morning become partly cloudy with small cumulus clouds in the afternoon in response to solar heating. This result casts doubt on the applicability of California-style air quality models which run in perpetual clear skies. Days which are clear in the morning have higher ozone than those which are cloudy in the morning. Using the RAMS model, we found that urbanization increases the skin surface temperature by about 1.0-1.5 C on average under cloudy conditions, with an extreme of +3.5 C. Clouds cool the surface due to their shading effect by 1.5-2.0 C on average, with an extreme of 5.0 C. RAMS simulates well the building stage of the cumulus cloud field, but does poorly in the decaying phase. Next year's work: doing a detailed cloud climatology and developing improved RAMS cloud simulations.

Kidder, Stanley Q.↗
NASA NTRS1999

NASA Low Visibility Landing and Surface Operations (LVLASO) Atlanta Demonstration: Surveillance Systems Performance Analysis

NASA conducted a series of flight experiments at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport as part of the Low Visibility Landing and Surface Operations (LVLASO) Program. LVLASO is one of the subelements of the NASA Terminal Area Productivity (TAP) Program, which is focused on providing technology and operating procedures for achieving clear-weather airport capacity in instrument-weather conditions, while also improving safety. LVLASO is investigating various technologies to be applied to airport surface operations, including advanced flight deck displays and surveillance systems. The purpose of this report is to document the performance of the surveillance systems tested as part of the LVLASO flight experiment. There were three surveillance sensors tested: primary radar using Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE-3) and the Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS), Multilateration using the Airport Surface Target Identification System (ATIDS), and Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) operating at 1090 MHz. The performance was compared to the draft requirements of the ICAO Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS). Performance parameters evaluated included coverage, position accuracy, and update rate. Each of the sensors was evaluated as a stand alone surveillance system.

Cassell, Rick↗
NASA NTRS2004

A Reply to Diem et al.'s Commentary on a Recent Literature Contribution Focused on Urban-Induced Rainfall in Atlanta

A response is provided to Diem and colleagues discussion on the whether urbanization-enhanced precipitation should be maximized in the South-Southeast of Atlanta, Georgia as documented in Shepherd et al. (2003). Diem and colleagues have offered a critical response to Shepherd et al. (2002). The response herein offers both general and specific responses to issues raised by Diem and colleagues.

Shepherd, J. Marshall↗
NASA NTRS1997

Airport Surface Movement Technologies: Atlanta Demonstrations Overview

A flight demonstration was conducted in August 1997 at the Hartsfield Atlanta (ATL) International Airport as part of low visibility landing and surface operations (LVLASO) research activities. This research was aimed at investigating technology to improve the safety and efficiency of aircraft movements on the surface during the operational phases of roll-out, turnoff, and taxi in any weather condition down to a runway visual range of 300 feet. The system tested at ATL was composed of airborne and ground-based components that were integrated to provide both the flight crew and controllers with supplemental information to enable safe, expedient surface operations. Experimental displays were installed on a Boeing 757-200 research aircraft in both headup and head-down formats. On the ground, an integrated system maintained surveillance of the airport surface and a controller interface provided routing and control instructions. While at ATL, the research aircraft performed a series of flight and taxi operations to show the validity of the operational concept at a major airport facility, to validate simulation findings, and to assess each of the individual technologies performance in an airport environment. The concept was demonstrated to over 100 visitors from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the aviation community. This paper gives an overview of the LVLASO system and ATL test activities.

Jones, Denise R.↗