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At least 361 records · Page 20

The economic value of remote sensing of earth resources from space: An ERTS overview and the value of continuity of service. Volume 6: Land use. Part 1: Introduction and overview

The utility of an ERS system as an effective tool in land use management is analyzed. The potential new capabilities of a space based ERS system are qualitatively examined. A variety of resource management functions are postulated within which ERTS activities might occur and the present ERS investigations in these areas are outlined.

Lietzke, K. R.↗

The economic value of remote sensing of earth resources from space: An ERTS overview and the value of continuity of service. Volume 6: Land use. Part 2: The role of ERTS in the establishment and updating of a nationwide land cover information system

The utility of an ERS system as an effective tool in land use management is analyzed. The cost effectiveness of satellites as a component of an ERS system is presented based on various projected levels of demand. It is indicated that a cost savings potential of $7.9 to $37.1 million annually is attributable to the inclusion of ERS-like satellites in the ERTS system.

Christie, R. J.↗

High-resolution spectra of isotopic methanes near 1645 nm

It is demonstrated that the coincidence between Er:YAG laser emission and CH4 absorption is associated with the R(8) multiplet of C-13H4 instead of the R(6) of C-12H4. The Er:YAG emission was characterized as a laser emission at 6079.4/cm with a bandwidh of 2.2/cm and overlapping CH4 emission at 6078.7/cm. The R(6) component of C-12H4 closest to 6078.7/cm is calculated to be 6077.06/cm, corresponding to an absorption coefficient (AC) of 1.12/cm per atm. The F2-prime component of R(8) of C-13H4 has an AC of 0.308/cm per atm, which corresponds well with a range of 1.2-30.30/cm per atm based on a partial pressure of 1.6/89 ppm. The Er:YAG laser is a candidate for use in spectroscopic studies of CH4 atmospheric pollutants, natural gas movement and storage and gas accumulation in coal mines.

Fox, K.↗

Plasmasheet magnetic fields in the distant tail

Data from two deep passes of ISEE-3 through the earth's magnetotail are used to discuss the evolution of the plasmasheet magnetic field as a function of radial distance and geomagnetic activity (Kp). Attention is focused on plasmasheet intervals lasting at least 10 min as recorded during passes lasting 3 and 5 mos with apogees of 221 and 238 earth radii (ER). The dependencies of the By and Bz components on Kp were minimal, although Bz displayed a radial dependence. No relationship was observed between By and Bz. The Bz component changed from a northward orientation at 60-100 ER to a N-S dependence at 200-238 ER. Variations in field measurements indicated turbulence throughout the plasmasheet, also independent of Kp. The data support formation of a plasmoid during periods of high Kp, and can serve as limiting conditions for developing more accurate magnetotail models.

Tsurutani, B. T.↗

Observations of condensation nuclei in the 1987 airborne Antarctic ozone experiment

The condensation nucleus counter (CNC) flown of the NASA ER-2 in the Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment provides a measurement of the number mixing ratio of particles which can be grown by exposure to supersaturated n-butyl alcohol vapor to diameters of a few microns. Such particles are referred to as condensation nuclei (CN). The ER-2 CNC was calibrated with aerosols of known size and concentration and was found to provide an accurate measure of the number concentration of particles larger than about 0.02 micron. Since the number distribution of stratospheric aerosols is usually dominated by particles less than a few tenths of micron in diameter, the upper cutoff of the ER-2 CNC has not been determined experimentally. However, theory suggests that the sampling and counting efficiency should remain near one for particles as large as 1 micron in diameter. Thus, the CN mixing ratio is usually a good measure of the mixing ratio of submicron particles.

Wilson, J. C.↗

Plans for the development of EOS SAR systems using the Alaska SAR facility

The Alaska SAR Facility (ASF) program for the acquisition and processing of data from the ESA ERS-1, the NASDA ERS-1, and Radarsat and to carry out a program of science investigations using the data is introduced. Agreements for data acquisition and analysis are in place except for the agreement between NASA and Radarsat which is in negotiation. The ASF baseline system, consisting of the Receiving Ground System, the SAR Processor System and the Archive and Operations System, passed critical design review and is fully in implementation phase. Augments to the baseline system for systems to perform geophysical processing and for processing of J-ERS-1 optical data are in the design and implementation phase. The ASF provides a very effective vehicle with which to prepare for the Earth Observing System (EOS) in that it will aid the development of systems and technologies for handling the data volumes produced by the systems of the next decades, and it will also supply some of the data types that will be produced by EOS.

Carsey, F. D.↗

Measurements of ozone in the Antarctic atmosphere during August and September 1987

Mixing ratios changed dramatically for ozone in the austral polar stratosphere during August and September 1987. Data were obtained with an ultraviolet photometer mounted in the equipment bay of an ER-2 aircraft. Measurements were made between the latitudes of 53 and 72 deg S at pressure altitudes (U.S. Standard Atmosphere, 1976) up to 21 km in a series of flights from Punta Arenas, Chile, over the Palmer Peninsula. Additional data were obtained between 37 N and 53 deg S on the ferry flights leaving from and returning to Moffett Field, California. The sampling-collecting system and the analytical techniques are described. In September the mixing ratios for ozone at pressure altitudes above 15 km in the southernmost part of the flights over the Palmer Peninsula were significantly lower than values for midlatitudes. The various latitudes of the ER-2 aircraft's encounters with the boundary of the region of depleted ozone lie between 59 and 71 deg S. Near the 425 K potential temperature surface and well within the vortex, the measured mixing ratio of ozone declined from about 2 parts per million by volume (ppmv) to about 0.6 ppmv during the period of the ER-2 flights. The distributions of ozone as a function of altitude indicate the presence of layering of ozone.

Starr, Walter L.↗

Measurements of condensation nuclei in the Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition - Observations of particle production in the polar vortex

The ER-2 Condensation Nucleus Counter (ER-2 CNC) was operated in the Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition (AASE) in January and February 1989. The ER-2 CNC measures the mixing ratio of particles, CN, with diameters from approximately 0.02 to approximately 1 micron. The spatial distribution of CN in the Arctic polar vortex was found to resemble that measured in the Antarctic in the Spring of 1987. The vertical profile of CN in the vortex was lowered by subsidence. At altitudes above the minimum in the CN mixing ratio profile, CN mixing ratios correlated negatively with that of N2O, demonstrating new particle production. CN serve as nuclei in the formation of Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs) and the concentration of CN can affect PSC properties.

Wilson, J. C.↗

The polar stratospheric cloud event of January 24. II - Photochemistry

During the 1988/89 Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition (AASE), observations of the chemical composition, aerosol characteristics and atmospheric state were obtained from two aircraft, a NASA ER-2 and a DC-8. This paper presents a diagnosis of observations obtained using the ER-2 on January 24, 1989, using a Lagrangian coupled microphysical-photochemical model. The high chlorine monoxide mixing ratios observed from the ER-2 on the afternoon of January 24, 1989 are interpreted as a result of in situ heterogeneous release of reactive chlorine from the reservoirs HCl and CIONO2 on type-1 polar stratospheric cloud particles observed to be present at that time. This essential element in theories of polar ozone depletion has never before been observed directly in the stratosphere.

Jones, R. L.↗

Aircraft overflight measurements of midwest severe storms - Implications on geosynchronous satellite interpretations

The instrumented NASA ER-2 aircraft overflew severe convection with IR V features for the first time in the midwest United States during May 1984. Measurements taken by the ER-2 were: visible and IR imagery, high-frequency passive microwave (92, 183 GHz) imagery, nadir lidar backscattered return, and flight altitude information. The May 7 and May 13, 1984 cases are analyzed in detail and the various data sources are combined and compared with GOES imagery. The high resolution aircraft IR imagery shows that thermal couplets are considerably more pronounced than in GOES imagery. In one of the cases (May 7, 1984) the minimum cloud-top IR temperature was located upshear of the overshooting cloud top in the lidar height field. The IR temperatures in the downshear anvils were as much as 5 C warmer than the ambient air temperatures, implying that the upwelling IR radiance comes from about 0.5-1.0 km below the cloud top. The in situ ER-2 measurements of temperature and air velocity 3-4 km above the overshooting tops showed very intense temperature and vertical velocity, perturbations. These perturbations are suggestive of lee waves generated by the overshooting tops or a cold dome above the squall line possibly due to tropopause lifting by the storms.

Heymsfield, Gerald M.↗

Alaska Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Facility science data processing architecture

The paper describes the architecture of the Alaska SAR Facility (ASF) at Fairbanks, being developed to generate science data products for supporting research in sea ice motion, ice classification, sea-ice-ocean interaction, glacier behavior, ocean waves, and hydrological and geological study areas. Special attention is given to the individual substructures of the ASF: the Receiving Ground Station (RGS), the SAR Processor System, and the Interactive Image Analysis System. The SAR data will be linked to the RGS by the ESA ERS-1 and ERS-2, the Japanese ERS-1, and the Canadian Radarsat.

Hilland, Jeffrey E.↗

Optical properties of cirrus derived from airborne measurements during FIRE IFO 2

The Radiation Measurement System (RAMS) on board the NASA ER-2 was used to acquire several optical parameters of interest during the FIRE Cirrus IFO 2. In this abstract we present results from the 26 Nov. IFO when the ER-2 flew over the Coffeyville airport hub site. We show retrieved optical thickness and cloud temperature, along with optical thickness obtained from RAMS instruments on the NCAR Sabreliner and at the surface site B. Independent retrieval of optical thickness, from the ER-2 and at the surface, are in agreement during the overpasses. Cirrus optical depths, derived from each platform, ranged between 1 and 2.

Valero, Francisco P. J.↗

Development of infrared sensors using energy transfer/energy upconversion processes: Study of laser excited fluorescence in rare Earth ion doped crystals

A summary is presented of the spectroscopic study of three systems: LaF3:Ho(3+), LaF3:Er(3+) and CaF2:Nd(3+). When the D levels of Ho(3+) in LaF3 were resonantly excited with a laser beam of 640 nm, upconverted emissions were detected from J (416 nm), F (485 nm), and E (546 nm) levels. Energy upconverted emissions were also observed from F and E levels of Ho(3+) when the material was excited with an 800 nm near infrared laser. When the D levels of Er(3+) in LaF3 were resonantly excited with a laser beam of 637 nm, upconverted emissions were detected from the E (540 nm) and P (320, 400, and 468 nm) levels. Energy upconverted emissions were also observed from F, E, and D levels of Er(3+) when the material was resonantly excited with an 804 nm near infrared laser. When the D levels of Nd(3+) in CaF2 were resonantly excited with a laser beam of 577 nm, upconverted emissions were detected from the L (360 and 382 nm), K (418 nm), and I (432 nm) levels. Very weak upconverted emissions were detected when this system was irradiated with a near infrared laser. The numbers in parentheses are the wavelengths of the emissions.

Nash-Stevenson, S. K.↗

Comparison of radar-altimetry data over Greenland with surface topography derived from airborne laser altimetry

During the Summers of 1991, 1992, and 1993, NASA flew a scanning laser altimeter over transects of the Greenland ice sheet. Airplane location was measured precisely using differential Global Positioning System (GPS) surveying techniques. This allowed all altimetry data to be reduced to an estimate of ice surface elevations relative to the Earth ellipsoid. Repeat flights over the same areas indicate data consistency to 10 to 20 cm. Many of the aircraft flights were made along the ERS-1 'radar-altimeter footprint track' for a commissioning phase orbit. Rigorous comparison between the ERS-1 altimeter measurements and those from the laser altimeter will require analysis of individual ERS-1 altimeter waveforms, and since the information needed to do this is not yet available, results from comparison of TOPEX (Topology Ocean Experiment) Poseidon (T/P) radar altimetry data with laser data obtained at the northernmost limit of the T/P orbits are presented.

Thomas, R. H.↗

Observations with the ROWS instrument during the Grand Banks calibration/validation experiments

As part of a global program to validate the ocean surface sensors on board ERS-1, a joint experiment on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland was carried out in Nov. 1991. The principal objective was to provide a field validation of ERS-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) measurement of ocean surface structure. The NASA-P3 aircraft measurements made during this experiment provide independent measurements of the ocean surface along the validation swath. The Radar Ocean Wave Spectrometer (ROWS) is a radar sensor designed to measure direction of the long wave components using spectral analysis of the tilt induced radar backscatter modulation. This technique greatly differs from SAR and thus, provides a unique set of measurements for use in evaluating SAR performance. Also, an altimeter channel in the ROWS gives simultaneous information on the surface wave height and radar mean square slope parameter. The sets of geophysical parameters (wind speed, significant wave height, directional spectrum) are used to study the SAR's ability to accurately measure ocean gravity waves. The known distortion imposed on the true directional spectrum by the SAR imaging mechanism is discussed in light of the direct comparisons between ERS-1 SAR, airborne Canadian Center for Remote Sensing (CCRS) SAR, and ROWS spectra and the use of the nonlinear ocean SAR transform.

Vandemark, D.↗

Radiative Performance of Rare Earth Garnet Thin Film Selective Emitters

In this paper we present the first emitter efficiency results for the thin film 40 percent Er-1.5 percent Ho YAG (Yttrium Aluminum Garnet, Y3Al5O12) and 25 percent Ho YAG selective emitter at 1500 K with a platinum substrate. Spectral emittance and emissive power measurements were made (1.2 less than lambda less than 3.2 microns). Emitter efficiency and power density are significantly improved with the addition of multiple rare earth dopants. Predicted efficiency results are presented for an optimized (equal power density in the Er, (4)I(sub 15/2)-(4)I(sub 13/2) at 1.5 microns, and Ho, (5)I(sub 7)-(5)I(sub 8) at 2.0 micron emission bands) Er-Ho YAG thin film selective emitter.

Lowe, Roland A.↗

Using optical-microwave synergy for estimating surface energy fluxes over semi-arid rangeland

First results of the Walnut Gulch '92 (Arizona, U.S.) experiment concerning the combined use of radar backscattering (ERS-1) and thermal infrared (LANDSAT TM (Thematic Mapper)) data to estimate surface sensible heat flux are reported. The first step investigates the potential use of ERS-1 SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) images for surface soil moisture monitoring of the watershed using five calibrated images acquired during the year 1992 (dry to wet conditions). Results show that despite the typical low level of biomass of semi arid rangeland, an attenuation of the soil backscatter (up to 2 dB) can occur during the rainy season mainly due to the vegetation characteristics. A statistical relationship is then used to retrieve the volumetric surface soil moisture from ERS-1 backscattering (sensitivity of 0.23 dB/% moisture) with a resulting root mean square error of 1.3% of soil moisture. In a second step a semi empirical approach based on energy balance relates soil temperatures to this estimated surface soil moisture. Vegetation temperature is then deduced from soil temperatures and LANDSAT TM composite temperature in order to estimate sensible heat flux according to a two layer type model providing an RMSE of 29 W/sq m.

Troufleau, D.↗

Rare earth garnet selective emitter

Thin film Ho-YAG and Er-YAG emitters with a platinum substrate exhibit high spectral emittance in the emission band (epsilon(sub lambda) approximately equal to 0.74, ((4)l(sub 15/2)) - ( (4)l(sub13/2)), for Er-YAG and epsilon(sub lambda) approximately equal to 0.65, ((5)l(sub 7))-((5)l(sub 8)) for Ho-YAG) at excellent candidates for high efficiency selective emitters in the thermophotovoltaics (TPV) systems operating at moderate temperatures (1200-1500K). Spectral emittance measurements of the thin films were made (1.2 less than lambda less than 3.0 microns) and compared to the theoretical emittances calculated using measured values of the spectral extinction coefficient. In this paper we present the results for a new class of rare earth ion selective emitters. These emitters are thin sections (less than 1 mm) of yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) single crystal with a rare earth substitutional impurity. This paper presents normal spectral emittance, epsilon(sub lambda), measurements of holmium (Ho), and erbium (Er) doped YAG thin film selective emitters at 1500 K, and compares those results with the theoretical spectral emittance.

Lowe, Roland A.↗