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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

Raman Lidar Measurements of Pinatubo Aerosols over Southeastern Kansas During November-december 1991

The eruptions of the Philippine volcano Pinatubo during June 1991 produced large amounts of stratospheric aerosols that could significantly affect earth's climate as well as trigger stratospheric ozone depletion through heterogeneous chemical reactions. Information regarding the physical and optical properties of these aerosols is required to quantify those effects. By measuring both the elastically backscattered signal and the inelastic signal produced by Raman scattering from nitrogen molecules, Raman lidar can provide some of this information. In this presentation we discuss Raman lidar measurements of the scattering ratio, backscattering, extinction, extinction/backscattering ratio, and optical thickness of the Pinatubo aerosols over southeastern Kansas made on 10 nights during November and December, 1991. The Raman lidar developed at GSFC is a trailer-based system which uses an XeF excimer laser to transmit light at 351 nm. The light backscattered by molecules and aerosols at this wavelength is detected as well as Raman scattered light from water vapor, nitrogen, and oxygen molecules. Since background skylights interfere with the detection of the Raman signals the data discussed in this paper were acquired only at night.

Ferrare, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Raman lidar measurements of Pinatubo aerosols over southeastern Kansas during November-December 1991

Raman lidar measurements over southeastern Kansas of stratospheric aerosols produced by the June 1991 eruptions of Mt. Pinatubo were made on 10 nights during November and December 1991. Both aerosol backscattering and extinction profiles were derived simultaneously from the lidar data since this system detects Raman scattering from nitrogen and oxygen as well as the backscattered light from aerosols and molecules. Aerosols scattering ratios greater than 3(at 351 nm) were measured on several nights. Peak aerosol concentrations were located between 19-22 km and varied significantly from night to night. Aerosol extinction/backscatter ratios computed from the lidar data and averaged over the altitude region of enhanced aerosol scattering between 15-25 km varied between 18-28 sr. Mie computations show these values to be consistent with scattering by aerosol particles with mode radii between 0.3 to 0.5 micron and that the ratios would increase to 40-65 sr at 694 nm. Aerosol optical thicknesses derived from the lidar extinction measurements at 351 nm varied between 0.04 and 0.06.

Ferrare, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Cloud fraction, layer, and direction of movement results from sky cameras during the FIRE IFO, Coffeyville, Kansas, experiment for the period Nov. 12 through Dec. 9, 1991

Tables and figures are presented which show local site observations of cloud fractions, the number of cloud layers, direction of movement, and precipitation data collected during the FIRE (First ISCCP Regional Experiment) Phase 2 Cirrus Intensive Field Observations (IFO) conducted in Coffeyville, Kansas during November and December, 1991. Selected data are also presented at the times of the TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) satellite overpass. Several major scientific projects have used surface-based observations of clouds to compare directly with those being observed from satellites. Characterizing the physical properties of clouds is extremely useful in obtaining a more accurate analysis of the effect of clouds and their movements on weather and climate. It is the purpose of this paper to report data collected during the FIRE Phase 2 IFO experiment and to provide a brief history of such a surface-based system and the technical information required for recording local cloud parameters.

Gerald C Purgold↗
NASA NTRS1992

Satellite Analyses of Cirrus Cloud Properties During the FIRE Phase 2 Cirrus Intensive Field Observations over Kansas

The First ISCCP (International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project) Regional Experiment (FIRE) Phase II Intensive Field Observations (IFO) were taken over southeastern Kansas between November 13 and December 7,1991, to determine cirrus cloud properties. The observations include in situ microphysical data; surface, aircraft, and satellite remote sensing; and measurements of divergence over meso- and smaller-scale areas using wind profilers. Satellite remote sensing of cloud characteristics is an essential aspect for understanding and predicting the role of clouds in climate variations. The objectives of the satellite cloud analysis during FIRE are to validate cloud property retrievals, develop advanced methods for extracting cloud information from satellite-measured radiances, and provide multiscale cloud data for cloud process studies and for verification of cloud generation models. This paper presents the initial results of cloud property analyses during FIRE-II using Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) data and NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) radiances.

Minnis, Patrick↗
NASA NTRS1994

An Improved Automatic Classification of a Landsat/TM Image from Kansas (FIFE)

This research note shows the results of applying a new massively parallel version of the automatic classification program (AutoClass IV) to a particular Landsat/TM image. The previous results for this image were produced using a "subsampling" technique because of the image size. The new massively parallel version of AutoClass allows the complete image to be classified without "subsampling", thus yielding improved results. The area in question is the FIFE study area in Kansas, and the classes AutoClass found show many interesting subtle variations in types of ground cover. Displays of the spatial distributions of these classes make up the bulk of this report. While the spatial distribution of some of these classes make their interpretation easy, most of the classes require detailed knowledge of the area for their full interpretation. We hope that some who receive this document can help us in understanding these classes. One of the motivations of this exercise was to test the new version of AutoClass (IV) that allows for correlation among the variables within a class. The scatter plots associated with the classes show that this correlation information is important in separating the classes. The fact that the spatial distribution of each of these classes is far from uniform, even though AutoClass was not given information about positions of pixels, shows that the classes are due to real differences in the image.

Kanefsky, Bob↗
NASA NTRS2001

The Almena, Kansas, Tornadic Storm of 3 June 1999: A Long-Lived Supercell with Very Little Cloud-to-Ground Lightning

The visual, radar, and lightning characteristics of a severe thunderstorm that spawned a large F3 tornado near Almena, Kansas, on 3 June 1999 are documented. The storm is interesting in that it transitioned from a low-precipitation to classic supercell, then back to low-precipitation supercell again prior to dissipation after sunset. Remarkably, the storm produced only 17 cloud-to-ground lightning flashes during its 4.5 h lifetime, despite VIL values reaching 95 kg/sq m, reflectivities of 50 dBZ or greater at altitudes of 14 km, and baseball-size hail at the surface. In contrast, total lightning rates inferred from a portable lightning detector during the large tornado were very high, approximately 100/min as expected for a storm of this size and intensity.

McCaul, Eugene W., Jr.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Relating Land Cover Change to Runoff Distribution Using NASA Earth Observations in Riley County, Kansas

In recent years, Riley County, Kansas experienced high levels of flooding potentially due to changes in land use and impervious surface. To analyze the increase in floods and runoff patterns over time, this study contrasted two methods of curve number (CN) calculation, which estimated runoff from rainfall events, from 2006-2020. The conventional calculation method used a look-up table and tracked land use/land cover change. This method resulted in static tables from various inputs such as soil type, surface imperviousness, slope, and crop phenology to estimate runoff versus infiltration. These tables allowed for phenology specific curve numbers and accounted for various farming techniques but required many inputs and lacked flexibility to include seasonal variations in vegetation. In contrast, the dynamic method is a more modern and simple calculation employing normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data from Landsat 5, Landsat 7, and Landsat 8 satellites compiled over the rainy season each year to calculate curve numbers based off seasonal vegetation. This dynamic method allowed for more precise analysis of runoff variability because NDVI is a more accurate, real-time measurement for land cover and it could be calculated with greater temporal detail. The results will allow decision makers to make more informed decisions on resiliency strategies to address future flooding.

Trista Brophy↗
NASA NTRS2022

Wichita Climate II: Quantifying and Mapping Urban Heat to Inform Equitable and Sustainable Urban Planning Initiatives in Wichita, Kansas

Wichita, Kansas is experiencing a host of climate threats, particularly extreme heat manifested through Urban Heat Islands (UHI). Heat is unevenly distributed within cities due to factors such as income inequality, historical discriminatory practices like redlining, and divestment in neighborhoods of color. This leads to less vegetation and more heat-absorbing infrastructure in specific communities. Moreover, adverse effects of heat, including heat-related morbidity and mortality, disproportionately impact populations that experience vulnerability through social inequities and structural discrimination. Heat vulnerability is a combination of the factors of heat exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity, and can be harnessed to guide urban heat interventions. This DEVELOP project partnered with the City of Wichita to understand the spatial distribution and drivers of UHIs and heat vulnerability indicators. The team modeled outcomes of tree cover interventions using Landsat 8’s Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) and Operational Land Imager (OLI), Landsat 9 TIRS-2 and OLI-2, and the International Space Station’s Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on the International Space Station (ECOSTRESS) sensor, along with the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) Urban Cooling model. The team also leveraged statistical analysis by implementing principal component analysis to develop a heat vulnerability index (HVI) specific to Wichita. Ultimately, the project’s outputs will inform the City of Wichita’s Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Plan, identify priority areas for heat mitigation initiatives, and be used in public-facing communications to educate communities on the impacts of urban heat.

Environmental Justice↗
NASA NTRS1970

Remote sensing at the University of Kansas in radar systems

Demonstration that a spectral response across an octave bandwidth in the microwave region is as variable as the comparable response in the visible and infrared region is a major mile-stone and indicates the potential of polypanchromatic radar systems is analogous with that of color photography. Averaging of the returns from a target element appears necessary to obtain a grey scale adequate for many earth-science applications of radar systems. This result can be obtained either by azimuth averaging or by the use of panchromatic techniques (range averaging). Improvement with panchromatic techniques has been demonstrated both with a landbased electromagnetic system and with an ultrasonic simulator. The advantage of the averaging achieved in azimuth with the real-aperture version of the DPD-2 when compared with the synthetic aperture version confirms the concept.

Moore, R. K.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Data processing at the University of Kansas

Two systems for processing remotely sensed image data have been discussed. The first system, IDECS, is a near real-time hardware system oriented towards processing multi-image data sets quickly and economically. The IDECS has convenient film input and color display output capabilities and implements simple kinds of decision rules. The second system, KANDIDATS, is a software system capable of performing many of the more sophisticated processing methods. Because of its monitor which handles all bookkeeping and its modular design, KANDIDATS easily allows the testing of new automatic processing techniques. After a new technique has been proven on KANDIDATS, it may be simplified and hard-wired in IDECS, thereby keeping the volume processing of remotely sensed data always up to the current state-of-the-art.

Haralick, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Radar signature and systems studies at Kansas University

The radar signature and systems studies described have concentrated in two areas: octave bandwidths radar spectrometry using a truck-mounted system, and scatterometry using primarily the 13.3 GHz system on aircraft. In addition, the results of the experiments to date have been synthesized into a pair of representative designs for spacecraft radar systems: one for small spacecraft and one for large spacecraft.

Moore, R. K.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Land use map, Finney County, Kansas

The author has identified the following significant results. Methods for the mapping of land use in agricultural regions are developed and applied to preparation of a land use map of Finney County, Kanas. Six land use categories were identified from an MSS-5 image. These categories are: (1) large field irrigation; (2) small field irrigation; (3) dryland cultivation; (4) rangeland; (5) cultural features; and (6) riverine land. The map is composed of basically homogeneous regions with definable mixtures of the six categories. Each region is bounded by an ocularly evident change in land use.

Morain, S. A.↗