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At least 631 records · Page 35

Relativistic Electron Response to the Combined Magnetospheric Impact of a Coronal Mass Ejection Overlapping with a High-Speed Stream: Van Allen Probes Observations

During early November 2013, the magnetosphere experienced concurrent driving by a coronal mass ejection (CME) during an ongoing high-speed stream (HSS) event. The relativistic electron response to these two kinds of drivers, i.e., HSS and CME, is typically different, with the former often leading to a slower buildup of electrons at larger radial distances, while the latter energizing electrons rapidly with flux enhancements occurring closer to the Earth. We present a detailed analysis of the relativistic electron response including radial profiles of phase space density as observed by both Magnetic Electron and Ion Sensor (MagEIS) and Relativistic Electron Proton Telescope instruments on the Van Allen Probes mission. Data from the MagEIS instrument establish the behavior of lower energy (<1 MeV) electrons which span both intermediary and seed populations during electron energization. Measurements characterizing the plasma waves and magnetospheric electric and magnetic fields during this period are obtained by the Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science instrument on board Van Allen Probes, Search Coil Magnetometer and Flux Gate Magnetometer instruments on board Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms, and the low-altitude Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites. These observations suggest that during this time period, both radial transport and local in situ processes are involved in the energization of electrons. The energization attributable to radial diffusion is most clearly evident for the lower energy (<1 MeV) electrons, while the effects of in situ energization by interaction of chorus waves are prominent in the higher-energy electrons.

Magnetosphere↗

Empirical Absolute Calibration Model for Multiple Pseudo-Invariant Calibration Sites

This work extends an empirical absolute calibration model initially developed for the Libya 4 Pseudo-Invariant Calibration Site (PICS) to five additional Saharan Desert PICS (Egypt 1, Libya 1, Niger 1, Niger 2, and Sudan 1), and demonstrates the efficacy of the resulting models at predicting sensor top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reflectance. It attempts to generate absolute calibration models for these PICS that have an accuracy and precision comparable to or better than the current Libya 4 model, with the intent of providing additional opportunities for sensor calibration. In addition, this work attempts to validate the general applicability of the model to other sites. The method uses Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) as the reference radiometer and Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) Hyperion image data to provide a representative hyperspectral reflectance profile of the PICS. Data from a region of interest (ROI) in an “optimal region” of 3% temporal, spatial, and spectral stability within the PICS are used for developing the model. The developed models were used to simulate observations of the Landsat 7 (L7) Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), Landsat 8 (L8) Operational Land Imager (OLI), Sentinel 2A (S2A) MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) and Sentinel 2B (S2B) MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) from their respective launch date through 2018. The models developed for the Egypt 1, Libya 1 and Sudan 1 PICS have an estimated accuracy of approximately 3% and precision of approximately 2% for the sensors used in the study, comparable to the current Libya 4 model. The models developed for the Niger 1 and Niger 2 sites are significantly less accurate with similar precision.

Raut, Bipin↗

Drag-Free Control and Drag Force Recovery of Small Satellites

Drag-free satellites provide autonomous precision orbit determination, accurately map the static and time varying components of Earth's mass distribution, aid in our understanding of the fundamental force of gravity, and will ultimately open up a new window to our universe through the detection and observation of gravitational waves. At the heart of this technology is a gravitational reference sensor, which (a) contains and shields a free-floating proof mass from all non-gravitational forces, and (b) precisely measures the position of the test mass inside the sensor. Thus, both test mass and spacecraft follow a pure geodesic in spacetime. By tracking the position of a low Earth orbiting drag-free satellite we can directly determine the detailed shape of geodesics and through analysis, the higher order harmonics of the Earths geopotential. This paper explores two different drag-free control systems on small satellites. The first drag-free control system is a continuously compensated single thruster 3-unit CubeSat with a suspension-free spherical proof-mass. A feedback control system commands the thruster and Attitude and Determination Control System to fly the tender spacecraft with respect to the test mass. The spheres position is sensed with a LED-based differential optical shadow sensor, its electric charge controlled by photoemission using UV LEDs, and the spacecraft position is maintained with respect to the sphere using an ion electrospray propulsion system. This configuration is the most fuel-efficient drag-free system possible today. The second drag-free control system is an electro-statically suspended cubical proof-mass that is operated with a low duty cycle, limiting suspension force noise over brief, known time intervals on a small GRACE-II -like satellite. The readout is performed using a laser interferometer, which is immune to the dynamic range limitations of voltage references. This system eliminates the need for a thruster, enabling drag-free control systems for passive satellites. In both cases, the test mass position, GPS tracking data, and commanded actuation, either thrust or suspension system, can be analyzed to estimate the 3-axis drag forces acting on the satellite. The data produces the most precise maps of upper atmospheric drag forces and with additional information, detailed models that describe the dynamics of the upper atmosphere and its impact on all satellites that orbit the Earth. This paper highlights the history, applications, design, laboratory technology development and highly detailed simulation results of each control system.

Small Satellites↗

Calibrating Historical IR Sensors Using GEO, and AVHRR Infrared Tropical Mean Calibration Models

Long-term, remote-sensing-based climate data records (CDRs) are highly dependent on having consistent, wellcalibrated satellite instrument measurements of the Earth's radiant energy. Therefore, by making historical satellite calibrations consistent with those of today's imagers, the Earth-observing community can benefit from a CDR that spans a minimum of 30 years. Most operational meteorological satellites rely on an onboard blackbody and space looks to provide on-orbit IR calibration, but neither target is traceable to absolute standards. The IR channels can also be affected by ice on the detector window, angle dependency of the scan mirror emissivity, stray-light, and detector-to-detector striping. Being able to quantify and correct such degradations would mean IR data from any satellite imager could contribute to a CDR. Recent efforts have focused on utilizing well-calibrated modern hyper-spectral sensors to intercalibrate concurrent operational IR imagers to a single reference. In order to consistently calibrate both historical and current IR imagers to the same reference, however, another strategy is needed. Large, well-characterized tropical-domain Earth targets have the potential of providing an Earth-view reference accuracy of within 0.5 K. To that effort, NASA Langley is developing an IR tropical mean calibration model in order to calibrate historical Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instruments. Using Meteosat-9 (Met-9) as a reference, empirical models are built based on spatially/temporally binned Met-9 and AVHRR tropical IR brightness temperatures. By demonstrating the stability of the Met-9 tropical models, NOAA-18 AVHRR can be calibrated to Met-9 by matching the AVHRR monthly histogram averages with the Met-9 model. This method is validated with ray-matched AVHRR and Met-9 biasdifference time series. Establishing the validity of this empirical model will allow for the calibration of historical AVHRR sensors to within 0.5 K, and thereby establish a climate-quality IR data record.

Scarino, Benjamin↗

High resolution remote sensing missions of a tethered satellite

The application of the Tethered Satellite (TS) as an operational remote sensing platform is studied. It represents a new platform capable of covering the altitudes between airplanes and free flying satellites, offering an adequate lifetime, high geometric and radiometric resolution and improved cartographic accuracy. Two operational remote sensing missions are proposed: one using two linear array systems for along track stereoscopic observation and one using a synthetic aperture radar combined with an interferometric technique. These missions are able to improve significantly the accuracy of future real time cartographic systems from space, also allowing, in the case of active microwave systems, the Earth's observation both in adverse weather and at any time, day or night. Furthermore, a simulation program is described in which, in order to examine carefully the potentiality of the TS as a new remote sensing platform, the orbital and attitude dynamics description of the TSS is integrated with the sensor viewing geometry, the Earth's ellipsoid, the atmospheric effects, the Sun illumination and the digital elevation model. A preliminary experiment has been proposed which consist of a metric camera to be deployed downwards during the second Shuttle demonstration flight.

Vetrella, S.↗

Aircraft scanner data availability via the version 0 Information Management System

As part of the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) development, NASA and other government agencies have developed an operational prototype of the Information Management System (IMS). The IMS provides access to the data archived at the Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAAC's) that allows users to search through metadata describing the (image) data. Criteria based on sensor name or type, date and time, and geographic location are used to search the archive. Graphical representations of coverage and browse images are available to further refine a user's selection. previously, the EROS Data Center (EDC) DAAC had identified the Advanced SOlid-state Array Spectrometer (ASAS), Airborne Visible and infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS), NS-001, and Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) as precursor data sets similar to those the DAAC will handle in the Earth Observing System era. Currently, the EDC DAAC staff, in cooperation with NASA, has transcribed TIMS, NS-001, and Thematic Mapper Simulation (TMS) data from Ames Research Center and also TIMS data from Stennis Space Center. During the transcription process, the IMS metadata and browse images were created to populate the inventory at the EDC DAAC. These data sets are now available in the IMS and may be requested from the any of the DAAC's via the IMS.

Mah, G. R.↗

Microbial sensor variation across biogeochemical conditions in the terrestrial deep subsurface

ABSTRACT Microbes can be found in abundance many kilometers underground. While microbial metabolic capabilities have been examined across different geochemical settings, it remains unclear how changes in subsurface niches affect microbial needs to sense and respond to their environment. To address this question, we examined how microbial extracellular sensor systems vary with environmental conditions across metagenomes at different Deep Mine Microbial Observatory (DeMMO) subsurface sites. Because two-component systems (TCSs) directly sense extracellular conditions and convert this information into intracellular biochemical responses, we expected that this sensor family would vary across isolated oligotrophic subterranean environments that differ in abiotic and biotic conditions. TCSs were found at all six subsurface sites, the service water control, and the surface site, with an average of 0.88 sensor histidine kinases (HKs) per 100 genes across all sites. Abundance was greater in subsurface fracture fluids compared with surface-derived fluids, and candidate phyla radiation (CPR) bacteria presented the lowest HK frequencies. Measures of microbial diversity, such as the Shannon diversity index, revealed that HK abundance is inversely correlated with microbial diversity ( r 2 = 0.81). Among the geochemical parameters measured, HK frequency correlated most strongly with variance in dissolved organic carbon ( r 2 = 0.82). Taken together, these results implicate the abiotic and biotic properties of an ecological niche as drivers of sensor needs, and they suggest that microbes in environments with large fluctuations in organic nutrients (e.g., lacustrine, terrestrial, and coastal ecosystems) may require greater TCS diversity than ecosystems with low nutrients (e.g., open ocean). IMPORTANCE The ability to detect extracellular environmental conditions is a fundamental property of all life forms. Because microbial two-component sensor systems convert information about extracellular conditions into biochemical information that controls their behaviors, we evaluated how two-component sensor systems evolved within the deep Earth across multiple sites where abiotic and biotic properties vary. We show that these sensor systems remain abundant in microbial consortia at all subterranean sampling sites and observe correlations between sensor system abundances and abiotic (dissolved organic carbon variation) and biotic (consortia diversity) properties. These results suggest that multiple environmental properties may drive sensor protein evolution and highlight the need for further studies of metagenomic and geochemical data in parallel to understand the drivers of microbial sensor evolution.

response regulator↗

High-performance optical disk mass storage for aerospace imaging systems

The specifications and techniques related to the development of the NASA Spaceflight Optical Disk Recorder (SODR) are presented. The system is being developed for the temporary storage of high-resolution sensor data that will be collected at high data rates by future space programs. Typical spaceflight recording requirements are given for the Space Station Freedom, the Earth Observing System, and some planetary missions. SODR module characteristics are listed, emphasizing the two independent optical disk recorders and the random access to 5 gigabytes of data on each side of the disks. The modular design includes two I/O ports providing 150 Mbits/sec user data rate each, and multimodule reconfigurable architecture permitting the synchronization of up to 16 modules with a maximum data rate of 4.8 gigabits/sec.

Ravner, Stephen M.↗

Advanced data visualization and sensor fusion: Conversion of techniques from medical imaging to Earth science

Hughes Aircraft Company and the University of Chicago propose to transfer existing medical imaging registration algorithms to the area of multi-sensor data fusion. The University of Chicago's algorithms have been successfully demonstrated to provide pixel by pixel comparison capability for medical sensors with different characteristics. The research will attempt to fuse GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite), AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer), and SSM/I (Special Sensor Microwave Imager) sensor data which will benefit a wide range of researchers. The algorithms will utilize data visualization and algorithm development tools created by Hughes in its EOSDIS (Earth Observation SystemData/Information System) prototyping. This will maximize the work on the fusion algorithms since support software (e.g. input/output routines) will already exist. The research will produce a portable software library with documentation for use by other researchers.

Savage, Richard C.↗

A Spaceflight Magnetic Bearing Equipped Optical Chopper with Six-Axis Active Control

This paper describes the development of an ETU (Engineering Test Unit) rotary optical chopper with magnetic bearings. An ETU is required to be both flight-like, nearly identical to a flight unit without the need for material certifications, and demonstrate structural and performance integrity. A prototype breadboard design previously demonstrated the feasibility of meeting flight performance requirements using magnetic bearings. The chopper mechanism is a critical component of the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) which will be flown on EOS-CHEM (Earth Observing System-Chemistry). Particularly noteworthy are the science requirements which demand high precision positioning and minimal power consumption along with full redundancy of coils and sensors in a miniature, lightweight package. The magnetic bearings are unique in their pole design to minimize parasitic losses and utilize collocated optical sensing. The motor is of an unusual disk-type ironless stator design. The ETU design has evolved from the breadboard design. A number of improvements have been incorporated into the ETU design. Active thrust control has been added along with changes to improve sensor stability, motor efficiency, and touchdown and launch survivability. It was necessary to do all this while simultaneously reducing the mechanism volume. Flight-like electronics utilize a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) and contain all sensor electronics and drivers on a single five inch by nine inch circuit board. Performance test results are reported including magnetic bearing and motor rotational losses.

Blumenstock, Kenneth A.↗

A Spaceflight Magnetic Bearing Equipped Optical Chopper with Six-Axis Active Control

This paper describes the development of an ETU (Engineering Test Unit) rotary optical chopper with magnetic bearings. An ETU is required to be both flight-like, nearly identical to a flight unit without the need for material certifications, and demonstrate structural and performance integrity. A prototype breadboard design previously demonstrated the feasibility of meeting flight performance requirements using magnetic bearings. The chopper mechanism is a critical component of the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) which will be flown on EOS-CHEM (Earth Observing System-Chemistry). Particularly noteworthy are the science requirements which demand high precision positioning and minimal power consumption along with full redundancy of coils and sensors in a miniature, lightweight package. The magnetic bearings are unique in their pole design to minimize parasitic losses and utilize collocated optical sensing. The motor is of an unusual disk-type ironless stator design. The ETU design has evolved from the breadboard design. A number of improvements have been incorporated into the ETU design. Active thrust control has been added along with changes to improve sensor stability, motor efficiency, and touchdown and launch survivability. It was necessary to do all this while simultaneously reducing the mechanism volume. Flight-like electronics utilize a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) and contain all sensor electronics and drivers on a single five inch by nine inch circuit board. Performance test results are reported including magnetic bearing and motor rotational losses.

Blumenstock, K. A.↗

A Spaceflight Magnetic Bearing Equipped Optical Chopper with Six-Axis Active Control

This paper describes the development of an ETU (Engineering Test Unit) rotary optical chopper with magnetic bearings. An ETU is required to be both flight-like, nearly identical to a flight unit without the need for material certifications, and demonstrate structural and performance integrity. A prototype breadboard design previously demonstrated the feasibility of meeting flight performance requirements using magnetic bearings. The chopper mechanism is a critical component of the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) which will be flown on EOS-CHEM (Earth Observing System-Chemistry). Particularly noteworthy are the science requirements which demand high precision positioning and minimal power consumption along with full redundancy of coils and sensors in a miniature, lightweight package. The magnetic bearings are unique in their pole design to minimize parasitic losses and utilize collocated optical sensing. The motor is of an unusual disk-type ironless stator design. The ETU design has evolved from the breadboard design. A number of improvements have been incorporated into the ETU design. Active thrust control has been added along with changes to improve sensor stability, motor efficiency, and touchdown and launch survivability. It was necessary to do all this while simultaneously reducing the mechanism volume. Flight-like electronics utilize a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) and contain all sensor electronics and drivers on a single five inch by nine inch circuit board. Performance test results are reported including magnetic bearing and motor rotational losses.

Blumenstock, Kenneth A.↗

Ocean Data from MODIS at the NASA Goddard DAAC

Terra satellite carrying the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) was successfully launched on December 18, 1999. Some of the 36 different wavelengths that MODIS samples have never before been measured from space. New ocean data products, which have not been derived on a global scale before, are made available for research to the scientific community. For example, MODIS uses a new split window in the four-micron region for the better measurement of Sea Surface Temperature (SST), and provides the unprecedented ability (683 nm band) to measure chlorophyll fluorescence. At full ocean production, more than a thousand different ocean products in three major categories (ocean color, sea surface temperature, and ocean primary production) are archived at the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) at the rate of approx. 230GB/day. The challenge is to distribute such large volumes of data to the ocean community. It is achieved through a combination of public and restricted EOS Data Gateways, the GES DAAC Search and Order WWW interface, and an FTP site that contains samples of MODIS data. A new Search and Order WWW interface at http://acdisx.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/ developed at the GES DAAC is based on a hierarchical organization of data, will always return non-zero results. It has a very convenient geographical representation of five-minute data granule coverage for each day MODIS Data Support Team (MDST) continues the tradition of quality support at the GES DAAC for the ocean color data from the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) and the Sea Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) by providing expert assistance to users in accessing data products, information on visualization tools, documentation for data products and formats (Hierarchical Data Format-Earth Observing System (HDF-EOS)), information on the scientific content of products and metadata. Visit the MDST website at http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/CAMPAIGN DOCS/MODIS/index.html

Leptoukh, Gregory G.↗

Using Science Driven Technologies for the Defense and Security Applications

For the past three decades, Earth science remote sensing technologies have been providing enormous amounts of useful data and information in broadening our understanding of our home planet as a system. This research, as it has expanded our learning process, has also generated additional questions. This has further resulted in establishing new science requirements, which have culminated in defining and pushing the state-of-the-art technology needs. NASA s Earth science program has deployed 18 highly complex satellites, with a total of 80 sensors, so far and is in a process of defining and launching multiple observing systems in the next decade. Due to the heightened security alert of the nation, researchers and technologists are paying serious attention to the use of these science driven technologies for dual use. In other words, how such sophisticated observing and measuring systems can be used in detecting multiple types of security concerns with a substantial lead time so that the appropriate law enforcement agencies can take adequate steps to defuse any potential risky scenarios. This paper examines numerous NASA technologies such as laser/lidar systems, microwave and millimeter wave technologies, optical observing systems, high performance computational techniques for rapid analyses, and imaging products that can have a tremendous pay off for security applications.

Habib, Shahid↗

Global Precipitation at Your Fingertips, Part I: Data

The most accurate satellite estimates come from the first precipitation radar (PR) to fly in space, aboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. Although important for research, the PR's coverage is too limited to give routine monitoring of global precipitation. Rather, we depend on observations of the Earth system's natural emission of microwave energy. Even these data are not available at all times since the satellites on which the microwave sensors fly are in "low Earth orbit", or LEO, some 400-800 km above the surface. Such LEO satellites pass over any given spot on Earth twice a day. In contrast, "geosynchronous Earth orbit", or GEO, satellites at an altitude of about 35,000 km orbit at the same speed that the Earth revolves and therefore always view the same part of the surface. The trade-off is that GEO sensors provide less-precise estimates computed from the Earth system's natural emissions of infrared (IR) energy. Other satellite datasets are used to provide estimates in regions where both microwave and IR have difficulty, such as polar regions or times before mid-1987 when microwave data became available. Finally, rain gauge data where available, have proved to be valuable for helping to reduce biases in the satellite data, which are persistent differences between the satellite estimate and the precipitation that actually occurred. The datasets discussed below take slightly different approaches to mixing and matching the various kinds of input data to create global estimates of precipitation that answer different needs and/or take advantage of different input data. Each is produced at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. [Other combination datasets are produced at other data centers.]

Huffman, George J.↗

Satellite Data Simulator Unit: A Multisensor, Multispectral Satellite Simulator Package

Several multisensor simulator packages are being developed by different research groups across the world. Such simulator packages [e.g., COSP , CRTM, ECSIM, RTTO, ISSARS (under development), and SDSU (this article), among others] share overall aims, although some are targeted more on particular satellite programs or specific applications (for research purposes or for operational use) than others. The SDSU or Satellite Data Simulator Unit is a general-purpose simulator composed of Fortran 90 codes and applicable to spaceborne microwave radiometer, radar, and visible/infrared imagers including, but not limited to, the sensors listed in a table. That shows satellite programs particularly suitable for multisensor data analysis: some are single satellite missions carrying two or more instruments, while others are constellations of satellites flying in formation. The TRMM and A-Train are ongoing satellite missions carrying diverse sensors that observe clouds and precipitation, and will be continued or augmented within the decade to come by future multisensor missions such as the GPM and Earth-CARE. The ultimate goals of these present and proposed satellite programs are not restricted to clouds and precipitation but are to better understand their interactions with atmospheric dynamics/chemistry and feedback to climate. The SDSU's applicability is not technically limited to hydrometeor measurements either, but may be extended to air temperature and humidity observations by tuning the SDSU to sounding channels. As such, the SDSU and other multisensor simulators would potentially contribute to a broad area of climate and atmospheric sciences. The SDSU is not optimized to any particular orbital geometry of satellites. The SDSU is applicable not only to low-Earth orbiting platforms as listed in Table 1, but also to geostationary meteorological satellites. Although no geosynchronous satellite carries microwave instruments at present or in the near future, the SDSU would be useful for future geostationary satellites with a microwave radiometer and/or a radar aboard, which could become more feasible as engineering challenges are met. In this short article, the SDSU algorithm architecture and potential applications are reviewed in brief.

Masunaga, Hirohiko↗

NASA’s NextGen Remote Sensing Instruments Have Arrived: Data Products For Studying Disease Vectors

Remote sensing can be used to measure, evaluate or estimate both the environment (state functions) and interfaces (processfunctions) defining vector habitats. The products of remote sensing can be integrated directly into the epidemiological equationsto significantly enhance our understanding of disease vector’s life cycles and habitats. The next generation of NASA’s remotesensing instruments which have become recently operational will provide a significant enhancement in our ability to studydisease vector’s life cycles and habitats. These instruments are on the International Space Station (ISS) and includeECOSTRESS, DESIS, and GEDI. ECOSTRESS is a 5 channel, thermal IR instrument with 70 m resolution and approximately1-5 day repeat cycle of day/night pairs. DESIS jointly developed by German Aerospace Center and Teledyne Brown Engineeringis a hyperspectral sensor system of 235 channels and 30 m resolution. DESIS data is only being acquired on demand. GEDI is ahigh-resolution laser ranger used for observing Earth’s forests and topography. NASA’s current ISS instrument configuration provides measurements of the critical environmental measures of environmentalstate functions important to vector & disease life cycles. Remote sensing data provide a spatial context and time series oflandscape scale process functions represented by land use mapping and measurements of ecological functions. Global publichealth is entering a new information age through the use of spatial models of disease vector/host ecologies driven by the use ofremotely sensed data to measure environmental and structural factors critical in determining disease vector habitats. In 2018, NASA initiated a new study for the Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) Designated Observable, identified in the 2018National Academies’ Decadal Survey entitled, “Thriving on Our Changing Planet: A Decadal Strategy for Earth Observationfrom Space.” (https://www.nap.edu/catalog/24938/thriving-on-our-changing-planet-a-decadal-strategy-for-earth) . The SBG isplanned to collect global remote sensing measurements using a hyperspectral spectrometer and multispectral thermal data. Thesedata sets will provide a significant enhancement in our ability to study disease vector’s life cycles and habitats globally. The 3sensors on the ISS provide precursor data to prepare the community for the application of future SBG data toward diseasestudies.

Disease Vectors↗

Yonkers Urban Development: Utilizing NASA Earth Observations to Identify Environmental and Social Drivers of Urban Heat Vulnerability and Model Urban Cooling Interventions in Yonkers, New York

The City of Yonkers, New York, is located directly north of the Bronx in Westchester County and currently hosts a population of nearly 200,000. In response to increasing hot-weather episodes, the risk of heat-related illnesses and mortality is disproportionately affecting neighborhoods in Yonkers historically subjected to race-based housing segregation. NASA DEVELOP collaborated with Groundwork Hudson Valley to determine regions within Yonkers that are experiencing the most intense urban heat island effects, identify and rank sociodemographic and environmental determinants of increasing community-level vulnerability, map these vulnerabilities as a combined vulnerability index, complete a proximity analysis of walkability to local cooling centers and health facility locations, and model potential cooling strategies. The study area consisted of Yonkers, NY and the analyses used data from 2015-2020 (June through August). The project utilized NASA Earth observation products including Landsat 4 and 5 Thematic Mapper (TM), Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS), Terra Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), and ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS). We assessed the benefits of different heat-mitigation scenarios by utilizing the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) urban cooling model. Results from these analyses can be used by Groundwork Hudson Valley, supporting the New York State’s Climate Safe Communities Certifiable Planning Actions, expanding knowledge on the relationship between historic redlining and environmental equity, and informing their Climate Safe Neighborhoods initiative to identify and prioritize mitigation efforts to abate the worst impacts of extreme heat.

Jillian Walechka↗