Recent progress in the remote detection of vapours and gaseous pollutants
Air pollution measured from high altitude balloons and satellites by remote sensing of diffused atmospheric gases, using solar illumination
SEARCH · Engineering Papers
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.
Air pollution measured from high altitude balloons and satellites by remote sensing of diffused atmospheric gases, using solar illumination
IR spectroscopy and lasers for analysis of atmosphere in air pollution research and monitoring
Control and abatement of transportation noise pollution
Feasibility of large-scale terrestrial plants for future generation of pollution free electrical power from solar energy
Reductions in smoke level and carbon monoxide emissions resulting from air-assist fuel nozzles in jet aircraft exhaust pollutant tests
Operational methods for control of air pollution emissions from aircraft turbine engine combustor
Effect of coherence and multiple scattering on laser radar air pollution measurements
Computing dispersal of atmospheric pollutants near airports by use of mean wind and temperature profiles
Air polluting nitric oxide and soot production by jet aircraft, discussing mixing process and atmospheric dispersion
Dispersal of jet aircraft exhaust emissions near airports and of smoke trails in upper atmosphere, assessing pollutant levels near large urban airports
Atmospheric trace and pollutant molecules global survey, using airborne/spaceborne high resolution Fourier interference IR spectrometer
Operating variables effect on pollutant exhaust from jet aircraft turbine engines, discussing combustor design techniques for emissions reduction
Three-dimensional integrated puff model simulates smoke plume dispersion processes and estimates pollutant concentration during periods of low wind speed. Applications for model are given.
Remote measurement of chlorophyll concentrations to determine extent of water pollution is discussed. Construction and operation of radiometer to provide measurement capability are explained. Diagram of equipment is provided.
Radar is currently used for detecting and monitoring oil slicks on the sea surface. The four-frequency radar system is used to acquire synthetic aperature imagery of the sea surface on which the oil slicks appear as a nonreflecting area on the surface surrounded by the usual sea return. The value of this technique was demonstrated, when the four-frequency radar system was used to image the oil spill of tanker which has wrecked. Imagery was acquired on both linear polarization (horizontal, vertical) for frequencies of 428, 1228, and 8910 megahertz. Vertical returns strongly indicated the presence of oil while horizontal returns failed to detect the slicks. Such a result is characteristic of the return from the sea and cannot presently be interpreted as characteristics of oil spills. Because an airborne imaging radar is capable of providing a wide-swath coverage under almost all weather conditions, it offers promise in the development of a pollution-monitoring system that can provide a coastal watch for oil slicks.
Work has been continuing on the correlation spectrometry techniques described at previous remote sensing symposiums. Advances in the techniques are described which enable accurate quantitative measurements of diffused atmospheric gases to be made using controlled light sources, accurate quantitative measurements of gas clouds relative to background using solar illumination and semi-quantitation measurements of well diffused atmospheric gases using solar illumination. Specific applications of these techniques are described including preliminary results of a high altitude balloon experiment designed to test the feasibility of measuring pollution at the earth's surface from high altitude balloons and satellites.
Present techniques of airborne chlorophyll measurement are discussed as an approach to water pollution assessment. The differential radiometer, the chlorophyll correlation radiometer, and an infrared radiometer for water temperature measurements are described as the key components of the equipment. Also covered are flight missions carried out to evaluate the capability of the chlorophyll correlation radiometer in measuring the chlorophyll content in water bodies with widely different levels of nutrients, such as fresh-water lakes of high and low eutrophic levels, marine waters of high and low productivity, and an estuary with a high sediment content. The feasibility and usefulness of these techniques are indicated.
A small Fourier interference spectrometer for sensing environmental pollutants from spacecraft has been developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The instrument is intended for obtaining high spectral resolution infrared absorption spectra in the 1.2 to 5.5 micron region at speeds sufficiently high for medium altitude orbital satellite surveys. The paper reviews basic details of the instrument servo and infrared detection systems, previously described, as well as recent developments. In particular, the data-handling system, data reduction techniques and optical tolerance problems are discussed. Preliminary results are included.