Mutational responses of insects in the Biosatellite II experiment.
Insects mutational responses to space flight and associated radiation on biosatellite 2 compared with ground based controls
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Insects mutational responses to space flight and associated radiation on biosatellite 2 compared with ground based controls
Multispectral sensing techniques to detect ponderosa pine trees under stress from insect or diseases
Detection of forest insect infestation by remote sensing
Investigating proliferation of insect life in harsh environments of Iceland and Surtsey
Application of multispectral sensors to detect insect and disease infestation of ponderosa pine trees
Detection and monitoring of forest insect infestation in Sierra Nevada Mountains of California
Impact of ERTS-1 images on surveys of forest insect infestations in Cook Inlet Basin, Alaska
The author has identified the following significant results. Significant progress has been made in detecting insect outbreaks from ERTS-1 data during this period. It is possible to differentiate forested areas with heavy damage from those with little or no damage. The analysis is made with color infrared positive transparencies and prints. Enlargement of the transparencies makes it possible to detect and map areas of three degrees of tree mortality into heavy, medium, and light. It was also noted that shadows cast by massive rock domes closely resemble natural lakes.
The author has identified the following significant results. Results of analysis of ERTS-1 color composites made by NASA from MSS bands 4, 5, and 7, frame #1055-18055 at a scale of 1:1,000,000 indicate that forests damaged by insects can be delineated and mapped from areas with no damage; and at this same scale other details detected include timbered and nontimbered areas, pasture and agricultural land, deserts, lakes, mountain meadows, riparian vegetation, rock domes, old burned areas, and major stream courses. Enlargements from the above to a scale of 1:80,000 have improved detectibility to the point that three degrees of timber mortality can be identified and mapped.
The analysis of ERTS-1 imagery of areas in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California is discussed. The data is used to detect two types of insect infestational and to determine the extent of timber resources. Addition applications are the mapping of stream courses, mountain meadows, lakes, rock outcrops, and grazing land. The ERTS-1 data and underflight photography are used for this purpose.
Artificial defoliation in corn was used to explore the usefulness of aerial photography in detecting crop insect infestations. Defoliation on the top of plants was easily detected, while that on the base was less so. Aero infrared film with Wratten 89B filter gave the best results, and morning flights at the scale of 1:15840 are recommended. Row direction, plant growth stage, and time elapse since defoliation were not important factors.
The author has identified the following significant results. Analysis of ERTS-1 imagery with underflight aerial photo support including U-2, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, indicates promising possibilities of detecting and monitoring forest insect outbreaks visually with some mechanical support utilizing the VP-8 image analyzer. Visually, it is possible at a scale of 1:1,000,000 to discriminate between large areas of damaged and undamaged forests; timbered and non-timbered areas; pasture land and cultivated fields; desert and riparian vegetation. At a scale of 1:80,000 it is possible to distinguish among three classes of tree mortality; defoliated and undefoliated areas; non-host mixed conifers; and mountain meadows, rock domes, lakes and glaciers. Machine tests showed significant differences in image densities among various bands and mortality areas.
Movement functions in the population dynamics of insects are discussed. Modes of movement, movement from a population view, and population patterns are described and predicted. A wide-area of spatial and temporal patterns are presented.
Dispersal flights of selected species of forest insects which are associated with periodic outbreaks of pests that occur over large contiguous forested areas are discussed. Gypsy moths, spruce budworms, and forest tent caterpillars were studied for their massive migrations in forested areas. Results indicate that large dispersals into forested areas are due to the females, except in the case of the gypsy moth.
When a number of flying insects is low enough to permit their resolution as individual radar targets, quantitative estimates of their aerial density are developed. Accurate measurements of heading distribution using a rotating polarization radar to enhance the wingbeat frequency method of identification are presented.
The possible biologic effects of exhaust products from solid rocket motor (SRM) burns associated with the space shuttle are examined. The major components of the exhaust that might have an adverse effect on vegetation, HCl and Al2O3 are studied. Dose response curves for native and cultivated plants and selected insects exposed to simulated exhaust and component chemicals from SRM exhaust are presented. A system for dispensing and monitoring component chemicals of SRM exhaust (HCl and Al2O3) and a system for exposing test plants to simulated SRM exhaust (controlled fuel burns) are described. The effects of HCl, Al2O3, and mixtures of the two on the honeybee, the corn earworm, and the common lacewing and the effects of simulated exhaust on the honeybee are discussed.
The effects of solid rocket fuel (SRF) exhaust on selected plant and and insect species in the Merritt Island, Florida area was investigated in order to determine if the exhaust clouds generated by shuttle launches would adversely affect the native, plants of the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, the citrus production, or the beekeeping industry of the island. Conditions were simulated in greenhouse exposure chambers and field chambers constructed to model the ideal continuous stirred tank reactor. A plant exposure system was developed for dispensing and monitoring the two major chemicals in SRF exhaust, HCl and Al203, and for dispensing and monitoring SRF exhaust (controlled fuel burns). Plants native to Merritt Island, Florida were grown and used as test species. Dose-response relationships were determined for short term exposure of selected plant species to HCl, Al203, and mixtures of the two to SRF exhaust.
Highlights of the year's activities and accomplishments are reported in the areas of aircraft safety, scientific ballooning, mid-air payload retrieval, and the design of a microwave power reception and conversion system for on use on a high altitude powered platform. The development and application of an agro-environmental system to provide crop management advisory information to Virginia farmers, and the radar tracking of insects are described. Aircraft systems, developed for measuring atmospheric ozone and nitric acid were used to sample emissions from Mount St. Helens. Investigations of the reliability and precision of the U.S. standard meteorological rocketsonde, applications of the microwave altimeter and airborne lidar system in oceanography, and the development of a multibeam altimeter concept are also summarized.