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At least 919 records · Page 51
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1986

Radiation physics and modelling for off-nadir satellite-sensing of non-Lambertian surfaces

The primary objective of this paper is to provide a deeper understanding of the physics of satellite remote-sensing when off-nadir observations are considered. Emphasis is placed on the analysis and modeling of atmospheric effects and the radiative transfer of non-Lambertian surface reflectance characteristics from ground-level to satellite locations. The relative importance of spectral, spatial, angular, and temporal reflectance characteristics for satellite-sensed identification of vegetation types in the visible and near-infrared wavelength regions is evaluated. The highest identification value is attributed to angular reflectance signatures. Using radiative transfer calculations to evaluate the atmospheric effects on angular reflectance distributions of vegetation surfaces, atmosphere-invariant angular reflectance features such as the 'hot spot' and the 'persistent valley' are identified. A new atmospheric correction formalism for complete angular reflectance distributions is described. A sample calculation demonstrates that a highly non-Lambertian measured surface reflectance distribution can be retrieved from simulated satellite data in the visible and near infrared to within about 20 percent accuracy for almost all view directions up to 60 deg off-nadir. Thus the high value of angular surface reflectance characteristics (the 'angular signature') for satellite-sensed feature identification is confirmed, which provides a scientific basis for future off-nadir satellite observations.

Gerstl, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS2024

Applications of Remote Sensing for Land Use Planning Scenarios with Suitability Analysis

In regions undergoing rapid urbanization, such as West Africa, land use planning (LUP) is vital to accommodate growing population and manage natural resources. Suitability analysis modeling is a widely used tool in LUP to determine the extent to which a land area is suitable for a designated purpose, but there is a gap in the integration of remote sensing time series data into land use decisions. The goal of this study was to incorporate remote sensing time series information with suitability analyses to inform LUP decisions in urban areas. In the study area of Kumasi, Ghana, land cover trends and land surface temperature (LST) from 2000 to 2019 were used to understand climate change trends. Suitability analyses determined the fitness of land areas for predetermined uses. These background processes informed a genetic algorithm to project plausible futures for three land use scenarios. One scenario represented current land use planning practices for addressing population growth, another scenario prioritized minimizing climate change impacts while also accommodating population growth, and the final scenario focused on both of these climate and population goals in addition to high density urban development. Each of these scenarios was successful in achieving population accommodation and respective climate change mitigation goals. The results for these scenarios provide insight into plausible land use distributions in 2050 based on different planning approaches. The genetic algorithm was able to effectively develop results for each scenario through the integration of remotely sensed trends and suitability models, providing a novel approach to land use decision-making.

remote sensing time series↗
NASA NTRS2009

Sensor Requirements and Roadmaps

The chapter starts with a brief overview of the state-of-the-art of the sensing technologies. Principles of detection and the stage of integration in conjunction with the need are discussed. Based on the projected sensor requirements to accomplish propulsion systems with distributed active control, the existent gaps and selected types of sensor technologies are addressed, which are foreseen to deliver the required sensitivity, the resolution, the range, and the bandwidth in classes of sensors and which will allow operation under harsh environment conditions. By changing the packaging and/or design of the current sensors, operation environments of 750°C may be possible, which would meet requirements for sensors located towards the engine intake, compressor and in some cases low-pressure turbine. However, the majority of sensors for locations close to the engine combustion chamber or afterburner (with operation temperatures up to 1700°C) do not exist. There is also a need for smart sensors, which would enable future distributed control architecture. In addition a number of sensors, which are of interest for more intelligent gas turbine engines, are being explored or do not yet exist, for example turbine emission species sensors, burning patter factor sensors, fuel property sensors, and exhaust gas composition sensors. Meanwhile, rapid emerging technologies were made available during the three years duration of the Task Group. These include tip clearance measurement technologies such as eddy current, and microwave methods. To meet future sensor requirements, new fabrication and material technologies (MEMS, other), advanced sensing principles (spectroscopy, other), and their potential applications to new sensor types need to be explored. The status of current R&D for new sensors and future expectations are summarized in a comprehensive table. Sensors and associated electronics that have to operate in high temperature are foreseen to be largely available by 2015 (SiC) and 2020 (SiCN). Both of these technologies come with the potential of embedding such high temperature sensors within the structure. The information presented in the chapter represents the state-of-the-art of the sensing technology of the years 2005-2007 to the best knowledge of the authors. The authors are also fully aware of the fact that there may be many ongoing research programs as well as individual research that are not publicly supported and public information is not available. Therefore, the report might miss that section of knowledge. Also, progress in research and development is made every day such that often, the recent information may be fast outdated. The reader should bear in mind these facts.

Ion Stiharu↗
NASA NTRS2000

Galactic Noise and Passive Microwave Remote Sensing from Space at L-Band

The spectral window at L-band (1.4 GHz) is important for passive remote sensing of parameters such as soil moisture and ocean salinity best measured at long wavelengths. At L-band, radiation from extraterrestrial (galactic) sources is strong enough to warrant inclusion in calibration and retrieval algorithms and unlike the constant cosmic background is spatially variable. Previous estimates of the magnitude and distribution of this background radiation have been rather coarse, However, recent surveys of the radio sky at 1.4 GHz have made it possible to produce maps with sufficient spatial and radiometric accuracy to be relevant to remote sensing applications. This is of particular concern for remote sensing of sea surface salinity because the surface (water) is a good reflector and the salinity signal is relatively small. This paper presents a modem map of the radiometric sky at L-band and a solution to the problem of determining the portion of the sky seen by a radiometer in orbit. The data is derived from recent radio astronomy surveys and is presented as equivalent brightness temperature suitable for remote sensing applications. Examples using orbits and antennas representative of those contemplated for remote sensing of soil moisture and sea surface salinity from space are presented to illustrate the signal levels to be expected. Radiation near the galactic plane can exceed several kelvin.

LeVine, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Lunar Prospector: a Preliminary Surface Remote Sensing Resource Assessment for the Moon

The potential existence of lunar volatiles is a scientific discovery that could distinctly change the direction of pathways of inner solar system human expansion. With a dedicated germanium gamma ray spectrometer launched in the early 1990's, surface water concentrations of 0.7 percent could be detected immediately upon full lunar polar orbit operations. The expense of lunar base construction and operation would be dramatically reduced over a scenario with no lunar volatile resources. Global surface mineral distribution could be mapped out and integrated into a GIS database for lunar base site selection. Extensive surface lunar mapping would also result in the utilization of archived Apollo images. A variety of remote sensing systems and their parameters have been proposed for use in the detection of these lunar ice masses. The detection or nondetection of subsurface and surface ice masses in lunar polar crater floors could dramatically direct the development pathways that the human race might follow in its radiation from the Earth to habitable locales in the inner terran solar system. Potential sources of lunar volatiles are described. The use of remote sensing to detect lunar volatiles is addressed.

Mardon, A. A.↗
NASA NTRS2002

An Optical Model for Estimating the Underwater Light Field from Remote Sensing

A model of the wavelength-integrated scalar irradiance for a vertically homogeneous water column is developed. It runs twenty thousand times faster than simulations obtained using full Hydrolight code and limits the percentage error to less than 3.7%. Both the distribution of incident sky radiance and a wind-roughened surface are integrated in the model. Our model removes common limitations of earlier models and can be applied to waters with any composition of the inherent optical properties. Implementation of this new model, as well as the ancillary information required for processing global-scale satellite data, is discussed. This new model is fast, accurate, and flexible and therefore provides important information of the underwater light field from remote sensing.

Liu, Cheng-Chien↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Tunable Mid-wave Infrared Fabry-Perot Bandpass Filters Using Phase-Change GeSbTe

Tunable mid-wave infrared (MWIR) filters are highly desirable in a wide variety of imaging and sensing, as the MWIR contains numerous spectral signatures. We fabricated spectrally-tunable Fabry-Perot bandpass filters operating across the MWIR by utilizing the phase-change material GeSbTe (GST) as a tunable cavity medium between distributed Bragg reflectors. The induced refractive index modulation of the GST increases the cavity’s optical path length, tuning the passband. Our filters have 300-nm spectral tunability, 60-75% transmission efficiencies, and 50-65 nm narrowband FWHMs (Q-factor 70-90). We demonstrate multispectral thermal imaging and dynamic gas sensing by matching the filter’s passband (~ 4.25μm) to a CO2 vibrational-absorption mode.

Tunable filter↗
NASA NTRS1982

Application of future remote sensing systems to irrigation

Area estimates of irrigated crops and knowledge of crop type are required for modeling water consumption to assist farmers, rangers, and agricultural consultants in scheduling irrigation for distributed management of crop yields. Information on canopy physiology and soil moisture status on a spatial basis is potentially available from remote sensors, so the questions to be addressed relate to: (1) timing (data frequency, instantaneous and integrated measurement); and scheduling (widely distributed spatial demands); (2) spatial resolution; (3) radiometric and geometric accuracy and geoencoding; and (4) information/data distribution. This latter should be overnight, with no central storage, onsite capture, and low cost.

Miller, L. D.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Remote sensing and uranium exploration at Lisbon Valley, Utah

As part of the joint NASA-Geosat uranium test case program, aircraft-acquired multispectral scanner data are used to investigate the distribution of bleaching in Windgate sandstone exposed in Lisbon Valley anticline, Utah. It is noted that all of the large ore bodies contained in lower Chinle Triassic age or Cutler Permian age strata in this area lie beneath or closely adjacent to such bleached outcrops. The geographic coincidences reported here are seen as inviting renewed interest in speculation of a causal relation between occurrences of Mississippian-Pennsylvanian oil and gas in this area and of Triassic uranium accumulation and rock bleaching.

Conel, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Improving Quantitative Laboratory Analysis of Phycobiliproteins to Provide High Quality Validation Data for Ocean Color Remote Sensing Algorithm

Identification and characterization of phytoplankton communities and their physiology is a primary aim of NASA's PACE satellite mission. The concentration and composition of phytoplankton pigments modulate the spectral distribution of light emanating from the ocean, which is measured by ocean color satellites, and thus provide critical information on phytoplankton community composition and physiological parameters. One diagnostic class of pigments not routinely well-characterized is the phycobiliproteins (PBPs), and NASA has a requirement to collect and distribute high quality in situ data in support of data product validation activities for ocean color missions. Phycobiliproteins are light-harvesting proteins that are the predominant photosynthetic pigments in some classes of phytoplankton including cyanobacteria, such as Synechococcus, Trichodesmium, and Microcystis. With the advance of hyperspectral ocean color sensors such as on PACE (expected to launch in late 2022), it is essential that we implement routine analysis of PBPs that satisfies several considerations: reproducible, high extraction efficiency for a variety of environments, and Suitable for large scale analysis. Published techniques for PBP analysis vary in recommendations for: collection, extraction, disruption mode, and analysis; evidence suggests the variation in results may depend at least in part on the species and even strain(s) of interest. Experiments that tested variations in these parameters have drawn very different conclusions regarding extraction efficiency and reproducibility. Cyanobacteria are more difficult to extract than other PBP-containing algae such as cryptophytes, but can be important primary producers. We used a cryptophyte (Rhodomonas salina) and cyanobacterium (Synechococcus sp.) to compare extraction efficiencies of water samples concentrated via centrifugation to filtered samples using two different extraction buffers (phosphate and asolectin-CHAPS). Samples were analyzed on a fluorometer configured for PC and PE detection. The results have important implications for collection and storage of samples for routine analysis; some previous studies (although not all) have suggested that filtered samples have a much lower extraction efficiency than whole water samples.

Kenemer, Christopher↗
NASA NTRS2001

Amyloplast sedimentation dynamics in maize columella cells support a new model for the gravity-sensing apparatus of roots

Quantitative analysis of statolith sedimentation behavior was accomplished using videomicroscopy of living columella cells of corn (Zea mays) roots, which displayed no systematic cytoplasmic streaming. Following 90 degrees rotation of the root, the statoliths moved downward along the distal wall and then spread out along the bottom with an average velocity of 1.7 microm min(-1). When statolith trajectories traversed the complete width or length of the cell, they initially moved horizontally toward channel-initiation sites and then moved vertically through the channels to the lower side of the reoriented cell where they again dispersed. These statoliths exhibited a significantly lower average velocity than those sedimenting on distal-to-side trajectories. In addition, although statoliths undergoing distal-to-side sedimentation began at their highest velocity and slowed monotonically as they approached the lower cell membrane, statoliths crossing the cell's central region remained slow initially and accelerated to maximum speed once they reached a channel. The statoliths accelerated sooner, and the channeling effect was less pronounced in roots treated with cytochalasin D. Parallel ultrastructural studies of high-pressure frozen-freeze-substituted columella cells suggest that the low-resistance statolith pathway in the cell periphery corresponds to the sharp interface between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-rich cortical and the ER-devoid central region of these cells. The central region is also shown to contain an actin-based cytoskeletal network in which the individual, straight, actin-like filaments are randomly distributed. To explain these findings as well as the results of physical simulation experiments, we have formulated a new, tensegrity-based model of gravity sensing in columella cells. This model envisages the cytoplasm as pervaded by an actin-based cytoskeletal network that is denser in the ER-devoid central region than in the ER-rich cell cortex and is linked to stretch receptors in the plasma membrane. Sedimenting statoliths are postulated to produce a directional signal by locally disrupting the network and thereby altering the balance of forces acting on the receptors in different plasma membrane regions.

NASA Program Fundamental Space Biology↗
NASA NTRS1972

Discrimination of fluoride and phosphate contamination in central Florida for analyses of environmental effects

A study was made of the spatial registration of fluoride and phosphate pollution parameters in central Florida by utilizing remote sensing techniques. Multispectral remote sensing data were collected over the area and processed to produce multispectral recognition maps. These processed data were used to map land areas and waters containing concentrations of fluoride and phosphate. Maps showing distribution of affected and unaffected vegetation were produced. In addition, the multispectral data were processed by single band radiometric slicing to produce radiometric maps used to delineate areas of high ultraviolet radiance, which indicates high fluoride concentrations. The multispectral parameter maps and radiometric maps in combination showed distinctive patterns, which are correlated with areas known to be affected by fluoride and phosphate contamination. These remote sensing techniques have the potential for regional use to assess the environmental impact of fluoride and phosphate wastes in central Florida.

Coker, A. E.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Advances in information extraction techniques

Sundry recent developments are presented which show some potential for affecting the automatic extraction of information from remotely sensed data. Pattern representations more abstract than Euclidean vector spaces offer some hope of unifying structural and decision theoretical approaches. The estimation of expected classification error rates is becoming more sophisticated and rigorous, but useful finite-sample results for nonparametric distributions appear unobtainable. Focus on computational complexity allows comparison of algorithms, while software engineering techniques reduce the effort necessary to develop and maintain complex image processing systems. Advances in computer systems architecture, commercial database technology, and man-machine communications should be closely monitored by the remote sensing community. A NASA-sponsored recommendation for research directions in mathematical pattern recognition are offered.

Nagy, G.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Remote sensing study of Maumee River effects of Lake Erie

The effects of river inputs on boundary waters were studied in partial support of the task to assess the significance of river inputs into receiving waters, dispersion of pollutants, and water quality. The effects of the spring runoff of the Maumee River on Lake Erie were assessed by a combination of ship survey and remote sensing techniques. The imagery obtained from a multispectral scanner of the west basin of Lake Erie is discussed: this clearly showed the distribution of particulates throughout the covered area. This synoptic view, in addition to its qualitative value, is very useful in selecting sampling stations for shipboard in situ measurements, and for extrapolating these quantitative results throughout the area of interest.

Svehla, R.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Role of remote sensing in Bay measurements

Remote measurements of a number of surface or near surface parameters for baseline definition and specialized studies, remote measurements of episodic events, and remote measurements of the Bay lithosphere are considered in terms of characterizing and understanding the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay. Geologic processes and features best suited for information enhancement by remote sensing methods are identified. These include: (1) rates of sedimentation in the Bay; (2) rates of erosion of Bay shorelines; (3) spatial distribution and geometry of aquifers; (4) mapping of Karst terrain (sinkholes); and (5) mapping of fracture patterns. Recommendations for studying problem areas identified are given.

Mugler, J. P., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1979

SAR - An instrument for planetary geodesy and navigation

Analysis to define an optimal data plan and to define achievable accuracy levels in determination of the physical parameters, global topography of the planet, and refined orbital element estimates of a spacecraft borne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) placed in a near polar circular orbit of 300 km altitude around the planet Venus is presented. It is shown that radar surface images can be used to improve knowledge of physical parameters of Venus, and the improvement in orbit accuracy can reduce navigational uncertainties derivable from conventional Doppler ratio tracking data, yielding a more precise history of the orbits for sensing the low order gravity field of the planet. Data plan strategies in terms of selection of ground points and their spatial distribution are related to achievable accuracy of the solution parameters, and the influence of spacecraft orbit errors on the solution accuracy was discussed.

Mohan, S. N.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Characterization of Surface Reflectance Variation Effects on Remote Sensing

The use of Monte Carlo radiative transfer codes to simulate the effects on remote sensing in visible and infrared wavelengths of variables which affect classification is examined. These variables include detector viewing angle, atmospheric aerosol size distribution, aerosol vertical and horizontal distribution (e.g., finite clouds), the form of the bidirectional ground reflectance function, and horizontal variability of reflectance type and reflectivity (albedo). These simulations are used to characterize the sensitivity of observables (intensity and polarization) to variations in the underlying physical parameters both to improve algorithms for the removal of atmospheric effects and to identify techniques which can improve classification accuracy. It was necessary to revise and validate the simulation codes (CTRANS, ARTRAN, and the Mie scattering code) to improve efficiency and accommodate a new operational environment, and to build the basic software tools for acquisition and off-line manipulation of simulation results. Initial calculations compare cases in which increasing amounts of aerosol are shifted into the stratosphere, maintaining a constant optical depth. In the case of moderate aerosol optical depth, the effect on the spread function is to scale it linearly as would be expected from a single scattering model. Varying the viewing angle appears to provide the same qualitative effect as modifying the vertical optical depth (for Lambertian ground reflectance).

Pearce, W. A.↗