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At least 109 records · Page 6

Incorporating Endmember Variability into Spectral Mixture Analysis Through Endmember Bundles

Variation in canopy structure and biochemistry induces a concomitant variation in the top-of-canopy spectral reflectance of a vegetation type. Hence, the use of a single endmember spectrum to track the fractional abundance of a given vegetation cover in a hyperspectral image may result in fractions with considerable error. One solution to the problem of endmember variability is to increase the number of endmembers used in a spectral mixture analysis of the image. For example, there could be several tree endmembers in the analysis because of differences in leaf area index (LAI) and multiple scatterings between leaves and stems. However, it is often difficult in terms of computer or human interaction time to select more than six or seven endmembers and any non-removable noise, as well as the number of uncorrelated bands in the image, limits the number of endmembers that can be discriminated. Moreover, as endmembers proliferate, their interpretation becomes increasingly difficult and often applications simply need the aerial fractions of a few land cover components which comprise most of the scene. In order to incorporate endmember variability into spectral mixture analysis, we propose representing a landscape component type not with one endmember spectrum but with a set or bundle of spectra, each of which is feasible as the spectrum of an instance of the component (e.g., in the case of a tree component, each spectrum could reasonably be the spectral reflectance of a tree canopy). These endmember bundles can be used with nonlinear optimization algorithms to find upper and lower bounds on endmember fractions. This approach to endmember variability naturally evolved from previous work in deriving endmembers from the data itself by fitting a triangle, tetrahedron or, more generally, a simplex to the data cloud reduced in dimension by a principal component analysis. Conceptually, endmember variability could make it difficult to find a simplex that both surrounds the data cloud and has vertices that are realistic endmember spectra with reflectances between 0 and 1. In this paper, we create endmember bundles and bounding fraction images for an AVIRIS subscene simulated with a plant canopy radiative transfer model. The simulated subscene is spatially patterned after a subscene from the AVIRIS image acquired August, 1993 over La Copita, Texas. In addition, for comparison, we performed a traditional unmixing with image endmembers.

Bateson, C. Ann↗

Lloyd's Mirror for MTF Testing of MISR CCD

Direct measurement of CCD MTF using a unique Lloyd's mirror fringe projector is described. MTF measurements on the MISR linear CCD arrays have been performed as a function of spatial frequency, wavelength, number of charge transfers, radiation dosage, and device architecture. Test results are reported here.

MTF↗

Surface Corrected Lunar MTF Measurements in MODIS and VIIRS Using the SP Model

Lunar observations have been used for sensor performance assessments for a number of Earth-observing instruments, including the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board Terra and Aqua and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on board Suomi-NPP (SNPP) and NOAA-20 (N20). While the primary purpose of lunar observations in MODIS and VIIRS is radiometric calibration, these observations have been leveraged for other sensor performance assessments such as spatial registration and deriving the modulation transfer function (MTF). In this work, we will derive the lunar MTF using a knife edge approach similar to previous work. However, to further isolate the edge of the lunar disk when deriving the edge spread function (ESF), we will apply a lunar surface variation correction using a model based on data obtained by the Spectral Profiler (SP) on board the SELENE spacecraft. This model was provided to us by AIST in Japan. To align the measured and modeled data, we developed techniques for projecting the measured lunar surface pixels onto the radiance maps produced by the SP model. We correct the lunar surface variation while preserving the signal of the lunar disk edge in the ESF, and then calculate the MTF results using standard techniques. These results are in good agreement with previously published results from both Moon-based observations in MODIS and VIIRS and from the spectroradiometric calibration assembly (SRCA) on MODIS. With the exception of MODIS bands 1 and 2, the MTF is stable on orbit for the reflective bands in both instruments.

MODIS↗

On-orbit Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) Measurements for IKONOS and QuickBird

Point Spread Function is a method of evaluation the spatial resolution of an imaging system. It is also a measure of the spread of a single point of light. Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) is a measure of the spatial frequency response. It is often calculated from th point spread function (PSF). System response at the Nyquist frequency (or 0.5 cycle/pixel) is often used as a figure of merit

Helde, Dennis↗

Spatial and temporal variations of the fluxes of carbon dioxide and sensible and latent heat over the FIFE site

Airborne measurements of flux densities of carbon dioxide CO2, sensible heat, and latent heat (H2O) obtained over the First ISLSCP Field Experiment (FIFE) site during three intensive field campaigns in 1987 and one in 1989 are examined to characterize the spatial and temporal variations of CO2 and energy transfer processes. These data were collected by the National Research Council Twin Otter using low-level flight patterns, all flown at constant pressure altitude during relatively clear days. The spatial variations are larger in 1989 than in 1987 and a higher correlation is observed between the fluxes and the surface features. The temporal patterns are easier to characterize with the relatively homogeneous situation of 1987. Functional relationships obtained between fluxes of CO2 and latent heat, CO2 fluxes and greenness index, latent heat fluxes and greenness index, and between sensible heat fluxes and surface air temperature differences are presented for one day in 1987 and one in 1989 as an example of the kind of information that can be obtained from grid flights at constant pressure altitude.

Desjardins, R. L.↗

Flux transfer events at the Jovian magnetopause

Recent evidence indicates that magnetic reconnection at the earth's magnetopause may not be a steady process, but rather it is frequently impulsive and limited in spatial extent. These limited reconnection events are called flux transfer events (FTE's). A search has been conducted regarding the magnetic field observations at Jupiter from Pioneer 10 and 11 and Voyager 1 and 2 for evidence of FTE's and 14 possible events were found. The FTE's at Jupiter are associated with northward magnetosheath fields. The electric fields generated by Jovian FTE's are small in comparison with the corotation E field throughout much of the magnetosphere. Thus FTE's are probably not an important source of flow within the Jovian magnetosphere.

Walker, R. J.↗

Transference of ERTS-1 spectral signatures in time and space

Some earth resources maps obtained from ERTS-1 multispectral scanning data in 1972-73 were found to contain modulo six banding. A method was found to recalibrate nonconformable data from the sensors in order to eliminate banding in the map output. This investigation led to developing a recalibration method for transferring data signatures from one scene to another scene separated from the first either temporally or spatially. The method was generally successful, although difficulties were encountered in transferring signatures from one season to another for the same location.

Merembeck, B. F.↗

Quaoar: New, Longitudinaly Resolved, Spectroscopic Characterization of Its Surface

(50000) Quaoar, one of the largest Trans-neptunian objects, is comparable in size to Pluto's moon Charon. However, while Charon's surface is rich almost exclusively in H2O ice, Quaoar's surface characterized by ices of CH4, N2, as well as C2H6, a product of irradiation of CH4 (Dalle Ore et al. 2009). Because of its distance from the Sun, Quaoar is expected to have preserved, to a degree, its original composition, however, its relatively small size did not make it a prime candidate for presence of volatile ices in the study by Schaller and Brown (2007). Furthermore, based on the Brown et al. (2011) study (Brown, Schaller, & Fraser, 2011. A Hypothesis for the Color Diversity of the Kuiper Belt. ApJL, 739, L60) its red coloration points to CH3OH as the ice which, when irradiated, might have produced the red material. We present new visible to near-infrared (0.3-2.48 micrometers) spectro-photometric data obtained with the XSHOOTER (Vernet et al. 2011, A&A, 536A, 105 ) instrument at the VLT-ESO facility at four different longitudes on the surface of Quaoar. The data are complemented by previously published photometric observations obtained in the near-infrared (3.6, 4.5 micrometers) with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which provide an extra set of constraints in the model calculation process in spite of the different observing times that preclude establishing the spatial consistency between the two sets. For each of the four spectra we perform spectral modeling of the entire wavelength range -from 0.3 to 4.5 micrometers- by means of a code based on the Shkuratov radiative transfer formulation of the slab model. We obtain spatially resolved compositional information for the surface of Quaoar supporting the presence of CH4 and C2H6, as previously reported, along with evidence for N2 and NH3OH. The albedo at the two Spitzer bands indicates the likely presence of CO and CO2. CH3OH, predicted on the basis of Quaoar's coloration (Brown et al. 2011), is not found at any of the four longitudes, implying that the presence of this ice is a sufficient, but not necessary condition for reddening of TNO surfaces. Other ices, in particular CH4 (Brunetto et al. 2006), have been shown to be plausible precursors for reddening of TNO surfaces.

Ices↗

In-Situ and Remote-Sensing Data Fusion Using Machine Learning Techniques to Infer Urban and Fire Related Pollution Plumes

Airmass type characterization is key in understanding the relative contribution of various emission sources to atmospheric composition and air quality and can be useful in bottom-up model validation and emission inventories. However, classification of pollution plumes from space is often not trivial. Sub-orbital campaigns, such as SEAC4RS (Studies of Emissions, Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys) give us a unique opportunity to study atmospheric composition in detail, by using a vast suite of in-situ instruments for the detection of trace gases and aerosols. These measurements allow identification of spatial and temporal atmospheric composition changes due to various pollution plumes resulting from urban, biogenic and smoke emissions. Nevertheless, to transfer the knowledge gathered from such campaigns into a global spatial and temporal context, there is a need to develop workflow that can be applicable to measurements from space. In this work we rely on sub-orbital in-situ and total column remote sensing measurements of various pollution plumes taken aboard the NASA DC-8 during 2013 SEAC4RS campaign, linking them through a neural-network (NN) algorithm to allow inference of pollution plume types by input of columnar aerosol and trace-gas measurements. In particular, we use the 4STAR (Spectrometer for Sky-Scanning, Sun-Tracking Atmospheric Research) airborne measurements of wavelength dependent aerosol optical depth (AOD), particle size proxies, O3, NO2 and water vapor to classify different pollution plumes. Our method relies on assigning a-priori ground-truth labeling to the various plumes, which include urban pollution, different fire types (i.e. forest and agriculture) and fire stage (i.e. fresh and aged) using cluster analysis of aerosol and trace-gases in-situ and auxiliary (e.g. trajectory) data and the training of a NN scheme to fit the best prediction parameters using 4STAR measurements as input. We explore our misclassification rates as related to our ground-truth labels, and with multi-layered pollution plume cases. The next step in our analysis is to optimize parameter selection for a scheme that can be applied to space-borne aerosol and trace-gas observation platforms such as OMI, and future geostationary satellites such as TEMPO and GEO-CAPE.

Neural-network↗

Simulation of Radiation-Induced DNA Damage With the Code RITRACKS

INTRODUCTION DNA damage is one of the most physiologically important effects of ionizing radiation. Clustered DNA damage events, like double-strand breaks (DSBs), have the most notable biological consequences. DNA damage types depend on both the track structure of the radiation and the spatial organization of the DNA. High linear energy transfer (LET) charged nuclei, found in galactic cosmic rays (GCR), are known to produce large numbers of complex DNA damage events. The human genome is packaged into chromatin, which can take on locus-dependent and cell type-dependent spatial conformations that correspond to epigenetic states, such as more open, extended structures in transcriptionally active chromatin. These epigenetic differences can affect DNA break patterns in response to ionizing radiation, potentially creating distinct DNA repair and signaling outcomes across the genome in different cells. MATERIAL AND METHODS The code RITRACKS (Relativistic Ion Tracks), which simulates stochastic radiation track structures and radiation chemistry, was used to model damage on isolated and histone-bound DNA by various types of ions and photons. The changes made to the code to perform radiation-induced DNA damage, and simulation results on single nucleosomes are given in our recent paper. In this work, the DNA building capabilities of RITRACKS have been extended to simulate more complex DNA structures build on the coarse-grain simulation framework meso-WLCsim. This code can sample generic chromatin fiber conformation ensembles based on the geometry of nucleosomes and mechanical properties of DNA. Using RITRACKS, we simulated the fragment length distributions (FLD) of irradiated DNA structures built using the chromatin conformations of WLCsim and obtained results representative of those obtained with Radiation-Induced Correlated Cleavage with sequencing (RICC-Seq) experiments [6]. We have also performed Fe ion and photon irradiations of K562, IMR90, BJ and RPE-1 cells at NSRL to experimentally validate results. Sample processing and data analysis are in progress and any available preliminary results will be discussed. DISCUSSION The recent updates in the code RITRACKS allow the calculation of several quantities such as the DNA damage yield and the FLD. This approach can be used to model epigenetic state-specific chromatin structure parameters to leverage the epigenetic state data available for many human cell types to infer relative DNA damage sensitivity among genomic loci.

I Plante↗

Design of an Improved Heater Array to Measure Microscale Wall Heat Transfer

An improved array of microscale heaters is being developed to measure the heat transfer coefficient at many points underneath individual bubbles during boiling as a function of space and time. This heater array enables the local heat transfer from a surface during the bubble growth and departure process to be measured with very high temporal and spatial resolution, and should allow better understanding of the boiling heat transfer mechanisms by pin-pointing when and where in the bubble departure cycle large amounts of wall heat transfer occur. Such information can provide much needed data regarding the important heat transfer mechanisms during the bubble departure cycle, and can serve as benchmarks to validate many of the analytical and numerical models used to simulate boiling. The improvements to the heater array include using a silicon-on-quartz substrate to reduce thermal cross-talk between the heaters, decreased space between the heaters, increased pad sizes on the heaters, and progressive heater sizes. Some results using the present heater array are discussed.

Kim, Jungho↗

Optimizing the Resolution of Hydrodynamic Simulations for MCRaT Radiative Transfer Calculations

Despite their discovery about half a century ago, the Gamma-ray burst (GRB) prompt emission mechanism is still not well understood. Theoretical modeling of the prompt emission has advanced considerably due to new computational tools and techniques. One such tool is the PLUTO hydro dynamics code, which is used to numerically simulate GRB outflows. PLUTO uses Adaptive Mesh Refinement to focus computational efforts on the portion of the grid that contains the simulated jet. Another tool is the Monte Carlo Radiation Transfer (MCRaT) code, which predicts electromagnetic signatures of GRBs by conducting photon scatterings within a jet using PLUTO. The effects of the underlying resolution of a PLUTO simulation with respect to MCRaT post-processing radiative transfer results have not yet been quantified. We analyze an analytic spherical outflow and a hydrodynamically simulated GRB jet with MCRaT at varying spatial and temporal resolutions and quantify how decreasing both resolutions affect the resulting mock observations. We find that changing the spatial resolution changes the hydrodynamic properties of the jet, which directly affect the MCRaT mock observable peak energies. We also find that decreasing the temporal resolution artificially decreases the high energy slope of the mock observed spectrum, which increases both the spectral peak energy and the luminosity. We show that the effects are additive when both spatial and temporal resolutions are modified. Our results allow us to understand how decreased hydrodynamic temporal and spatial resolutions affect the results of post-processing radiative transfer calculations, allowing for the optimization of hydrodynamic simulations for radiative transfer codes.

Jose Arita-Escalante↗

Multi-channel spatial auditory display for speech communications

A spatial auditory display for multiple speech communications was developed at NASA-Ames Research Center. Input is spatialized by use of simplified head-related transfer functions, adapted for FIR filtering on Motorola 56001 digital signal processors. Hardware and firmware design implementations are overviewed for the initial prototype developed for NASA-Kennedy Space Center. An adaptive staircase method was used to determine intelligibility levels of four letter call signs used by launch personnel at NASA, against diotic speech babble. Spatial positions at 30 deg azimuth increments were evaluated. The results from eight subjects showed a maximal intelligibility improvement of about 6 to 7 dB when the signal was spatialized to 60 deg or 90 deg azimuth positions.

Begault, Durand↗

Application of information theory to the design of line-scan imaging systems

Information theory is used to formulate a single figure of merit for assessing the performance of line scan imaging systems as a function of their spatial response (point spread function or modulation transfer function), sensitivity, sampling and quantization intervals, and the statistical properties of a random radiance field. Computational results for the information density and efficiency (i.e., the ratio of information density to data density) are intuitively satisfying and compare well with experimental and theoretical results obtained by earlier investigators concerned with the performance of TV systems.

Huck, F. O.↗

Saturation Phenomena in LIF Measurements, Appendix B

Optical saturation is the phenomenon in which the laser-induced rates of absorption and spontaneous emission between two levels, induced by a laser, become comparable to or greater than the spontaneous emission and collision rates connecting these levels. This results in the excited state population N(u) acquiring a value of similar magnitude to that of the ground state, N(e). Under these conditions the observed fluorescence signal, which is proportional to N(u), is no longer linearly dependent on laser intensity I, but increases at a slower rate, and in principle ultimately becomes independent of I. A conceptual picture of optical saturation using a two-level picture is described. This is, however, inadequate for the description of a real experiment involving a molecule, such as OH, for several reasons, which will be explained briefly; these are the multi-level nature of the electronic states and energy transfer among them and effects due to spatial, spectral, and temporal fluctuations in the laser pulse.

Source record↗

Waves in the Martian Atmosphere: Results from MGS Radio Occultations

Temperatures retrieved from Mars Global Surveyor radio occultations have been searched for evidence of waves. Emphasis has been on the initial series of occultations between 29 deg N and 64 deg S, obtained during the early martian southern summer, L(sub s) = 264 deg - 308 deg. The profiles exhibit an undulatory behavior that is suggestive of vertically propagating waves. wavelengths approximately 10 km are often dominant, but structure on smaller scales is evident. The undulatory structure is most pronounced between latitudes 29 deg N and 10 deg S, usually in regions of "interesting" topography, e.g., in the Tharsis region and near the edge of Syrtis Major. Several temperature profiles, particularly within 30 deg of the equator, exhibit lapse rates that locally become superadiabatic near the 0.4-mbar level or at higher altitudes. This implies that the waves are "breaking" and depositing horizontal momentum into the atmosphere. Such a deposition may play an important role in modulating the atmospheric winds, and characterizing the spatial and temporal distribution of these momentum transfers can provide important clues to understanding how the global circulation is maintained.

Flasar, F. M.↗

Multichannel Spatial Auditory Display for Speed Communications

A spatial auditory display for multiple speech communications was developed at NASA/Ames Research Center. Input is spatialized by the use of simplifiedhead-related transfer functions, adapted for FIR filtering on Motorola 56001 digital signal processors. Hardware and firmware design implementations are overviewed for the initial prototype developed for NASA-Kennedy Space Center. An adaptive staircase method was used to determine intelligibility levels of four-letter call signs used by launch personnel at NASA against diotic speech babble. Spatial positions at 30 degree azimuth increments were evaluated. The results from eight subjects showed a maximum intelligibility improvement of about 6-7 dB when the signal was spatialized to 60 or 90 degree azimuth positions.

Begault, Durand R.↗

BOREAS HYD-3 Subcanopy Incoming Solar Radiation Measurements

The Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) Hydrology (HYD)-3 team collected several data sets related to the hydrology of forested areas. This data set contains solar radiation measurements from several pyranometers (solar radiometers) placed on the snow surface in jack pine (1994) and black spruce and aspen forests (1996) in the BOREAS southern study area (SSA). An array of radiometers was used to collect data for three to four consecutive days in each forest type to study the hypothesis that energy transfer and snow water equivalent would vary spatially as a function of canopy closure. The quality of the data is good, because the days were generally clear and the radiometers were checked daily to remove anything that landed on the radiometers. The data are available in tabular ASCII files. The subcanopy incoming solar radiation measurement data are available from the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC). The data files are available on a CD-ROM (see document number 20010000884).

Hardy, Janet P.↗