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At least 127 records · Page 7

Implications of RFI at L-Band on Passive Microwave Remote Sensing of Soil Moisture from Space: Experience with ESTAR During SGP97

Passive microwave remote sensing in the protected band at 1.413 GHz (L-band) is important for monitoring parameters of the ocean and land surface such as soil moisture and sea surface salinity. These parameters are needed for understanding energy exchange between the surface and atmosphere and therefore are important for improving our understanding of weather and climate change. Although the band at 1.413 GHz is protected for passive use, airborne radiometers experience problems with RFI. For example, during the Southern Great Plains Experiment (1997) the ESTAR radiometer experienced significant RFI associated with airports, presumably air traffic control radar. This is a potential problem for future sensors in space planned for remote sensing of the earth surface in this frequency band.

LeVine, David M.↗

Wavelet and Fractal Analysis of Remotely Sensed Surface Temperature with Applications to Estimation of Surface Sensible Heat Flux Density

Wavelet and fractal analyses have been used successfully to analyze one-dimensional data sets such as time series of financial, physical, and biological parameters. These techniques have been applied to two-dimensional problems in some instances, including the analysis of remote sensing imagery. In this respect, these techniques have not been widely used by the remote sensing community, and their overall capabilities as analytical tools for use on satellite and aircraft data sets is not well known. Wavelet and fractal analyses have the potential to provide fresh insight into the characterization of surface properties such as temperature and emissivity distributions, and surface processes such as the heat and water vapor exchange between the surface and the lower atmosphere. In particular, the variation of sensible heat flux density as a function of the change In scale of surface properties Is difficult to estimate, but - in general - wavelets and fractals have proved useful in determining the way a parameter varies with changes in scale. We present the results of a limited study on the relationship between spatial variations in surface temperature distribution and sensible heat flux distribution as determined by separate wavelet and fractal analyses. We analyzed aircraft imagery obtained in the thermal infrared (IR) bands from the multispectral TIMS and hyperspectral MASTER airborne sensors. The thermal IR data allows us to estimate the surface kinetic temperature distribution for a number of sites in the Midwestern and Southwestern United States (viz., San Pedro River Basin, Arizona; El Reno, Oklahoma; Jornada, New Mexico). The ground spatial resolution of the aircraft data varied from 5 to 15 meters. All sites were instrumented with meteorological and hydrological equipment including surface layer flux measuring stations such as Bowen Ratio systems and sonic anemometers. The ground and aircraft data sets provided the inputs for the wavelet and fractal analyses, and the validation of the results.

Schieldge, John↗

Seasonal variations of snow depth on Mars

Using topography collected over one martian year from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft, we have measured temporal changes in the elevation of the martian surface that correlate with the seasonal cycle of carbon dioxide exchange between the surface and atmosphere. The greatest elevation change (1.5 to 2 meters) occurs at high latitudes ( above 80 degrees ), whereas the bulk of the mass exchange occurs at lower latitudes (below 75 degrees N and below 73 degrees S). An unexpected period of sublimation was observed during northern hemisphere autumn, coincident with dust storms in the southern hemisphere. Analysis of MGS Doppler tracking residuals revealed temporal variations in the flattening of Mars that correlate with elevation changes. The combined changes in gravity and elevation constrain the average density of seasonally deposited carbon dioxide to be 910 +/- 230 kilograms per cubic meter, which is considerably denser than terrestrial snow.

Carbon Dioxide↗

The Viking gas exchange experiment results from Chryse and Utopia surface samples

Immediate gas changes occurred when untreated Martian surface samples were humidified and/or wet by an aqueous nutrient medium in the Viking lander gas exchange experiment. The evolutions of N2, CO2, and Ar are mainly associated with soil surface desorption caused by water vapor, while O2 evolution is primarily associated with decomposition of superoxides inferred to be present on Mars. On recharges with fresh nutrient and test gas, only CO2 was given off, and its rate of evolution decreased with each recharge. This CO2 evolution is thought to come from the oxidation of organics present in the nutrient by gamma Fe2O3 in the surface samples. Atmospheric analyses were also performed at both sites. The mean atmospheric composition from four analyses is N2, 2.3%; O2, not greater than 0.15%; Ar, 1.5% and CO2, 96.2%.

Oyama, V. I.↗

Tritiated alumina serves as reagent for self-labeling analysis

Tritiated alumina, prepared by exchange of the surface hydroxyl groups with tritiated water, is a suitable reagent for exchange-labeling of specific compounds in low concentrations prior to chromatographic analysis. In a chromatographic column, it detects and measures submicrogram quantities of material.

Erenrich, E. H.↗

Soil Moisture Retrieval During a Corn Growth Cycle using L-band (1.6 GHz) Radar Observations

New opportunities for large-scale soil moisture monitoring will emerge with the launch of two low frequency (L-band 1.4 GHz) radiometers: the Aquarius mission in 2009 and the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission in 2008. Soil moisture is an important land surface variable affecting water and heat exchanges between atmosphere, land surface and deeper ground water reservoirs. The data products from these sensors provide valuable information in a range of climate and hydrologic applications (e.g., nume~cal weather prediction, drought monitoring, flood forecasting, water resources management, etc.). This paper describes a unique data set that was collected during a field campaign at OPE^ (Optimizing Production Inputs for Economic and Environmental Enhancements) site in Beltsville, Maryland throughout the eompj2ete corn growing in 2002. This investigation describes a simple methodology to correct active microwave observations for vegetation effects, which could potentially be implemented in a global soil moisture monitoring algorithm. The methodology has been applied to radar observation collected during the entire corn growth season and validation against ground measurements showed that the top 5-cm soil moisture can be retrieved with an accuracy up to 0.033 [cu cm/cu cm] depending on the sensing configuration.

Joseph, Alicia T.↗

Changes in atmospheric CO2 - Factors regulating the glacial to interglacial transition

Observations of pCO2 and delta-C-13 for the deep sea, and delta-C-13 for shallow waters, furnish important constraints on the chemistry of the glacial ocean. The concentration of preformed nutrients in the model presented reflects the concentration of nitrogen at depth, the efficiency with which nitrogen is supplied to the cold surface water by exchange with the intermediate layer, the extent to which nutrients in the cold surface regime are diluted by low nutrient water from lower latitude, and the efficiency with which nutrients are used up by the local cold water biota.

Ennever, F. K.↗

Calibration, navigation, and registration of MAMS data for FIFE

The International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project (ISLSCP) was conducted to study the interaction of the atmosphere with the land surface and the research problems associated with the interpretation of satellite data over the Earth's land surface. The experimental objectives of the First ISLSCP Field Experiment (FIFE) were the simultaneous acquisition of satellite, atmospheric, and surface data and to use these data to understand the processes controlling energy/mass exchange at the surface. The experiment site is a 15 x 15 km area southeast of Manhattan, Kansas, intersected by Interstate 70 and Kansas highway 177. The Konza Prairie portion is 5 x 5 km and is a controlled experiment site consisting primarily of native tall grass prairie vegetation. The remainder of the site is grazing and farm land with trees along creek beds that are scattered over the area. Airborne multispectral imagery from the Multispectral Atmospheric Mapping Sensor (MAMS) was collected over this region on two days during Intensive Field Campaign-1 (1FC-1) to study the time and space variability of remotely-sensed geophysical parameters. These datasets consist of multiple overflights covering about a 60-min period during late morning on June 4, 1987 and shortly after dark on the following day. Image data from each overpass were calibrated and Earth located with respect to each other using aircraft inertial navigation system parameters and ground control points. These were the first MAMS flights made with 10-bit thermal data.

Jedlovec, G. J.↗

ATD-2 Surface Scheduling and Metering Concept

This presentation describes the concept of ATD-2 tactical surface scheduling and metering. The concept is composed of several elements, including data exchange and integration; surface modeling; surface scheduling; and surface metering. The presentation explains each of the elements. Surface metering is implemented to balance demand and capacity• When surface metering is on, target times from surface scheduler areconverted to advisories for throttling demand• Through the scheduling process, flights with CTOTs will not get addedmetering delay (avoids potential for ‘double delay’)• Carriers can designate certain flights as exempt from metering holds• Demand throttle in Phase 1 at CLT is through advisories sent to rampcontrollers for pushback instructions to the flight deck– Push now– Hold for an advised period of time (in minutes)• Principles of surface metering can be more generally applied to otherairports in the NAS to throttle demand via spot-release times (TMATs Strong focus on optimal use of airport resources• Flexibility enables stakeholders to vary the amount of delay theywould like transferred to gate• Addresses practical aspects of executing surface metering in aturbulent real world environment• Algorithms designed for both short term demand/capacityimbalances (banks) or sustained metering situations• Leverage automation to enable surface metering capability withoutrequiring additional positions• Represents first step in Tactical/Strategic fusion• Provides longer look-ahead calculations to enable analysis ofstrategic surface metering potential usage

Departure↗

Thickness Constraints on the Icy Shells of the Galilean Satellites from a Comparison of Crater Shapes

A thin outer ice shell on Jupiter's large moon Europa would imply easy exchange between the surface and any organic or biotic material in its putative subsurface ocean. The thickness of the outer ice shell is poorly constrained, however, with model-dependent estimates ranging from a few kilometers of depths of impact craters on Europa, Ganymede and Callisto that reveal two anomalous transitions in crater shape with diameter. The first transition is probably related to temperature-dependent ductility of the crust at shallow depths (7-8 km on Europa). The second transition is attributed to the influence of subsurface oceans on all three satellites, which constrains Europa's icy shell to be at least 19 km thick. The icy lithospheres of Ganymede and Callisto are equally ice-rich, but Europa's icy shell has a thermal structure about 0.25-0.5 times the thickness of Ganymede's or Callisto's shells, depending on epoch. The appearances of the craters on Europa are inconsistent with thin-ice-shell models and indicate that exchange of oceanic and surface material could be difficult.

Schenk, Paul M.↗

Surface temperature variations as measured by the Heat Capacity Mapping Mission

The AEM-1 satellite, the Heat Capacity Mapping Mission, has acquired high-quality thermal infrared data at times of day especially suited for studying the earth's surface and the exchange of heat and moisture with the atmosphere. Selected imagery illustrates the considerable variability of surface temperature in and around cities, in the dry southwestern United States, in the Appalachian Mountains, and in agricultural areas. Through simplifying assumptions, an analytic experience is derived that relates day/night temperature differences to the near-surface layer (thermal inertia) and to meteorological factors. Analysis of the result suggests that, in arid regions, estimates of relative thermal inertia may be inferred, whereas, in agricultural areas, a hydrologic interpretation is possible.

Price, J. C.↗

Use of IRI to Model the Effect of Ionosphere Emission on Earth Remote Sensing at L-Band

Microwave remote sensing in the window at 1.413 GHz (L-band) set aside for passive use only is important for monitoring sea surface salinity and soil moisture. These parameters are important for understanding ocean dynamics and energy exchange between the surface and atmosphere, and both NASA and ESA plan to launch satellite sensors to monitor these parameters at L-band (Aquarius, Hydros and SMOS). The ionosphere is an important source of error for passive remote sensing at this frequency. In addition to Faraday rotation, emission from the ionosphere is also a potential source of error at L-band. As an aid for correcting for emission, a regression model is presented that relates ionosphere emission to the integrated electron density (TEC). The goal is to use TEC from sources such as TOPEX, JASON or GPS to obtain estimates of emission over the oceans where the electron density profiles needed to compute emission are not available. In addition, data will also be presented to evaluate the use of the IRI for computing emission over the ocean.

Abraham, Saji↗

The sensitivity of a general circulation model to Saharan dust heating

Evidence is accumulating that tropospheric aerosols, such as Saharan dust, can significantly influence weather and climate. The Climate Model of the Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheric Sciences is presently used to assess the possible effects of Saharan dust on the weather and climate of North Africa and the tropical Atlantic Ocean. The three-dimensional model solves the conservation equations for the horizontal wind vector, potential temperature, water vapor mixing ratio, and surface pressure. Parameterizations are included for turbulent exchange at the earth surface, cumulus convection, large scale saturation, diurnally varying solar radiation, and terrestrial radiation. Realistic simulations are thereby produced for many aspects of the observed climate.

Randall, D.↗

Generation of liquid water on Mars through the melting of a dusty snowpack

An optical/thermal model for dusty snowpacks at temperate Martian latitudes is used to investigate the possibility of valley network formation by liquid water that was provided by snowmelts, assuming insolation absorption under clear-sky conditions. The mean-annual surface temperatures for snow and the atmospheric exchange terms of the surface energy balance are constrained by global climate model results. Under favorable conditions, liquid water is generated at atmospheric pressures as low as 30-100 mbar, provided that the substrate is composed of regolith; this condition is in keeping with the cratered terrain expected in an ancient Martian surface.

Clow, Gary D.↗