Search NASASearch

Engineering topics

Faller, K. H.

Publications and source records attributed to Faller, K. H..

Estimating vegetation coverage in St. Joseph Bay, Florida with an airborne multispectral scanner

A four-channel multispectral scanner (MSS) carried aboard an aircraft was used to collect data along several flight paths over St. Joseph Bay, FL. Various classifications of benthic features were defined from the results of ground-truth observations. The classes were statistically correlated with MSS channel signal intensity using multivariate methods. Application of the classification measures to the MSS data set allowed computer construction of a detailed map of benthic features of the bay. Various densities of segrasses, various bottom types, and algal coverage were distinguished from water of various depths. The areal vegetation coverage of St. Joseph Bay was not significantly different from the results of a survey conducted six years previously, suggesting that seagrasses are a very stable feature of the bay bottom.

Savastano, K. J.

Mapping of submerged vegetation using remote sensing technology

Techniques for mapping submerged sea grasses using aircraft supported remote sensors are described. The 21 channel solid state array spectroradiometer was successfully used as a remote sensor in the experiment in that the system operated without problem and obtained data. The environmental conditions of clear water, bright sandy bottom and monospecific vegetation (Thalassia) were ideal.

Savastano, K. J.

Radiative transfer modeling applied to sea water constituent determination

Optical radiation from the sea is influenced by pigments dissolved in the water and contained in discrete organisms suspended in the sea, and by pigmented and unpigmented inorganic and organic particles. The problem of extracting the information concerning these pigments and particulates from the optical properties of the sea is addressed and the properties which determine characteristics of the radiation that a remote sensor will detect and measure are considered. The results of the application of the volume scattering function model to the data collected in the Gulf of Mexico and its environs indicate that the size distribution of the concentrations of particles found in the sea can be predicted from measurements of the volume scattering function. Furthermore, with the volume scattering function model and knowledge of the absorption spectra of dissolved pigments, the radiative transfer model can compute a distribution of particle sizes and indices of refraction and concentration of dissolved pigments that give an upwelling light spectrum that closely matches measurements of that spectrum at sea.

Faller, K. H.

Shoreline as a controlling factor in commercial shrimp production

The author has identified the following significant results. An ecological model was developed that relates marsh detritus export and shrimp production. It was based on the hypothesis that the shoreline is a controlling factor in the production of shrimp through regulation of detritus export from the marsh. LANDSAT data were used to develop measurement of shoreline length and areas of marsh having more than 5.0 kilometers of shoreline per square kilometer of area for the Louisiana coast, demonstrating the capability of remote sensing to provide important geographic information. These factors were combined with published tidal ranges and salinities to develop a mathematical model that predicted shrimp production for nine geographic units of the Louisiana coast, as indicated by the long term average commercial shrimp yield.

Faller, K. H.

Shoreline as a controlling factor in commercial shrimp production

An ecological model was developed that relates marsh detritus export and shrimp production, based on the hypothesis that the shoreline is a controlling factor in the production of shrimp through regulation of detritus export from the marsh. LANDSAT data were used to develop measurements of shoreline length and area of marsh having more than 5.0 km shoreline/sq km for the coast of Louisiana, demonstrating the capability of remote sensing to provide important geographic information. These factors were combined with published tidal ranges and salinities to develop a mathematical model that predicted shrimp production for nine geographic units of the Louisiana coast, as indicated by the long term average commercial shrimp yield. The mathematical model relating these parameters and the shrimp production is consistent with an energy flow model describing the interaction of detritus producing marshlands with shrimp nursery grounds and inshore shrimping areas. The analysis supports the basic hypothesis and further raises the possibility of applications to coastal zone management requirements.

Faller, K. H.

LANDSAT menhaden and thread herring resources investigation

The author has identified the following significant results. The relationship between the distribution of menhaden and selected oceanographic parameters (water color, turbidity, and possibly chlorophyll concentrations) was established. Similar relationships for thread herring were not established nor were relationships relating to the abundance of either species. Use of aircraft and LANDSAT remote sensing instruments to measure or infer a set of basic oceanographic parameters was evaluated. Parameters which could be accurately inferred included surface water temperature, salinity, and color. Water turbidity (Secchi disk) was evaluated as marginally inferrable from the LANDSAT MSS data and chlorophyll-a concentrations as less than marginal. These evaluations considered the parameters only as experienced in the two test areas using available sensors and statistical techniques.

Kemmerer, A. J.

A procedure for detection and measurement of interfaces in remotely acquired data using a digital computer

A technique developed and evaluated for the detection and measurement of surface feature interfaces in remotely acquired data is described. A computer implementation of this technique has been effected to automatically process categorized data derived from various sources such as the LANDSAT multispectral scanner and other scanner type sensors. The basic elements of the operational theory of the technique are described together with details of the procedure. An example application of the technique to the analysis of tidal shoreline length is given with a breakdown of manpower requirements.

Faller, K. H.

Applications of space observations to the management and utilization of coastal fishery resources

Information needs of those concerned with the harvest and management of coastal fishery resources can be satisfied in part through applications of satellite remote sensing. Recently completed and ongoing investigations have demonstrated potentials for defining fish distribution patterns from multispectral data, monitoring fishing distribution and effort with synthetic aperture radar systems, forecasting recruitment of certain estuarine-dependent species, and tracking marine mammals. These investigations, which are reviewed in this paper, have relied on Landsat 1 and 2, Skylab-3, and Nimbus-6 supported sensors and sensors carried by aircraft and mounted on surface platforms to simulate applications from Seasat-A and other future spacecraft systems. None of the systems are operational as all were designed to identify and demonstrate applications and to aid in the specification of requirements for future spaceborne systems.

Kemmerer, A. J.

LANDSAT menhaden and thread herring resources investigation, Gulf of Mexico

The author has identified the following significant results. The most significant achievement thus far includes the successful charting of high probability fishing areas from LANDSAT MSS data and the successful simulation of an operational satellite system to provide tactical information for the commercial harvest of menhaden.

Savastano, K.

LANDSAT menhaden and thread herring resources investigation, Gulf of Mexico

The author has identified the following significant results. The most significant achievements thus far include the successful charting of high probability fishing areas from LANDSAT MSS data and the successful simulation of an operational satellite system to provide tactical information for the commercial harvest of menhaden.

Savastano, K.

Procedure for detection and measurement of interfaces in remotely acquired data using a digital computer

A technique for the detection and measurement of surface feature interfaces in remotely acquired data was developed and evaluated. A computer implementation of this technique was effected to automatically process classified data derived from various sources such as the LANDSAT multispectral scanner and other scanning sensors. The basic elements of the operational theory of the technique are described, followed by the details of the procedure. An example of an application of the technique to the analysis of tidal shoreline length is given with a breakdown of manpower requirements.

Faller, K. H.

Automatic interface measurement and analysis

A technique for detecting and measuring the interface between two categories in classified scanner data is described together with two application demonstrations. Measurements were found to be accurate to 1.5% root mean square error on features of known length while comparison of measurements made using the technique on LANDSAT data to opisometer measurements on 1:24,000 scale maps shows excellent agreement. Application of the technique to two frames of LANDSAT data classified using a two channel, two class classifier resulted in a computation of 64 km annual decrease in shoreline length. The tidal shoreline of a portion of Alabama was measured using LANDSAT data. Based on the measurement of this portion, the total tidal shoreline length of Alabama is estimated to be 1313 kilometers.

Faller, K. H.

Preliminary study of Lake Pontchartrain and vicinity using remotely sensed data from the ERTS-A satellite

The author has identified the following significant results. During the summer of 1972, huge mats of duckweeds (Lemnaceae) appeared on Lake Pontchartrain, a shallow estuary in southeastern Louisiana. In color infrared photography, duckweeds show a characteristic light lavender color, unlike algal mats or water hyacinth, as observed in low level aerial photography. Although at least five species are present in the area, most water coverage is by Lemna minor and Spirodela oligorrhiza. ERTS-1 imagery shows many areas of bayous, swamps, and marginal waters of Lake Pontchartrain covered with duckweeds. Subsequent passes show a seasonal decreases in duckweeds.

Hidalgo, J. U.