Search NASASearch

Engineering topics

Hammer, Philip D.

Publications and source records attributed to Hammer, Philip D..

Method of calibrating an interferometer and reducing its systematic noise

Methods of operation and data analysis for an interferometer so as to eliminate the errors contributed by non-responsive or unstable pixels, interpixel gain variations that drift over time, and spurious noise that would otherwise degrade the operation of the interferometer are disclosed. The methods provide for either online or post-processing calibration. The methods apply prescribed reversible transformations that exploit the physical properties of interferograms obtained from said interferometer to derive a calibration reference signal for subsequent treatment of said interferograms for interpixel gain variations. A self-consistent approach for treating bad pixels is incorporated into the methods.

Hammer, Philip D.

Digital Array Scanned Interferometer: Sensors And Results

Digital Array Scanned Interferometers (DASI), blend characteristics of a grating spectrometer and a two-beam interferometer for acquisition of hyperspectra. DASIs possess field widened capabilities that permit very high throughput. Aspects of DASI design, hyperspectra and data processing methods are presented. In particular, we provide data showing the important result that photon noise limited hyperspectra are achievable for DASI data acquired with a variety of FPAs.

Smith, William Hyaden

An Imaging Interferometer for Terrestrial Remote Sensing

A prototype imaging interferometer called DASI (digital array scanned interferometer) is under development at our laboratories. Our objective is to design an instrument for remote sensing of Earth's atmosphere and surface. This paper describes the unusual characteristics of DASIs which make them promising candidates for ground and aircraft-based terrestrial measurements. These characteristics include superior signal-to-noise, design simplicity and compactness, relative to dispersion based imaging spectrometers. Perhaps one of the most notable features of DASIs is their ability to acquire an entire interferogram simultaneously without any moving optical elements. We also describe selected laboratory and ground based field measurements using the prototype DASI. A CCD detector array was placed at the DASI detector plane for wavelength coverage from 0.4 to 1.0 micron. A NICMOS MCT detector was used for coverage from 1.1 to 2.2 micron. The DASI was configured to have a spectral resolution of about 300 1/cm, a spatial field of view of 5 degrees, and a constant number of transverse spatial elements (detector dependent) for each exposure frame. Frame exposure rates were up to 0.6 Hz with the potential to achieve 5 Hz. Image cube measurements of laboratory targets and terrestrial scenes were obtained by multiple frame scanning over the field of view. These data sets reveal the potential science yields from obtaining simultaneous high resolution spatial and spectral information.

Hammer, Philip D.

The 27-28 October 1986 FIRE Cirrus case study - Retrieval of cloud particle sizes and optical depths from comparative analyses of aircraft and satellite-based infrared measurements

Infrared radiance measurements were acquired from a narrow-field nadir-viewing radiometer based on the NASA ER-2 aircraft during a coincident Landsat 5 overpass on October 28, 1986 as part of the FIRE Cirrus IFO in the vicinity of Lake Michigan. The spectral bandpasses are 9.90-10.87 microns for the ER-2-based radiometer and 10.40-12.50 microns for the Landsat thematic mapper band. After adjusting for spatial and temporal differences, a comparative study using data from these two instruments is undertaken in order to retrieve cirrus cloud ice-crystal sizes and optical depths. Retrieval is achieved by analysis of measurement correlations between the two spectral bands and comparison to multistream radiative transfer model calculations. The results indicate that the equivalent sphere radii of the cirrus ice crystals were typically less than 30 microns. Such particles were too small to be measured by the available in situ instrumentation. Cloud optical depths at a reference wavelength of 11.4 microns ranged from 0.3 to 2.0 for this case study. Supplemental results in support of this study are described using radiation measurements from the King Air aircraft, which was also in near coincidence with the Landsat overpass.

Hammer, Philip D.

Remote sensing of Earth's atmosphere and surface using a digital array scanned interferometer: A new type of imaging spectrometer

The capabilities of the digital array scanned interferometer (DASI) class of instruments for measuring terrestrial radiation fields over the visible to mid-infrared are evaluated. DASI's are capable of high throughput, sensitivity and spectral resolution and have the potential for field-of-view spatial discrimination (an imaging spectrometer). The simplicity of design and operation of DASI's make them particularly suitable for field and airborne platform based remote sensing. The long term objective is to produce a versatile field instrument which may be applied toward a variety of atmospheric and surface studies. The operation of DASI and its advantages over other spectrometers are discussed.

Hammer, Philip D.

A comparative study of infrared radiance measurements by an ER-2 based radiometer and the LANDSAT 5 Thematic Mapper (TM-6)

Infrared radiance measurements were acquired from a radiometer on the NASA ER-2 during a coincident LANDSAT 5 overpass on 28 Oct. 1986 as part of the FIRE Cirrus IFO in the vicinity of Lake Michigan. A comparative study is made to infer microphysical properties of the cirrus cloud field. Radiances are derived from the image by convolving the ER-2 radiometer's effective field of view along the flight path. A multistream radiative transfer model is used to account for the differences in spectral bandwidths, 10.40 to 12.50 microns for the LANDSAT band and 9.90 to 10.87 microns for the radiometer.

Hammer, Philip D.

Preliminary results of radiation measurements from the marine stratus FIRE experiment

During the marine stratocumulus phase of the First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Regional Experiment (FIRE) in July 1987, researchers acquired radiative flux data from a variety of instruments which were flown on the ER-2 high altitude aircraft. The spectral coverage ranged from the near UV to beyond 40 microns. A survey and selected preliminary analyses of these measurements are presented. The specific instruments used in the experiment were chosen primarily for measuring quantities of specific interest for marine stratocumulus fields. However, testing and evaluation of instrumentation and techniques to be used in the future inland cirrus experiment was also an important consideration. Details of the instruments and the significance of what they measure are given.

Valero, Francisco P. J.

Retrieval of cirrus cloud properties from comparative analyses of aircraft and satellite measurements made during the 1986 FIRE IFO

Results are presented of a comparison of cirrus cloud properties obtained from aircraft measurements made during the FIRE Intensive Field Observations and Landsat 5 and NOAA-9 observations carried out during several near coincident overpasses by these satellites. Results of the analyses of these measurements and a comparison between measurements and model calculations were used to determine particle sizes within cirrus clouds and the IR optical depths.

Hammer, Philip D.

Infrared line intensity measurements in the v = 0-1 band of the ClO radical

Integrated line intensity measurements in the ClO-radical fundamental vibrational v = 0-1 band were carried out using a high-resolution Fourier transform spectrometer coupled to a long-path-length absorption cell. The results of a series of measurements designed to minimize systematic errors, yielded a value of the fundamental IR band intensity of the ClO-radical equal to 9.68 + or - 1.45/sq cm per atm at 296 K. This result is consistent with all the earlier published results, with the exception of measurements reported by Kostiuk et al. (1986) and Lang et al. (1988).

Burkholder, James B.

Measurements of the ClO radical vibrational band intensity and the ClO + ClO + M reaction product

There is considerable interest in the kinetics and concentrations of free radicals in the stratosphere. Chlorine monoxide is a critically important radical because of its role in catalytic cycles for ozone depletion. Depletion occurs under a wide variety of conditions including the Antarctic spring when unusual mechanisms such as the BrO sub x/ClO sub x, ClO dimer (Cl sub 2 O sub 2), and ClO sub x/HO sub x cycles are suggested to operate. Infrared spectroscopy is one of the methods used to measure ClO in the stratosphere (Menzies 1979 and 1983; Mumma et al., 1983). To aid the quantification of such infrared measurements, researchers measured the ClO ground state fundamental band intensity.

Burkholder, James B.