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Mckim, H. L.

Publications and source records attributed to Mckim, H. L..

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1985

Ohio River main stem study - The role of geographic information systems and remote sensing in flood damage assessments

The Pittsburgh District, Corps of Engineers, has conducted feasibility analyses of various procedures for performing flood damage assessments along the main stem of the Ohio River. Procedures using traditional, although highly automated, techniques and those based on geographic information systems have been evaluated at a test site, the City of New Martinsville, Wetzel County, WV. The flood damage assessments of the test site developed from an automated, conventional structure-by-structure appraisal served as the ground truth data set. A geographic information system was developed for the test site which includes data on hydraulic reach, ground and reference flood elevations, and land use/cover. Damage assessments were made using land use mapping developed from an exhaustive field inspection of each tax parcel. This ground truth condition was considered to provide the best comparison of flood damages to the conventional approach. Also, four land use/cover data sets were developed from Thematic Mapper Simulator (TMS) and Landsat-4 Thematic Mapper (TM) data. One of these was also used to develop a damage assessment of the test site. This paper presents the comparative absolute and relative accuracies of land use/cover mapping and flood damage assessments, and the recommended role of geographic information systems aided by remote sensing for conducting flood damage assessments and updates along the main stem of the Ohio River.

Edwardo, H. A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Extraction of topography from side-looking satellite systems A case study with SPOT simulation data

Techniques for reconstructing topographic data from side-looking satellite systems have been developed whereby nadir and off-nadir passes are coaligned to calculate the stereo displacement for each pixel in the nadir view by correlating a small subarea to a corresponding subarea in the off-nadir pass. The correlation algorithm was tested on two pairs of data sets consisting of patterns of bars and boxes and then applied to the SPOT simulation data set. The correlation was a maximum in areas where the relief was changing gradually, while in areas of constantly changing topography, the correlation decreased.

Ungar, S. G.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Integration of Landsat data into the Saginaw River Basin geographic information system

One of the objectives of the Saginaw River Basin study is related to the development of a computer model to predict flood damages. The computer model is to be operational in June 1985. In order to achieve this objective, the input of land-use data into a data base consisting of 198,000 grid cells will be required. A planning technique using Spatial Analysis Methodology (SAM) was developed by the Corps of Engineers Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) to systematically handle these data. The HEC-SAM system uses the spatially oriented map data in a series of data management and analysis software programs for input to the Corps hydrologic and environmental models. Attention is given to data base development, Landsat digital data, the placement of the Landsat data into the grid cell data base, and the development of the land cover classification. The Landsat-2 MSS scene covering 85 percent of the Saginaw River Basin was geometrically corrected to a UTM coordinate system.

Mckim, H. L.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Landsat-4 thematic mapper (TM) for cold environments

Landsat-4 was launched into a near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit on July 16, 1982. It is the largest and most complex of NASA's earth resources satellites. Landsat-4's instrument payload includes two remote sensors. The Multispectral Scanner Subsystem (MSS) is an electro-optical scanning radiometer with four spectral bands in the visible and near infrared, which was also carried aboard Landsats 1, 2, and 3. The second sensor, the Thematic Mapper (TM), represents a more advanced remote sensing instrument than the MSS. It uses a scanning mirror assembly to collect data from a 15.4 deg angle on both forward and reverse scans. It is pointed out that the improved spatial, spectral, and radiometric characteristics of TM have significant implications for satellite remote sensing in cold environments. The expected improvements are discussed, giving attention to snow, ice, water, soil, and land cover.

Gervin, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Survey of in-situ and remote sensing methods for soil moisture determination

General methods for determining the moisture content in the surface layers of the soil based on in situ or point measurements, soil water models and remote sensing observations are surveyed. In situ methods described include gravimetric techniques, nuclear techniques based on neutron scattering or gamma-ray attenuation, electromagnetic techniques, tensiometric techniques and hygrometric techniques. Soil water models based on column mass balance treat soil moisture contents as a result of meteorological inputs (precipitation, runoff, subsurface flow) and demands (evaporation, transpiration, percolation). The remote sensing approaches are based on measurements of the diurnal range of surface temperature and the crop canopy temperature in the thermal infrared, measurements of the radar backscattering coefficient in the microwave region, and measurements of microwave emission or brightness temperature. Advantages and disadvantages of the various methods are pointed out, and it is concluded that a successful monitoring system must incorporate all of the approaches considered.

Schmugge, T. J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Survey of methods for soil moisture determination

Existing and proposed methods for soil moisture determination are discussed. These include: (1) in situ investigations including gravimetric, nuclear, and electromagnetic techniques; (2) remote sensing approaches that use the reflected solar, thermal infrared, and microwave portions of the electromagnetic spectrum; and (3) soil physics models that track the behavior of water in the soil in response to meteorological inputs (precipitation) and demands (evapotranspiration). The capacities of these approaches to satisfy various user needs for soil moisture information vary from application to application, but a conceptual scheme for merging these approaches into integrated systems to provide soil moisture information is proposed that has the potential for meeting various application requirements.

Schmugge, T. J.↗
NASA NTRS1977

The use of the LANDSAT data collection system and imagery in reservoir management and operation

The author has identified the following significant results. An increase in the data collection system's (DCS) ability to function in the flood control mission with no additional manpower was demonstrated during the storms which struck New England during April and May of 1975 and August 1976. It was found that for this watershed, creditable flood hydrographs could be generated from DCS data. It was concluded that an ideal DCS for reservoir regulation would draw features from LANDSAT and GOES. MSS grayscale computer printout and a USGS topographic map were compared, yielding an optimum computer classification map of the wetland areas of the Merrimack River estuary. A classification accuracy of 75% was obtained for the wetlands unit, taking into account the misclassified and the unclassified pixels. The MSS band 7 grayscale printouts of the Franklin Falls reservoir showed good agreement to USGS topographic maps in total area of water depicted at the low water reservoir stage and at the maximum inundation level. Preliminary analysis of the LANDSAT digital data using the GISS computer algorithms showed that the radiance of snow cover/vegetation varied from approximately 20 mW/sq cm sr in nonvegetated areas to less than 4 mW/sq cm sr for densely covered forested area.

Cooper, S.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Skylab imagery: Application to reservoir management in New England

The author has identified the following significant results. S190B imagery is superior to the LANDSAT imagery for land use mapping and is as useful for level 1 and 2 land use mapping as the RB-57/RC8 high altitude imagery. Detailed land use mapping at levels 3 and finer from satellite imagery requires better resolution. For evaluating factors that are required to determine volume runoff potentials in a watershed, the S190B imagery was found to be as useful as the RB-57/RC8 high altitude aircraft imagery.

Cooper, S.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Land use/vegetation mapping in reservoir management. Merrimack River basin

This report consists of an analysis of: ERTS-1 Multispectral Scanner imagery obtained 10 August 1973; Skylab 3 S190A and S190B photography, track 29, taken 21 September 1973; and RB-57 high-altitude aircraft photography acquired 26 September 1973. These data products were acquired on three cloud-free days within a 47-day period. The objectives of this study were: (1) to make quantitative comparisons between high-altitude aircraft photography and satellite imagery, and (2) to demonstrate the extent to which high resolution (S190A and B) space-acquired data can be used for land use/vegetation mapping and management of drainage basins.

Mckim, H. L.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Land use and pollution patterns on the Great Lakes

The author has identified the following significant results. The final mapping of the large watersheds of the Manitowoc and the Oconto was done using the 25% sampling approach. Comparisons were made with earlier strip mapping efforts of the Oconto and Manitowoc watersheds. Regional differences were noted. Strip mapping of the Oconto resulted in overestimation of the amount of agricultural land compared to the random sampling method. For the Manitowoc, the strip mapping approach produced a slight underestimate of agricultural land, and an overestimate of the forest category.

Haugen, R. K.↗
NASA NTRS1974

New England reservoir management: Land use/vegetation mapping in reservoir management (Merrimack River Basin)

The author has identified the following significant results. It is evident from this comparison that for land use/vegetation mapping the S190B Skylab photography compares favorably with the RB-57 photography and is much superior to the ERTS-1 and Skylab 190A imagery. For most purposes the 12.5 meter resolution of the S190B imagery is sufficient to permit extraction of the information required for rapid land use and vegetation surveys necessary in the management of reservoir or watershed. The ERTS-1 and S190A data products are not considered adequate for this purpose, although they are useful for rapid regional surveys at the level 1 category of the land use/vegetation classification system.

Cooper, S.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Arctic and subarctic environmental analyses utilizing ERTS-1 imagery

The author has identified the following significant results. ERTS-1 imagery provides a means of distinguishing and monitoring estuarine surface water circulation patterns and changes in the relative sediment load of discharging rivers on a regional basis. Physical boundaries mapped from ERTS-1 imagery in combination with ground truth obtained from existing small scale maps and other sources resulted in improved and more detailed maps of permafrost terrain and vegetation for the same area. Snowpack cover within a research watershed has been analyzed and compared to ground data. Large river icings along the proposed Alaska pipeline route from Prudhoe Bay to the Brooks Range have been monitored. Sea ice deformation and drift northeast of Point Barrow, Alaska have been measured during a four day period in March and shore-fast ice accumulation and ablation along the west coast of Alaska have been mapped for the spring and early summer seasons.

Anderson, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Applications of ERTS-1 imagery to terrestrial and marine environmental analyses in Alaska

ERTS-1 imagery provides a means of distinguishing and monitoring estuarine surface water circulation patterns and changes in the relative sediment load of discharging rivers on a regional basis. It also will aid local fishing industries by augmenting currently available hydrologic and navigation charts. The interpretation of geologic and vegetation features resulted in preparation of improved surficial geology, vegetation and permafrost terrain maps at a scale of 1:1 million utilizing ERTS-1 band 7 imagery. This information will be further utilized in a route and site selection study for the Nome to Kobuk Road in central Alaska. Large river icings along the proposed Alaska pipeline route have been monitored. Sea ice deformation and drift northeast of Point Barrow, Alaska has been measured and shorefast ice accumulation and ablation along the west coast of Alaska is being mapped for the spring and early summer seasons. These data will be used for route and site selection, regional environmental analysis, identification and inventory of natural resources, land use planning, and in land use regulation and management.

Anderson, D. M.↗