Engineering topics

Morrissey, Leslie A.

Publications and source records attributed to Morrissey, Leslie A..

2 records

NASA NTRS1995

Microwave Backscatter and Attenuation Dependence of Leaf Area Index for Flooded Rice Fields

Wetlands are important for their role in global climate as a source of methane and other reduced trace gases. As part of an effort to determine whether radar is suitable for wetland vegetation monitoring, we have studied the dependence of microwave backscatter and attenuation on leaf area index (LAI) for flooded rice fields. We find that the radar return from a flooded rice field does show dependence on LAI. In particular, the C-band VV cross section per unit area decreases with increasing LAI. A simple model for scattering from rice fields is derived and fit to the observed HH and VV data. The model fit provides insight into the relation of backscatter to LAI and is also used to calculate the canopy path attenuation as a function of LAI.

Durden, Stephen L.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Detection and identification of Arctic landforms - An assessment of remotely sensed data

The use of remote sensing data to monitor and analyze the arctic environment is examined. Landsat MSS, TM simulated, NS001, Seasat, and airborne radar are employed to investigate the Strand and Dune areas on the Arctic Coastal Plain in Alaska. The Strand area contains landforms associated with permafrost and the Dune area is dominated by eolian deposits consisting of large longitudinal dunes. The remote sensing data are compared to baseline geomorphic maps derived from aerial photography. It is observed that the multispectral data are better than the radar data for the detection and recognition of arctic landforms, and the NS001 data provided the highest spatial resolution and correlated well with the high-altitude aerial photography.

Dean, Kenneson G.↗