Engineering topics

Murphy, Robert E.

Publications and source records attributed to Murphy, Robert E..

5 records

NASA NTRS2001

Using VIIRS to Provide Data Continuity with MODIS

Long-term continuity of the data series being initiated by the MODIS (MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA's Terra mission will be obtained using the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) flying on the converged National Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) and on the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP). The data series include critical parameters such as cloud and aerosol properties, vegetation index, land use and land cover, ocean chlorophyll and sea surface temperature. VIIRS is being designed and built by Raytheon for the Integrated Program Office (IPO), the DoD, NOAA and NASA consortium that is responsible for NPOESS. In addition to meeting the requirements for operational environmental monitoring, VIIRS will meet the needs of the global change research community through the use of state-of-the-art algorithms and calibration and characterization activities.

Murphy, Robert E.↗

NASA NTRS2001

The NPOESS Preparatory Project: Mission Concept and Status

National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project is a joint NASA/IPO (Integrated Program Office) mission to extend selected systematic measurements initiated by the Terra and Aqua missions and to provide risk reduction for NPOESS. The key sensor properties and mission features are summarized.

Murphy, Robert E.↗

NASA NTRS1991

NASA 1990 Multisensor Airborne Campaigns (MACs) for ecosystem and watershed studies

The Multisensor Airborne Campaign (MAC) focus within NASA's former Land Processes research program was conceived to achieve the following objectives: to acquire relatively complete, multisensor data sets for well-studied field sites, to add a strong remote sensing science component to ecology-, hydrology-, and geology-oriented field projects, to create a research environment that promotes strong interactions among scientists within the program, and to more efficiently utilize and compete for the NASA fleet of remote sensing aircraft. Four new MAC's were conducted in 1990: the Oregon Transect Ecosystem Research (OTTER) project along an east-west transect through central Oregon, the Forest Ecosystem Dynamics (FED) project at the Northern Experimental Forest in Howland, Maine, the MACHYDRO project in the Mahantango Creek watershed in central Pennsylvania, and the Walnut Gulch project near Tombstone, Arizona. The OTTER project is testing a model that estimates the major fluxes of carbon, nitrogen, and water through temperate coniferous forest ecosystems. The focus in the project is on short time-scale (days-year) variations in ecosystem function. The FED project is concerned with modeling vegetation changes of forest ecosystems using remotely sensed observations to extract biophysical properties of forest canopies. The focus in this project is on long time-scale (decades to millenia) changes in ecosystem structure. The MACHYDRO project is studying the role of soil moisture and its regulating effects on hydrologic processes. The focus of the study is to delineate soil moisture differences within a basin and their changes with respect to evapotranspiration, rainfall, and streamflow. The Walnut Gulch project is focused on the effects of soil moisture in the energy and water balance of arid and semiarid ecosystems and their feedbacks to the atmosphere via thermal forcing.

Wickland, Diane E.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Surface temperature and albedo relationships in Senegal derived from NOAA-7 satellite data

The interaction between surface albedo and local climate in Senegal, Africa, is examined using NOAA AVHRR data collected from September 1981-October 1982. The temporal variations of albedo and surface temperature are calculated and examined. It is observed that the albedo and ground temperature are largest in the winter and spring (dry season) and smallest in the late summer and fall (wet season). From the wet to the dry seasons the albedo varied by about 3 percentage points and the ground temperature by about 13 K. A positive correlation between albedo and ground temperatures is detected; this indicates that the albedo does not control the ground temperature. Other factors that can influence ground temperatures are atmospheric turbulence, soil moisture, thermal inertia, and ground emissivity, which are all affected by the presence or absence of vegetation.

Vukovich, Fred M.↗

NASA NTRS1987

The First ISLSCP Field Experiment (FIFE)

In 1987, the International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project (ISLSCP) will conduct a major field experiment aimed at the development of superior methods for relating satellite remote sensing to biological and physical parameter and exchange process data obtained during simultaneous ground truth measurements. This, the First ISLSCP Field Experiment, will attempt to arrive at a better understanding of the role of the land surface in the behavior of the global climate system, as required by next-generation global circulation models and general biospheric models. The field experiment will be conducted in the Konza Prairie of Kansas.

Murphy, Robert E.↗