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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1978

Visions of the future operational meteorological satellite system

Visionary concepts of the operational environmental satellite system of the 1990's are presented. These exploit planned and anticipated advances in technology. The system comprises 8 Low Earth Orbitors (LEOS) at 500 km height for global coverage at 3 hourly intervals and 3 Geosynchronous Earth Orbitors (GEOS) for Western Hemisphere coverage with stereo capability and near simultaneous viewing of several regional areas. The LEOS emphasize passive and active microwave and Lidar sensing; the GEOS focus on high resolution visible and IR imaging and passive soundings. The GEOS also serve as data relays from the LEOS and as data collection platforms for hazard-related data. An integrated data management system ties the space fleet together and blends the data with that from all other observing systems to process and distribute the data and products to all users.

Atlas, D.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Design of an atmospheric sounding radiometer for the GOES meteorological satellite system

An advanced version of the visible infrared spin scan radiometer onboard U.S. geostationary operational environmental satellites was developed to add a vertical dimension to the instrument's infrared atmospheric images. Through the addition of twelve selectable narrow band filters and more precise in-flight calibration of the infrared detectors, the VISSR atmospheric sounder (VAS) will provide increased data to help determine the Earth's atmospheric temperature and water vapor distribution. The radiometer design, filter wheel, calibration shutter mechanisms, and their preflight test performance are discussed.

Jensen, R. G.↗
NASA NTRS1980

A study of the economic benefits of meteorological satellite data

Satellite data, while most useful in data poor areas, serves to fine tune forecasts in data rich areas. It consequently has a resulting significant economic benefit because, as previously stated, even one improved forecast per client per year can save each client thousands of dollars. Multiply this by several hundred clients and the dollar savings are sizeable. The great educational value which experience with satellite data gives undoubtedly leads to improved forecasts. Any type of future satellite data delivery system should take into account the needs and facilities of the user community to make it most useful.

Suchman, D.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Meteorological satellite data: A tool to describe the health of the world's agriculture

Local area coverage data acquired aboard the TIROS-N satellite family by the advanced very high resolution radiometer systems was examined to determine the agricultural information current. Albedo differences between channel 2 and channel 1 of the advanced very high resolution radiometer LAC (called EVI) are shown to be closely correlated to the Ashburn vegetative index produced from LANDSAT multispectral scanner data which have been shown to vary in response to "greenness", soil moisture, and crop production. The statistical correlation between the EVI and the Ashburn Vegetative Index (+ or - 1 deg) is 0.86.

Gray, T. I., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1981

POMS, Polar Meteorological Satellite: A contribution for global radiation budget measurement

A proposal for a climate research mission specialized to Earth radiation budget measurements is given. This mission requires daily global coverage established by a system of three orbiting satellites. One of them is represented by the European Space Agency satellite SEOCS that is on a drifting orbit with respect to the Sun with 57 degrees inclination. The two others are polar orbiting satellites (POMS). The mission concept is treated with reference to the payload side requirements, the choice of orbit, orbital analysis, and satellite requirements.

Puls, J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Electron irradiation tests on European meteorological satellite

The observation of in orbit anomalies on Meteosat resulted in a test being performed to establish the charging and discharging characteristics of a flight configured engineering model when irradiated with electrons. Surface potentials were measured together with discharge rates and amplitudes. Results indicate that a large number of discharges are possible on the satellite whether or not the external surfaces are grounded. Initial measurements show that there are very high potential gradients around the satellite which obviously contribute largely to the discharging behavior. The time constant for charging is very small, indicating also that equilibrium conditions are achieved very quickly as the local ambient changes in orbit. A.R.H.

Reddy, J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Utilization of Meteorological Satellite Imagery for World-Wide Environmental Monitoring the Lower Mississippi River Flood of 1979 - Case 1

The 1979 Lower Mississippi River flood was selected as a test case of environmental disaster monitoring utilizing NOAA-n imagery. A small scale study of the St. Louis Missouri area comparing ERTS-1 (LANDSAT) and NOAA-2 imagery and flood studies using only LANDSAT imagery for mapping the Rad River of the North, and Nimbus-5 imagery for East Australia show the nonmeteorological applications of NOAA satellites. While the level of NOAA-n imagery detail is not that of a LANDSAT image, for operational environmental monitoring users the NOAA-n imagery may provide acceptable linear resolution and spectral isolation.

Helfert, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Continental land cover classification using meteorological satellite data

The use of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's advanced very high resolution radiometer satellite data for classifying land cover and monitoring of vegetation dynamics over an extremely large area is demonstrated for the continent of Africa. Data from 17 imaging periods of 21 consecutive days each were composited by a technique sensitive to the in situ green-leaf biomass to provide cloud-free imagery for the whole continent. Virtually cloud-free images were obtainable even for equatorial areas. Seasonal variation in the density and extent of green leaf vegetation corresponded to the patterns of rainfall associated with the inter-tropical convergence zone. Regional variations, such as the 1982 drought in east Africa, were also observed. Integration of the weekly satellite data with respect to time produced a remotely sensed assessment of biological activity based upon density and duration of green-leaf biomass. Two of the 21-day composited data sets were used to produce a general land cover classification. The resultant land cover distributions correspond well to those of existing maps.

Tucker, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The interpretation of SIR-B imagery of surface waves and other oceanographic features using in-situ, meteorological satellite, and infrared satellite data

The overall aim is to interpret Shuttle Imaging Radar-B imagery of selected ocean areas near the United Kingdom using available data from ships and buoys, with particular emphasis on understanding the mechanisms involved in the backscattering of microwaves from the sea surface and their relationship to surface gravity waves. The secondary objective is to use a multispectral approach to study sea-surface expressions such as slicks, internal waves, and eddies. Data acquisition, handling, and analysis approaches and expected results are discussed.

Allan, T.↗
NASA NTRS1983

A parameterization for downward longwave radiation from satellite meteorological data

An accurate and efficient parameterization is developed which computes clear-atmosphere downward longwave flux in terms of the water vapor burden and water-vapor-weighted average temperature of the surface-700 mb region. The parameterization is based on detailed radiative transfer calculations performed for a wide meteorological data base, consisting of 180 atmospheric models generated from climatological data and 106 radiosonde-measured models. The standard error of the computed fluxes was found to be about 4 percent of the mean value. It is also pointed out that strong heating or cooling of the surface, as shown by many TOVS data sets, caused larger errors in the computed fluxes.

Gupta, S. K.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Relating multitemporal meteorological satellite data to climatological data for Africa

The questions of surface-atmosphere interaction and effects of land surface changes have been investigated by studying the energy balance over Africa. The energy and mass balance model being developed is an adaptation of the Lettau climatonomy model. The climatonic approach is a systems approach which encompasses: (1) a process, (2) an input to the process (forcing function), (3) an output from the process (response function), (4) feedback, and (5) control or management of the system. Steady-state climate is described and parametrized using a series of one-dimensional differential continuity and balance equations for energy and mass.

Nicholson, Sharon E.↗
NASA NTRS1987

NASA sea ice and snow validation plan for the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program special sensor microwave/imager

This document addresses the task of developing and executing a plan for validating the algorithm used for initial processing of sea ice data from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSMI). The document outlines a plan for monitoring the performance of the SSMI, for validating the derived sea ice parameters, and for providing quality data products before distribution to the research community. Because of recent advances in the application of passive microwave remote sensing to snow cover on land, the validation of snow algorithms is also addressed.

Cavalieri, Donald J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Meteorological satellite product support and research for project GALE

This participation in the Genesis of Atlantic Lows Experiment (GALE) focused on three main areas: (1) real-time support of the field phase, centered on a McIDAS workstation; (2) satellite data collection, archive, product generation, and dissemination; and (3) research into satellite rainfall estimation and data assimilation. Accomplishments include production of a videotape of animated GOES satellite imagery, production of an atlas of GOES satellite imagery, production of a set of 12-hour interval analyses; research into 4-D data assimilation, and production of a set of satellite-estimated rainfall maps.

Velden, Christopher S.↗
NASA NTRS1992

NASA Sea Ice Validation Program for the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Special Sensor Microwave Imager

The history of the program is described along with the SSM/I sensor, including its calibration and geolocation correction procedures used by NASA, SSM/I data flow, and the NASA program to distribute polar gridded SSM/I radiances and sea ice concentrations (SIC) on CD-ROMs. Following a discussion of the NASA algorithm used to convert SSM/I radiances to SICs, results of 95 SSM/I-MSS Landsat IC comparisons for regions in both the Arctic and the Antarctic are presented. The Landsat comparisons show that the overall algorithm accuracy under winter conditions is 7 pct. on average with 4 pct. negative bias. Next, high resolution active and passive microwave image mosaics from coordinated NASA and Navy aircraft underflights over regions of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas in March 1988 were used to show that the algorithm multiyear IC accuracy is 11 pct. on average with a positive bias of 12 pct. Ice edge crossings of the Bering Sea by the NASA DC-8 aircraft were used to show that the SSM/I 15 pct. ice concentration contour corresponds best to the location of the initial bands at the ice edge. Finally, a summary of results and recommendations for improving the SIC retrievals from spaceborne radiometers are provided.

Cavalieri, Donald J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

NASA sea ice validation program for the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program special sensor microwave imager

Attention is given to the prime objective of the NASA validation program, namely, to establish quantitative relationships between the sea ice parameters derived from the special sensor microwave imager (SSM/I) using an algorithm originally developed for the Nimbus 7 SMMR. The underlying philosophy of the validation program is that confidence in the SSM/I algorithm products is achieved not so much by detailed comparison with localized surface observations as by consistency with independent spatially and temporally coincident data sets. The results of the satellite and aircraft comparisons that serve as the basis for the validation of the NASA SSMI/I sea ice algorithm are presented. High-resolution radiometer and C-band SAR imagery from the March 1988 NASA and Navy SSM/I underflights are used to verify the location of the ice edge and to validate the sea ice concentrations as determined by the SSM/I algorithm. These studies are argued to provide the most comprehensive measure to date of the accuracy of sea ice products derived from a spaceborne multichannel microwave imager.

Cavalieri, Donald J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Aircraft active and passive microwave validation of sea ice concentration from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program special sensor microwave imager

Results are presented of a series of coordinate special sensor microwave imager (SSM/I) underflights that were carried out during March 1988 with NASA and Navy aircraft over portions of the Bering, Beaufort, and Chukchi seas. NASA DC-8 AMMR data from Bering Sea ice edge crossings were used to verify that the ice edge location, defined as the position of the initial ice bands encountered by the aircraft, corresponds to an SSM/I ice concentration of 15 percent. Direct comparison of SSM/I and aircraft ice concentrations for regions having at least 80 percent aircraft coverage reveals that the SSM/I total ice concentration is lower on average by 2.4 +/-2.4 percent. For multiyear ice, NASA and Navy flights across the Beaufort and Chukchi seas show that the SSM/I algorithm correctly maps the large-scale distribution of multiyear ice: the zone of first-year ice off the Alaskan coast, the large areas of mixed first-year and multiyear ice, and the region of predominantly multiyear ice north of the Canadian archipelago.

Cavalieri, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1961

Infrared and Reflected Solar Radiation Measurements from the TIROS 2 Meteorological Satellite

TIROS II contains instrumentation for measuring infrared and reflected solar radiation from the earth and its atmosphere. A medium resolution scanning radiometer and a low resolution non-scanning radiometer are employed. The satellite's spin provides the scan line of the medium resolution radiometer which is then advanced by the orbital motion. The spatial resolution is about 40 miles square when the earth directly beneath the satellite is viewed. The five channels employ bolometer detectors and filters to limit the spectral responses to five bands: 6 to 6.5 microns, 8 to 12 microns, 0.2 to 6 microns, 8 to 30 microns, and 0.55 to 0.75 microns. These five bands study, respectively: radiation in the water vapor absorption band; day and nighttime cloud cover; albedo; thermal radiation; and visual maps for comparison with satellite vidicon pictures. The low resolution non-scanning radiometer measures the earth's black-body temperature and albedo. Its field when viewing directly below is a circle of 450 miles diameter, covering part of each frame from the wide-field television camera. This radiometer consists of two thermistors, each in the apex of a reflective cone which provides optical gain. One thermistor is black and responds to both thermal and reflected solar radiation. The second responds to thermal but reflects solar radiation. The design, calibration, performance, and data reduction for both systems are discussed herein.

Bandeen, W. R.↗