Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Change Detection”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 253 records · Page 14

Central Atlantic regional ecological test site: A prototype regional environmental information system

The author has identified the following significant results. Preliminary analysis of the capabilities of ERTS-1 data in land use mapping and change detection has revealed that Level 1 land use mapping can be performed and that in some cases land use changes can be identified. Land use interpretation was accomplished with the aid of a film projection viewer and the I2S additive color viewer. By varying the filters and illumination of each spectral band it was possible to better distinguish urban areas and transportation routes. Also it enabled the toning down of signatures such as cropland and forests which on many color infrared composite photographs were washed out with strong red tints. It appears that ERTS-1 imagery is useful not only for Level 1 mapping at scales of 1:250,000 or smaller, but also for monitoring agricultural changes and locating areas of construction, when such land uses approach an area of approximately two hectares.

Alexander, R. H.↗

Use of remote sensing for land use policy formulation

The overall objectives and strategies of the Center for Remote Sensing remain to provide a center for excellence for multidisciplinary scientific expertise to address land-related global habitability and earth observing systems scientific issues. Specific research projects that were underway during the final contract period include: digital classification of coniferous forest types in Michigan's northern lower peninsula; a physiographic ecosystem approach to remote classification and mapping; land surface change detection and inventory; analysis of radiant temperature data; and development of methodologies to assess possible impacts of man's changes of land surface on meteorological parameters. Significant progress in each of the five project areas has occurred. Summaries on each of the projects are provided.

Source record↗

Evolutionary Design of a Robotic Material Defect Detection System

During the post-flight inspection of SSME engines, several inaccessible regions must be disassembled to inspect for defects such as cracks, scratches, gouges, etc. An improvement to the inspection process would be the design and development of very small robots capable of penetrating these inaccessible regions and detecting the defects. The goal of this research was to utilize an evolutionary design approach for the robotic detection of these types of defects. A simulation and visualization tool was developed prior to receiving the hardware as a development test bed. A small, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) robot was selected from several candidates as the proof of concept robot. The basic approach to detect the defects was to utilize Cadmium Sulfide (CdS) sensors to detect changes in contrast of an illuminated surface. A neural network, optimally designed utilizing a genetic algorithm, was employed to detect the presence of the defects (cracks). By utilization of the COTS robot and US sensors, the research successfully demonstrated that an evolutionarily designed neural network can detect the presence of surface defects.

Ballard, Gary↗

Input/output interface module

Module detects level changes in any of its 16 inputs, transfers changes to its outputs, and generates interrupts when changes are detected. Up to four changes-in-state per line are stored for later retrieval by controlling computer. Using standard TTL logic, module fits 19-inch rack-mounted console.

Ozyazici, E. M.↗

Spectral Resolution and Coverage Impact on Advanced Sounder Information Content

Advanced satellite sensors are tasked with improving global measurements of the Earth s atmosphere, clouds, and surface to enable enhancements in weather prediction, climate monitoring capability, and environmental change detection. Achieving such measurement improvements requires instrument system advancements. This presentation focuses on the impact of spectral resolution and coverage changes on remote sensing system information content, with a specific emphasis on thermodynamic state and trace species variables obtainable from advanced atmospheric sounders such as the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) and Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) systems on the MetOp and NPP/NPOESS series of satellites. Key words: remote sensing, advanced sounders, information content, IASI, CrIS

Larar, Allen M.↗

Census Cities Project and Atlas of Urban and Regional Change

The Census Cities Project has several related purposes: (1) to assess the role of remote sensors on high altitude platforms for the comparative study of urban areas; (2) to detect changes in selected U.S. urban areas between the 1970 census and the time of launching of an earth-orbiting sensor platform prior to the next census; (3) to test the utility of the satellite sensor platform to monitor urban change (When the 1970 census returns become available for small areas, they will serve as a control for sensor image interpretation.); (4) to design an information system for incorporating graphic sensor data with census-type data gathered by traditional techniques; (5) to identify and design user-oriented end-products or information services; and (6) to plan an effective organizational capability to provide such services on a continuing basis.

Wray, J. R.↗

Non-Invasive Measurement of Pulsatile Intracranial Pressures Using Ultrasound

Early detection of elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) will aid clinical decision-making for head trauma, brain tumor and other cerebrovascular diseases. Conventional methods, however, require surgical procedures which take time and are accompanied by increased risk of infection. Accordingly we have developed and refined a new ultrasound device to measure skull movements which are known to occur in conjunction with altered ICP. The principle of this device is based upon pulse phase locked loop (PPLL), which enables us to detect changes in distance on the order of microns between an ultrasound transducer on one side of the skull and the opposite inner surface of the cranium. The present study was designed to verify this measurement technique in cadavera. Transcranial distance was increased in steps of 10 mmHg from zero to 50 mmHg by saline infusion into the lateral ventricle of two cadavera. In separate experiments, pulsations of ICP with the amplitudes of zero to 2 mmHg were generated by rhythmic injections of saline using a syringe. When the ICP was stepwise increased from zero to 50 mmHg, transcranial distance increased in proportion with the ICP increase (y=12 x - 76, r=0.938), where y is changes in transcranial distance in microns and x is ICP in mmHg. In the data recorded while ICP pulsations were generated, fast Fourier transform analysis demonstrated that cranial pulsations were clearly associated with ICP pulsations. The results indicate that changes in transcranial distance is linearly correlated with those in ICP, and also that the PPLL device has sufficient sensitivity to detect transcranial pulsations which occur in association with the cardiac cycle. By analyzing the magnitude of cranial pulsations, we may be able to estimate the pressure-volume index in the cranium. As a result, estimates of intracranial compliance may be possible by using the PPLL device. Further studies are necessary in normal subjects and patients.

Ueno, Toshiaki↗

Improving Post-Hurricane Katrina Forest Management with MODIS Time Series Products

Hurricane damage to forests can be severe, causing millions of dollars of timber damage and loss. To help mitigate loss, state agencies require information on location, intensity, and extent of damaged forests. NASA's MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series data products offers a potential means for state agencies to monitor hurricane-induced forest damage and recovery across a broad region. In response, a project was conducted to produce and assess 250 meter forest disturbance and recovery maps for areas in southern Mississippi impacted by Hurricane Katrina. The products and capabilities from the project were compiled to aid work of the Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory (MIFI). A series of NDVI change detection products were computed to assess hurricane induced damage and recovery. Hurricane-induced forest damage maps were derived by computing percent change between MODIS MOD13 16-day composited NDVI pre-hurricane "baseline" products (2003 and 2004) and post-hurricane NDVI products (2005). Recovery products were then computed in which post storm 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 NDVI data was each singularly compared to the historical baseline NDVI. All percent NDVI change considered the 16-day composite period of August 29 to September 13 for each year in the study. This provided percent change in the maximum NDVI for the 2 week period just after the hurricane event and for each subsequent anniversary through 2009, resulting in forest disturbance products for 2005 and recovery products for the following 4 years. These disturbance and recovery products were produced for the Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory's (MIFI) Southeast Inventory District and also for the entire hurricane impact zone. MIFI forest inventory products were used as ground truth information for the project. Each NDVI percent change product was classified into 6 categories of forest disturbance intensity. Stand age and stand type raster data, also provided by MIFI, were used along with the forest disturbance/recovery products to create forest damage stratification products integrating 3 stand type classes, 6 stand age classes, and 6 forest disturbance intensity classes. This stratification product will be used to aid MIFI timber inventory planning and to prepare for damage assessments due to future hurricane events. Validation of MODIS percent NDVI change products was performed by comparing the MODIS percent NDVI change products to those from Landsat data for the same time and MIFI inventory district area.

Lewis, Mark David↗

The NASA Disasters Response Coordination System’s (DRCS) Response to the 2024 Hurricane Season

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Disasters Response Coordination System (DRCS) leverages the best available science and expertise to aid federal, state, local, and non-governmental organization (NGO) partners in addressing identified needs during a disaster response. During the 2024 hurricane season, the DRCS activated for seven hurricanes/tropical storms, providing openly available geospatial data through NASA’s Disasters Mapping Portal. Hurricanes Helene and Milton were major hurricanes that impacted the southeastern United States within weeks of one another. Impacts from Helene and Milton to the region included inland flooding, record coastal storm surge, over a thousand landslides, and regional power and telecommunications outages. In response to Helene and Milton, DRCS provided actionable information and products to stakeholders, including Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) analysis for landslide and flood detection, Black Marble nighttime lights products for assessing power outages, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) analysis for post-event vegetation change detection. NASA deployed an Uninhibited Aerial Vehicle SAR (UAVSAR) instrument to collect data on flood extent, providing crucial information on affected communities. Additionally, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) collected hand-held photography along the paths of Hurricane Helene and Milton to aid in response efforts. Here, we summarize the DRCS responses to Helene and Milton, in particular highlighting the information and products that were provided by the DRCS and how they were utilized by partners to address immediate response needs.

Earth observations↗

Active Thermal Isolation For Hot-Film Anemometers

Local heating compensates for conduction of heat from sensors into modules. Two hot-film sensors stacked on wind-tunnel model. Outer sensor detects changes in boundary-layer flow. Inner sensor provides active thermal isolation between outer sensor and model. Thermal boundary condition controlled at response time of detection hot-film sensor, significantly less than response time of internally heated model. Requires less power to maintain outer hot-film sensor at given temperature, enabling system to respond over greater dynamic range before power limits of instrument reached. Stacked sensors bonded to surface of most wind-tunnel models, even to curved surfaces, and removed after completion of experiments.

Martinson, Scott D.↗

The effect of high-energy electron radiation on poly(arylene ether)s

Thin films of four experimental poly(arylene ether)s of similar chemical structure were exposed to 1 MeV electrons while under high vacuum. The films received total exposures of 5 x 10 exp 7 and 1 x 10 exp 9 rads at a dose rate of 5 x 10 exp 7 rads/h and a pressure of 2 x 10 exp -7 torr. Films exposed to 5 x 10 exp 7 rads showed dramatic changes in molecular weight distribution. After exposures of 1 x 10 exp 9 rads the films were only partially soluble in chloroform and exhibited no detectable changes in the glass transition temperatures. Thin-film tensile properties were also altered by the exposure to electron radiation. The effect of the exposures as determined by various analyses is discussed.

Connell, J. W.↗

Wind Tunnel Testing of a One-Dimensional Laser Beam Scanning and Laser Sheet Approach to Shock Sensing

A 15- by 15-cm supersonic wind tunnel application of a one-dimensional laser beam scanning approach to shock sensing is presented. The measurement system design allowed easy switching between a focused beam and a laser sheet mode for comparison purposes. The scanning results were compared to images from the tunnel Schlieren imaging system. The tests revealed detectable changes in the laser beam in the presence of shocks. The results lend support to the use of the one-dimensional scanning beam approach for detecting and locating shocks in a flow, but some issues must be addressed in regards to noise and other limitations of the system.

Tokars, Roger↗

Open-source Techniques for Automated Landslide Inventory Generation for Rapid Response

Manual mapping is the most used method for generating landslide inventories. For rapid response scenario this method becomes tedious and time consuming. The Landslide team at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has been developing open-source landslide mapping systems for rapid generation of landslide inventories. We have developed a Python-based landslide mapping framework known as the Semi-Automatic Landslide Detection (SALaD) system that uses Object-based Image Analysis and machine learning. For production of event-based inventories, SALaD was modified to include a change detection module (SALaD-CD). Utilizing high-resolution imagery form from Planet and Maxar, we have generated multiple rapid response landslide inventories that have been used by emergency responders on the ground, the NASA Disasters program, and academia. Currently, we are exploiting deep learning frameworks for landslide mapping. We are interested to learn about efficient way to harmonize multi-sensor data for creating a long-term record of landslides, training strategies and ongoing deep learning-based efforts for natural hazard characterization within NASA and UMD.

Pukar Amatya↗

Tracking the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai Eruption Stratospheric Aerosol and Trace Gas Plumes Using Machine Learning

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai (HTHH) submarine volcano had an explosive eruption phase on January 15, 2022, that thrusted ash, gases, and water vapor through the troposphere and into the stratosphere. The stratospheric volcanic plume included aerosol precursor gases such as SO2 and H2S as well as anomalously high water vapor concentrations due to the submarine oceanic origin. With these atmospheric constituents, the sulfuric gases and water vapor formed sulfate (SO4) particles via gas-to-particle reactions and these aerosols likely increased in size due to hygroscopic growth within anomalously humid regions. Strong easterlies and gravity waves propagated the volcanic impacts throughout the stratosphere. Orbital and suborbital passive sensor retrievals detected changes in the aerosol and trace gas characteristics within the atmospheric column for cloud-free regions over the southern hemisphere. While the CALIPSO lidar can detect aerosol layers in the stratosphere, passive sensors such as MODIS retrieved the total column aerosol abundance and characteristics. Previous studies used manual tracking methods to determine volcanic plume positions and compared them to ground observations. In this study, we examine the machine learning (ML) approaches including segmentation, object detection, and object tracking to identify and track aerosol and trace gas plumes using orbital and suborbital sensor data. This ML implementation strives to provide a more systematic approach to separate total column effects from those of the stratosphere. Similar ML tracking may be useful for stratospheric impact events observed historically by CALIPSO and in the future with EarthCare and the Atmosphere Observing System (AOS) lidar-capable missions.

Rhys Leahy↗

Change in land use in the Phoenix (1:250,000) Quadrangle, Arizona between 1970 and 1973: ERTS as an aid in a nationwide program for mapping general land use

Changes in land use between 1970 and 1973 in the Phoenix (1:250,000 scale) Quadrangle in Arizona have been mapped using only the images from ERTS-1, tending to verify the utility of a standard land use classification system proposed for use with ERTS images. Types of changes detected have been: (1) new residential development of former cropland and rangeland; (2) new cropland from the desert; and (3) new reservoir fill-up. The seasonal changing of vegetation patterns in ERTS has complemented air photos in delimiting the boundaries of some land use types. ERTS images, in combination with other sources of information, can assist in mapping the generalized land use of the fifty states by the standard 1:250,000 quadrangles. Several states are already working cooperatively in this type of mapping.

Place, J. L.↗

Global vegetation dynamics - Satellite observations over Asia

The weekly global vegetation index (GVI) derived from the NOAA AVHRR instrument has been analyzed for the 1982-1985 period over a wide range of vegetation formations of Asia. Temporal development curves of the index are presented for environments ranging from the desert of central Asia to the tropical forest of Borneo. The paper shows that, despite the coarse resolution of the GVI product, a large set of useful information on ecosystem dynamics and cropping practices can be consistently derived from time series of such data. In addition, it is shown that the impact of the 1982-1983 El Nino Southern Oscillation-related drought can be detected in the GVI data through an analysis of anomalies in the development of selected vegetation formations. The relevance of such analysis for global vegetation monitoring and change detection is then underlined.

Malingreau, J.-P.↗

Satellite-Based Assessment of Grassland Conversion and Related Fire Disturbance in the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Spruce beetle-induced (Dendroctonus rufipennis (Kirby)) mortality on the Kenai Peninsula has heightened local wildfire risk as canopy loss facilitates the conversion from bare to fire-prone grassland. We collected images from NASA satellite-based Earth observations to visualize land cover succession at roughly five-year intervals following a severe, mid-1990's beetle infestation to the present. We classified these data by vegetation cover type to quantify grassland encroachment patterns over time. Raster band math provided a change detection analysis on the land cover classifications. Results indicate the highest wildfire risk is linked to herbaceous and black spruce land cover types, The resulting land cover change image will give the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge (KENWR) ecologists a better understanding of where forests have converted to grassland since the 1990s. These classifications provided a foundation for us to integrate digital elevation models (DEMs), temperature, and historical fire data into a model using Python for assessing and mapping changes in wildfire risk. Spatial representations of this risk will contribute to a better understanding of ecological trajectories of beetle-affected landscapes, thereby informing management decisions at KENWR.

Risk modeling↗