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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2010

Exploiting the Free Landsat Archive for Operational Monitoring of Ecosystem Condition and Change Across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

For the first time, all imagery acquired by the Landsat series of satellites is being made available by the USGS to users at no cost. This represents a key opportunity to use Landsat in a truly operational monitoring framework: large regions of the U.S. such as the Chesapeake Bay Watershed can now be analyzed using "wall-to-wall" imagery at timescales from approximately 1 month to several years. With the future launch of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) and Decadal Survey missions such as the hyperspectral HyspIRI, it is imperative to develop robust processing systems to perform annual ecosystem assessments over large regions such as the Chesapeake Bay. We have been working at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to develop an integrative framework for inserting 30m, annual, Landsat based data and derived products into the existing decision support system for the Bay, with a particular focus on ecosystem condition and changes over the entire watershed. The basic goal is to use a 'stack' of Landsat imagery with 40% or less cloud cover to produce multi-date (2005-2009 period), cloud/shadow/gap-free composited surface reflectance products that will support the creation of watershed scale land cover/ use products and the monitoring of ecosystem change across the Bay. Our scientific focus extends beyond the conventional definition of land cover (i.e. a classification of vegetation type) as we propose to monitor both changes in surface type (e.g. forest to urban), vegetation structure (e.g. forest disturbance due to logging or insect damage), as well as winter crop cover. These processes represent a continuum from large, interannual changes in land cover type, to subtler, intra-annual changes associated with short-term disturbance. The free Landsat data are being processed to surface reflectance and composited using the existing Landsat Ecosystem Disturbance Adaptive Processing System here at NASA/ GSFC, and land cover products (type, tree cover, impervious cover, winter cover) are being produced using well-established decision tree and regression tree algorithms. The goal of this session is to present the data products that we have been developing to the Bay science community and to discuss potential avenues for improvements and usage of the products for decision support.

BrowndeColstoun, Eric↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Veggie on Ice: The Effects of Plant Production on Human Behavioral Health Long-Duration Antarctic Overwintering Missions

Exploration class missions pose an increased risk of adverse crew behavioral health and psychiatric conditions. Identifying and developing effective and efficient countermeasure strategies are necessary to maintain crew health and performance. Previous studies (VEG-04A and VEG-04B) in the Veggie vegetable-production system on the International Space Station have evaluated the behavioral health effects of caring for plants as a potential countermeasure for crew stresses in spaceflight. The presence of plants can augment sensory stimulation (visual, tactile, and olfactory), provide a psychological link to Earth, reduce stress, and increase happiness. However, further research is needed to understand this strategy for longer-duration missions in isolated, confined, extreme (ICE) environments. The Neumayer III Station in Antarctica is one such environment that hosts a small crew for fourteen-month missions, of which eight to nine months are the remote overwintering phase. Neumayer III also features EDEN ISS, a greenhouse facility with 12.5 m2 plant cultivation space that, like Veggie, currently supplements the crew diet with a variety of fresh produce. Up to nine crew members of the 2021 overwintering mission will complete behavioral health surveys that are designed to capture enjoyment and time spent conducting various plant-related activities, sensory stimulation, and active and passive psychological effects of having live plants and available fresh food in an ICE environment. Data will be collected once pre-mission, up to ten times in-mission at monthly increments, and once post-mission. This study aims to quantify the impact of plant care as a countermeasure strategy for human spaceflight and Antarctic exploration missions.

J M Bunchek↗
NASA NTRS1993

The US Geological Survey, digital spectral reflectance library: version 1: 0.2 to 3.0 microns

We have developed a digital reflectance spectral library, with management and spectral analysis software. The library includes 500 spectra of 447 samples (some samples include a series of grain sizes) measured from approximately 0.2 to 3.0 microns. The spectral resolution (Full Width Half Maximum) of the reflectance data is less than or equal to 4 nm in the visible (0.2-0.8 microns) and less than or equal 10 nm in the NIR (0.8-2.35 microns). All spectra were corrected to absolute reflectance using an NBS Halon standard. Library management software lets users search on parameters (e.g. chemical formulae, chemical analyses, purity of samples, mineral groups, etc.) as well as spectral features. Minerals from sulfide, oxide, hydroxide, halide, carbonate, nitrate, borate, phosphate, and silicate groups are represented. X-ray and chemical analyses are tabulated for many of the entries, and all samples have been evaluated for spectral purity. The library also contains end and intermediate members for the olivine, garnet, scapolite, montmorillonite, muscovite, jarosite, and alunite solid-solution series. We have included representative spectra of H2O ice, kerogen, ammonium-bearing minerals, rare-earth oxides, desert varnish coatings, kaolinite crystallinity series, kaolinite-smectite series, zeolite series, and an extensive evaporite series. Because of the importance of vegetation to climate-change studies we have include 17 spectra of tree leaves, bushes, and grasses.

Clark, Roger N.↗
NASA NTRS2017

ICESAT GLAS Altimetry Measurements: Received Signal Dynamic Range and Saturation Correction

NASAs Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), which operated between 2003 and 2009, made the first satellite-based global lidar measurement of earths ice sheet elevations, sea-ice thickness, and vegetation canopy structure. The primary instrument on ICESat was the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS), which measured the distance from the spacecraft to the earth's surface via the roundtrip travel time of individual laser pulses. GLAS utilized pulsed lasers and a direct detection receiver consisting of a silicon avalanche photodiode and a waveform digitizer. Early in the mission, the peak power of the received signal from snow and ice surfaces was found to span a wider dynamic range than anticipated, often exceeding the linear dynamic range of the GLAS 1064-nm detector assembly. The resulting saturation of the receiver distorted the recorded signal and resulted in range biases as large as approximately 50 cm for ice- and snow-covered surfaces. We developed a correction for this saturation range bias based on laboratory tests using a spare flight detector, and refined the correction by comparing GLAS elevation estimates with those derived from Global Positioning System surveys over the calibration site at the salar de Uyuni, Bolivia. Applying the saturation correction largely eliminated the range bias due to receiver saturation for affected ICESat measurements over Uyuni and significantly reduced the discrepancies at orbit crossovers located on flat regions of the Antarctic ice sheet.

Sun, Xiaoli↗
NASA NTRS1998

Lasers in Earth and Planetary Exploration

For over 3 decades, lasers have been a tool of the space programs of the world for accomplishing a variety of engineering and scientific objectives. The majority of these uses have, however, been largely Earth-based and only a few lasers have actually been flown and operated in Earth orbit and even fewer on missions to the planets. However, in the last few years laser altimeters, lidars, and ranging systems have been part of space missions to the moon, an asteroid, and Mars; and more are planned and contemplated in the future exploration of the Earth and solar system. Early in 1994, the Clementine mission was launched to the moon and carried a laser altimeter that made the first systematic topographic survey of the moon during its 2-month observation period. This mission significantly improved our understanding of the shape and topography of the moon and along with gravity information obtained from the tracking data modified some of our thinking about the moon, the thickness of ice crust and the isostatic state of the highlands and basins. On September 11, 1997, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) entered into orbit around Mars and the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) started to map the topography of the planet to unprecedented accuracy. On its first pass across the planet, MOLA showed large areas of the northern hemisphere to be flatter than any other known surface on Earth or any other body explored to date. In January 1999, the NEAR spacecraft which carries a laser ranger (NLR), will arrive at the S-type asteroid, Eros, and during the following year the NLR will help determine the shape and rotational dynamics of this asteroid. In the Spring of 2000, the Vegetation Canopy Lidar (VCL) mission will be launched and employing a multi-beam laser altimeter (MBLA) will measure the Earth's tree canopy shapes and heights and begin to globally monitor the biomass. The following year, in 2001, the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System, which carries a 2 wavelength laser altimeter of a few centimeter accuracy, will begin a multi-year observation program of the Earth's icecaps, land mass, oceans and the clouds of the atmosphere. At the same time, laser ranging to satellites and the moon is likely to be poised to reach to the planets and track spacecraft throughout the inner solar system by applying optical transponder technology to increase its distance capability.

Smith, David E.↗
NASA NTRS2008

To What Extent Can Vegetation Mitigate Greenhouse Warming? A Modeling Approach

Climate models participating in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report indicate that under a 2xCO2 environment, runoff would increase faster than precipitation overland. However, observations over large U.S watersheds indicate otherwise. This inconsistency suggests that there may be important feedbacks between climate and land surface unaccounted for in the present generation of models. We postulate that the increase in precipitation associated with the increase in CO2 is also increasing vegetation density, which may already be feeding back onto climate. Including this feedback in a climate model simulation resulted in precipitation and runoff trends consistent with observations and reduced the warming by 0.6OC overland. This unaccounted for missing water may be linked to about 10% of the missing land carbon sink. A recent compilation of outputs from 19 coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation models used in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) shows projected increases in air temperature, precipitation and river discharge for 24 major rivers in the world in response to doubling CO2 by the end of the century (1). The ensemble mean from these models also indicates that, compared to their respective baselines overland, the global mean of the runoff change would increase faster (8.9% per year) than that of the precipitation (5% per year). We analyze century-scale observed annual runoff time-series (1901-2002) over 9 hydrological units covering large regions of the Eastern United States (Fig.1) compiled by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)(2). These regions were selected because they are the most forested; the least water-limited and are not under extensive irrigation. We compare these time-series to similar time-series of observed annual precipitation anomalies spanning the period 1900-1995 (3). Both time-series exhibit a positive longterm trend (Fig. 2); however, in contrast to the analysis of (I), these historic data records show that the rate of precipitation increase is 5.5 % per year, roughly double the rate of runoff increase of 3.1 % per year.

Bounoua, L.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Assessing Hurricane Katrina Vegetation Damage at Stennis Space Center using IKONOS Image Classification Techniques

Hurricane Katrina inflicted widespread damage to vegetation in southwestern coastal Mississippi upon landfall on August 29, 2005. Storm damage to surface vegetation types at the NASA John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC) was mapped and quantified using IKONOS data originally acquired on September 2, 2005, and later obtained via a Department of Defense ClearView contract. NASA SSC management required an assessment of the hurricane s impact to the 125,000-acre buffer zone used to mitigate rocket engine testing noise and vibration impacts and to manage forestry and fire risk. This study employed ERDAS IMAGINE software to apply traditional classification techniques to the IKONOS data. Spectral signatures were collected from multiple ISODATA classifications of subset areas across the entire region and then appended to a master file representative of major targeted cover type conditions. The master file was subsequently used with the IKONOS data and with a maximum likelihood algorithm to produce a supervised classification later refined using GIS-based editing. The final results enabled mapped, quantitative areal estimates of hurricane-induced damage according to general surface cover type. The IKONOS classification accuracy was assessed using higher resolution aerial imagery and field survey data. In-situ data and GIS analysis indicate that the results compare well to FEMA maps of flooding extent. The IKONOS classification also mapped open areas with woody storm debris. The detection of such storm damage categories is potentially useful for government officials responsible for hurricane disaster mitigation.

Spruce, Joseph P.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Low-Cost Evaluation of EO-1 Hyperion and ALI for Detection and Biophysical Characterization of Forest Logging in Amazonia (NCC5-481)

Major uncertainties exist regarding the rate and intensity of logging in tropical forests worldwide: these uncertainties severely limit economic, ecological, and biogeochemical analyses of these regions. Recent sawmill surveys in the Amazon region of Brazil show that the area logged is nearly equal to total area deforested annually, but conversion of survey data to forest area, forest structural damage, and biomass estimates requires multiple assumptions about logging practices. Remote sensing could provide an independent means to monitor logging activity and to estimate the biophysical consequences of this land use. Previous studies have demonstrated that the detection of logging in Amazon forests is difficult and no studies have developed either the quantitative physical basis or remote sensing approaches needed to estimate the effects of various logging regimes on forest structure. A major reason for these limitations has been a lack of sufficient, well-calibrated optical satellite data, which in turn, has impeded the development and use of physically-based, quantitative approaches for detection and structural characterization of forest logging regimes. We propose to use data from the EO-1 Hyperion imaging spectrometer to greatly increase our ability to estimate the presence and structural attributes of selective logging in the Amazon Basin. Our approach is based on four "biogeophysical indicators" not yet derived simultaneously from any satellite sensor: 1) green canopy leaf area index; 2) degree of shadowing; 3) presence of exposed soil and; 4) non-photosynthetic vegetation material. Airborne, field and modeling studies have shown that the optical reflectance continuum (400-2500 nm) contains sufficient information to derive estimates of each of these indicators. Our ongoing studies in the eastern Amazon basin also suggest that these four indicators are sensitive to logging intensity. Satellite-based estimates of these indicators should provide a means to quantify both the presence and degree of structural disturbance caused by various logging regimes. Our quantitative assessment of Hyperion hyperspectral and ALI multi-spectral data for the detection and structural characterization of selective logging in Amazonia will benefit from data collected through an ongoing project run by the Tropical Forest Foundation, within which we have developed a study of the canopy and landscape biophysics of conventional and reduced-impact logging. We will add to our base of forest structural information in concert with an EO-1 overpass. Using a photon transport model inversion technique that accounts for non-linear mixing of the four biogeophysical indicators, we will estimate these parameters across a gradient of selective logging intensity provided by conventional and reduced impact logging sites. We will also compare our physical ly-based approach to both conventional (e.g., NDVI) and novel (e.g., SWIR-channel) vegetation indices as well as to linear mixture modeling methods. We will cross-compare these approaches using Hyperion and ALI imagers to determine the strengths and limitations of these two sensors for applications of forest biophysics. This effort will yield the first physical ly-based, quantitative analysis of the detection and intensity of selective logging in Amazonia, comparing hyperspectral and improved multi-spectral approaches as well as inverse modeling, linear mixture modeling, and vegetation index techniques.

Asner, Gregory P.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Atmospheric CO2 Column Measurements with an Airborne Intensity-Modulated Continuous-Wave 1.57-micron Fiber Laser Lidar

The 2007 National Research Council (NRC) Decadal Survey on Earth Science and Applications from Space recommended Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) as a mid-term, Tier II, NASA space mission. ITT Exelis, formerly ITT Corp., and NASA Langley Research Center have been working together since 2004 to develop and demonstrate a prototype Laser Absorption Spectrometer for making high-precision, column CO2 mixing ratio measurements needed for the ASCENDS mission. This instrument, called the Multifunctional Fiber Laser Lidar (MFLL), operates in an intensity-modulated, continuous-wave mode in the 1.57- micron CO2 absorption band. Flight experiments have been conducted with the MFLL on a Lear-25, UC-12, and DC-8 aircraft over a variety of different surfaces and under a wide range of atmospheric conditions. Very high-precision CO2 column measurements resulting from high signal-to-noise (great than 1300) column optical depth measurements for a 10-s (approximately 1 km) averaging interval have been achieved. In situ measurements of atmospheric CO2 profiles were used to derive the expected CO2 column values, and when compared to the MFLL measurements over desert and vegetated surfaces, the MFLL measurements were found to agree with the in situ-derived CO2 columns to within an average of 0.17% or approximately 0.65 ppmv with a standard deviation of 0.44% or approximately 1.7 ppmv. Initial results demonstrating ranging capability using a swept modulation technique are also presented.

Dobler, Jeremy T.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Three-dimensional estimation of deciduous forest canopy structure and leaf area using multi-directional, leaf-on and leaf-off airborne lidar data

Airborne laser scanning (ALS) has been widely used to map gap probability and leaf area index (LAI) distribution at plot and landscape scales. As an indirect measurement, most ALS methods to estimate LAI combine waveform or point density information with supporting field measurements such as the leaf angle distribution, gap probability, or direct LAI measures. The development of a more independent estimation approach would facilitate more widespread use of existing ALS data to investigate patterns of forest structure and build realistic 3-D vegetation scenes to simulate remote sensing imagery and energy balance. Here, we develop a data processing workflow (named PVlad) using ALS point cloud apparent reflectance to estimate LAI and voxel-based leaf area density (LAD), aiming to reduce the need for associated field measurements such as the gap probability. The adaptation of the path volume (PV) concept derived from apparent reflectance integrates information from multi-directional ALS pulses, and quantifies the percentage exploration of each voxel for classification and occlusion correction, such that rigorous volumetric sampling approaches can be developed to derive LAI and LAD. The PVlad workflow was applied to discrete-return lidar data (Riegl VQ480i) acquired by NASA Goddard's LiDAR, Hyperspectral and Thermal Imager (G-LiHT) Airborne Imager during leaf-on (summer) and leaf-off (spring) conditions at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). The estimates of LAI and LAD captured structural differences between mature, logged, and intermediate-aged stands over eight deciduous forest plots. The derived LAI values were compared to field litter collection measurements, and the derived LAD vertical distribution was compared to the output of the VoxLAD model using terrestrial laser scan (TLS) field survey data. Using voxel sizes ranging from 0.5 m to 5 m, overall LAI estimation showed linear fitting coefficient bias and for 1 and 2 m voxel sizes, and vertical LAD distribution showed strong correlation with and for 0.5 and 1m voxel sizes. For every forest stand, upper-canopy LAD had a low variance for voxel sizes of ≤ . Application of PVlad to the G-LiHT and other similar ALS data archives enables the development of fine-resolution LAI map products, including voxelization of LAD for ecosystem science and radiative transfer simulations of remote sensing imagery or surface energy balance.

Tiangang Yin↗
NASA NTRS2009

Use of NASA Satellite Data in Aiding Mississippi Barrier Island Restoration Projects

This presentation discusses a NASA Stennis Space Center project in which NASA-supported satellite and aerial data is being used to aid state and federal agencies in restoring the Mississippi barrier islands. Led by the Applied Science and Technology Project Office (ASTPO), this project will produce geospatial information products from multiple NASA-supported data sources, including Landsat, ASTER, and MODIS satellite data as well as ATLAS multispectral, CAMS multispectral, AVIRIS hyperspectral, EAARL, and other aerial data. Project objectives include the development and testing of a regional sediment transport model and the monitoring of barrier island restoration efforts through remote sensing. Barrier islands provide invaluable benefits to the State of Mississippi, including buffering the mainland from storm surge impacts, providing habitats for valuable wildlife and fisheries habitat, offering accessible recreational opportunities, and preserving natural environments for educating the public about coastal ecosystems and cultural resources. Unfortunately, these highly valued natural areas are prone to damage from hurricanes. For example, Hurricane Camille in 1969 split Ship Island into East and West Ship Island. Hurricane Georges in 1998 caused additional land loss for the two Ship Islands. More recently, Hurricanes Ivan, Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike impacted the Mississippi barrier islands. In particular, Hurricane Katrina caused major damage to island vegetation and landforms, killing island forest overstories, overwashing entire islands, and causing widespread erosion. In response, multiple state and federal agencies are working to restore damaged components of these barrier islands. Much of this work is being implemented through federally funded Coastal Impact Assessment and Mississippi Coastal Improvement programs. One restoration component involves the reestablishment of the island footprints to that in 1969. Our project will employ NASA remote sensing data and products to support these federally funded efforts on multiple fronts. Landsat and ASTER data is being analyzed to assess changes in barrier island land cover over the last 35 years. ASTER, SRTM, and EAARL terrain products and other NASA airborne imagery are being applied in assessing changes in barrier island geomorphology and geospatial extent. MODIS data is being examined as a tool for sediment transport modeling by supplying geospatial data that quantifies in-water sediment concentrations. MODIS satellite data is being assessed for monitoring changes in the spatial extent of individual barrier islands. Results thus far indicate that NASA data products are useful in assessing barrier island conditions and changes. This value is enhanced with additional historical geospatial data, commercial high resolution satellite data, other non-NASA aerial imagery, and field survey data. The project s products are relevant to the Gulf of Mexico Alliance priority issues, including coastal habitat conservation, restoration and coastal community resilience. Such products will be available to state and federal agencies involved with coastal restoration. Potential end-users of these products include the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, and Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.

Giardino, Marco↗
NASA NTRS2008

Using Hyperspectral Imagery to Identify Turfgrass Stresses

The use of a form of remote sensing to aid in the management of large turfgrass fields (e.g. golf courses) has been proposed. A turfgrass field of interest would be surveyed in sunlight by use of an airborne hyperspectral imaging system, then the raw observational data would be preprocessed into hyperspectral reflectance image data. These data would be further processed to identify turfgrass stresses, to determine the spatial distributions of those stresses, and to generate maps showing the spatial distributions. Until now, chemicals and water have often been applied, variously, (1) indiscriminately to an entire turfgrass field without regard to localization of specific stresses or (2) to visible and possibly localized signs of stress for example, browning, damage from traffic, or conspicuous growth of weeds. Indiscriminate application is uneconomical and environmentally unsound; the amounts of water and chemicals consumed could be insufficient in some areas and excessive in most areas, and excess chemicals can leak into the environment. In cases in which developing stresses do not show visible signs at first, it could be more economical and effective to take corrective action before visible signs appear. By enabling early identification of specific stresses and their locations, the proposed method would provide guidance for planning more effective, more economical, and more environmentally sound turfgrass-management practices, including application of chemicals and water, aeration, and mowing. The underlying concept of using hyperspectral imagery to generate stress maps as guides to efficient management of vegetation in large fields is not new; it has been applied in the growth of crops to be harvested. What is new here is the effort to develop an algorithm that processes hyperspectral reflectance data into spectral indices specific to stresses in turfgrass. The development effort has included a study in which small turfgrass plots that were, variously, healthy or subjected to a variety of controlled stresses were observed by use of a hand-held spectroradiometer. The spectroradiometer readings in the wavelength range from 350 to 1,000 nm were processed to extract hyperspectral reflectance data, which, in turn, were analyzed to find correlations with the controlled stresses. Several indices were found to be correlated with drought stress and to be potentially useful for identifying drought stress before visible symptoms appear.

Hutto, Kendall↗
NASA NTRS2013

Interagency Collaborators Develop and Implement ForWarn, a National, Near Real Time Forest Monitoring Tool

ForWarn is a satellite-based forest monitoring tool that is being used to detect and monitor disturbances to forest conditions and forest health. It has been developed through the synergistic efforts, capabilities and contributions of four federal agencies, including the US Forest Service Eastern Forest and Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Centers, NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC), Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and US Geological Survey Earth (USGS) Earth Research Observation System (EROS), as well as university partners, including the University of North Carolina Asheville's National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC). This multi-organizational partnership is key in producing a unique, path finding near real-time forest monitoring system that is now used by many federal, state and local government end-users. Such a system could not have been produced so effectively by any of these groups on their own. The forests of the United States provide many societal values and benefits, ranging from ecological, economic, cultural, to recreational. Therefore, providing a reliable and dependable forest and other wildland monitoring system is important to ensure the continued health, productivity, sustainability and prudent use of our Nation's forests and forest resources. ForWarn does this by producing current health indicator maps of our nation's forests based on satellite data from NASA's MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensors. Such a capability can provide noteworthy value, cost savings and significant impact at state and local government levels because at those levels of government, once disturbances are evident and cause negative impacts, a response must be carried out. The observations that a monitoring system like ForWarn provide, can also contribute to a much broader-scale understanding of vegetation disturbances.

Underwood, Lauren↗
NASA NTRS1996

Surveying Dead Trees and CO2-Induced Stressed Trees Using AVIRIS in the Long Valley Caldera

Since 1980 the Long Valley Caldera in the eastern Sierra Nevada (California) has shown signs of renewed volcanic activity. Frequent earthquakes, a re-inflation of the caldera, hydrothermal activity and gas emissions are the outer symptoms of this renewed activity. In 1990 and 1991 several areas of dying trees were found around Mammoth Mountain. The cause of the die off of the trees was first sought in the persistent drought in the preceding years. However, the trees died regardless of age and species. Farrar et al. (1995) started a soil-gas survey in 1994 in the dead-tree areas and found carbon dioxide concentrations ranging from 30 to 96% at soil depths between 30 and 60 cm. CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere are usually around 0.03% and in the soil profile CO2 levels do commonly not exceed 4 to 5%. Although not much is known about the effect of high levels of carbon dioxide in the soil profile on roots, it is most likely that the trees are dying due to oxygen deprivation: the CO2 drives the oxygen out of the soil. So far, four sites of dead trees have been mapped around Mammoth Mountain. The two largest dying trees sites are located near Horseshoe Lake and near Mammoth Mountain Main Lodge covering approximately an area of 10 and 8 ha respectively. Analysis of the gas composition regarding the He-3/He-4 ratio and the percentage biogenic carbon reveals the source of the gas: the magma body beneath the Long Valley Caldera. Until recently it was not known that volcanoes release abundant carbon dioxide from their flanks as diffuse soil emanations. As a result of the magma gas emission around Mammoth Mountain there is an excellent sequence of dead trees, stressed trees, healthy trees and bare soil surfaces. This research site provides excellent opportunities to: (1) Study the capabilities of imaging spectrometry to map stressed (and dead) pine and fir species; (2) Study methods to separate the vivid vegetation, stressed vegetation and dead vegetation from the soil background of glacial deposits and crystalline rocks. The dead tree areas are located on the flanks of Mammoth Mountain (N:37 deg 37' 45" and W:119 deg 02' 05") at an elevation between 2600 and 3000 meters. The area is covered by an open type of Montane Forest. The dominant tree species are Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta), the Red Fir (Abies magnifica) and the Jeffrey Pine (Pinus jeffreyi). The soil surface near Horseshoe Lake is generally fairly bright. The surface is covered by glacial deposits (till) consisting mainly of weathered granitic rocks.

deJong, Steven M.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Quantitative remote sensing of ammonium minerals, Cedar Mountains, Esmeralda County, Nevada

Mineral-bound ammonium (NH4+) was discovered by the U.S. Geological Survey in the southern Cedar Mountains of Esmeralda County, Nevada in 1989. At 10 km in length, this site is 100 times larger than any previously known occurrence in volcanic rocks. The ammonium occurs in two hydrothermally altered, crystal-rich rhyolitic tuff units of Oligocene age, and is both structurally and stratigraphically controlled. This research uses Advanced Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data to quantitatively map the mineral-bound ammonium (buddingtonite) concentration in the altered volcanic rocks. Naturally occurring mineral-bound ammonium is fairly rare; however, it has been found to occur in gold-bearing hydrothermal deposits. Because of this association, it is thought that ammonium may be a useful too in exploration for gold and other metal deposits. Mineral-bound ammonium is produced when an ammonium ion (NH4+) replaces the alkali cation site (usually K+) in the crystal structure of silicate minerals such as feldspars, micas and clays. Buddingtonite is an ammonium feldspar. The ammonium originates in buried organic plant matter and is transported to the host rock by hydrothermal fluids. Ammonium alteration does not produce visible changes in the rock, and it is barely detectable with standard x-ray diffraction methods. It is clearly identified, however, by absorption features in short wave-infrared (SWIR) wavelengths (2.0 - 2.5 micrometers). The ammonium absorption features are believed to be caused by N-H vibrational modes and are analogous to hydroxyl (O-H) vibrational modes, only shifted slightly in wavelength. Buddingtonite absorption features in the near- and SWIR lie at 1.56, 2.02 and 2.12 micrometers. The feature at 2.12 micrometer is the strongest of the three and is the only one used in this study. The southern Cedar Mountains are sparsely vegetated and are an ideal site for a remote sensing study.

Baugh, William M.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

VEG-04 Pick-and-Eat Crop Production and Human Research on the International Space Station

Growing fresh, nutritious, palatable produce for crew consumption during spaceflight may provide health-promoting, bioavailable nutrients and enhance the astronaut dietary experience as we move toward longer-duration missions. Tending plants may also serve as a countermeasure for crew psychological stresses associated with spaceflight. However, requirements to support consistent growth of a variety of nutritious crops under spaceflight environmental conditions remain unclear. This study explores the potential to grow crops for consumption on the International Space Station (ISS) using the Veggie vegetable-production system. VEG-04A and B were two flight tests conducted in 2019 with the leafy green crop Mizuna mustard. Mizuna was grown in two Veggie chambers simultaneously, with the chambers set to different red-to-blue light formulations; one Veggie was programmed as “red-rich” and the second as “blue-rich.” Light quality is known to impact plant growth, nutrition, microbiology, and organoleptic characteristics on Earth, and the Veggie flight tests examined how these impacts might differ in microgravity. VEG-04A was a 35-day growth test with a single harvest. VEG-04B, a 58-day test with harvests at four, six, and eight weeks from the same plants, assessed sustained productivity. Challenges with the watering program occurred early during VEG-04A, and several plants failed to survive in both the flight and ground control operations. Thus, prior to VEG-04B, an extra test was conducted to tailor water timing and volumes. This test allowed a fine tuning of methods for VEG-04B, and generally plant survival was better in that experiment. At each harvest, the astronauts froze half of the edible plant tissue to return to Earth and weighed the remaining half using the ISS Mass Measurement Device (MMD). Weighed samples were then cleaned with produce-sanitizing wipes, and consenting crew members participated in organoleptic evaluation of the fresh produce. Organoleptic evaluations were conducted on the Mizuna crops grown in both light treatments, and data from these tests are compared to ground data collected at JSC. The remaining sanitized produce was available for crew consumption as desired. Frozen flight samples were returned for microbial and chemical analyses to assess food safety and nutritional quality. Microbial assessments included culturing and identifying aerobic bacteria, yeasts, and molds, and screening for specific human pathogens. Chemical nutrient analyses included assessing elements, antioxidants, and phenolics in plant tissues. Crew members involved in plant operations completed behavioral health surveys pre-flight, in-flight associated with plant growth and harvest activities, and post-flight. Surveys captured the amount of time spent on different plant-related operations, enjoyment of the different activities, engagement with Veggie, experience interacting with Veggie, and sensory stimulation associated with growing plants in Veggie.

Veggie↗
NASA NTRS2008

Climate Quality Broadband and Narrowband Solar Reflected Radiance Calibration Between Sensors in Orbit

vAs the potential impacts of global climate change become more clear [1], the need to determine the accuracy of climate prediction over decade-to-century time scales has become an urgent and critical challenge. The most critical tests of climate model predictions will occur using observations of decadal changes in climate forcing, response, and feedback variables. Many of these key climate variables are observed by remotely sensing the global distribution of reflected solar spectral and broadband radiance. These "reflected solar" variables include aerosols, clouds, radiative fluxes, snow, ice, vegetation, ocean color, and land cover. Achieving sufficient satellite instrument accuracy, stability, and overlap to rigorously observe decadal change signals has proven very difficult in most cases and has not yet been achieved in others [2]. One of the earliest efforts to make climate quality observations was for Earth Radiation Budget: Nimbus 6/7 in the late 1970s, ERBE in the 1980s/90s, and CERES in 2000s are examples of the most complete global records. The recent CERES data products have carried out the most extensive intercomparisons because if the need to merge data from up to 11 instruments (CERES, MODIS, geostationary imagers) on 7 spacecraft (Terra, Aqua, and 5 geostationary) for any given month. In order to achieve climate calibration for cloud feedbacks, the radiative effect of clear-sky, all-sky, and cloud radiative effect must all be made with very high stability and accuracy. For shortwave solar reflected flux, even the 1% CERES broadband absolute accuracy (1-sigma confidence bound) is not sufficient to allow gaps in the radiation record for decadal climate change. Typical absolute accuracy for the best narrowband sensors like SeaWiFS, MISR, and MODIS range from 2 to 4% (1-sigma). IPCC greenhouse gas radiative forcing is approx. 0.6 W/sq m per decade or 0.6% of the global mean shortwave reflected flux, so that a 50% cloud feedback would change the global reflected flux by approx. 0.3 W/sq m or 0.3% per decade in broadband SW calibration change. Recent results comparing CERES reflected flux changes with MODIS, MISR, and SeaWiFS narrowband changes concluded that only SeaWiFS and CERES were approaching sufficient stability in calibration for decadal climate change [3]. Results using deep convective clouds in the optically thick limit as a stability target may prove very effective for improving past data sets like ISCCP. Results for intercalibration of geostationary imagers to CERES using an entire month of regional nearly coincident data demonstrates new approaches to constraining the calibration of current geostationary imagers. The new Decadal Survey Mission CLARREO is examining future approaches to a "NIST-in-Orbit" approach of very high absolute accuracy reference radiometers that cover the full solar and infrared spectrum at high spectral resolution but at low spatial resolution. Sampling studies have shown that a precessing CLARREO mission could calibrate other geo and leo reflected solar radiation and thermal infrared sensors.

Wielicki, Bruce A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

The HYSPIRI Decadal Survey Mission: Update on the Mission Concept and Science Objectives for Global Imaging Spectroscopy and Multi-Spectral Thermal Measurements

The NASA HyspIRI mission is planned to provide global solar reflected energy spectroscopic measurement of the terrestrial and shallow water regions of the Earth every 19 days will all measurements downlinked. In addition, HyspIRI will provide multi-spectral thermal measurements with a single band in the 4 micron region and seven bands in the 8 to 12 micron region with 5 day day/night coverage. A direct broadcast capability for measurement subsets is also planned. This HyspIRI mission is one of those designated in the 2007 National Research Council (NRC) Decadal Survey: Earth Science and Applications from Space. In the Decadal Survey, HyspIRI was recognized as relevant to a range of Earth science and science applications, including climate: "A hyperspectral sensor (e.g., FLORA) combined with a multispectral thermal sensor (e.g., SAVII) in low Earth orbit (LEO) is part of an integrated mission concept [described in Parts I and II] that is relevant to several panels, especially the climate variability panel." The HyspIRI science study group was formed in 2008 to evaluate and refine the mission concept. This group has developed a series of HyspIRI science objectives: (1) Climate: Ecosystem biochemistry, condition & feedback; spectral albedo; carbon/dust on snow/ice; biomass burning; evapotranspiration (2) Ecosystems: Global plant functional types, physiological condition, and biochemistry including agricultural lands (3) Fires: Fuel status, fire frequency, severity, emissions, and patterns of recovery globally (4) Coral reef and coastal habitats: Global composition and status (5) Volcanoes: Eruptions, emissions, regional and global impact (6) Geology and resources: Global distributions of surface mineral resources and improved understanding of geology and related hazards These objectives are achieved with the following measurement capabilities. The HyspIRI imaging spectrometer provides: full spectral coverage from 380 to 2500 at 10 nm sampling; 60 m spatial sampling with a 150 km swath; and fully downlinked coverage of the Earth's terrestrial and shallow water regions every 19 days to provide seasonal cloud-free coverage of the terrestrial surface. The HyspIRI Multi-Spectral Thermal instrument provides: 8 spectral bands from 4 to 12 microns; 60 m spatial sampling with a 600 km swath; and fully downlinked coverage of the Earth's terrestrial shallow water regions every 5 days (day/night) to provide nominally cloud-free monthly coverage. The HyspIRI mission also includes an on-board processing and direct broadcast capability, referred to as the Intelligent Payload Module (IPM), which will allow users with the appropriate antenna to download a subset of the HyspIRI data stream to a local ground station. These science and science application objectives are critical today and uniquely addressed by the combined imaging spectroscopy, thermal infrared measurements, and IPM direct broadcast capability of HyspIRI. Two key objectives are: (1) The global HyspIRI spectroscopic measurements of the terrestrial biosphere including vegetation composition and function to constrain and reduce the uncertainty in climate-carbon interactions and terrestrial biosphere feedback. (2) The global 8 band thermal measurements to provide improved constraint of fire related emissions. In this paper the current HyspIRI mission concept that has been reviewed and refined to its current level of maturity with a Data Products Symposium, Science Workshop and NASA HWorkshop is presented including traceability between the measurements and the science and science application objectives.

Green, Robert O.↗