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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 271 records · Page 15
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NASA NTRS1977

Theory for passive microwave remote sensing of near-surface soil moisture

The theory of microwave thermal emission from a nonscattering half-space medium is developed for application to regions with nonuniform subsurface soil-moisture and temperature variations. A coherent stratified model is presented which is valid for nonuniform temperature profiles and rapidly varying moisture profiles, under which conditions the commonly used emissivity and radiative-transfer approaches become inaccurate. For naturally occurring profiles the stratified model gives more accurate results than the other approaches at frequencies below about 4 GHz. Experimental results from ground-based radiometric observations of a controlled target area compare systematically with brightness temperatures predicted from the theoretical model to within approximately 10 K. Results of dielectric-constant measurements of the sand are given at seven frequencies in the microwave range and for moisture contents in the range from 0% to 30% by volume. By using this model, the thermal microwave emission spectrum is computed for a number of representative moisture and temperature profiles in the frequency range from 0.25 to 25 GHz.

Njoku, E. G.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Atmospheric sounding with passive microwaves: Review and prognosis

Global maps of temperature profiles from 0 to 20 km altitude and of total water vapor and liquid water over the ocean were obtained from satellite-borne microwave spectrometers. Future satellites will extend the altitude range above 100 km and permit monitoring of H2O, O3, CO, N2O, and other trace constituents. Operational microwave temperature sounding spectrometers are scheduled for launch on both military and civilian U.S. satellites, and future improvements can be expected.

Staelin, D. H.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Passive microwave remote sensing of soil moisture

The theory and calculations of microwave emission from the medium with the depth-dependent physical properties are discussed; the possibility of determining the vertical profiles of temperature and humidity is considered. Laboratory and aircraft measurements of the soil moisture are described; the technique for determining the productive-moisture content in soil, and the results of aircraft measurements are given.

Kondratyev, K. Y.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Passive microwave studies of snowpack properties

Microwave brightness temperatures were measured for the snowpacks at Walden and Steamboat Springs, Colorado during 1976 and 1977 aircraft experiments. Variations in measured brightness temperatures are attributed to snow grain and crystal sizes, liquid water content, and snowpack temperature. Results demonstrate that shorter wavelength radiation is scattered more strongly than longer wavelength radiation.

Hall, D. K.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Estimation of snow temperature and mean crystal radius from remote multispectral passive microwave measurements

Variation in crystal size and physical temperature of snowfield observations from space give large variations in the microwave brightness temperature. Since the brightness temperature is a function of wavelength, the microwave brightness temperature can be used to extract the snow temperature and mean crystal radius profiles. The Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR), to be launched on board the Nimbus-G and Seasat-A spacecraft, will make observations in wavelengths of 0.8, 1.4, 1.7, 2.8, and 4.6 cm. A statistical retrieval method was developed to determine the snowfield temperature profile and mean crystal size by using the scanning multifrequency microwave radiometer on board a spacecraft. The estimated errors for retrieval are approximately 1.5 K for temperature and 0.001 for crystal radius in the presence of 1 K rms noise for each SMMR channel.

Chang, A. T. C.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Remote sensing of atmospheric water vapor, liquid water and wind speed at the ocean surface by passive microwave techniques from the Nimbus-5 satellite

The microwave brightness temperature measurements for Nimbus-5 electrically scanned microwave radiometer and Nimbus E microwave spectrometer are used to retrieve the atmospheric water vapor, liquid water and wind speed by a quasi-statistical retrieval technique. It is shown that the brightness temperature can be utilized to yield these parameters under various weather conditions. Observations at 19.35 GHz, 22.235 GHz and 31.4 GHz were input to the regression equations. The retrieved values of these parameters for portions of two Nimbus-5 orbits are presented. Then comparison between the retrieved parameters and the available observations on the total water vapor content and the surface wind speed are made. The estimated errors for retrieval are approximately 0.15 g/sq cm for water vapor content, 6.5 mg/sq cm for liquid water content and 6.6 m/sec for surface wind speed.

Chang, A. T. C.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Atmospheric sounding with passive microwaves - Review and prognosis

Global maps of temperature profiles 0-20 km and of total water vapor and liquid water over ocean have been obtained from satellite-borne microwave spectrometers. Future satellites should extend the altitude range above 100 km and permit monitoring of H2O, O3, CO, N2O, and other trace constituents. Operational microwave temperature-sounding spectrometers are scheduled for launch on both military and civilian U.S. satellites, and future improvements can be expected.

Staelin, D. H.↗
NASA NTRS1978

An extended Kalman-Bucy filter for atmospheric temperature profile retrieval with a passive microwave sounder

An extended Kalman-Bucy filter has been implemented for atmospheric temperature profile retrievals from observations made using the Scanned Microwave Spectrometer (SCAMS) instrument carried on the Nimbus 6 satellite. This filter has the advantage that it requires neither stationary statistics in the underlying processes nor linear production of the observed variables from the variables to be estimated. This extended Kalman-Bucy filter has yielded significant performance improvement relative to multiple regression retrieval methods. A multi-spot extended Kalman-Bucy filter has also been developed in which the temperature profiles at a number of scan angles in a scanning instrument are retrieved simultaneously. These multi-spot retrievals are shown to outperform the single-spot Kalman retrievals.

Ledsham, W. H.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Studies of snowpack properties by passive microwave radiometry

Research involving the microwave characteristics of snow was undertaken in order to expand the information content currently available from remote sensing, namely the measurement of snowcovered area. Microwave radiation emitted from beneath the snow surface can be sensed and thus permits information on internal snowpack properties to be inferred. The intensity of radiation received is a function of the average temperature and emissivity of the snow layers and is commonly referred to as the brightness temperature (T sub b). The T sub b varies with snow grain and crystal sizes, liquid water content and snowpack temperature. The T sub b of the 0.8 cm wavelength channel was found to decrease moreso with increasing snow depth than the 1.4 cm channel. More scattering of the shorter wavelength radiation occurs thus resulting in a lower T sub b for shorter wavelengths in a dry snowpack. The longer 21.0 cm wavelength was used to assess the condition of the underlying ground. Ultimately it may be possible to estimate snow volume over large areas using calibrated brightness temperatures and consequently improve snowmelt runoff predictions.

Chang, A. T. C.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Preliminary results of passive microwave snow experiment during February and March 1978

The purpose of the experiment was to determine if remote microwave sensing of snowpack data could be used to predict runoff, thereby allowing more efficient management of the water supply. A four-frequency microwave radiometer system was attached to a truck-mounted aerial lift and was used to gather data on snowpacks at three different sites in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Ground truth data measurements (density, temperature, grain size, hardness, and free-liquid water content) were taken at each site corresponding to each microwave scan.

Chang, A. T. C.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Studies of snowpack properties by passive microwave radiometry

Research involving the microwave characteristics of snow was undertaken in order to expand the information content currently available from remote sensing, namely the measurement of snowcovered area. Microwave radiation emitted from beneath the snow surface can be sensed and thus permits information on internal snowpack properties to be inferred. The intensity of radiation received is a function of the average temperature and emissivity of the snow layers and is commonly referred to as the brightness temperature (T sub B). The T sub B varies with snow grain and crystal sizes, liquid water content, and snowpack temperature. The T sub B of the 0.8 cm wavelength channel was found to decrease more so with increasing snow depth than the 1.4 cm channel. More scattering of the shorter wavelength radiation occurs thus resulting in a lower T sub B for shorter wavelengths in a dry snowpack. The longer 21.0 cm wavelength was used to assess the condition of the underlying ground.

Chang, A. T. C.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Passive microwave applications to snowpack monitoring using satellite data

Nimbus-5 Electrically Scanned Microwave Radiometer data were analyzed for the fall of 1975 and winter and summer of 1976 over the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska to determine the applicability of those data to snowpack monitoring. It was found that when the snow depth remained constant at 12.7 cm, the brightness temperatures T sub B varied with air temperature. During April and May the production of ice lenses and layers within the snow, and possibly wet ground beneath the snow contribute to the T sub B variations also. Comparison of March T sub B values of three areas with the same (12.7 cm) snow depth showed that air temperature is the predominant factor controlling the T sub B differences among the three areas, but underlying surface conditions and individual snowpack characteristics are also significant factors.

Hall, D. K.↗
NASA NTRS1979

A passive microwave technique for profiling of atmospheric water vapor

There is considerable interest in remote measurements of the vertical distribution of water vapor, particularly under cloud conditions. The net integrated amount of water vapor has been measured using the 22.235-GHz water vapor line (Staelin et al., 1975). Attempts to use this line for obtaining vertical distribution information have not been fruitful because of the weakness of absorption even at line center. The 183.310-GHz line is much stronger and thus provides a possibility of profiling water vapor. The paper presents a preliminary analysis of this possibility. A technique is described for retrieval of water vapor profiles from microwave radiometric measurements near the 183-GHz water vapor line, and weighting functions useful in the retrievals are developed. The results suggest that microwave radiometry near the 183-GHz water vapor line could yield interesting water vapor profiles, at least over oceans.

Schaerer, G.↗
NASA NTRS1979

The Passive Microwave Remote Sensing of Soil Moisture: the Effect of Tilled Row Structure

The tilled rowstructure is known to be one of the important factors affecting the observations of the microwave emission from a natural surface. Measurements of this effect were carried out with both I and X band radiometers mounted on a mobile truck on a bare 40 m x 45 m row tilled field. The soil moisture content during the measurements ranged from approximately 10 percent to approximately 30 percent by dry weight. The results of these measurements showed that the variations of the antenna temperatures with incident angle theta changed with the azimuthal angle a measured from the row direction. A numerical calculation based on a composite surface roughness was made and found to predict the observed features within the model's limit of accuracy. It was concluded that the difference between the horizontally and vertically polarized temperatures was due to the change in the local angle of field emission within the antenna field of view caused by the large scale row structure.

Wang, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Theoretical modelling and experimental data matching for active and passive microwave remote sensing of Earth terrain

Two theoretical models were developed to characterize terrain media: a random medium with a variance, a horizontal correlation length; and a homogeneous dielectric containing discrete scatterers. The earth terrain is modelled as layers of such scattering media bounded by air above and half-space below. Matching the theoretical results with experimental data collected from vegetation and snow-ice fields shows that: (1) for observation angles near nadir, rough surface effects are important; (2) for snow-ice field the horizontal correlation length is greater than the vertical correlation length whereas for vegetation field their relative sizes depend on the types of vegetation; (3) the vertically polarized backscattering cross-section is always larger than the horizontally polarized backscattering cross-section for half-space scattering media; (4) for snow field displaying diurnal change, a three-layer model including a thin top layer caused by sunlight illumination must be used; and (5) for a random medium with equal horizontal and vertical correlation lengths, the measured data can also be matched with a corresponding discrete scatterer model.

Kong, J. A.↗