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NASA NTRS2000

Exploring the Solar System in the Classroom: A Hands-On Approach

This final report discusses the development and implementation of several educational products for K-16 teachers and students. Specifically, I received support for: (A) three K-12 Teacher workshops, Exploring the Solar System in the Classroom: A Hands-On Approach, and minimal Support to finish two computer-based tutorials. (B) Contact Light: An Interactive CD-ROM, and (C) Another Look at Taurus Littrow: An Interactive GIS Database. Each of these projects directly supports NASA's Strategic Plan to: "Involve the education community in our endeavors to inspire America's students, create learning opportunities, enlighten inquisitive minds", and, to "communicate widely the content, relevancy, and excitement of NASA's missions and discoveries to inspire and to increase understanding and the broad application of science and technology." Attachment: Appendix A. And also article: "Aristarchus plateau: as potential lunar base site."

Coombs, Cassandra R.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Archaeological and Environmental Research of the Peten, Guatemala, Using Remote Sensing/GIS Research

The Peten, northern Guatemala, was once inhabited by a population of several million Maya before their collapse in the 9th century AD. Although the seventh and eight centuries were a time of crowning glory for millions of Maya; by 930 A.D. only a few scattered houses remained. What is known, is that at the time of their collapse, the Maya had cut down most of their trees. After centuries of regeneration the Peten now represent the largest remaining tropical forest in Central America but is experiencing rapid deforestation in the wake of an invasion of settlers. The successful adaptive techniques of the indigenous population are being abandoned in favor of the destructive techniques of monoculture and cattle raising. These techniques also contribute to the destruction and looting of unrecorded archeological sites. Remote sensing and GIS analysis are being used to address issues in Maya archeology as well as monitor the effects of increasing deforestation in the area today. One thousand years ago the forests of the Peten were nearly destroyed by the ancient Maya, who, after centuries of successful adaptation, finally overused their resources. Current inhabitants are threatening to do the same thing today in a shorter time period with a lesser population. Through the use of remote sensing/GIS analysis we are attempting to answer questions about the past in order to protect the resources of the future.

Sever, Thomas L.↗
NASA NTRS1999

First Results From the GeoSAR Mapping Instrument

Geosynchronous Synthetic Aperture Radar (GeoSAR) is a consortium project consisting of The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Calgis (a small GIS company based in Fresno, CA) and the California Department of Conservation with funding provided by Defense Research Projects Agency (DARPA) started in November 1996. The two main objectives of the GeoSAR Program are: 1) To develop a state of the art dual frequency interferometric radar mapping instrument capable of mapping the true ground surface height beneath the vegetation canopy; and 2) To transition this mapping technology to a commercial company, Calgis. JPL, the technical lead, has the following program deliverables at program completion in November 1999 include radar design and radar hardware for X-band (3 cm) and P-band (83 cm) radars, processor software, hardware and documentation, and calibrated X-band radar.

Hensley, Scott↗
NASA NTRS1998

Warrego Valles and Other Candidate Sites of Local Hydrothermal Activity Within The Thaumasia Region, Mars

We have previously demonstrated for the Thaumasia region of Mars that: (1) valley formation peaked during the Noachian and declined substantially during the Hesperian and Amazonian Periods and (2) valleys, many of which form networking systems, largely occur near volcanoes, highly faulted terrains, and large impact craters of similar age, thus suggesting hydrothermal activity. In Tanaka et al, the various hypotheses for valley formation on Mars are presented, and a geologic explanation for valley erosion in the Thaumasia region is given that "best fits" the region's geographic and geologic datasets. That comprehensive GIS-based investigation suggests that hydrothermal and seismic activity were the primary causes of valley formation in the Thaumasia region; the data make widespread precipitation less likely as a major factor in valley formation, except perhaps during the Early Noachian, for which much of the geologic record has been destroyed. Based on the reconstruction of the stratigraphic, tectonic, volcanic, and erosional histories and the close association of valleys in time and space with Noachian to Early Hesperian volcanoes and rift systems and Hesperian to Early Amazonian impact craters less than 50 km in diameter, we propose 13 sites of hydrothermal activity within the Thaumasia region; these are the best examples of valleys associated with these geologic features, but there are other less pronounced correlations elsewhere in the region.

Dohm, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Fractal Characterization of Multitemporal Remote Sensing Data

Scale is an "innate" concept in geographic information systems. It is recognized as something that is intrinsic to the capture, storage, manipulation, analysis, modeling, and output of space and time data within a GIS purview, yet the relative meaning and ramifications of scaling spatial and temporal data from this perspective remain enigmatic. As GISs become more sophisticated as a product of more robust software and more powerful computer systems, there is an urgent need to examine the issue of scale, and its relationship to the whole body of spatiotemporal data, as imparted in GISs. Scale is fundamental to the characterization of geo-spatial data as represented in GISs, but we have relatively little insight on how to measure the effects of scale in representing data that are acquired in different formats and exist in varying spatial, temporal and radiometric configurations. Moreover, the complexities associated with the integration of multiscaled data sets in a multitude of formats are exacerbated by the confusion of what the term "scale" is from a multidisciplinary perspective. "Scale" takes on significantly different meanings depending upon one's disciplinary background and spatial perspective which lead to substantial confusion in the input, manipulation, analysis, and output operations. Hence, we must begin to look at the universality of scale and begin to develop the theory, methods, and techniques necessary to advance knowledge on the "Science of Scale' across all disciplines that use GISs.

Quattrochi, Dale A.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Application of Radar Data to Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems

The field of synthetic aperture radar changed dramatically over the past decade with the operational introduction of advance radar techniques such as polarimetry and interferometry. Radar polarimetry became an operational research tool with the introduction of the NASA/JPL AIRSAR system in the early 1980's, and reached a climax with the two SIR-C/X-SAR flights on board the space shuttle Endeavour in April and October 1994. Radar interferometry received a tremendous boost when the airborne TOPSAR system was introduced in 1991 by NASA/JPL, and further when data from the European Space Agency ERS-1 radar satellite became routinely available in 1991. Several airborne interferometric SAR systems are either currently operational, or are about to be introduced. Radar interferometry is a technique that allows one to map the topography of an area automatically under all weather conditions, day or night. The real power of radar interferometry is that the images and digital elevation models are automatically geometrically resampled, and could be imported into GIS systems directly after suitable reformatting. When combined with polarimetry, a technique that uses polarization diversity to gather more information about the geophysical properties of the terrain, a very rich multi-layer data set is available to the remote sensing scientist. This talk will discuss the principles of radar interferometry and polarimetry with specific application to the automatic categorization of land cover. Examples will include images acquired with the NASA/JPL AIRSAR/TOPSAR system in Australia and elsewhere.

vanZyl, Jakob J.↗
NASA NTRS1997

PACES Participation in Educational Outreach Programs at the University of Texas at El Paso

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is involved in several initiatives to improve science education within the El Paso area public schools. These include outreach efforts into the K- 12 classrooms; training programs for in-service teachers; and the introduction of a strong science core curricula within the College of Education. The Pan American Center for Earth and Environmental Studies (PACES), a NASA-funded University Research Center, will leverage off the goals of these existing initiatives to provide curriculum support materials at all levels. We will use currently available Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) materials as well as new materials developed specifically for this region, in an effort to introduce the Earth System Science perspective into these programs. In addition, we are developing curriculum support materials and classes within the Geology and Computer Departments, to provide education in the area of remote sensing and GIS applications at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Dodge, Rebecca L.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Collected Data of The Boreal Ecosystem and Atmosphere Study (BOREAS)

The Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) was a large-scale international interdisciplinary climate-ecosystem interaction experiment in the northern boreal forests of Canada. Its goal was to improve our understanding of the boreal forests -- how they interact with the atmosphere, how much CO2 they can store, and how climate change will affect them. BOREAS wanted to learn to use satellite data to monitor the forests, and to improve computer simulation and weather models so scientists can anticipate the effects of global change. This BOREAS CD-ROM set is a set of 12 CD-ROMs containing the finalized point data sets and compressed image data from the BOREAS Project. All point data are stored in ASCII text files, and all image and GIS products are stored as binary images, compressed using GZip. Additional descriptions of the various data sets on this CD-ROM are available in other documents in the BOREAS series.

Newcomer, J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Landsat TM as a Tool for Locating Habitat for Cerulean Warblers

I believe that I made significant strides in three areas between fall of 1997 and fall of 2000 when I concluded my participation in the JOVE program. First, I acquired skill in digital remote sensing. This was significant to me because it had been 20 years since I had done any work utilizing remote sensing. I used my new skills in two classroom settings (forest ecology and GIS). In addition, I will participate as an instructor of digital remote sensing in a workshop for secondary educators this coming spring. Second, I received funding from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the U.S. Forest Service to supplement JOVE funds. Third, and most importantly, a students and I developed a technique using LandSAT TM for identifying habitat for cerulean warblers. We developed a habitat model using logistic regression to discriminate between pixels that had a high probability of representing good cerulean warbler habitat and pixels that had a low probability of representing cerulean warbler habitat. Using this model, we located five significant populations of cerulean warblers in the Ozark National Forest of Arkansas. These populations were unknown before the initiation of this research and further represent a significant proportion of the known cerulean warblers in Arkansas. Preliminary findings were presented at the Ornithological Societies of America meeting in August of 1999. I also presented findings at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Research Symposium held in June of 2000. Finally, one paper is in press: James, D. A., C.J. Kellner, J. Self, and J. Davis., 'Breeding season distribution of cerulean warblers in Arkansas in the 1990's'. In addition, one paper is under construction: 'Population fluctuation and habitat selection by cerulean warblers in upland forests of Arkansas,' and one paper is under consideration: 'LandSAT TM and Logistic regression for identification of cerulean warbler habitat in upland forests of Arkansas.'

Kellner, Chris↗
NASA NTRS2001

Quasar X-Ray Spectra At z=1.5

The predicted counts for ASCA observation was much higher than actually observed counts in the quasar. However, there are three weak hard x-ray sources in the GIS field. We are adding them to the source counts in modeling of hard x-ray background. The work is in progress. We have published a paper in Ap.J. on the luminosity function and the quasar evolution. Based on the theory described in this paper we are predicting a number of sources and their contribution to the x-ray background at different redshifts. These model predictions will be compared to the observed data in the final paper.

Siemiginowska, Aneta↗
NASA NTRS2001

Preliminary Results from Coordinated UVCS-CDS-Ulysses Observations

The June 2000 quadrature between the Sun, Earth, and Ulysses took place with Ulysses at a distance of 3.35 AU from the Sun and at heliocentric latitude 58.2 deg south, in the southeast quadrant. This provided an opportunity to observe the corona close to the Sun with Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer (CDS) and Ultraviolet Coronograph Spectrometer (UVCS) and, subsequently, to sample the same plasma when it reached Ulysses. Here we focus on simultaneous observations of UVCS and CDS made on June 12, 13, 16 and 17. The UVCS data were acquired at heliocentric altitudes ranging from 1.6 to 2.2 solar radii, using different grating positions, in order to get a wide wavelength range. CDS data consisted of Normal Incidence Spectrometer (NIS) full wavelength rasters of 120" x 150" centered at altitudes up to 1.18 solar radii, together with Grazing Incidence Spectrometer (GIS) 4" x 4" rasters within the same field of view, out to 1.2 solar radii. The radial direction to Ulysses passed through a high latitude streamer, throughout the 4 days of observations, Analysis of the spectra taken by UVCS shows a variation of the element abundances in the streamer over our observing interval: however, because the observations were in slightly different parts of the streamer on different days, the variation could be ascribed either to a temporal or spatial effect. The oxygen abundance, however, seems to increase at the edge of the streamer, as indicated by previous analyses. This suggests the variation may be a function of position within the streamer, rather than a temporal effect. Oxygen abundances measured by SWICS on Ulysses are compared with the CDS and UVCS results to see whether changes measured in situ follow the same pattern.

Parenti, S.↗
NASA NTRS1999

The Ancient Maya Landscape from Space

The Peten, once inhabited by a population of several million before the collapse of the ancient Maya in the 10th and 11th centuries, is being repopulated toward its former demographic peak. Environmental dynamics, however, impose severe constraints to further development. Current practices in subsistence, commercial agriculture, and cattle raising are causing rapid deforestation resulting in the destruction of environmental and archeological resources. The use of remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology is a cost-effective methodology for addressing issues in Maya archeology as well as monitoring the environmental impacts being experienced by the current population.

Sever, T.↗
NASA NTRS2000

SERM Forest Fire Chronology of Saskatchewan in Vector Format

The BOReal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) staff personnel worked with several Canadian agencies to obtain various GIS data for use in the research efforts. This data set is a series of ARC/INFO export files of the fire history of Saskatchewan by year from 1945 to 1996, with a few missing years. The data set was compiled and provided by the Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management (SERM) Wildlife Branch.

Naelapea, Ott↗
NASA NTRS2000

BOREAS Soils Data over the SSA in Raster Format and AEAC Projection

This data set consists of GIS layers that describe the soils of the BOREAS SSA. The original data were submitted as vector layers that were gridded by BOREAS staff to a 30-meter pixel size in the AEAC projection. These data layers include the soil code (which relates to the soil name), modifier (which also relates to the soil name), and extent (indicating the extent that this soil exists within the polygon). There are three sets of these layers representing the primary, secondary, and tertiary soil characteristics. Thus, there is a total of nine layers in this data set along with supporting files. The data are stored in binary, image format files.

Knapp, David↗
NASA NTRS2000

Agriculture Canada Central Saskatchewan Vector Soils Data

This data set consists of GIS layers that describe the soils of the BOREAS SSA. These original data layers were submitted as vector data in ARC/INFO EXPORT format. These data also include the soil name and soil layer files, which provide additional information about the soils. There are three sets of attributes that include information on the primary, secondary, and tertiary soil type within each polygon. Thus, there is a total of nine main attributes in this data set.

Knapp, David↗
NASA NTRS2001

Controlling Malaria and Other Diseases Using Remote Sensing

Remote sensing offers the vantage of monitoring a vast area of the Earth continuously. Once developed and launched, a satellite gives years of service in collecting data from the land, the oceans, and the atmosphere. Since the 1980s, attempts have been made to relate disease occurrence with remotely sensed environmental and geophysical parameters, using data from Landsat, SPOT, AVHRR, and other satellites. With higher spatial resolution, the recent satellite sensors provide a new outlook for disease control. At sub-meter to I 10m resolution, surface types associated with disease carriers can be identified more accurately. The Ikonos panchromatic sensor with I m resolution, and the Advanced Land Imager with 1 Om resolution on the newly launched Earth Observing-1, both have displayed remarkable mapping capabilities. In addition, an entire array of geophysical parameters can now be measured or inferred from various satellites. Airborne remote sensing, with less concerns on instrument weight, size, and power consumption, also offers a low-cost alternative for regional applications. NASA/GSFC began to collaborate with the Mahidol University on malaria and filariasis control using remote sensing in late 2000. The objectives are: (1) To map the breeding sites for the major vector species; (2) To identify the potential sites for larvicide and insecticide applications; (3) To explore the linkage of vector population and transmission intensity to environmental variables; (4) To monitor the impact of climate change and human activities on vector population and transmission; and (5) To develop a predictive model for disease distribution. Field studies are being conducted in several provinces in Thailand. Data analyses will soon begin. Malaria data in South Korea are being used as surrogates for developing classification techniques. GIS has been shown to be invaluable in making the voluminous remote sensing data more readily understandable. It will be used throughout this study to clearly demonstrate the spatial relationship between the disease intensities, geophysical variables, and socioeconomic parameters. Asides from malaria and filariasis, application of remote sensing to the control of other diseases have been vigorously pursued by NASA's Environment and Health Initiative. The current program includes projects on Rift Valley fever, St. Louis encephalitis, dengue fever, ebola, African dust and diseases, meningitis, asthma, bartonellosis, cholera, and urban health concerns. Results from these projects indicate that remote sensing will play an increasingly important role in disease control in the future.

Kiang, Richard K.↗
NASA NTRS2001

SN1978K: Monitoring Its Evolution and a Search for A Pulsar

We update the light curves from the X-ray, optical, and radio bandpasses which we have assembled over the past decade and present two observations in the ultraviolet using the Hubble Space Telescope Faint Object Spectrograph. The HRI X-ray light curve is constant within the errors over the entire observation period. This behavior is confirmed in the ASCA GIS data obtained in 1993 and 1995. In the ultraviolet, we detected Ly(alpha), the [Ne iv] 2422/2424 A doublet, the Mg II doublet at 2800 A and a line at approximately 3190 A that we attribute to He I 3187. Only the Mg II and He I lines are detected at SN 1978K's position. The optical fight curve is formally constant within the errors, although a slight upward trend may be present. The radio light curve continues its steep decline. The longer time span of our radio observations compared to previous studies shows that SN 1978K is in the same class of highly X-ray and radio-luminous supernovae as SN 1986J and SN 1988Z. The [Ne iv] emission is spatially distant from the location of SN 1978K and originates in the preshocked matter. The Mg II doublet flux ratio implies the quantity of line optical depth times density of approximately 10(exp 14)/cc for its emission region. The emission site must he in the shocked gas.

Schlegel, Eric M.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Earth: Earth Science and Health

A major new NASA initiative on environmental change and health has been established to promote the application of Earth science remote sensing data, information, observations, and technologies to issues of human health. NASA's Earth Sciences suite of Earth observing instruments are now providing improved observations science, data, and advanced technologies about the Earth's land, atmosphere, and oceans. These new space-based resources are being combined with other agency and university resources, data integration and fusion technologies, geographic information systems (GIS), and the spectrum of tools available from the public health community, making it possible to better understand how the environment and climate are linked to specific diseases, to improve outbreak prediction, and to minimize disease risk. This presentation is an overview of NASA's tools, capabilities, and research advances in this initiative.

Maynard, Nancy G.↗