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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1998

A New and Fast Method for Smoothing Spectral Imaging Data

The Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) acquires spectral imaging data covering the 0.4 - 2.5 micron wavelength range in 224 10-nm-wide channels from a NASA ER-2 aircraft at 20 km. More than half of the spectral region is affected by atmospheric gaseous absorption. Over the past decade, several techniques have been used to remove atmospheric effects from AVIRIS data for the derivation of surface reflectance spectra. An operational atmosphere removal algorithm (ATREM), which is based on theoretical modeling of atmospheric absorption and scattering effects, has been developed and updated for deriving surface reflectance spectra from AVIRIS data. Due to small errors in assumed wavelengths and errors in line parameters compiled on the HITRAN database, small spikes (particularly near the centers of the 0.94- and 1.14-micron water vapor bands) are present in this spectrum. Similar small spikes are systematically present in entire ATREM output cubes. These spikes have distracted geologists who are interested in studying surface mineral features. A method based on the "global" fitting of spectra with low order polynomials or other functions for removing these weak spikes has recently been developed by Boardman (this volume). In this paper, we describe another technique, which fits spectra "locally" based on cubic spline smoothing, for quick post processing of ATREM apparent reflectance spectra derived from AVIRIS data. Results from our analysis of AVIRIS data acquired over Cuprite mining district in Nevada in June of 1995 are given. Comparisons between our smoothed spectra and those derived with the empirical line method are presented.

Gao, Bo-Cai↗
NASA NTRS1982

Determination of surface albedos and aerosol extinction characteristics from satellite imagery

A procedure is developed for calculating atmospheric extinction characteristics (optical thickness, scattering height, single scattering albedo) and surface albedo from radiometric images made at satellite altitudes. The procedure - a fast, computerized method - is suitable for the high-volume processing of satellite imagery data and thus can be used to map temporal and spatial distributions of aerosol parameters. Based on an analytical approximate solution to the equation of radiative transfer in a plane parallel atmosphere, the procedure is primarily applicable to the 0.4-micron to 0.8-micron wavelength range for solar zenith angles from 10 deg to 60 deg, surface albedos between 0.03 and about 0.5, and atmospheric optical thicknesses from 0.2 to 2. With a step-like change in the surface albedo (for example, a seashore or river bank or other similar change of terrain), both surface reflectivity and atmospheric optical thickness can be derived from radiance measurements. In this case, the resultant optical thickness is not based on a known surface reflectivity and is in essence independent of the radiometer calibration.

Kaufman, Y. J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Microwave Deflection Sensor

Doppler-radar instrument measures small deflections or vibrations of reflecting surface. Acting as interferometric micrometer, instrument includes combination of analog and digital circuits measuring change in phase of radar return due to movement of reflecting surface along signal-propagation path. Includes homodyne Doppler-radar transceiver and digital signal-processing circuitry to measure change in phase shift as target deflects.

Shores, Paul↗
NASA NTRS2003

Mars Odyssey THEMIS-VIS: Surface-Atmosphere Separation and Derivation of Aerosol Properties

Scattering by atmospheric aerosols can contribute a substantial fraction of the visible-light radiance observed in any remote sensing of Mars. Our objective is to develop techniques to separate this aerosol component from the surface-reflectance component in Mars Odyssey's THEMIS Visible Imaging Subsystem (THEMIS-VIS) dataset. The primary purpose of this study is the production of accurate surface reflectance data in order to allow for reliable color and mineralogical unit mapping. The second principal goal is to study the feasibility of using VIS measurements to derive quantitative information about ice and dust aerosol properties such as particle size and optical depth.

T H McConnochie↗
NASA NTRS2009

Performance Assessment of the Mercury Laser Altimeter on MESSENGER from Mercury Orbit

The Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) is one of seven instruments on the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft,a mission in NASA's Discovery Program. MESSENGER was launched on August 3, 2004, and entered into orbit about Mercury on March 29, 2011. As of June 30, 2011 MLA started to collect science Measurements on March 29, 2011. As of June 30, 2011 MLA had accumulated about 3 million laser ranging measurements to the Mercury surface through one Mercury year, i.e ., one complete cycle of the spacecraft thermal environment. The average MLA laser output-pulse energy remained steady despite the harsh thermal environment, in which the laser bench temperature changed by as much as 15 C over a 35 min operating period . The laser beam-collimating telescope experienced a 30 C temperature swing over the same period, and the thermal cycling repeated every 12 hours. Nonetheless, MLA receiver optics appeared to be aligned and in focus throughout these temperature excursions. The maximum ranging distance of MLA was 1500 km at near-zero laser-beam incidence angle (and emission angle) and 600 km at 60 deg incidence angle. The MLA instrument performance in Mercury orbit has been consistent with the performance demonstrated during MESSENGER's Mercury flybys in January and October 2008 and during pre-launch testing. In addition to range measurements, MLA data are being used to estimate the surface reflectance of Mercury at 1064 nm wavelength, including regions of permanent shadow on the floors of polar craters. MLA also provides a measurement of the surface reflectance of sunlight at 1064 nm wavelength by its noise counters, for which output is a monotonic function of the background light.

Sun, Xiaoli↗
NASA NTRS2004

3D Cloud Radiative Effects on Aerosol Optical Thickness Retrievals in Cumulus Cloud Fields in the Biomass Burning Region in Brazil

Aerosol amount in clear regions of a cloudy atmosphere is a critical parameter in studying the interaction between aerosols and clouds. Since the global cloud cover is about 50%, cloudy scenes are often encountered in any satellite images. Aerosols are more or less transparent, while clouds are extremely reflective in the visible spectrum of solar radiation. The radiative transfer in clear-cloudy condition is highly three- dimensional (3D). This paper focuses on estimating the 3D effects on aerosol optical thickness retrievals using Monte Carlo simulations. An ASTER image of cumulus cloud fields in the biomass burning region in Brazil is simulated in this study. The MODIS products (i-e., cloud optical thickness, particle effective radius, cloud top pressure, surface reflectance, etc.) are used to construct the cloud property and surface reflectance fields. To estimate the cloud 3-D effects, we assume a plane-parallel stratification of aerosol properties in the 60 km x 60 km ASTER image. The simulated solar radiation at the top of the atmosphere is compared with plane-parallel calculations. Furthermore, the 3D cloud radiative effects on aerosol optical thickness retrieval are estimated.

Wen, Guo-Yong↗
NASA NTRS2011

Using EO-1 Hyperion to Simulate HyspIRI Products for a Coniferous Forest: The Fraction of PAR Absorbed by Chlorophyll (fAPAR(sub chl)) and Leaf Water Content (LWC)

This study presents development of prototype products for terrestrial ecosystems in preparation for the future imaging spectrometer planned for the Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HyspIRI) mission. We present a successful demonstration example in a coniferous forest of two product prototypes: fraction of photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) absorbed by chlorophyll of a canopy (fAPAR(sub chl)) and leaf water content (LWC), for future HyspIRI implementation at 60 m spatial resolution. For this, we used existing 30 m resolution imaging spectrometer data available from the Earth Observing One (EO-1) Hyperion satellite to simulate and prototype the level one radiometrically corrected radiance (L1R) images expected from the HyspIRI visible through shortwave infrared spectrometer. The HyspIRI-like images were atmospherically corrected to obtain surface reflectance, and spectrally resampled to produce 60 m reflectance images for wavelength regions that were comparable to all seven of the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land bands. Thus, we developed MODIS-like surface reflectance in seven spectral bands at the HyspIRI-like spatial scale, which was utilized to derive fAPARchl and LWC with a coupled canopy-leaf radiative transfer model (PROSAIL2) for the coniferous forest[1]. With this study, we provide additional evidence that the fAPARchl product is more realistic for describing the physiologically active canopy than the traditional fAPAR parameter for the whole canopy (fAPAR(sub canopy)), and thus should replace it in ecosystem process models to reduce uncertainties in terrestrial carbon cycle studies and ecosystem studies.

Zhang, Qingyuan↗
NASA NTRS2012

Using EO-1 Hyperion to Simulate HyspIRI Products for a Coniferous Forest: The Fraction of PAR Absorbed by Chlorophyll (fAPAR(sub chl)) and Leaf Water Content(LWC)

This paper presents development of prototype products for terrestrial ecosystems in preparation for the future imaging spectrometer planned for the Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HyspIRI) mission. We present a successful demonstration example in a coniferous forest of two product prototypes: fraction of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) absorbed by chlorophyll of a canopy (fAPARchl) and leaf water content (LWC), for future HyspIRI implementation at 60-m spatial resolution. For this, we used existing 30-m resolution imaging spectrometer data available from the Earth Observing One (EO-1) Hyperion satellite to simulate and prototype the level one radiometrically corrected radiance (L1R) images expected from the HyspIRI visible through shortwave infrared spectrometer. The HyspIRIlike images were atmospherically corrected to obtain surface reflectance and spectrally resampled to produce 60-m reflectance images for wavelength regions that were comparable to all seven of the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land bands. Thus, we developed MODIS-like surface reflectance in seven spectral bands at the HyspIRI-like spatial scale, which was utilized to derive fAPARchl and LWC with a coupled canopy-leaf radiative transfer model (PROSAIL2) for the coniferous forest. With this paper, we provide additional evidence that the fAPARchl product is more realistic in describing the physiologically active canopy than the traditional fAPAR parameter for the whole canopy (fAPARcanopy), and thus, it should replace it in ecosystem process models to reduce uncertainties in terrestrial carbon cycle and ecosystem studies.

Earth Observing One↗
NASA NTRS2001

Impact of Cumulus Cloud Spacing on Landsat Atmospheric Correction and Aerosol Retrieval

A Landsat-7 ETM+ image acquired over the Southern Great Plains DoE/ARM site during the ARESE II experiment is used to study the effect of clouds on reflected radiation in clear patches of a cumulus cloud field. The result shows that the apparent path radiance in the clear patches is enhanced by nearby clouds in both band 1 (blue) and band 3 (red) of ETM+. More importantly, the magnitude of the enhancement depends on the mean cloud-free distance in the clear patches. For cloud-free distance less than 0.5 km, the enhancement of apparent path radiance is more than 0.025 and 0.015 (reflectance units) in band 1 and band 3 respectively, which corresponds to an enhancement of apparent aerosol optical thickness of approximately 0.25 and approximately 0.15. Neglecting of the 3-D cloud effect would lead to underestimates of surface reflectance of approximately 0.025 and approximately 0.015 in the blue and red band respectively, if the true aerosol optical thickness is 0.2 and the surface reflectance is 0.05. The enhancement decreases exponentially with mean cloud-free distance, reaching asymptotic values of 0.09 for band 1 and 0.027 for band 3 at a mean cloud-free distance about 2 km. The asymptotic values are slightly larger than the mean path radiances retrieved from a completely clear region -- 0.086 and 0.024 for the blue and red band respectively.

Wen, Guoyong↗
NASA NTRS1986

Methane oxidation behind reflected shock waves: Ignition delay times measured by pressure and flame band emission

Ignition delay data were recorded for three methane-oxygen-argon mixtures (phi = 0.5, 1.0, 2.0) for the temperature range 1500 to 1920 K. Quiet pressure trances enabled us to obtain delay times for the start of the experimental pressure rise. These times were in good agreement with those obtained from the flame band emission at 3700 A. The data correlated well with the oxygen and methane dependence of Lifshitz, but showed a much stronger temperature dependence (phi = 0.5 delta E = 51.9, phi = 1.0 delta = 58.8, phi = 2.0 delta E = 58.7 Kcal). The effect of probe location on the delay time measurement was studied. It appears that the probe located 83 mm from the reflecting surface measured delay times which may not be related to the initial temperature and pressure. It was estimated that for a probe located 7 mm from the reflecting surface, the measured delay time would be about 10 microseconds too short, and it was suggested that delay times less than 100 microsecond should not be used. The ignition period was defined as the time interval between start of the experimental pressure rise and 50 percent of the ignition pressure. This time interval was measured for three gas mixtures and found to be similar (40 to 60 micro sec) for phi = 1.0 and 0.5 but much longer (100 to 120) microsecond for phi = 2.0. It was suggested that the ignition period would be very useful to the kinetic modeler in judging the agreement between experimental and calculated delay times.

Brabbs, T. A.↗
NASA NTRS1995

MODTRAN3: An update and recent validations against airborne high resolution interferometer measurements

MODTRAN, the Moderate Resolution Atmospheric Radiance and Transmittance Model, encompasses all the capabilities of LOWTRAN 7, the widely used 20 cm(exp -1) resolution radiance code, but incorporates a much more sensitive molecular band model with 2 cm(exp -1) resolution. MODTRAN contains many important elements that other band model based radiative transfer codes do not incorporate. It shares with FASCODE: spherical geometry, single and multiple scattering default atmospheric profile descriptors (gases, aerosols, clouds, fogs, and rain), and molecular continua (H2O, CO2, O3, O2, N2). In addition, it can calculate the solar/lunar direct and scattered radiation. MODTRAN3 was released to the general public in November 1994. It has several important features that the previous version, MODTRAN2, does not have. Chloro-fluorocarbon (CFC) and related heavy molecules (whose spectroscopic properties first appear on the HITRAN92 data base as temperature-dependent cross sections) have been incorporated into pseudo-band models, with provision for using both default and user supplied profiles. The addition of SO2 and O2 in the UV, along with upgraded ozone Chappuis bands in the visible is also part of MODTRAN3. An improved multiple scattering algorithm, the DIScrete Ordinate Radiative Transfer (DISORT) has also been incorporated into MODTRAN3. MODTRAN is very fast: simple timing runs of MODTRAN3 vs. FASCOD3 show an improvement of more than a factor of 100 for a typical 500 cm(exp -1) spectral interval and comparable vertical layering. Speed is an important consideration in heating/cooling rates calculations, where a large number of radiative transfer calculations are needed. The MODTRAN3 used in this study is based on HITRAN92, but as mentioned, above, it will be upgraded to HITRAN94 upon its release at the end of 1994. MODTRAN has been adopted by: some researchers in the AVIRIS program as one radiative transfer code to derive surface reflectance from AVIRIS measurements. The accuracy of the code is very important because any errors in the radiative transfer calculation will directly translate into errors in the derived surface reflectance. In this paper, the new solar irradiance calculated by Kurucz, which is adopted in MODTRAN3, will be presented. Recent validations of MODTRAN3 with airborne high resolution interferometer measurements over ocean will be discussed. Good agreeement between model calculations and measurements was achieved.

Anderson, Gail P.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Satellite Monitoring of Asian Dust Storms from SeaWiFS and MODIS: Source, Pathway, and Interannual Variability

Among the many components that contribute to air pollution, airborne mineral dust plays an important role due to its biogeochemical impact on the ecosystem and its radiative-forcing effect on the climate system. In East Asia, dust storms frequently accompany the cold and dry air masses that occur as part of springtime cold front systems. China's capital, Beijing, and other large cities are on the primary pathway of these dust storm plumes, and their passage over such population centers causes flight delays, pushes grit through windows and doors, and forces peop Ie indoors. Furthermore, during the spring these anthropogenic and natural air pollutants, once generated over the source regions, can be tran sported out of the boundary layer into the free troposphere and can travel thousands of kilometers across the Pacific into the United States and beyond. In this paper, we will demonstrate the capability of a new satellite algorithm to retrieve aerosol optical thickness and single scattering albedo over brightreflecting surfaces such as urban areas and deserts. Such retrievals have been difficult to perform using previously available algorithms that use wavelengths from the mid-visible to the near IR because they have trouble separating the aerosol signal from the contribution due to the bright surface reflectance. The new algorithm, called Deep Blue, utilizes blue-wavelength measurements from instruments such as Sea WiFS and MODIS to infer the properties of aerosols, since the surface reflectance over land in the blue part of the spectrum is much lower than for longer wavelength channels. We have validated the satellite retrieved aerosol optical thickness with data from AERONET sunphotometers over desert and semi-desert regions. The comparisons show reasonable agreements between these two. These new satellite products will allow scientists to determine quantitatively the aerosol properties near sources using high spatial resolution measurements from Sea WiFS and MODISlike instruments. The multiyear satellite measurements since 1998 from SeaWiFS will be utilized to investigate the interannual variability of source, pathway, and dust loading associated with these dust outbreaks in East Asia. The monthly averaged aerosol optical thickness during the springtime from SeaWiFS will also be compared with the MODIS Deep Blue products.

Hsu, N. Christina↗
NASA NTRS2013

Evaluating and Quantifying the Climate-Driven Interannual Variability in Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI3g) at Global Scales

Satellite observations of surface reflected solar radiation contain informationabout variability in the absorption of solar radiation by vegetation. Understanding thecauses of variability is important for models that use these data to drive land surface fluxesor for benchmarking prognostic vegetation models. Here we evaluated the interannualvariability in the new 30.5-year long global satellite-derived surface reflectance index data,Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies normalized difference vegetation index(GIMMS NDVI3g). Pearsons correlation and multiple linear stepwise regression analyseswere applied to quantify the NDVI interannual variability driven by climate anomalies, andto evaluate the effects of potential interference (snow, aerosols and clouds) on the NDVIsignal. We found ecologically plausible strong controls on NDVI variability by antecedent precipitation and current monthly temperature with distinct spatial patterns. Precipitation correlations were strongest for temperate to tropical water limited herbaceous systemswhere in some regions and seasons 40 of the NDVI variance could be explained byprecipitation anomalies. Temperature correlations were strongest in northern mid- to-high-latitudes in the spring and early summer where up to 70 of the NDVI variance was explained by temperature anomalies. We find that, in western and central North America,winter-spring precipitation determines early summer growth while more recent precipitation controls NDVI variability in late summer. In contrast, current or prior wetseason precipitation anomalies were correlated with all months of NDVI in sub-tropical herbaceous vegetation. Snow, aerosols and clouds as well as unexplained phenomena still account for part of the NDVI variance despite corrections. Nevertheless, this study demonstrates that GIMMS NDVI3g represents real responses of vegetation to climate variability that are useful for global models.

interference↗
NASA NTRS1990

The effect of the near earth micrometeoroid environment on a mirror surface after 20 years in space

The effect of micrometeoroid impact on the optical properties of polished metals and thin film coatings has been simulated by accelerating micron-sized particles to hypervelocities in a shock tube. The degradation of these properties after exposure to simulated meteoroids was determined as a function of impacting kinetic energy/area of the particles. A calibrated sensor, 2000-A Al/stainless steel, was developed to detect the micrometeoroid environment and to evaluate the degradation of the optical properties of thin aluminum films in space. No changes in the optical properties of the highly reflective surface sensor on SERT II, launched in 1970, were measured during 19 years in space. These results are found to be in agreement with the 1969 Micrometeoroid Flux Model. It is concluded that a highly reflective surface should lose less than 1 percent of its specular reflectance in near-earth orbit during 19 years.

Mirtich, Michael J.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Simulation of radar reflectivity and surface measurements of rainfall

Raindrop size distributions (RSDs) are often estimated using surface raindrop sampling devices (e.g., disdrometers) or optical array (2D-PMS) probes. A number of authors have used these measured distributions to compute certain higher-order RSD moments that correspond to radar reflectivity, attenuation, optical extinction, etc. Scatter plots of these RSD moments versus disdrometer-measured rainrates are then used to deduce physical relationships between radar reflectivity, attenuation, etc., which are measured by independent instruments (e.g., radar), and rainrate. In this paper RSDs of the gamma form as well as radar reflectivity (via time series simulation) are simulated to study the correlation structure of radar estimates versus rainrate as opposed to RSD moment estimates versus rainrate. The parameters N0, D0 and m of a gamma distribution are varied over the range normally found in rainfall, as well as varying the device sampling volume. The simulations are used to explain some possible features related to discrepancies which can arise when radar rainfall measurements are compared with surface or aircraft-based sampling devices.

Chandrasekar, V.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Membrane Shell Reflector Segment Antenna

The mesh reflector is the only type of large, in-space deployable antenna that has successfully flown in space. However, state-of-the-art large deployable mesh antenna systems are RF-frequency-limited by both global shape accuracy and local surface quality. The limitations of mesh reflectors stem from two factors. First, at higher frequencies, the porosity and surface roughness of the mesh results in loss and scattering of the signal. Second, the mesh material does not have any bending stiffness and thus cannot be formed into true parabolic (or other desired) shapes. To advance the deployable reflector technology at high RF frequencies from the current state-of-the-art, significant improvements need to be made in three major aspects: a high-stability and highprecision deployable truss; a continuously curved RF reflecting surface (the function of the surface as well as its first derivative are both continuous); and the RF reflecting surface should be made of a continuous material. To meet these three requirements, the Membrane Shell Reflector Segment (MSRS) antenna was developed.

Fang, Houfei↗
NASA NTRS1994

Airborne CO2 coherent lidar measurements of cloud backscatter and opacity over the ocean surface

The use of an airborne CO2 lidar to obtain cloud backscatter and extinction data at a thermal infrared wavelength is described. The extinction in this spectral region is proportional to the cloud liquid water content. The use of coherent detection results in high sensitivity and narrow field of view, the latter property greatly reducing multiple-scattering effects. Backscatter measurements in absolute units are obtained through a hard target calibration methodology. For clouds of low to moderate optical thickness at the lidar wavelength, both geometric thickness and optical thickness can be measured. The sea surface reflectance signal is used to obtain estimates of the cloud optical thickness. The utility of this technique results from studies that indicate that the spatial scale of variability of the sea surface reflectance is generally large compared with that of cloud optical thickness. Selected results are presented from data taken during flights over the Pacific Ocean.

Menzies, Robert T.↗
NASA NTRS2011

ASTRO-H Soft X-Ray Telescope (SXT)

ASTRO-H is an astrophysics satellite dedicated for X-ray spectroscopic study non-dispersively and to carry out survey complementally, which will be borne out of US-Japanese collaborative effort. Among the onboard instruments there are four conically approximated Wolter-I X-ray mirrors, among which two of them are soft X-ray mirrors\ of which the energy range is from a few hundred eV to 15 keY, currently being fabricated in the X-ray Optics Lab at Goddard Space Flight Center. The focal point instruments will be a calorimeter (SXS) and a CCD camera (SXI), respectively. The reflectors of the mirror are made of heat-formed aluminum substrate of the thickness gauged of 152 micron, 229 micron, and 305 micron of the alloy 5052 H-19, followed by epoxy replication on gold-sputtered smooth Pyrex cylindrical mandrels to acquire the X-ray reflective surface. The epoxy layer is 10 micron nominal and surface gold layer of 0.2 micron. Improvements on angular response over the Astro-El/Suzaku mirrors come from error reduction on the figure, the roundness, and the grazing angle/radius mismatching of the reflecting surface, and tighter specs and mechanical strength on supporting structure to reduce the reflector positioning and the assembly errors. In this paper, we report the results of calibration of the engineering model of SXT (EM), and project the quality of the flight mirrors.

Soong, Yang↗