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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 559 records · Page 31
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1981

Spatial reasoning in remotely sensed data

Photointerpreters employ a variety of implicit spatial models to provide interpretations from remotely sensed aerial or satellite imagery. In this paper one application is illustrated: how ridges and valleys can be automatically interpreted from Landsat imagery of a mountainous area, and how a relative elevation terrain model can be constructed from this interpretation. How to examine valleys for the possible presence of streams or rivers is shown, and how a spatial relational model can be set up to make a final interpretation of the river drainage network is explored.

Campbell, J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Spatial irregularities in Jupiter's upper ionosphere observed by Voyager radio occultations

Radio scintillations (at 3.6 and 13 cm) produced by scattering from ionospheric irregularities during the Voyager occultations are interpreted using a weak-scattering theory. Least squares solutions for ionospheric parameters derived from the observed fluctuation spectra yield estimates of (1) the axial ratio, (2) angular orientation of the anisotropic irregularities, (3) the power law exponent of the spatial spectrum of irregularities, and (4) the magnitude of the spatial variations in electron density. It is shown that the measured angular orientation of the anisotropic irregularities indicates magnetic field direction and may provide a basis for refining Jovian magnetic field models.

Hinson, D. P.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Spatial variation of corn canopy temperature as dependent upon soil texture and crop rooting characteristics

A soil plant atmosphere model for corn (Zea mays L.) together with the scaling theory for soil hydraulic heterogeneity are used to study the sensitivity of spatial variation of canopy temperature to field averaged soil texture and crop rooting characteristics. The soil plant atmosphere model explicitly solves a continuity equation for water flux resulting from root water uptake, changes in plant water storage and transpirational flux. Dynamical equations for root zone soil water potential and the plant water storage models the progressive drying of soil, and day time dehydration and night time hydration of the crop. The statistic of scaling parameter which describes the spatial variation of soil hydraulic conductivity and matric potential is assumed to be independent of soil texture class. The field averaged soil hydraulic characteristics are chosen to be representative of loamy sand and clay loam soils. Two rooting characteristics are chosen, one shallow and the other deep rooted. The simulation shows that the range of canopy temperatures in the clayey soil is less than 1K, but for the sandy soil the range is about 2.5 and 5.0 K, respectively, for the shallow and deep rooted crops.

Choudhury, B. J.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Detection and recognition of simple spatial forms

A model of human visual sensitivity to spatial patterns is constructed. The model predicts the visibility and discriminability of arbitrary two-dimensional monochrome images. The image is analyzed by a large array of linear feature sensors, which differ in spatial frequency, phase, orientation, and position in the visual field. All sensors have one octave frequency bandwidths, and increase in size linearly with eccentricity. Sensor responses are processed by an ideal Bayesian classifier, subject to uncertainty. The performance of the model is compared to that of the human observer in detecting and discriminating some simple images.

Watson, A. B.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Spatially Characterizing Effective Timber Supply

The structure of a computer-oriented cartographic model for assessing roundwood supply for generation of base load electricity is discussed. The model provides an analytical procedure for coupling spatial information of harvesting economics and owner willingness to sell stumpages. Supply is characterized in terms of standing timber; of accessibility considering various harvesting and hauling factors; and of availability as affected by ownership and residential patterns. Factors governing accessibility to timber include effective harvesting distance to haulic roads as modified by barriers and slopes. Haul distance is expressed in units that take into account the relative ease of travel along various road types to a central processing facility. Areas of accessible timber are grouped into spatial units, termed 'timbersheds', of common access to particular haul road segments that belong to unique 'transport zones'. Timber availability considerations include size of ownership parcels, housing density and excluded areas. The analysis techniques are demonstrated for a cartographic data base in western Massachusetts.

Berry, J. K.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Large- and small-scale spatial evolution of digitally processed ocean wave spectra from Seasat synthetic aperture radar

The threshold behavior of the azimuth response falloff in Seasat SAR imagery and its implications with respect to existing wave imaging theories is examined. The large-scale spatial evolution of a set of eight SAR image spectra with adjacent spacing of about 100 km, spanning about 700 km along the satellite orbit is considered. The small-scale evolution of a sequence of 23 spectra with adjacent spacing of about 2.2 km, spanning only about 48 km but experiencing depth changes from 200 to 35 m as well as unknown currents in the vicinity of the continental shelf is studied. The large-scale spatial evolution of the spectrum is generally consistent with the location of wave-generating sources, even when multiple wave systems are present. On a more local scale, the nearshore wave number spectrum responds to local depth changes but is too noisy to respond reliably to local current changes.

Beal, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1983

A stochastic-dynamic model for the spatial structure of forecast error statistics

The present investigation is concerned with the presentation of a simplified model of the spatial structure of forecast error statistics, a comparison of the model with actual numerical weather prediction results, and the extent to which simplifying assumptions made in the model are justified. A stochastic-dynamic model is derived for the spatial structure of the global atmospheric mass-field forecast error. The model states that the relative potential vorticity of the forecast error is random. The covariance function of the model's solutions is found to be governed by a simple deterministic equation. The agreement between the stochastic model and actual mass-field forecast errors fields for 12-36 h periods validates the assumptions on which the model is derived. Within this period, the difference between the potential voriticity fields of the atmosphere and of the numerical forecasts used in the comparison is well represented by white noise.

Balgovind, R.↗
NASA NTRS1983

High-resolution lidar system for measuring the spatial and temporal structure of the mesospheric sodium layer

The design of a high-resolution tunable-dye laser-based lidar system for the study of the mesospheric sodium layer is presented and results of sodium measurements are indicated. The lidar system comprises a tunable flashlamp-pumped dye laser operating at the sodium D2 resonance line at 589.0 nm with a pulse width of 2 microsec FWHM and pulse frequency of 10 Hz and a telescope with a 1.22=m diameter Fresnel lens. Sodium profiles are obtained from the integration of 100 to 250 laser shots, with spatial and temporal resolution enhanced by two-dimensional filtering techniques. Measurements obtained over a 9-hour nighttime period illustrate the highly dynamic nature of the sodium layer, which was observed with a spatial resolution of 2 km and temporal resolution of 30 min. Observations made with a steerable apparatus have confirmed a presunrise enhancement of over 100 percent in sodium column abundance.

Gardner, C. S.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Spatial dependences in the distant solar wind: Pioneers 10 and 11

Pioneer 10, 11 observations of the solar wind and magnetic field between 1 and 20 AU are reviewed. Spatial dependences, which are emphasized, must be inferred in the presence of large temporal variations including solar cycle effects. The separation of spatial and temporal dependences is achieved principally through the use of multipoint observations including baseline measurements at 1 AU. Measurements of the solar wind parameters (radial speed, flux, proton temperature) and of the magnetic field magnitude and components are compared with two theories, the Parker theory which assumes radial, azimuthally symmetric flow and the Goldstein-Jokipii theory which includes effects associated with stream-stream interactions. The observed radial gradients in the proton density and velocity and the magnetic field are consistent with the Parker model. A qualitative dependence of field magnitude on heliomagnetic latitude, i.e., referred to the observed location of the heliospheric current sheet, was derived. The field strength was found to decrease with distance from the current sheet.

Smith, E. J.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Spatial reasoning to determine stream network from LANDSAT imagery

In LANDSAT imagery, spectral and spatial information can be used to detect the drainage network as well as the relative elevation model in mountainous terrain. To do this, mixed information of material reflectance in the original LANDSAT imagery must be separated. From the material reflectance information, big visible rivers can be detected. From the topographic modulation information, ridges and valleys can be detected and assigned relative elevations. A complete elevation model can be generated by interpolating values for nonridge and non-valley pixels. The small streams not detectable from material reflectance information can be located in the valleys with flow direction known from the elevation model. Finally, the flow directions of big visible rivers can be inferred by solving a consistent labeling problem based on a set of spatial reasoning constraints.

Haralick, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS1983

A study of a space-station-associated multiple spacecraft Michelson spatial interferometer

One approach to Michelson spatial interferometry at optical wavelengths involves use of an array of spacecraft in which two widely-separated telescopes collect light from a star and direct it to a third, centrally-located, device which combines the beams in order to detect and measure interference fringes. The original version of a spacecraft array for Michelson spatial interferometry (SAMSI) was modified so that the system uses the fuel resupply capability of a space station. The combination of this fuel resupply capability with a method of obtaining image Fourier transform phase information, necessary for full image reconstruction, permits SAMSI to be used to synthesize images equivalent to those produced by huge apertures in space. Synthesis of apertures in the 100 to 500 meter range is discussed. Reconstruction can be performed to a visual magnitude of at least 8 for a 100 A passband in 9 hours. Data are simultaneously collected for image generation from 0.1 micron to 18 microns. In the one-dimensional mode, measurements can be made every 90 minutes (including acquisition and repointing time) for objects as faint as 19th magnitude in the visible.

Stachnik, R. V.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Evaluation of entropy and JM-distance criterions as features selection methods using spectral and spatial features derived from LANDSAT images

A study area near Ribeirao Preto in Sao Paulo state was selected, with predominance in sugar cane. Eight features were extracted from the 4 original bands of LANDSAT image, using low-pass and high-pass filtering to obtain spatial features. There were 5 training sites in order to acquire the necessary parameters. Two groups of four channels were selected from 12 channels using JM-distance and entropy criterions. The number of selected channels was defined by physical restrictions of the image analyzer and computacional costs. The evaluation was performed by extracting the confusion matrix for training and tests areas, with a maximum likelihood classifier, and by defining performance indexes based on those matrixes for each group of channels. Results show that in spatial features and supervised classification, the entropy criterion is better in the sense that allows a more accurate and generalized definition of class signature. On the other hand, JM-distance criterion strongly reduces the misclassification within training areas.

Parada, N. D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The effect of spatial, spectral and radiometric factors on classification accuracy using thematic mapper data

An experiment of a factorial design was conducted to test the effects on classification accuracy of land cover types due to the improved spatial, spectral and radiometric characteristics of the Thematic Mapper (TM) in comparison to the Multispectral Scanner (MSS). High altitude aircraft scanner data from the Airborne Thematic Mapper instrument was acquired over central California in August, 1983 and used to simulate Thematic Mapper data as well as all combinations of the three characteristics for eight data sets in all. Results for the training sites (field center pixels) showed better classification accuracies for MSS spatial resolution, TM spectral bands and TM radiometry in order of importance.

Wrigley, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Characterization of the LANDSAT sensors' spatial responses

The characteristics of the thematic mapper (TM) and multispectral scanner (MSS) sensors on LANDSATs 4 and 5 affecting their spatial responses are described, and functions defining the response of the system to an arbitrary input spatial pattern are derived, i.e., transfer functions (TF) and line spread functions (LSF). These design LSF's and TF's were modified based on prelaunch component and system measurements to provide improved estimates. Prelaunch estimates of LSF/FT's are compared to in-orbit estimates. For the MSS instruments, only limited prelaunch scan direction square-wave response (SWR) data were available. Design estimates were modified by convolving in Gaussian blur till the derived LSF/TF's produced SWR's comparable to the measurements. The two MSS instruments were comparable at their temperatures of best focus; separate calculations were performed for bands 1 and 3, band 2 and band 4. The pre-sample nadir effective instantaneous field's of view (EIFOV's) based on the .5 modulation transfer function (MTF) criteria vary from 70 to 75 meters in the track direction and 79 to 82 meters in the scan direction. For the TM instruments more extensive prelaunch measurements were available. Bands 1 to 4, 5 and 7, and 6 were handled separately as were the two instruments. Derived MTF's indicate nadir pre-sample EIFOV's of 32 to 33 meter track (bands 1 to 5, 7) and 36 meter scan (bands 1 to 5, 7) and 1245 meter track (band 6) and 141 meter scan (band 6) for both TM's.

Markham, B. L.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The effect of spatial, spectral and radiometric factors on classification accuracy using Thematic Mapper data

An experiment of a factorial design was conducted to test the effects on classification accuracy of land cover types due to the improved spatial, spectral and radiometric characteristics of the LANDSAT Thematic Mapper (TM) in comparison to the Multispectral Scanner (MSS). High altitude aircraft scanner data from the Airborne Thematic Mapper instrument was used to simulate TM data as well as all combinations of the three characteristics for eight data sets in all. Results for the training sites (field-center pixels) show better classification accuracies for MSS spatial resolution, TM spectral bands and TM radiometry in order of importance.

Wrigley, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The role of spatial, spectral and radiometric resolution on information content

The results of a factorial experiment to evaluate the effects of spatial, spectral, and radiometric resolution on training-data spectral separability and classification accuracy are reported. Aircraft scanner data from five flightlines at 19.8 km over California including croplands, rangeland, forest, water, and urban areas were systematically degraded over a range approximately from Landsat MSS to Thematic Mapper specifications. Reference data were collected on the ground and from aerial photography. The degradations, training-site delineation, data-analysis procedures, and accuracy-assessment techniques are described; the results are presented in tables and graphs and discussed. It is found that while accuracy was increased by higher spectral resolution in 70 percent of the cases and uniformly by increased radiometric resolution, it was decreased by higher spatial resolution. This phenomenon is attributed to classification methods.

Buis, J. S.↗