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At least 559 records · Page 31

Modeling Spectral Degradation of MODIS and VIIRS Solar Diffusers

Solar diffusers (SDs) onboard the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and Aqua spacecraft and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on SNPP and NOAA-20 spacecraft have been used as the primary onboard radiometric calibrator for reflective solar bands and their spectral reflectance is known to degrade on-orbit. All of the solar diffusers on these instrument show faster degradation of reflectance in the 0.4 to 0.6 µm channels than the longer wavelength channels. The spectral degradation of these SDs is due to the surface roughness growth under the exposure to solar UV and energetic particle radiation in space. In this paper, the origin of SD degradation is modeled by the physics-based Surface Roughness-induced Rayleigh Scattering (SRRS) model. The longterm growths of surface roughness of the SD on these instruments are characterized to show the consistency of SD roughness growth rates between Terra/Aqua MODIS and SNPP/NOAA-20 VIIRS. There was coincidental flattening or reverse in the growth trend of the surface roughness for the Terra/Aqua MODIS and SNPP VIIRS SDs, which can be due to the space weather variation. The applicability of the SRRS model is demonstrated with the long term spectral reflectance data from independent spaceborne SDs.

Calibration↗

Visible-near Infrared Spectral Indices for Mapping Mineralogy and Chemistry with OSIRIS-Rex

The primary objective of the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission is to return to Eartha pristine sample of carbonaceous material from the primitive asteroid (101955) Bennu. To support compositional mapping of Bennu as part of sample site selection and characterization, we tested 95 spectral indices on visible to near infrared laboratory reflectance data from minerals and carbonaceous meteorites. Our aim was to determine which indices reliably identify spectral features of interest. Most spectral indices had high positive detection rates when applied to spectra of pure, single-component materials. The meteorite spectra have fewer and weaker absorption features and, as a result, fewer detections with the spectral indices. Indices targeting absorptions at 0.7 and 2.7–3lm, which are attributable to hydrated minerals, were most successful for the meteorites. Based on these results, we identified a set of 17 indices that are most likely to be useful at Bennu. These indices detect olivines, pyroxenes, carbonates, water/OH-bearing minerals, serpentines, ferric minerals, and organics. Particle size and albedo are known to affect band depth but had a negligible impact on interpretive success with spectral indices. Preliminary analysis of the disk-integrated Bennu spectrum with these indices is consistent with expectations given the observed absorption near 3lm. Our study prioritizes spectral indices to be used for OSIRIS-REx spectral analysis and mapping and informs the reliability of all index-derived data products, including a science value map for sample site selection.

Hannah H. Kaplan↗

Visible–near infrared spectral indices for mapping mineralogy and chemistry with OSIRIS-REx

The primary objective of the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission is to return to Earth a pristine sample of carbonaceous material from the primitive asteroid (101955) Bennu. To support compositional mapping of Bennu as part of sample site selection and characterization, we tested 95 spectral indices on visible to near infrared laboratory reflectance data from minerals and carbonaceous meteorites. Our aim was to determine which indices reliably identify spectral features of interest. Most spectral indices had high positive detection rates when applied to spectra of pure, single-component materials. The meteorite spectra have fewer and weaker absorption features and, as a result, fewer detections with the spectral indices. Indices targeting absorptions at 0.7 and 2.7–3 µm, which are attributable to hydrated minerals, were most successful for the meteorites. Based on these results, we identified a set of 17 indices that are most likely to be useful at Bennu. These indices detect olivines, pyroxenes, carbonates, water/OH-bearing minerals, serpentines, ferric minerals, and organics. Particle size and albedo are known to affect band depth but had a negligible impact on interpretive success with spectral indices. Preliminary analysis of the disk-integrated Bennu spectrum with these indices is consistent with expectations given the observed absorption near 3 lm. Our study prioritizes spectral indices to be used for OSIRIS-REx spectral analysis and mapping and informs the reliability of all index-derived data products, including a science value map for sample site selection.

Hannah H. Kaplan↗

Central America Disasters: Using Earth Observations to Map Flooding for Disaster Monitoring, Inform Potential Risk, and Prepare for Possible Response

In November 2020, Hurricanes Eta and Iota hit Central America within weeks of each other, causing severe flooding, landslides, and widespread damage. NASA DEVELOP partnered with Comité Regional de Recursos Hidráulicos (CRRH), Centro de Coordinación para la Prevención de los Desastres en América Central y República Dominicana (CEPREDENAC), and Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA) to better understand how flooding throughout Central America has impacted and will continue to affect communities, focusing on sites in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Belize, Nicaragua, western Panama, and eastern Costa Rica from January 2015 to October 2021. The team utilized surface reflectance data from Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI), Sentinel-2 MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI), Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), and Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). This project also utilized backscatter data from Sentinel-1 C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (C-SAR) and elevation data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). Incorporating these Earth observations in NASA SERVIR’s Hydrologic Remote Sensing Analysis for Floods (HYDRAFloods) tool run on Google Earth Engine (GEE), the team produced historical surface water maps, a case study analysis of the two hurricanes, and a code tutorial. These results indicated that surface water increased in priority sites from 2015 to 2021, optical and SAR imagery detected similar flood patterns and extent after the hurricanes, and rainfall was concentrated on the east coast of the region. These products allow partners to make informed decisions around flooding preparation and disaster mitigation.

Caroline Williams↗

New Constraints on the Volatile Deposit in Mercury’s North Polar Crater, Prokofiev

There is strong evidence from multi-wavelength, multi-instrument observations and thermal models for the presence of ice and other volatiles in Mercury’s north polar permanently shadowed regions (PSRs)[1-6]. Ground-based radar measurements identified bright regions in some polar craters interpreted to be water ice on or near the surface[1]. The MESSENGER spacecraft found that some radar-bright deposits appeared bright in the optical and near-infrared while others appeared dark[4-6]. The bright regions were interpreted to be exposed surface ice while the dark regions were hypothesized to be complex organic volatile lag deposits overlaying buried ice[3]. One example of the former is in the 112 km diameter crater, Prokofiev, for which the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) acquired broadband images while in Sun shadow but illuminated by scattered light from the crater walls[5]. These images revealed a relatively high-albedo region spatially correlated with the PSR. Subsequent work[7] found a small offset between the boundary of the radar-bright region and that of the PSR predicted by an illumination model based on the polar digital elevation model (DEM)from the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA). Such an offset, if true, could have implications for the ice properties and its delivery and destruction mechanisms. However, the low resolution (1 km/pix) of the polar MLA DEM precluded a definitive conclusion. In the present work, we build new higher-resolution topographic, illumination, and thermal models of Prokofiev to place stronger constraints on its PSR and volatile deposits. We also study the MLA reflectance data in this crater to quantitatively estimate the ice abundance.

Michael K Barker↗

Guatemala and Panama Urban Development: Evaluating the Effects of Urban Expansion on Social and Environmental Vulnerability in Guatemala and Panama

Central America is experiencing rapid and unregulated urban expansion, which is contributing to an increase in socioeconomic and environmental risks including inequities in infrastructure and housing accessibility, biodiversity loss, vulnerability to natural disasters, and negative health outcomes. NASA DEVELOP, in partnership with NASA SERVIR, Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA), Secretariat of Central American Social Integration (SISCA), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and Centro de Coordinación para la Prevención de los Desastres en América Central y República Dominicana (CEPRENEDAC), examined changes in urban extent, characterized roofing material type, and analyzed vulnerability within urban areas in two Central American cities, Guatemala City and Panama City. The team used land cover imagery from Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM), Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI), and Landsat 9 OLI-2 to map urban extent, and surface reflectance data from Maxar Worldview to identify roofing material types. Socioeconomic and environmental data were used to assess vulnerability. Results depict how the two cities have expanded from 2000 to present day and highlight areas of greatest vulnerability within each urban area. The supervised classification of roofing materials performed well but could be improved with a few enhancements. Findings can help partner organizations improve monitoring of urbanization and inform their planning and decision-making while prioritizing disaster prevention, public health, and environmental integrity. Additionally, these case studies can be used to inform future, similar work elsewhere in Central America to aid in understanding urbanization and its associated challenges.

Jennifer Ruiz↗

Mineralogical Evidence for Environmental Change in the Clay-Sulfate Transition at Gale Crater, Mars

A primary reason for selecting Gale crater as the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover landing site was a clear mineralogical transition from Fe/Mg smectite in older strata to hydrated Mg sulfate salts in younger strata observed in orbital visible/shortwave-infrared reflectance data. This transition has been observed in other early-Hesperian terrains on Mars and has been hypothesized to signal a planet-wide change in climate from relatively warm and wet to cold and dry. Curiosity studied the sedimentology and geochemical and mineralogical composition of rocks in this “clay-sulfate transition” region from sols 3052 to 3572 (i.e., March 2021 to August 2022), with arrival at the sulfate unit on sol 3574. Here, we report on the mineralogical measurements made by the CheMin X-ray diffractometer of the six drill targets in the clay-sulfate transition and the first drill target in the sulfate unit. We use compositional data and sedimentological observations to interpret depositional and diagenetic environments and present hypotheses to explain the transition from clay minerals to hydrated Mg sulfates.

E. B. Rampe↗

Ultrasound waveform tomography with spatial and edge regularization

Synthetic-aperture ultrasound tomography systems and methods using scanning arrays and algorithms configured to simultaneously acquire ultrasound transmission and reflection data, and process the data for improved ultrasound tomography imaging, wherein the tomography imaging comprises total-variation regularization, or a modified total variation regularization, particularly with edge-guided or spatially variant regularization.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Ultrasound waveform tomography with wave-energy-based preconditioning

Synthetic-aperture ultrasound tomography systems and methods using scanning arrays and algorithms configured to simultaneously acquire ultrasound transmission and reflection data, and process the data using ultrasound waveform tomography with a wave-energy-based preconditioning method for improved ultrasound tomography imaging.

Huang, Lianjie↗

Vis-NIR equipped soil penetrometer

Soil penetrometers capable of measuring soil reflectance along the direction of insertion of the penetrometer are provided. The penetrometer can house an array of sensors, such as, for example, a Vis-NIR reflectance sensor, a load cell, a displacement sensor, and a moisture sensor. The reflectance data collected using the penetrometer can allow the interpretation and quantification of soil constituents and contaminants at high vertical resolution, such as 3 cm or more.

Morgan, Cristine↗

Bi-static and mono-static synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging using a short-pulse laser

SAR imaging may be performed using a short-pulse laser to generate range-resolved reflection data. A short-pulse laser may be advantageous over other techniques to acquire the range-resolved data, especially in cases with very distant targets or other cases with low signal-to-noise ratio information, because a short-pulse laser can determine the range to individual reflectors with a single photon return and is more adaptable to a photon-starved inversion algorithm. This technique can be used with both mono-static and bi-static SAR configurations.

Carlsten, Bruce E.↗

Ultrasound waveform tomography with spatial and edge regularization

Synthetic-aperture ultrasound tomography systems and methods using scanning arrays and algorithms configured to simultaneously acquire ultrasound transmission and reflection data, and process the data for improved ultrasound tomography imaging, wherein the tomography imaging comprises total-variation regularization, or a modified total variation regularization, particularly with edge-guided or spatially variant regularization.

Huang, Lianjie↗

X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS): Surface Structural Determination of Alloy Nanoparticles

In catalysis since reactions occur on the surface of nanoparticles (NP), it is essential to determine the composition of this structure, rather than that of the nanoparticles, since the two may be, and often are, different. Conventional techniques including X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) are powerful techniques, but these data reflect the average composition of the entire particle. In this chapter, we introduce the method of EXAFS analysis, which isolates the surface atoms of nanoparticles based on its sensitivity to chemical reactions, specifically surface oxidation. As shown in our case studies, if the surface of a Pt-based nanoparticle is contacted by air at room temperature, the surface will selectively oxidize, resulting in the loss of Pt-Pt and Pt-M bonds to the formation of Pt-O bonds. The difference between the completely reduced and surface-oxidized nanoparticle allows for the isolation of signal from the catalytic surface. Although these examples highlight Pt alloys, similar analysis is also possible for other group 8 and IB bimetallic catalysts.

Zhang, Guanghui↗

Intercomparison of Field Methods for Acquiring Ground Reflectance at Railroad Valley Playa for Spectral Calibration of Satellite Data

Ground reflectance was acquired at the Railroad Valley Playa calibration site in Nevada USA using different methods of collection. The data was collected near the time and date of Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel-2 satellite overpasses so an inter-comparison could be made with the reflectance products to determine which method was more suitable for vicarious calibration. The field spectrometers and reference panels were characterized before the field campaign. A continuous acquisition method was compared to stop and measure collections. Both acquisition methods were collected along an 80 m east-west transect as well as for a series of north-south transects over an 80 x 320 m area, with the stop and measure method being performed at random sampling locations. The measurements were performed using two field spectrometers by three teams of two people to compare the repeatability. The aim of the field campaign was to determine the variability due to the operator and the method of collection.

Lau, Ian C.↗

Intercomparison of Field Methods for Acquiring Ground Reflectance at Railroad Valley Playa for Spectral Calibration of Satellite Data

Ground reflectance was acquired at the Railroad Valley Playa calibration site in Nevada USA using different methods of collection. The data was collected near the time and date of Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel-2 satellite overpasses so an inter-comparison could be made with the reflectance products to determine which method was more suitable for vicarious calibration. The field spectrometers and reference panels were characterized before the field campaign. A continuous acquisition method was compared to stop and measure collections. Both acquisition methods were collected along an 80 m east-west transect as well as for a series of north-south transects over an 80 x 320 m area, with the stop and measure method being performed at random sampling locations. The measurements were performed using two field spectrometers by three teams of two people to compare the repeatability. The aim of the field campaign was to determine the variability due to the operator and the method of collection.

Lau, Ian C.↗

Multispectral, thermal infrared satellite data for geologic applications

The value of multispectral thermal infrared satellite data for geologic mapping was assessed, applying the principal component and canonical analysis techniques to the images of the central part of the Arabian Peninsula (a 200 x 300 km area). Low resolution thermal infrared (TIR) data from the Nimbus 5 Surface Composition Mapping Radiometer (SCMR) and the NOAA-7 Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) were used. Color images included an 8.8 micrometer (SCMR) and 3.7 and 10.8 micrometer (AVHRR-night) data, ratioed AVHRR day/night TIR data, ratioed AVHRR reflected radiation data, and transformed 8- and 10-band TIR plus reflected radiation data. The results clearly demonstrated the potential geologic value of multispectral TIR data. Igneous and metamorphic units could be separated as a class (although not from each other except for young calc-alkaline granites). Some previously unmapped extensions of mapped faults below thick sedimentary units could be delineated. No single enhancement technique displayed all the potential information, implying that they should be used together.

Blodget, H. W.↗

Evaluation of the Surface Reflectance Long-Term Data Record from AVHRR over Multiple Land Surface Types

In this work, we evaluate the performance of the AVHRR surface reflectance LTDR V4 using Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM5) Collection-1 surface reflectance data over 440 globally distributed sites, which give a representative set of land surface types and climate conditions. Surface reflectance anisotropy effects were normalized using the VJB method, and spectral response differences were accounted for with spectral band adjustment factors (SBAFs) computed as a function of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from a set of over 100,000 hyperspectral spectra from Hyperion. The performance of the AVHRR record is reported in terms of the accuracy, precision, and uncertainty, as compared to the specifications of the reference product. Results show that the AVHRR record performance is close to the 0.071ρ+0.0071 specification defined in the original TM5 product evaluation.

LTDR↗

Learning class descriptions from a data base of spectral reflectance with multiple view angles

A learning program has been developed which combines 'learning by example' with the generate-and-test paradigm to furnish a robust learning environment capable of handling error-prone data. The problem is shown to be capable of learning class descriptions from positive and negative training examples of spectral and directional reflectance data taken from soil and vegetation. The program, which used AI techniques to automate very tedious processes, found the sequence of relationships that contained the most important information which could distinguish the classes.

Kimes, Daniel S.↗