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At least 127 records · Page 7
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NASA NTRS1972

Spectral absorption coefficients of argon and silicon and spectral reflectivity of aluminum

A theoretical investigation was conducted to estimate the spectral properties of argon as a function of pressure, temperature, and wave number. The spectral characteristics of the argon buffer gas exert a strong influence on radiative energy transfer in the in-reactor test configuration of the nuclear light bulb engine. An existing computer program was modified and used to calculate the spectral absorption coefficients of argon at total pressures of 50, 100, 250, 500, 750 and 1000 atm in the temperature interval between 1000 and 30,000 K. At each pressure and temperature, spectral properties were calculated for forty-seven wave numbers in the interval between 1000 and 1,000,000 cm/1. Estimates of the spectral absorption coefficients of silicon were made as part of an evaluation of silicon vapor as a possible buffer-gas seeding agent for the reference nuclear light bulb engine. Existing cross-section data were used to calculate the spectral characteristics of silicon at twenty-four temperatures in the interval between 2000 and 10,000 K.

Krascella, N. L.↗
NASA NTRS2022

QWIP: A Quantitative Metric for Quality Control of Aquatic Reflectance Spectral Shape using the Apparent Visible Wavelength

The colors of the ocean and inland waters span clear blue to turbid brown, and the corresponding spectral shapes of the waterleaving signal are diverse depending on the various types and concentrations of phytoplankton, sediment, detritus and colored dissolved organic matter. Here we present a simple metric developed from a global dataset spanning blue, green and brown water types to assess the quality of a measured or derived aquatic spectrum. The Quality Water Index Polynomial (QWIP) is founded on the Apparent Visible Wavelength (AVW), a one-dimensional geophysical metric of color that is inherently correlated to spectral shape calculated as a weighted harmonic mean across visible wavelengths. The QWIP represents a polynomial relationship between the hyperspectral AVW and a Normalized Difference Index (NDI) using red and green wavelengths. The QWIP score represents the difference between a spectrum’s AVW and NDI and the QWIP polynomial. The approach is tested extensively with both raw and quality controlled field data to identify spectra that fall outside the general trends observed in aquatic optics. For example, QWIP scores less than or greater than 0.2 would fail an initial screening and be subject to additional quality control. Common outliers tend to have spectral features related to: 1) incorrect removal of surface reflected skylight or 2) optically shallow water. The approach was applied to hyperspectral imagery from the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO), as well as to multispectral imagery from the Visual Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) using sensor-specific extrapolations to approximate AVW. This simple approach can be rapidly implemented in ocean color processing chains to provide a level of uncertainty about a measured or retrieved spectrum and flag questionable or unusual spectra for further analysis.

remote sensing reflectance↗
NASA NTRS1992

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.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Spectral reflectance measurements of a virus host model

A technique has been developed to detect the characteristic spectral signatures of healthy and infected St. Augustine grass. It is possible to predict the coverage of the infected area provided ground truth coverage shows positive St. Augustine grass turf. Qualitative measurements from photographs of plants in the blue and red regions with polarization show that light reflected from healthy plants is more strongly polarized than that from diseased plants. Photographs taken through the blue Wratten 47 filter in conjuction with a polarizer show an excellent differentiation. A large photographic difference also appears in the red region. Much smaller differences were noted in the 540 to 550 nm region. Although the intensity in the near-IR region is much higher than the visible region of the spectrum, differences in the healthy and diseased plants' reflectance were quite small.

Toler, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Spectral reflectance (0.4 - 5.0 microns) of sulfur related compounds and mixtures

Studied and quantified were: (1) the spectral properties of sulfur related compounds and materials; (2) the effects of thermal history, temperature and mixing ratios on the spectral properties of these materials; and (3) the application of these results to the Jovian system, in particular, the surfaces of Io, Europa, and Amalthea, and the chromophores in the Jovian atmosphere. Major results of the study include: (1) a study of how sulfur deposition affects the band strengths in various silicates; (2) a study of how the ultraviolet absorption band of sulfur is affected by dilution in ice; (3) the application of these two sets of experimental studies to Io, in the case of silicate band strengths, and Europa, as in the case of sulfur dilution in ices.

Gradie, Jonathan C.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Measurements of thermal infrared spectral reflectance of frost, snow, and ice

Because much of Earth's surface is covered by frost, snow, and ice, the spectral emissivities of these materials are a significant input to radiation balance calculations in global atmospheric circulation and climate change models. Until now, however, spectral emissivities of frost and snow have been calculated from the optical constants of ice. We have measured directional hemispherical reflectance spectra of frost, snow, and ice from which emissivities can be predicted using Kirchhoff's law (e = 1-R). These measured spectra show that contrary to conclusions about the emissivity of snow drawn from previously calculated spectra, snow emissivity departs significantly from blackbody behavior in the 8-14 micrometer region of the spectrum; snow emissivity decreases with both increasing particle size and increasing density due to packing or grain welding; while snow emissivity increases due to the presence of meltwater.

Salisbury, John W.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Color constancy - A method for recovering surface spectral reflectance

An algorithm has been developed for estimating the surface reflectance functions of objects in a scene with incomplete knowledge of the spectral power distribution of the ambient light. An image processing system employing this algorithm can assign colors that are constant despite changes in the lighting of the scene; this capability is essential to correct color rendering in photography, TV, and in the construction of artificial visual systems for robotics. Attention is given to the way in which constraints on lights and surfaces in the environment make color-constancy possible for a visual system, and the algorithm's implications for human color vision are discussed.

Maloney, L. T.↗
NASA NTRS1994

VEG: An intelligent workbench for analysing spectral reflectance data

An Intelligent Workbench (VEG) was developed for the systematic study of remotely sensed optical data from vegetation. A goal of the remote sensing community is to infer the physical and biological properties of vegetation cover (e.g. cover type, hemispherical reflectance, ground cover, leaf area index, biomass, and photosynthetic capacity) using directional spectral data. VEG collects together, in a common format, techniques previously available from many different sources in a variety of formats. The decision as to when a particular technique should be applied is nonalgorithmic and requires expert knowledge. VEG has codified this expert knowledge into a rule-based decision component for determining which technique to use. VEG provides a comprehensive interface that makes applying the techniques simple and aids a researcher in developing and testing new techniques. VEG also provides a classification algorithm that can learn new classes of surface features. The learning system uses the database of historical cover types to learn class descriptions of one or more classes of cover types.

Harrison, P. Ann↗
NASA NTRS1992

Assessing spatial and seasonal variations in grasslands with spectral reflectances from a helicopter platform

The helicopter system data acquisition technique has shown to be a viable means of gathering surface data with spectral detail adequate for intersite, intrasite, and temporal characterizations and for assessing temporal and spatial variability throughout the FIFE 1987 IFCs. The successful employment of nadir measurements for grassland assessments is notable given the reflectance anisotropy (Middleton, 1992). Though only five sites were repetitively observed, the conclusions reached from this particular sample of sites agree well with assessments from other data sources (Sellars et al., 1990 and Kittel et al., 1990).

Walthall, Charles L.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Spectral reflectance of selected aqueous solutions for water quality applications

The relative specular reflectances of individual aqueous solutions having a particular chemical salt content were measured in the 2 to 20 micrometers region of the infrared component or radiant flux. Distilled water was the reflectance standard. The angle of incidence was 70.03 deg plus or minus 0.23 deg. Absolute reflectances of the solutions for the same polarization and angle of incidence were computed by use of the measured relative reflectances, one of the Fresnel equations, and the optical constants of distilled water. Phase shift and phase difference spectra were obtained by respectively applying a Kramers-Kronig dispersion analysis to the absolute and relative reflectance spectra. The optical constants of the solutions were determined by algorithms commonly associated with the Kramers-Kronig analysis. Spectral signatures that qualitatively and quantitatively characterize the solute and that show structure of the infrared bands of water were noted in the phase difference spectra. The relative and absolute reflectances, the phase shift and phase difference spectra and the optical constants are presented in graphical form. Application of these results to remote sensing of the chemical quality of natural waters is discussed briefly.

Querr, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Asteroids - Spectral reflectance and color characteristics. II

New spectrophotometry for 31 asteroids, and improved data for nine previously observed, is presented, raising the total sample to 98. Several important new spectral types have been found. Asteroid 349 Dembowska is the first large main-belt asteroid found to resemble ordinary chondritic meteorites in spectral properties (it is similar to LL6 chondrites in pyroxene/olivine content). The first two measured Trojan asteroids show unusual spectra not compatible with carbonaceous chondrites or other known meteorites. The spectrum of Mars-crosser 887 Alinda is compatible with unequilibrated chondrites. Most fainter asteroids (especially those in the outer half of the belt) have flat spectra indicating probable carbonaceous composition. Compositional heterogeneity of Hirayama families is common among the 16 families studied to date. But individual asteroids seem to have remarkably uniform surface compositions, indicated by the usual lack of spectral changes with rotation. Spectra of a preliminary sample of proposed meteorite source-bodies are consistent with derivation of meteorites by proposed mechanisms, but further observations are needed.

Mccord, T. B.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Mineralogical diversity (spectral reflectance and Moessbauer data) in compositionally similar impact melt rocks from Manicouagan Crater, Canada

Meteoritic impacts under oxidizing surface conditions occur on both earth and Mars. Oxidative alteration of impact melt sheets is reported at several terrestrial impact structures including Manicouagan, West Clearwater Lake, and the Ries Basin. A number of studies have advocated that a significant fraction of Martian soil may consist of erosional products of oxidatively altered impact melt sheets. If so, the signature of the Fe-bearing mineralogies formed by the process may be present in visible and near infrared reflectivity data for the Martian surface. Of concern is what mineral assemblages form in impact melt sheets produced under oxidizing conditions and what their spectral signatures are. Spectral and Moessbauer data for 19 powder samples of impact melt rock from Manicouagan Crater are reported. Results show for naturally occurring materials that composite hematite-pyroxene bands have minima in the 910-nm region. Thus many of the anomalous Phobos-2 spectra, characterized by a shallow band minimum in the near-IR whose position varies between approximately 850 and 1000 nm, can be explained by assemblages whose endmembers (hematite and pyroxene) are accepted to be present on Mars. Furthermore, results show that a mineralogically diverse suite of rocks can be generated at essentially constant composition, which implies that variations in Martian surface mineralogy do not necessarily imply variations in chemical composition.

Morris, R. V.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Phase transformations and the spectral reflectance of solid sulfur - Can metastable sulfur allotropes exist on Io?

Laboratory investigations have been conducted on the effects of variations in sulfur sample histories on their solid-state transformation rate and the corresponding spectral variation of freshly frozen sulfur. The temporal variations in question may be due to differences in the amount and type of metastable allotropes present in the sulfur after solidification, as well as to the physics of the phase-transformation process itself. The results obtained are pertinent to the physical behavior and spectral variation of such freshly solidified sulfur as may exist on the Jupiter moon Io; this would initially solidify into a glassy solid or monoclinic crystalline lattice, then approach ambient dayside temperatures. Laboratory results imply that the monoclinic or polymeric allotropes can in these circumstances be maintained, and will take years to convert to the stable orthorhombic crystalline form.

Moses, Julianne I.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Visible and near-IR spectral reflectance of geologically important materials: A short review

Examples of reflectance spectra are presented and discussed for various mineral groups including pyroxenes, olivene, phylosilicates, amphiboles, feldspars, oxides and hydroxides, carbonates, and mixtures of minerals. The physical sources of some spectral features are also reviewed such as charge transfer and conduction bands, crystal field absorptions, and vibrational absorptions.

Singer, R. B.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Theoretical Basis for the Surface Spectral Reflectance Relationships Used in the MODIS Aerosol Algorithm

The analysis of data from the MODIS instrument on the Terra platform to derive global distribution of aerosols assumes a set of relationships between the blue, rho (sub blue), the red, rho (sub red), and 2.1 micrometers, rho (sub 2.1), spectral channels. These relations have been established from a series of measurements indicating that rho (sub blue) approximately 0.5 rho (sub red) approximately 0.25 rho (sub 2.1). Here we use a model to describe the transfer of radiation through a vegetation canopy composed of randomly oriented leaves to assess the theoretical foundations for these relationships. The influence of varying fractional vegetation coverage is simulated simply as a linear combination of pure soil and pure vegetation conditions, also known as Independent Pixel Approximation (IPA). Calculations for a wide range of leaf area indices and vegetation fractions show that rho (sub blue) is consistently about 1/4 of rho (sub 2.1) as used by MODIS for the whole range of analyzed cases, except for very dark soils, such as those found in burn scars. For its part, the ratio rho (sub red)/rho (sub 2.1) varies from less than the empirically derived value of 1/2 for dense and dark vegetation (rho (sub 2.1) less than 0.1), to more than 1/2 for bright mixture of soil and vegetation. This is in agreement with measurements over uniform dense vegetation, but not with measurements over mixed dark scenes. In the later case, the discrepancy is probably mitigated by shadows due to uneven canopy and terrain on a large scale. It is concluded that the value of this ratio should ideally be made dependent on the land cover type in the operational processing of MODIS data, especially over dense forests.

Kaufman, Yoram J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The Galilean satellites - New near-infrared spectral reflectance measurements /0.65-2.5 microns/ and a 0.325-5 micron summary

New near-infrared (0.65-2.5 microns) reflectance spectra of the Galilean satellites are presented. These spectra more precisely define the water ice absorption features previously identified on Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto at 1.55 and 2.0 microns. In addition, previously unreported spectral features due to water ice are seen at 1.25, 1.06, 0.90, and 0.81 microns on Europa, and at 1.25, 1.04, and possibly 0.71 microns on Ganymede. Unreported absorption features in Callisto's spectrum occur at 1.2 microns, probably due to H2O, and a weak, broad band extending from 0.75 to 0.95 microns due possibly to other minerals. The spectrum of Io has only weak absorption features at 1.15 microns and between 0.8 and 1.0 microns. No water absorptions are positively identified in the Io spectra, indicating an upper limit of areal water frost coverage of 2% (leading and trailing sides). It is found for Callisto, Ganymede, and Europa that the water ice absorption features are due to free water and not to water bound or absorbed onto minerals. The areal coverage of water frost is approximately 100% on Europa (trailing side), approximately 65% on Ganymede (leading side), and 20-30% on Callisto (leading side). An upper limit of approximately 5% bound water (in addition to the 20-30% ice) may be present on Callisto, based on the strong 3-micron band seen by other investigators. A summary of spectra of the satellites from 0.325 to about 5 microns to aid in laboratory and interpretation studies is also presented.

Clark, R. N.↗