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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 145 records · Page 8

Value of Landsat in urban water resources planning

The reported investigation had the objective to evaluate the utility of satellite multispectral remote sensing in urban water resources planning. The results are presented of a study which was conducted to determine the economic impact of Landsat data. The use of Landsat data to estimate hydrologic model parameters employed in urban water resources planning is discussed. A decision regarding an employment of the Landsat data has to consider the tradeoff between data accuracy and cost. Bayesian decision theory is used in this connection. It is concluded that computer-aided interpretation of Landsat data is a highly cost-effective method of estimating the percentage of impervious area.

Jackson, T. J.↗

Geothermal direct heat use: Market potential/penetration analysis for Federal Region 9

A preliminary study was made of the potential for geothermal direct heat use in Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada (Federal Region 9). An analysis was made of each state to: (1) define the resource, based on the latest available data; (2) assess the potential market growth for geothermal energy; and (3) estimate the market penetration, projected to 2020. Findings of the study include the following: (1) Potentially economical hydrothermal resources exist in all four states of the Region: however, the resource data base is largely incomplete, particularly for low to moderate temperature resources. (2) In terms of beneficial heat, the total hydrothermal resource identified so far for the four states is on the order of 43 Quads, including an estimated 34 Quads of high temperature resources which are suitable for direct as well as electrical applications. (3) In California, Hawaii, and Nevada, the industrial market sector has somewhat greater potential for penetration than the residential/commercial sector. In Arizona, however, the situation is reversed, due to the collocation of two major metropolitan areas (Phoenix and Tucson) with potential geothermal resources.

Powell, W.↗

Use of multiple-stage remote sensing techniques to develop forest stocking equations

Portions of a forest supporting density levels that affect natural resource yields must be quantified to estimate the operational feasibility of a proposed management system. Estimates of average parameters do not necessarily provide complete knowledge, particularly with frequently skewed forest parameters. Instead, another statistic, the portion of a forest supporting minimum density levels would be useful to set realistic limits to the implementation of management systems and to establish priorities for operational programs. Such a statistic can be obtained from solutions of forest stocking equations generated by applications of multiple-stage remote sensing techniques.

Bisson, H. R.↗

Solar Power Satellite Concept Evaluation. Volume 1: Summary

A program was developed to determine the technical feasiblity of a satellite solar power station. The space construction, maintenance, and transport systems are discussed. Environmental factors, in addition to manufacturing, natural resources, and energy were considered. Cost estimates and alternative systems are outlined.

Source record↗

Development of improved space sampling strategies for ocean chemical properties: Total carbon dioxide and dissolved nitrate

Large-scale ocean observing programs such as the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) and the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) today, must face the problem of designing an adequate sampling strategy. For ocean chemical variables, the goals and observing technologies are quite different from ocean physical variables (temperature, salinity, pressure). We have recently acquired data on the ocean CO2 properties on WOCE cruises P16c and P17c that are sufficiently dense to test for sampling redundancy. We use linear and quadratic interpolation methods on the sampled field to investigate what is the minimum number of samples required to define the deep ocean total inorganic carbon (TCO2) field within the limits of experimental accuracy (+/- 4 micromol/kg). Within the limits of current measurements, these lines were oversampled in the deep ocean. Should the precision of the measurement be improved, then a denser sampling pattern may be desirable in the future. This approach rationalizes the efficient use of resources for field work and for estimating gridded (TCO2) fields needed to constrain geochemical models.

Goyet, Catherine↗

Humanoids for lunar and planetary surface operations

This paper presents a vision of humanoid robots as human's key partners in future space exploration, in particular for construction, maintenance/repair and operation of lunar/planetary habitats, bases and settlements. It integrates this vision with the recent plans, for human and robotic exploration, aligning a set of milestones for operational capability of humanoids with the schedule for the next decades and development spirals in the Project Constellation. These milestones relate to a set of incremental challenges, for the solving of which new humanoid technologies are needed. A system of systems integrative approach that would lead to readiness of cooperating humanoid crews is sketched. Robot fostering, training/education techniques, and improved cognitive/sensory/motor development techniques are considered essential elements for achieving intelligent humanoids. A pilot project in this direction is outlined.

information fusion↗

Production of Methane and Water from Crew Plastic Waste

Recycling is a technology that will be key to creating a self sustaining lunar outpost. The plastics used for food packaging provide a source of material that could be recycled to produce water and methane. The recycling of these plastics will require some additional resources that will affect the initial estimate of starting materials that will have to be transported from earth, mainly oxygen, energy and mass. These requirements will vary depending on the recycling conditions. The degredation products of these plastics will vary under different atmospheric conditions. An estimate of the the production rate of methane and water using typical ISRU processes along with the plastic recycling will be presented.

Captain, Janine↗

Agriculture's Historic Twin-Challenge Toward Sustainable Water Use and Food Supply for All

A sustainable and just future, envisioned by the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, puts agricultural systems under a heavy strain. The century-old quandary to provide ever-growing human populations with sufficient food takes on a new dimension with the recognition of environmental limits for agricultural resource use. To highlight challenges and opportunities toward sustainable food security in the twenty first century, this perspective paper provides a historical account of the escalating pressures on agriculture and freshwater resources alike, supported by new quantitative estimates of the ascent of excessive human water use. As the transformation of global farming into sustainable forms is unattainable without a revolution in agricultural water use, water saving and food production potentials are put into perspective with targets outlined by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The literature body and here-confirmed global estimates of untapped opportunities in farm water management indicate that these measures could sustainably intensify today's farming systems at scale. While rigorous implementation of sustainable water withdrawals (SDG 6.4) might impinge upon 5% of global food production, scaling-up water interventions in rainfed and irrigated systems could over-compensate such losses and further increase global production by 30% compared to the current situation (SDG 2.3). Without relying on future technological fixes, traditional on-farm water and soil management provides key strategies associated with important synergies that needs better integration into agro-ecological landscape approaches. Integrated strategies for sustainable intensification of agriculture within planetary boundaries are a potential way to attain several SDGs, but they are not yet receiving attention from high-level development policies.

sustainable development goals↗

An Approach to Reasoning Service Migration in Data and Reasoning Fabric (DRF) Implementation

In this paper we consider service placement problem for Data and Reasoning Fabric (DRF) enabled airspace operations assuming a fixed cloud/edge infrastructure with allocated computing, storage and power resources, where cloud/edge servers, and communication stations are in a wired connected network, while vehicles use a wireless network for communication. The objective is to automatically select the best location for the requested service execution, which achieves minimum cost while satisfying the user quality of service (QoS) and available resources constraints. To this end, we estimate for each potential location the response time, consumed energy and total cost; formulate an optimization problem for cost minimization given the users QoS constraints and network infrastructure limitations; and solve it using nonlinear programming tools. The approach is applied to trajectory re-planning use case to handle a no-fly zone contingency in real time.

Vahram Stepanyan↗

NASA/BLM Applications Pilot Test (APT), phase 2. Volume 1: Executive summary

Data from LANDSAT, low altitude color aerial photography, and ground visits were combined and used to produce vegetation cover maps and to estimate productivity of range, woodland, and forest resources in northwestern Arizona. A planning session, two workshops, and four status reviews were held to assist technology transfer from NASA. Computer aided digital classification of LANDSAT data was selected as a major source of input data. An overview is presented of the data processing, data collection, productivity estimation, and map verification techniques used. Cost analysis and digital LANDSAT digital products are also considered.

Source record↗

Use of LANDSAT 2 data technique to estimate silverleaf sunflower infestation

The feasibility of the technique using the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (LANDSAT-2) multispectral scanner (MSS) was tested; to distinguish silverleaf sunflowers (Helianthus argophyllus Torr. and Gray) from other plant species and to estimate the hectarage percent of its infestation. Sunflowers gave high mean digital counts in all four LANDSAT MSS bands that were manifested as a pinkish image response on the LANDSAT color composite imagery. Photo- and LANDSAT-estimated hectare percentages for silverleaf sunflower within a 23,467 ha study area were 9.1 and 9.5%, respectively. The geographic occurrence of sunflower areas on the line-printer recognition map was in good agreement with their known aerial photographic locations.

Richardson, A. J.↗

Employment of satellite snowcover observations for improving seasonal runoff estimates

Low resolution meteorological satellite and high resolution earth resources satellite data were used to map snowcovered area over the upper Indus River and the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming, respectively. For the Indus River, early Spring snowcovered area was extracted and related to April through June streamflow from 1967-1971 using a regression equation. Composited results from two years of data over seven Wind River Mountain watersheds indicated that LANDSAT-1 snowcover observations, separated on the basis of watershed elevation, could also be related to runoff in significant regression equations. It appears that earth resources satellite data will be useful in assisting in the prediction of seasonal streamflow for various water resources applications, nonhazardous collection of snow data from restricted-access areas, and in hydrologic modeling of snowmelt runoff.

Rango, A.↗

Earth Resources Technology Satellite-1 (ERTS-1) data and anthropology: Use of these data in carrying capacity estimates for sites in Upper Volta and Niger

The author has identified the following significant results. Repetitively derived multispectral band imagery from ERTS-1 is now available for many parts of the earth's land surface and represents major new data sources for anthropological work in habitat, land use, and settlement patterns. A completed first step test of ERTS-1 data is available in carrying capacity estimates for Mossi, Hausa, and Sonrai sites derived from: (1) field work; (2) aerial photography; and (3) ERTS-1. Data can test more than one carrying capacity formula.

Reining, P.↗

Estimating Temperature Retrieval Accuracy Associated With Thermal Band Spatial Resolution Requirements for Center Pivot Irrigation Monitoring and Management

This study explores the use of synthetic thermal center pivot irrigation scenes to estimate temperature retrieval accuracy for thermal remote sensed data, such as data acquired from current and proposed Landsat-like thermal systems. Center pivot irrigation is a common practice in the western United States and in other parts of the world where water resources are scarce. Wide-area ET (evapotranspiration) estimates and reliable water management decisions depend on accurate temperature information retrieval from remotely sensed data. Spatial resolution, sensor noise, and the temperature step between a field and its surrounding area impose limits on the ability to retrieve temperature information. Spatial resolution is an interrelationship between GSD (ground sample distance) and a measure of image sharpness, such as edge response or edge slope. Edge response and edge slope are intuitive, and direct measures of spatial resolution are easier to visualize and estimate than the more common Modulation Transfer Function or Point Spread Function. For these reasons, recent data specifications, such as those for the LDCM (Landsat Data Continuity Mission), have used GSD and edge response to specify spatial resolution. For this study, we have defined a 400-800 m diameter center pivot irrigation area with a large 25 K temperature step associated with a 300 K well-watered field surrounded by an infinite 325 K dry area. In this context, we defined the benchmark problem as an easily modeled, highly common stressing case. By parametrically varying GSD (30-240 m) and edge slope, we determined the number of pixels and field area fraction that meet a given temperature accuracy estimate for 400-m, 600-m, and 800-m diameter field sizes. Results of this project will help assess the utility of proposed specifications for the LDCM and other future thermal remote sensing missions and for water resource management.

Ryan, Robert E.↗

Agriculture, Forestry and Rangeland Resources

The application of ERTS-1 imagery for providing information on agriculture, forestry, and rangeland resources is described. The use of the ERTS-1 system for stratification and sampling estimates of relatively small areas is discussed. Examples of maps to improve resource definition for land use planning, resource allocation, and resource development are provided. Inventories of various crops, as determined by photointerpretation of ERTS imagery are submitted in tabular form.

Poulton, C. E.↗

Spacelab user implementation assessment study. Volume 1: Concept development and evaluation

The total matrix of alternate Spacelab processing concepts and the rejection rationale utilized to reduce the matrix of 243 alternates to the final candidate processing concepts are developed. The work breakdown structure used for the systematic estimation and compilation of integration and checkout resources is presented along with descriptors of each element. Program models are provided of the space transportation system, the Spacelab, the orbiter, and the ATL that were used as the basis for the study trades, analyses, and optimizations. Resource requirements for all processing concepts are summarized along with the optimizations of the processing concepts. Concept evaluations including flight-rate sensitivities of the GSE, facilities, Spacelab hardware elements, and personnel are delineated. An analysis is presented of the applicability of the candidate concepts to potential spacelab users. The impact of the use of the western test range as an orbiter/spacelab launch site on the candidate processing concepts is evaluated. An assessment of the geographical co-location of experiment, Spacelab, and orbiter-cargo integration is included. Ownership options of the support module/system igloo are discussed.

Source record↗

Spectrum-orbit utilization - An overview

This paper discusses the problems associated with the efficient utilization of the natural resources of frequency spectrum and geo-stationary orbital arc. The nature of these resources is explained and their quantities are estimated. The present and projected future demand for them is given, and the problem areas are identified and discussed. Special emphasis is placed on mutual interference, launch limitations, propagation effects, and operational restrictions. The technical factors bearing on these problems, such as antenna patterns, modulation methods, emission restrictions, equipment characteristics, and system requirements, are discussed in detail. Some important trade-offs are presented, and special techniques that can be used to increase spectrum-orbit utilization are described. Particular emphasis is given throughout to U.S. domestic satellite communication systems.

Sawitz, P. H.↗