Investigation of Cyprus thermal tenancy using nine year MODIS LST data and Fourier analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Skarlatos, D.; Miliaresis, G.; Georgiou, A.

2013-08-01

Land Surface Temperature (LST) is an extremely important parameter that controls the exchange of long wave radiation between surface and atmosphere. It is a good indicator of the energy balance at the Earth's surface and it is one of the key parameters in the physics of land-surface processes on regional as well as global scale. This paper utilizes monthly night and day averaged LST MODIS imagery over Cyprus for a 9 year period. Fourier analysis and Least squares estimation fitting are implemented to analyze mean daily data over Cyprus in an attempt to investigate possible temperature tenancy over these years and possible differences among areas with different land cover and land use, such as Troodos Mountain and Nicosia, the main city in the center of the island. The analysis of data over a long time period, allows questions such as whether there is a tenancy to temperature increase, to be answered in a statistically better way, provided that `noise' is removed correctly. Dealing with a lot of data, always provides a more accurate estimation, but on the other hand, more noise in implemented on the data, especially when dealing with temperature which is subject to daily and annual cycles. A brief description over semi-automated data acquisition and standardization using object-oriented programming and GIS-based techniques, will be presented. The paper fully describes the time series analysis implemented, the Fourier method and how it was used to analyze and filter mean daily data with high frequency. Comparison of mean monthly daily LST against day and night LSTs is also performed over the 9 year period in order to investigate whether use of the extended data series provide significant advantage over short.

Relationship among land surface temperature and LUCC, NDVI in typical karst area.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Yuanhong; Wang, Shijie; Bai, Xiaoyong; Tian, Yichao; Wu, Luhua; Xiao, Jianyong; Chen, Fei; Qian, Qinghuan

2018-01-12

Land surface temperature (LST) can reflect the land surface water-heat exchange process comprehensively, which is considerably significant to the study of environmental change. However, research about LST in karst mountain areas with complex topography is scarce. Therefore, we retrieved the LST in a karst mountain area from Landsat 8 data and explored its relationships with LUCC and NDVI. The results showed that LST of the study area was noticeably affected by altitude and underlying surface type. In summer, abnormal high-temperature zones were observed in the study area, perhaps due to karst rocky desertification. LSTs among different land use types significantly differed with the highest in construction land and the lowest in woodland. The spatial distributions of NDVI and LST exhibited opposite patterns. Under the spatial combination of different land use types, the LST-NDVI feature space showed an obtuse-angled triangle shape and showed a negative linear correlation after removing water body data. In summary, the LST can be retrieved well by the atmospheric correction model from Landsat 8 data. Moreover, the LST of the karst mountain area is controlled by altitude, underlying surface type and aspect. This study provides a reference for land use planning, ecological environment restoration in karst areas.

Impacts of land use and land cover on surface and air temperature in urban landscapes

Science.gov (United States)

Crum, S.; Jenerette, D.

2015-12-01

Accelerating urbanization affects regional climate as the result of changing land cover and land use (LCLU). Urban land cover composition may provide valuable insight into relationships among urbanization, air, and land-surface temperature (Ta and LST, respectively). Climate may alter these relationships, where hotter climates experience larger LULC effects. To address these hypotheses we examined links between Ta, LST, LCLU, and vegetation across an urban coastal to desert climate gradient in southern California, USA. Using surface temperature radiometers, continuously measuring LST on standardized asphalt, concrete, and turf grass surfaces across the climate gradient, we found a 7.2°C and 4.6°C temperature decrease from asphalt to vegetated cover in the coast and desert, respectively. There is 131% more temporal variation in asphalt than turf grass surfaces, but 37% less temporal variation in concrete than turf grass. For concrete and turf grass surfaces, temporal variation in temperature increased from coast to desert. Using ground-based thermal imagery, measuring LST for 24 h sequences over citrus orchard and industrial use locations, we found a 14.5°C temperature decrease from industrial to orchard land use types (38.4°C and 23.9°C, respectively). Additionally, industrial land use types have 209% more spatial variation than orchard (CV=0.20 and 0.09, respectively). Using a network of 300 Ta (iButton) sensors mounted in city street trees throughout the region and hyperspectral imagery data we found urban vegetation greenness, measured using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), was negatively correlated to Ta at night across the climate gradient. Contrasting previous findings, the closest coupling between NDVI and Ta is at the coast from 0000 h to 0800 h (highest r2 = 0.6, P urbanized regions of southern California, USA decrease Ta and LST and spatial variation in LST, while built surfaces and land uses have the opposite effect. Furthermore

Diurnal Cycles of High Resolution Land Surface Temperatures (LSTs) Determined from UAV Platforms Across a Range of Surface Types

Science.gov (United States)

McCabe, M.; Rosas Aguilar, J.; Parkes, S. D.; Aragon, B.

2017-12-01

Observation of land surface temperature (LST) has many practical uses, from studying boundary layer dynamics and land-atmosphere coupling, to investigating surface properties such as soil moisture status, heat stress and surface heat fluxes. Typically, LST is observed via satellite based sensors such as LandSat or via point measurements using IR radiometers. These measurements provide either good spatial coverage and resolution or good temporal coverage. However, neither are able to provide the needed spatial and temporal resolution for many of the research applications described above. Technological developments in the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), together with small thermal frame cameras, has enabled a capacity to overcome this spatiotemporal constraint. Utilising UAV platforms to collect LST measurements across diurnal cycles provides an opportunity to study how meteorological and surface properties vary in both space and time. Here we describe the collection of LST data from a multi-rotor UAV across a study domain that is observed multiple times throughout the day. Flights over crops of Rhodes grass and alfalfa, along with a bare desert surface, were repeated with between 8 and 11 surveys covering the period from early morning to sunset. Analysis of the collected thermal imagery shows that the constructed LST maps illustrate a strong diurnal cycle consistent with expected trends, but with considerable spatial and temporal variability observed within and between the different domains. These results offer new insights into the dynamics of land surface behavior in both dry and wet soil conditions and at spatiotemporal scales that are unable to be replicated using traditional satellite platforms.

CREST-SAFE: Snow LST validation, wetness profiler creation, and depth/SWE product development

Science.gov (United States)

Perez Diaz, C. L.; Lakhankar, T.; Romanov, P.; Khanbilvardi, R.; Munoz Barreto, J.; Yu, Y.

2017-12-01

CREST-SAFE: Snow LST validation, wetness profiler creation, and depth/SWE product development The Field Snow Research Station (also referred to as Snow Analysis and Field Experiment, SAFE) is operated by the NOAA Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies (CREST) in the City University of New York (CUNY). The field station is located within the premises of the Caribou Municipal Airport (46°52'59'' N, 68°01'07'' W) and in close proximity to the National Weather Service (NWS) Regional Forecast Office. The station was established in 2010 to support studies in snow physics and snow remote sensing. The Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Land Surface Temperature (LST) Environmental Data Record (EDR) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LST product (provided by the Terra and Aqua Earth Observing System satellites) were validated using in situ LST (T-skin) and near-surface air temperature (T-air) observations recorded at CREST-SAFE for the winters of 2013 and 2014. Results indicate that T-air correlates better than T-skin with VIIRS LST data and that the accuracy of nighttime LST retrievals is considerably better than that of daytime. Several trends in the MODIS LST data were observed, including the underestimation of daytime values and night-time values. Results indicate that, although all the data sets showed high correlation with ground measurements, day values yielded slightly higher accuracy ( 1°C). Additionally, we created a liquid water content (LWC)-profiling instrument using time-domain reflectometry (TDR) at CREST-SAFE and tested it during the snow melt period (February-April) immediately after installation in 2014. Results displayed high agreement when compared to LWC estimates obtained using empirical formulas developed in previous studies, and minor improvement over wet snow LWC estimates. Lastly, to improve on global snow cover mapping, a snow product capable of estimating snow depth and snow water

Use of LST images from MODIS/AQUA sensor as an indication of frost occurrence in RS

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Débora de S. Simões

2015-10-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACTAlthough frost occurrence causes severe losses in agriculture, especially in the south of Brazil, the data of minimum air temperature (Tmin currently available for monitoring and predicting frosts show insufficient spatial distribution. This study aimed to evaluate the MDY11A1 (LST – Land Surface Temperature product, from the MODIS sensor on board the AQUA satellite as an estimator of frost occurrence in the southeast of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. LST images from the nighttime overpass of the MODIS/AQUA sensor for the months of June, July and August from 2006 to 2012, and data from three conventional weather stations of the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET were used. Consistency was observed between Tmin data measured in weather stations and LST data obtained from the MODIS sensor. According to the results, LSTs below 3 ºC recorded by the MODIS/AQUA sensor are an indication of a favorable scenario to frost occurrence.

ANALYSING THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT LAND COVER TYPES ON LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURE USING SATELLITE DATA

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A. Şekertekin

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Monitoring Land Surface Temperature (LST via remote sensing images is one of the most important contributions to climatology. LST is an important parameter governing the energy balance on the Earth and it also helps us to understand the behavior of urban heat islands. There are lots of algorithms to obtain LST by remote sensing techniques. The most commonly used algorithms are split-window algorithm, temperature/emissivity separation method, mono-window algorithm and single channel method. In this research, mono window algorithm was implemented to Landsat 5 TM image acquired on 28.08.2011. Besides, meteorological data such as humidity and temperature are used in the algorithm. Moreover, high resolution Geoeye-1 and Worldview-2 images acquired on 29.08.2011 and 12.07.2013 respectively were used to investigate the relationships between LST and land cover type. As a result of the analyses, area with vegetation cover has approximately 5 ºC lower temperatures than the city center and arid land., LST values change about 10 ºC in the city center because of different surface properties such as reinforced concrete construction, green zones and sandbank. The temperature around some places in thermal power plant region (ÇATES and ZETES Çatalağzı, is about 5 ºC higher than city center. Sandbank and agricultural areas have highest temperature due to the land cover structure.

Analysing the Effects of Different Land Cover Types on Land Surface Temperature Using Satellite Data

Science.gov (United States)

Şekertekin, A.; Kutoglu, Ş. H.; Kaya, S.; Marangoz, A. M.

2015-12-01

Monitoring Land Surface Temperature (LST) via remote sensing images is one of the most important contributions to climatology. LST is an important parameter governing the energy balance on the Earth and it also helps us to understand the behavior of urban heat islands. There are lots of algorithms to obtain LST by remote sensing techniques. The most commonly used algorithms are split-window algorithm, temperature/emissivity separation method, mono-window algorithm and single channel method. In this research, mono window algorithm was implemented to Landsat 5 TM image acquired on 28.08.2011. Besides, meteorological data such as humidity and temperature are used in the algorithm. Moreover, high resolution Geoeye-1 and Worldview-2 images acquired on 29.08.2011 and 12.07.2013 respectively were used to investigate the relationships between LST and land cover type. As a result of the analyses, area with vegetation cover has approximately 5 ºC lower temperatures than the city center and arid land., LST values change about 10 ºC in the city center because of different surface properties such as reinforced concrete construction, green zones and sandbank. The temperature around some places in thermal power plant region (ÇATES and ZETES) Çatalağzı, is about 5 ºC higher than city center. Sandbank and agricultural areas have highest temperature due to the land cover structure.

Spatio-temporal Assessment of Land Use/ Land Cover Dynamics and Urban Heat Island of Jaipur City using Satellite Data

Science.gov (United States)

Jalan, S.; Sharma, K.

2014-11-01

Urban Heat Island (UHI) refers to the phenomena of higher surface temperature occurring in urban areas as compared to the surrounding countryside attributable to urbanization. Spatio-temporal changes in UHI can be quantified through Land Surface Temperature (LST) derived from satellite imageries. Spatial variations in LST occur due to complexity of land surface - combination of impervious surface materials, vegetation, exposed soils as well as water surfaces. Jaipur city has observed rapid urbanization over the last decade. Due to rising population pressure the city has expanded considerably in areal extent and has also observed substantial land use/land cover (LULC) changes. The paper aims to determine changes in the LST and UHI phenomena for Jaipur city over the period from 2000 to 2011 and analyzes the spatial distribution and temporal variation of LST in context of changes in LULC. Landsat 7 ETM+ (2000) and Landsat 5 TM (2011) images of summer season have been used. Results reveal that Jaipur city has witnessed considerable growth in built up area at the cost of greener patches over the last decade, which has had clear impact on variation in LST. There has been an average rise of 2.99 °C in overall summer temperature. New suburbs of the city record 2° to 4 °C increase in LST. LST change is inversely related to change in vegetation cover and positively related to extent of built up area. The study concludes that UHI of Jaipur city has intensified and extended over new areas.

Effect of land cover and green space on land surface temperature of a fast growing economic region in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Sheikhi, A.; Kanniah, K. D.; Ho, C. H.

2015-10-01

Green space must be increased in the development of new cities as green space can moderate temperature in the cities. In this study we estimated the land surface temperature (LST) and established relationships between LST and land cover and various vegetation and urban surface indices in the Iskandar Malaysia (IM) region. IM is one of the emerging economic gateways of Malaysia, and is envisaged to transform into a metropolis by 2025. This change may cause increased temperature in IM and therefore we conducted a study by using Landsat 5 image covering the study region (2,217 km2) to estimate LST, classify different land covers and calculate spectral indices. Results show that urban surface had highest LST (24.49 °C) and the lowest temperature was recorded in, forest, rubber and water bodies ( 20.69 to 21.02°C). Oil palm plantations showed intermediate mean LST values with 21.65 °C. We further investigated the relationship between vegetation and build up densities with temperature. We extracted 1000 collocated pure pixels of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI), Urban Index (UI) and LST in the study area. Results show a strong and significant negative correlation with (R2= -0.74 and -0.79) respectively between NDVI, NDWI and LST . Meanwhile a strong positive correlation (R2=0.8 and 0.86) exists between NDBI, UI and LST. These results show the importance of increasing green cover in urban environment to combat any adverse effects of climate change.

All-weather Land Surface Temperature Estimation from Satellite Data

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, J.; Zhang, X.

2017-12-01

Satellite remote sensing, including the thermal infrared (TIR) and passive microwave (MW), provides the possibility to observe LST at large scales. For better modeling the land surface processes with high temporal resolutions, all-weather LST from satellite data is desirable. However, estimation of all-weather LST faces great challenges. On the one hand, TIR remote sensing is limited to clear-sky situations; this drawback reduces its usefulness under cloudy conditions considerably, especially in regions with frequent and/or permanent clouds. On the other hand, MW remote sensing suffers from much greater thermal sampling depth (TSD) and coarser spatial resolution than TIR; thus, MW LST is generally lower than TIR LST, especially at daytime. Two case studies addressing the challenges mentioned previously are presented here. The first study is for the development of a novel thermal sampling depth correction method (TSDC) to estimate the MW LST over barren land; this second study is for the development of a feasible method to merge the TIR and MW LSTs by addressing the coarse resolution of the latter one. In the first study, the core of the TSDC method is a new formulation of the passive microwave radiation balance equation, which allows linking bulk MW radiation to the soil temperature at a specific depth, i.e. the representative temperature: this temperature is then converted to LST through an adapted soil heat conduction equation. The TSDC method is applied to the 6.9 GHz channel in vertical polarization of AMSR-E. Evaluation shows that LST estimated by the TSDC method agrees well with the MODIS LST. Validation is based on in-situ LSTs measured at the Gobabeb site in western Namibia. The results demonstrate the high accuracy of the TSDC method: it yields a root-mean squared error (RMSE) of 2 K and ignorable systematic error over barren land. In the second study, the method consists of two core processes: (1) estimation of MW LST from MW brightness temperature and (2

Validation of Land Surface Temperature from Sentinel-3

Science.gov (United States)

Ghent, D.

2017-12-01

One of the main objectives of the Sentinel-3 mission is to measure sea- and land-surface temperature with high-end accuracy and reliability in support of environmental and climate monitoring in an operational context. Calibration and validation are thus key criteria for operationalization within the framework of the Sentinel-3 Mission Performance Centre (S3MPC). Land surface temperature (LST) has a long heritage of satellite observations which have facilitated our understanding of land surface and climate change processes, such as desertification, urbanization, deforestation and land/atmosphere coupling. These observations have been acquired from a variety of satellite instruments on platforms in both low-earth orbit and in geostationary orbit. Retrieval accuracy can be a challenge though; surface emissivities can be highly variable owing to the heterogeneity of the land, and atmospheric effects caused by the presence of aerosols and by water vapour absorption can give a bias to the underlying LST. As such, a rigorous validation is critical in order to assess the quality of the data and the associated uncertainties. Validation of the level-2 SL_2_LST product, which became freely available on an operational basis from 5th July 2017 builds on an established validation protocol for satellite-based LST. This set of guidelines provides a standardized framework for structuring LST validation activities. The protocol introduces a four-pronged approach which can be summarised thus: i) in situ validation where ground-based observations are available; ii) radiance-based validation over sites that are homogeneous in emissivity; iii) intercomparison with retrievals from other satellite sensors; iv) time-series analysis to identify artefacts on an interannual time-scale. This multi-dimensional approach is a necessary requirement for assessing the performance of the LST algorithm for the Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR) which is designed around biome

Impact of the assimilation of satellite soil moisture and LST on the hydrological cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Laiolo, Paola; Gabellani, Simone; Delogu, Fabio; Silvestro, Francesco; Rudari, Roberto; Campo, Lorenzo; Boni, Giorgio

2014-05-01

The reliable estimation of hydrological variables (e.g. soil moisture, evapotranspiration, surface temperature) in space and time is of fundamental importance in operational hydrology to improve the forecast of the rainfall-runoff response of catchments and, consequently, flood predictions. Nowadays remote sensing can offer a chance to provide good space-time estimates of several hydrological variables and then improve hydrological model performances especially in environments with scarce ground based data. The aim of this work is to investigate the impacts on the performances of a distributed hydrological model (Continuum) of the assimilation of satellite-derived soil moisture products and Land Surface (LST). In this work three different soil moisture (SM) products, derived by ASCAT sensor, are used. These data are provided by the EUMETSAT's H-SAF (Satellite Application Facility on Support to Operational Hydrology and Water Management) program. The considered soil moisture products are: large scale surface soil moisture (SM OBS 1 - H07), small scale surface soil moisture (SM OBS 2 - H08) and profile index in the roots region (SM DAS 2 - H14). These data are compared with soil moisture estimated by Continuum model on the Orba catchment (800 km2), in the northern part of Italy, for the period July 2012-June 2013. Different assimilation experiments have been performed. The first experiment consists in the assimilation of the SM products by using a simple Nudging technique; the second one is the assimilation of only LST data, derived from MSG satellite, and the third is the assimilation of both SM products and LST. The benefits on the model predictions of discharge, LST and soil moisture dynamics were tested.

Cloud tolerance of remote sensing technologies to measure land surface temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Conventional means to estimate land surface temperature (LST) from space relies on the thermal infrared (TIR) spectral window and is limited to cloud-free scenes. To also provide LST estimates during periods with clouds, a new method was developed to estimate LST based on passive microwave (MW) obse...

Passive Earth Entry Vehicle Landing Test

Science.gov (United States)

Kellas, Sotiris

2017-01-01

Two full-scale passive Earth Entry Vehicles (EEV) with realistic structure, surrogate sample container, and surrogate Thermal Protection System (TPS) were built at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) and tested at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). The main test objective was to demonstrate structural integrity and investigate possible impact response deviations of the realistic vehicle as compared to rigid penetrometer responses. With the exception of the surrogate TPS and minor structural differences in the back shell construction, the two test vehicles were identical in geometry and both utilized the Integrated Composite Stiffener Structure (ICoSS) structural concept in the forward shell. The ICoSS concept is a lightweight and highly adaptable composite concept developed at NASA LaRC specifically for entry vehicle TPS carrier structures. The instrumented test vehicles were released from a helicopter approximately 400 m above ground. The drop height was selected such that at least 98% of the vehicles terminal velocity would be achieved. While drop tests of spherical penetrometers and a low fidelity aerodynamic EEV model were conducted at UTTR in 1998 and 2000, this was the first time a passive EEV with flight-like structure, surrogate TPS, and sample container was tested at UTTR for the purpose of complete structural system validation. Test results showed that at a landing vertical speed of approximately 30 m/s, the test vehicle maintained structural integrity and enough rigidity to penetrate the sandy clay surface thus attenuating the landing load, as measured at the vehicle CG, to less than 600 g. This measured deceleration was found to be in family with rigid penetrometer test data from the 1998 and 2000 test campaigns. Design implications of vehicle structure/soil interaction with respect to sample container and sample survivability are briefly discussed.

Rat Monoclonal Antibodies Specific for LST1 Proteins

OpenAIRE

Schiller, Christian; Nitschké, Maximilian J. E.; Seidl, Alexander; Kremmer, Elisabeth; Weiss, Elisabeth H.

2009-01-01

The LST1 gene is located in the human MHC class III region and encodes transmembrane and soluble isoforms that have been suggested to play a role in the regulation of the immune response and are associated with inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Here we describe the generation and characterization of the first monoclonal antibodies against LST1. Two hybridoma lines secreting monoclonal antibodies designated 7E2 and 8D12 were established. The 7E2 antibody detects recombinant a...

Genesis of the Lunar Landing Vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Gelzer, Christian

2009-01-01

The author examines early research regarding return flight from a Moon landing made prior to President Kennedy's 1961 challenge to put men on the Moon before the end of the decade. Organizations involved in early research include NACA, the Flight Research Center (now Dryden) Bell Aircraft Corporation. The discussion focuses on development of a flight simulator to model the Moon's reduced gravity and development of the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle.

Estimating Daily Maximum and Minimum Land Air Surface Temperature Using MODIS Land Surface Temperature Data and Ground Truth Data in Northern Vietnam

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Phan Thanh Noi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study aims to evaluate quantitatively the land surface temperature (LST derived from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer MOD11A1 and MYD11A1 Collection 5 products for daily land air surface temperature (Ta estimation over a mountainous region in northern Vietnam. The main objective is to estimate maximum and minimum Ta (Ta-max and Ta-min using both TERRA and AQUA MODIS LST products (daytime and nighttime and auxiliary data, solving the discontinuity problem of ground measurements. There exist no studies about Vietnam that have integrated both TERRA and AQUA LST of daytime and nighttime for Ta estimation (using four MODIS LST datasets. In addition, to find out which variables are the most effective to describe the differences between LST and Ta, we have tested several popular methods, such as: the Pearson correlation coefficient, stepwise, Bayesian information criterion (BIC, adjusted R-squared and the principal component analysis (PCA of 14 variables (including: LST products (four variables, NDVI, elevation, latitude, longitude, day length in hours, Julian day and four variables of the view zenith angle, and then, we applied nine models for Ta-max estimation and nine models for Ta-min estimation. The results showed that the differences between MODIS LST and ground truth temperature derived from 15 climate stations are time and regional topography dependent. The best results for Ta-max and Ta-min estimation were achieved when we combined both LST daytime and nighttime of TERRA and AQUA and data from the topography analysis.

Improving Soil Moisture Estimation with a Dual Ensemble Kalman Smoother by Jointly Assimilating AMSR-E Brightness Temperature and MODIS LST

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Weijing Chen

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Uncertainties in model parameters can easily result in systematic differences between model states and observations, which significantly affect the accuracy of soil moisture estimation in data assimilation systems. In this research, a soil moisture assimilation scheme is developed to jointly assimilate AMSR-E (Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System brightness temperature (TB and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Land Surface Temperature (LST products, which also corrects model bias by simultaneously updating model states and parameters with a dual ensemble Kalman filter (DEnKS. Common Land Model (CoLM and a Radiative Transfer Model (RTM are adopted as model and observation operator, respectively. The assimilation experiment was conducted in Naqu on the Tibet Plateau from 31 May to 27 September 2011. The updated soil temperature at surface obtained by assimilating MODIS LST serving as inputs of RTM is to reduce the differences between the simulated and observed TB, then AMSR-E TB is assimilated to update soil moisture and model parameters. Compared with in situ measurements, the accuracy of soil moisture estimation derived from the assimilation experiment has been tremendously improved at a variety of scales. The updated parameters effectively reduce the states bias of CoLM. The results demonstrate the potential of assimilating AMSR-E TB and MODIS LST to improve the estimation of soil moisture and related parameters. Furthermore, this study indicates that the developed scheme is an effective way to retrieve downscaled soil moisture when assimilating the coarse-scale microwave TB.

SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIATION OF LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURE IN FUJIAN PROVINCE FROM 2001 TO 2015

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Y. Li

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Land surface temperature (LST is an essential parameter in the physics of land surface processes. The spatiotemporal variations of LST on the Fujian province were studied using AQUA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer LST data. Considering the data gaps in remotely sensed LST products caused by cloud contamination, the Savitzky-Golay (S-G filter method was used to eliminate the influence of cloud cover and to describe the periodical signals of LST. Observed air temperature data from 27 weather stations were employed to evaluate the fitting performance of the S-G filter method. Results indicate that S-G can effectively fit the LST time series and remove the influence of cloud cover. Based on the S-G-derived result, Spatial and temporal Variations of LST in Fujian province from 2001 to 2015 are analysed through slope analysis. The results show that: 1 the spatial distribution of annual mean LST generally exhibits consistency with altitude in the study area and the average of LST was much higher in the east than in the west. 2 The annual mean temperature of LST declines slightly among 15 years in Fujian. 3 Slope analysis reflects the spatial distribution characteristics of LST changing trend in Fujian.Improvement areas of LST are mainly concentrated in the urban areas of Fujian, especially in the eastern urban areas. Apparent descent areas are mainly distributed in the area of Zhangzhou and eastern mountain area.

Spatial and Temporal Variation of Land Surface Temperature in Fujian Province from 2001 TO 2015

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Y.; Wang, X.; Ding, Z.

2018-04-01

Land surface temperature (LST) is an essential parameter in the physics of land surface processes. The spatiotemporal variations of LST on the Fujian province were studied using AQUA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer LST data. Considering the data gaps in remotely sensed LST products caused by cloud contamination, the Savitzky-Golay (S-G) filter method was used to eliminate the influence of cloud cover and to describe the periodical signals of LST. Observed air temperature data from 27 weather stations were employed to evaluate the fitting performance of the S-G filter method. Results indicate that S-G can effectively fit the LST time series and remove the influence of cloud cover. Based on the S-G-derived result, Spatial and temporal Variations of LST in Fujian province from 2001 to 2015 are analysed through slope analysis. The results show that: 1) the spatial distribution of annual mean LST generally exhibits consistency with altitude in the study area and the average of LST was much higher in the east than in the west. 2) The annual mean temperature of LST declines slightly among 15 years in Fujian. 3) Slope analysis reflects the spatial distribution characteristics of LST changing trend in Fujian.Improvement areas of LST are mainly concentrated in the urban areas of Fujian, especially in the eastern urban areas. Apparent descent areas are mainly distributed in the area of Zhangzhou and eastern mountain area.

Trends in LST over the peninsular Spain as derived from the AVHRR imagery data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khorchani, Makki; Vicente-Serrano, Sergio M.; Azorin-Molina, Cesar

2018-01-01

between LST and NDVI changes. The areas that experienced an increase in the LST were spatially consistent with those areas with no changes or even a dominant decrease in vegetation coverage. In addition, the strong increase of LST is coherent with observations of the recent radiative forcing affecting...

NASA's MODIS/VIIRS Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity Products: Asssessment of Accuracy, Continuity and Science Uses

Science.gov (United States)

Hulley, G. C.; Malakar, N.; Islam, T.

2017-12-01

Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity (LST&E) are an important Earth System Data Record (ESDR) and Environmental Climate Variable (ECV) defined by NASA and GCOS respectively. LST&E data are key variables used in land cover/land use change studies, in surface energy balance and atmospheric water vapor retrieval models and retrievals, and in climate research. LST&E products are currently produced on a routine basis using data from the MODIS instruments on the NASA EOS platforms and by the VIIRS instrument on the Suomi-NPP platform that serves as a bridge between NASA EOS and the next-generation JPSS platforms. Two new NASA LST&E products for MODIS (MxD21) and VIIRS (VNP21) are being produced during 2017 using a new approach that addresses discrepancies in accuracy and consistency between the current suite of split-window based LST products. The new approach uses a Temperature Emissivity Separation (TES) algorithm, originally developed for the ASTER instrument, to physically retrieve both LST and spectral emissivity consistently for both sensors with high accuracy and well defined uncertainties. This study provides a rigorous assessment of accuracy of the MxD21/VNP21 products using temperature- and radiance-based validation strategies and demonstrates continuity between the products using collocated matchups over CONUS. We will further demonstrate potential science use of the new products with studies related to heat waves, monitoring snow melt dynamics, and land cover/land use change.

On the sensitivity of Land Surface Temperature estimates in arid irrigated lands using MODTRAN

KAUST Repository

Rosas, Jorge

2015-11-29

Land surface temperature (LST) derived from thermal infrared (TIR) satellite data has been reliably used as a remote indicator of evapotranspiration (ET) and surface moisture status. However, in order to retrieve the ET with an accuracy approaching 10%, LST should be retrieved to within 1 ◦C or better, disregarding other elements of uncertainty. The removal of atmospheric effects is key towards achieving a precise estimation of LST and it requires detailed information on water vapor. The Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) onboard Landsat 8 captures data in two long wave thermal bands with 100-meter resolution. However, the US Geological Survey has reported a calibration problem of TIRS bands caused by stray light, resulting in a higher bias in one of its two bands (4% in band 11, 2% in band 10). Therefore, split-window algorithms for the estimation of LST might not be reliable. Our work will focus on the impact of using different atmospheric profiles (e.g. weather prediction models, satellite) for the estimation of LST derived from MODTRAN by using one of the TIRS bands onboard Landsat 8 (band 10). Sites with in-situ measurements of LST are used as evaluation sources. Comparisons between the measured LST and LST derived based on different atmospheric profile inputs to MODTRAN are carried out from 2 Landsat-overpass days (DOY 153 and 160 2015). Preliminary results show a mean absolute error of around 3 ◦C between in-situ and estimated LST over two different crops (alfalfa and carrot) and bare soil.

Retrieval of Land Surface Temperature over the Heihe River Basin Using HJ-1B Thermal Infrared Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoying Ouyang

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The reliable estimation of spatially distributed Land Surface Temperature (LST is useful for monitoring regional land surface heat fluxes. A single-channel method is developed to derive the LST over the Heihe River Basin in China using data from the infrared sensor (IRS onboard the Chinese “Environmental and Disaster Monitoring and Forecasting with a Small Satellite Constellation” (HJ-1B for short for one of the satellites, with ancillary water vapor information from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS products (MOD05 and in situ automatic sun tracking photometer CE318 data for the first time. In situ LST data for the period from mid-June to mid-September 2012 were acquired from automatic meteorological stations (AMS that are part of Heihe Watershed Allied Telemetry Experimental Research (HiWATER project. MOD05-based LST and CE318-based LST are compared with in situ measurements at 16 AMS sites with land cover types of vegetable, maize and orchards. The results show that the use of the MOD05 product could achieve a comparable accuracy in LST retrieval with that achieved using the CE318 data. The largest difference between the MOD05-based LST and CE318-based LST is 0.84 K throughout the study period over the Heihe River Basin. The standard deviation (STD, root mean square error (RMSE, and correlation coefficient (R of HJ-1B/IRS vs. the in situ measurements are 2.45 K, 2.78 K, and 0.67, respectively, whereas those for the MODIS 1 km LST product vs. the in situ measurements are 4.07 K, 2.98 K, and 0.79, respectively. The spatial pattern of the HJ-1B/LST over the study area in the Heihe River Basin generally agreed well with the MODIS 1 km LST product and contained more detailed spatial textures.

Online Global Land Surface Temperature Estimation from Landsat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Parastatidis

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This study explores the estimation of land surface temperature (LST for the globe from Landsat 5, 7 and 8 thermal infrared sensors, using different surface emissivity sources. A single channel algorithm is used for consistency among the estimated LST products, whereas the option of using emissivity from different sources provides flexibility for the algorithm’s implementation to any area of interest. The Google Earth Engine (GEE, an advanced earth science data and analysis platform, allows the estimation of LST products for the globe, covering the time period from 1984 to present. To evaluate the method, the estimated LST products were compared against two reference datasets: (a LST products derived from ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, as higher-level products based on the temperature-emissivity separation approach; (b Landsat LST data that have been independently produced, using different approaches. An overall RMSE (root mean square error of 1.52 °C was observed and it was confirmed that the accuracy of the LST product is dependent on the emissivity; different emissivity sources provided different LST accuracies, depending on the surface cover. The LST products, for the full Landsat 5, 7 and 8 archives, are estimated “on-the-fly” and are available on-line via a web application.

Quantifying the Trends in Land Surface Temperature and Surface Urban Heat Island Intensity in Mediterranean Cities in View of Smart Urbanization

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Anastasios Polydoros

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Land Surface Temperature (LST is a key parameter for the estimation of urban fluxes as well as for the assessment of the presence and strength of the surface urban heat island (SUHI. In an urban environment, LST depends on the way the city has been planned and developed over time. To this end, the estimation of LST needs adequate spatial and temporal data at the urban scale, especially with respect to land cover/land use. The present study is divided in two parts: at first, satellite data from MODIS-Terra 8-day product (MOD11A2 were used for the analysis of an eighteen-year time series (2001–2017 of the LST spatial and temporal distribution in five major cities of the Mediterranean during the summer months. LST trends were retrieved and assessed for their statistical significance. Secondly, LST values and trends for each city were examined in relation to land cover characteristics and patterns in order to define the contribution of urban development and planning on LST; this information is important for the drafting of smart urbanization policies and measures. Results revealed (a positive LST trends in the urban areas especially during nighttime ranging from +0.412 °K in Marseille to +0.923 °K in Cairo and (b the SUHI has intensified during the last eighteen years especially during daytime in European Mediterranean cities, such as Rome (+0.332 °K and Barcelona (+0.307 °K.

Improving Land Surface Temperature Retrievals over Mountainous Regions

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Virgílio A. Bento

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Algorithms for Land Surface Temperature (LST retrieval from infrared measurements are usually sensitive to the amount of water vapor present in the atmosphere. The Satellite Application Facilities on Climate Monitoring and Land Surface Analysis (CM SAF and LSA SAF are currently compiling a 25 year LST Climate data record (CDR, which uses water vapor information from ERA-Int reanalysis. However, its relatively coarse spatial resolution may lead to systematic errors in the humidity profiles with implications in LST, particularly over mountainous areas. The present study compares LST estimated with three different retrieval algorithms: a radiative transfer-based physical mono-window (PMW, a statistical mono-window (SMW, and a generalized split-windows (GSW. The algorithms were tested over the Alpine region using ERA-Int reanalysis data and relied on the finer spatial scale Consortium for Small-Scale Modelling (COSMO model data as a reference. Two methods were developed to correct ERA-Int water vapor misestimation: (1 an exponential parametrization of total precipitable water (TPW appropriate for SMW/GSW; and (2 a level reduction method to be used in PMW. When ERA-Int TPW was used, the algorithm missed the right TPW class in 87% of the cases. When the exponential parametrization was used, the missing class rate decreased to 9%, and when the level reduction method was applied, the LST corrections went up to 1.7 K over the study region. Overall, the correction for pixel orography in TPW leads to corrections in LST estimations, which are relevant to ensure that long-term LST records meet climate requirements, particularly over mountainous regions.

Sensing and control for autonomous vehicles applications to land, water and air vehicles

CERN Document Server

Pettersen, Kristin; Nijmeijer, Henk

2017-01-01

This edited volume includes thoroughly collected on sensing and control for autonomous vehicles. Guidance, navigation and motion control systems for autonomous vehicles are increasingly important in land-based, marine and aerial operations. Autonomous underwater vehicles may be used for pipeline inspection, light intervention work, underwater survey and collection of oceanographic/biological data. Autonomous unmanned aerial systems can be used in a large number of applications such as inspection, monitoring, data collection, surveillance, etc. At present, vehicles operate with limited autonomy and a minimum of intelligence. There is a growing interest for cooperative and coordinated multi-vehicle systems, real-time re-planning, robust autonomous navigation systems and robust autonomous control of vehicles. Unmanned vehicles with high levels of autonomy may be used for safe and efficient collection of environmental data, for assimilation of climate and environmental models and to complement global satellite sy...

Variations in land surface temperature and cooling efficiency of green space in rapid urbanization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yu, Zhaowu; Guo, Xieying; Zeng, Yuxi

2018-01-01

understood. Additionally, a strategy to optimize the most significant decreased land cover type in order to maximize the cooling effect is still lacking. Therefore, in this study, we selected the rapidly urbanizing and ‘hottest’ city in China, Fuzhou, as a case study. Two algorithms were selected to compare....... This study extends the current understanding of LCC dynamics and LST variation. The concepts of the CE and TVoE are meaningful for landscape planning practice and can be used in other cases....... and obtain reliable LST data. A land use transfer matrix was used to detect critical contributions leading to the LST variations. The concept of cooling efficiency (CE) and the threshold value of efficiency (TVoE) are also proposed, defined, and calculated. The results show that LST values increased...

Quality Assessment of S-NPP VIIRS Land Surface Temperature Product

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Yuling Liu

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The VIIRS Land Surface Temperature (LST Environmental Data Record (EDR has reached validated (V1 stage maturity in December 2014. This study compares VIIRS v1 LST with the ground in situ observations and with heritage LST product from MODIS Aqua and AATSR. Comparisons against U.S. SURFRAD ground observations indicate a similar accuracy among VIIRS, MODIS and AATSR LST, in which VIIRS LST presents an overall accuracy of −0.41 K and precision of 2.35 K. The result over arid regions in Africa suggests that VIIRS and MODIS underestimate the LST about 1.57 K and 2.97 K, respectively. The cross comparison indicates an overall close LST estimation between VIIRS and MODIS. In addition, a statistical method is used to quantify the VIIRS LST retrieval uncertainty taking into account the uncertainty from the surface type input. Some issues have been found as follows: (1 Cloud contamination, particularly the cloud detection error over a snow/ice surface, shows significant impacts on LST validation; (2 Performance of the VIIRS LST algorithm is strongly dependent on a correct classification of the surface type; (3 The VIIRS LST quality can be degraded when significant brightness temperature difference between the two split window channels is observed; (4 Surface type dependent algorithm exhibits deficiency in correcting the large emissivity variations within a surface type.

Estimation of land surface temperature of Kaduna metropolis ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Estimation of land surface temperature of Kaduna metropolis, Nigeria using landsat images. Isa Zaharaddeen, Ibrahim I. Baba, Ayuba Zachariah. Abstract. Understanding the spatial variation of Land Surface Temperature (LST), will be helpful in urban micro climate studies. This study estimates the land surface temperature ...

Developing first time-series of land surface temperature from AATSR with uncertainty estimates

Science.gov (United States)

Ghent, Darren; Remedios, John

2013-04-01

Land surface temperature (LST) is the radiative skin temperature of the land, and is one of the key parameters in the physics of land-surface processes on regional and global scales. Earth Observation satellites provide the opportunity to obtain global coverage of LST approximately every 3 days or less. One such source of satellite retrieved LST has been the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR); with LST retrieval being implemented in the AATSR Instrument Processing Facility in March 2004. Here we present first regional and global time-series of LST data from AATSR with estimates of uncertainty. Mean changes in temperature over the last decade will be discussed along with regional patterns. Although time-series across all three ATSR missions have previously been constructed (Kogler et al., 2012), the use of low resolution auxiliary data in the retrieval algorithm and non-optimal cloud masking resulted in time-series artefacts. As such, considerable ESA supported development has been carried out on the AATSR data to address these concerns. This includes the integration of high resolution auxiliary data into the retrieval algorithm and subsequent generation of coefficients and tuning parameters, plus the development of an improved cloud mask based on the simulation of clear sky conditions from radiance transfer modelling (Ghent et al., in prep.). Any inference on this LST record is though of limited value without the accompaniment of an uncertainty estimate; wherein the Joint Committee for Guides in Metrology quote an uncertainty as "a parameter associated with the result of a measurement that characterizes the dispersion of the values that could reasonably be attributed to the measurand that is the value of the particular quantity to be measured". Furthermore, pixel level uncertainty fields are a mandatory requirement in the on-going preparation of the LST product for the upcoming Sea and Land Surface Temperature (SLSTR) instrument on-board Sentinel-3

Analysing Regional Land Surface Temperature Changes by Satellite Data, a Case Study of Zonguldak, Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Sekertekin, A.; Kutoglu, S.; Kaya, S.; Marangoz, A. M.

2014-12-01

In recent years, climate change is one of the most important problems that the ecological system of the world has been encountering. Global warming and climate change have been studied frequently by all disciplines all over the world and Geomatics Engineering also contributes to such studies by means of remote sensing, global positioning system etc. Monitoring Land Surface Temperature (LST) via remote sensing satellites is one of the most important contributions to climatology. LST is an important parameter governing the energy balance on the Earth and there are lots of algorithms to obtain LST by remote sensing techniques. The most commonly used algorithms are split-window algorithm, temperature/emissivity separation method, mono-window algorithm and single channel method. Generally three algorithms are used to obtain LST by using Landsat 5 TM data. These algorithms are radiative transfer equation method, single channel method and mono-window algorithm. Radiative transfer equation method is not applicable because during the satellite pass, atmospheric parameters must be measured in-situ. In this research, mono window algorithm was implemented to Landsat 5 TM image. Besides, meteorological data such as humidity and temperature are used in the algorithm. Acquisition date of the image is 28.08.2011 and our study area is Zonguldak, Turkey. High resolution images are used to investigate the relationships between LST and land cover type. As a result of these analyses, area with vegetation cover has approximately 5 ºC lower temperature than the city center and arid land. Because different surface properties like reinforced concrete construction, green zones and sandbank are all together in city center, LST differs about 10 ºC in the city center. The temperature around some places in thermal power plant region Çatalağzı, is about 5 ºC higher than city center. Sandbank and agricultural areas have highest temperature because of land cover structure. Thanks to this

Full-Scale Passive Earth Entry Vehicle Landing Tests: Methods and Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Littell, Justin D.; Kellas, Sotiris

2018-01-01

During the summer of 2016, a series of drop tests were conducted on two passive earth entry vehicle (EEV) test articles at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). The tests were conducted to evaluate the structural integrity of a realistic EEV vehicle under anticipated landing loads. The test vehicles were lifted to an altitude of approximately 400m via a helicopter and released via release hook into a predesignated 61 m landing zone. Onboard accelerometers were capable of measuring vehicle free flight and impact loads. High-speed cameras on the ground tracked the free-falling vehicles and data was used to calculate critical impact parameters during the final seconds of flight. Additional sets of high definition and ultra-high definition cameras were able to supplement the high-speed data by capturing the release and free flight of the test articles. Three tests were successfully completed and showed that the passive vehicle design was able to withstand the impact loads from nominal and off-nominal impacts at landing velocities of approximately 29 m/s. Two out of three test resulted in off-nominal impacts due to a combination of high winds at altitude and the method used to suspend the vehicle from the helicopter. Both the video and acceleration data captured is examined and discussed. Finally, recommendations for improved release and instrumentation methods are presented.

Expansion of oil palm and other cash crops causes an increase of the land surface temperature in the Jambi province in Indonesia

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C. R. Sabajo

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Indonesia is currently one of the regions with the highest transformation rate of land surface worldwide related to the expansion of oil palm plantations and other cash crops replacing forests on large scales. Land cover changes, which modify land surface properties, have a direct effect on the land surface temperature (LST, a key driver for many ecological functions. Despite the large historic land transformation in Indonesia toward oil palm and other cash crops and governmental plans for future expansion, this is the first study so far to quantify the impacts of land transformation on the LST in Indonesia. We analyze LST from the thermal band of a Landsat image and produce a high-resolution surface temperature map (30 m for the lowlands of the Jambi province in Sumatra (Indonesia, a region which suffered large land transformation towards oil palm and other cash crops over the past decades. The comparison of LST, albedo, normalized differenced vegetation index (NDVI and evapotranspiration (ET between seven different land cover types (forest, urban areas, clear-cut land, young and mature oil palm plantations, acacia and rubber plantations shows that forests have lower surface temperatures than the other land cover types, indicating a local warming effect after forest conversion. LST differences were up to 10.1 ± 2.6 °C (mean ± SD between forest and clear-cut land. The differences in surface temperatures are explained by an evaporative cooling effect, which offsets the albedo warming effect. Our analysis of the LST trend of the past 16 years based on MODIS data shows that the average daytime surface temperature in the Jambi province increased by 1.05 °C, which followed the trend of observed land cover changes and exceeded the effects of climate warming. This study provides evidence that the expansion of oil palm plantations and other cash crops leads to changes in biophysical variables, warming the land surface and thus

The BaBar LST Detector High Voltage System: Design And Implementation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benelli, G.; Honscheid, K.; Lewis, E.A.; Regensburger, J.J.; Smith, D.S.; Ohio State U.

2006-01-01

In 2004, the first two sextants of the new Limited Streamer Tube (LST) detector were installed in the BABAR experiment to replace the ageing Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) as active detectors for the BABAR Instrumented Flux Return (IFR) muon system. Each streamer tube of the new detector consists of 8 cells. The cell walls are coated with graphite paint and a 100 (micro)m wire forms the anode. These wires are coupled in pairs inside the tubes resulting in 4 independent two-cell segments per LST. High voltage (HV) is applied to the 4 segments through a custom connector that also provides the decoupling capacitor to pick up the detector signals from the anode wires. The BABAR LST detector is operated at 5.5 kV. The high voltage system for the LST detector was designed and built at The Ohio State University (OSU HVPS). Each of the 25 supplies built for BaBar provides 80 output channels with individual current monitoring and overcurrent protection. For each group of 20 channels the HV can be adjusted between 0 and 6 kV. A 4-fold fan-out is integrated in the power supplies to provide a total of 320 outputs. The power supplies are controlled through built-in CANbus and Ethernet (TCP/IP) interfaces. In this presentation we will discuss the design and novel features of the OSU HVPS system and its integration into the BABAR EPICS detector control framework. Experience with the supplies operation during the LST extensive quality control program and their performance during the initial data taking period will be discussed

Impacts of Land Cover and Seasonal Variation on Maximum Air Temperature Estimation Using MODIS Imagery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yulin Cai

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Daily maximum surface air temperature (Tamax is a crucial factor for understanding complex land surface processes under rapid climate change. Remote detection of Tamax has widely relied on the empirical relationship between air temperature and land surface temperature (LST, a product derived from remote sensing. However, little is known about how such a relationship is affected by the high heterogeneity in landscapes and dynamics in seasonality. This study aims to advance our understanding of the roles of land cover and seasonal variation in the estimation of Tamax using the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer LST product. We developed statistical models to link Tamax and LST in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China for five major land-cover types (i.e., forest, shrub, water, impervious surface, cropland, and grassland and two seasons (i.e., growing season and non-growing season. Results show that the performance of modeling the Tamax-LST relationship was highly dependent on land cover and seasonal variation. Estimating Tamax over grasslands and water bodies achieved superior performance; while uncertainties were high over forested lands that contained extensive heterogeneity in species types, plant structure, and topography. We further found that all the land-cover specific models developed for the plant non-growing season outperformed the corresponding models developed for the growing season. Discrepancies in model performance mainly occurred in the vegetated areas (forest, cropland, and shrub, suggesting an important role of plant phenology in defining the statistical relationship between Tamax and LST. For impervious surfaces, the challenge of capturing the high spatial heterogeneity in urban settings using the low-resolution MODIS data made Tamax estimation a difficult task, which was especially true in the growing season.

Black Sea impact on its west-coast land surface temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Cheval, Sorin; Constantin, Sorin

2018-03-01

This study investigates the Black Sea influence on the thermal characteristics of its western hinterland based on satellite imagery acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The marine impact on the land surface temperature (LST) values is detected at daily, seasonal and annual time scales, and a strong linkage with the land cover is demonstrated. The remote sensing products used within the study supply LST data with complete areal coverage during clear sky conditions at 1-km spatial resolution, which is appropriate for climate studies. The sea influence is significant up to 4-5 km, by daytime, while the nighttime influence is very strong in the first 1-2 km, and it gradually decreases westward. Excepting the winter, the daytime temperature increases towards the plateau with the distance from the sea, e.g. with a gradient of 0.9 °C/km in the first 5 km in spring or with 0.7 °C/km in summer. By nighttime, the sea water usually remains warmer than the contiguous land triggering higher LST values in the immediate proximity of the coastline in all seasons, e.g. mean summer LST is 19.0 °C for the 1-km buffer, 16.6 °C for the 5-km buffer and 16.0 °C for the 10-km buffer. The results confirm a strong relationship between the land cover and thermal regime in the western hinterland of the Black Sea coast. The satellite-derived LST and air temperature values recorded at the meteorological stations are highly correlated for similar locations, but the marine influence propagates differently, pledging for distinct analysis. Identified anomalies in the general observed trends are investigated in correlation with sea surface temperature dynamics in the coastal area.

Derivation and evaluation of land surface temperature from the geostationary operational environmental satellite series

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Li

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) have been continuously monitoring the earth surface since 1970, providing valuable and intensive data from a very broad range of wavelengths, day and night. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) is currently operating GOES-15 and GOES-13. The design of the GOES series is now heading to the 4 th generation. GOES-R, as a representative of the new generation of the GOES series, is scheduled to be launched in 2015 with higher spatial and temporal resolution images and full-time soundings. These frequent observations provided by GOES Image make them attractive for deriving information on the diurnal land surface temperature (LST) cycle and diurnal temperature range (DTR). These parameters are of great value for research on the Earth's diurnal variability and climate change. Accurate derivation of satellite-based LSTs from thermal infrared data has long been an interesting and challenging research area. To better support the research on climate change, the generation of consistent GOES LST products for both GOES-East and GOES-West from operational dataset as well as historical archive is in great demand. The derivation of GOES LST products and the evaluation of proposed retrieval methods are two major objectives of this study. Literature relevant to satellite-based LST retrieval techniques was reviewed. Specifically, the evolution of two LST algorithm families and LST retrieval methods for geostationary satellites were summarized in this dissertation. Literature relevant to the evaluation of satellite-based LSTs was also reviewed. All the existing methods are a valuable reference to develop the GOES LST product. The primary objective of this dissertation is the development of models for deriving consistent GOES LSTs with high spatial and high temporal coverage. Proper LST retrieval algorithms were studied

Study of Volcanic Activity at Different Time Scales Using Hypertemporal Land Surface Temperature Data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pavlidou, Efthymia; Hecker, Chris; van der Werff, Harald; van der Meijder, Mark

2017-01-01

We apply a method for detecting subtle spatiotemporal signal fluctuations to monitor volcanic activity. Whereas midwave infrared data are commonly used for volcanic hot spot detection, our approach utilizes hypertemporal longwave infrared-based land surface temperature (LST) data. Using LST data of

Analyzing land surface temperature variations during Fogo Island (Cape Verde) 2014-2015 eruption with Landsat 8 images

Science.gov (United States)

Vieira, D.; Teodoro, A.; Gomes, A.

2016-10-01

Land Surface Temperature (LST) is an important parameter related to land surface processes that changes continuously through time. Assessing its dynamics during a volcanic eruption has both environmental and socio-economical interest. Lava flows and other volcanic materials produced and deposited throughout an eruption transform the landscape, contributing to its heterogeneity and altering LST measurements. This paper aims to assess variations of satellite-derived LST and to detect patterns during the latest Fogo Island (Cape Verde) eruption, extending from November 2014 through February 2015. LST data was obtained through four processed Landsat 8 images, focused on the caldera where Pico do Fogo volcano sits. QGIS' plugin Semi-Automatic Classification was used in order to apply atmospheric corrections and radiometric calibrations. The algorithm used to retrieve LST values is a single-channel method, in which emissivity values are known. The absence of in situ measurements is compensated by the use of MODIS sensor-derived LST data, used to compare with Landsat retrieved measurements. LST data analysis shows as expected that the highest LST values are located inside the caldera. High temperature values were also founded on the south-facing flank of the caldera. Although spatial patterns observed on the retrieved data remained roughly the same during the time period considered, temperature values changed throughout the area and over time, as it was also expected. LST values followed the eruption dynamic experiencing a growth followed by a decline. Moreover, it seems possible to recognize areas affected by lava flows of previous eruptions, due to well-defined LST spatial patterns.

SAFARI 2000 AVHRR-derived Land Surface Temperature Maps, Africa, 1995-2000

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — ABSTRACT: Land Surface Temperature (LST) is a key indicator of land surface states, and can provide information on surface-atmosphere heat and mass fluxes,...

On the sensitivity of Land Surface Temperature estimates in arid irrigated lands using MODTRAN

KAUST Repository

Rosas, Jorge; Houborg, Rasmus; McCabe, Matthew

2015-01-01

Land surface temperature (LST) derived from thermal infrared (TIR) satellite data has been reliably used as a remote indicator of evapotranspiration (ET) and surface moisture status. However, in order to retrieve the ET with an accuracy approaching

SAFARI 2000 AVHRR-derived Land Surface Temperature Maps, Africa, 1995-2000

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Land Surface Temperature (LST) is a key indicator of land surface states, and can provide information on surface-atmosphere heat and mass fluxes, vegetation water...

Cloud Tolerance of Remote-Sensing Technologies to Measure Land Surface Temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Holmes, Thomas R. H.; Hain, Christopher R.; Anderson, Martha C.; Crow, Wade T.

2016-01-01

Conventional methods to estimate land surface temperature (LST) from space rely on the thermal infrared(TIR) spectral window and is limited to cloud-free scenes. To also provide LST estimates during periods with clouds, a new method was developed to estimate LST based on passive microwave(MW) observations. The MW-LST product is informed by six polar-orbiting satellites to create a global record with up to eight observations per day for each 0.25resolution grid box. For days with sufficient observations, a continuous diurnal temperature cycle (DTC) was fitted. The main characteristics of the DTC were scaled to match those of a geostationary TIR-LST product. This paper tests the cloud tolerance of the MW-LST product. In particular, we demonstrate its stable performance with respect to flux tower observation sites (four in Europe and nine in the United States), over a range of cloudiness conditions up to heavily overcast skies. The results show that TIR based LST has slightly better performance than MW-LST for clear-sky observations but suffers an increasing negative bias as cloud cover increases. This negative bias is caused by incomplete masking of cloud-covered areas within the TIR scene that affects many applications of TIR-LST. In contrast, for MW-LST we find no direct impact of clouds on its accuracy and bias. MW-LST can therefore be used to improve TIR cloud screening. Moreover, the ability to provide LST estimates for cloud-covered surfaces can help expand current clear-sky-only satellite retrieval products to all-weather applications.

Land surface temperature retrieval from MODIS and VIRR data in northwest China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, L J; Zuo, H C; Ren, P C; Qiang, B

2014-01-01

By using the Gulang Heterogeneous Underlying Surface Layer Experiment (GHUSLE) data, the accuracy of land surface temperature (LST) in Northwest China retrieved by the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) and Visible and InfraRed Radiometer(VIRR) data is verified. Furthermore, a new LST algorithm for heterogeneous underlying surface is developed and the LST retrieved by the two remote sensing data using three algorithms are compared with the observed data. Results suggest that the new algorithm is the best one in the case of heterogeneous underlying surface, Kerr algorithm accuracy is not satisfying and Becker algorithm is ranked just ahead Kerr algorithm. Especially, the differences in retrieval accuracy among them are more obvious when using the VIRR data. Compared with the observed LST, the root mean square errors of the LST retrieved by MODIS and VIRR data are the least when using the new algorithm, the specific values are 2.55 K and 3.78 K, respectively. The LST retrieved by MODIS data are closer to observed values and higher than its counterpart retrieved by VIRR data. When the new LST retrieval algorithm used, the LST retrieved by MODIS and VIRR data are the closest

ANALYSIS OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT AND LAND USE/COVER TYPE USING LANDSAT 7 ETM+ AND LANDSAT 8 OLI IMAGES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Aslan

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The main objectives of this study are (i to calculate Land Surface Temperature (LST from Landsat imageries, (ii to determine the UHI effects from Landsat 7 ETM+ (June 5, 2001 and Landsat 8 OLI (June 17, 2014 imageries, (iii to examine the relationship between LST and different Land Use/Land Cover (LU/LC types for the years 2001 and 2014. The study is implemented in the central districts of Antalya. Initially, the brightness temperatures are retrieved and the LST values are calculated from Landsat thermal images. Then, the LU/LC maps are created from Landsat pan-sharpened images using Random Forest (RF classifier. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI image, ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM and DMSP_OLS nighttime lights data are used as auxiliary data during the classification procedure. Finally, UHI effect is determined and the LST values are compared with LU/LC classes. The overall accuracies of RF classification results were computed higher than 88 % for both Landsat images. During 13-year time interval, it was observed that the urban and industrial areas were increased significantly. Maximum LST values were detected for dry agriculture, urban, and bareland classes, while minimum LST values were detected for vegetation and irrigated agriculture classes. The UHI effect was computed as 5.6 °C for 2001 and 6.8 °C for 2014. The validity of the study results were assessed using MODIS/Terra LST and Emissivity data and it was found that there are high correlation between Landsat LST and MODIS LST data (r2 = 0.7 and r2 = 0.9 for 2001 and 2014, respectively.

Derivation of Land Surface Temperature for Landsat-8 TIRS Using a Split Window Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Offer Rozenstein

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Land surface temperature (LST is one of the most important variables measured by satellite remote sensing. Public domain data are available from the newly operational Landsat-8 Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS. This paper presents an adjustment of the split window algorithm (SWA for TIRS that uses atmospheric transmittance and land surface emissivity (LSE as inputs. Various alternatives for estimating these SWA inputs are reviewed, and a sensitivity analysis of the SWA to misestimating the input parameters is performed. The accuracy of the current development was assessed using simulated Modtran data. The root mean square error (RMSE of the simulated LST was calculated as 0.93 °C. This SWA development is leading to progress in the determination of LST by Landsat-8 TIRS.

Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity Separation from Cross-Track Infrared Sounder Data with Atmospheric Reanalysis Data and ISSTES Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Ze Zhang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS is one of the most advanced hyperspectral instruments and has been used for various atmospheric applications such as atmospheric retrievals and weather forecast modeling. However, because of the specific design purpose of CrIS, little attention has been paid to retrieving land surface parameters from CrIS data. To take full advantage of the rich spectral information in CrIS data to improve the land surface retrievals, particularly the acquisition of a continuous Land Surface Emissivity (LSE spectrum, this paper attempts to simultaneously retrieve a continuous LSE spectrum and the Land Surface Temperature (LST from CrIS data with the atmospheric reanalysis data and the Iterative Spectrally Smooth Temperature and Emissivity Separation (ISSTES algorithm. The results show that the accuracy of the retrieved LSEs and LST is comparable with the current land products. The overall differences of the LST and LSE retrievals are approximately 1.3 K and 1.48%, respectively. However, the LSEs in our study can be provided as a continuum spectrum instead of the single-channel values in traditional products. The retrieved LST and LSEs now can be better used to further analyze the surface properties or improve the retrieval of atmospheric parameters.

Land surface temperature downscaling using random forest regression: primary result and sensitivity analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Xin; Cao, Chen; Yang, Yingbao; Li, Xiaolong; Shan, Liangliang; Zhu, Xi

2018-04-01

The land surface temperature (LST) derived from thermal infrared satellite images is a meaningful variable in many remote sensing applications. However, at present, the spatial resolution of the satellite thermal infrared remote sensing sensor is coarser, which cannot meet the needs. In this study, LST image was downscaled by a random forest model between LST and multiple predictors in an arid region with an oasis-desert ecotone. The proposed downscaling approach was evaluated using LST derived from the MODIS LST product of Zhangye City in Heihe Basin. The primary result of LST downscaling has been shown that the distribution of downscaled LST matched with that of the ecosystem of oasis and desert. By the way of sensitivity analysis, the most sensitive factors to LST downscaling were modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI)/normalized multi-band drought index (NMDI), soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI)/ shortwave infrared reflectance (SWIR)/normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference building index (NDBI)/SAVI and SWIR/NDBI/MNDWI/NDWI for the region of water, vegetation, building and desert, with LST variation (at most) of 0.20/-0.22 K, 0.92/0.62/0.46 K, 0.28/-0.29 K and 3.87/-1.53/-0.64/-0.25 K in the situation of +/-0.02 predictor perturbances, respectively.

Evaluating the use of sharpened land surface temperature for daily evapotranspiration estimation over irrigated crops in arid lands

KAUST Repository

Rosas, Jorge

2014-12-01

Satellite remote sensing provides data on land surface characteristics, useful for mapping land surface energy fluxes and evapotranspiration (ET). Land-surface temperature (LST) derived from thermal infrared (TIR) satellite data has been reliably used as a remote indicator of ET and surface moisture status. However, TIR imagery usually operates at a coarser resolution than that of shortwave sensors on the same satellite platform, making it sometimes unsuitable for monitoring of field-scale crop conditions. This study applies the data mining sharpener (DMS; Gao et al., 2012) technique to data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), which sharpens the 1 km thermal data down to the resolution of the optical data (250-500 m) based on functional LST and reflectance relationships established using a flexible regression tree approach. The DMS approach adopted here has been enhanced/refined for application over irrigated farming areas located in harsh desert environments in Saudi Arabia. The sharpened LST data is input to an integrated modeling system that uses the Atmosphere-Land Exchange Inverse (ALEXI) model and associated flux disaggregation scheme (DisALEXI) in conjunction with model reanalysis data and remotely sensed data from polar orbiting (MODIS) and geostationary (MSG; Meteosat Second Generation) satellite platforms to facilitate daily estimates of evapotranspiration. Results are evaluated against available flux tower observations over irrigated maize near Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. Successful monitoring of field-scale changes in surface fluxes are of importance towards an efficient water use in areas where fresh water resources are scarce and poorly monitored. Gao, F.; Kustas, W.P.; Anderson, M.C. A Data Mining Approach for Sharpening Thermal Satellite Imagery over Land. Remote Sens. 2012, 4, 3287-3319.

Spatial Modeling of Urban Vegetation and Land Surface Temperature: A Case Study of Beijing

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Chudong Huang

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The coupling relationship between urban vegetation and land surface temperature (LST has been heatedly debated in a variety of environmental studies. This paper studies the urban vegetation information and LST by utilizing a series of remote sensing imagery covering the period from 1990 to 2007. Their coupling relationship is analyzed, in order to provide the basis for ecological planning and environment protection. The results show that the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI, urban vegetation abundance (UVA and urban forest abundance (UFA are negatively correlated with LST, which means that both urban vegetation and urban forest are capable in decreasing LST. The apparent influence of urban vegetation and urban forest on LST varies with the spatial resolution of the imagery, and peaks at the resolutions ranging from 90 m to 120 m.

Estimation of the Land Surface Temperature over the Tibetan Plateau by Using Chinese FY-2C Geostationary Satellite Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yuanyuan; Zhong, Lei; Ma, Yaoming; Zou, Mijun; Xu, Kepiao; Huang, Ziyu; Feng, Lu

2018-01-28

During the process of land-atmosphere interaction, one of the essential parameters is the land surface temperature (LST). The LST has high temporal variability, especially in its diurnal cycle, which cannot be acquired by polar-orbiting satellites. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to retrieve LST data using geostationary satellites. According to the data of FengYun 2C (FY-2C) satellite and the measurements from the Enhanced Observing Period (CEOP) of the Asia-Australia Monsoon Project (CAMP) on the Tibetan Plateau (CAMP/Tibet), a regression approach was utilized in this research to optimize the split window algorithm (SWA). The thermal infrared data obtained by the Chinese geostationary satellite FY-2C over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) was used to estimate the hourly LST time series. To decrease the effects of cloud, the 10-day composite hourly LST data were obtained through the approach of maximal value composite (MVC). The derived LST was used to compare with the product of MODIS LST and was also validated by the field observation. The results show that the LST retrieved through the optimized SWA and in situ data has a better consistency (with correlation coefficient (R), mean absolute error (MAE), mean bias (MB), and root mean square error (RMSE) values of 0.987, 1.91 K, 0.83 K and 2.26 K, respectively) than that derived from Becker and Li's SWA and MODIS LST product, which means that the modified SWA can be applied to achieve plateau-scale LST. The diurnal variation of the LST and the hourly time series of the LST over the Tibetan Plateau were also obtained. The diurnal range of LST was found to be clearly affected by the influence of the thawing and freezing process of soil and the summer monsoon evolution. The comparison between the seasonal and diurnal variations of LST at four typical underlying surfaces over the TP indicate that the variation of LST is closely connected with the underlying surface types as well. The diurnal variation of LST is

Long Term Validation of Land Surface Temperature Retrieved from MSG/SEVIRI with Continuous in-Situ Measurements in Africa

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Frank-M. Göttsche

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Since 2005, the Land Surface Analysis Satellite Application Facility (LSA SAF operationally retrieves Land Surface Temperature (LST for the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI on board Meteosat Second Generation (MSG. The high temporal resolution of the Meteosat satellites and their long term availability since 1977 make their data highly valuable for climate studies. In order to ensure that the LSA SAF LST product continuously meets its target accuracy of 2 °C, it is validated with in-situ measurements from four dedicated LST validation stations. Three stations are located in highly homogenous areas in Africa (semiarid bush, desert, and Kalahari semi-desert and typically provide thousands of monthly match-ups with LSA SAF LST, which are used to perform seasonally resolved validations. An uncertainty analysis performed for desert station Gobabeb yielded an estimate of total in-situ LST uncertainty of 0.8 ± 0.12 °C. Ignoring rainy seasons, the results for the period 2009–2014 show that LSA SAF LST consistently meets its target accuracy: the highest mean root-mean-square error (RMSE for LSA SAF LST over the African stations was 1.6 °C while mean absolute bias was 0.1 °C. Nighttime and daytime biases were up to 0.7 °C but had opposite signs: when evaluated together, these partially compensated each other.

The investigation of spatiotemporal variations of land surface temperature based on land use changes using NDVI in southwest of Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Fathizad, Hassan; Tazeh, Mahdi; Kalantari, Saeideh; Shojaei, Saeed

2017-10-01

Land use changes can bring about changes in land surface temperature (LST) which is influenced by climatic conditions and physical characteristics of the land surface. In this study, spatiotemporal variations of land surface temperature have been investigated in the desert area of Dasht-e-Abbas, Ilam, based on a variety of land use changes. The investigated periods for the study include 1990, 2000 and 2010 using Landsat image data. First, in mapping land use we used the Fuzzy ARTMAP Neural Network Classification method followed by determination of the NDVI Index to estimate land surface temperature. The results show an increase in LST in areas where degradation, land use and land cover changes have occurred. In 1990, 2000 and 2010, the average land surface temperature of the Fair Rangelands was 26.72 °C, 30.06 °C and 30.95 °C, respectively. This rangeland has been reduced by about 5%. For poor rangelands, the average LSTs were 26.95, 32.83 and 34.49 Cº, respectively which had a 18% reduction. In 1990, 2000 and 2010, the average land surface temperatures of agricultural lands were 24.31 °C, 27.87 °C and 28.61 °C, respectively which has been an increasing trend. The reason can be attributed to changes in cropping patterns of the study area.

Remote sensing of land surface temperature: The directional viewing effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, J.A.; Schmugge, T.J.; Ballard, J.R. Jr.

1997-01-01

Land Surface Temperature (LST) is an important parameter in understanding global environmental change because it controls many of the underlying processes in the energy budget at the surface and heat and water transport between the surface and the atmosphere. The measurement of LST at a variety of spatial and temporal scales and extension to global coverage requires remote sensing means to achieve these goals. Land surface temperature and emissivity products are currently being derived from satellite and aircraft remote sensing data using a variety of techniques to correct for atmospheric effects. Implicit in the commonly employed approaches is the assumption of isotropy in directional thermal infrared exitance. The theoretical analyses indicate angular variations in apparent infrared temperature will typically yield land surface temperature errors ranging from 1 to 4 C unless corrective measures are applied

Downscaling Meteosat Land Surface Temperature over a Heterogeneous Landscape Using a Data Assimilation Approach

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Rihab Mechri

2016-07-01

Full Text Available A wide range of environmental applications require the monitoring of land surface temperature (LST at frequent intervals and fine spatial resolutions, but these conditions are not offered nowadays by the available space sensors. To overcome these shortcomings, LST downscaling methods have been developed to derive higher resolution LST from the available satellite data. This research concerns the application of a data assimilation (DA downscaling approach, the genetic particle smoother (GPS, to disaggregate Meteosat 8 LST time series (3 km × 5 km at finer spatial resolutions. The methodology was applied over the Crau-Camargue region in Southeastern France for seven months in 2009. The evaluation of the downscaled LSTs has been performed at a moderate resolution using a set of coincident clear-sky MODIS LST images from Aqua and Terra platforms (1 km × 1 km and at a higher resolution using Landsat 7 data (60 m × 60 m. The performance of the downscaling has been assessed in terms of reduction of the biases and the root mean square errors (RMSE compared to prior model-simulated LSTs. The results showed that GPS allows downscaling the Meteosat LST product from 3 × 5 km2 to 1 × 1 km2 scales with a RMSE less than 2.7 K. Finer scale downscaling at Landsat 7 resolution showed larger errors (RMSE around 5 K explained by land cover errors and inter-calibration issues between sensors. Further methodology improvements are finally suggested.

Status of Land Surface Temperature Product Development at NOAA/NESDIS/STAR for JPSS and GOES-R Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Yunyue; Liu, yuling; yu, peng; Casiszar, Ivan; Zhou, Lihang

2016-04-01

Land surface temperature (LST) is of fundamental importance to many aspects of the geosciences, e.g., net radiation budget at the Earth surface, monitoring state of crops and vegetation, as well as an important indicator of both the greenhouse effect and the physics of land-surface processes at local through global scales. Satellite LST measurements provide unique data sources for regional and global coverage in fairly good temporal, spatial resolution and time span. Therefore, LST is one of baseline products in both JPSS and GOES-R satellite missions. The Center for SaTellite Applications and Research (STAR) of NOAA/NESDIS is responsible for developing high quality LST products for a variety of satellite missions including JPSS and GOES-R. The JPSS LST data, which is produced for each swath of observations, has reached its beta, provisional and validated stage 1 status in October 2013, May 2014, and December 2015, respectively. A routine validation and monitoring toolkit has been developed and its results are available through a public web site. Our validation results against the U.S. SURFRAD ground stations show that uncertainty of the VIIRS LST is less than 2.35K (vs. the JPSS mission requirement of 2.5K). Improvement of the JPSS LST product is on-going, which counts surface emissive variation explicitly in retrieval algorithm. Further, a gridded daily global LST product will be available by end of 2016. In terms of the GOES-R LST product, we have evaluated the retrieval algorithm using SEVIRI and AHI data as proxies. The evaluation results show that the accuracy of GOES-R LST is expected to be less than 2.30K (GOES-R mission requirement). The validation toolkit developed for JPSS mission will be extended and applicable for the GOES-R mission as well. A detailed Readiness, Implementation and Management Plan (RIMP) of GOES-R LST beta and provisional validation has been developed for the GOES-R launch that is scheduled in October 2016.

Characterizing Temporal and Spatial Changes in Land Surface Temperature across the Amazon Basin using Thermal and Infrared Satellite Data

Science.gov (United States)

Cak, A. D.

2017-12-01

The Amazon Basin has faced innumerable pressures in recent years, including logging, mining and resource extraction, agricultural expansion, road building, and urbanization. These changes have drastically altered the landscape, transforming a predominantly forested environment into a mosaic of different types of land cover. The resulting fragmentation has caused dramatic and negative impacts on its structure and function, including on biodiversity and the transfer of water and energy to and from soil, vegetation, and the atmosphere (e.g., evapotranspiration). Because evapotranspiration from forested areas, which is affected by factors including temperature and water availability, plays a significant role in water dynamics in the Amazon Basin, measuring land surface temperature (LST) across the region can provide a dynamic assessment of hydrological, vegetation, and land use and land cover changes. It can also help to identify widespread urban development, which often has a higher LST signal relative to surrounding vegetation. Here, we discuss results from work to measure and identify drivers of change in LST across the entire Amazon Basin through analysis of past and current thermal and infrared satellite imagery. We leverage cloud computing resources in new ways to allow for more efficient analysis of imagery over the Amazon Basin across multiple years and multiple sensors. We also assess potential drivers of change in LST using spatial and multivariate statistical analyses with additional data sources of land cover, urban development, and demographics.

Global Land Surface Temperature From the Along-Track Scanning Radiometers

Science.gov (United States)

Ghent, D. J.; Corlett, G. K.; Göttsche, F.-M.; Remedios, J. J.

2017-11-01

The Leicester Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) and Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR) Processor for LAnd Surface Temperature (LASPLAST) provides global land surface temperature (LST) products from thermal infrared radiance data. In this paper, the state-of-the-art version of LASPLAST, as deployed in the GlobTemperature project, is described and applied to data from the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR). The LASPLAST retrieval formulation for LST is a nadir-only, two-channel, split-window algorithm, based on biome classification, fractional vegetation, and across-track water vapor dependences. It incorporates globally robust retrieval coefficients derived using highly sampled atmosphere profiles. LASPLAST benefits from appropriate spatial resolution auxiliary information and a new probabilistic-based cloud flagging algorithm. For the first time for a satellite-derived LST product, pixel-level uncertainties characterized in terms of random, locally correlated, and systematic components are provided. The new GlobTemperature GT_ATS_2P Version 1.0 product has been validated for 1 year of AATSR data (2009) against in situ measurements acquired from "gold standard reference" stations: Gobabeb, Namibia, and Evora, Portugal; seven Surface Radiation Budget stations, and the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement station at Southern Great Plains. These data show average absolute biases for the GT_ATS_2P Version 1.0 product of 1.00 K in the daytime and 1.08 K in the nighttime. The improvements in data provenance including better accuracy, fully traceable retrieval coefficients, quantified uncertainty, and more detailed information in the new harmonized format of the GT_ATS_2P product will allow for more significant exploitation of the historical LST data record from the ATSRs and a valuable near-real-time service from the Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometers (SLSTRs).

The Role of Vegetation in Mitigating Urban Land Surface Temperatures: A Case Study of Munich, Germany during the Warm Season

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Sadroddin Alavipanah

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The Urban Heat Island (UHI is the phenomenon of altered increased temperatures in urban areas compared to their rural surroundings. UHIs grow and intensify under extreme hot periods, such as during heat waves, which can affect human health and also increase the demand for energy for cooling. This study applies remote sensing and land use/land cover (LULC data to assess the cooling effect of varying urban vegetation cover, especially during extreme warm periods, in the city of Munich, Germany. To compute the relationship between Land Surface Temperature (LST and Land Use Land Cover (LULC, MODIS eight-day interval LST data for the months of June, July and August from 2002 to 2012 and the Corine Land Cover (CLC database were used. Due to similarities in the behavior of surface temperature of different CLCs, some classes were reclassified and combined to form two major, rather simplified, homogenized classes: one of built-up area and one of urban vegetation. The homogenized map was merged with the MODIS eight-day interval LST data to compute the relationship between them. The results revealed that (i the cooling effect accrued from urban vegetation tended to be non-linear; and (ii a remarkable and stronger cooling effect in terms of LST was identified in regions where the proportion of vegetation cover was between seventy and almost eighty percent per square kilometer. The results also demonstrated that LST within urban vegetation was affected by the temperature of the surrounding built-up and that during the well-known European 2003 heat wave, suburb areas were cooler from the core of the urbanized region. This study concluded that the optimum green space for obtaining the lowest temperature is a non-linear trend. This could support urban planning strategies to facilitate appropriate applications to mitigate heat-stress in urban area.

Analyzing the effects of urban expansion on land surface temperature patterns by landscape metrics: a case study of Isfahan city, Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Madanian, Maliheh; Soffianian, Ali Reza; Koupai, Saeid Soltani; Pourmanafi, Saeid; Momeni, Mehdi

2018-03-03

Urban expansion can cause extensive changes in land use and land cover (LULC), leading to changes in temperature conditions. Land surface temperature (LST) is one of the key parameters that should be considered in the study of urban temperature conditions. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to investigate the effects of changes in LULC due to the expansion of the city of Isfahan on LST using landscape metrics. To this aim, two Landsat 5 and Landsat 8 images, which had been acquired, respectively, on August 2, 1985, and July 4, 2015, were used. The support vector machine method was then used to classify the images. The results showed that Isfahan city had been encountered with an increase of impervious surfaces; in fact, this class covered 15% of the total area in 1985, while this value had been increased to 30% in 2015. Then LST zoning maps were created, indicating that the bare land and impervious surfaces categories were dominant in high temperature zones, while in the zones where water was present or NDVI was high, LST was low. Then, the landscape metrics in each of the LST zones were analyzed in relation to the LULC changes, showing that LULC changes due to urban expansion changed such landscape properties as the percentage of landscape, patch density, large patch index, and aggregation index. This information could be beneficial for urban planners to monitor and manage changes in the LULC patterns.

Remote Sensing of Urban Land Cover/Land Use Change, Surface Thermal Responses, and Potential Meteorological and Climate Change Impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Quattrochi, Dale A.; Jedlovec, Gary; Meyer, Paul

2011-01-01

City growth influences the development of the urban heat island (UHI), but the effect that local meteorology has on the UHI is less well known. This paper presents some preliminary findings from a study that uses multitemporal Landsat TM and ASTER data to evaluate land cover/land use change (LULCC) over the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MFSC) and its Huntsville, AL metropolitan area. Landsat NLCD data for 1992 and 2001 have been used to evaluate LULCC for MSFC and the surrounding urban area. Land surface temperature (LST) and emissivity derived from NLCD data have also been analyzed to assess changes in these parameters in relation to LULCC. Additionally, LULCC, LST, and emissivity have been identified from ASTER data from 2001 and 2011 to provide a comparison with the 2001 NLCD and as a measure of current conditions within the study area. As anticipated, the multi-temporal NLCD and ASTER data show that significant changes have occurred in land covers, LST, and emissivity within and around MSFC. The patterns and arrangement of these changes, however, is significant because the juxtaposition of urban land covers within and outside of MSFC provides insight on what impacts at a local to regional scale, the inter-linkage of these changes potentially have on meteorology. To further analyze these interactions between LULCC, LST, and emissivity with the lower atmosphere, a network of eleven weather stations has been established across the MSFC property. These weather stations provide data at a 10 minute interval, and these data are uplinked for use by MSFC facilities operations and the National Weather Service. The weather data are also integrated within a larger network of meteorological stations across north Alabama. Given that the MSFC weather stations will operate for an extended period of time, they can be used to evaluate how the building of new structures, and changes in roadways, and green spaces as identified in the MSFC master plan for the future, will

Non-IgE-related diagnostic methods (LST, patch test).

Science.gov (United States)

Matsumoto, Kenji

2015-01-01

Although most food allergy patients have immediate-type reactions, some have delayed-type reactions. Unlike for the detection of food-specific IgE antibody in immediate-type (IgE-mediated) food allergies, only a few tests are currently available to aid in the diagnosis of delayed-type (non-IgE-mediated) food allergies. This chapter summarizes our current understanding of one in vitro test and one in vivo test for non-IgE-mediated food allergies: the lymphocyte stimulation test (LST) and the atopy patch test (APT). Although the LST is not yet standardized, a food protein-specific LST might be a useful tool for diagnosing delayed-type food allergies, and especially those manifesting with gastrointestinal symptoms but not skin symptoms. Various remaining issues - including basophil contamination of the peripheral blood mononuclear cell fraction and lipopolysaccharide contamination of food antigen preparations - are also discussed. The APT uses an epicutaneous patch technique to occlusively apply food antigens to the skin to induce inflammatory reactions at the patch application site. Because the APT shows modest sensitivity and specificity, the clinical benefit of the APT in the diagnosis of food allergies in patients with atopic dermatitis is limited. A position paper on the APT issued by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology/Global Allergy and Asthma European Network in 2006 is briefly summarized, and several recent APT-related topics, including APT use for the diagnosis of food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome, are discussed. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Vision-Aided Autonomous Landing and Ingress of Micro Aerial Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Brockers, Roland; Ma, Jeremy C.; Matthies, Larry H.; Bouffard, Patrick

2012-01-01

Micro aerial vehicles have limited sensor suites and computational power. For reconnaissance tasks and to conserve energy, these systems need the ability to autonomously land at vantage points or enter buildings (ingress). But for autonomous navigation, information is needed to identify and guide the vehicle to the target. Vision algorithms can provide egomotion estimation and target detection using input from cameras that are easy to include in miniature systems.

Evaluation of Land Surface Temperature Operationally Retrieved from Korean Geostationary Satellite (COMS Data

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A-Ra Cho

2013-08-01

Full Text Available We evaluated the precision of land surface temperature (LST operationally retrieved from the Korean multipurpose geostationary satellite, Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite (COMS. The split-window (SW-type retrieval algorithm was developed through radiative transfer model simulations under various atmospheric profiles, satellite zenith angles, surface emissivity values and surface lapse rate conditions using Moderate Resolution Atmospheric Transmission version 4 (MODTRAN4. The estimation capabilities of the COMS SW (CSW LST algorithm were evaluated for various impacting factors, and the retrieval accuracy of COMS LST data was evaluated with collocated Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS LST data. The surface emissivity values for two SW channels were generated using a vegetation cover method. The CSW algorithm estimated the LST distribution reasonably well (averaged bias = 0.00 K, Root Mean Square Error (RMSE = 1.41 K, correlation coefficient = 0.99; however, the estimation capabilities of the CSW algorithm were significantly impacted by large brightness temperature differences and surface lapse rates. The CSW algorithm reproduced spatiotemporal variations of LST comparing well to MODIS LST data, irrespective of what month or time of day the data were collected from. The one-year evaluation results with MODIS LST data showed that the annual mean bias, RMSE and correlation coefficient for the CSW algorithm were −1.009 K, 2.613 K and 0.988, respectively.

Vertical Takeoff and Landing Vehicle with Increased Cruise Efficiency

Science.gov (United States)

Fredericks, William J. (Inventor); Moore, Mark D. (Inventor); Busan, Ronald C. (Inventor); Rothhaar, Paul M. (Inventor); North, David D. (Inventor); Langford, William M. (Inventor); Laws, Christopher T. (Inventor); Hodges, William T. (Inventor); Johns, Zachary R. (Inventor); Webb, Sandy R. (Inventor)

2018-01-01

Systems, methods, and devices are provided that combine an advance vehicle configuration, such as an advanced aircraft configuration, with the infusion of electric propulsion, thereby enabling a four times increase in range and endurance while maintaining a full vertical takeoff and landing ("VTOL") and hover capability for the vehicle. Embodiments may provide vehicles with both VTOL and cruise efficient capabilities without the use of ground infrastructure. An embodiment vehicle may comprise a wing configured to tilt through a range of motion, a first series of electric motors coupled to the wing and each configured to drive an associated wing propeller, a tail configured to tilt through the range of motion, a second series of electric motors coupled to the tail and each configured to drive an associated tail propeller, and an electric propulsion system connected to the first series of electric motors and the second series of electric motors.

Performance Enhancement of Land Vehicle Positioning Using Multiple GPS Receivers in an Urban Area

OpenAIRE

Song, Jong-Hwa; Jee, Gyu-In

2016-01-01

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is the most widely used navigation system in land vehicle applications. In urban areas, the GPS suffers from insufficient signal strength, multipath propagation and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) errors, so it thus becomes difficult to obtain accurate and reliable position information. In this paper, an integration algorithm for multiple receivers is proposed to enhance the positioning performance of GPS for land vehicles in urban areas. The pseudoranges of multi...

Comparing and Combining Remotely Sensed Land Surface Temperature Products for Improved Hydrological Applications

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Robert M. Parinussa

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Land surface temperature (LST is an important variable that provides a valuable connection between the energy and water budget and is strongly linked to land surface hydrology. Space-borne remote sensing provides a consistent means for regularly observing LST using thermal infrared (TIR and passive microwave observations each with unique strengths and weaknesses. The spatial resolution of TIR based LST observations is around 1 km, a major advantage when compared to passive microwave observations (around 10 km. However, a major advantage of passive microwaves is their cloud penetrating capability making them all-weather sensors whereas TIR observations are routinely masked under the presence of clouds and aerosols. In this study, a relatively simple combination approach that benefits from the cloud penetrating capacity of passive microwave sensors was proposed. In the first step, TIR and passive microwave LST products were compared over Australia for both anomalies and raw timeseries. A very high agreement was shown over the vast majority of the country with R2 typically ranging from 0.50 to 0.75 for the anomalies and from 0.80 to 1.00 for the raw timeseries. Then, the scalability of the passive microwave based LST product was examined and a pixel based merging approach through linear scaling was proposed. The individual and merged LST products were further compared against independent LST from the re-analysis model outputs. This comparison revealed that the TIR based LST product agrees best with the re-analysis data (R2 0.26 for anomalies and R2 0.76 for raw data, followed by the passive microwave LST product (R2 0.16 for anomalies and R2 0.66 for raw data and the combined LST product (R2 0.18 for anomalies and R2 0.62 for raw data. It should be noted that the drop in performance comes with an increased revisit frequency of approximately 20% compared to the revised frequency of the TIR alone. Additionally, this comparison against re

Vehicle Dynamics Monitoring and Tracking System (VDMTS): Monitoring Mission Impacts in Support of Installation Land Management

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-01

mine vehicle velocity and turning radius 8 Using vehicle impact mod- els for prediction of im- pacts 7 Analyzing impact data for site-specific...Allocation of Land for Training and Non-Training Uses ( OPAL ). The objective of the OPAL work package is to predict impacts for cumulative military land-use...Management and Budget OPAL Optimal Allocation of Land for Training and Non-Training Uses OTD Office of the Technical Director PI Principal Investigator

MONITORING SPATIOTEMPORAL CHANGES OF HEAT ISLAND IN BABOL CITY DUE TO LAND USE CHANGES

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S. K. Alavi Panah

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Urban heat island is one of the most vital environmental risks in urban areas. The advent of remote sensing technology provides better visibility due to the integrated view, low-cost, fast and effective way to study and monitor environmental and humanistic changes. The aim of this study is a spatiotemporal evaluation of land use changes and the heat island in the time period of 1985-2015 for the studied area in the city of Babol. For this purpose, multi-temporal Landsat images were used in this study. For calculating the land surface temperature (LST, single-channel and maximum likelihood algorithms were used, to classify Images. Therefore, land use changes and LST were examined, and thereby the relationship between land-use changes was analyzed with the normalized LST. By using the average and standard deviation of normalized thermal images, the area was divided into five temperature categories, inter alia, very low, low, medium, high and very high and then, the heat island changes in the studied time period were investigated. The results indicate that land use changes for built-up lands increased by 92%, and a noticeable decrease was observed for agricultural lands. The Built-up land changes trend has direct relation with the trend of normalized surface temperature changes. Low and very low-temperature categories which follow a decreasing trend, are related to lands far away from the city. Also, high and very high-temperature categories whose areas increase annually, are adjacent to the city center and exit ways of the town. The results emphasize on the importance of attention of urban planners and managers to the urban heat island as an environmental risk.

Monitoring Spatiotemporal Changes of Heat Island in Babol City due to Land Use Changes

Science.gov (United States)

Alavi Panah, S. K.; Kiavarz Mogaddam, M.; Karimi Firozjaei, M.

2017-09-01

Urban heat island is one of the most vital environmental risks in urban areas. The advent of remote sensing technology provides better visibility due to the integrated view, low-cost, fast and effective way to study and monitor environmental and humanistic changes. The aim of this study is a spatiotemporal evaluation of land use changes and the heat island in the time period of 1985-2015 for the studied area in the city of Babol. For this purpose, multi-temporal Landsat images were used in this study. For calculating the land surface temperature (LST), single-channel and maximum likelihood algorithms were used, to classify Images. Therefore, land use changes and LST were examined, and thereby the relationship between land-use changes was analyzed with the normalized LST. By using the average and standard deviation of normalized thermal images, the area was divided into five temperature categories, inter alia, very low, low, medium, high and very high and then, the heat island changes in the studied time period were investigated. The results indicate that land use changes for built-up lands increased by 92%, and a noticeable decrease was observed for agricultural lands. The Built-up land changes trend has direct relation with the trend of normalized surface temperature changes. Low and very low-temperature categories which follow a decreasing trend, are related to lands far away from the city. Also, high and very high-temperature categories whose areas increase annually, are adjacent to the city center and exit ways of the town. The results emphasize on the importance of attention of urban planners and managers to the urban heat island as an environmental risk.

LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURES ESTIMATED ON GROUNDOBSERVED DATA AND SATELLITE IMAGES, DURING THE VEGETATION PERIOD IN THE OLTENIA PLAIN

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ONŢEL IRINA

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to analyze the land surface temperatures by using climatological and remote sensing data during the vegetation period in the Oltenia Plain. The data used in this study refer both to climatological data (namely monthly and seasonal air and soil temperatures, and to remote sensing data delivered by MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST, with a spatial resolution of 1 km. The analyzed period spans from 2000 to 2013 and the vegetation period considered is April-September. As main results, there were observed four years with high temperatures, namely 2000 (20.4oC-air T, 24.6oC soil T, and 26oC LST, 2003 (20.2oC air T, 23.9oC soil T and 24.5oC LST, 2007 (20.5oC air T, 24.3oC soil T and 25oC LST and 2012 (21.3oC air T, 25.7oC soil T and 26.5oC LST. The correlations between air temperature, soil temperature and LST were statisticaly significant. The diference between air temperature and soil temperature values ranked within 3-4oC, while the difference between soil temperature and land surface temperature obtained from MODIS images was about 0.8oC. Spatially, the highest temperatures were recorded on the Leu-Rotunda Field, the Caracal Plain and the Nedeia Field, and pretty high variations of observed temperatures seemed to depend on vegetation cover. The MODIS images represent one of the most important types of satellite data available for free, which can be successfully used in determining the climatic parameters and can help to predict the changes in plant activity, due to weather phenomena.

Land-Air Interactions over Urban-Rural Transects Using Satellite Observations: Analysis over Delhi, India from 1991–2016

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Madhavi Jain

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Over the past four decades Delhi, India, has witnessed rapid urbanization and change in land use land cover (LULC pattern, with most of the cultivable areas and wasteland being converted into built-up areas. Presently around 40% land is under built-up area, a drastic rise of 30% from 1977. The effect of changing LULC, at a local scale, on various variables-land surface temperature (LST, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI, emissivity, albedo, evaporation, Bowen ratio, and planetary boundary layer (PBL height, from 1991–2016, is investigated. To assess the spatio-temporal dynamics of land-air interactions, we select two different 100 km transects covering the NE-SW and NW-SE expanse of Delhi and its adjoining areas. High NDVI and emissivity is found for regions with green cover and drastic reduction is noted in built-up area clusters. In both of the transects, land surface variations manifest itself in patterns of LST variation. Parametric and non-parametric correlations are able to statistically establish the land-air interactions in the city. NDVI, an indirect indicator for LULC classes, significantly helps in understanding the modifications in LST and ultimately air temperature. Significant, strong positive relationships exist between skin temperature and evaporation, skin temperature and PBL height, and PBL height and evaporation, providing insights into the meteorological changes that are associated with urbanization.

Association of CAD, a multifunctional protein involved in pyrimidine synthesis, with mLST8, a component of the mTOR complexes

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background mTOR is a genetically conserved serine/threonine protein kinase, which controls cell growth, proliferation, and survival. A multifunctional protein CAD, catalyzing the initial three steps in de novo pyrimidine synthesis, is regulated by the phosphorylation reaction with different protein kinases, but the relationship with mTOR protein kinase has not been known. Results CAD was recovered as a binding protein with mLST8, a component of the mTOR complexes, from HEK293 cells transfected with the FLAG-mLST8 vector. Association of these two proteins was confirmed by the co-immuoprecipitaiton followed by immunoblot analysis of transfected myc-CAD and FLAG-mLST8 as well as that of the endogenous proteins in the cells. Analysis using mutant constructs suggested that CAD has more than one region for the binding with mLST8, and that mLST8 recognizes CAD and mTOR in distinct ways. The CAD enzymatic activity decreased in the cells depleted of amino acids and serum, in which the mTOR activity is suppressed. Conclusion The results obtained indicate that mLST8 bridges between CAD and mTOR, and plays a role in the signaling mechanism where CAD is regulated in the mTOR pathway through the association with mLST8. PMID:23594158

THE EFFECTS OF BUILT-UP AND GREEN AREAS ON THE LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURE OF THE KUALA LUMPUR CITY

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N. A. Isa

2017-10-01

Full Text Available A common consequence of rapid and uncontrollable urbanization is Urban Heat Island (UHI. It occurs due to the negligence on climate behaviour which degrades the quality of urban climate condition. Recently, addressing urban climate in urban planning through mapping has received worldwide attention. Therefore, the need to identify the significant factors is a must. This study aims to analyse the relationships between Land Surface Temperature (LST and two urban parameters namely built-up and green areas. Geographical Information System (GIS and remote sensing techniques were used to prepare the necessary data layers required for this study. The built-up and the green areas were extracted from Landsat 8 satellite images either using the Normalized Difference Built-Up Index (NDBI, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI or Modified Normalize Difference Water Index (MNDWI algorithms, while the mono-window algorithm was used to retrieve the Land Surface Temperature (LST. Correlation analysis and Multi-Linear Regression (MLR model were applied to quantitatively analyse the effects of the urban parameters. From the study, it was found that the two urban parameters have significant effects on the LST of Kuala Lumpur City. The built-up areas have greater influence on the LST as compared to the green areas. The built-up areas tend to increase the LST while green areas especially the densely vegetated areas help to reduce the LST within an urban areas. Future studies should focus on improving existing urban climatic model by including other urban parameters.

Fully self-contained vision-aided navigation and landing of a micro air vehicle independent from external sensor inputs

Science.gov (United States)

Brockers, Roland; Susca, Sara; Zhu, David; Matthies, Larry

2012-06-01

Direct-lift micro air vehicles have important applications in reconnaissance. In order to conduct persistent surveillance in urban environments, it is essential that these systems can perform autonomous landing maneuvers on elevated surfaces that provide high vantage points without the help of any external sensor and with a fully contained on-board software solution. In this paper, we present a micro air vehicle that uses vision feedback from a single down looking camera to navigate autonomously and detect an elevated landing platform as a surrogate for a roof top. Our method requires no special preparation (labels or markers) of the landing location. Rather, leveraging the planar character of urban structure, the landing platform detection system uses a planar homography decomposition to detect landing targets and produce approach waypoints for autonomous landing. The vehicle control algorithm uses a Kalman filter based approach for pose estimation to fuse visual SLAM (PTAM) position estimates with IMU data to correct for high latency SLAM inputs and to increase the position estimate update rate in order to improve control stability. Scale recovery is achieved using inputs from a sonar altimeter. In experimental runs, we demonstrate a real-time implementation running on-board a micro aerial vehicle that is fully self-contained and independent from any external sensor information. With this method, the vehicle is able to search autonomously for a landing location and perform precision landing maneuvers on the detected targets.

Analysis of the Relationship between Land Surface Temperature and Wildfire Severity in a Series of Landsat Images

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Lidia Vlassova

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The paper assesses spatio-temporal patterns of land surface temperature (LST and fire severity in the Las Hurdes wildfire of Pinus pinaster forest, which occurred in July 2009, in Extremadura (Spain, from a time series of fifteen Landsat 5 TM images corresponding to 27 post-fire months. The differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR was used to evaluate burn severity. The mono-window algorithm was applied to estimate LST from the Landsat thermal band. The burned zones underwent a significant increase in LST after fire. Statistically significant differences have been detected between the LST within regions of burn severity categories. More substantial changes in LST are observed in zones of greater fire severity, which can be explained by the lower emissivity of combustion products found in the burned area and changes in the energy balance related to vegetation removal. As time progresses over the 27 months after fire, LST differences decrease due to vegetation regeneration. The differences in LST and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI values between burn severity categories in each image are highly correlated (r = 0.84. Spatial patterns of severity and post-fire LST obtained from Landsat time series enable an evaluation of the relationship between these variables to predict the natural dynamics of burned areas.

Development of a Global Evaporative Stress Index Based on Thermal and Microwave LST towards Improved Monitoring of Agricultural Drought

Science.gov (United States)

Hain, C.; Anderson, M. C.; Otkin, J.; Holmes, T. R.; Gao, F.

2017-12-01

This presentation will describe the development of a global agricultural monitoring tool, with a focus on providing early warning of developing vegetation stress for agricultural decision-makers and stakeholders at relatively high spatial resolution (5-km). The tool is based on remotely sensed estimates of evapotranspiration, retrieved via energy balance principals using observations of land surface temperature. The Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) represents anomalies in the ratio of actual-to-potential ET generated with the ALEXI surface energy balance model. The LST inputs to ESI have been shown to provide early warning information about the development of vegetation stress with stress-elevated canopy temperatures observed well before a decrease in greenness is detected in remotely sensed vegetation indices. As a diagnostic indicator of actual ET, the ESI requires no information regarding antecedent precipitation or soil moisture storage capacity - the current available moisture to vegetation is deduced directly from the remotely sensed LST signal. This signal also inherently accounts for both precipitation and non-precipitation related inputs/sinks to the plant-available soil moisture pool (e.g., irrigation) which can modify crop response to rainfall anomalies. Independence from precipitation data is a benefit for global agricultural monitoring applications due to sparseness in existing ground-based precipitation networks, and time delays in public reporting. Several enhancements to the current ESI framework will be addressed as requested from project stakeholders: (a) integration of "all-sky" MW Ka-band LST retrievals to augment "clear-sky" thermal-only ESI in persistently cloudy regions; (b) operational production of ESI Rapid Change Indices which provide important early warning information related to onset of actual vegetation stress; and (c) assessment of ESI as a predictor of global yield anomalies; initial studies have shown the ability of intra

Lunar Landing Training vehicle piloted by Neil Armstrong during training

Science.gov (United States)

1969-01-01

A Lunar Landing Training Vehicle, piloted by Astronaut Neil Armstrong, goes through a checkout flight at Ellington Air Force Base on June 16, 1969. The total duration of the lunar simulation flight was five minutes and 59 seconds. Maximum altitude attained was about 300 feet.

Urban percent impervious surface and its relationship with land surface temperature in Yantai City, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Xinyang; Lu, Changhe

2014-01-01

This study investigated percent impervious surface area (PISA) extracted by a four-endmember normalized spectral mixture analysis (NSMA) method and evaluated the reliability of PISA as an indicator of land surface temperature (LST). Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) images for Yantai city, eastern China obtained from USGS were used as the main data source. The results demonstrated that four-endmember NSMA method performed better than the typical three-endmember one, and there was a strong linear relationship between LST and PISA for the two images, which suggest percent impervious surface area provides an alternative parameter for analyzing LST quantitatively in urban areas

Feedbacks between land cover and climate changes in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado biomes

Science.gov (United States)

Coe, M. T.; Silverio, D. V.; Bustamante, M.; Macedo, M.; Shimbo, J.; Brando, P. M.

2016-12-01

An estimated 20% of Amazon forests and 45% of Cerrado savannas have been cleared to make way for the expansion of croplands and pasturelands in Brazil. Although deforestation rates have decreased or remained steady over the last decade, the cumulative area deforested continues to grow in both biomes. These land-use transitions are expected to influence regional climate by reducing evapotranspiration (ET), increasing land surface temperatures (LST), and ultimately reducing regional precipitation. Here we present results from spatial analyses to quantify the impact of land-use transitions on the regional climate of the Amazon-Cerrado agricultural frontier. The analyses combine satellite observations and model outputs from the MODIS dataset. Results from the southeastern Amazon indicate that transitions from forest to pasture or cropland decreased mean annual ET (by 24% and 32%, respectively) and increased LST (by 4.2°C and 6.4°C). Preliminary results from the Cerrado indicate that transitions from woody savannas to pasture or cropland also result in substantial reductions in mean annual ET (23% and 20%, respectively) and increases in LST (by 1.6°C in both cases). These results reinforce the need to better understand how land-use change at regional scales may alter climate by changing ecosystem properties (beyond carbon stocks and fluxes). It is important to evaluate these responses across different biomes, particularly in tropical regions under increasing deforestation pressure.

Spatial-temporal change of land surface temperature across 285 cities in China: An urban-rural contrast perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Jian; Ma, Jing; Liu, Qianyuan; Liu, Yanxu; Hu, Yi'na; Li, Yingru; Yue, Yuemin

2018-09-01

As an important theme in global climate change and urban sustainable development, the changes of land surface temperature (LST) and surface urban heat island (SUHI) have been more and more focused by urban ecologists. This study used land-use data to identify the urban-rural areas in 285 cities in China and comparatively analyzed LST in urban-rural areas with the perspective of spatial-temporal dynamics heterogeneity. The results showed that, 98.9% of the cities exhibited SUHI effect in summer nighttime and the effect was stronger in northern cities than that in southern cities. In 2010, the mean SUHI intensity was the largest in summer daytime, with 4.6% of the cities having extreme SUHI of over 4°C. From 2001 to 2010, the nighttime LST of most cities increased more quickly in urban areas compared with rural areas, with an increasing tendency of the urban-rural LST difference. The difference in the urban- rural LST change rate was concentrated in the range of 0-0.1°C/year for 68.0% of cities in winter and 70.8% of cities in summer. For the higher LST increasing in urban areas compared with rural areas, there were more cities in summer than winter, indicating that the summer nighttime was the key temporal period for SUHI management. Based on the change slope of urban-rural LST, cities were clustered into four types and the vital and major zones for urban thermal environment management were identified in China. The vital zone included cities in Hunan, Hubei and other central rising provinces as well as the Beibu Gulf of Guangxi Province. The major zone included most of the cities in Central Plain Urban Agglomeration, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta. These results can provide scientific basis for SUHI adaptation in China. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Vertical Take-Off and Landing Vehicle with Increased Cruise Efficiency

Science.gov (United States)

Fredericks, William J. (Inventor); Moore, Mark D. (Inventor); Busan, Ronald C. (Inventor); Rothhaar, Paul M. (Inventor); North, David D. (Inventor); Langford, William M. (Inventor); Laws, Christopher T. (Inventor); Hodges, William T. (Inventor); Johns, Zachary R. (Inventor); Webb, Sandy R. (Inventor)

2016-01-01

Systems, methods, and devices are provided that combine an advance vehicle configuration, such as an advanced aircraft configuration, with the infusion of electric propulsion, thereby enabling a four times increase in range and endurance while maintaining a full vertical takeoff and landing ("VTOL") and hover capability for the vehicle. Embodiments may provide vehicles with both VTOL and cruise efficient capabilities without the use of ground infrastructure. An embodiment vehicle may comprise a wing configured to tilt through a range of motion, a first series of electric motors coupled to the wing and each configured to drive an associated wing propeller, a tail configured to tilt through the range of motion, a second series of electric motors coupled to the tail and each configured to drive an associated tail propeller, and an electric propulsion system connected to the first series of electric motors and the second series of electric motors.

Flight Testing a Real-Time Hazard Detection System for Safe Lunar Landing on the Rocket-Powered Morpheus Vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Trawny, Nikolas; Huertas, Andres; Luna, Michael E.; Villalpando, Carlos Y.; Martin, Keith E.; Carson, John M.; Johnson, Andrew E.; Restrepo, Carolina; Roback, Vincent E.

2015-01-01

The Hazard Detection System (HDS) is a component of the ALHAT (Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology) sensor suite, which together provide a lander Guidance, Navigation and Control (GN&C) system with the relevant measurements necessary to enable safe precision landing under any lighting conditions. The HDS consists of a stand-alone compute element (CE), an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), and a gimbaled flash LIDAR sensor that are used, in real-time, to generate a Digital Elevation Map (DEM) of the landing terrain, detect candidate safe landing sites for the vehicle through Hazard Detection (HD), and generate hazard-relative navigation (HRN) measurements used for safe precision landing. Following an extensive ground and helicopter test campaign, ALHAT was integrated onto the Morpheus rocket-powered terrestrial test vehicle in March 2014. Morpheus and ALHAT then performed five successful free flights at the simulated lunar hazard field constructed at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at Kennedy Space Center, for the first time testing the full system on a lunar-like approach geometry in a relevant dynamic environment. During these flights, the HDS successfully generated DEMs, correctly identified safe landing sites and provided HRN measurements to the vehicle, marking the first autonomous landing of a NASA rocket-powered vehicle in hazardous terrain. This paper provides a brief overview of the HDS architecture and describes its in-flight performance.

ENHANCED MODELING OF REMOTELY SENSED ANNUAL LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURE CYCLE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. Zou

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Satellite thermal remote sensing provides access to acquire large-scale Land surface temperature (LST data, but also generates missing and abnormal values resulting from non-clear-sky conditions. Given this limitation, Annual Temperature Cycle (ATC model was employed to reconstruct the continuous daily LST data over a year. The original model ATCO used harmonic functions, but the dramatic changes of the real LST caused by the weather changes remained unclear due to the smooth sine curve. Using Aqua/MODIS LST products, NDVI and meteorological data, we proposed enhanced model ATCE based on ATCO to describe the fluctuation and compared their performances for the Yangtze River Delta region of China. The results demonstrated that, the overall root mean square errors (RMSEs of the ATCE was lower than ATCO, and the improved accuracy of daytime was better than that of night, with the errors decreased by 0.64 K and 0.36 K, respectively. The improvements of accuracies varied with different land cover types: the forest, grassland and built-up areas improved larger than water. And the spatial heterogeneity was observed for performance of ATC model: the RMSEs of built-up area, forest and grassland were around 3.0 K in the daytime, while the water attained 2.27 K; at night, the accuracies of all types significantly increased to similar RMSEs level about 2 K. By comparing the differences between LSTs simulated by two models in different seasons, it was found that the differences were smaller in the spring and autumn, while larger in the summer and winter.

78 FR 16040 - Petition for Exemption From the Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard; Jaguar Land Rover North...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-13

... From the Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard; Jaguar Land Rover North America Llc AGENCY: National... in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft as compliance with the parts-marking requirements of... Part 543, Exemption from Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard, based on the installation of an antitheft...

An Algorithm for Retrieving Land Surface Temperatures Using VIIRS Data in Combination with Multi-Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Lang; Mao, Kebiao; Ma, Ying; Zhao, Fen; Jiang, Lipeng; Shen, Xinyi; Qin, Zhihao

2014-01-01

A practical algorithm was proposed to retrieve land surface temperature (LST) from Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) data in mid-latitude regions. The key parameter transmittance is generally computed from water vapor content, while water vapor channel is absent in VIIRS data. In order to overcome this shortcoming, the water vapor content was obtained from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data in this study. The analyses on the estimation errors of vapor content and emissivity indicate that when the water vapor errors are within the range of ±0.5 g/cm2, the mean retrieval error of the present algorithm is 0.634 K; while the land surface emissivity errors range from −0.005 to +0.005, the mean retrieval error is less than 1.0 K. Validation with the standard atmospheric simulation shows the average LST retrieval error for the twenty-three land types is 0.734 K, with a standard deviation value of 0.575 K. The comparison between the ground station LST data indicates the retrieval mean accuracy is −0.395 K, and the standard deviation value is 1.490 K in the regions with vegetation and water cover. Besides, the retrieval results of the test data have also been compared with the results measured by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) VIIRS LST products, and the results indicate that 82.63% of the difference values are within the range of −1 to 1 K, and 17.37% of the difference values are within the range of ±2 to ±1 K. In a conclusion, with the advantages of multi-sensors taken fully exploited, more accurate results can be achieved in the retrieval of land surface temperature. PMID:25397919

Effects of Land Use/Cover Changes and Urban Forest Configuration on Urban Heat Islands in a Loess Hilly Region: Case Study Based on Yan’an City, China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xinping; Hao, Hongke; Zhang, Fangfang; Hu, Youning

2017-01-01

In this study Yan’an City, a typical hilly valley city, was considered as the study area in order to explain the relationships between the surface urban heat island (SUHI) and land use/land cover (LULC) types, the landscape pattern metrics of LULC types and land surface temperature (LST) and remote sensing indexes were retrieved from Landsat data during 1990–2015, and to find factors contributed to the green space cool island intensity (GSCI) through field measurements of 34 green spaces. The results showed that during 1990–2015, because of local anthropogenic activities, SUHI was mainly located in lower vegetation cover areas. There was a significant suburban-urban gradient in the average LST, as well as its heterogeneity and fluctuations. Six landscape metrics comprising the fractal dimension index, percentage of landscape, aggregation index, division index, Shannon’s diversity index, and expansion intensity of the classified LST spatiotemporal changes were paralleled to LULC changes, especially for construction land, during the past 25 years. In the urban area, an index-based built-up index was the key positive factor for explaining LST increases, whereas the normalized difference vegetation index and modified normalized difference water index were crucial factors for explaining LST decreases during the study periods. In terms of the heat mitigation performance of green spaces, mixed forest was better than pure forest, and the urban forest configuration had positive effects on GSCI. The results of this study provide insights into the importance of species choice and the spatial design of green spaces for cooling the environment. PMID:28933770

Effects of Land Use/Cover Changes and Urban Forest Configuration on Urban Heat Islands in a Loess Hilly Region: Case Study Based on Yan’an City, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xinping Zhang

2017-07-01

Full Text Available In this study Yan’an City, a typical hilly valley city, was considered as the study area in order to explain the relationships between the surface urban heat island (SUHI and land use/land cover (LULC types, the landscape pattern metrics of LULC types and land surface temperature (LST and remote sensing indexes were retrieved from Landsat data during 1990–2015, and to find factors contributed to the green space cool island intensity (GSCI through field measurements of 34 green spaces. The results showed that during 1990–2015, because of local anthropogenic activities, SUHI was mainly located in lower vegetation cover areas. There was a significant suburban-urban gradient in the average LST, as well as its heterogeneity and fluctuations. Six landscape metrics comprising the fractal dimension index, percentage of landscape, aggregation index, division index, Shannon’s diversity index, and expansion intensity of the classified LST spatiotemporal changes were paralleled to LULC changes, especially for construction land, during the past 25 years. In the urban area, an index-based built-up index was the key positive factor for explaining LST increases, whereas the normalized difference vegetation index and modified normalized difference water index were crucial factors for explaining LST decreases during the study periods. In terms of the heat mitigation performance of green spaces, mixed forest was better than pure forest, and the urban forest configuration had positive effects on GSCI. The results of this study provide insights into the importance of species choice and the spatial design of green spaces for cooling the environment.

Effects of Land Use/Cover Changes and Urban Forest Configuration on Urban Heat Islands in a Loess Hilly Region: Case Study Based on Yan'an City, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xinping; Wang, Dexiang; Hao, Hongke; Zhang, Fangfang; Hu, Youning

2017-07-26

In this study Yan'an City, a typical hilly valley city, was considered as the study area in order to explain the relationships between the surface urban heat island (SUHI) and land use/land cover (LULC) types, the landscape pattern metrics of LULC types and land surface temperature (LST) and remote sensing indexes were retrieved from Landsat data during 1990-2015, and to find factors contributed to the green space cool island intensity (GSCI) through field measurements of 34 green spaces. The results showed that during 1990-2015, because of local anthropogenic activities, SUHI was mainly located in lower vegetation cover areas. There was a significant suburban-urban gradient in the average LST, as well as its heterogeneity and fluctuations. Six landscape metrics comprising the fractal dimension index, percentage of landscape, aggregation index, division index, Shannon's diversity index, and expansion intensity of the classified LST spatiotemporal changes were paralleled to LULC changes, especially for construction land, during the past 25 years. In the urban area, an index-based built-up index was the key positive factor for explaining LST increases, whereas the normalized difference vegetation index and modified normalized difference water index were crucial factors for explaining LST decreases during the study periods. In terms of the heat mitigation performance of green spaces, mixed forest was better than pure forest, and the urban forest configuration had positive effects on GSCI. The results of this study provide insights into the importance of species choice and the spatial design of green spaces for cooling the environment.

A One-Source Approach for Estimating Land Surface Heat Fluxes Using Remotely Sensed Land Surface Temperature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yongmin Yang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The partitioning of available energy between sensible heat and latent heat is important for precise water resources planning and management in the context of global climate change. Land surface temperature (LST is a key variable in energy balance process and remotely sensed LST is widely used for estimating surface heat fluxes at regional scale. However, the inequality between LST and aerodynamic surface temperature (Taero poses a great challenge for regional heat fluxes estimation in one-source energy balance models. To address this issue, we proposed a One-Source Model for Land (OSML to estimate regional surface heat fluxes without requirements for empirical extra resistance, roughness parameterization and wind velocity. The proposed OSML employs both conceptual VFC/LST trapezoid model and the electrical analog formula of sensible heat flux (H to analytically estimate the radiometric-convective resistance (rae via a quartic equation. To evaluate the performance of OSML, the model was applied to the Soil Moisture-Atmosphere Coupling Experiment (SMACEX in United States and the Multi-Scale Observation Experiment on Evapotranspiration (MUSOEXE in China, using remotely sensed retrievals as auxiliary data sets at regional scale. Validated against tower-based surface fluxes observations, the root mean square deviation (RMSD of H and latent heat flux (LE from OSML are 34.5 W/m2 and 46.5 W/m2 at SMACEX site and 50.1 W/m2 and 67.0 W/m2 at MUSOEXE site. The performance of OSML is very comparable to other published studies. In addition, the proposed OSML model demonstrates similar skills of predicting surface heat fluxes in comparison to SEBS (Surface Energy Balance System. Since OSML does not require specification of aerodynamic surface characteristics, roughness parameterization and meteorological conditions with high spatial variation such as wind speed, this proposed method shows high potential for routinely acquisition of latent heat flux estimation

A Discrete-Event Simulation Model for Evaluating Air Force Reusable Military Launch Vehicle Post-Landing Operations

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Martindale, Michael

2006-01-01

The purpose of this research was to develop a discrete-event computer simulation model of the post-landing vehicle recoveoperations to allow the Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Vehicles Directorate...

Estimating surface turbulent heat fluxes from land surface temperature and soil moisture using the particle batch smoother

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yang; Dong, Jianzhi; Steele-Dunne, Susan; van de Giesen, Nick

2016-04-01

This study is focused on estimating surface sensible and latent heat fluxes from land surface temperature (LST) time series and soil moisture observations. Surface turbulent heat fluxes interact with the overlying atmosphere and play a crucial role in meteorology, hydrology and other climate-related fields, but in-situ measurements are costly and difficult. It has been demonstrated that the time series of LST contains information of energy partitioning and that surface turbulent heat fluxes can be determined from assimilation of LST. These studies are mainly based on two assumptions: (1) a monthly value of bulk heat transfer coefficient under neutral conditions (CHN) which scales the sum of the fluxes, and (2) an evaporation fraction (EF) which stays constant during the near-peak hours of the day. Previous studies have applied variational and ensemble approaches to this problem. Here the newly developed particle batch smoother (PBS) algorithm is adopted to test its capability in this application. The PBS can be seen as an extension of the standard particle filter (PF) in which the states and parameters within a fix window are updated in a batch using all observations in the window. The aim of this study is two-fold. First, the PBS is used to assimilate only LST time series into the force-restore model to estimate fluxes. Second, a simple soil water transfer scheme is introduced to evaluate the benefit of assimilating soil moisture observations simultaneously. The experiments are implemented using the First ISLSCP (International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project) (FIFE) data. It is shown that the restored LST time series using PBS agrees very well with observations, and that assimilating LST significantly improved the flux estimation at both daily and half-hourly time scales. When soil moisture is introduced to further constrain EF, the accuracy of estimated EF is greatly improved. Furthermore, the RMSEs of retrieved fluxes are effectively reduced at both

A feature matching and fusion-based positive obstacle detection algorithm for field autonomous land vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tao Wu

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Positive obstacles will cause damage to field robotics during traveling in field. Field autonomous land vehicle is a typical field robotic. This article presents a feature matching and fusion-based algorithm to detect obstacles using LiDARs for field autonomous land vehicles. There are three main contributions: (1 A novel setup method of compact LiDAR is introduced. This method improved the LiDAR data density and reduced the blind region of the LiDAR sensor. (2 A mathematical model is deduced under this new setup method. The ideal scan line is generated by using the deduced mathematical model. (3 Based on the proposed mathematical model, a feature matching and fusion (FMAF-based algorithm is presented in this article, which is employed to detect obstacles. Experimental results show that the performance of the proposed algorithm is robust and stable, and the computing time is reduced by an order of two magnitudes by comparing with other exited algorithms. This algorithm has been perfectly applied to our autonomous land vehicle, which has won the champion in the challenge of Chinese “Overcome Danger 2014” ground unmanned vehicle.

Estimation of Land Surface Temperature through Blending MODIS and AMSR-E Data with the Bayesian Maximum Entropy Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaokang Kou

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Land surface temperature (LST plays a major role in the study of surface energy balances. Remote sensing techniques provide ways to monitor LST at large scales. However, due to atmospheric influences, significant missing data exist in LST products retrieved from satellite thermal infrared (TIR remotely sensed data. Although passive microwaves (PMWs are able to overcome these atmospheric influences while estimating LST, the data are constrained by low spatial resolution. In this study, to obtain complete and high-quality LST data, the Bayesian Maximum Entropy (BME method was introduced to merge 0.01° and 0.25° LSTs inversed from MODIS and AMSR-E data, respectively. The result showed that the missing LSTs in cloudy pixels were filled completely, and the availability of merged LSTs reaches 100%. Because the depths of LST and soil temperature measurements are different, before validating the merged LST, the station measurements were calibrated with an empirical equation between MODIS LST and 0~5 cm soil temperatures. The results showed that the accuracy of merged LSTs increased with the increasing quantity of utilized data, and as the availability of utilized data increased from 25.2% to 91.4%, the RMSEs of the merged data decreased from 4.53 °C to 2.31 °C. In addition, compared with the filling gap method in which MODIS LST gaps were filled with AMSR-E LST directly, the merged LSTs from the BME method showed better spatial continuity. The different penetration depths of TIR and PMWs may influence fusion performance and still require further studies.

The WATERMED field experiment: validation of the AATSR LST product with in situ measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Noyes, E.; Soria, G.; Sobrino, J.; Remedios, J.; Llewellyn-Jones, D.; Corlett, G.

The Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) onboard ESA's Envisat Satellite, is the third in a series of a precision radiometers designed to measure Sea Surface Temperature (SST) with accuracies of better than ± 0.3 K (within 1-sigma limit). Since its launch in March 2001, a prototype AATSR Land Surface Temperature (LST) product has been produced for validation purposes only, with the product becoming operational from mid-2004. The (A)ATSR instrument design is unique in that it has both a nadir- and a forward-view, allowing the Earth's surface to be viewed along two different atmospheric path lengths, thus enabling an improved atmospheric correction to be made when retrieving surface temperature. It also uses an innovative and exceptionally stable on-board calibration system for its infrared channels, which, together with actively cooled detectors, gives extremely high radiometric sensitivity and precision. In this presentation, results from a comparison of the prototype LST product with ground-based measurements obtained at the WATERMED (WATer use Efficiency in natural vegetation and agricultural areas by Remote sensing in the MEDiterranean basin) field site near Marrakech, Morocco, are presented. The comparison shows that the AATSR has a positive bias of + 1.5 K, with a standard deviation of 0.7 K, indicating that the product is operating within the target specification (± 2.5 K) over the WATERMED field site. However, several anomalous validation points were observed during the analysis and we will discuss possible reasons for the occurrence of these data, including their coincidence with the presence of an Envisat blanking pulse (indicating the presence of a radar pulse at the time of AATSR pixel integration). Further investigation into this matter is required as previous investigations have always indicated that the presence of a payload radar pulse does not have any effect on (A)ATSR data quality.

A comparison of radiometric correction techniques in the evaluation of the relationship between LST and NDVI in Landsat imagery.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Kok Chooi; Lim, Hwee San; Matjafri, Mohd Zubir; Abdullah, Khiruddin

2012-06-01

Atmospheric corrections for multi-temporal optical satellite images are necessary, especially in change detection analyses, such as normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) rationing. Abrupt change detection analysis using remote-sensing techniques requires radiometric congruity and atmospheric correction to monitor terrestrial surfaces over time. Two atmospheric correction methods were used for this study: relative radiometric normalization and the simplified method for atmospheric correction (SMAC) in the solar spectrum. A multi-temporal data set consisting of two sets of Landsat images from the period between 1991 and 2002 of Penang Island, Malaysia, was used to compare NDVI maps, which were generated using the proposed atmospheric correction methods. Land surface temperature (LST) was retrieved using ATCOR3_T in PCI Geomatica 10.1 image processing software. Linear regression analysis was utilized to analyze the relationship between NDVI and LST. This study reveals that both of the proposed atmospheric correction methods yielded high accuracy through examination of the linear correlation coefficients. To check for the accuracy of the equation obtained through linear regression analysis for every single satellite image, 20 points were randomly chosen. The results showed that the SMAC method yielded a constant value (in terms of error) to predict the NDVI value from linear regression analysis-derived equation. The errors (average) from both proposed atmospheric correction methods were less than 10%.

LEAST SQUARE APPROACH FOR ESTIMATING OF LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURE FROM LANDSAT-8 SATELLITE DATA USING RADIATIVE TRANSFER EQUATION

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Y. Jouybari-Moghaddam

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Land Surface Temperature (LST is one of the significant variables measured by remotely sensed data, and it is applied in many environmental and Geoscience studies. The main aim of this study is to develop an algorithm to retrieve the LST from Landsat-8 satellite data using Radiative Transfer Equation (RTE. However, LST can be retrieved from RTE, but, since the RTE has two unknown parameters including LST and surface emissivity, estimating LST from RTE is an under the determined problem. In this study, in order to solve this problem, an approach is proposed an equation set includes two RTE based on Landsat-8 thermal bands (i.e.: band 10 and 11 and two additional equations based on the relation between the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI and emissivity of Landsat-8 thermal bands by using simulated data for Landsat-8 bands. The iterative least square approach was used for solving the equation set. The LST derived from proposed algorithm is evaluated by the simulated dataset, built up by MODTRAN. The result shows the Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE is less than 1.18°K. Therefore; the proposed algorithm can be a suitable and robust method to retrieve the LST from Landsat-8 satellite data.

Least Square Approach for Estimating of Land Surface Temperature from LANDSAT-8 Satellite Data Using Radiative Transfer Equation

Science.gov (United States)

Jouybari-Moghaddam, Y.; Saradjian, M. R.; Forati, A. M.

2017-09-01

Land Surface Temperature (LST) is one of the significant variables measured by remotely sensed data, and it is applied in many environmental and Geoscience studies. The main aim of this study is to develop an algorithm to retrieve the LST from Landsat-8 satellite data using Radiative Transfer Equation (RTE). However, LST can be retrieved from RTE, but, since the RTE has two unknown parameters including LST and surface emissivity, estimating LST from RTE is an under the determined problem. In this study, in order to solve this problem, an approach is proposed an equation set includes two RTE based on Landsat-8 thermal bands (i.e.: band 10 and 11) and two additional equations based on the relation between the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and emissivity of Landsat-8 thermal bands by using simulated data for Landsat-8 bands. The iterative least square approach was used for solving the equation set. The LST derived from proposed algorithm is evaluated by the simulated dataset, built up by MODTRAN. The result shows the Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) is less than 1.18°K. Therefore; the proposed algorithm can be a suitable and robust method to retrieve the LST from Landsat-8 satellite data.

Land surface temperature representativeness in a heterogeneous area through a distributed energy-water balance model and remote sensing data

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C. Corbari

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Land surface temperature is the link between soil-vegetation-atmosphere fluxes and soil water content through the energy water balance. This paper analyses the representativeness of land surface temperature (LST for a distributed hydrological water balance model (FEST-EWB using LST from AHS (airborne hyperspectral scanner, with a spatial resolution between 2–4 m, LST from MODIS, with a spatial resolution of 1000 m, and thermal infrared radiometric ground measurements that are compared with the representative equilibrium temperature that closes the energy balance equation in the distributed hydrological model.

Diurnal and nocturnal images are analyzed due to the non stable behaviour of the thermodynamic temperature and to the non linear effects induced by spatial heterogeneity.

Spatial autocorrelation and scale of fluctuation of land surface temperature from FEST-EWB and AHS are analysed at different aggregation areas to better understand the scale of representativeness of land surface temperature in a hydrological process.

The study site is the agricultural area of Barrax (Spain that is a heterogeneous area with a patchwork of irrigated and non irrigated vegetated fields and bare soil. The used data set was collected during a field campaign from 10 to 15 July 2005 in the framework of the SEN2FLEX project.

Land surface temperature as potential indicator of burn severity in forest Mediterranean ecosystems

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Quintano, C.; Fernández-Manso, A.; Calvo, L.; Marcos, E.; Valbuena, L.

2015-04-01

Forest fires are one of the most important causes of environmental alteration in Mediterranean countries. Discrimination of different degrees of burn severity is critical for improving management of fire-affected areas. This paper aims to evaluate the usefulness of land surface temperature (LST) as potential indicator of burn severity. We used a large convention-dominated wildfire, which occurred on 19-21 September, 2012 in Northwestern Spain. From this area, a 1-year series of six LST images were generated from Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) data using a single channel algorithm. Further, the Composite Burn Index (CBI) was measured in 111 field plots to identify the burn severity level (low, moderate, and high). Evaluation of the potential relationship between post-fire LST and ground measured CBI was performed by both correlation analysis and regression models. Correlation coefficients were higher in the immediate post-fire LST images, but decreased during the fall of 2012 and increased again with a second maximum value in summer, 2013. A linear regression model between post-fire LST and CBI allowed us to represent spatially predicted CBI (R-squaredadj > 85%). After performing an analysis of variance (ANOVA) between post-fire LST and CBI, a Fisher's least significant difference test determined that two burn severity levels (low-moderate and high) could be statistically distinguished. The identification of such burn severity levels is sufficient and useful to forest managers. We conclude that summer post-fire LST from moderate resolution satellite data may be considered as a valuable indicator of burn severity for large fires in Mediterranean forest ecosytems.

An Improved Single-Channel Method to Retrieve Land Surface Temperature from the Landsat-8 Thermal Band

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Jordi Cristóbal

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Land surface temperature (LST is one of the sources of input data for modeling land surface processes. The Landsat satellite series is the only operational mission with more than 30 years of archived thermal infrared imagery from which we can retrieve LST. Unfortunately, stray light artifacts were observed in Landsat-8 TIRS data, mostly affecting Band 11, currently making the split-window technique impractical for retrieving surface temperature without requiring atmospheric data. In this study, a single-channel methodology to retrieve surface temperature from Landsat TM and ETM+ was improved to retrieve LST from Landsat-8 TIRS Band 10 using near-surface air temperature (Ta and integrated atmospheric column water vapor (w as input data. This improved methodology was parameterized and successfully evaluated with simulated data from a global and robust radiosonde database and validated with in situ data from four flux tower sites under different types of vegetation and snow cover in 44 Landsat-8 scenes. Evaluation results using simulated data showed that the inclusion of Ta together with w within a single-channel scheme improves LST retrieval, yielding lower errors and less bias than models based only on w. The new proposed LST retrieval model, developed with both w and Ta, yielded overall errors on the order of 1 K and a bias of −0.5 K validated against in situ data, providing a better performance than other models parameterized using w and Ta or only w models that yielded higher error and bias.

MODIS/Terra Land Surface Temperature/3-Band Emissivity Daily L3 Global 1km SIN Grid Day V006

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — MODIS/Terra Land Surface Temperature/3-Band Emissivity Daily L3 Global 1km SIN Grid Day (MOD21A1D.006). A new suite of MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST) and...

MODIS/Aqua Land Surface Temperature/3-Band Emissivity 8-Day L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V006

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — MODIS/Aqua Land Surface Temperature/3-Band Emissivity 8-Day L3 Global 1km SIN Grid (MYD21A2.006). A new suite of MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Emissivity...

MODIS/Aqua Land Surface Temperature/3-Band Emissivity Daily L3 Global 1km SIN Grid Day V006

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — MODIS/Aqua Land Surface Temperature/3-Band Emissivity Daily L3 Global 1km SIN Grid Day (MYD21A1D.006). A new suite of MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST) and...

MODIS/Terra Land Surface Temperature/3-Band Emissivity 8-Day L3 Global 1km SIN Grid V006

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — MODIS/Terra Land Surface Temperature/3-Band Emissivity 8-Day L3 Global 1km SIN Grid (MOD21A2.006). A new suite of MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Emissivity...

MODIS/Terra Land Surface Temperature/3-Band Emissivity Daily L3 Global 1km SIN Grid Night V006

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — MODIS/Terra Land Surface Temperature/3-Band Emissivity Daily L3 Global 1km SIN Grid Night (MOD21A1N.006). A new suite of MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST) and...

MODIS/Aqua Land Surface Temperature/3-Band Emissivity Daily L3 Global 1km SIN Grid Night V006

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — MODIS/Aqua Land Surface Temperature/3-Band Emissivity Daily L3 Global 1km SIN Grid Night (MYD21A1N.006). A new suite of MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST) and...

The UAV take-off and landing system used for small areas of mobile vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Tian-Yu; Duanmu, Qing-Duo; Wu, Bo-Qi

2018-03-01

In order to realize an UAV formation cluster system based on the current GPS and the fault and insufficiency of Beidou integrated navigation system in strong jamming environment. Due to the impact of the compass on the plane crash, navigation system error caused by the mobile area to help reduce the need for large landing sites and not in the small fast moving area to achieve the reality of the landing. By using Strapdown inertial and all-optical system to form Composite UAV flight control system, the photoelectric composite strapdown inertial coupling is realized, and through the laser and microwave telemetry link compound communication mechanism, using all-optical strapdown inertial and visual navigation system to solve the deviation of take-off and landing caused by electromagnetic interference, all-optical bidirectional data link realizes two-way position correction of landing site and aircraft, thus achieves the accurate recovery of UAV formation cluster in the mobile narrow area which the traditional navigation system can't realize. This system is a set of efficient unmanned aerial vehicle Group Take-off/descending system, which is suitable for many tasks, and not only realizes the reliable continuous navigation under the complex electromagnetic interference environment, moreover, the intelligent flight and Take-off and landing of unmanned aerial vehicles relative to the fast moving and small recovery sites in complex electromagnetic interference environment can not only improve the safe operation rate of unmanned aerial vehicle, but also guarantee the operation safety of the aircraft, and the more has important social value for the application foreground of the aircraft.

AATSR land surface temperature product algorithm verification over a WATERMED site

Science.gov (United States)

Noyes, E. J.; Sòria, G.; Sobrino, J. A.; Remedios, J. J.; Llewellyn-Jones, D. T.; Corlett, G. K.

A new operational Land Surface Temperature (LST) product generated from data acquired by the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) provides the opportunity to measure LST on a global scale with a spatial resolution of 1 km2. The target accuracy of the product, which utilises nadir data from the AATSR thermal channels at 11 and 12 μm, is 2.5 K for daytime retrievals and 1.0 K at night. We present the results of an experiment where the performance of the algorithm has been assessed for one daytime and one night time overpass occurring over the WATERMED field site near Marrakech, Morocco, on 05 March 2003. Top of atmosphere (TOA) brightness temperatures (BTs) are simulated for 12 pixels from each overpass using a radiative transfer model, with the LST product and independent emissivity values and atmospheric data as inputs. We have estimated the error in the LST product over this biome for this set of conditions by applying the operational AATSR LST retrieval algorithm to the modelled BTs and comparing the results with the original AATSR LSTs input into the model. An average bias of -1.00 K (standard deviation 0.07 K) for the daytime data, and -1.74 K (standard deviation 0.02 K) for the night time data is obtained, which indicates that the algorithm is yielding an LST that is too cold under these conditions. While these results are within specification for daytime retrievals, this suggests that the target accuracy of 1.0 K at night is not being met within this biome.

Entry, Descent, and Landing Performance for a Mid-Lift-to-Drag Ratio Vehicle at Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Breanna J.; Braden, Ellen M.; Sostaric, Ronald R.; Cerimele, Christopher J.; Lu, Ping

2018-01-01

In an effort to mature the design of the Mid-Lift-to-Drag ratio Rigid Vehicle (MRV) candidate of the NASA Evolvable Mars Campaign (EMC) architecture study, end-to-end six-degree-of-freedom (6DOF) simulations are needed to ensure a successful entry, descent, and landing (EDL) design. The EMC study is assessing different vehicle and mission architectures to determine which candidate would be best to deliver a 20 metric ton payload to the surface of Mars. Due to the large mass payload and the relatively low atmospheric density of Mars, all candidates of the EMC study propose to use Supersonic Retro-Propulsion (SRP) throughout the descent and landing phase, as opposed to parachutes, in order to decelerate to a subsonic touchdown. This paper presents a 6DOF entry-to-landing performance and controllability study with sensitivities to dispersions, particularly in the powered descent and landing phases.

An Improved Mono-Window Algorithm for Land Surface Temperature Retrieval from Landsat 8 Thermal Infrared Sensor Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fei Wang

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The successful launch of the Landsat 8 satellite with two thermal infrared bands on February 11, 2013, for continuous Earth observation provided another opportunity for remote sensing of land surface temperature (LST. However, calibration notices issued by the United States Geological Survey (USGS indicated that data from the Landsat 8 Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS Band 11 have large uncertainty and suggested using TIRS Band 10 data as a single spectral band for LST estimation. In this study, we presented an improved mono-window (IMW algorithm for LST retrieval from the Landsat 8 TIRS Band 10 data. Three essential parameters (ground emissivity, atmospheric transmittance and effective mean atmospheric temperature were required for the IMW algorithm to retrieve LST. A new method was proposed to estimate the parameter of effective mean atmospheric temperature from local meteorological data. The other two essential parameters could be both estimated through the so-called land cover approach. Sensitivity analysis conducted for the IMW algorithm revealed that the possible error in estimating the required atmospheric water vapor content has the most significant impact on the probable LST estimation error. Under moderate errors in both water vapor content and ground emissivity, the algorithm had an accuracy of ~1.4 K for LST retrieval. Validation of the IMW algorithm using the simulated datasets for various situations indicated that the LST difference between the retrieved and the simulated ones was 0.67 K on average, with an RMSE of 0.43 K. Comparison of our IMW algorithm with the single-channel (SC algorithm for three main atmosphere profiles indicated that the average error and RMSE of the IMW algorithm were −0.05 K and 0.84 K, respectively, which were less than the −2.86 K and 1.05 K of the SC algorithm. Application of the IMW algorithm to Nanjing and its vicinity in east China resulted in a reasonable LST estimation for the region. Spatial

A Spatio-Temporal Analysis of the Relationship Between Near-Surface Air Temperature and Satellite Land Surface Temperatures Using 17 Years of Data from the ATSR Series

Science.gov (United States)

Ghent, D.; Good, E.; Bulgin, C.; Remedios, J. J.

2017-12-01

Surface temperatures (ST) over land have traditionally been measured at weather stations. There are many parts of the globe with very few stations, e.g. across much of Africa, leading to gaps in ST datasets, affecting our understanding of how ST is changing, and the impacts of extreme events. Satellites can provide global ST data but these observations represent how hot the land ST (LST; including the uppermost parts of e.g. trees, buildings) is to touch, whereas stations measure the air temperature just above the surface (T2m). Satellite LST data may only be available in cloud-free conditions and data records are frequently climate studies. In this study, the relationship between clear-sky satellite LST and all-sky T2m is characterised in space and time using >17 years of data. The analysis uses a new monthly LST climate data record (CDR) based on the Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) series, which has been produced within the European Space Agency GlobTemperature project. The results demonstrate the dependency of the global LST-T2m differences on location, land cover, vegetation and elevation. LSTnight ( 10 pm local solar time) is found to be closely coupled with minimum T2m (Tmin) and the two temperatures generally consistent to within ±5 °C (global median LSTnight- Tmin= 1.8 °C, interquartile range = 3.8 °C). The LSTday ( 10 am local time)-maximum T2m (Tmax) variability is higher because LST is strongly influenced by insolation and surface regime (global median LSTday-Tmax= -0.1 °C, interquartile range = 8.1 °C). Correlations for both temperature pairs are typically >0.9 outside of the tropics. A crucial aspect of this study is a comparison between the monthly global anomaly time series of LST and CRUTEM4 T2m. The time series agree remarkably well, with a correlation of 0.9 and 90% of the CDR anomalies falling within the T2m 95% confidence limits (see figure). This analysis provides independent verification of the 1995-2012 T2m anomaly time series

Evolutionary conservation of TORC1 components, TOR, Raptor, and LST8, between rice and yeast.

Science.gov (United States)

Maegawa, Kentaro; Takii, Rumi; Ushimaru, Takashi; Kozaki, Akiko

2015-10-01

Target of rapamycin (TOR) is a conserved eukaryotic serine/threonine kinase that functions as a central controller of cell growth. TOR protein is structurally defined by the presence several conserved domains such as the HEAT repeat, focal adhesion target (FAT), FKBP12/rapamycin binding (FRB), kinase, and FATC domains starting from the N-terminus. In most eukaryotes, TOR forms two distinct physical and functional complexes, which are termed as TOR complex 1 (TORC1) and TORC2. However, plants contain only TORC1 components, i.e., TOR, Raptor, and LST8. In this study, we analyzed the gene structure and functions of TORC components in rice to understand the properties of the TOR complex in plants. Comparison of the locations of introns in these genes among rice and other eukaryotes showed that they were well conserved among plants except for Chlamydomonas. Moreover, the intron positions in the coding sequence of human Raptor and LST8 were closer to those of plants than of fly or nematode. Complementation tests of rice TOR (OsTOR) components in yeast showed that although OsTOR did not complement yeast tor mutants, chimeric TOR, which consisted of the HEAT repeat and FAT domain from yeast and other regions from rice, rescued the tor mutants, indicating that the HEAT repeat and FAT domains are important for species-specific signaling. OsRaptor perfectly complemented a kog1 (yeast Raptor homolog) mutant, and OsLST8 partially complemented an lst8 mutant. Together, these data suggest the importance of the N-terminal region of the TOR, HEAT, and FAT domains for functional diversification of the TOR complex.

Optimal use of land surface temperature data to detect changes in tropical forest cover

Science.gov (United States)

Van Leeuwen, T. T.; Frank, A. J.; Jin, Y.; Smyth, P.; Goulden, M.; van der Werf, G.; Randerson, J. T.

2011-12-01

Rapid and accurate assessment of global forest cover change is needed to focus conservation efforts and to better understand how deforestation is contributing to the build up of atmospheric CO2. Here we examined different ways to use remotely sensed land surface temperature (LST) to detect changes in tropical forest cover. In our analysis we used monthly 0.05×0.05 degree Terra MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations of LST and PRODES (Program for the Estimation of Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon) estimates of forest cover change. We also compared MODIS LST observations with an independent estimate of forest cover loss derived from MODIS and Landsat observations. Our study domain of approximately 10×10 degree included most of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. For optimal use of LST data to detect changes in tropical forest cover in our study area, we found that using data sampled during the end of the dry season (~1-2 months after minimum monthly precipitation) had the greatest predictive skill. During this part of the year, precipitation was low, surface humidity was at a minimum, and the difference between day and night LST was the largest. We used this information to develop a simple temporal sampling algorithm appropriate for use in pan-tropical deforestation classifiers. Combined with the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), a logistic regression model using day-night LST did moderately well at predicting forest cover change. Annual changes in day-night LST difference decreased during 2006-2009 relative to 2001-2005 in many regions within the Amazon, providing independent confirmation of lower deforestation levels during the latter part of this decade as reported by PRODES. The use of day-night LST differences may be particularly valuable for use with satellites that do not have spectral bands that allow for the estimation of NDVI or other vegetation indices.

Land surface temperature distribution and development for green open space in Medan city using imagery-based satellite Landsat 8

Science.gov (United States)

Sulistiyono, N.; Basyuni, M.; Slamet, B.

2018-03-01

Green open space (GOS) is one of the requirements where a city is comfortable to stay. GOS might reduce land surface temperature (LST) and air pollution. Medan is one of the biggest towns in Indonesia that experienced rapid development. However, the early development tends to neglect the GOS existence for the city. The objective of the study is to determine the distribution of land surface temperature and the relationship between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the priority of GOS development in Medan City using imagery-based satellite Landsat 8. The method approached to correlate the distribution of land surface temperature derived from the value of digital number band 10 with the NDVI which was from the ratio of groups five and four on satellite images of Landsat 8. The results showed that the distribution of land surface temperature in the Medan City in 2016 ranged 20.57 - 33.83 °C. The relationship between the distribution of LST distribution with NDVI was reversed with a negative correlation of -0.543 (sig 0,000). The direction of GOS in Medan City is therefore developed on the allocation of LST and divided into three priority classes namely first priority class had 5,119.71 ha, the second priority consisted of 16,935.76 ha, and third priority of 6,118.50 ha.

A methodology to assist in contingency planning for protection of nuclear power plants against land vehicle bombs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

James, J.W.; Goldman, L.A.; Lobner, P.R.; Finn, S.P.; Koch, T.H.; Veatch, J.D.

1989-04-01

This report provides a methodology which could be used by operators of licensed nuclear power reactors to address issues related to contingency planning for a land vehicle bomb, should such a threat arise. The methodology presented in this report provides a structured framework for understanding factors to be considered in contingency planning for a land vehicle bomb including: (1) system options available to maintain a safe condition, (2) associated components and equipment, (3) preferred system options for establishing and maintaining a safe shutdown condition, and (4) contingency measures to preserve the preferred system options. Example applications of the methodology for a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) and Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) are provided along with an example of contingency plan changes necessary for implementation of this methodology, a discussion of some contingency measures that can be used to limit land vehicle access, and a bibliography. 2 refs., 11 figs., 6 tabs

Improvements of a COMS Land Surface Temperature Retrieval Algorithm Based on the Temperature Lapse Rate and Water Vapor/Aerosol Effect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A-Ra Cho

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The National Meteorological Satellite Center in Korea retrieves land surface temperature (LST by applying the split-window LST algorithm (CSW_v1.0 to Communication, Ocean, and Meteorological Satellite (COMS data. Considerable errors were detected under conditions of high water vapor content or temperature lapse rates during validation with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS LST because of the too simplified LST algorithm. In this study, six types of LST retrieval equations (CSW_v2.0 were developed to upgrade the CSW_v1.0. These methods were developed by classifying “dry,” “normal,” and “wet” cases for day and night and considering the relative sizes of brightness temperature difference (BTD values. Similar to CSW_v1.0, the LST retrieved by CSW_v2.0 had a correlation coefficient of 0.99 with the prescribed LST and a slightly larger bias of −0.03 K from 0.00K; the root mean square error (RMSE improved from 1.41 K to 1.39 K. In general, CSW_v2.0 improved the retrieval accuracy compared to CSW_v1.0, especially when the lapse rate was high (mid-day and dawn and the water vapor content was high. The spatial distributions of LST retrieved by CSW_v2.0 were found to be similar to the MODIS LST independently of the season, day/night, and geographic locations. The validation using one year’s MODIS LST data showed that CSW_v2.0 improved the retrieval accuracy of LST in terms of correlations (from 0.988 to 0.989, bias (from −1.009 K to 0.292 K, and RMSEs (from 2.613 K to 2.237 K.

An Estimation of Land Surface Temperatures from Landsat ETM+ ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Dr-Adeline

Keywords: Urban growth, urban heat Island, land surface temperatures, ... climate from the resulting increase in LST can impact on the development of ... were not available (due to high cloud cover) in a given season, 2011 images ..... Sailor, D.J. and H. Fan, 2002: Modeling the diurnal variability of effective albedo for cities.

Compact vertical take-off and landing aerial vehicle for monitoring tasks in dense urban areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergii FIRSOV

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Using of aerial vehicles with onboard sensory and broadcasting apparatus for monitoring a variety of objects and processes in inaccessible places of the city. A hardware and software package for the task solving is proposed in the article. Presented vehicle is a vertical take-off and landing airplane of tail-sitter type.

Evolution of an artificial neural network based autonomous land vehicle controller.

Science.gov (United States)

Baluja, S

1996-01-01

This paper presents an evolutionary method for creating an artificial neural network based autonomous land vehicle controller. The evolved controllers perform better in unseen situations than those trained with an error backpropagation learning algorithm designed for this task. In this paper, an overview of the previous connectionist based approaches to this task is given, and the evolutionary algorithms used in this study are described in detail. Methods for reducing the high computational costs of training artificial neural networks with evolutionary algorithms are explored. Error metrics specific to the task of autonomous vehicle control are introduced; the evolutionary algorithms guided by these error metrics reveal improved performance over those guided by the standard sum-squared error metric. Finally, techniques for integrating evolutionary search and error backpropagation are presented. The evolved networks are designed to control Carnegie Mellon University's NAVLAB vehicles in road following tasks.

Linking Satellite Derived Land Surface Temperature with Cholera: A Case Study for South Sudan

Science.gov (United States)

Aldaach, H. S. V.; Jutla, A.; Akanda, A. S.; Colwell, R. R.

2014-12-01

A sudden onset of cholera in South Sudan, in April 2014 in Northern Bari in Juba town resulted in more than 400 cholera cases after four weeks of initial outbreak with a case of fatality rate of CFR 5.4%. The total number of reported cholera cases for the period of April to July, 2014 were 5,141 including 114 deaths. With the limited efficacy of cholera vaccines, it is necessary to develop mechanisms to predict cholera occurrence and thereafter devise intervention strategies for mitigating impacts of the disease. Hydroclimatic processes, primarily precipitation and air temperature are related to epidemic and episodic outbreak of cholera. However, due to coarse resolution of both datasets, it is not possible to precisely locate the geographical location of disease. Here, using Land Surface Temperature (LST) from MODIS sensors, we have developed an algorithm to identify regions susceptible for cholera. Conditions for occurrence of cholera were detectable at least one month in advance in South Sudan and were statistically sensitive to hydroclimatic anomalies of land surface and air temperature, and precipitation. Our results indicate significant spatial and temporal averaging required to infer usable information from LST over South Sudan. Preliminary results that geographically location of cholera outbreak was identifiable within 1km resolution of the LST data.

Landsat and Local Land Surface Temperatures in a Heterogeneous Terrain Compared to MODIS Values

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gemma Simó

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Land Surface Temperature (LST as provided by remote sensing onboard satellites is a key parameter for a number of applications in Earth System studies, such as numerical modelling or regional estimation of surface energy and water fluxes. In the case of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS onboard Terra or Aqua, pixels have resolutions near 1 km 2 , LST values being an average of the real subpixel variability of LST, which can be significant for heterogeneous terrain. Here, we use Landsat 7 LST decametre-scale fields to evaluate the temporal and spatial variability at the kilometre scale and compare the resulting average values to those provided by MODIS for the same observation time, for the very heterogeneous Campus of the University of the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Western Mediterranean, with an area of about 1 km 2 , for a period between 2014 and 2016. Variations of LST between 10 and 20 K are often found at the sub-kilometre scale. In addition, MODIS values are compared to the ground truth for one point in the Campus, as obtained from a four-component net radiometer, and a bias of 3.2 K was found in addition to a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE of 4.2 K. An indication of a more elaborated local measurement strategy in the Campus is given, using an array of radiometers distributed in the area.

Comparison of two split-window methods for retrieving land surface temperature from MODIS data

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Zhao, Shaohua; Qin, Qiming; Yang, Yonghui; Xiong, Yujiu; Qiu, Guoyu

2009-08-01

Land surface temperature (LST) is a key parameter in environment and earth science study, especially for monitoring drought. The objective of this work is a comparison of two split-window methods: Mao method and Sobrino method, for retrieving LST using MODIS (Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data in North China Plain. The results show that the max, min and mean errors of Mao method are 1.33K, 1.54K and 0.13K lower than the standard LST product respectively; while those of Sobrino method are 0.73K, 1.46K and 1.50K higher than the standard respectively. Validation of the two methods using LST product based on weather stations shows a good agreement between the standard and Sobrino method, with RMSE of 1.17K, whereas RMSE of Mao method is 1.85K. Finally, the study introduces the Sobmao method, which is based on Sobrino method but simplifies the estimation of atmospheric water vapour content using Mao method. The Sobmao method has almost the same accuracy with Sobrino method. With high accuracy and simplification of water vapour content estimation, the Sobmao method is recommendable in LST inversion for good application in Ningxia region, the northwest China, with mean error of 0.33K and the RMSE value of 0.91K.

Estimation of land-atmosphere energy transfer over the Tibetan Plateau by a combination use of geostationary and polar-orbiting satellite data

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, L.; Ma, Y.

2017-12-01

Land-atmosphere energy transfer is of great importance in land-atmosphere interactions and atmospheric boundary layer processes over the Tibetan Plateau (TP). The energy fluxes have high temporal variability, especially in their diurnal cycle, which cannot be acquired by polar-orbiting satellites alone because of their low temporal resolution. Therefore, it's of great practical significance to retrieve land surface heat fluxes by a combination use of geostationary and polar orbiting satellites. In this study, a time series of the hourly LST was estimated from thermal infrared data acquired by the Chinese geostationary satellite FengYun 2C (FY-2C) over the TP. The split window algorithm (SWA) was optimized using a regression method based on the observations from the Enhanced Observing Period (CEOP) of the Asia-Australia Monsoon Project (CAMP) on the Tibetan Plateau (CAMP/Tibet) and Tibetan observation and research platform (TORP), the land surface emissivity (LSE) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the water vapor content from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) project. The 10-day composite hourly LST data were generated via the maximum value composite (MVC) method to reduce the cloud effects. The derived LST was validated by the field observations of CAMP/Tibet and TORP. The results show that the retrieved LST and in situ data have a very good correlation (with root mean square error (RMSE), mean bias (MB), mean absolute error (MAE) and correlation coefficient (R) values of 1.99 K, 0.83 K, 1.71 K, and 0.991, respectively). Together with other characteristic parameters derived from polar-orbiting satellites and meteorological forcing data, the energy balance budgets have been retrieved finally. The validation results showed there was a good consistency between estimation results and in-situ measurements over the TP, which prove the robustness of the proposed estimation

Prognostic framing of stakeholders' subjectivities: A case of all-terrain vehicle management on state public lands

Science.gov (United States)

Stanley T. Asah; David N. Bengston; Keith Wendt; Leif. DeVaney

2012-01-01

Management of all-terrain vehicle (ATV) use on Minnesota state forest lands has a contentious history and land managers are caught between ATV riders, nonmotorized recreationists, private landowners, and environmental advocates. In this paper, we demonstrate the usefulness of framing distinct perspectives about ATV management on Minnesota state public forests,...

Requirements report for SSTO vertical take-off and horizontal landing vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Greenberg, H. S.

1994-01-01

This document describes the detailed design requirements and design criteria to support Structures/TPS Technology development for SSTO winged vehicle configurations that use vertical take-off and horizontal landing and delivers 25,000 lb payloads to a 220 nm circular orbit at an inclination of 51.6 degrees or 40,000 lb payloads to a 150 nm circular orbit at a 28.5 degree inclination.

The welfare effects of restricting off-highway vehicle access to public lands

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Paul M. Jakus; John E. Keith; Lu Liu; Dale Blahna

2010-01-01

Off-highway vehicle (OHV) use is a rapidly growing outdoor activity that results in a host of environmental and management problems. Federal agencies have been directed to develop travel management plans to improve recreation experiences, reduce social conflicts, and diminish environmental impacts of OHVs. We examine the effect of land access restrictions on the...

Evaluation of MODIS Land Surface Temperature with In Situ Snow Surface Temperature from CREST-SAFE

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Perez Diaz, C. L.; Lakhankar, T.; Romanov, P.; Munoz, J.; Khanbilvardi, R.; Yu, Y.

2016-12-01

This paper presents the procedure and results of a temperature-based validation approach for the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Land Surface Temperature (LST) product provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Terra and Aqua Earth Observing System satellites using in situ LST observations recorded at the Cooperative Remote Sensing Science and Technology Center - Snow Analysis and Field Experiment (CREST-SAFE) during the years of 2013 (January-April) and 2014 (February-April). A total of 314 day and night clear-sky thermal images, acquired by the Terra and Aqua satellites, were processed and compared to ground-truth data from CREST-SAFE with a frequency of one measurement every 3 min. Additionally, this investigation incorporated supplementary analyses using meteorological CREST-SAFE in situ variables (i.e. wind speed, cloud cover, incoming solar radiation) to study their effects on in situ snow surface temperature (T-skin) and T-air. Furthermore, a single pixel (1km2) and several spatially averaged pixels were used for satellite LST validation by increasing the MODIS window size to 5x5, 9x9, and 25x25 windows for comparison. Several trends in the MODIS LST data were observed, including the underestimation of daytime values and nighttime values. Results indicate that, although all the data sets (Terra and Aqua, diurnal and nocturnal) showed high correlation with ground measurements, day values yielded slightly higher accuracy ( 1°C), both suggesting that MODIS LST retrievals are reliable for similar land cover classes and atmospheric conditions. Results from the CREST-SAFE in situ variables' analyses indicate that T-air is commonly higher than T-skin, and that a lack of cloud cover results in: lower T-skin and higher T-air minus T-skin difference (T-diff). Additionally, the study revealed that T-diff is inversely proportional to cloud cover, wind speed, and incoming solar radiation. Increasing the MODIS window size

Evaluating Vegetation Type Effects on Land Surface Temperature at the City Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Wetherley, E. B.; McFadden, J. P.; Roberts, D. A.

2017-12-01

Understanding the effects of different plant functional types and urban materials on surface temperatures has significant consequences for climate modeling, water management, and human health in cities. To date, doing so at the urban scale has been complicated by small-scale surface heterogeneity and limited data. In this study we examined gradients of land surface temperature (LST) across sub-pixel mixtures of different vegetation types and urban materials across the entire Los Angeles, CA, metropolitan area (4,283 km2). We used AVIRIS airborne hyperspectral imagery (36 m resolution, 224 bands, 0.35 - 2.5 μm) to estimate sub-pixel fractions of impervious, pervious, tree, and turfgrass surfaces, validating them with simulated mixtures constructed from image spectra. We then used simultaneously imaged LST retrievals collected at multiple times of day to examine how temperature changed along gradients of the sub-pixel mixtures. Diurnal in situ LST measurements were used to confirm image values. Sub-pixel fractions were well correlated with simulated validation data for turfgrass (r2 = 0.71), tree (r2 = 0.77), impervious (r2 = 0.77), and pervious (r2 = 0.83) surfaces. The LST of pure pixels showed the effects of both the diurnal cycle and the surface type, with vegetated classes having a smaller diurnal temperature range of 11.6°C whereas non-vegetated classes had a diurnal range of 16.2°C (similar to in situ measurements collected simultaneously with the imagery). Observed LST across fractional gradients of turf/impervious and tree/impervious sub-pixel mixtures decreased linearly with increasing vegetation fraction. The slopes of decreasing LST were significantly different between tree and turf mixtures, with steeper slopes observed for turf (p < 0.05). These results suggest that different physiological characteristics and different access to irrigation water of urban trees and turfgrass results in significantly different LST effects, which can be detected at

A Highly Reliable and Cost-Efficient Multi-Sensor System for Land Vehicle Positioning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xu Li

2016-05-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we propose a novel positioning solution for land vehicles which is highly reliable and cost-efficient. The proposed positioning system fuses information from the MEMS-based reduced inertial sensor system (RISS which consists of one vertical gyroscope and two horizontal accelerometers, low-cost GPS, and supplementary sensors and sources. First, pitch and roll angle are accurately estimated based on a vehicle kinematic model. Meanwhile, the negative effect of the uncertain nonlinear drift of MEMS inertial sensors is eliminated by an H∞ filter. Further, a distributed-dual-H∞ filtering (DDHF mechanism is adopted to address the uncertain nonlinear drift of the MEMS-RISS and make full use of the supplementary sensors and sources. The DDHF is composed of a main H∞ filter (MHF and an auxiliary H∞ filter (AHF. Finally, a generalized regression neural network (GRNN module with good approximation capability is specially designed for the MEMS-RISS. A hybrid methodology which combines the GRNN module and the AHF is utilized to compensate for RISS position errors during GPS outages. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed solution, road-test experiments with various scenarios were performed. The experimental results illustrate that the proposed system can achieve accurate and reliable positioning for land vehicles.

Requirements report for SSTO vertical take-off/horizontal landing vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Greenberg, H. S.

1994-07-01

This document describes the detailed design requirements and design criteria to support Structures/TPS Technology development for SSTO winged vehicle configurations that use vertical take-off and horizontal landing and deliver 25,000 lb payloads to a 220 nm circular orbit at an inclination of 51.6 degrees or 40,000 lb payloads to a 150 nm circular orbit at a 28.5 degree of inclination. This document will be updated on a timely basis as informatIon becomes available throughout the project.

Satellite-derived NDVI, LST, and climatic factors driving the distribution and abundance of Anopheles mosquitoes in a former malarious area in northwest Argentina.

Science.gov (United States)

Dantur Juri, María Julia; Estallo, Elizabet; Almirón, Walter; Santana, Mirta; Sartor, Paolo; Lamfri, Mario; Zaidenberg, Mario

2015-06-01

Distribution and abundance of disease vectors are directly related to climatic conditions and environmental changes. Remote sensing data have been used for monitoring environmental conditions influencing spatial patterns of vector-borne diseases. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST) obtained from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and climatic factors (temperature, humidity, wind velocity, and accumulated rainfall) on the distribution and abundance of Anopheles species in northwestern Argentina using Poisson regression analyses. Samples were collected from December, 2001 to December, 2005 at three localities, Aguas Blancas, El Oculto and San Ramón de la Nueva Orán. We collected 11,206 adult Anopheles species, with the major abundance observed at El Oculto (59.11%), followed by Aguas Blancas (22.10%) and San Ramón de la Nueva Orán (18.79%). Anopheles pseudopunctipennis was the most abundant species at El Oculto, Anopheles argyritarsis predominated in Aguas Blancas, and Anopheles strodei in San Ramón de la Nueva Orán. Samples were collected throughout the sampling period, with the highest peaks during the spring seasons. LST and mean temperature appear to be the most important variables determining the distribution patterns and major abundance of An. pseudopunctipennis and An. argyritarsis within malarious areas. © 2015 The Society for Vector Ecology.

Inhalation of primary motor vehicle emissions: Effects of urbanpopulation and land area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marshall, Julian D.; McKone, Thomas E.; Nazaroff, William W.

2004-06-14

Urban population density can influence transportation demand, as expressed through average daily vehicle-kilometers traveled per capita (VKT). In turn, changes in transportation demand influence total passenger vehicle emissions. Population density can also influence the fraction of total emissions that are inhaled by the exposed urban population. Equations are presented that describe these relationships for an idealized representation of an urban area. Using analytic solutions to these equations, we investigate the effect of three changes in urban population and urban land area (infill, sprawl, and constant-density growth) on per capita inhalation intake of primary pollutants from passenger vehicles. The magnitude of these effects depends on density-emissions elasticity ({var_epsilon}{sub e}), a normalized derivative relating change in population density to change in vehicle emissions. For example, if urban population increases, per capita intake is less with infill development than with constant-density growth if {var_epsilon}{sub e} is less than -0.5, while for {var_epsilon}{sub e} greater than -0.5 the reverse is true.

Downscaling of Aircraft, Landsat, and MODIS-bases Land Surface Temperature Images with Support Vector Machines

Science.gov (United States)

High spatial resolution Land Surface Temperature (LST) images are required to estimate evapotranspiration (ET) at a field scale for irrigation scheduling purposes. Satellite sensors such as Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) can offer images at s...

A Design Study of the Inflated Sphere Landing Vehicle, Including the Landing Performance and the Effects of Deviations from Design Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, E. Dale

1961-01-01

The impact motion of the inflated sphere landing vehicle with a payload centrally supported from the spherical skin by numerous cords has been determined on the assumption of uniform isentropic gas compression during impact. The landing capabilities are determined for a system containing suspension cords of constant cross section. The effects of deviations in impact velocity and initial gas temperature from the design conditions are studied. Also discussed are the effects of errors in the time at which the skin is ruptured. These studies indicate how the design parameters should be chosen to insure reliability of the landing system. Calculations have been made and results are presented for a sphere inflated with hydrogen, landing on the moon in the absence of an atmosphere. The results are presented for one value of the skin-strength parameter.

Closed-loop, pilot/vehicle analysis of the approach and landing task

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Anderson, M. R.; Schmidt, D. K.

1986-01-01

In the case of approach and landing, it is universally accepted that the pilot uses more than one vehicle response, or output, to close his control loops. Therefore, to model this task, a multi-loop analysis technique is required. The analysis problem has been in obtaining reasonable analytic estimates of the describing functions representing the pilot's loop compensation. Once these pilot describing functions are obtained, appropriate performance and workload metrics must then be developed for the landing task. The optimal control approach provides a powerful technique for obtaining the necessary describing functions, once the appropriate task objective is defined in terms of a quadratic objective function. An approach is presented through the use of a simple, reasonable objective function and model-based metrics to evaluate loop performance and pilot workload. The results of an analysis of the LAHOS (Landing and Approach of Higher Order Systems) study performed by R.E. Smith is also presented.

Reconstructing satellite images to quantify spatially explicit land surface change caused by fires and succession: A demonstration in the Yukon River Basin of interior Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Shengli; Jin, Suming; Dahal, Devendra; Chen, Xuexia; Young, Claudia; Liu, Heping; Liu, Shuguang

2013-01-01

Land surface change caused by fires and succession is confounded by many site-specific factors and requires further study. The objective of this study was to reveal the spatially explicit land surface change by minimizing the confounding factors of weather variability, seasonal offset, topography, land cover, and drainage. In a pilot study of the Yukon River Basin of interior Alaska, we retrieved Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), albedo, and land surface temperature (LST) from a postfire Landsat image acquired on August 5th, 2004. With a Landsat reference image acquired on June 26th, 1986, we reconstructed NDVI, albedo, and LST of 1987–2004 fire scars for August 5th, 2004, assuming that these fires had not occurred. The difference between actual postfire and assuming-no-fire scenarios depicted the fires and succession impact. Our results demonstrated the following: (1) NDVI showed an immediate decrease after burning but gradually recovered to prefire levels in the following years, in which burn severity might play an important role during this process; (2) Albedo showed an immediate decrease after burning but then recovered and became higher than prefire levels; and (3) Most fires caused surface warming, but cooler surfaces did exist; time-since-fire affected the prefire and postfire LST difference but no absolute trend could be found. Our approach provided spatially explicit land surface change rather than average condition, enabling a better understanding of fires and succession impact on ecological consequences at the pixel level.

Land Surface Microwave Emissivities Derived from AMSR-E and MODIS Measurements with Advanced Quality Control

Science.gov (United States)

Moncet, Jean-Luc; Liang, Pan; Galantowicz, John F.; Lipton, Alan E.; Uymin, Gennady; Prigent, Catherine; Grassotti, Christopher

2011-01-01

A microwave emissivity database has been developed with data from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS (AMSR-E) and with ancillary land surface temperature (LST) data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the same Aqua spacecraft. The primary intended application of the database is to provide surface emissivity constraints in atmospheric and surface property retrieval or assimilation. An additional application is to serve as a dynamic indicator of land surface properties relevant to climate change monitoring. The precision of the emissivity data is estimated to be significantly better than in prior databases from other sensors due to the precise collocation with high-quality MODIS LST data and due to the quality control features of our data analysis system. The accuracy of the emissivities in deserts and semi-arid regions is enhanced by applying, in those regions, a version of the emissivity retrieval algorithm that accounts for the penetration of microwave radiation through dry soil with diurnally varying vertical temperature gradients. These results suggest that this penetration effect is more widespread and more significant to interpretation of passive microwave measurements than had been previously established. Emissivity coverage in areas where persistent cloudiness interferes with the availability of MODIS LST data is achieved using a classification-based method to spread emissivity data from less-cloudy areas that have similar microwave surface properties. Evaluations and analyses of the emissivity products over homogeneous snow-free areas are presented, including application to retrieval of soil temperature profiles. Spatial inhomogeneities are the largest in the vicinity of large water bodies due to the large water/land emissivity contrast and give rise to large apparent temporal variability in the retrieved emissivities when satellite footprint locations vary over time. This issue will be dealt with in the future by

A spatiotemporal analysis of the relationship between near-surface air temperature and satellite land surface temperatures using 17 years of data from the ATSR series

Science.gov (United States)

Good, Elizabeth J.; Ghent, Darren J.; Bulgin, Claire E.; Remedios, John J.

2017-09-01

The relationship between satellite land surface temperature (LST) and ground-based observations of 2 m air temperature (T2m) is characterized in space and time using >17 years of data. The analysis uses a new monthly LST climate data record (CDR) based on the Along-Track Scanning Radiometer series, which has been produced within the European Space Agency GlobTemperature project (http://www.globtemperature.info/). Global LST-T2m differences are analyzed with respect to location, land cover, vegetation fraction, and elevation, all of which are found to be important influencing factors. LSTnight ( 10 P.M. local solar time, clear-sky only) is found to be closely coupled with minimum T2m (Tmin, all-sky) and the two temperatures generally consistent to within ±5°C (global median LSTnight-Tmin = 1.8°C, interquartile range = 3.8°C). The LSTday ( 10 A.M. local solar time, clear-sky only)-maximum T2m (Tmax, all-sky) variability is higher (global median LSTday-Tmax = -0.1°C, interquartile range = 8.1°C) because LST is strongly influenced by insolation and surface regime. Correlations for both temperature pairs are typically >0.9 outside of the tropics. The monthly global and regional anomaly time series of LST and T2m—which are completely independent data sets—compare remarkably well. The correlation between the data sets is 0.9 for the globe with 90% of the CDR anomalies falling within the T2m 95% confidence limits. The results presented in this study present a justification for increasing use of satellite LST data in climate and weather science, both as an independent variable, and to augment T2m data acquired at meteorological stations.

Autonomous Landing and Ingress of Micro-Air-Vehicles in Urban Environments Based on Monocular Vision

Science.gov (United States)

Brockers, Roland; Bouffard, Patrick; Ma, Jeremy; Matthies, Larry; Tomlin, Claire

2011-01-01

Unmanned micro air vehicles (MAVs) will play an important role in future reconnaissance and search and rescue applications. In order to conduct persistent surveillance and to conserve energy, MAVs need the ability to land, and they need the ability to enter (ingress) buildings and other structures to conduct reconnaissance. To be safe and practical under a wide range of environmental conditions, landing and ingress maneuvers must be autonomous, using real-time, onboard sensor feedback. To address these key behaviors, we present a novel method for vision-based autonomous MAV landing and ingress using a single camera for two urban scenarios: landing on an elevated surface, representative of a rooftop, and ingress through a rectangular opening, representative of a door or window. Real-world scenarios will not include special navigation markers, so we rely on tracking arbitrary scene features; however, we do currently exploit planarity of the scene. Our vision system uses a planar homography decomposition to detect navigation targets and to produce approach waypoints as inputs to the vehicle control algorithm. Scene perception, planning, and control run onboard in real-time; at present we obtain aircraft position knowledge from an external motion capture system, but we expect to replace this in the near future with a fully self-contained, onboard, vision-aided state estimation algorithm. We demonstrate autonomous vision-based landing and ingress target detection with two different quadrotor MAV platforms. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of onboard, vision-based autonomous landing and ingress algorithms that do not use special purpose scene markers to identify the destination.

Impact of Vegetation Cover Fraction Parameterization schemes on Land Surface Temperature Simulation in the Tibetan Plateau

Science.gov (United States)

Lv, M.; Li, C.; Lu, H.; Yang, K.; Chen, Y.

2017-12-01

The parameterization of vegetation cover fraction (VCF) is an important component of land surface models. This paper investigates the impacts of three VCF parameterization schemes on land surface temperature (LST) simulation by the Common Land Model (CoLM) in the Tibetan Plateau (TP). The first scheme is a simple land cover (LC) based method; the second one is based on remote sensing observation (hereafter named as RNVCF) , in which multi-year climatology VCFs is derived from Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index); the third VCF parameterization scheme derives VCF from the LAI simulated by LSM and clump index at every model time step (hereafter named as SMVCF). Simulated land surface temperature(LST) and soil temperature by CoLM with three VCF parameterization schemes were evaluated by using satellite LST observation and in situ soil temperature observation, respectively, during the period of 2010 to 2013. The comparison against MODIS Aqua LST indicates that (1) CTL produces large biases for both four seasons in early afternoon (about 13:30, local solar time), while the mean bias in spring reach to 12.14K; (2) RNVCF and SMVCF reduce the mean bias significantly, especially in spring as such reduce is about 6.5K. Surface soil temperature observed at 5 cm depth from three soil moisture and temperature monitoring networks is also employed to assess the skill of three VCF schemes. The three networks, crossing TP from West to East, have different climate and vegetation conditions. In the Ngari network, located in the Western TP with an arid climate, there are not obvious differences among three schemes. In Naqu network, located in central TP with a semi-arid climate condition, CTL shows a severe overestimates (12.1 K), but such overestimations can be reduced by 79% by RNVCF and 87% by SMVCF. In the third humid network (Maqu in eastern TP), CoLM performs similar to Naqu. However, at both Naqu and Maqu networks

Analysis of the dynamics of movement of the landing vehicle with an inflatable braking device on the final trajectory under the influence of wind load

Science.gov (United States)

Koryanov, V.; Kazakovtsev, V.; Harri, A.-M.; Heilimo, J.; Haukka, H.; Aleksashkin, S.

2015-10-01

This research work is devoted to analysis of angular motion of the landing vehicle (LV) with an inflatable braking device (IBD), taking into account the influence of the wind load on the final stage of the movement. Using methods to perform a calculation of parameters of angular motion of the landing vehicle with an inflatable braking device based on the availability of small asymmetries, which are capable of complex dynamic phenomena, analyzes motion of the landing vehicle at the final stage of motion in the atmosphere.

The influence of the interactions between anthropogenic activities and multiple ecological factors on land surface temperatures of urban forests

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Y.

2017-12-01

Context Land surface temperatures (LSTs) spatio-temporal distribution pattern of urban forests are influenced by many ecological factors; the identification of interaction between these factors can improve simulations and predictions of spatial patterns of urban cold islands. This quantitative research requires an integrated method that combines multiple sources data with spatial statistical analysis. Objectives The purpose of this study was to clarify urban forest LST influence interaction between anthropogenic activities and multiple ecological factors using cluster analysis of hot and cold spots and Geogdetector model. We introduced the hypothesis that anthropogenic activity interacts with certain ecological factors, and their combination influences urban forests LST. We also assumed that spatio-temporal distributions of urban forest LST should be similar to those of ecological factors and can be represented quantitatively. Methods We used Jinjiang as a representative city in China as a case study. Population density was employed to represent anthropogenic activity. We built up a multi-source data (forest inventory, digital elevation models (DEM), population, and remote sensing imagery) on a unified urban scale to support urban forest LST influence interaction research. Through a combination of spatial statistical analysis results, multi-source spatial data, and Geogdetector model, the interaction mechanisms of urban forest LST were revealed. Results Although different ecological factors have different influences on forest LST, in two periods with different hot spots and cold spots, the patch area and dominant tree species were the main factors contributing to LST clustering in urban forests. The interaction between anthropogenic activity and multiple ecological factors increased LST in urban forest stands, linearly and nonlinearly. Strong interactions between elevation and dominant species were generally observed and were prevalent in either hot or cold spots

Creating a seamless 1 km resolution daily land surface temperature dataset for urban and surrounding areas in the conterminous United States

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Xiaoma; Zhou, Yuyu; Asrar, Ghassem R.; Zhu, Zhengyuan

2018-03-01

High spatiotemporal land surface temperature (LST) datasets are increasingly needed in a variety of fields such as ecology, hydrology, meteorology, epidemiology, and energy systems. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LST is one of such high spatiotemporal datasets that are widely used. But, it has large amount of missing values primarily because of clouds. Gapfilling the missing values is an important approach to create high spatiotemporal LST datasets. However current gapfilling methods have limitations in terms of accuracy and time required to assemble the data over large areas (e.g., national and continental levels). In this study, we developed a 3-step hybrid method by integrating a combination of daily merging, spatiotemporal gapfilling, and temporal interpolation methods, to create a high spatiotemporal LST dataset using the four daily LST observations from the two MODIS instruments on Terra and Aqua satellites. We applied this method in urban and surrounding areas for the conterminous U.S. in 2010. The evaluation of the gapfilled LST product indicates that its root mean squared error (RMSE) to be 3.3K for mid-daytime (1:30 pm) and 2.7K for mid-13 nighttime (1:30 am) observations. The method can be easily extended to other years and regions and is also applicable to other satellite products. This seamless daily (mid-daytime and mid-nighttime) LST product with 1 km spatial resolution is of great value for studying effects of urbanization (e.g., urban heat island) and the related impacts on people, ecosystems, energy systems and other infrastructure for cities.

Afforestation in China cools local land surface temperature

OpenAIRE

Peng, Shu-Shi; Piao, Shilong; Zeng, Zhenzhong; Ciais, Philippe; Zhou, Liming; Li, Laurent Z. X.; Myneni, Ranga B.; Yin, Yi; Zeng, Hui

2014-01-01

International audience; China has the largest afforested area in the world (~62 million hectares in 2008), and these forests are carbon sinks. The climatic effect of these new forests depends on how radiant and turbulent energy fluxes over these plantations modify surface temperature. For instance, a lower albedo may cause warming, which negates the climatic benefits of carbon sequestration. Here, we used satellite measurements of land surface temperature (LST) from planted forests and adjace...

High resolution land surface modeling utilizing remote sensing parameters and the Noah-UCM: a case study in the Los Angeles Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Vahmani, P.; Hogue, T. S.

2014-07-01

In the current work we investigate the utility of remote sensing based surface parameters in the Noah-UCM (urban canopy model) over a highly developed urban area. Landsat and fused Landsat-MODIS data are utilized to generate high resolution (30 m) monthly spatial maps of green vegetation fraction (GVF), impervious surface area (ISA), albedo, leaf area index (LAI), and emissivity in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The gridded remotely sensed parameter datasets are directly substituted for the land-use/lookup-table values in the Noah-UCM modeling framework. Model performance in reproducing ET (evapotranspiration) and LST (land surface temperature) fields is evaluated utilizing Landsat-based LST and ET estimates from CIMIS (California Irrigation Management Information System) stations as well as in-situ measurements. Our assessment shows that the large deviations between the spatial distributions and seasonal fluctuations of the default and measured parameter sets lead to significant errors in the model predictions of monthly ET fields (RMSE = 22.06 mm month-1). Results indicate that implemented satellite derived parameter maps, particularly GVF, enhance the Noah-UCM capability to reproduce observed ET patterns over vegetated areas in the urban domains (RMSE = 11.77 mm month-1). GVF plays the most significant role in reproducing the observed ET fields, likely due to the interaction with other parameters in the model. Our analysis also shows that remotely sensed GVF and ISA improve the model capability to predict the LST differences between fully vegetated pixels and highly developed areas. However, the model still underestimates remotely sensed LST values over highly developed areas. We hypothesize that the LST underestimation is due to structural formulation in the UCM and cannot be immediately solved with available parameter choices.

Monitoring the effects of land use/landcover changes on urban heat island

Science.gov (United States)

Gee, Ong K.; Sarker, Md Latifur Rahman

2013-10-01

Urban heat island effects are well known nowadays and observed in cities throughout the World. The main reason behind the effects of urban heat island (UHI) is the transformation of land use/ land cover, and this transformation is associated with UHI through different actions: i) removal of vegetated areas, ii) land reclamation from sea/river, iii) construction of new building as well as other concrete structures, and iv) industrial and domestic activity. In rapidly developing cities, urban heat island effects increases very hastily with the transformation of vegetated/ other types of areas into urban surface because of the increasing population as well as for economical activities. In this research the effect of land use/ land cover on urban heat island was investigated in two growing cities in Asia i.e. Singapore and Johor Bahru, (Malaysia) using 10 years data (from 1997 to 2010) from Landsat TM/ETM+. Multispectral visible band along with indices such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Build Index (NDBI), and Normalized Difference Bareness Index (NDBaI) were used for the classification of major land use/land cover types using Maximum Likelihood Classifiers. On the other hand, land surface temperature (LST) was estimated from thermal image using Land Surface Temperature algorithm. Emissivity correction was applied to the LST map using the emissivity values from the major land use/ land cover types, and validation of the UHI map was carried out using in situ data. Results of this research indicate that there is a strong relationship between the land use/land cover changes and UHI. Over this 10 years period, significant percentage of non-urban surface was decreased but urban heat surface was increased because of the rapid urbanization. With the increase of UHI effect it is expected that local urban climate has been modified and some heat related health problem has been exposed, so appropriate measure should be taken in order to

Downscaling Satellite Land Surface Temperatures in Urban Regions for Surface Energy Balance Study and Heat Index Development

Science.gov (United States)

Norouzi, H.; Bah, A.; Prakash, S.; Nouri, N.; Blake, R.

2017-12-01

A great percentage of the world's population reside in urban areas that are exposed to the threats of global and regional climate changes and associated extreme weather events. Among them, urban heat islands have significant health and economic impacts due to higher thermal gradients of impermeable surfaces in urban regions compared to their surrounding rural areas. Therefore, accurate characterization of the surface energy balance in urban regions are required to predict these extreme events. High spatial resolution Land surface temperature (LST) in the scale of street level in the cities can provide wealth of information to study surface energy balance and eventually providing a reliable heat index. In this study, we estimate high-resolution LST maps using combination of LandSat 8 and infrared based satellite products such as Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and newly launched Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R Series (GOES-R). Landsat 8 provides higher spatial resolution (30 m) estimates of skin temperature every 16 days. However, MODIS and GOES-R have lower spatial resolution (1km and 4km respectively) with much higher temporal resolution. Several statistical downscaling methods were investigated to provide high spatiotemporal LST maps in urban regions. The results reveal that statistical methods such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) can provide reliable estimations of LST downscaling with 2K accuracy. Other methods also were tried including aggregating (up-scaling) the high-resolution data to a coarse one to examine the limitations and to build the model. Additionally, we deployed flux towers over distinct materials such as concrete, asphalt, and rooftops in New York City to monitor the sensible and latent heat fluxes through eddy covariance method. To account for the incoming and outgoing radiation, a 4-component radiometer is used that can observe both incoming and outgoing longwave and shortwave radiation. This

Does quality control matter? Surface urban heat island intensity variations estimated by satellite-derived land surface temperature products

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Jiameng; Zhan, Wenfeng; Huang, Fan; Quan, Jinling; Hu, Leiqiu; Gao, Lun; Ju, Weimin

2018-05-01

The temporally regular and spatially comprehensive monitoring of surface urban heat islands (SUHIs) have been extremely difficult, until the advent of satellite-based land surface temperature (LST) products. However, these LST products have relatively higher errors compared to in situ measurements. This has resulted in comparatively inaccurate estimations of SUHI indicators and, consequently, may have distorted interpretations of SUHIs. Although reports have shown that LST qualities are important for SUHI interpretations, systematic investigations of the response of SUHI indicators to LST qualities across cities with dissimilar bioclimates are rare. To address this issue, we chose eighty-six major cities across mainland China and analyzed SUHI intensity (SUHII) derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LST data. The LST-based SUHII differences due to inclusion or exclusion of MODIS quality control (QC) flags (i.e., ΔSUHII) were evaluated. Our major findings included, but are not limited to, the following four aspects: (1) SUHIIs can be significantly impacted by MODIS QC flags, and the associated QC-induced ΔSUHIIs generally accounted for 24.3% (29.9%) of the total SUHII value during the day (night); (2) the ΔSUHIIs differed between seasons, with considerable differences between transitional (spring and autumn) and extreme (summer and winter) seasons; (3) significant discrepancies also appeared among cities located in northern and southern regions, with northern cities often possessing higher annual mean ΔSUHIIs. The internal variations of ΔSUHIIs within individual cities also showed high heterogeneity, with ΔSUHII variations that generally exceeded 5.0 K (3.0 K) in northern (southern) cities; (4) ΔSUHIIs were negatively related to SUHIIs and cloud cover percentages (mostly in transitional seasons). No significant relationship was found in the extreme seasons. Our findings highlight the need to be extremely cautious when using LST

Determination of Optimum Viewing Angles for the Angular Normalization of Land Surface Temperature over Vegetated Surface

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huazhong Ren

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Multi-angular observation of land surface thermal radiation is considered to be a promising method of performing the angular normalization of land surface temperature (LST retrieved from remote sensing data. This paper focuses on an investigation of the minimum requirements of viewing angles to perform such normalizations on LST. The normally kernel-driven bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF is first extended to the thermal infrared (TIR domain as TIR-BRDF model, and its uncertainty is shown to be less than 0.3 K when used to fit the hemispheric directional thermal radiation. A local optimum three-angle combination is found and verified using the TIR-BRDF model based on two patterns: the single-point pattern and the linear-array pattern. The TIR-BRDF is applied to an airborne multi-angular dataset to retrieve LST at nadir (Te-nadir from different viewing directions, and the results show that this model can obtain reliable Te-nadir from 3 to 4 directional observations with large angle intervals, thus corresponding to large temperature angular variations. The Te-nadir is generally larger than temperature of the slant direction, with a difference of approximately 0.5~2.0 K for vegetated pixels and up to several Kelvins for non-vegetated pixels. The findings of this paper will facilitate the future development of multi-angular thermal infrared sensors.

Land Surface Phenologies of the Northern Great Plains: Possible Futures Arising From Land and Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Henebry, G. M.; Wimberly, M. C.; Senay, G.; Wang, A.; Chang, J.; Wright, C. R.; Hansen, M. C.

2008-12-01

Land cover change across the Northern Great Plains of North America over the past three decades has been driven by changes in agricultural management (conservation tillage; irrigation), government incentives (Conservation Reserve Program; subsidies to grain-based ethanol), crop varieties (cold-hardy soybean), and market dynamics (increasing world demand). Climate change across the Northern Great Plains over the past three decades has been evident in trends toward earlier warmth in the spring and a longer frost-free season. Together these land and climate changes induce shifts in local and regional land surface phenologies (LSPs). Any significant shift in LSP may correspond to a significant shift in evapotranspiration, with consequences for regional hydrometeorology. We explored possible future scenarios involving land use and climate change in six steps. First, we defined the nominal draw areas of current and future biorefineries in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Iowa and masked those land cover types within the draw areas that were unlikely to change to agricultural use (open water, settlements, forests, etc.). Second, we estimated the proportion of corn and soybean remaining within the masked draw areas using MODIS-derived crop maps. Third, in each draw area, we modified LSPs to simulate crop changes for a control and two treatment scenarios. In the control, we used LSP profiles identified from MODIS Collection 5 NBAR data. In one treatment, we increased the proportion of tallgrass LSPs in the draw areas to represent widespread cultivation of a perennial cellulosic crop, like switchgrass. In a second treatment, we increased the proportion of corn LSPs in the draw areas to represent increased corn cultivation. Fourth, we characterized the seasonal progression of the thermal regime associated with the LSP profiles using MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST) products. Fifth, we modeled the LSP profile as a quadratic function of accumulated

Global observation-based diagnosis of soil moisture control on land surface flux partition

Science.gov (United States)

Gallego-Elvira, Belen; Taylor, Christopher M.; Harris, Phil P.; Ghent, Darren; Veal, Karen L.; Folwell, Sonja S.

2016-04-01

Soil moisture plays a central role in the partition of available energy at the land surface between sensible and latent heat flux to the atmosphere. As soils dry out, evapotranspiration becomes water-limited ("stressed"), and both land surface temperature (LST) and sensible heat flux rise as a result. This change in surface behaviour during dry spells directly affects critical processes in both the land and the atmosphere. Soil water deficits are often a precursor in heat waves, and they control where feedbacks on precipitation become significant. State-of-the-art global climate model (GCM) simulations for the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) disagree on where and how strongly the surface energy budget is limited by soil moisture. Evaluation of GCM simulations at global scale is still a major challenge owing to the scarcity and uncertainty of observational datasets of land surface fluxes and soil moisture at the appropriate scale. Earth observation offers the potential to test how well GCM land schemes simulate hydrological controls on surface fluxes. In particular, satellite observations of LST provide indirect information about the surface energy partition at 1km resolution globally. Here, we present a potentially powerful methodology to evaluate soil moisture stress on surface fluxes within GCMs. Our diagnostic, Relative Warming Rate (RWR), is a measure of how rapidly the land warms relative to the overlying atmosphere during dry spells lasting at least 10 days. Under clear skies, this is a proxy for the change in sensible heat flux as soil dries out. We derived RWR from MODIS Terra and Aqua LST observations, meteorological re-analyses and satellite rainfall datasets. Globally we found that on average, the land warmed up during dry spells for 97% of the observed surface between 60S and 60N. For 73% of the area, the land warmed faster than the atmosphere (positive RWR), indicating water stressed conditions and increases in sensible heat flux

Platform Innovations and System Integration for Unmanned Air, Land and Sea Vehicles Symposium. Technical Evaluation Report

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Decuypere, Roland; Selegan, David

2007-01-01

...) of the Research and Technology Organization (RTO) of NATO organized a joint symposium on Platform Innovations and System Integration for Unmanned Air, Land and Sea Vehicles which met from 14-18 May 2007 in Florence Italy...

Generalized Split-Window Algorithm for Estimate of Land Surface Temperature from Chinese Geostationary FengYun Meteorological Satellite (FY-2C Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Xia

2008-02-01

Full Text Available On the basis of the radiative transfer theory, this paper addressed the estimate ofLand Surface Temperature (LST from the Chinese first operational geostationarymeteorological satellite-FengYun-2C (FY-2C data in two thermal infrared channels (IR1,10.3-11.3 μ m and IR2, 11.5-12.5 μ m , using the Generalized Split-Window (GSWalgorithm proposed by Wan and Dozier (1996. The coefficients in the GSW algorithmcorresponding to a series of overlapping ranging of the mean emissivity, the atmosphericWater Vapor Content (WVC, and the LST were derived using a statistical regressionmethod from the numerical values simulated with an accurate atmospheric radiativetransfer model MODTRAN 4 over a wide range of atmospheric and surface conditions.The simulation analysis showed that the LST could be estimated by the GSW algorithmwith the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE less than 1 K for the sub-ranges with theViewing Zenith Angle (VZA less than 30° or for the sub-rangs with VZA less than 60°and the atmospheric WVC less than 3.5 g/cm2 provided that the Land Surface Emissivities(LSEs are known. In order to determine the range for the optimum coefficients of theGSW algorithm, the LSEs could be derived from the data in MODIS channels 31 and 32 provided by MODIS/Terra LST product MOD11B1, or be estimated either according tothe land surface classification or using the method proposed by Jiang et al. (2006; and theWVC could be obtained from MODIS total precipitable water product MOD05, or beretrieved using Li et al.’ method (2003. The sensitivity and error analyses in term of theuncertainty of the LSE and WVC as well as the instrumental noise were performed. Inaddition, in order to compare the different formulations of the split-window algorithms,several recently proposed split-window algorithms were used to estimate the LST with thesame simulated FY-2C data. The result of the intercomparsion showed that most of thealgorithms give

Investigating Land Surface Temperature Changes Using Landsat Data in Konya, Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. Orhan

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of this paper is to investigate multi-temporal land surface temperature (LST and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI changes of Konya in Turkey using remotely sensed data. Konya is located in the semi-arid central Anatolian region of Turkey and hosts many important wetland sites including Salt Lake. Six images taken by Landsat-5 TM and Landsat 8- OLI satellites were used as the basic data source. These raw images were taken in 1984, 2011 and 2014 intended as long-term and short-term. Firstly, those raw images was corrected radiometric and geometrically within the scope of project. Three mosaic images were obtained by using the full-frame images of Landsat-5 TM / 8- OLI which had been already transformed comparison each other. Then, Land Surface Temperature (LST, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI maps have been produced to determine the dimension of the drought. The obtained results showed that surface temperature rates in the basin increased about 5°C between 1984 and 2014 as long periods, increased about 2-3°C between 2011and 2014 as short periods. Meteorological data supports the increase in temperature.

Mapping Surface Heat Fluxes by Assimilating SMAP Soil Moisture and GOES Land Surface Temperature Data

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yang; Steele-Dunne, Susan C.; Farhadi, Leila; van de Giesen, Nick

2017-12-01

Surface heat fluxes play a crucial role in the surface energy and water balance. In situ measurements are costly and difficult, and large-scale flux mapping is hindered by surface heterogeneity. Previous studies have demonstrated that surface heat fluxes can be estimated by assimilating land surface temperature (LST) and soil moisture to determine two key parameters: a neutral bulk heat transfer coefficient (CHN) and an evaporative fraction (EF). Here a methodology is proposed to estimate surface heat fluxes by assimilating Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) soil moisture data and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) LST data into a dual-source (DS) model using a hybrid particle assimilation strategy. SMAP soil moisture data are assimilated using a particle filter (PF), and GOES LST data are assimilated using an adaptive particle batch smoother (APBS) to account for the large gap in the spatial and temporal resolution. The methodology is implemented in an area in the U.S. Southern Great Plains. Assessment against in situ observations suggests that soil moisture and LST estimates are in better agreement with observations after assimilation. The RMSD for 30 min (daytime) flux estimates is reduced by 6.3% (8.7%) and 31.6% (37%) for H and LE on average. Comparison against a LST-only and a soil moisture-only assimilation case suggests that despite the coarse resolution, assimilating SMAP soil moisture data is not only beneficial but also crucial for successful and robust flux estimation, particularly when the uncertainties in the model estimates are large.

An Efficient Approach for Pixel Decomposition to Increase the Spatial Resolution of Land Surface Temperature Images from MODIS Thermal Infrared Band Data

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Fei Wang

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Land surface temperature (LST images retrieved from the thermal infrared (TIR band data of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS have much lower spatial resolution than the MODIS visible and near-infrared (VNIR band data. The coarse pixel scale of MODIS LST images (1000 m under nadir have limited their capability in applying to many studies required high spatial resolution in comparison of the MODIS VNIR band data with pixel scale of 250–500 m. In this paper we intend to develop an efficient approach for pixel decomposition to increase the spatial resolution of MODIS LST image using the VNIR band data as assistance. The unique feature of this approach is to maintain the thermal radiance of parent pixels in the MODIS LST image unchanged after they are decomposed into the sub-pixels in the resulted image. There are two important steps in the decomposition: initial temperature estimation and final temperature determination. Therefore the approach can be termed double-step pixel decomposition (DSPD. Both steps involve a series of procedures to achieve the final result of decomposed LST image, including classification of the surface patterns, establishment of LST change with normalized difference of vegetation index (NDVI and building index (NDBI, reversion of LST into thermal radiance through Planck equation, and computation of weights for the sub-pixels of the resulted image. Since the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER with much higher spatial resolution than MODIS data was on-board the same platform (Terra as MODIS for Earth observation, an experiment had been done in the study to validate the accuracy and efficiency of our approach for pixel decomposition. The ASTER LST image was used as the reference to compare with the decomposed LST image. The result showed that the spatial distribution of the decomposed LST image was very similar to that of the ASTER LST image with a root mean square error

An efficient approach for pixel decomposition to increase the spatial resolution of land surface temperature images from MODIS thermal infrared band data.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Fei; Qin, Zhihao; Li, Wenjuan; Song, Caiying; Karnieli, Arnon; Zhao, Shuhe

2014-12-25

Land surface temperature (LST) images retrieved from the thermal infrared (TIR) band data of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) have much lower spatial resolution than the MODIS visible and near-infrared (VNIR) band data. The coarse pixel scale of MODIS LST images (1000 m under nadir) have limited their capability in applying to many studies required high spatial resolution in comparison of the MODIS VNIR band data with pixel scale of 250-500 m. In this paper we intend to develop an efficient approach for pixel decomposition to increase the spatial resolution of MODIS LST image using the VNIR band data as assistance. The unique feature of this approach is to maintain the thermal radiance of parent pixels in the MODIS LST image unchanged after they are decomposed into the sub-pixels in the resulted image. There are two important steps in the decomposition: initial temperature estimation and final temperature determination. Therefore the approach can be termed double-step pixel decomposition (DSPD). Both steps involve a series of procedures to achieve the final result of decomposed LST image, including classification of the surface patterns, establishment of LST change with normalized difference of vegetation index (NDVI) and building index (NDBI), reversion of LST into thermal radiance through Planck equation, and computation of weights for the sub-pixels of the resulted image. Since the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) with much higher spatial resolution than MODIS data was on-board the same platform (Terra) as MODIS for Earth observation, an experiment had been done in the study to validate the accuracy and efficiency of our approach for pixel decomposition. The ASTER LST image was used as the reference to compare with the decomposed LST image. The result showed that the spatial distribution of the decomposed LST image was very similar to that of the ASTER LST image with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 2

Using two detectors concurrently to monitor ambient dose equivalent rates in vehicle surveys of radiocesium contaminated land.

Science.gov (United States)

Takeishi, Minoru; Shibamichi, Masaru; Malins, Alex; Kurikami, Hiroshi; Murakami, Mitsuhiro; Saegusa, Jun; Yoneya, Masayuki

2017-10-01

In response to the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP), vehicle-borne monitoring was used to map radiation levels for radiological protection of the public. By convention measurements from vehicle-borne surveys are converted to the ambient dose equivalent rate at 1 m height in the absence of the vehicle. This allows for comparison with results from other types of survey, including surveys with hand-held or airborne instruments. To improve the accuracy of the converted results from vehicle-borne surveys, we investigated combining measurements from two detectors mounted on the vehicle at different heights above the ground. A dual-detector setup was added to a JAEA monitoring car and compared against hand-held survey meter measurements in Fukushima Prefecture. The results obtained by combining measurements from two detectors were within ±20% of the hand-held reference measurements. The mean absolute percentage deviation from the reference measurements was 7.2%. The combined results from the two detectors were more accurate than those from either the roof-mounted detector, or the detector inside the vehicle, taken alone. One issue with vehicle-borne surveys is that ambient dose equivalent rates above roads are not necessarily representative of adjacent areas. This is because radiocesium is often deficient on asphalt surfaces, as it is easily scrubbed off by rain, wind and vehicle tires. To tackle this issue, we investigated mounting heights for vehicle-borne detectors using Monte Carlo gamma-ray simulations. When radiocesium is deficient on a road compared to the adjacent land, mounting detectors high on vehicles yields results closer to the values adjacent to the road. The ratio of ambient dose equivalent rates reported by detectors mounted at different heights in a dual-detector setup indicates whether radiocesium is deficient on the road compared to the adjacent land. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

Mapping the Influence of Land Use/Land Cover Changes on the Urban Heat Island Effect—A Case Study of Changchun, China

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Chaobin Yang

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The spatio-temporal patterns of land use/land cover changes (LUCC can significantly affect the distribution and intensity of the urban heat island (UHI effect. However, few studies have mapped a clear picture of the influence of LUCC on UHI. In this study, both qualitative and quantitative models are employed to explore the effect of LUCC on UHI. UHI and LUCC maps were retrieved from Landsat data acquired from 1984, 1992, 2000, 2007, and 2014 to show their spatiotemporal patterns. The results showed that: (1 both the patterns of LUCC and UHI have had dramatic changes in the past 30 years. The urban area of Changchun increased more than four times, from 143.15 km2 in 1984 to 577.45 km2 in 2014, and the proportion of UHI regions has increased from 15.27% in 1984 to 29.62% in 2014; (2 the spatiotemporal changes in thermal environment were consistent with the process of urbanization. The average LST of the study area has been continuously increasing as many other land use types have been transformed to urban regions. The mean temperatures were higher in urban regions than rural areas over all of the periods, but the UHI intensity varied based on different measurements; and (3 the thermal environment inside the city varied widely even within a small area. The LST possesses a very strong positive relationship with impervious surface area (ISA, and the relationship has become stronger in recent years. The UHI we employ, specifically in this study, is SUHI (surface urban heat island.

Heat waves measured with MODIS land surface temperature data predict changes in avian community structure

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas P. Albright; Anna M. Pidgeon; Chadwick D. Rittenhouse; Murray K. Clayton; Curtis H. Flather; Patrick D. Culbert; Volker C. Radeloff

2011-01-01

Heat waves are expected to become more frequent and severe as climate changes, with unknown consequences for biodiversity. We sought to identify ecologically-relevant broad-scale indicators of heat waves based on MODIS land surface temperature (LST) and interpolated air temperature data and assess their associations with avian community structure. Specifically, we...

Estimating Daily Global Evapotranspiration Using Penman–Monteith Equation and Remotely Sensed Land Surface Temperature

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Roozbeh Raoufi

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Daily evapotranspiration (ET is modeled globally for the period 2000–2013 based on the Penman–Monteith equation with radiation and vapor pressures derived using remotely sensed Land Surface Temperature (LST from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS on the Aqua and Terra satellites. The ET for a given land area is based on four surface conditions: wet/dry and vegetated/non-vegetated. For each, the ET resistance terms are based on land cover, leaf area index (LAI and literature values. The vegetated/non-vegetated fractions of the land surface are estimated using land cover, LAI, a simplified version of the Beer–Lambert law for describing light transition through vegetation and newly derived light extension coefficients for each MODIS land cover type. The wet/dry fractions of the land surface are nonlinear functions of LST derived humidity calibrated using in-situ ET measurements. Results are compared to in-situ measurements (average of the root mean squared errors and mean absolute errors for 39 sites are 0.81 mm day−1 and 0.59 mm day−1, respectively and the MODIS ET product, MOD16, (mean bias during 2001–2013 is −0.2 mm day−1. Although the mean global difference between MOD16 and ET estimates is only 0.2 mm day−1, local temperature derived vapor pressures are the likely contributor to differences, especially in energy and water limited regions. The intended application for the presented model is simulating ET based on long-term climate forecasts (e.g., using only minimum, maximum and mean daily or monthly temperatures.

Impacts of land cover transitions on surface temperature in China based on satellite observations

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yuzhen; Liang, Shunlin

2018-02-01

China has experienced intense land use and land cover changes during the past several decades, which have exerted significant influences on climate change. Previous studies exploring related climatic effects have focused mainly on one or two specific land use changes, or have considered all land use and land cover change types together without distinguishing their individual impacts, and few have examined the physical processes of the mechanism through which land use changes affect surface temperature. However, in this study, we considered satellite-derived data of multiple land cover changes and transitions in China. The objective was to obtain observational evidence of the climatic effects of land cover transitions in China by exploring how they affect surface temperature and to what degree they influence it through the modification of biophysical processes, with an emphasis on changes in surface albedo and evapotranspiration (ET). To achieve this goal, we quantified the changes in albedo, ET, and surface temperature in the transition areas, examined their correlations with temperature change, and calculated the contributions of different land use transitions to surface temperature change via changes in albedo and ET. Results suggested that land cover transitions from cropland to urban land increased land surface temperature (LST) during both daytime and nighttime by 0.18 and 0.01 K, respectively. Conversely, the transition of forest to cropland tended to decrease surface temperature by 0.53 K during the day and by 0.07 K at night, mainly through changes in surface albedo. Decreases in both daytime and nighttime LST were observed over regions of grassland to forest transition, corresponding to average values of 0.44 and 0.20 K, respectively, predominantly controlled by changes in ET. These results highlight the necessity to consider the individual climatic effects of different land cover transitions or conversions in climate research studies. This short

Synergistic interactions of dynamic ridesharing and battery electric vehicles land use, transit, and auto pricing policies.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-10-01

It is widely recognized that new vehicle and fuel technology is necessary, but not sufficient, to meet deep greenhouse gas (GHG) : reductions goals for both the U.S. and the state of California. Demand management strategies (such as land use, transit...

A physics-based algorithm for retrieving land-surface emissivity and temperature from EOS/MODIS data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan, Z.; Li, Z.L.

1997-01-01

The authors have developed a physics-based land-surface temperature (LST) algorithm for simultaneously retrieving surface band-averaged emissivities and temperatures from day/night pairs of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data in seven thermal infrared bands. The set of 14 nonlinear equations in the algorithm is solved with the statistical regression method and the least-squares fit method. This new LST algorithm was tested with simulated MODIS data for 80 sets of band-averaged emissivities calculated from published spectral data of terrestrial materials in wide ranges of atmospheric and surface temperature conditions. Comprehensive sensitivity and error analysis has been made to evaluate the performance of the new LST algorithm and its dependence on variations in surface emissivity and temperature, upon atmospheric conditions, as well as the noise-equivalent temperature difference (NEΔT) and calibration accuracy specifications of the MODIS instrument. In cases with a systematic calibration error of 0.5%, the standard deviations of errors in retrieved surface daytime and nighttime temperatures fall between 0.4--0.5 K over a wide range of surface temperatures for mid-latitude summer conditions. The standard deviations of errors in retrieved emissivities in bands 31 and 32 (in the 10--12.5 microm IR spectral window region) are 0.009, and the maximum error in retrieved LST values falls between 2--3 K

A review on remotely sensed land surface temperature anomaly as an earthquake precursor

Science.gov (United States)

Bhardwaj, Anshuman; Singh, Shaktiman; Sam, Lydia; Joshi, P. K.; Bhardwaj, Akanksha; Martín-Torres, F. Javier; Kumar, Rajesh

2017-12-01

The low predictability of earthquakes and the high uncertainty associated with their forecasts make earthquakes one of the worst natural calamities, capable of causing instant loss of life and property. Here, we discuss the studies reporting the observed anomalies in the satellite-derived Land Surface Temperature (LST) before an earthquake. We compile the conclusions of these studies and evaluate the use of remotely sensed LST anomalies as precursors of earthquakes. The arrival times and the amplitudes of the anomalies vary widely, thus making it difficult to consider them as universal markers to issue earthquake warnings. Based on the randomness in the observations of these precursors, we support employing a global-scale monitoring system to detect statistically robust anomalous geophysical signals prior to earthquakes before considering them as definite precursors.

Effects of landscape composition and pattern on land surface temperature: An urban heat island study in the megacities of Southeast Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Estoque, Ronald C; Murayama, Yuji; Myint, Soe W

2017-01-15

Due to its adverse impacts on urban ecological environment and the overall livability of cities, the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon has become a major research focus in various interrelated fields, including urban climatology, urban ecology, urban planning, and urban geography. This study sought to examine the relationship between land surface temperature (LST) and the abundance and spatial pattern of impervious surface and green space in the metropolitan areas of Bangkok (Thailand), Jakarta (Indonesia), and Manila (Philippines). Landsat-8 OLI/TIRS data and various geospatial approaches, including urban-rural gradient, multiresolution grid-based, and spatial metrics-based techniques, were used to facilitate the analysis. We found a significant strong correlation between mean LST and the density of impervious surface (positive) and green space (negative) along the urban-rural gradients of the three cities, depicting a typical UHI profile. The correlation of impervious surface density with mean LST tends to increase in larger grids, whereas the correlation of green space density with mean LST tends to increase in smaller grids, indicating a stronger influence of impervious surface and green space on the variability of LST in larger and smaller areas, respectively. The size, shape complexity, and aggregation of the patches of impervious surface and green space also had significant relationships with mean LST, though aggregation had the most consistent strong correlation. On average, the mean LST of impervious surface is about 3°C higher than that of green space, highlighting the important role of green spaces in mitigating UHI effects, an important urban ecosystem service. We recommend that the density and spatial pattern of urban impervious surfaces and green spaces be considered in landscape and urban planning so that urban areas and cities can have healthier and more comfortable living urban environments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Framework for Mapping Global Evapotranspiration using 375-m VIIRS LST

Science.gov (United States)

Hain, C.; Anderson, M. C.; Schull, M. A.; Neale, C. M. U.

2017-12-01

As the world's water resources come under increasing tension due to dual stressors of climate change and population growth, accurate knowledge of water consumption through evapotranspiration (ET) over a range in spatial scales will be critical in developing adaptation strategies. Remote sensing methods for monitoring consumptive water use are becoming increasingly important, especially in areas of food insecurity. One method to estimate ET from satellite-based methods, the Atmosphere Land Exchange Inverse (ALEXI) model uses the change in morning land surface temperature to estimate the partitioning of sensible/latent heat fluxes which are then used to estimate daily ET. This presentation will outline several recent enhancements to the ALEXI modeling system, with a focus on global ET and drought monitoring. Until recently, ALEXI has been limited to areas with high resolution temporal sampling of geostationary sensors. The use of geostationary sensors makes global mapping a complicated process, especially for real-time applications, as data from as many as five different sensors are required to be ingested and harmonized to create a global mosaic. However, our research team has developed a new and novel method of using twice-daily observations from polar-orbiting sensors such as MODIS and VIIRS to estimate the mid-morning rise in LST that is used to drive the energy balance estimations within ALEXI. This allows the method to be applied globally using a single sensor rather than a global compositing of all available geostationary data. Other advantages of this new method include the higher spatial resolution provided by MODIS and VIIRS and the increased sampling at high latitudes where oblique view angles limit the utility of geostationary sensors. Improvements to the spatial resolution of the thermal infrared wavelengths on the VIIRS instrument, as compared to MODIS (375-m VIIRS vs. 1-km MODIS), allows for a much higher resolution ALEXI product than has been

A Vision-Based Method for Autonomous Landing of a Rotor-Craft Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. Yuan

2006-01-01

Full Text Available This article introduces a real-time vision-based method for guided autonomous landing of a rotor-craft unmanned aerial vehicle. In the process of designing the pattern of landing target, we have fully considered how to make this easier for simplified identification and calibration. A linear algorithm was also applied using a three-dimensional structure estimation in real time. In addition, multiple-view vision technology is utilized to calibrate intrinsic parameters of camera online, so calibration prior to flight is unnecessary and the focus of camera can be changed freely in flight, thus upgrading the flexibility and practicality of the method.

Linking potential heat source and sink to urban heat island: Heterogeneous effects of landscape pattern on land surface temperature.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Weifeng; Cao, Qiwen; Lang, Kun; Wu, Jiansheng

2017-05-15

Rapid urbanization has significantly contributed to the development of urban heat island (UHI). Regulating landscape composition and configuration would help mitigate the UHI in megacities. Taking Shenzhen, China, as a case study area, we defined heat source and heat sink and identified strong and weak sources as well as strong and weak sinks according to the natural and socioeconomic factors influencing land surface temperature (LST). Thus, the potential thermal contributions of heat source and heat sink patches were differentiated. Then, the heterogeneous effects of landscape pattern on LST were examined by using semiparametric geographically weighted regression (SGWR) models. The results showed that landscape composition has more significant effects on thermal environment than configuration. For a strong source, the percentage of patches has a positive impact on LST. Additionally, when mosaicked with some heat sink, even a small improvement in the degree of dispersion of a strong source helps to alleviate UHI. For a weak source, the percentage and density of patches have positive impacts on LST. For a strong sink, the percentage, density, and degree of aggregation of patches have negative impacts on LST. The effects of edge density and patch shape complexity vary spatially with the fragmentation of a strong sink. Similarly, the impacts of a weak sink are mainly exerted via the characteristics of percent, density, and shape complexity of patches. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Land Surface Temperature- Comparing Data from Polar Orbiting and Geostationary Satellites

Science.gov (United States)

Comyn-Platt, E.; Remedios, J. J.; Good, E. J.; Ghent, D.; Saunders, R.

2012-04-01

Land Surface Temperature (LST) is a vital parameter in Earth climate science, driving long-wave radiation exchanges that control the surface energy budget and carbon fluxes, which are important factors in Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) and the monitoring of climate change. Satellites offer a convenient way to observe LST consistently and regularly over large areas. A comparison between LST retrieved from a Geostationary Instrument, the Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI), and a Polar Orbiting Instrument, the Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) is presented. Both sensors offer differing benefits. AATSR offers superior precision and spatial resolution with global coverage but given its sun-synchronous platform only observes at two local times, ~10am and ~10pm. SEVIRI provides the high-temporal resolution (every 15 minutes) required for observing diurnal variability of surface temperatures but given its geostationary platform has a poorer resolution, 3km at nadir, which declines at higher latitudes. A number of retrieval methods are applied to the raw satellite data: First order coefficient based algorithms provided on an operational basis by the LandSAF (for SEVIRI) and the University of Leicester (for AATSR); Second order coefficient based algorithms put forward by the University of Valencia; and an optimal estimation method using the 1DVar software provided by the NWP SAF. Optimal estimation is an iterative technique based upon inverse theory, thus is very useful for expanding into data assimilation systems. The retrievals are assessed and compared on both a fine scale using in-situ data from recognised validation sites and on a broad scale using two 100x100 regions such that biases can be better understood. Overall, the importance of LST lies in monitoring daily temperature extremes, e.g. for estimating permafrost thawing depth or risk of crop damage due to frost, hence the ideal dataset would use a combination of observations

Assessing the Regional/Diurnal Bias between Satellite Retrievals and GEOS-5/MERRA Model Estimates of Land Surface Temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Scarino, B. R.; Smith, W. L., Jr.; Minnis, P.; Bedka, K. M.

2017-12-01

Atmospheric models rely on high-accuracy, high-resolution initial radiometric and surface conditions for better short-term meteorological forecasts, as well as improved evaluation of global climate models. Continuous remote sensing of the Earth's energy budget, as conducted by the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) project, allows for near-realtime evaluation of cloud and surface radiation properties. It is unfortunately common for there to be bias between atmospheric/surface radiation models and Earth-observations. For example, satellite-observed surface skin temperature (Ts), an important parameter for characterizing the energy exchange at the ground/water-atmosphere interface, can be biased due to atmospheric adjustment assumptions and anisotropy effects. Similarly, models are potentially biased by errors in initial conditions and regional forcing assumptions, which can be mitigated through assimilation with true measurements. As such, when frequent, broad-coverage, and accurate retrievals of satellite Ts are available, important insights into model estimates of Ts can be gained. The Satellite ClOud and Radiation Property retrieval System (SatCORPS) employs a single-channel thermal-infrared method to produce anisotropy-corrected Ts over clear-sky land and ocean surfaces from data taken by geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellite imagers. Regional and diurnal changes in model land surface temperature (LST) performance can be assessed owing to the somewhat continuous measurements of the LST offered by GEO satellites - measurements which are accurate to within 0.2 K. A seasonal, hourly comparison of satellite-observed LST with the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System Version 5 (GEOS-5) and the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) LST estimates is conducted to reveal regional and diurnal biases. This assessment is an important first step for evaluating the effectiveness of Ts assimilation, as well for determining the

Construction and Analysis of Long-Term Surface Temperature Dataset in Fujian Province

Science.gov (United States)

Li, W. E.; Wang, X. Q.; Su, H.

2017-09-01

Land surface temperature (LST) is a key parameter of land surface physical processes on global and regional scales, linking the heat fluxes and interactions between the ground and atmosphere. Based on MODIS 8-day LST products (MOD11A2) from the split-window algorithms, we constructed and obtained the monthly and annual LST dataset of Fujian Province from 2000 to 2015. Then, we analyzed the monthly and yearly time series LST data and further investigated the LST distribution and its evolution features. The average LST of Fujian Province reached the highest in July, while the lowest in January. The monthly and annual LST time series present a significantly periodic features (annual and interannual) from 2000 to 2015. The spatial distribution showed that the LST in North and West was lower than South and East in Fujian Province. With the rapid development and urbanization of the coastal area in Fujian Province, the LST in coastal urban region was significantly higher than that in mountainous rural region. The LST distributions might affected by the climate, topography and land cover types. The spatio-temporal distribution characteristics of LST could provide good references for the agricultural layout and environment monitoring in Fujian Province.

CONSTRUCTION AND ANALYSIS OF LONG-TERM SURFACE TEMPERATURE DATASET IN FUJIAN PROVINCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. E. Li

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Land surface temperature (LST is a key parameter of land surface physical processes on global and regional scales, linking the heat fluxes and interactions between the ground and atmosphere. Based on MODIS 8-day LST products (MOD11A2 from the split-window algorithms, we constructed and obtained the monthly and annual LST dataset of Fujian Province from 2000 to 2015. Then, we analyzed the monthly and yearly time series LST data and further investigated the LST distribution and its evolution features. The average LST of Fujian Province reached the highest in July, while the lowest in January. The monthly and annual LST time series present a significantly periodic features (annual and interannual from 2000 to 2015. The spatial distribution showed that the LST in North and West was lower than South and East in Fujian Province. With the rapid development and urbanization of the coastal area in Fujian Province, the LST in coastal urban region was significantly higher than that in mountainous rural region. The LST distributions might affected by the climate, topography and land cover types. The spatio-temporal distribution characteristics of LST could provide good references for the agricultural layout and environment monitoring in Fujian Province.

Albedo and land surface temperature shift in hydrocarbon seepage potential area, case study in Miri Sarawak Malaysia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suherman, A; Rahman, M Z A; Busu, I

2014-01-01

The presence of hydrocarbon seepage is generally associated with rock or mineral alteration product exposures, and changes of soil properties which manifest with bare development and stress vegetation. This alters the surface thermodynamic properties, changes the energy balance related to the surface reflection, absorption and emission, and leads to shift in albedo and LST. Those phenomena may provide a guide for seepage detection which can be recognized inexpensively by remote sensing method. District of Miri is used for study area. Available topographic maps of Miri and LANDSAT ETM+ were used for boundary construction and determination albedo and LST. Three land use classification methods, namely fixed, supervised and NDVI base classifications were employed for this study. By the intensive land use classification and corresponding statistical comparison was found a clearly shift on albedo and land surface temperature between internal and external seepage potential area. The shift shows a regular pattern related to vegetation density or NDVI value. In the low vegetation density or low NDVI value, albedo of internal area turned to lower value than external area. Conversely in the high vegetation density or high NDVI value, albedo of internal area turned to higher value than external area. Land surface temperature of internal seepage potential was generally shifted to higher value than external area in all of land use classes. In dense vegetation area tend to shift the temperature more than poor vegetation area

Albedo and land surface temperature shift in hydrocarbon seepage potential area, case study in Miri Sarawak Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Suherman, A.; Rahman, M. Z. A.; Busu, I.

2014-02-01

The presence of hydrocarbon seepage is generally associated with rock or mineral alteration product exposures, and changes of soil properties which manifest with bare development and stress vegetation. This alters the surface thermodynamic properties, changes the energy balance related to the surface reflection, absorption and emission, and leads to shift in albedo and LST. Those phenomena may provide a guide for seepage detection which can be recognized inexpensively by remote sensing method. District of Miri is used for study area. Available topographic maps of Miri and LANDSAT ETM+ were used for boundary construction and determination albedo and LST. Three land use classification methods, namely fixed, supervised and NDVI base classifications were employed for this study. By the intensive land use classification and corresponding statistical comparison was found a clearly shift on albedo and land surface temperature between internal and external seepage potential area. The shift shows a regular pattern related to vegetation density or NDVI value. In the low vegetation density or low NDVI value, albedo of internal area turned to lower value than external area. Conversely in the high vegetation density or high NDVI value, albedo of internal area turned to higher value than external area. Land surface temperature of internal seepage potential was generally shifted to higher value than external area in all of land use classes. In dense vegetation area tend to shift the temperature more than poor vegetation area.

Are all-terrain vehicle riders willing to pay trail user fees to ride on public lands in the USA?

Science.gov (United States)

Stephanie A. Snyder; Robert A. Smail

2009-01-01

Some public lands in the USA offer opportunities for all-terrain vehicle (ATV) riding, but few charge trail use fees. In a case study in the US state of Wisconsin, the contingent valuation method was used to examine riders' willingness to pay (WTP) to ride on public lands. Information on riders' habits, preferences and responses to a dichotomous choice WTP...

Antarctic Temperature Extremes from MODIS Land Surface Temperatures: New Processing Methods Reveal Data Quality Puzzles

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, G.; Gallaher, D. W.

2017-12-01

New methods for processing massive remotely sensed datasets are used to evaluate Antarctic land surface temperature (LST) extremes. Data from the MODIS/Terra sensor (Collection 6) provides a twice-daily look at Antarctic LSTs over a 17 year period, at a higher spatiotemporal resolution than past studies. Using a data condensation process that creates databases of anomalous values, our processes create statistical images of Antarctic LSTs. In general, the results find few significant trends in extremes; however, they do reveal a puzzling picture of inconsistent cloud detection and possible systemic errors, perhaps due to viewing geometry. Cloud discrimination shows a distinct jump in clear-sky detections starting in 2011, and LSTs around the South Pole exhibit a circular cooling pattern, which may also be related to cloud contamination. Possible root causes are discussed. Ongoing investigations seek to determine whether the results are a natural phenomenon or, as seems likely, the results of sensor degradation or processing artefacts. If the unusual LST patterns or cloud detection discontinuities are natural, they point to new, interesting processes on the Antarctic continent. If the data artefacts are artificial, MODIS LST users should be alerted to the potential issues.

Characterizing the Spatio-Temporal Pattern of Land Surface Temperature through Time Series Clustering: Based on the Latent Pattern and Morphology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huimin Liu

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Land Surface Temperature (LST is a critical component to understand the impact of urbanization on the urban thermal environment. Previous studies were inclined to apply only one snapshot to analyze the pattern and dynamics of LST without considering the non-stationarity in the temporal domain, or focus on the diurnal, seasonal, and annual pattern analysis of LST which has limited support for the understanding of how LST varies with the advancing of urbanization. This paper presents a workflow to extract the spatio-temporal pattern of LST through time series clustering by focusing on the LST of Wuhan, China, from 2002 to 2017 with a 3-year time interval with 8-day MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS satellite image products. The Latent pattern of LST (LLST generated by non-parametric Multi-Task Gaussian Process Modeling (MTGP and the Multi-Scale Shape Index (MSSI which characterizes the morphology of LLST are coupled for pattern recognition. Specifically, spatio-temporal patterns are discovered after the extraction of spatial patterns conducted by the incorporation of k -means and the Back-Propagation neural networks (BP-Net. The spatial patterns of the 6 years form a basic understanding about the corresponding temporal variances. For spatio-temporal pattern recognition, LLSTs and MSSIs of the 6 years are regarded as geo-referenced time series. Multiple algorithms including traditional k -means with Euclidean Distance (ED, shape-based k -means with the constrained Dynamic Time Warping ( c DTW distance measure, and the Dynamic Time Warping Barycenter Averaging (DBA centroid computation method ( k - c DBA and k -shape are applied. Ten external indexes are employed to evaluate the performance of the three algorithms and reveal k - c DBA as the optimal time series clustering algorithm for our study. The study area is divided into 17 geographical time series clusters which respectively illustrate heterogeneous temporal dynamics of LST

Performance Enhancement of Land Vehicle Positioning Using Multiple GPS Receivers in an Urban Area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jong-Hwa Song

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The Global Positioning System (GPS is the most widely used navigation system in land vehicle applications. In urban areas, the GPS suffers from insufficient signal strength, multipath propagation and non-line-of-sight (NLOS errors, so it thus becomes difficult to obtain accurate and reliable position information. In this paper, an integration algorithm for multiple receivers is proposed to enhance the positioning performance of GPS for land vehicles in urban areas. The pseudoranges of multiple receivers are integrated based on a tightly coupled approach, and erroneous measurements are detected by testing the closeness of the pseudoranges. In order to fairly compare the pseudoranges, GPS errors and terms arising due to the differences between the positions of the receivers need to be compensated. The double-difference technique is used to eliminate GPS errors in the pseudoranges, and the geometrical distance is corrected by projecting the baseline vector between pairs of receivers. In order to test and analyze the proposed algorithm, an experiment involving live data was performed. The positioning performance of the algorithm was compared with that of the receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM-based integration algorithm for multiple receivers. The test results showed that the proposed algorithm yields more accurate position information in urban areas.

Entry Descent and Landing Workshop Proceedings. Volume 1; Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment-3 (IRVE-3) Project Overview & Instrumentation

Science.gov (United States)

Dillman, Robert

2015-01-01

Entry mass at Mars is limited by the payload size that can be carried by a rigid capsule that can fit inside the launch vehicle fairing. Landing altitude at Mars is limited by ballistic coefficient (mass per area) of entry body. Inflatable technologies allow payload to use full diameter of launch fairing, and deploy larger aeroshell before atmospheric interface, landing more payload at a higher altitude. Also useful for return of large payloads from Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

Estimation of Daily Air Temperature Based on MODIS Land Surface Temperature Products over the Corn Belt in the US

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Linglin Zeng

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Air temperature (Ta is a key input in a wide range of agroclimatic applications. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS Ts (Land Surface Temperature (LST products are widely used to estimate daily Ta. However, only daytime LST (Ts-day or nighttime LST (Ts-night data have been used to estimate Tmax/Tmin (daily maximum or minimum air temperature, respectively. The relationship between Tmax and Ts-night, and the one between Tmin and Ts-day has not been studied. In this study, both the ability of Ts-night data to estimate Tmax and the ability of Ts-day data to estimate Tmin were tested and studied in the Corn Belt during the growing season (May–September from 2008 to 2012, using MODIS daily LST products from both Terra and Aqua. The results show that using Ts-night for estimating Tmax could result in a higher accuracy than using Ts-day for a similar estimate. Combining Ts-day and Ts-night, the estimation of Tmax was improved by 0.19–1.85, 0.37–1.12 and 0.26–0.93 °C for crops, deciduous forest and developed areas, respectively, when compared with using only Ts-day or Ts-night data. The main factors influencing the Ta estimation errors spatially and temporally were analyzed and discussed, such as satellite overpassing time, air masses, irrigation, etc.

Use of Land Surface Temperature Observations in a Two-Source Energy Balance Model Towards Improved Monitoring of Evapotranspiration and Drought

Science.gov (United States)

Hain, C.; Anderson, M. C.; Otkin, J.; Semmens, K. A.; Zhan, X.; Fang, L.; Li, Z.

2014-12-01

As the world's water resources come under increasing tension due to the dual stressors of climate change and population growth, accurate knowledge of water consumption through evapotranspiration (ET) over a range in spatial scales will be critical in developing adaptation strategies. However, direct validation of ET models is challenging due to lack of available observations that are sufficiently representative at the model grid scale (10-100 km). Prognostic land-surface models require accurate information about observed precipitation, soil moisture storage, groundwater, and artificial controls on water supply (e.g., irrigation, dams, etc.) to reliably link rainfall to evaporative fluxes. In contrast, diagnostic estimates of ET can be generated, with no prior knowledge of the surface moisture state, by energy balance models using thermal-infrared remote sensing of land-surface temperature (LST) as a boundary condition. One such method, the Atmosphere Land Exchange Inverse (ALEXI) model provides estimates of surface energy fluxes through the use of mid-morning change in LST and radiation inputs. The LST inputs carry valuable proxy information regarding soil moisture and its effect on soil evaporation and canopy transpiration. Additionally, the Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) representing anomalies in the ratio of actual-to-potential ET has shown to be a reliable indicator of drought. ESI maps over the continental US show good correspondence with standard drought metrics and with patterns of precipitation, but can be generated at significantly higher spatial resolution due to a limited reliance on ground observations. Furthermore, ESI is a measure of actual stress rather than potential for stress, and has physical relevance to projected crop development. Because precipitation is not used in construction of the ESI, it provides an independent assessment of drought conditions and has particular utility for real-time monitoring in regions with sparse rainfall data or

Impacts of urban and industrial development on Arctic land surface temperature in Lower Yenisei River Region.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Z.; Shiklomanov, N. I.

2015-12-01

Urbanization and industrial development have significant impacts on arctic climate that in turn controls settlement patterns and socio-economic processes. In this study we have analyzed the anthropogenic influences on regional land surface temperature of Lower Yenisei River Region of the Russia Arctic. The study area covers two consecutive Landsat scenes and includes three major cities: Norilsk, Igarka and Dudingka. Norilsk industrial region is the largest producer of nickel and palladium in the world, and Igarka and Dudingka are important ports for shipping. We constructed a spatio-temporal interpolated temperature model by including 1km MODIS LST, field-measured climate, Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA), DEM, Landsat NDVI and Landsat Land Cover. Those fore-mentioned spatial data have various resolution and coverage in both time and space. We analyzed their relationships and created a monthly spatio-temporal interpolated surface temperature model at 1km resolution from 1980 to 2010. The temperature model then was used to examine the characteristic seasonal LST signatures, related to several representative assemblages of Arctic urban and industrial infrastructure in order to quantify anthropogenic influence on regional surface temperature.

Estimation of Diurnal Cycle of Land Surface Temperature at High Temporal and Spatial Resolution from Clear-Sky MODIS Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Si-Bo Duan

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The diurnal cycle of land surface temperature (LST is an important element of the climate system. Geostationary satellites can provide the diurnal cycle of LST with low spatial resolution and incomplete global coverage, which limits its applications in some studies. In this study, we propose a method to estimate the diurnal cycle of LST at high temporal and spatial resolution from clear-sky MODIS data. This method was evaluated using the MSG-SEVIRI-derived LSTs. The results indicate that this method fits the diurnal cycle of LST well, with root mean square error (RMSE values less than 1 K for most pixels. Because MODIS provides at most four observations per day at a given location, this method was further evaluated using only four MSG-SEVIRI-derived LSTs corresponding to the MODIS overpass times (10:30, 13:30, 22:30, and 01:30 local solar time. The results show that the RMSE values using only four MSG-SEVIRI-derived LSTs are approximately two times larger than those using all LSTs. The spatial distribution of the modeled LSTs at the MODIS pixel scale is presented from 07:00 to 05:00 local solar time of the next day with an increment of 2 hours. The diurnal cycle of the modeled LSTs describes the temporal evolution of the LSTs at the MODIS pixel scale.

Estimation and Validation of Land Surface Temperatures from Chinese Second-Generation Polar-Orbit FY-3A VIRR Data

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Bo-Hui Tang

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This work estimated and validated the land surface temperature (LST from thermal-infrared Channels 4 (10.8 µm and 5 (12.0 µm of the Visible and Infrared Radiometer (VIRR onboard the second-generation Chinese polar-orbiting FengYun-3A (FY-3A meteorological satellite. The LST, mean emissivity and atmospheric water vapor content (WVC were divided into several tractable sub-ranges with little overlap to improve the fitting accuracy. The experimental results showed that the root mean square errors (RMSEs were proportional to the viewing zenith angles (VZAs and WVC. The RMSEs were below 1.0 K for VZA sub-ranges less than 30° or for VZA sub-ranges less than 60° and WVC less than 3.5 g/cm2, provided that the land surface emissivities were known. A preliminary validation using independently simulated data showed that the estimated LSTs were quite consistent with the actual inputs, with a maximum RMSE below 1 K for all VZAs. An inter-comparison using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS-derived LST product MOD11_L2 showed that the minimum RMSE was 1.68 K for grass, and the maximum RMSE was 3.59 K for barren or sparsely vegetated surfaces. In situ measurements at the Hailar field site in northeastern China from October, 2013, to September, 2014, were used to validate the proposed method. The result showed that the RMSE between the LSTs calculated from the ground measurements and derived from the VIRR data was 1.82 K.

A novel fusion methodology to bridge GPS outages for land vehicle positioning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Wei; Li, Xu; Song, Xiang; Xu, Qimin; Li, Bin; Song, Xianghui

2015-01-01

Many intelligent transportation system applications require accurate, reliable, and continuous vehicle position information whether in open-sky environments or in Global Positioning System (GPS) denied environments. However, there remains a challenging task for land vehicles to achieve such positioning performance using low-cost sensors, especially microelectromechanical system (MEMS) sensors. In this paper, a novel and cost-effective fusion methodology to bridge GPS outages is proposed and applied in the Inertial Navigation System (INS)/GPS/ compass integrated positioning system. In the implementation of the proposed methodology, a key data preprocessing algorithm is first developed to eliminate the noise in inertial sensors in order to provide more accurate information for subsequent modeling. Then, a novel hybrid strategy incorporating the designed autoregressive model (AR model)-based forward estimator (ARFE) with Kalman filter (KF) is presented to predict the INS position errors during GPS outages. To verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed methodology, real road tests with various scenarios were performed. The proposed methodology illustrates significant improvement in positioning accuracy during GPS outages. (paper)

Characterization of Land Transitions Patterns from Multivariate Time Series Using Seasonal Trend Analysis and Principal Component Analysis

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Benoit Parmentier

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Characterizing biophysical changes in land change areas over large regions with short and noisy multivariate time series and multiple temporal parameters remains a challenging task. Most studies focus on detection rather than the characterization, i.e., the manner by which surface state variables are altered by the process of changes. In this study, a procedure is presented to extract and characterize simultaneous temporal changes in MODIS multivariate times series from three surface state variables the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI, land surface temperature (LST and albedo (ALB. The analysis involves conducting a seasonal trend analysis (STA to extract three seasonal shape parameters (Amplitude 0, Amplitude 1 and Amplitude 2 and using principal component analysis (PCA to contrast trends in change and no-change areas. We illustrate the method by characterizing trends in burned and unburned pixels in Alaska over the 2001–2009 time period. Findings show consistent and meaningful extraction of temporal patterns related to fire disturbances. The first principal component (PC1 is characterized by a decrease in mean NDVI (Amplitude 0 with a concurrent increase in albedo (the mean and the annual amplitude and an increase in LST annual variability (Amplitude 1. These results provide systematic empirical evidence of surface changes associated with one type of land change, fire disturbances, and suggest that STA with PCA may be used to characterize many other types of land transitions over large landscape areas using multivariate Earth observation time series.

Parametrization of Land Surface Temperature Fields with Optical and Microwave Remote Sensing in Brazil's Atlantic Forest

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, K. C.; Khan, A.; Carnaval, A. C.

2016-12-01

Brazil is home to two of the largest and most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, primarily encompassed in forests and wetlands. A main region of interest in this project is Brazil's Atlantic Forest (AF). Although this forest is only a fraction of the size of the Amazon rainforest, it harbors significant biological richness, making it one of the world's major hotspots for biodiversity. The AF is located on the East to Southeast region of Brazil, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. As luscious and biologically rich as this region is, the area covered by the Atlantic Forest has been diminishing over past decades, mainly due to human influences and effects of climate change. We examine 1 km resolution Land Surface Temperature (LST) data from NASA's Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) combined with 25 km resolution radiometric temperature derived from NASA's Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer on EOS (AMSR-E) to develop a capability employing both in combination to assess LST. Since AMSR-E is a microwave remote sensing instrument, products derived from its measurements are minimally effected by cloud cover. On the other hand, MODIS data are heavily influenced by cloud cover. We employ a statistical downscaling technique to the coarse-resolution AMSR-E datasets to enhance its spatial resolution to match that of MODIS. Our approach employs 16-day composite MODIS LST data in combination with synergistic ASMR-E radiometric brightness temperature data to develop a combined, downscaled dataset. Our goal is to use this integrated LST retrieval with complementary in situ station data to examine associated influences on regional biodiversity

The urban heat island in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the last 30 years using remote sensing data

Science.gov (United States)

Peres, Leonardo de Faria; Lucena, Andrews José de; Rotunno Filho, Otto Corrêa; França, José Ricardo de Almeida

2018-02-01

The aim of this work is to study urban heat island (UHI) in Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro (MARJ) based on the analysis of land-surface temperature (LST) and land-use patterns retrieved from Landsat-5/Thematic Mapper (TM), Landsat-7/Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) and Landsat-8/Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensors (TIRS) data covering a 32-year period between 1984 and 2015. LST temporal evolution is assessed by comparing the average LST composites for 1984-1999 and 2000-2015 where the parametric Student t-test was conducted at 5% significance level to map the pixels where LST for the more recent period is statistically significantly greater than the previous one. The non-parametric Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon rank sum test has also confirmed at the same 5% significance level that the more recent period (2000-2015) has higher LST values. UHI intensity between ;urban; and ;rural/urban low density; (;vegetation;) areas for 1984-1999 and 2000-2015 was established and confirmed by both parametric and non-parametric tests at 1% significance level as 3.3 °C (5.1 °C) and 4.4 °C (7.1 °C), respectively. LST has statistically significantly (p-value analysis was also performed to identify the urban pixels within MARJ where UHI is more intense by subtracting the LST of these pixels from the LST mean value of ;vegetation; land-use class.

Comparisons of Satellite Soil Moisture, an Energy Balance Model Driven by LST Data and Point Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Laiolo, Paola; Gabellani, Simone; Rudari, Roberto; Boni, Giorgio; Puca, Silvia

2013-04-01

Soil moisture plays a fundamental role in the partitioning of mass and energy fluxes between land surface and atmosphere, thereby influencing climate and weather, and it is important in determining the rainfall-runoff response of catchments; moreover, in hydrological modelling and flood forecasting, a correct definition of moisture conditions is a key factor for accurate predictions. Different sources of information for the estimation of the soil moisture state are currently available: satellite data, point measurements and model predictions. All are affected by intrinsic uncertainty. Among different satellite sensors that can be used for soil moisture estimation three major groups can be distinguished: passive microwave sensors (e.g., SSMI), active sensors (e.g. SAR, Scatterometers), and optical sensors (e.g. Spectroradiometers). The last two families, mainly because of their temporal and spatial resolution seem the most suitable for hydrological applications In this work soil moisture point measurements from 10 sensors in the Italian territory are compared of with the satellite products both from the HSAF project SM-OBS-2, derived from the ASCAT scatterometer, and from ACHAB, an operative energy balance model that assimilate LST data derived from MSG and furnishes daily an evaporative fraction index related to soil moisture content for all the Italian region. Distributed comparison of the ACHAB and SM-OBS-2 on the whole Italian territory are performed too.

Landcover Change, Land Surface Temperature, Surface Albedo and Topography in the Plateau Region of North-Central Nigeria

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Shakirudeen Odunuga

2015-04-01

Full Text Available This study assessed the change in some environmental parameters in the Plateau region of North-Central Nigeria (Barakinladi, Jos, and Kafachan environs using the nexus of landcover change, land surface temperature, surface albedo, and topography. The study employed both remote sensing and statistical techniques for the period between 1986 and 2014 to analyze the dynamics between and within these environmental variables. In Barakinladi, the built up landcover change is highest (increasing from 39.53% to 47.59% between 1986 and 2014; LST ranges from 19.09 °C to 38.59 °C in 1986 and from 22.68 °C and 41.68 °C in 2014; and the albedo ranges between 0.014 and 0.154 in 1986 and 0.017 and 0.248 in 2014. In Jos, the built-up landcover occupied 34.26% in 1986 and 36.67% in 2014; LST values range between 20.83 °C and 41.33 °C in 1986 and between 21.61 °C and 42.64 °C in 2014; and the albedo ranges between 0.003 and 0.211 in 1986 and 0.15 and 0.237 in 2014. In Kafachan area, the built up landcover occupied 32.95% in 1986 and 39.01% in 2014. Urbanization and agricultural activities, including animal grazing, were responsible for the gradual loss in vegetation and increasing average LST and albedo. The results also revealed that changing landcover and topography have a relationship with surface albedo and land surface temperature, thereby impacting significantly on ecosystem services delivered by the natural system.

MODIS Land Surface Temperature time series reconstruction with Open Source GIS: A new quality of temperature based ecological indicators in complex terrain (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Neteler, M.

2009-12-01

In complex terrain like the Central European Alps, meteorological stations and ground surveys are usually sparsely and/or irregularly distributed and often favor agricultural areas. The application of traditional geospatial interpolation methods in complex terrain remains challenging and difficult to optimize. An alternative data source is remote sensing: high temporal resolution satellite data are continuously gaining interest since these data are intrinsically spatialized: continuous field of observations is obtained with this tool instead of point data. The increasing data availability suggests using these time series as surrogate to certain measures from meteorological stations, especially for temperature and related derivatives. The Terra and Aqua satellites with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) provide four Earth coverages per day at various resolutions. We analyzed 8 years (2000 to 2008) of daily land surface temperature (LST) data from MODIS in an area located in the Southern European Alps. A method was developed to reconstruct incomplete maps (cloud coverage, invalid pixels) based on image statistics and on a model that includes additional GIS layers. The original LST map resolution of 1000m could be improved to 200m in this process which renders the resulting LST maps applicable at regional scales. We propose the use of these reconstructed daily LST time series as surrogate to meteorological observations especially in the area of epidemiological modeling where data are typically aggregated to decadal indicators. From these daily LST map series, derivable indicators include: 1) temperatures minima, means and maxima for annual/monthly/decadal periods; 2) unusual hot summers;3) the calculation of growing degree days, and 4) spring temperature increase or autumnal temperature decrease. Since more than 8 years of MODIS LST data are available today, even preliminary gradients can be extracted to assess multi-annual temperature trends

Reduced Gravity Landing Research Vehicle Design

OpenAIRE

Isert, Sarah

2011-01-01

Human and robotic missions beyond low earth orbit (LEO) are key components of NASA's currently emerging strategy for space exploration. These missions will inevitably include humancrewed lunar and planetary surface landings. Trips to near-earth asteroids are also in the incipient planning stages. A permanent presence on the surface of an extra terrestrial body like Mars or the Moon will require many landings by both human-crewed and robotic spacecraft. Planetary and lunar surface landings ...

A Performance Improvement Method for Low-Cost Land Vehicle GPS/MEMS-INS Attitude Determination

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Li Cong

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Global positioning system (GPS technology is well suited for attitude determination. However, in land vehicle application, low-cost single frequency GPS receivers which have low measurement quality are often used, and external factors such as multipath and low satellite visibility in the densely built-up urban environment further degrade the quality of the GPS measurements. Due to the low-quality receivers used and the challenging urban environment, the success rate of the single epoch ambiguity resolution for dynamic attitude determination is usually quite low. In this paper, a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS—inertial navigation system (INS-aided ambiguity resolution method is proposed to improve the GPS attitude determination performance, which is particularly suitable for land vehicle attitude determination. First, the INS calculated baseline vector is augmented with the GPS carrier phase and code measurements. This improves the ambiguity dilution of precision (ADOP, resulting in better quality of the unconstrained float solution. Second, the undesirable float solutions caused by large measurement errors are further filtered and replaced using the INS-aided ambiguity function method (AFM. The fixed solutions are then obtained by the constrained least squares ambiguity decorrelation (CLAMBDA algorithm. Finally, the GPS/MEMS-INS integration is realized by the use of a Kalman filter. Theoretical analysis of the ADOP is given and experimental results demonstrate that our proposed method can significantly improve the quality of the float ambiguity solution, leading to high success rate and better accuracy of attitude determination.

A Performance Improvement Method for Low-Cost Land Vehicle GPS/MEMS-INS Attitude Determination

Science.gov (United States)

Cong, Li; Li, Ercui; Qin, Honglei; Ling, Keck Voon; Xue, Rui

2015-01-01

Global positioning system (GPS) technology is well suited for attitude determination. However, in land vehicle application, low-cost single frequency GPS receivers which have low measurement quality are often used, and external factors such as multipath and low satellite visibility in the densely built-up urban environment further degrade the quality of the GPS measurements. Due to the low-quality receivers used and the challenging urban environment, the success rate of the single epoch ambiguity resolution for dynamic attitude determination is usually quite low. In this paper, a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS)—inertial navigation system (INS)-aided ambiguity resolution method is proposed to improve the GPS attitude determination performance, which is particularly suitable for land vehicle attitude determination. First, the INS calculated baseline vector is augmented with the GPS carrier phase and code measurements. This improves the ambiguity dilution of precision (ADOP), resulting in better quality of the unconstrained float solution. Second, the undesirable float solutions caused by large measurement errors are further filtered and replaced using the INS-aided ambiguity function method (AFM). The fixed solutions are then obtained by the constrained least squares ambiguity decorrelation (CLAMBDA) algorithm. Finally, the GPS/MEMS-INS integration is realized by the use of a Kalman filter. Theoretical analysis of the ADOP is given and experimental results demonstrate that our proposed method can significantly improve the quality of the float ambiguity solution, leading to high success rate and better accuracy of attitude determination. PMID:25760057

Autonomous Landing on Moving Platforms

KAUST Repository

Mendoza Chavez, Gilberto

2016-08-01

This thesis investigates autonomous landing of a micro air vehicle (MAV) on a nonstationary ground platform. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and micro air vehicles (MAVs) are becoming every day more ubiquitous. Nonetheless, many applications still require specialized human pilots or supervisors. Current research is focusing on augmenting the scope of tasks that these vehicles are able to accomplish autonomously. Precise autonomous landing on moving platforms is essential for self-deployment and recovery of MAVs, but it remains a challenging task for both autonomous and piloted vehicles. Model Predictive Control (MPC) is a widely used and effective scheme to control constrained systems. One of its variants, output-feedback tube-based MPC, ensures robust stability for systems with bounded disturbances under system state reconstruction. This thesis proposes a MAV control strategy based on this variant of MPC to perform rapid and precise autonomous landing on moving targets whose nominal (uncommitted) trajectory and velocity are slowly varying. The proposed approach is demonstrated on an experimental setup.

GlobTemperature

Science.gov (United States)

Ghent, Darren; Remedios, John; Bruniquel, Jerome; Sardou, Olivier; Trigo, Isabel; Merchant, Chris; Bulgin, Claire; Goettsche, Frank; Olesen, Folke; Prigent, Catherine; Pinnock, Simon

2014-05-01

Land surface temperature (LST) is the mean radiative skin temperature of an area of land resulting from the mean balance of solar heating and land-atmosphere cooling fluxes. It is a basic determinant of the terrestrial thermal behaviour, as it controls the effective radiating temperature of the Earth's surface. The sensitivity of LST to soil moisture and vegetation cover means it is an important component in numerous applications. For instance, LST is a key boundary condition in land surface models, which determine the surface to atmosphere fluxes of heat, water and carbon; thus influencing cloud cover, precipitation and atmospheric chemistry predictions within General Circulation Models. Changes in land-surface cover can affect global climate, and also can be identified by changes in their surface temperatures. With the demand of LST data from Earth Observation currently experiencing considerable growth it is important that the users of this data are appropriately engaged by the LST community. The GlobTemperature project under the Data User Element of ESA's 4th Earth Observation Envelope Programme (2013-2017) aims to promote the wider uptake of global-scale satellite LST by the research and operational user communities. As such, the programme of work is focussed on achieving some innovative milestones for LST data which include: detailed global merged geostationary (GEO) and low earth orbit (LEO) data sets with estimates of both clear-sky and under-cloud LST; a first Climate Data Record for LST for the ATSR series of instruments; and the provision of a globally representative and consistent in-situ validation and intercomparison matchup database. Furthermore, the strength of such a venture lies in the coherence and openness of the interactions with the LST and user communities. For instance: detailed user input into the specifications and subsequent testing of the LST data sets; sustained access to data in a user-friendly manner through common data formats; and

High-resolution land surface modeling utilizing remote sensing parameters and the Noah UCM: a case study in the Los Angeles Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Vahmani, P.; Hogue, T. S.

2014-12-01

In the current work we investigate the utility of remote-sensing-based surface parameters in the Noah UCM (urban canopy model) over a highly developed urban area. Landsat and fused Landsat-MODIS data are utilized to generate high-resolution (30 m) monthly spatial maps of green vegetation fraction (GVF), impervious surface area (ISA), albedo, leaf area index (LAI), and emissivity in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The gridded remotely sensed parameter data sets are directly substituted for the land-use/lookup-table-based values in the Noah-UCM modeling framework. Model performance in reproducing ET (evapotranspiration) and LST (land surface temperature) fields is evaluated utilizing Landsat-based LST and ET estimates from CIMIS (California Irrigation Management Information System) stations as well as in situ measurements. Our assessment shows that the large deviations between the spatial distributions and seasonal fluctuations of the default and measured parameter sets lead to significant errors in the model predictions of monthly ET fields (RMSE = 22.06 mm month-1). Results indicate that implemented satellite-derived parameter maps, particularly GVF, enhance the capability of the Noah UCM to reproduce observed ET patterns over vegetated areas in the urban domains (RMSE = 11.77 mm month-1). GVF plays the most significant role in reproducing the observed ET fields, likely due to the interaction with other parameters in the model. Our analysis also shows that remotely sensed GVF and ISA improve the model's capability to predict the LST differences between fully vegetated pixels and highly developed areas.

Global Land Product Validation Protocols: An Initiative of the CEOS Working Group on Calibration and Validation to Evaluate Satellite-derived Essential Climate Variables

Science.gov (United States)

Guillevic, P. C.; Nickeson, J. E.; Roman, M. O.; camacho De Coca, F.; Wang, Z.; Schaepman-Strub, G.

2016-12-01

The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) has specified the need to systematically produce and validate Essential Climate Variables (ECVs). The Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Working Group on Calibration and Validation (WGCV) and in particular its subgroup on Land Product Validation (LPV) is playing a key coordination role leveraging the international expertise required to address actions related to the validation of global land ECVs. The primary objective of the LPV subgroup is to set standards for validation methods and reporting in order to provide traceable and reliable uncertainty estimates for scientists and stakeholders. The Subgroup is comprised of 9 focus areas that encompass 10 land surface variables. The activities of each focus area are coordinated by two international co-leads and currently include leaf area index (LAI) and fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR), vegetation phenology, surface albedo, fire disturbance, snow cover, land cover and land use change, soil moisture, land surface temperature (LST) and emissivity. Recent additions to the focus areas include vegetation indices and biomass. The development of best practice validation protocols is a core activity of CEOS LPV with the objective to standardize the evaluation of land surface products. LPV has identified four validation levels corresponding to increasing spatial and temporal representativeness of reference samples used to perform validation. Best practice validation protocols (1) provide the definition of variables, ancillary information and uncertainty metrics, (2) describe available data sources and methods to establish reference validation datasets with SI traceability, and (3) describe evaluation methods and reporting. An overview on validation best practice components will be presented based on the LAI and LST protocol efforts to date.

Land surface temperature as an indicator of the unsaturated zone thickness: A remote sensing approach in the Atacama Desert.

Science.gov (United States)

Urqueta, Harry; Jódar, Jorge; Herrera, Christian; Wilke, Hans-G; Medina, Agustín; Urrutia, Javier; Custodio, Emilio; Rodríguez, Jazna

2018-01-15

Land surface temperature (LST) seems to be related to the temperature of shallow aquifers and the unsaturated zone thickness (∆Z uz ). That relationship is valid when the study area fulfils certain characteristics: a) there should be no downward moisture fluxes in an unsaturated zone, b) the soil composition in terms of both, the different horizon materials and their corresponding thermal and hydraulic properties, must be as homogeneous and isotropic as possible, c) flat and regular topography, and d) steady state groundwater temperature with a spatially homogeneous temperature distribution. A night time Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) image and temperature field measurements are used to test the validity of the relationship between LST and ∆Z uz at the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is located in the Atacama Desert (Chile) and meets the above required conditions. The results indicate that there is a relation between the land surface temperature and the unsaturated zone thickness in the study area. Moreover, the field measurements of soil temperature indicate that shallow aquifers dampen both the daily and the seasonal amplitude of the temperature oscillation generated by the local climate conditions. Despite empirically observing the relationship between the LST and ∆Z uz in the study zone, such a relationship cannot be applied to directly estimate ∆Z uz using temperatures from nighttime thermal satellite images. To this end, it is necessary to consider the soil thermal properties, the soil surface roughness and the unseen water and moisture fluxes (e.g., capillarity and evaporation) that typically occur in the subsurface. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Quantifying Surface Energy Flux Estimation Uncertainty Using Land Surface Temperature Observations

Science.gov (United States)

French, A. N.; Hunsaker, D.; Thorp, K.; Bronson, K. F.

2015-12-01

Remote sensing with thermal infrared is widely recognized as good way to estimate surface heat fluxes, map crop water use, and detect water-stressed vegetation. When combined with net radiation and soil heat flux data, observations of sensible heat fluxes derived from surface temperatures (LST) are indicative of instantaneous evapotranspiration (ET). There are, however, substantial reasons LST data may not provide the best way to estimate of ET. For example, it is well known that observations and models of LST, air temperature, or estimates of transport resistances may be so inaccurate that physically based model nevertheless yield non-meaningful results. Furthermore, using visible and near infrared remote sensing observations collected at the same time as LST often yield physically plausible results because they are constrained by less dynamic surface conditions such as green fractional cover. Although sensitivity studies exist that help identify likely sources of error and uncertainty, ET studies typically do not provide a way to assess the relative importance of modeling ET with and without LST inputs. To better quantify model benefits and degradations due to LST observational inaccuracies, a Bayesian uncertainty study was undertaken using data collected in remote sensing experiments at Maricopa, Arizona. Visible, near infrared and thermal infrared data were obtained from an airborne platform. The prior probability distribution of ET estimates were modeled using fractional cover, local weather data and a Penman-Monteith mode, while the likelihood of LST data was modeled from a two-source energy balance model. Thus the posterior probabilities of ET represented the value added by using LST data. Results from an ET study over cotton grown in 2014 and 2015 showed significantly reduced ET confidence intervals when LST data were incorporated.

Lake Chad Total Surface Water Area as Derived from Land Surface Temperature and Radar Remote Sensing Data

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Frederick Policelli

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Lake Chad, located in the middle of the African Sahel belt, underwent dramatic decreases in the 1970s and 1980s leaving less than ten percent of its 1960s surface water extent as open water. In this paper, we present an extended record (dry seasons 1988–2016 of the total surface water area of the lake (including both open water and flooded vegetation derived using Land Surface Temperature (LST data (dry seasons 2000–2016 from the NASA Terra MODIS sensor and EUMETSAT Meteosat-based LST measurements (dry seasons 1988–2001 from an earlier study. We also examine the total surface water area for Lake Chad using radar data (dry seasons 2015–2016 from the ESA Sentinel-1a mission. For the limited number of radar data sets available to us (18 data sets, we find on average a close match between the estimates from these data and the corresponding estimates from LST, though we find spatial differences in the estimates using the two types of data. We use these spatial differences to adjust the record (dry seasons 2000–2016 from MODIS LST. Then we use the adjusted record to remove the bias of the existing LST record (dry seasons 1988–2001 derived from Meteosat measurements and combine the two records. From this composite, extended record, we plot the total surface water area of the lake for the dry seasons of 1988–1989 through 2016–2017. We find for the dry seasons of 1988–1989 to 2016–2017 that the maximum total surface water area of the lake was approximately 16,800 sq. km (February and May, 2000, the minimum total surface water area of the lake was approximately 6400 sq. km (November, 1990, and the average was approximately 12,700 sq. km. Further, we find the total surface water area of the lake to be highly variable during this period, with an average rate of increase of approximately 143 km2 per year.

Advancing of Land Surface Temperature Retrieval Using Extreme Learning Machine and Spatio-Temporal Adaptive Data Fusion Algorithm

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Yang Bai

2015-04-01

Full Text Available As a critical variable to characterize the biophysical processes in ecological environment, and as a key indicator in the surface energy balance, evapotranspiration and urban heat islands, Land Surface Temperature (LST retrieved from Thermal Infra-Red (TIR images at both high temporal and spatial resolution is in urgent need. However, due to the limitations of the existing satellite sensors, there is no earth observation which can obtain TIR at detailed spatial- and temporal-resolution simultaneously. Thus, several attempts of image fusion by blending the TIR data from high temporal resolution sensor with data from high spatial resolution sensor have been studied. This paper presents a novel data fusion method by integrating image fusion and spatio-temporal fusion techniques, for deriving LST datasets at 30 m spatial resolution from daily MODIS image and Landsat ETM+ images. The Landsat ETM+ TIR data were firstly enhanced based on extreme learning machine (ELM algorithm using neural network regression model, from 60 m to 30 m resolution. Then, the MODIS LST and enhanced Landsat ETM+ TIR data were fused by Spatio-temporal Adaptive Data Fusion Algorithm for Temperature mapping (SADFAT in order to derive high resolution synthetic data. The synthetic images were evaluated for both testing and simulated satellite images. The average difference (AD and absolute average difference (AAD are smaller than 1.7 K, where the correlation coefficient (CC and root-mean-square error (RMSE are 0.755 and 1.824, respectively, showing that the proposed method enhances the spatial resolution of the predicted LST images and preserves the spectral information at the same time.

Protection against malevolent use of vehicles at Nuclear Power Plants. Vehicle barrier system selection guidance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nebuda, D.T.

1994-08-01

This manual provides a simplified procedure for selecting land vehicle barriers that will stop the design basis vehicle threat adopted by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Proper selection and construction of vehicle barriers should prevent intrusion of the design basis vehicle. In addition, vital safety related equipment should survive a design basis vehicle bomb attack when vehicle barriers are properly selected, sited, and constructed. This manual addresses passive vehicle barriers, active vehicle barriers, and site design features that can be used to reduce vehicle impact velocity

Quantifying Uncertainty in Satellite-Retrieved Land Surface Temperature from Cloud Detection Errors

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Claire E. Bulgin

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Clouds remain one of the largest sources of uncertainty in remote sensing of surface temperature in the infrared, but this uncertainty has not generally been quantified. We present a new approach to do so, applied here to the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR. We use an ensemble of cloud masks based on independent methodologies to investigate the magnitude of cloud detection uncertainties in area-average Land Surface Temperature (LST retrieval. We find that at a grid resolution of 625 km 2 (commensurate with a 0.25 ∘ grid size at the tropics, cloud detection uncertainties are positively correlated with cloud-cover fraction in the cell and are larger during the day than at night. Daytime cloud detection uncertainties range between 2.5 K for clear-sky fractions of 10–20% and 1.03 K for clear-sky fractions of 90–100%. Corresponding night-time uncertainties are 1.6 K and 0.38 K, respectively. Cloud detection uncertainty shows a weaker positive correlation with the number of biomes present within a grid cell, used as a measure of heterogeneity in the background against which the cloud detection must operate (e.g., surface temperature, emissivity and reflectance. Uncertainty due to cloud detection errors is strongly dependent on the dominant land cover classification. We find cloud detection uncertainties of a magnitude of 1.95 K over permanent snow and ice, 1.2 K over open forest, 0.9–1 K over bare soils and 0.09 K over mosaic cropland, for a standardised clear-sky fraction of 74.2%. As the uncertainties arising from cloud detection errors are of a significant magnitude for many surface types and spatially heterogeneous where land classification varies rapidly, LST data producers are encouraged to quantify cloud-related uncertainties in gridded products.

Comparison Spatial Pattern of Land Surface Temperature with Mono Window Algorithm and Split Window Algorithm: A Case Study in South Tangerang, Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Bunai, Tasya; Rokhmatuloh; Wibowo, Adi

2018-05-01

In this paper, two methods to retrieve the Land Surface Temperature (LST) from thermal infrared data supplied by band 10 and 11 of the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) onboard the Landsat 8 is compared. The first is mono window algorithm developed by Qin et al. and the second is split window algorithm by Rozenstein et al. The purpose of this study is to perform the spatial distribution of land surface temperature, as well as to determine more accurate algorithm for retrieving land surface temperature by calculated root mean square error (RMSE). Finally, we present comparison the spatial distribution of land surface temperature by both of algorithm, and more accurate algorithm is split window algorithm refers to the root mean square error (RMSE) is 7.69° C.

Improving Multisensor Positioning of Land Vehicles with Integrated Visual Odometry for Next-Generation Self-Driving Cars

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Muhammed Tahsin Rahman

2018-01-01

Full Text Available For their complete realization, autonomous vehicles (AVs fundamentally rely on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS to provide positioning and navigation information. However, in area such as urban cores, parking lots, and under dense foliage, which are all commonly frequented by AVs, GNSS signals suffer from blockage, interference, and multipath. These effects cause high levels of errors and long durations of service discontinuity that mar the performance of current systems. The prevalence of vision and low-cost inertial sensors provides an attractive opportunity to further increase the positioning and navigation accuracy in such GNSS-challenged environments. This paper presents enhancements to existing multisensor integration systems utilizing the inertial navigation system (INS to aid in Visual Odometry (VO outlier feature rejection. A scheme called Aided Visual Odometry (AVO is developed and integrated with a high performance mechanization architecture utilizing vehicle motion and orientation sensors. The resulting solution exhibits improved state covariance convergence and navigation accuracy, while reducing computational complexity. Experimental verification of the proposed solution is illustrated through three real road trajectories, over two different land vehicles, and using two low-cost inertial measurement units (IMUs.

Estimation of Key Parameters of the Coupled Energy and Water Model by Assimilating Land Surface Data

Science.gov (United States)

Abdolghafoorian, A.; Farhadi, L.

2017-12-01

Accurate estimation of land surface heat and moisture fluxes, as well as root zone soil moisture, is crucial in various hydrological, meteorological, and agricultural applications. Field measurements of these fluxes are costly and cannot be readily scaled to large areas relevant to weather and climate studies. Therefore, there is a need for techniques to make quantitative estimates of heat and moisture fluxes using land surface state observations that are widely available from remote sensing across a range of scale. In this work, we applies the variational data assimilation approach to estimate land surface fluxes and soil moisture profile from the implicit information contained Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Soil Moisture (SM) (hereafter the VDA model). The VDA model is focused on the estimation of three key parameters: 1- neutral bulk heat transfer coefficient (CHN), 2- evaporative fraction from soil and canopy (EF), and 3- saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat). CHN and EF regulate the partitioning of available energy between sensible and latent heat fluxes. Ksat is one of the main parameters used in determining infiltration, runoff, groundwater recharge, and in simulating hydrological processes. In this study, a system of coupled parsimonious energy and water model will constrain the estimation of three unknown parameters in the VDA model. The profile of SM (LST) at multiple depths is estimated using moisture diffusion (heat diffusion) equation. In this study, the uncertainties of retrieved unknown parameters and fluxes are estimated from the inverse of Hesian matrix of cost function which is computed using the Lagrangian methodology. Analysis of uncertainty provides valuable information about the accuracy of estimated parameters and their correlation and guide the formulation of a well-posed estimation problem. The results of proposed algorithm are validated with a series of experiments using a synthetic data set generated by the simultaneous heat and

Vision-Based Autonomous Landing of a Quadrotor on the Perturbed Deck of an Unmanned Surface Vehicle

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Riccardo Polvara

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Autonomous landing on the deck of an unmanned surface vehicle (USV is still a major challenge for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs. In this paper, a fiducial marker is located on the platform so as to facilitate the task since it is possible to retrieve its six-degrees of freedom relative-pose in an easy way. To compensate interruption in the marker’s observations, an extended Kalman filter (EKF estimates the current USV’s position with reference to the last known position. Validation experiments have been performed in a simulated environment under various marine conditions. The results confirmed that the EKF provides estimates accurate enough to direct the UAV in proximity of the autonomous vessel such that the marker becomes visible again. Using only the odometry and the inertial measurements for the estimation, this method is found to be applicable even under adverse weather conditions in the absence of the global positioning system.

The technology applying of inflatable devices to access adaptation, movement and landing descent vehicle from Martian environment to the Earth conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Koryanov, Vsevolod V.; Kazakovtsev, Victor P.

2017-07-01

At present, the idea has emerged to use special inflatable braking device (IBD) which permits to implement the landing vehicle (LV) "soft" landing on the planet's surface without a parachute system. Braking device (BD) unfolds still at the extra-atmospheric flight stage to provide the LV passive stabilisation, and the entire apparatus together with the braking device is twisted around its longitudinal axis. The advantage of an inflatable BD over traditional non-rigid brakes - parachutes is that it can be used at the atmospheric stage of the descent, starting from hypersonic speeds, and ending subsonic ones. These main theses are implemented in the project MetNet and its sequel project RITD, using Entry, Descent and Landing System (EDLS) system [1].

Modeling directional effects in land surface temperature derived from geostationary satellite data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Mads Olander

This PhD-thesis investigates the directional effects in land surface temperature (LST) estimates from the SEVIRI sensor onboard the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellites. The directional effects are caused by the land surface structure (i.e. tree size and shape) interacting with the changing...... sun-target-sensor geometry. The directional effects occur because the different surface components, e.g. tree canopies and bare soil surfaces, will in many cases have significantly different temperatures. Depending on the viewing angle, different fractions of each of the components will be viewed...... by the sensor. This is further complicated by temperature differences between the sunlit and shaded parts of each of the components, controlled by the exposure of the components to direct sunlight. As the SEVIRI sensor is onboard a geostationary platform, the viewing geometry is fixed (for each pixel), while...

A technical review of urban land use - transportation models as tools for evaluating vehicle travel reduction strategies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Southworth, F.

1995-07-01

The continued growth of highway traffic in the United States has led to unwanted urban traffic congestion as well as to noticeable urban air quality problems. These problems include emissions covered by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) and 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA), as well as carbon dioxide and related {open_quotes}greenhouse gas{close_quotes} emissions. Urban travel also creates a major demand for imported oil. Therefore, for economic as well as environmental reasons, transportation planning agencies at both the state and metropolitan area level are focussing a good deal of attention on urban travel reduction policies. Much discussed policy instruments include those that encourage fewer trip starts, shorter trip distances, shifts to higher-occupancy vehicles or to nonvehicular modes, and shifts in the timing of trips from the more to the less congested periods of the day or week. Some analysts have concluded that in order to bring about sustainable reductions in urban traffic volumes, significant changes will be necessary in the way our households and businesses engage in daily travel. Such changes are likely to involve changes in the ways we organize and use traffic-generating and-attracting land within our urban areas. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the ability of current analytic methods and models to support both the evaluation and possibly the design of such vehicle travel reduction strategies, including those strategies involving the reorganization and use of urban land. The review is organized into three sections. Section 1 describes the nature of the problem we are trying to model, Section 2 reviews the state of the art in operational urban land use-transportation simulation models, and Section 3 provides a critical assessment of such models as useful urban transportation planning tools. A number of areas are identified where further model development or testing is required.

Impact of Urban Climate Landscape Patterns on Land Surface Temperature in Wuhan, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yasha Wang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Facing urban warming, mitigation and adaptation strategies are not efficient enough to tackle excessive urban heat, especially at the local scale. The local climate zone (LCZ classification scheme is employed to examine the diversity and complexity of the climate response within a city. This study suggests that zonal practice could be an efficient way to bridge the knowledge gap between climate research and urban planning. Urban surfaces classified by LCZ are designated as urban climate landscapes, which extends the LCZ concept to urban planning applications. Selecting Wuhan as a case study, we attempt to explore the climatic effect of landscape patterns. Thermal effects are compared across the urban climate landscapes, and the relationships between patch metrics and land surface temperature (LST are quantified. Results indicate that climate landscape layout is a considerable factor impacting local urban climate. For Wuhan, 500 m is an optimal scale for exploring landscape pattern-temperature relationships. Temperature contrast between surrounding landscape patches has a major influence on LST. Generally, fragmental landscape patches contribute to heat release. For most climate landscape types, patch metrics also have a significant effect on thermal response. When three metrics are included as predictive variables, 53.3% of the heating intensity variation can be explained for the Large Lowrise landscape, while 57.4% of the cooling intensity variation can be explained for the Water landscape. Therefore, this article claims that land-based layout optimization strategy at local scale, which conforms to planning manner, should be taken into account in terms of heat management.

A Data Mining Approach for Sharpening Thermal Satellite Imagery over Land

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feng Gao

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Thermal infrared (TIR imagery is normally acquired at coarser pixel resolution than that of shortwave sensors on the same satellite platform and often the TIR resolution is not suitable for monitoring crop conditions of individual fields or the impacts of land cover changes that are at significantly finer spatial scales. Consequently, thermal sharpening techniques have been developed to sharpen TIR imagery to shortwave band pixel resolutions, which are often fine enough for field-scale applications. A classic thermal sharpening technique, TsHARP, uses a relationship between land surface temperature (LST and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI developed empirically at the TIR pixel resolution and applied at the NDVI pixel resolution. However, recent studies show that unique relationships between temperature and NDVI may only exist for a limited class of landscapes, with mostly green vegetation and homogeneous air and soil conditions. To extend application of thermal sharpening to more complex conditions, a new data mining sharpener (DMS technique is developed. The DMS approach builds regression trees between TIR band brightness temperatures and shortwave spectral reflectances based on intrinsic sample characteristics. A comparison of sharpening techniques applied over a rainfed agricultural area in central Iowa, an irrigated agricultural region in the Texas High Plains, and a heterogeneous naturally vegetated landscape in Alaska indicates that the DMS outperformed TsHARP in all cases. The artificial box-like patterns in LST generated by the TsHARP approach are greatly reduced using the DMS scheme, especially for areas containing irrigated crops, water bodies, thin clouds or terrain. While the DMS technique can provide fine resolution TIR imagery, there are limits to the sharpening ratios that can be reasonably implemented. Consequently, sharpening techniques cannot replace actual thermal band imagery at fine resolutions or missions that

Distinguishing Land Change from Natural Variability and Uncertainty in Central Mexico with MODIS EVI, TRMM Precipitation, and MODIS LST Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zachary Christman

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Precipitation and temperature enact variable influences on vegetation, impacting the type and condition of land cover, as well as the assessment of change over broad landscapes. Separating the influence of vegetative variability independent and discrete land cover change remains a major challenge to landscape change assessments. The heterogeneous Lerma-Chapala-Santiago watershed of central Mexico exemplifies both natural and anthropogenic forces enacting variability and change on the landscape. This study employed a time series of Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI composites from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectoradiometer (MODIS for 2001–2007 and per-pixel multiple linear regressions in order to model changes in EVI as a function of precipitation, temperature, and elevation. Over the seven-year period, 59.1% of the variability in EVI was explained by variability in the independent variables, with highest model performance among changing and heterogeneous land cover types, while intact forest cover demonstrated the greatest resistance to changes in temperature and precipitation. Model results were compared to an independent change uncertainty assessment, and selected regional samples of change confusion and natural variability give insight to common problems afflicting land change analyses.

Mapeamento da temperatura da superfície terrestre com uso do sensor AVHRR/NOAA Mapping land surface temperature using AVHRR/NOAA sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aníbal Gusso

2007-02-01

Full Text Available O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a adequação do uso do sensor AVHRR/NOAA (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration para mapeamento da temperatura da superfície terrestre (TST no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, por meio da comparação entre três algoritmos clássicos. Foram comparados os métodos de Becker & Li, Sobrino et al. e Kerr et al. para estimativa das TST mínimas, utilizando imagens noturnas e logo após o amanhecer. Os dados de emissividade e TST foram obtidos por meio de combinações matemáticas da radiação detectada nas faixas do visível, infravermelho próximo e termal do sensor AVHRR/NOAA. O sensor AVHRR é adequado para o mapeamento de TST para as condições do tipo de cobertura do solo que predominam no Rio Grande do Sul, visto que a TST estimada pelos três métodos testados foi próxima à temperatura do ar medida nos locais selecionados. O método de Sobrino et al. foi o mais adequado.The objective of this work was to evaluate the suitable use of AVHRR/NOAA (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on land surface temperature (LST mapping in Rio Grande do Sul State by means of the comparison of three classic algorithms. The methods of Becker & Li, Sobrino et al. and Kerr et al. were compared for the minimum LST estimation, using nocturnal and predawn images. Both emissivity and LST data were obtained by means of mathematical combinations of the visible, near-infrared and thermal detected radiation of the AVHRR/NOAA sensor. The AVHRR sensor is suitable for LST mapping for the overall conditions of soil coverage in Rio Grande do Sul, once the estimated LST, by the three tested methods, was close to the measured air temperature at the selected locations. Sobrino et al. was the most adequate method.

Locating, classifying and countering agile land vehicles with applications to command architectures

CERN Document Server

Sworder, David D

2016-01-01

This book examines real-time target tracking and identification algorithms with a focus on tracking an agile target. The authors look at several problems in which the tradeoff of accuracy and confidence must be made. These issues are explored within the context of specific tracking scenarios chosen to illustrate the tradeoffs in a simple and direct manner. The text covers the Gaussian wavelet estimator (GWE) which has a flexible architecture that is able to fuse uncommon sensor combinations with non-temporal structural constraints.  ·         Discusses applied estimation and prediction of terrestrial targets ·         Covers fusion of heterogeneous sensor types and tracking with non-temporal engagement constraints ·         Examines confidence that the target will be captured and motion analysis of land vehicles.

Approach and landing guidance design for reusable launch vehicle using multiple sliding surfaces technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiangdong LIU

2017-08-01

Full Text Available An autonomous approach and landing (A&L guidance law is presented in this paper for landing an unpowered reusable launch vehicle (RLV at the designated runway touchdown. Considering the full nonlinear point-mass dynamics, a guidance scheme is developed in three-dimensional space. In order to guarantee a successful A&L movement, the multiple sliding surfaces guidance (MSSG technique is applied to derive the closed-loop guidance law, which stems from higher order sliding mode control theory and has advantage in the finite time reaching property. The global stability of the proposed guidance approach is proved by the Lyapunov-based method. The designed guidance law can generate new trajectories on-line without any specific requirement on off-line analysis except for the information on the boundary conditions of the A&L phase and instantaneous states of the RLV. Therefore, the designed guidance law is flexible enough to target different touchdown points on the runway and is capable of dealing with large initial condition errors resulted from the previous flight phase. Finally, simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed guidance law in different scenarios.

Dynamic analysis and ecological evaluation of urban heat islands in Raipur city, India

Science.gov (United States)

Guha, Subhanil; Govil, Himanshu; Mukherjee, Sandip

2017-07-01

Spatial-temporal distribution of the urban heat islands (UHI) and their changes over Raipur city have been analyzed using multitemporal Landsat satellite data from 1995 to 2016. Land surface temperature (LST) was retrieved through a mono-window algorithm. Some selected land use/land cover (LU-LC) indices were analyzed with LST using linear regression. The urban thermal field variance index (UTFVI) was applied to measure the thermal comfort level of the city. Results show that during the observed period, the study area experienced a gradual increasing rate in mean LST (>1% per annum). The UHI developed especially along the north-western industrial area and south-eastern bare land of the city. A difference in mean LST between UHI and non-UHI for different time periods (2.6°C in 1995, 2.85°C in 2006, 3.42°C in 2009, and 3.63°C in 2016) reflects the continuous warming status of the city. The LST map also shows the existence of a few urban hot spots near the industrial areas, metal roofs, and high density transport parking lots, which are more abundant in the north-western part of the city. The UTFVI map associated with UHI indicates that the inner parts of the city are ecologically more comfortable than the outer peripheries.

A comprehensive data set of lake surface water temperature over the Tibetan Plateau derived from MODIS LST products 2001-2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Wei; Li, Huan; Xie, Hongjie; Hong, Yang; Long, Di; Zhao, Limin; Han, Zhongying; Cui, Yaokui; Liu, Baojian; Wang, Cunguang; Yang, Wenting

2017-07-25

Lake surface water temperature (LSWT) is sensitive to long-term changes in thermal structure of lakes and regional air temperature. In the context of global climate change, recent studies showed a significant warming trend of LSWT based on investigating 291 lakes (71% are large lakes, ≥50 km 2 each) globally. However, further efforts are needed to examine variation in LSWT at finer regional spatial and temporal scales. The Tibetan Plateau (TP), known as 'the Roof of the World' and 'Asia's water towers', exerts large influences on and is sensitive to regional and even global climates. Aiming to examine detailed changing patterns and potential driven mechanisms for temperature variations of lakes across the TP region, this paper presents the first comprehensive data set of 15-year (2001-2015) nighttime and daytime LSWT for 374 lakes (≥10 km 2 each), using MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) Land Surface Temperature (LST) products as well as four lake boundary shapefiles (i.e., 2002, 2005, 2009, and 2014) derived from Landsat/CBERS/GaoFen-1 satellite images. The data set itself reveals significant information on LSWT and its changes over the TP and is an indispensable variable for numerous applications related to climate change, water budget analysis (particularly lake evaporation), water storage changes, glacier melting and permafrost degradation, etc.

Analytical Retrieval of Global Land Surface Emissivity Maps at AMSR-E passive microwave frequencies

Science.gov (United States)

Norouzi, H.; Temimi, M.; Khanbilvardi, R.

2009-12-01

Land emissivity is a crucial boundary condition in Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) modeling. Land emissivity is also a key indicator of land surface and subsurface properties. The objective of this study, supported by NOAA-NESDIS, is to develop global land emissivity maps using AMSR-E passive microwave measurements along with several ancillary data. The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) database has been used to obtain several inputs for the proposed approach such as land surface temperature, cloud mask and atmosphere profile. The Community Radiative Transfer Model (CRTM) has been used to estimate upwelling and downwelling atmospheric contributions. Although it is well known that correction of the atmospheric effect on brightness temperature is required at higher frequencies (over 19 GHz), our preliminary results have shown that a correction at 10.7 GHz is also necessary over specific areas. The proposed approach is based on three main steps. First, all necessary data have been collected and processed. Second, a global cloud free composite of AMSR-E data and corresponding ancillary images is created. Finally, monthly composting of emissivity maps has been performed. AMSR-E frequencies at 6.9, 10.7, 18.7, 36.5 and 89.0 GHz have been used to retrieve the emissivity. Water vapor information obtained from ISCCP (TOVS data) was used to calculate upwelling, downwelling temperatures and atmospheric transmission in order to assess the consistency of those derived from the CRTM model. The frequent land surface temperature (LST) determination (8 times a day) in the ISCCP database has allowed us to assess the diurnal cycle effect on emissivity retrieval. Differences in magnitude and phase between thermal temperature and low frequencies microwave brightness temperature have been noticed. These differences seem to vary in space and time. They also depend on soil texture and thermal inertia. The proposed methodology accounts for these factors and

Impact of vegetation growth on urban surface temperature distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buyadi, S N A; Mohd, W M N W; Misni, A

2014-01-01

Earlier studies have indicated that, the temperature distribution in the urban area is significantly warmer than its surrounding suburban areas. The process of urbanization has created urban heat island (UHI). As a city expands, trees are cut down to accommodate commercial development, industrial areas, roads, and suburban growth. Trees or green areas normally play a vital role in mitigating the UHI effects especially in regulating high temperature in saturated urban areas. This study attempts to assess the effects of vegetation growth on land surface temperature (LST) distribution in urban areas. An area within the City of Shah Alam, Selangor has been selected as the study area. Land use/land cover and LST maps of two different dates are generated from Landsat 5 TM images of the year 1991 and 2009. Only five major land cover classes are considered in this study. Mono-window algorithm is used to generate the LST maps. Landsat 5 TM images are also used to generate the NDVI maps. Results from this study have shown that there are significant land use changes within the study area. Although the conversion of green areas into residential and commercial areas significantly increase the LST, matured trees will help to mitigate the effects of UHI

77 FR 55267 - Decision That Certain Nonconforming Motor Vehicles Are Eligible for Importation

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-07

...-2012-0035 Nonconforming Vehicles: 1999-2006 Toyota Land Cruiser IFS 100 Series Multipurpose Passenger... Toyota Land Cruiser IFS 100 Series Multipurpose Passenger Vehicles Manufactured prior to September 1...

Studying the Association between Green Space Characteristics and Land Surface Temperature for Sustainable Urban Environments: An Analysis of Beijing and Islamabad

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahid Naeem

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Increasing trends of urbanization lead to vegetation degradation in big cities and affect the urban thermal environment. This study investigated (1 the cooling effect of urban green space spatial patterns on Land Surface Temperature (LST; (2 how the surrounding environment influences the green space cool islands (GCI, and vice versa. The study was conducted in two Asian capitals: Beijing, China and Islamabad, Pakistan by utilizing Gaofen-1 (GF-1 and Landsat-8 satellite imagery. Pearson’s correlation and normalized mutual information (NMI were applied to investigate the relationship between green space characteristics and LST. Landscape metrics of green spaces including Percentage of Landscape (PLAND, Patch Density (PD, Edge Density (ED, and Landscape Shape Index (LSI were selected to calculate the spatial patterns of green spaces, whereas GCI indicators were defined by Green Space Range (GR, Temperature Difference (TD, and Temperature Gradient (TG. The results indicate that both vegetation composition and configuration influence LST distributions; however, vegetation composition appeared to have a slightly greater effect. The cooling effect can be produced more effectively by increasing green space percentage, planting trees in large patches with equal distribution, and avoiding complex-shaped green spaces. The GCI principle indicates that LST can be decreased by increasing the green space area, increasing the water body fraction, or by decreasing the fraction of impervious surfaces. GCI can also be strengthened by decreasing the fraction of impervious surfaces and increasing the fraction of water body or vegetation in the surrounding environment. The cooling effect of vegetation and water could be explained based on their thermal properties. Beijing has already enacted the green-wedge initiative to increase the vegetation canopy. While designing the future urban layout of Islamabad, the construction of artificial lakes within the urban green

Daytime Land Surface Temperature Extraction from MODIS Thermal Infrared Data under Cirrus Clouds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiwei Fan

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Simulated data showed that cirrus clouds could lead to a maximum land surface temperature (LST retrieval error of 11.0 K when using the generalized split-window (GSW algorithm with a cirrus optical depth (COD at 0.55 μm of 0.4 and in nadir view. A correction term in the COD linear function was added to the GSW algorithm to extend the GSW algorithm to cirrus cloudy conditions. The COD was acquired by a look up table of the isolated cirrus bidirectional reflectance at 0.55 μm. Additionally, the slope k of the linear function was expressed as a multiple linear model of the top of the atmospheric brightness temperatures of MODIS channels 31–34 and as the difference between split-window channel emissivities. The simulated data showed that the LST error could be reduced from 11.0 to 2.2 K. The sensitivity analysis indicated that the total errors from all the uncertainties of input parameters, extension algorithm accuracy, and GSW algorithm accuracy were less than 2.5 K in nadir view. Finally, the Great Lakes surface water temperatures measured by buoys showed that the retrieval accuracy of the GSW algorithm was improved by at least 1.5 K using the proposed extension algorithm for cirrus skies.

Nonlinear automatic landing control of unmanned aerial vehicles on moving platforms via a 3D laser radar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hervas, Jaime Rubio; Tang, Hui [School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 639798 (Singapore); Reyhanoglu, Mahmut [Physical Sciences Department, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL 32114 (United States)

2014-12-10

This paper presents a motion tracking and control system for automatically landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) on an oscillating platform using Laser Radar (LADAR) observations. The system itself is assumed to be mounted on a ship deck. A full nonlinear mathematical model is first introduced for the UAV. The ship motion is characterized by a Fourier transform based method which includes a realistic characterization of the sea waves. LADAR observation models are introduced and an algorithm to process those observations for yielding the relative state between the vessel and the UAV is presented, from which the UAV's state relative to an inertial frame can be obtained and used for feedback purposes. A sliding mode control algorithm is derived for tracking a landing trajectory defined by a set of desired waypoints. An extended Kalman filter (EKF) is proposed to account for process and observation noises in the design of a state estimator. The effectiveness of the control algorithm is illustrated through a simulation example.

Nonlinear automatic landing control of unmanned aerial vehicles on moving platforms via a 3D laser radar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hervas, Jaime Rubio; Tang, Hui; Reyhanoglu, Mahmut

2014-01-01

This paper presents a motion tracking and control system for automatically landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) on an oscillating platform using Laser Radar (LADAR) observations. The system itself is assumed to be mounted on a ship deck. A full nonlinear mathematical model is first introduced for the UAV. The ship motion is characterized by a Fourier transform based method which includes a realistic characterization of the sea waves. LADAR observation models are introduced and an algorithm to process those observations for yielding the relative state between the vessel and the UAV is presented, from which the UAV's state relative to an inertial frame can be obtained and used for feedback purposes. A sliding mode control algorithm is derived for tracking a landing trajectory defined by a set of desired waypoints. An extended Kalman filter (EKF) is proposed to account for process and observation noises in the design of a state estimator. The effectiveness of the control algorithm is illustrated through a simulation example

Seasonal Variations of the Surface Urban Heat Island in a Semi-Arid City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sirous Haashemi

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The process of the surface urban heat island (SUHI varies with latitude, climate, topography and meteorological conditions. This study investigated the seasonal variability of SUHI in the Tehran metropolitan area, Iran, with respect to selected surface biophysical variables. Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST was retrieved as nighttime LST data, while daytime LST was retrieved from Landsat 8 Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS using the split-window algorithm. Both data covered the time period from September 2013 to September 2015. To assess SUHI intensity, we employed three SUHI indicators, i.e., the LST difference of urban-rural, that of urban-agriculture and that of urban-water. Physical and biophysical surface variables, including land use and land cover (LULC, elevation, impervious surface (IS, fractional vegetation cover (FVC and albedo, were selected to estimate the relationship between LST seasonal variability and the surface properties. Results show that an inversion of the SUHI phenomenon (i.e., surface urban cool island existed at daytime with the maximal value of urban-rural LST difference of −4 K in March; whereas the maximal value of SUHI at nighttime yielded 3.9 K in May. When using the indicators of urban-agriculture and urban-water LST differences, the maximal value of SUHI was found to be 8.2 K and 15.5 K, respectively. Both results were observed at daytime, suggesting the role of bare soils in the inversion of the SUHI phenomenon with the urban-rural indicator. Maximal correlation was observed in the relationship between night LST and elevation in spring (coefficient: −0.76, night LST and IS in spring (0.60, night LST and albedo in winter (−0.53 and day LST with fractional vegetation cover in summer (−0.41. The relationship between all surface properties with LST possessed large seasonal variations, and thus, using these relationships for SUHI modeling may not be

Life Cycle Cost Assessments for Military Transatmospheric Vehicles,

Science.gov (United States)

1997-01-01

earth orbit (GEO) that fall within the Titan-IV heavy launch vehicle (HLV) class are outside the practical design limits for a marketable RLV SSTO ...information is from the RAND-hosted TAV Workshop. Three SSTO concepts for X-33 were proposed during Phase I, all with either different takeoff or landing...1996 indicated some observed general differences in vehicles depending on the launch and landing modes:4 • Single stage to orbit ( SSTO ) TAVs for

Unmanned airborne thermal and mutilspectral imagery for estimating evapotranspiration in irrigated vineyards

Science.gov (United States)

Thermal-infrared remote sensing of land surface temperature (LST) provides valuable information for quantifying rootzone water availability, evapotranspiration (ET) and crop condition. This paper describes the most recent modifications applied to the robust but relatively simple LST-based energy bal...

Analysis of the Landing Ship Tank (LST) and its Influence on Amphibious Warfare During World War Two

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-13

should be conducted. He stressed that the rapid deployment of troops from ship to shore was essential. In February 1924, the Navy and Marine Corps...Figure 12). This allowed for a more rapid loading 96Alfred Dunlop Bailey, “ Alligators , Buffaloes, and Bushmasters: The History of the Development of the...of the wounded, they were adequate for 110A. K. Demetriades, M. C. Gavalas, and J. Ryan, “D-Day On Board A Tank Landing Ship: Meat, Cheese and Blood

Agriculture pest and disease risk maps considering MSG satellite data and land surface temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Marques da Silva, J. R.; Damásio, C. V.; Sousa, A. M. O.; Bugalho, L.; Pessanha, L.; Quaresma, P.

2015-06-01

Pest risk maps for agricultural use are usually constructed from data obtained from in-situ meteorological weather stations, which are relatively sparsely distributed and are often quite expensive to install and difficult to maintain. This leads to the creation of maps with relatively low spatial resolution, which are very much dependent on interpolation methodologies. Considering that agricultural applications typically require a more detailed scale analysis than has traditionally been available, remote sensing technology can offer better monitoring at increasing spatial and temporal resolutions, thereby, improving pest management results and reducing costs. This article uses ground temperature, or land surface temperature (LST), data distributed by EUMETSAT/LSASAF (with a spatial resolution of 3 × 3 km (nadir resolution) and a revisiting time of 15 min) to generate one of the most commonly used parameters in pest modeling and monitoring: "thermal integral over air temperature (accumulated degree-days)". The results show a clear association between the accumulated LST values over a threshold and the accumulated values computed from meteorological stations over the same threshold (specific to a particular tomato pest). The results are very promising and enable the production of risk maps for agricultural pests with a degree of spatial and temporal detail that is difficult to achieve using in-situ meteorological stations.

Blast resistant vehicle seat

Science.gov (United States)

Ripley, Edward B

2013-02-12

Disclosed are various seats for vehicles particularly military vehicles that are susceptible to attack by road-bed explosive devices such as land mines or improvised explosive devices. The seats often have rigid seat shells and may include rigid bracing for rigidly securing the seat to the chassis of the vehicle. Typically embodiments include channels and particulate media such as sand disposed in the channels. A gas distribution system is generally employed to pump a gas through the channels and in some embodiments the gas is provided at a pressure sufficient to fluidize the particulate media when an occupant is sitting on the seat.

A Multi-Temporal Analyses of Land Surface Temperature Using Landsat-8 Data and Open Source Software: The Case Study of Modena, Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tommaso Barbieri

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The Urban Heat Island (UHI phenomenon, namely urban areas where the atmospheric temperature is significantly higher than in the surrounding rural areas, is currently a very well-known topic both in the scientific community and in public debates. Growing urbanization is one of the anthropic causes of UHI. The UHI phenomenon has a negative impact on the life quality of the local population (thermal discomfort, summer thermal shock, etc., thus investigations and analyses on this topic are really useful and important for correct and sustainable urban planning; this study is included in this context. A multi-temporal analysis was performed in the municipality of Modena (Italy to identify and estimate the Surface Urban Heat Island (SUHI, strictly correlated to the UHI phenomenon from 2014 to 2017. For this purpose, Landsat-8 satellite images were processed with Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS to obtain the Land Surface Temperature (LST and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI. For every pixel, LST and NDVI values of three regions of interest (ROI, i.e., Countryside, Suburbs, and City Center were extracted and their correlations were investigated. A maximum variation of 6.4 °C in the LST values between City Center and Countryside was highlighted, confirming the presence of the SUHI phenomenon even in a medium-sized municipality like Modena. The implemented procedure demonstrates that satellite data are suitable for SUHI identification and estimation, therefore it could be a useful tool for public administration for urban planning policies.

Land Surface Reflectance Retrieval from Hyperspectral Data Collected by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle over the Baotou Test Site

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, Si-Bo; Li, Zhao-Liang; Tang, Bo-Hui; Wu, Hua; Ma, Lingling; Zhao, Enyu; Li, Chuanrong

2013-01-01

To evaluate the in-flight performance of a new hyperspectral sensor onboard an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV-HYPER), a comprehensive field campaign was conducted over the Baotou test site in China on 3 September 2011. Several portable reference reflectance targets were deployed across the test site. The radiometric performance of the UAV-HYPER sensor was assessed in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the calibration accuracy. The SNR of the different bands of the UAV-HYPER sensor was estimated to be between approximately 5 and 120 over the homogeneous targets, and the linear response of the apparent reflectance ranged from approximately 0.05 to 0.45. The uniform and non-uniform Lambertian land surface reflectance was retrieved and validated using in situ measurements, with root mean square error (RMSE) of approximately 0.01–0.07 and relative RMSE of approximately 5%–12%. There were small discrepancies between the retrieved uniform and non-uniform Lambertian land surface reflectance over the homogeneous targets and under low aerosol optical depth (AOD) conditions (AOD = 0.18). However, these discrepancies must be taken into account when adjacent pixels had large land surface reflectance contrast and under high AOD conditions (e.g. AOD = 1.0). PMID:23785513

The engineering of a nuclear thermal landing and ascent vehicle utilizing indigenous Martian propellant

Science.gov (United States)

Zubrin, Robert M.

1990-01-01

A design study of a novel space transportation concept called NIMF (Nuclear rocket using Indigenous Martian Fuel) is reported. In this concept, Martian CO2 gas, which constitutes 95 percent of the atmosphere, is liquified by simple compression to about 100 psi and remains stable without refrigeration. When heated and exhausted out of a rocket nozzle, a specific impulse of about 264 s can be achieved, sufficient for flights from the surface to highly energetic orbits or from one point on the surface to any other point. The propellant acquisition system can travel with the vehicle, allowing it to refuel itself each time it lands. The concept offers unequalled potential to achieve planetwide mobility, allowing complete global access for the exploration of Mars. By eliminating the necessity of transporting ascent propellant to Mars, the NIMF can also significantly reduce the initial mass in LEO and of a manned Mars mission.

Highly specific and rapid immuno-fluorescent visualization and detection of E. coli O104:H4 with protein-A coated magnetic beads based LST-MUG assay.

Science.gov (United States)

Barizuddin, Syed; Balakrishnan, Baskar; Stringer, R Cody; Dweik, Majed

2015-08-01

A method combining immunomagnetic separation and fluorescent sensing was developed to detect Escherichia coli (E. coli) O104:H4. The antibody specific to E. coli O104:H4 was immobilized on protein A-coated magnetic beads. This protein-A-anti E. coli O104:H4 complex was used to bind Fluorescein IsoThioCyanate (FITC) labeled E. coli O104:H4 antigen (whole cell) on it. The goal was to achieve a fluorescently detectable protein-A-anti E. coli O104:H4-E. coli O104:H4 complex on the magnetic beads. Fluorescent microscopy was used to image the magnetic beads. The resulting fluorescence on the beads was due to the FITC labeled antigen binding on the protein-A-anti E. coli O104:H4 immobilized magnetic beads. This visually proves the antigen-antibody binding. The fluorescent imaging results were obtained in 2 h if the minimum available bacteria in the sample were at least 10(5) CFU/ml. If no fluorescence was observed on the magnetic beads during fluorescent imaging, it indicates the bacterial concentration in the sample to be too low for it to have bound to the magnetic beads and hence no detection was possible. To detect bacterial concentration less than 10(5) CFU/ml in the sample, an additional step was required for detection. The magnetic bead complex was added to the LST-MUG (lauryl sulfate tryptose-4-methylumbelliferyl-β-D-glucuronide), a signaling reporter. The E. coli O104:H4 grows in LST-MUG and releases β-glucuronidase enzyme. This enzyme cleaves the MUG substrate that produces 4-methylumbelliferone, a highly fluorescent species. This fluorescence was detected using a spectrofluorometer. The emission peak in the fluorescent spectrum was found to be at 450 nm. The lower and upper detection range for this LST-MUG assay was found to be 2.05×10(5)-4.09×10(8) CFU/ml. The results for the LST-MUG assay for concentrations below 10(5) CFU/ml were ascertained in 8h. The advantages of this technique include the specific detection of bacteria without an enrichment step and

Remote sensing study of the impact of vegetation on thermal environment in different contexts

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Qijiao; Wu, Yingjiao; Zhou, Zhixiang; Wang, Zhengxiang

2018-02-01

Satellite remote sensing technology provides informative data for detecting the land surface temperature (LST) distribution and urban heat island (UHI) effect remotely and regionally. In this study, two Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images acquired on September 26, 1987 and September 17, 2013 were used to derive LST and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values in Wuhan, China. The relationships between NDVI and LST were examined in different contexts, namely built-up area, farmland, grassland and forest. Results showed that negative correlations between the mean NDVI and LST were detected in all observed land covers, which meant that vegetation was efficient in decreasing surface temperatures and mitigating UHI effect. The cooling efficiency of vegetation on thermal environment varied with different contexts. As mean NDVI increased at each 0.1, the decreased LST values in built-up area, farmland, grassland and forest were 1.4 °C, 1.4 °C, 1.1 °C, 1.9 °C in 1987 and 1.4 °C, 1.7 °C, 1.3 °C, 1.8 °C in 2013, respectively. This finding encourages urban planners and greening designers to devote more efforts in protecting urban forests.

A Novel Hybrid Data-Driven Model for Daily Land Surface Temperature Forecasting Using Long Short-Term Memory Neural Network Based on Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xike Zhang

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Daily land surface temperature (LST forecasting is of great significance for application in climate-related, agricultural, eco-environmental, or industrial studies. Hybrid data-driven prediction models using Ensemble Empirical Mode Composition (EEMD coupled with Machine Learning (ML algorithms are useful for achieving these purposes because they can reduce the difficulty of modeling, require less history data, are easy to develop, and are less complex than physical models. In this article, a computationally simple, less data-intensive, fast and efficient novel hybrid data-driven model called the EEMD Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM neural network, namely EEMD-LSTM, is proposed to reduce the difficulty of modeling and to improve prediction accuracy. The daily LST data series from the Mapoling and Zhijaing stations in the Dongting Lake basin, central south China, from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2016 is used as a case study. The EEMD is firstly employed to decompose the original daily LST data series into many Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs and a single residue item. Then, the Partial Autocorrelation Function (PACF is used to obtain the number of input data sample points for LSTM models. Next, the LSTM models are constructed to predict the decompositions. All the predicted results of the decompositions are aggregated as the final daily LST. Finally, the prediction performance of the hybrid EEMD-LSTM model is assessed in terms of the Mean Square Error (MSE, Mean Absolute Error (MAE, Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE, Root Mean Square Error (RMSE, Pearson Correlation Coefficient (CC and Nash-Sutcliffe Coefficient of Efficiency (NSCE. To validate the hybrid data-driven model, the hybrid EEMD-LSTM model is compared with the Recurrent Neural Network (RNN, LSTM and Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD coupled with RNN, EMD-LSTM and EEMD-RNN models, and their comparison results demonstrate that the hybrid EEMD-LSTM model performs better than the other

A Novel Hybrid Data-Driven Model for Daily Land Surface Temperature Forecasting Using Long Short-Term Memory Neural Network Based on Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xike; Zhang, Qiuwen; Zhang, Gui; Nie, Zhiping; Gui, Zifan; Que, Huafei

2018-05-21

Daily land surface temperature (LST) forecasting is of great significance for application in climate-related, agricultural, eco-environmental, or industrial studies. Hybrid data-driven prediction models using Ensemble Empirical Mode Composition (EEMD) coupled with Machine Learning (ML) algorithms are useful for achieving these purposes because they can reduce the difficulty of modeling, require less history data, are easy to develop, and are less complex than physical models. In this article, a computationally simple, less data-intensive, fast and efficient novel hybrid data-driven model called the EEMD Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network, namely EEMD-LSTM, is proposed to reduce the difficulty of modeling and to improve prediction accuracy. The daily LST data series from the Mapoling and Zhijaing stations in the Dongting Lake basin, central south China, from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2016 is used as a case study. The EEMD is firstly employed to decompose the original daily LST data series into many Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs) and a single residue item. Then, the Partial Autocorrelation Function (PACF) is used to obtain the number of input data sample points for LSTM models. Next, the LSTM models are constructed to predict the decompositions. All the predicted results of the decompositions are aggregated as the final daily LST. Finally, the prediction performance of the hybrid EEMD-LSTM model is assessed in terms of the Mean Square Error (MSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Pearson Correlation Coefficient (CC) and Nash-Sutcliffe Coefficient of Efficiency (NSCE). To validate the hybrid data-driven model, the hybrid EEMD-LSTM model is compared with the Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), LSTM and Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) coupled with RNN, EMD-LSTM and EEMD-RNN models, and their comparison results demonstrate that the hybrid EEMD-LSTM model performs better than the other five

Characterising fire hazard from temporal sequences of thermal infrared modis measurements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Maffei, C.; Alfieri, S.M.; Menenti, M.

2012-01-01

The objective of the present research was the characterisation of fire hazard using temporal sequences of land surface temperature (LST) derived from Terra-MODIS measurements. The investigation was based on a complete sequence of MODIS LST data from 2000 to 2006 on Campania (Italy) and on a dataset

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Land surface temperature (LST) is a key parameter in environment and earth science study, especially for monitoring drought. The objective of this work is a comparison of two split-window methods: Mao method and Sobrino method, for retrieving LST using MODIS (Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data in ...

Spatio-temporal footprints of urbanisation in Surat, the Diamond City of India (1990-2009).

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Richa; Ghosh, Aniruddha; Joshi, Pawan Kumar

2013-04-01

Urbanisation is a ubiquitous phenomenon with greater prominence in developing nations. Urban expansion involves land conversions from vegetated moisture-rich to impervious moisture-deficient land surfaces. The urban land transformations alter biophysical parameters in a mode that promotes development of heat islands and degrades environmental health. This study elaborates relationships among various environmental variables using remote sensing dataset to study spatio-temporal footprint of urbanisation in Surat city. Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite data were used in conjugation with geo-spatial techniques to study urbanisation and correlation among various satellite-derived biophysical parameters, [Normalised Difference Vegetation Index, Normalised Difference Built-up Index, Normalised Difference Water Index, Normalised Difference Bareness Index, Modified NDWI and land surface temperature (LST)]. Land use land cover was prepared using hierarchical decision tree classification with an accuracy of 90.4 % (kappa = 0.88) for 1990 and 85 % (kappa = 0.81) for 2009. It was found that the city has expanded over 42.75 km(2) within a decade, and these changes resulted in elevated surface temperatures. For example, transformation from vegetation to built-up has resulted in 5.5 ± 2.6 °C increase in land surface temperature, vegetation to fallow 6.7 ± 3 °C, fallow to built-up is 3.5 ± 2.9 °C and built-up to dense built-up is 5.3 ± 2.8 °C. Directional profiling for LST was done to study spatial patterns of LST in and around Surat city. Emergence of two new LST peaks for 2009 was observed in N-S and NE-SW profiles.

Microwave implementation of two-source energy balance approach for estimating evapotranspiration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. R. H. Holmes

2018-02-01

Full Text Available A newly developed microwave (MW land surface temperature (LST product is used to substitute thermal infrared (TIR-based LST in the Atmosphere–Land Exchange Inverse (ALEXI modeling framework for estimating evapotranspiration (ET from space. ALEXI implements a two-source energy balance (TSEB land surface scheme in a time-differential approach, designed to minimize sensitivity to absolute biases in input records of LST through the analysis of the rate of temperature change in the morning. Thermal infrared retrievals of the diurnal LST curve, traditionally from geostationary platforms, are hindered by cloud cover, reducing model coverage on any given day. This study tests the utility of diurnal temperature information retrieved from a constellation of satellites with microwave radiometers that together provide six to eight observations of Ka-band brightness temperature per location per day. This represents the first ever attempt at a global implementation of ALEXI with MW-based LST and is intended as the first step towards providing all-weather capability to the ALEXI framework. The analysis is based on 9-year-long, global records of ALEXI ET generated using both MW- and TIR-based diurnal LST information as input. In this study, the MW-LST (MW-based LST sampling is restricted to the same clear-sky days as in the IR-based implementation to be able to analyze the impact of changing the LST dataset separately from the impact of sampling all-sky conditions. The results show that long-term bulk ET estimates from both LST sources agree well, with a spatial correlation of 92 % for total ET in the Europe–Africa domain and agreement in seasonal (3-month totals of 83–97 % depending on the time of year. Most importantly, the ALEXI-MW (MW-based ALEXI also matches ALEXI-IR (IR-based ALEXI very closely in terms of 3-month inter-annual anomalies, demonstrating its ability to capture the development and extent of drought conditions. Weekly ET output

An Analysis of the Discrepancies between MODIS and INSAT-3D LSTs in High Temperatures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyed Kazem Alavipanah

2017-04-01

Full Text Available In many disciplines, knowledge on the accuracy of Land Surface Temperature (LST as an input is of great importance. One of the most efficient methods in LST evaluation is cross validation. Well-documented and validated polar satellites with a high spatial resolution can be used as references for validating geostationary LST products. This study attempted to investigate the discrepancies between a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS and Indian National Satellite (INSAT-3D LSTs for high temperatures, focusing on six deserts with sand dune land cover in the Middle East from 3 March 2015 to 24 August 2016. Firstly, the variability of LSTs in the deserts of the study area was analyzed by comparing the mean, Standard Deviation (STD, skewness, minimum, and maximum criteria for each observation time. The mean value of the LST observations indicated that the MYD-D observation times are closer to those of diurnal maximum and minimum LSTs. At all times, the LST observations exhibited a negative skewness and the STD indicated higher variability during times of MOD-D. The observed maximum LSTs from MODIS collection 6 showed higher values in comparison with the last versions of LSTs for hot spot regions around the world. After the temporal, spatial, and geometrical matching of LST products, the mean of the MODIS—INSAT LST differences was calculated for the study area. The results demonstrated that discrepancies increased with temperature up to +15.5 K. The slopes of the mean differences were relatively similar for all deserts except for An Nafud, suggesting an effect of View Zenith Angle (VZA. For modeling the discrepancies between two sensors in continuous space, the Diurnal Temperature Cycles (DTC of both sensors were constructed and compared. The sample DTC models approved the results from discrete LST subtractions and proposed the uncertainties within MODIS DTCs. The authors proposed that the observed LST discrepancies in high

Effect of Climate and Land Use on the Spatio-Temporal Variability of Tick-Borne Bacteria in Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Rosà

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The incidence of tick-borne diseases caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Rickettsia spp. has been rising in Europe in recent decades. Early pre-assessment of acarological hazard still represents a complex challenge. The aim of this study was to model Ixodes ricinus questing nymph density and its infection rate with B. burgdorferi s.l., A. phagocytophilum and Rickettsia spp. in five European countries (Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary in various land cover types differing in use and anthropisation (agricultural, urban and natural with climatic and environmental factors (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI, Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI, Land Surface Temperature (LST and precipitation. We show that the relative abundance of questing nymphs was significantly associated with climatic conditions, such as higher values of NDVI recorded in the sampling period, while no differences were observed among land use categories. However, the density of infected nymphs (DIN also depended on the pathogen considered and land use. These results contribute to a better understanding of the variation in acarological hazard for Ixodes ricinus transmitted pathogens in Central Europe and provide the basis for more focused ecological studies aimed at assessing the effect of land use in different sites on tick–host pathogens interaction.

14 CFR 431.35 - Acceptable reusable launch vehicle mission risk.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... applicable, and reentry or descent flight, and concludes upon landing on Earth of the RLV. (b) Acceptable... reentry or descent of the vehicle through landing, including its three-sigma dispersion. [Docket No. FAA...

Vehicle Controller

Science.gov (United States)

1985-01-01

UNISTICK is an airplane-like joystick being developed by Johnson Engineering under NASA and VA sponsorship. It allows a driver to control a vehicle with one hand, and is based upon technology developed for the Apollo Lunar Landings of the 1970's. It allows severely handicapped drivers to operate an automobile or van easily. The system is expected to be in production by March 1986.

Doppler Lidar Sensor for Precision Landing on the Moon and Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Amzajerdian, Farzin; Petway, Larry; Hines, Glenn; Barnes, Bruce; Pierrottet, Diego; Lockhard, George

2012-01-01

Landing mission concepts that are being developed for exploration of planetary bodies are increasingly ambitious in their implementations and objectives. Most of these missions require accurate position and velocity data during their descent phase in order to ensure safe soft landing at the pre-designated sites. To address this need, a Doppler lidar is being developed by NASA under the Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance (ALHAT) project. This lidar sensor is a versatile instrument capable of providing precision velocity vectors, vehicle ground relative altitude, and attitude. The capabilities of this advanced technology have been demonstrated through two helicopter flight test campaigns conducted over a vegetation-free terrain in 2008 and 2010. Presently, a prototype version of this sensor is being assembled for integration into a rocket-powered terrestrial free-flyer vehicle. Operating in a closed loop with vehicle's guidance and navigation system, the viability of this advanced sensor for future landing missions will be demonstrated through a series of flight tests in 2012.

The impact of climatic and non-climatic factors on land surface temperature in southwestern Romania

Science.gov (United States)

Roşca, Cristina Florina; Harpa, Gabriela Victoria; Croitoru, Adina-Eliza; Herbel, Ioana; Imbroane, Alexandru Mircea; Burada, Doina Cristina

2017-11-01

Land surface temperature is one of the most important parameters related to global warming. It depends mainly on soil type, discontinuous vegetation cover, or lack of precipitation. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between high LST, synoptic conditions and air masses trajectories, vegetation cover, and soil type in one of the driest region in Romania. In order to calculate the land surface temperature and normalized difference vegetation index, five satellite images of LANDSAT missions 5 and 7, covering a period of 26 years (1986-2011), were selected, all of them collected in the month of June. The areas with low vegetation density were derived from normalized difference vegetation index, while soil types have been extracted from Corine Land Cover database. HYSPLIT application was employed to identify the air masses origin based on their backward trajectories for each of the five study cases. Pearson, logarithmic, and quadratic correlations were used to detect the relationships between land surface temperature and observed ground temperatures, as well as between land surface temperature and normalized difference vegetation index. The most important findings are: strong correlation between land surface temperature derived from satellite images and maximum ground temperature recorded in a weather station located in the area, as well as between areas with land surface temperature equal to or higher than 40.0 °C and those with lack of vegetation; the sandy soils are the most prone to high land surface temperature and lack of vegetation, followed by the chernozems and brown soils; extremely severe drought events may occur in the region.

Interannual Variation of the Surface Temperature of Tropical Forests from Satellite Observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huilin Gao

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Land surface temperatures (LSTs within tropical forests contribute to climate variations. However, observational data are very limited in such regions. This study used passive microwave remote sensing data from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I and the Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS, providing observations under all weather conditions, to investigate the LST over the Amazon and Congo rainforests. The SSM/I and SSMIS data were collected from 1996 to 2012. The morning and afternoon observations from passive microwave remote sensing facilitate the investigation of the interannual changes of LST anomalies on a diurnal basis. As a result of the variability of cloud cover and the corresponding reduction of solar radiation, the afternoon LST anomalies tend to vary more than the morning LST anomalies. The dominant spatial and temporal patterns for interseasonal variations of the LST anomalies over the tropical rainforest were analyzed. The impacts of droughts and El Niños on this LST were also investigated. Differences between early morning and late afternoon LST anomalies were identified by the remote sensing product, with the morning LST anomalies controlled by humidity (according to comparisons with the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP reanalysis data.

14 CFR 431.79 - Reusable launch vehicle mission reporting requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... writing, of the time and date of the intended launch and reentry or other landing on Earth of the RLV and..., including the vehicle, launch site, planned launch and reentry flight path, and intended landing sites...

An Enhanced Error Model for EKF-Based Tightly-Coupled Integration of GPS and Land Vehicle's Motion Sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Karamat, Tashfeen B; Atia, Mohamed M; Noureldin, Aboelmagd

2015-09-22

Reduced inertial sensor systems (RISS) have been introduced by many researchers as a low-cost, low-complexity sensor assembly that can be integrated with GPS to provide a robust integrated navigation system for land vehicles. In earlier works, the developed error models were simplified based on the assumption that the vehicle is mostly moving on a flat horizontal plane. Another limitation is the simplified estimation of the horizontal tilt angles, which is based on simple averaging of the accelerometers' measurements without modelling their errors or tilt angle errors. In this paper, a new error model is developed for RISS that accounts for the effect of tilt angle errors and the accelerometer's errors. Additionally, it also includes important terms in the system dynamic error model, which were ignored during the linearization process in earlier works. An augmented extended Kalman filter (EKF) is designed to incorporate tilt angle errors and transversal accelerometer errors. The new error model and the augmented EKF design are developed in a tightly-coupled RISS/GPS integrated navigation system. The proposed system was tested on real trajectories' data under degraded GPS environments, and the results were compared to earlier works on RISS/GPS systems. The findings demonstrated that the proposed enhanced system introduced significant improvements in navigational performance.

TREND ASSESSMENT OF SPATIO-TEMPORAL CHANGE OF TEHRAN HEAT ISLAND USING SATELLITE IMAGES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. R. Saradjian

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Numerous investigations on Urban Heat Island (UHI show that land cover change is the main factor of increasing Land Surface Temperature (LST in urban areas, especially conversion of vegetation and bare soil to concrete, asphalt and other man-made structures. On the other hand, other human activities like those which cause to burning fossil fuels, that increase the amount of carbon dioxide, may raise temperature in global scale in comparison with small scales (urban areas. In this study, multiple satellite images with different spatial and temporal resolutions have been used to determine Land Surface Temperature (LST variability in Tehran metropolitan area. High temporal resolution of AVHRR images have been used as the main data source when investigating temperature variability in the urban area. The analysis shows that UHI appears more significant at afternoon and night hours. But the urban class temperature is almost equal to its surrounding vegetation and bare soil classes at around noon. It also reveals that there is no specific difference in UHI intense during the days throughout the year. However, it can be concluded that in the process of city expansion in years, UHI has been grown both spatially and in magnitude. In order to locate land-cover types and relate them to LST, Thematic Mapper (TM images have been exploited. The influence of elevation on the LST has also been studied, using digital elevation model derived from SRTM database.

Modeling Hot Spot Motor Vehicle Theft Crime in Relation to Landuse and Settlement Patterns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Djaka Marwasta

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The crowd of Yogyakarta urban has impacted its surrounding area, including Depok sub district, which is indicated by the rising of physical development, for example education facilities and settlements. The progress does not only bring positive impact, but also negative impact for instance the rising of crime number i.e. motor vehicle robbery. The aims of this research are 1 mapping motor vehicle robbery data as the distribution map and identifying motor vehicle robbery hot spot base on distrbution map; and 2 studying the correlation of motor vehicle robbery hot spot with physical environment phenomena, i.e. land use type and settlement pattern. The research method consists of two parts; they are motor vehicle robbery cluster analysis and the relation of motor vehicle robbery and physical environment analysis. Motor vehicle robbery cluster analysis is using distribution data, which analyzes the distribution into motor vehicle robbery hot spot with nearest neighbor tehnique. Contingency coefficient and frequency distribution analysis is used to analyze the correlation of motor vehicle robbery hot spot and physical environment. Contingency coefficient is used to study the relation of motor vehicle robbery hot spot polygon with physical environment condition, whereas frequency distribution is used to study the distribution of motor vehicle robbery in the hot spot with physical environment condition. Physical environment which consists of land use type, housing density, house regularity pattern, and the average of building size, are obtained from interpretation of black and white panchromatic aerial photograph year 2000, in the scale 1 : 20.000. the most motor vehicle robbery hot spot is found on the settlement area, 68,3% from 378 motor vehicle robbery cases in the hot spot. The seond level is found on the education area (16.4%. The most motor vehicle hot spot in the settlement is found on the hight density and irregular settlement, which have big

An integer ambiguity resolution method for the global positioning system (GPS)-based land vehicle attitude determination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Bo; Miao, Lingjuan; Wang, Shunting; Shen, Jun

2009-01-01

During attitude determination using a global positioning system (GPS), cycle slips occur due to the loss of lock and noise disturbance. Therefore, the integer ambiguity needs re-computation to isolate the error in carrier phase. This paper presents a fast method for integer ambiguity resolution for land vehicle application. After the cycle slips are detected, the velocity vector is utilized to obtain the rough baseline vector. The obtained baseline vector is substituted into carrier phase observation equations to solve the float ambiguity solution which can be used as a constraint to accelerate the integer ambiguity search procedure at next epochs. The probability of correct integer estimation in the expanded search space is analyzed. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method gives a fast approach to obtain new fixed ambiguities while the regular method takes longer time and sometimes results in incorrect solutions

Advancing Lidar Sensors Technologies for Next Generation Landing Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Amzajerdian, Farzin; Hines, Glenn D.; Roback, Vincent E.; Petway, Larry B.; Barnes, Bruce W.; Brewster, Paul F.; Pierrottet, Diego F.; Bulyshev, Alexander

2015-01-01

Missions to solar systems bodies must meet increasingly ambitious objectives requiring highly reliable "precision landing", and "hazard avoidance" capabilities. Robotic missions to the Moon and Mars demand landing at pre-designated sites of high scientific value near hazardous terrain features, such as escarpments, craters, slopes, and rocks. Missions aimed at paving the path for colonization of the Moon and human landing on Mars need to execute onboard hazard detection and precision maneuvering to ensure safe landing near previously deployed assets. Asteroid missions require precision rendezvous, identification of the landing or sampling site location, and navigation to the highly dynamic object that may be tumbling at a fast rate. To meet these needs, NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) has developed a set of advanced lidar sensors under the Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) project. These lidar sensors can provide precision measurement of vehicle relative proximity, velocity, and orientation, and high resolution elevation maps of the surface during the descent to the targeted body. Recent flights onboard Morpheus free-flyer vehicle have demonstrated the viability of ALHAT lidar sensors for future landing missions to solar system bodies.

Remote operated vehicle with carbon dioxide blasting (ROVCO2)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Resnick, A.M.

1995-01-01

The Remote Operated Vehicle with Carbon Dioxide Blasting (ROVCO 2 ), as shown in a front view, is a six-wheeled remote land vehicle used to decontaminate concrete floors. The remote vehicle has a high pressure Cryogenesis blasting subsystem, Oceaneering Technologies (OTECH) developed a CO 2 xY Orthogonal Translational End Effector (COYOTEE) subsystem, and a vacuum/filtration and containment subsystem. Figure 2 shows a block diagram with the various subsystems labeled

Sensitivity of Landsat 8 Surface Temperature Estimates to Atmospheric Profile Data: A Study Using MODTRAN in Dryland Irrigated Systems

KAUST Repository

Rosas, Jorge; Houborg, Rasmus; McCabe, Matthew

2017-01-01

The land surface temperature (LST) represents a critical element in efforts to characterize global surface energy and water fluxes, as well as being an essential climate variable in its own right. Current satellite platforms provide a range of spatial and temporal resolution radiance data from which LST can be determined. One of the most complete records of data comes via the Landsat series of satellites, which provide a continuous sequence that extends back to 1982. However, for much of this time, Landsat thermal data were provided through a single broadband thermal channel, making surface temperature retrieval challenging. To fully exploit the valuable time-series of thermal information that is available from these satellites requires efforts to better describe and understand the accuracy of temperature retrievals. Here, we contribute to these efforts by examining the impact of atmospheric correction on the estimation of LST, using atmospheric profiles derived from a range of in-situ, reanalysis, and satellite data. Radiance data from the thermal infrared (TIR) sensor onboard Landsat 8 was converted to LST by using the MODTRAN version 5.2 radiative transfer model, allowing the production of an LST time series based upon 28 Landsat overpasses. LST retrievals were then evaluated against in-situ thermal measurements collected over an arid zone farmland comprising both bare soil and vegetated surface types. Atmospheric profiles derived from AIRS, MOD07, ECMWF, NCEP, and balloon-based radiosonde data were used to drive the MODTRAN simulations. In addition to examining the direct impact of using various profile data on LST retrievals, randomly distributed errors were introduced into a range of forcing variables to better understand retrieval uncertainty. Results indicated differences in LST of up to 1 K for perturbations in emissivity and profile measurements, with the analysis also highlighting the challenges in modeling aerosol optical depth (AOD) over arid lands and

Sensitivity of Landsat 8 Surface Temperature Estimates to Atmospheric Profile Data: A Study Using MODTRAN in Dryland Irrigated Systems

KAUST Repository

Rosas, Jorge

2017-09-26

The land surface temperature (LST) represents a critical element in efforts to characterize global surface energy and water fluxes, as well as being an essential climate variable in its own right. Current satellite platforms provide a range of spatial and temporal resolution radiance data from which LST can be determined. One of the most complete records of data comes via the Landsat series of satellites, which provide a continuous sequence that extends back to 1982. However, for much of this time, Landsat thermal data were provided through a single broadband thermal channel, making surface temperature retrieval challenging. To fully exploit the valuable time-series of thermal information that is available from these satellites requires efforts to better describe and understand the accuracy of temperature retrievals. Here, we contribute to these efforts by examining the impact of atmospheric correction on the estimation of LST, using atmospheric profiles derived from a range of in-situ, reanalysis, and satellite data. Radiance data from the thermal infrared (TIR) sensor onboard Landsat 8 was converted to LST by using the MODTRAN version 5.2 radiative transfer model, allowing the production of an LST time series based upon 28 Landsat overpasses. LST retrievals were then evaluated against in-situ thermal measurements collected over an arid zone farmland comprising both bare soil and vegetated surface types. Atmospheric profiles derived from AIRS, MOD07, ECMWF, NCEP, and balloon-based radiosonde data were used to drive the MODTRAN simulations. In addition to examining the direct impact of using various profile data on LST retrievals, randomly distributed errors were introduced into a range of forcing variables to better understand retrieval uncertainty. Results indicated differences in LST of up to 1 K for perturbations in emissivity and profile measurements, with the analysis also highlighting the challenges in modeling aerosol optical depth (AOD) over arid lands and

Classification of robotic battery service systems for unmanned aerial vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ngo Tien

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Existing examples of prototypes of ground-based robotic platforms used as a landing site for unmanned aerial vehicles are considered. In some cases, they are equipped with a maintenance mechanism for the power supply module. The main requirements for robotic multi-copter battery maintenance systems depending on operating conditions, required processing speed, operator experience and other parameters are analyzed. The key issues remain questions of the autonomous landing of the unmanned aerial vehicles on the platform and approach to servicing battery. The existing prototypes of service robotic platforms are differed in the complexity of internal mechanisms, speed of service, algorithms of joint work of the platform and unmanned aerial vehicles during the landing and maintenance of the battery. The classification of robotic systems for servicing the power supply of multi-copter batteries criteria is presented using the following: the type of basing, the method of navigation during landing, the shape of the landing pad, the method of restoring the power supply module. The proposed algorithmic model of the operation of battery power maintenance system of the multi-copter on ground-based robotic platform during solving the target agrarian problem is described. Wireless methods of battery recovery are most promising, so further development and prototyping of a wireless charging station for multi-copter batteries will be developed.

Implication of relationship between natural impacts and land use/land cover (LULC) changes of urban area in Mongolia

Science.gov (United States)

Gantumur, Byambakhuu; Wu, Falin; Zhao, Yan; Vandansambuu, Battsengel; Dalaibaatar, Enkhjargal; Itiritiphan, Fareda; Shaimurat, Dauryenbyek

2017-10-01

Urban growth can profoundly alter the urban landscape structure, ecosystem processes, and local climates. Timely and accurate information on the status and trends of urban ecosystems is critical to develop strategies for sustainable development and to improve the urban residential environment and living quality. Ulaanbaatar city was urbanized very rapidly caused by herders and farmers, many of them migrating from rural places, have played a big role in this urban expansion (sprawl). Today, 1.3 million residents for about 40% of total population are living in the Ulaanbaatar region. Those human activities influenced stronger to green environments. Therefore, the aim of this study is determined to change detection of land use/land cover (LULC) and estimating their areas for the trend of future by remote sensing and statistical methods. The implications of analysis were provided by change detection methods of LULC, remote sensing spectral indices including normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference water index (NDWI) and normalized difference built-up index (NDBI). In addition, it can relate to urban heat island (UHI) provided by Land surface temperature (LST) with local climate issues. Statistical methods for image processing used to define relations between those spectral indices and change detection images and regression analysis for time series trend in future. Remote sensing data are used by Landsat (TM/ETM+/OLI) satellite images over the period between 1990 and 2016 by 5 years. The advantages of this study are very useful remote sensing approaches with statistical analysis and important to detecting changes of LULC. The experimental results show that the LULC changes can image on the present and after few years and determined relations between impacts of environmental conditions.

Impacts of Built-Up Area Expansion in 2D and 3D on Regional Surface Temperature

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Hongyan Cai

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Many studies have reported the thermal effects of urban expansion from non-built-up land; however, how changes in building height in built-up land influence the regional thermal environment is still uncertain. Thus, taking the transitional region between the Chinese megacities of Beijing and Tianjin as the study area, this study investigated the impacts of built-up land expansion in 2D and 3D on regional land surface temperature (LST. The expansion in 2D refers to the conversion from non-built-up land to built-up land, whereas the expansion in 3D characterized the building height change in the built-up land, referring to the conversion from low- and moderate-rise building (LMRB to high-rise building (HRB lands. The land use change from 2010 to 2015 was manually interpreted from high spatial resolution SPOT5 and Gaofen2 images, and the LST information in the corresponding period was derived from Landsat5/8 thermal images using an image-based method. The results showed that between 2010 and 2015, approximately 87.25 km2 non-built-up land was transformed to built-up land, and 13.21 km2 LMRB land was built into HRB land. These two types of built-up land expansions have induced opposing thermal effects in regard to regional surface temperature. The built-up land expansions from cropland and urban green land have raised the regional LST. However, the built-up land expansion from LMRB to HRB lands has induced a cooling effect. Thus, this study suggested that for the cooling urban design, the building height should also be considered. Furthermore, for future studies on thermal impacts of urbanization, it should be cautioned that, besides the urban area expansion, the building height change should also be emphasized due to its potential cooling effects.

The Importance of Attaining Security of Land Tenure to Poverty ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The possession of land right also typically ensures a baseline of shelter and food supply and allows people to turn latent assets into live capital through entrepreneurial activity. Once secure in their land rights, rural households invest to increase productivity. Moreover, the use of land as a primary investment vehicle allows ...

Detection of heat wave using Kalpana-1 VHRR land surface temperature product over India

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Dhiraj; Pandya, Mehul R.; Pathak, Vishal N.; Darji, Nikunj P.; Trivedi, Himanshu J.

2016-05-01

Heat Waves can have notable impacts on human mortality, ecosystem, economics and energy supply. The effect of heat wave is much more intense during summer than the other seasons. During the period of April to June, spells of very hot weather occur over certain regions of India and global warming scenario may result in further increases of such temperature anomalies and corresponding heat waves conditions. In this paper, satellite observations have been used to detect the heat wave conditions prevailing over India for the period of May-June 2015. The Kalpana-1 VHRR derived land surface temperature (LST) products have been used in the analysis to detect the heat wave affected regions over India. Results from the analysis shows the detection of heat wave affected pixels over Indian land mass. It can be seen that during the study period the parts of the west India, Indo-gangetic plane, Telangana and part of Vidarbh was under severe heat wave conditions which is also confirmed with Automatic Weather Station (AWS) air temperature observations.

Fusion of MODIS and landsat-8 surface temperature images: a new approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Hazaymeh, Khaled; Hassan, Quazi K

2015-01-01

Here, our objective was to develop a spatio-temporal image fusion model (STI-FM) for enhancing temporal resolution of Landsat-8 land surface temperature (LST) images by fusing LST images acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS); and implement the developed algorithm over a heterogeneous semi-arid study area in Jordan, Middle East. The STI-FM technique consisted of two major components: (i) establishing a linear relationship between two consecutive MODIS 8-day composite LST images acquired at time 1 and time 2; and (ii) utilizing the above mentioned relationship as a function of a Landsat-8 LST image acquired at time 1 in order to predict a synthetic Landsat-8 LST image at time 2. It revealed that strong linear relationships (i.e., r2, slopes, and intercepts were in the range 0.93-0.94, 0.94-0.99; and 2.97-20.07) existed between the two consecutive MODIS LST images. We evaluated the synthetic LST images qualitatively and found high visual agreements with the actual Landsat-8 LST images. In addition, we conducted quantitative evaluations of these synthetic images; and found strong agreements with the actual Landsat-8 LST images. For example, r2, root mean square error (RMSE), and absolute average difference (AAD)-values were in the ranges 084-0.90, 0.061-0.080, and 0.003-0.004, respectively.

Geovisualization of land use and land cover using bivariate maps and Sankey flow diagrams

Science.gov (United States)

Strode, Georgianna; Mesev, Victor; Thornton, Benjamin; Jerez, Marjorie; Tricarico, Thomas; McAlear, Tyler

2018-05-01

The terms `land use' and `land cover' typically describe categories that convey information about the landscape. Despite the major difference of land use implying some degree of anthropogenic disturbance, the two terms are commonly used interchangeably, especially when anthropogenic disturbance is ambiguous, say managed forestland or abandoned agricultural fields. Cartographically, land use and land cover are also sometimes represented interchangeably within common legends, giving with the impression that the landscape is a seamless continuum of land use parcels spatially adjacent to land cover tracts. We believe this is misleading, and feel we need to reiterate the well-established symbiosis of land uses as amalgams of land covers; in other words land covers are subsets of land use. Our paper addresses this spatially complex, and frequently ambiguous relationship, and posits that bivariate cartographic techniques are an ideal vehicle for representing both land use and land cover simultaneously. In more specific terms, we explore the use of nested symbology as ways to represent graphically land use and land cover, where land cover are circles nested with land use squares. We also investigate bivariate legends for representing statistical covariance as a means for visualizing the combinations of land use and cover. Lastly, we apply Sankey flow diagrams to further illustrate the complex, multifaceted relationships between land use and land cover. Our work is demonstrated on data representing land use and cover data for the US state of Florida.

Mars Sample Return: Mars Ascent Vehicle Mission and Technology Requirements

Science.gov (United States)

Bowles, Jeffrey V.; Huynh, Loc C.; Hawke, Veronica M.; Jiang, Xun J.

2013-01-01

A Mars Sample Return mission is the highest priority science mission for the next decade recommended by the recent Decadal Survey of Planetary Science, the key community input process that guides NASAs science missions. A feasibility study was conducted of a potentially simple and low cost approach to Mars Sample Return mission enabled by the use of developing commercial capabilities. Previous studies of MSR have shown that landing an all up sample return mission with a high mass capacity lander is a cost effective approach. The approach proposed is the use of an emerging commercially available capsule to land the launch vehicle system that would return samples to Earth. This paper describes the mission and technology requirements impact on the launch vehicle system design, referred to as the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV).

Grid-connected vehicles as the core of future land-based transport systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilbert, Richard; Perl, Anthony

2007-01-01

Grid-connected vehicles (GCVs)-e.g., electric trains, metros, trams, and trolley buses-are propelled by electric motors directly connected to remote power sources. Their low at-vehicle energy consumption and ability to use a wide range of renewable energy sources make them strong contenders for urban and interurban transport systems in an era of energy constraints that favours use of renewable fuels, which may lie ahead. Needs for autonomous motorised mobility could be acceptably met in large measure by deployment of personal GCVs, also known as personal rapid transit (PRT). Alternatives, including fuel-cell vehicles and dual-drive vehicles fuelled with ethanol, will be less feasible. The 'car of the future' may not be an automobile so much as a PRT element of a comprehensive GCV-based system that offers at least as much utility and convenience as today's transport systems

Developing an Effective Model for Predicting Spatially and Temporally Continuous Stream Temperatures from Remotely Sensed Land Surface Temperatures

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Kristina M. McNyset

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Although water temperature is important to stream biota, it is difficult to collect in a spatially and temporally continuous fashion. We used remotely-sensed Land Surface Temperature (LST data to estimate mean daily stream temperature for every confluence-to-confluence reach in the John Day River, OR, USA for a ten year period. Models were built at three spatial scales: site-specific, subwatershed, and basin-wide. Model quality was assessed using jackknife and cross-validation. Model metrics for linear regressions of the predicted vs. observed data across all sites and years: site-specific r2 = 0.95, Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE = 1.25 °C; subwatershed r2 = 0.88, RMSE = 2.02 °C; and basin-wide r2 = 0.87, RMSE = 2.12 °C. Similar analyses were conducted using 2012 eight-day composite LST and eight-day mean stream temperature in five watersheds in the interior Columbia River basin. Mean model metrics across all basins: r2 = 0.91, RMSE = 1.29 °C. Sensitivity analyses indicated accurate basin-wide models can be parameterized using data from as few as four temperature logger sites. This approach generates robust estimates of stream temperature through time for broad spatial regions for which there is only spatially and temporally patchy observational data, and may be useful for managers and researchers interested in stream biota.

A positional estimation technique for an autonomous land vehicle in an unstructured environment

Science.gov (United States)

Talluri, Raj; Aggarwal, J. K.

1990-01-01

This paper presents a solution to the positional estimation problem of an autonomous land vehicle navigating in an unstructured mountainous terrain. A Digital Elevation Map (DEM) of the area in which the robot is to navigate is assumed to be given. It is also assumed that the robot is equipped with a camera that can be panned and tilted, and a device to measure the elevation of the robot above the ground surface. No recognizable landmarks are assumed to be present in the environment in which the robot is to navigate. The solution presented makes use of the DEM information, and structures the problem as a heuristic search in the DEM for the possible robot location. The shape and position of the horizon line in the image plane and the known camera geometry of the perspective projection are used as parameters to search the DEM. Various heuristics drawn from the geometric constraints are used to prune the search space significantly. The algorithm is made robust to errors in the imaging process by accounting for the worst care errors. The approach is tested using DEM data of areas in Colorado and Texas. The method is suitable for use in outdoor mobile robots and planetary rovers.

Vehicle health management for guidance, navigation and control systems

Science.gov (United States)

Radke, Kathleen; Frazzini, Ron; Bursch, Paul; Wald, Jerry; Brown, Don

1993-01-01

The objective of the program was to architect a vehicle health management (VHM) system for space systems avionics that assures system readiness for launch vehicles and for space-based dormant vehicles. The platforms which were studied and considered for application of VHM for guidance, navigation and control (GN&C) included the Advanced Manned Launch System (AMLS), the Horizontal Landing-20/Personnel Launch System (HL-20/PLS), the Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV) and the Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO). This set was selected because dormancy and/or availability requirements are driving the designs of these future systems.

Using Machine learning method to estimate Air Temperature from MODIS over Berlin

Science.gov (United States)

Marzban, F.; Preusker, R.; Sodoudi, S.; Taheri, H.; Allahbakhshi, M.

2015-12-01

Land Surface Temperature (LST) is defined as the temperature of the interface between the Earth's surface and its atmosphere and thus it is a critical variable to understand land-atmosphere interactions and a key parameter in meteorological and hydrological studies, which is involved in energy fluxes. Air temperature (Tair) is one of the most important input variables in different spatially distributed hydrological, ecological models. The estimation of near surface air temperature is useful for a wide range of applications. Some applications from traffic or energy management, require Tair data in high spatial and temporal resolution at two meters height above the ground (T2m), sometimes in near-real-time. Thus, a parameterization based on boundary layer physical principles was developed that determines the air temperature from remote sensing data (MODIS). Tair is commonly obtained from synoptic measurements in weather stations. However, the derivation of near surface air temperature from the LST derived from satellite is far from straight forward. T2m is not driven directly by the sun, but indirectly by LST, thus T2m can be parameterized from the LST and other variables such as Albedo, NDVI, Water vapor and etc. Most of the previous studies have focused on estimating T2m based on simple and advanced statistical approaches, Temperature-Vegetation index and energy-balance approaches but the main objective of this research is to explore the relationships between T2m and LST in Berlin by using Artificial intelligence method with the aim of studying key variables to allow us establishing suitable techniques to obtain Tair from satellite Products and ground data. Secondly, an attempt was explored to identify an individual mix of attributes that reveals a particular pattern to better understanding variation of T2m during day and nighttime over the different area of Berlin. For this reason, a three layer Feedforward neural networks is considered with LMA algorithm

The Feasibility of a Land Ferry System to Reduce Highway Maintenance Cost and Associated Externalities

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Steve J. Merrill

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This study provides an economic evaluation for a Land Ferry, which is a rail system capable of carrying trucks and all other types of vehicles, passengers, and cargo. The Land Ferry system involves a sliding loading system to roll heavy loads onto a flatbed; as a result, loading and unloading of all vehicles and cargo could be accomplished simultaneously. The evaluation for this system included (1 the design of a new track alignment over which the Land Ferry system would run, (2 evaluation of various sources of power, (3 estimation of how many local jobs the Land Ferry would generate, and (4 a benefit-cost analysis. It was estimated that the Land Ferry would create over 45,788 temporary jobs in Nevada during the three-year construction period and 318 permanent jobs during operation. The majority of the benefits were attributed to savings in travel time ($356.4 M, vehicle operating costs ($1000.4 M, reduction of accidents ($544.6 M, and pavement maintenance ($503.2 M. These benefits would be a consequence of the shift of trucks from the highway, thus resulting in higher speeds, decrease fuel consumption, and decrease vehicle maintenance costs. The overall benefit-cost ratio of 1.7 implies a cost-effective project.

Satellite-derived temperature data for monitoring water status in a floodplain forest of the Upper Sabine River, Texas

Science.gov (United States)

Lemon, Mary Grace T.; Allen, Scott T.; Edwards, Brandon L.; King, Sammy L.; Keim, Richard F.

2016-01-01

Decreased water availability due to hydrologic modifications, groundwater withdrawal, and climate change threaten bottomland hardwood (BLH) forest communities. We used satellite-derived (MODIS) land-surface temperature (LST) data to investigate spatial heterogeneity of canopy temperature (an indicator of plant-water status) in a floodplain forest of the upper Sabine River for 2008–2014. High LST pixels were generally further from the river and at higher topographic locations, indicating lower water-availability. Increasing rainfall-derived soil moisture corresponded with decreased heterogeneity of LST between pixels but there was weaker association between Sabine River stage and heterogeneity. Stronger dependence of LST convergence on rainfall rather than river flow suggests that some regions are less hydrologically connected to the river, and vegetation may rely on local precipitation and other contributions to the riparian aquifer to replenish soil moisture. Observed LST variations associated with hydrology encourage further investigation of the utility of this approach for monitoring forest stress, especially with considerations of climate change and continued river management.

Automated scheme to determine design parameters for a recoverable reentry vehicle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williamson, W.E.

1976-01-01

The NRV (Nosetip Recovery Vehicle) program at Sandia Laboratories is designed to recover the nose section from a sphere cone reentry vehicle after it has flown a near ICBM reentry trajectory. Both mass jettison and parachutes are used to reduce the velocity of the RV near the end of the trajectory to a sufficiently low level that the vehicle may land intact. The design problem of determining mass jettison time and parachute deployment time in order to ensure that the vehicle does land intact is considered. The problem is formulated as a min-max optimization problem where the design parameters are to be selected to minimize the maximum possible deviation in the design criteria due to uncertainties in the system. The results of the study indicate that the optimal choice of the design parameters ensures that the maximum deviation in the design criteria is within acceptable bounds. This analytically ensures the feasibility of recovery for NRV

A Critical Review of the State-of-the-Art in Autonomous Land Vehicle Systems and Technology; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DURRNAT-WHYTE, HUGH

2001-01-01

This report describes the current state-of-the-art in Autonomous Land Vehicle (ALV) systems and technology. Five functional technology areas are identified and addressed. For each a brief, subjective, preface is first provided which envisions the necessary technology for the deployment of an operational ALV system. Subsequently, a detailed literature review is provided to support and elaborate these views. It is further established how these five technology areas fit together as a functioning whole. The essential conclusion of this report is that the necessary sensors, algorithms and methods to develop and demonstrate an operationally viable all-terrain ALV already exist and could be readily deployed. A second conclusion is that the successful development of an operational ALV system will rely on an effective approach to systems engineering. In particular, a precise description of mission requirements and a clear definition of component functionality is essential

Diurnal and Seasonal Variation of Surface Urban Cool and Heat Islands in the Semi-Arid City of Erbil, Iraq

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Azad Rasul

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The influence of land surface temperature (LST makes the near-surface layer of the troposphere a key driver of urban climate. This paper assesses the temporal formation of the daytime Surface Urban Cool Island (SUCI and night-time Surface Urban Heat Island (SUHI effect in Erbil, Iraq, situated in a semi-arid climate region. LST retrievals from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS Aqua and Terra and MODIS Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI from January 2003 to December 2014 are analysed. The relationships of LST with NDVI and the Normalized Multi-band Drought Index (NMDI are investigated in order to assess the influence of vegetation and moisture on the observed patterns of LST and the SUCI/SUHI. The results indicate that during the daytime, in summer, autumn and winter, densely built-up areas had lower LST acting as a SUCI compared to the non-urbanised area around the city. In contrast, at night-time, Erbil experienced higher LST and demonstrated a significant SUHI effect. The relationship between LST and NDVI is affected by seasonality and is strongly inverted during spring (r2 = 0.73; p < 0.01. Contrary to previous studies of semi-arid cities, a SUCI was detected, not only in the morning, but also during the afternoon.

Evaluation of Three Parametric Models for Estimating Directional Thermal Radiation from Simulation, Airborne, and Satellite Data

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Xiangyang Liu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available An appropriate model to correct thermal radiation anisotropy is important for the wide applications of land surface temperature (LST. This paper evaluated the performance of three published directional thermal radiation models—the Roujean–Lagouarde (RL model, the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF model, and the Vinnikov model—at canopy and pixel scale using simulation, airborne, and satellite data. The results at canopy scale showed that (1 the three models could describe directional anisotropy well and the Vinnikov model performed the best, especially for erectophile canopy or low leaf area index (LAI; (2 the three models reached the highest fitting accuracy when the LAI varied from 1 to 2; and (3 the capabilities of the three models were all restricted by the hotspot effect, plant height, plant spacing, and three-dimensional structure. The analysis at pixel scale indicated a consistent result that the three models presented a stable effect both on verification and validation, but the Vinnikov model had the best ability in the erectophile canopy (savannas and grassland and low LAI (barren or sparsely vegetated areas. Therefore, the Vinnikov model was calibrated for different land cover types to instruct the angular correction of LST. Validation with the Surface Radiation Budget Network (SURFRAD-measured LST demonstrated that the root mean square (RMSE of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS LST product could be decreased by 0.89 K after angular correction. In addition, the corrected LST showed better spatial uniformity and higher angular correlation.

Global-Scale Associations of Vegetation Phenology with Rainfall and Temperature at a High Spatio-Temporal Resolution

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Nicholas Clinton

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Phenology response to climatic variables is a vital indicator for understanding changes in biosphere processes as related to possible climate change. We investigated global phenology relationships to precipitation and land surface temperature (LST at high spatial and temporal resolution for calendar years 2008–2011. We used cross-correlation between MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI, MODIS LST and Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks (PERSIANN gridded rainfall to map phenology relationships at 1-km spatial resolution and weekly temporal resolution. We show these data to be rich in spatiotemporal information, illustrating distinct phenology patterns as a result of complex overlapping gradients of climate, ecosystem and land use/land cover. The data are consistent with broad-scale, coarse-resolution modeled ecosystem limitations to moisture, temperature and irradiance. We suggest that high-resolution phenology data are useful as both an input and complement to land use/land cover classifiers and for understanding climate change vulnerability in natural and anthropogenic landscapes.

Double Compressions of Atmospheric Depth by Geopotential Tendency, Vorticity, and Atmospheric Boundary Layer Affected Abrupt High Particulate Matter Concentrations at a Coastal City for a Yellow Dust Period in October

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyo Choi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Using GRIMM-aerosol sampler, NOAA-HYSPLIT model, and 3D-WRF-3.3 model, the transportation of dusts from Gobi Desert toward Gangneung city, Korea was investigated from 09:00 LST October 27 to 04:00 LST October 28, 2003. Maximum PM10 (PM2.5, PM1 concentration was detected with 3.8 (3.4, 14.1 times higher magnitude than one in non-Yellow Dust period. The combination of dusts transported from the desert under westerly wind with particulate matters and gases from vehicles on the road of the city caused high PM concentrations near the ground surface at 09:00 LST and their maxima at 17:00 LST near sunset with further pollutants from heating boilers in the resident area. Positive geopotential tendency at the 500 hPa level of the city (∂Φ/∂t; m day−1 corresponding to negative vorticity of -4×10-5 sec−1 (-2.5×10-5 sec−1 at 0900 LST (21:00 LST; at night was +83 m day−1 (+30 m day−1 and it caused atmospheric depth between 500 hPa level and the ground surface to be vertically expanded. However, its net reduction to −53 m/12 hrs until 21:00 LST indicated synoptic-scale atmospheric layer to be vertical shrunken, resulting in the increase of PM concentrations at 17:00 LST. Simultaneously, much shallower microscale stable nocturnal surface inversion layer (NSIL than daytime thermal internal boundary layer induced particulate matters to be merged inside the NSIL, resulting in maximum PM concentrations at 17:00 LST.

Dose rate calculations for a reconnaissance vehicle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grindrod, L.; Mackey, J.; Salmon, M.; Smith, C.; Wall, S.

2005-01-01

A Chemical Nuclear Reconnaissance System (CNRS) has been developed by the British Ministry of Defence to make chemical and radiation measurements on contaminated terrain using appropriate sensors and recording equipment installed in a land rover. A research programme is under way to develop and validate a predictive capability to calculate the build-up of contamination on the vehicle, radiation detector performance and dose rates to the occupants of the vehicle. This paper describes the geometric model of the vehicle and the methodology used for calculations of detector response. Calculated dose rates obtained using the MCBEND Monte Carlo radiation transport computer code in adjoint mode are presented. These address the transient response of the detectors as the vehicle passes through a contaminated area. Calculated dose rates were found to agree with the measured data to be within the experimental uncertainties, thus giving confidence in the shielding model of the vehicle and its application to other scenarios. (authors)

Impacts of tracked vehicles on sediment from a desert soil

Science.gov (United States)

Erek H. Fuchs; Karl M. Wood; Tim L. Jones; Brent Racher

2003-01-01

Off-road military vehicle traffic is a major consideration in the management of military lands. The objective of this study was to determine the impacts of military tracked M1A1 heavy combat tank vehicles on sediment loss from runoff, surface plant cover, and surface microtopography in a desert military training environment. A randomized block design was used which had...

75 FR 32968 - Final Supplementary Rules for Public Land Administered by the Bureau of Land Management in...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-10

... specifically for camping purposes and may include designated campsites, delineated spaces, structures, or... vehicle use, and trash dumping, often interferes with legitimate recreational use of public lands, creates... under the pretext of camping, or maintain, construct, place, occupy or use any structure in violation of...

Land use impacts on transport : how land use factors affect travel behavior

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Litman, T.

2005-11-16

The relationship between land use patterns and travel behaviour was examined with reference to the ability of land use management strategies to achieve transportation planning objectives. The study examined how land use factors such as density, regional accessibility, roadway connectivity affect per capita motor vehicle ownership and use; mode split; non-motorized travel; and accessibility by people who are physically or economically disadvantaged. The social, economic and environmental impacts that result from higher travel were discussed with reference to the degree to which conventional planning accounts for this increased travel. Alternatives for improving mobility in urban and suburban areas were presented. It was concluded that travel behaviour can change by promoting more efficient use of existing roadway capacity, by improving travel options and providing incentives to use alternative transport modes. It was suggested that strategies such as Smart Growth and New Urbanism can be applied in a variety of land use scenarios, including urban, suburban and rural areas to help achieve transportation planning objectives. 122 refs., 16 tabs., 12 figs.

Thermal Band Analysis of Agricultural Land Use and its Effects on Bioclimatic Comfort: The Case of Pasinler

Science.gov (United States)

Avdan, Uǧur; Demircioglu Yildiz, Nalan; Dagliyar, Ayse; Yigit Avdan, Zehra; Yilmaz, Sevgi

2014-05-01

Resolving the problems that arise due to the land use are not suitable for the purpose in the rural and urban areas most suitable for land use of parameters to be determined. Unintended and unplanned developments in the use of agricultural land in our country caused increases the losses by soil erosion. In this study, Thermal Band analysis is made in Pasinler city center with the aim of identifying bioclimatic comfort values of the different agricultural area. Satellite images can be applied for assessing the thermal urban environment as well as for defining heat islands in agricultural areas. In this context, temperature map is tried to be produced with land surface temperature (LST) analysis made on Landsat TM5 satellite image. The Landsat 5 images was obtained from USGS for the study area. Using Landsat bands of the study area was mapped by supervised classification with the maximum likelihood classification algorithm of ERDAS imagine 2011 software. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) image was produced by using Landsat images. The digital number of the Landsat thermal infrared band (10.40 - 12.50 µm) is converted to the spectral radiance. The surface emissivity was calculated by using NDVI. The spatial pattern of land surface temperature in the study area is taken to characterize their local effects on agricultural land. Areas having bioclimatic comfort and ecologically urbanized, are interpreted with different graphical presentation technics. The obtained results are important because they create data bases for sustainable urban planning and provide a direction for planners and governors. As a result of rapid changes in land use, rural ecosystems and quality of life are deteriorated and decreased. In the presence of increased building density, for the comfortable living of people natural and cultural resources should be analyzed in detail. For that reason, optimal land use planning should be made in rural area.

78 FR 23952 - Notice of Temporary Closure on Public Lands in Elmore County, ID

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-23

...] Notice of Temporary Closure on Public Lands in Elmore County, ID AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of temporary closure. SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Stout Fire closure to motorized vehicle use is in effect on public lands administered by the Four Rivers Field Office...

The impact of urban morphology and land cover on the sensible heat flux retrieved by satellite and in-situ observations

Science.gov (United States)

Gawuc, L.; Łobocki, L.; Kaminski, J. W.

2017-12-01

Land surface temperature (LST) is a key parameter in various applications for urban environments research. However, remotely-sensed radiative surface temperature is not equivalent to kinetic nor aerodynamic surface temperature (Becker and Li, 1995; Norman and Becker, 1995). Thermal satellite observations of urban areas are also prone to angular anisotropy which is directly connected with the urban structure and relative sun-satellite position (Hu et al., 2016). Sensible heat flux (Qh) is the main component of surface energy balance in urban areas. Retrieval of Qh, requires observations of, among others, a temperature gradient. The lower level of temperature measurement is commonly replaced by remotely-sensed radiative surface temperature (Chrysoulakis, 2003; Voogt and Grimmond, 2000; Xu et al., 2008). However, such replacement requires accounting for the differences between aerodynamic and radiative surface temperature (Chehbouni et al., 1996; Sun and Mahrt, 1995). Moreover, it is important to avoid micro-scale processes, which play a major role in the roughness sublayer. This is due to the fact that Monin-Obukhov similarity theory is valid only in dynamic sublayer. We will present results of the analyses of the impact of urban morphology and land cover on the seasonal changes of sensible heat flux (Qh). Qh will be retrieved by two approaches. First will be based on satellite observations of radiative surface temperature and second will be based on in-situ observations of kinetic road temperature. Both approaches will utilize wind velocity, and air temperature observed in-situ. We will utilize time series of MODIS LST observations for the period of 2005-2014 as well as simultaneous in-situ observations collected by road weather network (9 stations). Ground stations are located across the city of Warsaw, outside the city centre in low-rise urban structure. We will account for differences in urban morphology and land cover in the proximity of ground stations. We will

Entry, Descent, and Landing for Human Mars Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Munk, Michelle M.; DwyerCianciolo, Alicia M.

2012-01-01

One of the most challenging aspects of a human mission to Mars is landing safely on the Martian surface. Mars has such low atmospheric density that decelerating large masses (tens of metric tons) requires methods that have not yet been demonstrated, and are not yet planned in future Mars missions. To identify the most promising options for Mars entry, descent, and landing, and to plan development of the needed technologies, NASA's Human Architecture Team (HAT) has refined candidate methods for emplacing needed elements of the human Mars exploration architecture (such as ascent vehicles and habitats) on the Mars surface. This paper explains the detailed, optimized simulations that have been developed to define the mass needed at Mars arrival to accomplish the entry, descent, and landing functions. Based on previous work, technology options for hypersonic deceleration include rigid, mid-L/D (lift-to-drag ratio) aeroshells, and inflatable aerodynamic decelerators (IADs). The hypersonic IADs, or HIADs, are about 20% less massive than the rigid vehicles, but both have their technology development challenges. For the supersonic regime, supersonic retropropulsion (SRP) is an attractive option, since a propulsive stage must be carried for terminal descent and can be ignited at higher speeds. The use of SRP eliminates the need for an additional deceleration system, but SRP is at a low Technology Readiness Level (TRL) in that the interacting plumes are not well-characterized, and their effect on vehicle stability has not been studied, to date. These architecture-level assessments have been used to define the key performance parameters and a technology development strategy for achieving the challenging mission of landing large payloads on Mars.

[Consequences for labile blood products of leukocyte depletion by whole blood filtration using the Leucoflex LST1 in-line filter. Evaluation of the Leucoflex LST1 filter].

Science.gov (United States)

Janus, G; Samson, T; Faudon, R; Renaudeau, C; Joussemet, M; Fabre, G

1997-12-01

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of whole blood filtration after a storage time of 20-24 hours at laboratory temperature using the in line filter Leucoflex LST1. The study concerns 49 blood donations in which we studied leukocyte depletion, proteins (IgG, IgA, IgM, haptoglobin, C3, C4), coagulation factors (fibrinogen, factors XII, XI, IX, VIII, V, proteins S and C, plasminogen, tPA, D-Dimers, PDF) at day 1, the parameters of conservation (ATP, 2-3 DPG, extra cellular potassium, haemolysis, pH) of red blood cell concentrates (RCCs) and bacteriological sterility at day 1 and 42. Despite a correct leukocyte depletion (mean depletion of 3.96 log), a 10 fold higher mean level of residual leukocytes/unit than with buffy coat poor RCC filtration (0.514.10(6) vs 0.051.10(6)) is observed. Moreover a lot of concentrates are not in accordance with French regulations (7/42 with more than 1.10(6) leukocytes/unit). The variation of the rates of IgG, IgA, IgM, haptoglobin, C4 and protein C is not significant. For the others there is a slight decrease with a mean level remaining in a physiological range. No sign of activation is noted. The sterility assays remain negative and the RCC conservation is not altered. In conclusion, even if the quality of the leukocyte depletion is not satisfactory in our study and has to be stated more precisely by multicenter studies, the whole blood filtration does not alter the quality of the derived components and allows us obtain RCC in a bigger volume and containing more haemoglobin than with the classical procedure after removing the buffy-coat [10].

Hypersonic vehicle control law development using H(infinity) and micron-synthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Gregory, Irene M.; Mcminn, John D.; Shaughnessy, John D.; Chowdhry, Rajiv S.

1993-01-01

Hypersonic vehicle control law development using H(infinity) and mu-synthesis is discussed. Airbreathing SSTO vehicles has a mutli-faceted mission that includes orbital operations, as well as re-entry and descent culminating in horizontal landing. However, the most challenging part of the operations is the ascent to orbit. The airbreathing propulsion requires lengthy atmospheric flight that may last as long as 30 minutes and take the vehicle half way around the globe. The vehicles's ascent is characterized by tight payload to orbit margins which translate into minimum fuel orbit as the performance criteria. Issues discussed include: SSTO airbreathing vehicle issues; control system performance requirements; robust control law framework; H(infinity) controller frequency analysis; and mu controller frequency analysis.

Longitudinal Weld Land Buckling in Compression-Loaded Orthogrid Cylinders

Science.gov (United States)

Thornburgh, Robert P.; Hilburger, Mark W.

2010-01-01

Large stiffened cylinders used in launch vehicles (LV), such as the Space Shuttle External Tank, are manufactured by welding multiple curved panel sections into complete cylinders. The effects of the axial weld lands between the panel sections on the buckling load were studied, along with the interaction between the acreage stiffener arrangement and the weld land geometry. This document contains the results of the studies.

Impacts of the Three Gorges Project on Local Climate

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Z.; Liang, S.; Feng, L.

2015-12-01

Three Gorges Project (TGP) is the largest hydroelectric project in the world and has led to significant land cover changes in Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA). Since its construction the debates on its environmental and climatic impacts have never stopped, especially after the extreme drought and flood in Yangtze River Basin these years. TGP reached its final impounding water level in 2010. However, studies on systematically monitoring the long-term variations in surface and atmospheric parameters in TGRA are still lacking. In this study, three important surface parameters - surface albedo, land surface temperature (LST) and evapotranspiration (ET) and two climatic parameters - air temperature and precipitation were investigated from 2000 to 2013 by combining multiple remote sensing data and ground measurements. Results showed that along the reservoir albedo decreased significantly as a result of water impounding. Correspondingly, in the same region daytime LST decreased in spring and summer and nighttime LST increased in autumn and winter. In the western region of TGRA, albedo increased due to resettlement and LST also changed. The average ET increased by 20% in TGR but kept stable in the whole TGRA. In contrast to LST, air temperature showed less apparent spatial and temporal variability. Only in the region near the dam air temperature experienced a decrease at daytime and an increase at nighttime. Further analysis demonstrated precipitation revealed no apparent changes in TGRA and the precipitation anomaly in northwest of TGRA may not be connected with TGP. All of the findings provide a more substantial clues of local climate change caused by TGP.

Autonomous Vehicles Navigation with Visual Target Tracking: Technical Approaches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhen Jia

2008-12-01

Full Text Available This paper surveys the developments of last 10 years in the area of vision based target tracking for autonomous vehicles navigation. First, the motivations and applications of using vision based target tracking for autonomous vehicles navigation are presented in the introduction section. It can be concluded that it is very necessary to develop robust visual target tracking based navigation algorithms for the broad applications of autonomous vehicles. Then this paper reviews the recent techniques in three different categories: vision based target tracking for the applications of land, underwater and aerial vehicles navigation. Next, the increasing trends of using data fusion for visual target tracking based autonomous vehicles navigation are discussed. Through data fusion the tracking performance is improved and becomes more robust. Based on the review, the remaining research challenges are summarized and future research directions are investigated.

Analysis, Test and Simulation of Landing System Touchdown Dynamics

OpenAIRE

Witte, L.; Buchwald, R.; Schröder, S.; van Zoest, Tim

2013-01-01

Future exploration missions pose demanding requirements towards the access by vehicles to scientifically interesting sites on planetary surfaces. These stem particularly from the need of more flexibility in site selection, improved payload to vehicle mass ratios and higher mission success probabilities. The Landing Technology group of the DLR Institute of Space Systems is focusing on the development and verification of experimental and analytical methods for the investigation of the touchd...

The Design and Operation of Suborbital Low Cost and Low Risk Vehicle to the Edge of Space (SOLVES)

Science.gov (United States)

Ridzuan Zakaria, Norul; Nasrun, Nasri; Rashidy Zulkifi, Mohd; Izmir Yamin, Mohd; Othman, Jamaludin; Rafidi Zakaria, Norul

2013-09-01

Inclusive in the planning of Spaceport Malaysia are 2 local suborbital vehicles development. One of the vehicles is called SOLVES or Suborbital Low Cost and Low Risk Vehicle to the Edge of Space. The emphasis on the design and operation of SOLVES is green and robotic technology, where both green technology and robotic technology are used to protect the environment and enhance safety. As SOLVES climbs, its center of gravity stabilizes and remains at the bottom as its propellant being used until it depletes, due to the position of the vehicle's passenger cabin and its engines at its lower end. It will reach 80km from sea level generally known as "the edge of space" due to its momentum although its propellant will be depleted at a lower altitude. As the suborbital vehicle descends tail first, its wings automatically extend and rotate at horizontal axes perpendicular to the fuselage. These naturally and passively rotating wings ensure controlled low velocity and stable descend of the vehicle. The passenger cabin also rotates automatically at a steady low speed at the centerline of its fuselage as it descends, caused naturally by the lift force, enabling its passengers a surrounding 360 degrees view. SOLVES is steered automatically to its landing point by an electrical propulsion system with a vectoring nozzle. The electrical propulsion minimizes space and weight and is free of pollution and noise. Its electrical power comes from a battery aided by power generated by the naturally rotating wings. When the vehicle lands, it is in the safest mode as its propellant is depleted and its center of gravity remains at the bottom of its cabin. The cabin, being located at the bottom of the fuselage, enables very convenient, rapid and safe entry and exit of its passengers. SOLVES will be a robotic suborbital vehicle with green technology. The vehicle will carry 4 passengers and each passenger will be trained to land the vehicle manually if the fully automated landing system fails

Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Solving and Mitigating the Two Main Cluster Pendulum Problem

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Yasmin; Sommer, Bruce; Troung, Tuan; Anderson, Brian; Madsen, Christopher

2017-01-01

The Orion Multi-purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) Orion spacecraft will return humans from beyond earth's orbit, including Mars and will be required to land 20,000 pounds of mass safely in the ocean. The parachute system nominally lands under 3 main parachutes, but the system is designed to be fault tolerant and land under 2 main parachutes. During several of the parachute development tests, it was observed that a pendulum, or swinging, motion could develop while the Crew Module (CM) was descending under two parachutes. This pendulum effect had not been previously predicted by modeling. Landing impact analysis showed that the landing loads would double in some places across the spacecraft. The CM structural design limits would be exceeded upon landing if this pendulum motion were to occur. The Orion descent and landing team was faced with potentially millions of dollars in structural modifications and a severe mass increase. A multidisciplinary team was formed to determine root cause, model the pendulum motion, study alternate canopy planforms and assess alternate operational vehicle controls & operations providing mitigation options resulting in a reliability level deemed safe for human spaceflight. The problem and solution is a balance of risk to a known solution versus a chance to improve the landing performance for the next human-rated spacecraft.

Exposure to in-vehicle respirable particulate matter in passenger vehicles under different ventilation conditions and seasons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suresh Jain

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This study presents the in-vehicle particulate matter (PM concentration in a number of passenger vehicles under various ventilation modes, land use land cover (LULC in different seasons in megacity Delhi, India. In-vehicle monitoring was conducted in buses, cars and autos (three-wheeler using air-conditioned (AC and Non-AC during peak and off-peak hours. The site selected is a ∼15 km long stretch from Punjabi Bagh to Safdarjung Hospital, based on diversity in LULC, availability of vehicles and heavy traffic flow along the direction of travelling. In-vehicle PM was measured using GRIMM aerosol spectrometer and categorised in three classes (PM1, PM2.5 and PM10. The study found that concentration of PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 were significantly (p ≤ 0.05 higher in winters as compared to summers. It was observed that PM concentration was significantly (p ≤ 0.05 higher in Non-AC travel modes compared to AC modes. PM concentrations were high near industrial and commercial areas and during traffic congestion showing the influence of LULC. It is also important to highlight that PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations were significantly (p ≤ 0.05 higher in case of taxis (cars compared to personal cars which varied from 2.5 to 3.5 times higher in case of AC mode and ∼1.5 times in case of Non-AC mode. Exposures to PM concentration were highest in case of Non-AC bus compared AC-Bus, Non-AC cars, autos and AC-cars. PM concentrations in case of autos and Non-AC cars were almost comparable without any significant (p > 0.05 difference. Regression analysis showed significant correlation between ambient and in-vehicle concentration for PM2.5. Regional deposition fractions were calculated using International Commission on Radiological Protection model to show the deposition in head air-pass, trachea-bronchial and alveolar regions. It was found that deposition of PM1 was highest in the alveolar region.

An Entry Flight Controls Analysis for a Reusable Launch Vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Calhoun, Philip

2000-01-01

The NASA Langley Research Center has been performing studies to address the feasibility of various single-stage to orbit concepts for use by NASA and the commercial launch industry to provide a lower cost access to space. Some work on the conceptual design of a typical lifting body concept vehicle, designated VentureStar(sup TM) has been conducted in cooperation with the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. This paper will address the results of a preliminary flight controls assessment of this vehicle concept during the atmospheric entry phase of flight. The work includes control analysis from hypersonic flight at the atmospheric entry through supersonic speeds to final approach and landing at subsonic conditions. The requirements of the flight control effectors are determined over the full range of entry vehicle Mach number conditions. The analysis was performed for a typical maximum crossrange entry trajectory utilizing angle of attack to limit entry heating and providing for energy management, and bank angle to modulation of the lift vector to provide downrange and crossrange capability to fly the vehicle to a specified landing site. Sensitivity of the vehicle open and closed loop characteristics to CG location, control surface mixing strategy and wind gusts are included in the results. An alternative control surface mixing strategy utilizing a reverse aileron technique demonstrated a significant reduction in RCS torque and fuel required to perform bank maneuvers during entry. The results of the control analysis revealed challenges for an early vehicle configuration in the areas of hypersonic pitch trim and subsonic longitudinal controllability.

A Concept of Two-Stage-To-Orbit Reusable Launch Vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yong; Wang, Xiaojun; Tang, Yihua

2002-01-01

Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) has a capability of delivering a wide rang of payload to earth orbit with greater reliability, lower cost, more flexibility and operability than any of today's launch vehicles. It is the goal of future space transportation systems. Past experience on single stage to orbit (SSTO) RLVs, such as NASA's NASP project, which aims at developing an rocket-based combined-cycle (RBCC) airplane and X-33, which aims at developing a rocket RLV, indicates that SSTO RLV can not be realized in the next few years based on the state-of-the-art technologies. This paper presents a concept of all rocket two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) reusable launch vehicle. The TSTO RLV comprises an orbiter and a booster stage. The orbiter is mounted on the top of the booster stage. The TSTO RLV takes off vertically. At the altitude about 50km the booster stage is separated from the orbiter, returns and lands by parachutes and airbags, or lands horizontally by means of its own propulsion system. The orbiter continues its ascent flight and delivers the payload into LEO orbit. After completing orbit mission, the orbiter will reenter into the atmosphere, automatically fly to the ground base and finally horizontally land on the runway. TSTO RLV has less technology difficulties and risk than SSTO, and maybe the practical approach to the RLV in the near future.

Advanced Range Safety System for High Energy Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Claxton, Jeffrey S.; Linton, Donald F.

2002-01-01

The advanced range safety system project is a collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the United States Air Force to develop systems that would reduce costs and schedule for safety approval for new classes of unmanned high-energy vehicles. The mission-planning feature for this system would yield flight profiles that satisfy the mission requirements for the user while providing an increased quality of risk assessment, enhancing public safety. By improving the speed and accuracy of predicting risks to the public, mission planners would be able to expand flight envelopes significantly. Once in place, this system is expected to offer the flexibility of handling real-time risk management for the high-energy capabilities of hypersonic vehicles including autonomous return-from-orbit vehicles and extended flight profiles over land. Users of this system would include mission planners of Space Launch Initiative vehicles, space planes, and other high-energy vehicles. The real-time features of the system could make extended flight of a malfunctioning vehicle possible, in lieu of an immediate terminate decision. With this improved capability, the user would have more time for anomaly resolution and potential recovery of a malfunctioning vehicle.

Cooperative path planning of unmanned aerial vehicles

CERN Document Server

Tsourdos, Antonios; Shanmugavel, Madhavan

2010-01-01

An invaluable addition to the literature on UAV guidance and cooperative control, Cooperative Path Planning of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles is a dedicated, practical guide to computational path planning for UAVs. One of the key issues facing future development of UAVs is path planning: it is vital that swarm UAVs/ MAVs can cooperate together in a coordinated manner, obeying a pre-planned course but able to react to their environment by communicating and cooperating. An optimized path is necessary in order to ensure a UAV completes its mission efficiently, safely, and successfully. Focussing on the path planning of multiple UAVs for simultaneous arrival on target, Cooperative Path Planning of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles also offers coverage of path planners that are applicable to land, sea, or space-borne vehicles. Cooperative Path Planning of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles is authored by leading researchers from Cranfield University and provides an authoritative resource for researchers, academics and engineers working in...

Urban Thermal Environment Dynamics: A Case Study in Hangzhou During 2005-2015

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, W.; Li, F.; Yang, G.

2017-12-01

Hangzhou, as the Capital of Zhejiang Province in East China, has experienced the rapid urbanization process and associated urban heat island effect in the past twenty decades. In this study, we implemented Landsat satellite remote sensing images to investigate the relationship between landscape changes and thermal environment dynamics during 2005-2015 in Hangzhou City. A total of 48 Landsat TM/ETM+/OLR/TIRS images spanning four different seasons were downloaded from the USGS website and utilized in the study. Preprocessing works, i.e., radiometric correction and removing cloud- and fog -contaminated pixels, were conducted, and the land surface temperature (LST) was derived using the radiative transfer equation. Meanwhile, the land use and land cover (LULC) classification was accomplished by using the Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier, and four main landscape indexes (i.e., Shannon Diversity Index, Landscape Division Index, Shannon Evenness Index, and Aggregation Index) were estimated from the LULC map. Our preliminary results show that: 1) the magnitude of urban thermal environment has obviously increased from 2005 to 2015, and the summer season shows more significant heat island effect than other three seasons; 2) the general landscape pattern of Hangzhou becomes more diversified and fragmentized from 2005 to 2015, and different landscape patterns bring that four different function zones (i.e., urban core zone, tourism function zone, industrial development zone and ecological reservation zone) of Hangzhou have different characteristics in urban thermal environment; 3) significant hot spots of LST point to the construction land while cold spots of LST coincides with the vegetation land.

Urban planning for autonomous vehicles

OpenAIRE

Fourie, Pieter J.; Ordoñez Medina, Sergio A.; Maheshwari, Tanvi; Wang, Biyu; Erath, Alexander; Cairns, Stephen; Axhausen, Kay W.

2018-01-01

In land-scarce Singapore, population growth and increasingly dense development are running up against limited remaining space for mobility infrastructure expansion. Autonomous Vehicles (AV) promise to relieve some of this pressure, through more efficient use of road space through platooning and intersection coordination, reducing the need for parking space, and reducing overall reliance on privately owned cars, realising Singapore’s vision of a “car-lite” future. In a collaborative resear...

Measuring land use performance: policy, plan, and outcome : a white paper from the National Center for Sustainable Transportation.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-10-01

The impact of land use patterns on travel behavior is well established in the scholarly literature. : In particular, much research in the transportation-land use domain has measured the impact of : land use on vehicle miles traveled (VMT) or on trave...

Second-Generation Thermal Neutron Activation Sensor for Confirmatory Land-Mine Detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edward Clifford; Harry Ing; John McFee; H. Robert Andrews; Tom Cousins

2000-01-01

This paper describes the development of the Improved Land-Mine Detector System (ILDS), a vehicle-mounted nonmetallic land-mine detector. The ILDS consists of a custom teleoperated vehicle carrying an infrared imager, an electromagnetic induction detector, and a ground probing radar-which scan the ground in front of the vehicle. Custom navigation and data fusion software combine information from scanning sensors and navigation systems to detect and automatically track suspect targets until the confirmation detector at the rear of the system is positioned to within 30 cm of the target location. The confirmation detector, using thermal neutron activation (TNA) to detect bulk nitrogen in explosives, then dwells over the target for 10 to 120 s. In U.S. government tests (summer 1998), the ILDS advanced development model (ADM) placed first or second out of five competitors on every test. The construction of the second-generation TNA detector and preliminary testing should be complete by March 2000. Testing on real mines is expected to start in summer 2000

Comparison of two split-window methods for retrieving land surface ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Institute of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System, Peking University, Beijing ... in LST inversion for good application in Ningxia region, the northwest China, with mean error of ... tor of energy and water balance on the interface.

77 FR 14417 - Notice of Temporary Closure on Public Lands in Gooding and Elmore Counties, ID

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-09

...] Notice of Temporary Closure on Public Lands in Gooding and Elmore Counties, ID AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of temporary closure. SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Blair Fire closure to motorized vehicle use is in effect on public lands administered by the Four Rivers and...

Effects of rocket engines on laser during lunar landing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wan, Xiong, E-mail: wanxiong1@126.com [Key Laboratory of Space Active Opto-Electronics Technology, Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai 200083 (China); Key Laboratory of Nondestructive Test (Ministry of Education), Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang 330063 (China); Shu, Rong; Huang, Genghua [Key Laboratory of Space Active Opto-Electronics Technology, Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai 200083 (China)

2013-11-15

In the Chinese moon exploration project “ChangE-3”, the laser telemeter and lidar are important equipments on the lunar landing vehicle. A low-thrust vernier rocket engine works during the soft landing, whose plume may influence on the laser equipments. An experiment has first been accomplished to evaluate the influence of the plume on the propagation characteristics of infrared laser under the vacuum condition. Combination with our theoretical analysis has given an appropriate assessment of the plume's effects on the infrared laser hence providing a valuable basis for the design of lunar landing systems.

Effects of rocket engines on laser during lunar landing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan, Xiong; Shu, Rong; Huang, Genghua

2013-01-01

In the Chinese moon exploration project “ChangE-3”, the laser telemeter and lidar are important equipments on the lunar landing vehicle. A low-thrust vernier rocket engine works during the soft landing, whose plume may influence on the laser equipments. An experiment has first been accomplished to evaluate the influence of the plume on the propagation characteristics of infrared laser under the vacuum condition. Combination with our theoretical analysis has given an appropriate assessment of the plume's effects on the infrared laser hence providing a valuable basis for the design of lunar landing systems

An automatic window opening system to prevent drowning in vehicles sinking in water

KAUST Repository

Giesbrecht, Gordon G.; Percher, Michael; Brunet, Pierre; Richard, Yanik; Alexander, Marion; Bellemare, Alixandra; Rawal, Yash; Amassian, Aram; Mcdonald, Gerren

2017-01-01

Objective: Every year about 400 people die in submersed vehicles in North America and this number increases to 2,000–5,000 in all industrialized nations. The best way to survive is to quickly exit through the windows. An Automatic Window Opening System (AWOS; patent protected) was designed to sense when a vehicle is in water and to open the electric windows, but only when the vehicle is upright. Methods: The AWOS consists of a Detection Module (DM), in the engine compartment, and a Power Window Control Module (PWCM) inside the driver’s door. The DM contains a Water Sensor, a Level Sensor and a Microcontroller Unit (MCU). The Level Sensor provides the angular orientation of the car using a 3-axis acceleration sensor and prevents automatic window opening if the car is outside the orientation range (±20° in the roll axis, ±30° in the pitch axis, with a 2 s delay). Systems were installed on two cars and one SUV. A crane lowered vehicles in water either straight down (static tests) or by swinging the vehicles to produce forward movement (dynamic tests). Results: In all tests, when the vehicles landed upright, windows opened immediately and effectively. When vehicles landed inverted, or at a very steep angle, the system did not engage until an upright and level position was attained. Conclusions: This system may help decrease drowning deaths in sinking vehicles. If occupants do not know, or forget, what to do, the open window could hopefully prompt them to exit safely through that window.

An automatic window opening system to prevent drowning in vehicles sinking in water

KAUST Repository

Giesbrecht, Gordon G.

2017-07-12

Objective: Every year about 400 people die in submersed vehicles in North America and this number increases to 2,000–5,000 in all industrialized nations. The best way to survive is to quickly exit through the windows. An Automatic Window Opening System (AWOS; patent protected) was designed to sense when a vehicle is in water and to open the electric windows, but only when the vehicle is upright. Methods: The AWOS consists of a Detection Module (DM), in the engine compartment, and a Power Window Control Module (PWCM) inside the driver’s door. The DM contains a Water Sensor, a Level Sensor and a Microcontroller Unit (MCU). The Level Sensor provides the angular orientation of the car using a 3-axis acceleration sensor and prevents automatic window opening if the car is outside the orientation range (±20° in the roll axis, ±30° in the pitch axis, with a 2 s delay). Systems were installed on two cars and one SUV. A crane lowered vehicles in water either straight down (static tests) or by swinging the vehicles to produce forward movement (dynamic tests). Results: In all tests, when the vehicles landed upright, windows opened immediately and effectively. When vehicles landed inverted, or at a very steep angle, the system did not engage until an upright and level position was attained. Conclusions: This system may help decrease drowning deaths in sinking vehicles. If occupants do not know, or forget, what to do, the open window could hopefully prompt them to exit safely through that window.

Landsat Science Team meeting: Winter 2015

Science.gov (United States)

Schroeder, Todd A.; Loveland, Thomas; Wulder, Michael A.; Irons, James R.

2015-01-01

The summer meeting of the joint U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)–NASA Landsat Science Team (LST) was held at the USGS’s Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center July 7-9, 2015, in Sioux Falls, SD. The LST co-chairs, Tom Loveland [EROS—Senior Scientist] and Jim Irons [NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)—Landsat 8 Project Scientist], opened the three-day meeting on an upbeat note following the recent successful launch of the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 mission on June 23, 2015 (see image on page 14), and the news that work on Landsat 9 has begun, with a projected launch date of 2023.With over 60 participants in attendance, this was the largest LST meeting ever held. Meeting topics on the first day included Sustainable Land Imaging and Landsat 9 development, Landsat 7 and 8 operations and data archiving, the Landsat 8 Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) stray-light issue, and the successful Sentinel-2 launch. In addition, on days two and three the LST members presented updates on their Landsat science and applications research. All presentations are available at landsat.usgs.gov/science_LST_Team_ Meetings.php.

X-38 vehicle #131R arrives at NASA Dryden via NASA'S Super Guppy transport aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

NASA's Super Guppy transport aircraft landed at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. on July 11, 2000, to deliver the latest version of the X-38 drop vehicle to Dryden. The X-38s are intended as prototypes for a possible 'crew lifeboat' for the International Space Station. The X-38 vehicle 131R will demonstrate a huge 7,500 square-foot parafoil that will that will enable the potential crew return vehicle to land on the length of a football field after returning from space. The crew return vehicle is intended to serve as a possible emergency transport to carry a crew to safety in the event of problems with the International Space Station. The Super Guppy evolved from the 1960s-vintage Pregnant Guppy, used for transporting outsized sections of the Apollo moon rocket. The Super Guppy was modified from 1950s-vintage Boeing C-97. NASA acquired its Super Guppy from the European Space Agency in 1997.

Requirements, Science, and Measurements for Landsat 10 and Beyond: Perspectives from the Landsat Science Team

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, C. J.; Masek, J. G.; Roy, D. P.; Woodcock, C. E.; Wulder, M. A.

2017-12-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and NASA are currently prioritizing requirements and investing in technology options for a "Landsat 10 and beyond" mission concept as part of the Sustainable Land Imaging (SLI) architecture. Following the successful February 2013 launch of the Landsat 8, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) have now added over 1 million images to the USGS Landsat archive. The USGS and NASA support and co-lead a Landsat Science Team made up largely of university and government experts to offer independent insight and guidance of program activities and directions. The rapid development of Landsat 9 reflects, in part, strong input from the 2012-2017 USGS Landsat Science Team (LST). During the last two years of the LST's tenure, individual LST members and within LST team working groups have made significant contributions to Landsat 10 and beyond's science traceability and future requirements justification. Central to this input, has been an effort to identify a trade space for enhanced measurement capabilities that maintains mission continuity with eight prior multispectral instruments, and will extend the Landsat Earth observation record beyond 55+ years with an approximate launch date of 2027. The trade space is framed by four fundamental principles in remote sensing theory and practice: (1) temporal resolution, (2) spatial resolution, (3) radiometric resolution, and (4) spectral coverage and resolution. The goal of this communication is to provide a synopsis of past and present 2012-2017 LST contributions to Landsat 10 and beyond measurement science and application priorities. A particular focus will be to document the links between new science and societal benefit areas with potential technical enhancements to the Landsat mission.

Temperature changes in Three Gorges Reservoir Area and linkage with Three Gorges Project

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Zhen; Liang, Shunlin; Feng, Lian; He, Tao; Song, Xiao-Peng; Zhang, Lei

2017-05-01

The Three Gorges Project (TGP) is one of the largest hydroelectric projects throughout the world. It has brought many benefits to the society but also led to endless debates about its environmental and climatic impacts. Monitoring the spatiotemporal variations of temperature in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA) is important for understanding the climatic impacts of the TGP. In this study, we used remote sensing-based land surface temperature (LST) and ground-measured air temperature data to investigate temperature changes in the TGRA. Results showed that during the daytime in summer, LST exhibited significant cooling (1-5°C) in the downstream region of the reservoir, whereas LST during the nighttime in winter exhibited significant warming (1-5°C) across the entire reservoir. However, these cooling and warming effects were both locally constrained within 5 km buffer along the reservoir. The changes in air temperature were consistent with those in LST, with 0.67°C cooling in summer and 0.33°C warming in winter. The temperature changes along the reservoir not only resulted from the land-water conversion induced by the dam impounding but were also related to the increase of vegetation cover caused by the ecological restoration projects. Significant warming trends were also found in the upstream of TGRA, especially during the daytime in summer, with up to 5°C for LST and 0.52°C for air temperature. The warming was caused mainly by urban expansion, which was driven in part by the population resettlement of TGP. Based on satellite observations, we investigated the comprehensive climatic impacts of TGP caused by multiple factors.

Utilization of satellite remote sensing data on land surface characteristics in water and heat balance component modeling for vegetation covered territories

Science.gov (United States)

Muzylev, Eugene; Uspensky, Alexander; Startseva, Zoya; Volkova, Elena; Kukharsky, Alexander; Uspensky, Sergey

2010-05-01

range 2.0-2.6, 2.5-3.7, and 3.5-4.9°C respectively. The dataset of remote sensing products has been compiled on the base of special technology using Internet resources, that includes MODIS-based estimates of land surface temperature (LST) Tsg, E, NDVI, LAI for the region of interest and the same vegetation seasons. Two types of MODIS-based Тsg and E estimates have been extracted from LP DAAC web-site (for separate dates of 2003-2009 time period): LST/E Daily L3 product (MOD11В1) with spatial resolution ~ 4.8 km and LST/E 5-Min L2 product (MOD11_L2) with spatial resolution ~ 1 km. The verification of Tsg estimates has been performed via comparison with analogous and collocated AVHRR-based ones. Along with this the sample of SEVIRI-based Tsg and E estimates has been accumulated for the Kursk area and surrounding territories for the time interval of several days during 2009 vegetation season. To retrieve Тsg and Е from SEVIRI/Meteosat-8, -9 data the new method has been developed. Being designed as the combination of well-known Split Window Technique and Two Temperature Method algorithms it provides the derivation of Тsg from SEVIRI/Meteosat-9 measurements carried out at three successive times (classified as 100% cloud-free) and covering the region under consideration without accurate a priory knowledge of E. Comparison of the SEVIRI-based Tsg retrievals with the independent collocated Tsg estimates gives the values of RMS deviation in the range of 0.9-1.4°C and it proves (indirectly) the efficiency of proposed approach. To assimilate satellite-derived estimates of vegetation characteristics and LST in the SVAT model some procedures have been developed. These procedures have included: 1) the replacement of LAI and B ground and point-wise estimates by their AVHRR- or MODIS-based analogues. The efficiency of such approach has been proved through comparison between satellite-derived and ground-based seasonal time behaviors of LAI and B, between satellite

Ground Processing Affordability for Space Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Ingalls, John; Scott, Russell

2011-01-01

Launch vehicles and most of their payloads spend the majority of their time on the ground. The cost of ground operations is very high. So, why so often is so little attention given to ground processing during development? The current global space industry and economic environment are driving more need for efficiencies to save time and money. Affordability and sustainability are more important now than ever. We can not continue to treat space vehicles as mere science projects. More RLV's (Reusable Launch Vehicles) are being developed for the gains of reusability which are not available for ELV's (Expendable Launch Vehicles). More human-rated vehicles are being developed, with the retirement of the Space Shuttles, and for a new global space race, yet these cost more than the many unmanned vehicles of today. We can learn many lessons on affordability from RLV's. DFO (Design for Operations) considers ground operations during design, development, and manufacturing-before the first flight. This is often minimized for space vehicles, but is very important. Vehicles are designed for launch and mission operations. You will not be able to do it again if it is too slow or costly to get there. Many times, technology changes faster than space products such that what is launched includes outdated features, thus reducing competitiveness. Ground operations must be considered for the full product Lifecycle, from concept to retirement. Once manufactured, launch vehicles along with their payloads and launch systems require a long path of processing before launch. Initial assembly and testing always discover problems to address. A solid integration program is essential to minimize these impacts, as was seen in the Constellation Ares I-X test rocket. For RLV's, landing/recovery and post-flight turnaround activities are performed. Multi-use vehicles require reconfiguration. MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) must be well-planned--- even for the unplanned problems. Defect limits and

Modeling and Simulation of the Second-Generation Orion Crew Module Air Bag Landing System

Science.gov (United States)

Timmers, Richard B.; Hardy, Robin C.; Willey, Cliff E.; Welch, Joseph V.

2009-01-01

Air bags were evaluated as the landing attenuation system for earth landing of the Orion Crew Module (CM). Analysis conducted to date shows that airbags are capable of providing a graceful landing of the CM in nominal and off-nominal conditions such as parachute failure, high horizontal winds, and unfavorable vehicle/ground angle combinations, while meeting crew and vehicle safety requirements. The analyses and associated testing presented here surround a second generation of the airbag design developed by ILC Dover, building off of relevant first-generation design, analysis, and testing efforts. In order to fully evaluate the second generation air bag design and correlate the dynamic simulations, a series of drop tests were carried out at NASA Langley s Landing and Impact Research (LandIR) facility in Hampton, Virginia. The tests consisted of a full-scale set of air bags attached to a full-scale test article representing the Orion Crew Module. The techniques used to collect experimental data, develop the simulations, and make comparisons to experimental data are discussed.

Configuration Studies of Personal Air Vehicles. Personal Air Vehicle and Flying Jeep Concepts: A Commentary on Promising Approaches or What Goes Around Comes Around (About Every Twenty Years)

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, David W.

2001-01-01

The NASA/Langley Personal Air Vehicle (PAV) Exploration (PAVE) and the DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) Dual Air/Road Transportation System (DARTS) projects were established to investigate the feasibility of creating vehicles which could replace, or at the very least augment, personal ground and air transportation schemes. This overall goal implies integrating several technology areas with practical everyday transportation requirements to design a class of vehicles which will achieve the following goals: (1) Vertical, Extremely Short, or Short Takeoff and Landing (VTOL, ESTOL, STOL) capability; (2) Operation at block speeds markedly faster than current combinations of land and air transportation, particularly in critical market areas; (3) Unit cost comparable to current luxury cars and small general aviation aircraft; (4) Excellent reliability; (5) Excellent safety; (6) Ability to integrate with existing land and air transportation systems. The conclusions of these configuration studies are summarized as follows: (1) Creation of the five assigned configurations prompted added explorations, some of which were dead-ends; (2) Some components could be common to all configurations such as avionics and dual-mode suspension schemes; (3) Single-Mode PAVs can be created by removing dual-mode-specific items; (4) Aviation history provided some intriguing starting points, as in what goes around comes around; (5) CTOL (Conventional Take-off and Landing) and STOL dual-mode PAVs look feasible with single-mode PAVs being simplifications of the dual-mode approach; (6) VTOL PAVs will require development; (7) More exotic collapsing mechanisms mechanisms need development; (8) As a teaching tool, PAVs are not yet a well-enough bounded design problem.

77 FR 29752 - Petition for Exemption From the Federal Motor Vehicle Motor Theft Prevention Standard; Jaguar...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-18

... From the Federal Motor Vehicle Motor Theft Prevention Standard; Jaguar Land Rover AGENCY: National... part 543, Exemption from the Theft Prevention Standard. This petition is granted, because the agency... be as effective in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft as compliance with the parts-marking...

76 FR 12220 - Petition for Exemption From the Federal Motor Vehicle Motor Theft Prevention Standard; Jaguar...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-04

... From the Federal Motor Vehicle Motor Theft Prevention Standard; Jaguar Land Rover AGENCY: National... 543, Exemption from the Theft Prevention Standard. This petition is granted because the agency has... effective in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft as compliance with the parts-marking requirements of...

In-vehicle exposures to particulate air pollution in Canadian metropolitan areas: the urban transportation exposure study.

Science.gov (United States)

Weichenthal, Scott; Van Ryswyk, Keith; Kulka, Ryan; Sun, Liu; Wallace, Lance; Joseph, Lawrence

2015-01-06

Commuters may be exposed to increased levels of traffic-related air pollution owing to close proximity to traffic-emissions. We collected in-vehicle and roof-top air pollution measurements over 238 commutes in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, Canada between 2010 and 2013. Voice recordings were used to collect real-time information on traffic density and the presence of diesel vehicles and multivariable linear regression models were used to estimate the impact of these factors on in-vehicle pollutant concentrations (and indoor/outdoor ratios) along with parameters for road type, land use, and meteorology. In-vehicle PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations consistently exceeded regional outdoor levels and each unit increase in the rate of encountering diesel vehicles (count/min) was associated with substantial increases (>100%) in in-vehicle concentrations of ultrafine particles (UFPs), black carbon, and PM2.5 as well as strong increases (>15%) in indoor/outdoor ratios. A model based on meteorology and the length of highway roads within a 500 m buffer explained 53% of the variation in in-vehicle UFPs; however, models for PM2.5 (R(2) = 0.24) and black carbon (R(2) = 0.30) did not perform as well. Our findings suggest that vehicle commuters experience increased exposure to air pollutants and that traffic characteristics, land use, road types, and meteorology are important determinants of these exposures.

77 FR 71825 - Notice of Temporary Restriction of Vehicle Use and Temporary Closure to Tree Cutting and Wood...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-04

... to Tree Cutting and Wood Harvesting on Public Land in Douglas County, NV AGENCY: Bureau of Land... a temporary closure to wood harvesting and/or tree cutting on public land within the Topaz Ranch... temporary restriction of cross-country vehicle travel and a temporary closure to tree cutting and wood...

Effect of lift-to-drag ratio in pilot rating of the HL-20 landing task

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, E. B.; Rivers, Robert A.; Bailey, Melvin L.

1993-01-01

A man-in-the-loop simulation study of the handling qualities of the HL-20 lifting-body vehicle was made in a fixed-base simulation cockpit at NASA Langley Research Center. The purpose of the study was to identify and substantiate opportunities for improving the original design of the vehicle from a handling qualities and landing performance perspective. Using preliminary wind-tunnel data, a subsonic aerodynamic model of the HL-20 was developed. This model was adequate to simulate the last 75-90 s of the approach and landing. A simple flight-control system was designed and implemented. Using this aerodynamic model as a baseline, visual approaches and landings were made at several vehicle lift-to-drag ratios. Pilots rated the handling characteristics of each configuration using a conventional numerical pilot-rating scale. Results from the study showed a high degree of correlation between the lift-to-drag ratio and pilot rating. Level 1 pilot ratings were obtained when the L/D ratio was approximately 3.8 or higher.

Contrasting effects of urbanization and agriculture on surface temperature in eastern China

Science.gov (United States)

Decheng Zhou; Dan Li; Ge Sun; Liangxia Zhang; Yongqiang Liu; Lu Hao

2016-01-01

The combined effect of urbanization and agriculture, two most pervasive land use activities, on the surface climate remains poorly understood. Using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer data over 2010–2015 and forests as reference, we showed that urbanization warmed the land surface temperature (LST), especially during the daytime and in growing seasons (...

75 FR 11107 - Revision of Land Management Plan for the George Washington National Forest, Virginia and West...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-10

..., mountain biking, All-Terrain Vehicle use, Off-Highway Vehicle use, horseback riding), roadless areas, wilderness, forest health, roads, minerals, fire, subsurface mineral rights, lands, air quality, special uses...--Ecological Health, Restoration and Sustainability Changes are needed in management direction for maintaining...

Geothermal area detection using Landsat ETM+ thermal infrared data and its mechanistic analysis—A case study in Tengchong, China

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Qiming; Zhang, Ning; Nan, Peng; Chai, Leilei

2011-08-01

Thermal infrared (TIR) remote sensing is an important technique in the exploration of geothermal resources. In this study, a geothermal survey is conducted in Tengchong area of Yunnan province in China using TIR data from Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) sensor. Based on radiometric calibration, atmospheric correction and emissivity calculation, a simple but efficient single channel algorithm with acceptable precision is applied to retrieve the land surface temperature (LST) of study area. The LST anomalous areas with temperature about 4-10 K higher than background area are discovered. Four geothermal areas are identified with the discussion of geothermal mechanism and the further analysis of regional geologic structure. The research reveals that the distribution of geothermal areas is consistent with the fault development in study area. Magmatism contributes abundant thermal source to study area and the faults provide thermal channels for heat transfer from interior earth to land surface and facilitate the present of geothermal anomalies. Finally, we conclude that TIR remote sensing is a cost-effective technique to detect LST anomalies. Combining TIR remote sensing with geological analysis and the understanding of geothermal mechanism is an accurate and efficient approach to geothermal area detection.

A hybrid positioning strategy for vehicles in a tunnel based on RFID and in-vehicle sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Xiang; Li, Xu; Tang, Wencheng; Zhang, Weigong; Li, Bin

2014-12-05

Many intelligent transportation system applications require accurate, reliable, and continuous vehicle positioning. How to achieve such positioning performance in extended GPS-denied environments such as tunnels is the main challenge for land vehicles. This paper proposes a hybrid multi-sensor fusion strategy for vehicle positioning in tunnels. First, the preliminary positioning algorithm is developed. The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is introduced to achieve preliminary positioning in the tunnel. The received signal strength (RSS) is used as an indicator to calculate the distances between the RFID tags and reader, and then a Least Mean Square (LMS) federated filter is designed to provide the preliminary position information for subsequent global fusion. Further, to improve the positioning performance in the tunnel, an interactive multiple model (IMM)-based global fusion algorithm is developed to fuse the data from preliminary positioning results and low-cost in-vehicle sensors, such as electronic compasses and wheel speed sensors. In the actual implementation of IMM, the strong tracking extended Kalman filter (STEKF) algorithm is designed to replace the conventional extended Kalman filter (EKF) to achieve model individual filtering. Finally, the proposed strategy is evaluated through experiments. The results validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

A Hybrid Positioning Strategy for Vehicles in a Tunnel Based on RFID and In-Vehicle Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiang Song

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Many intelligent transportation system applications require accurate, reliable, and continuous vehicle positioning. How to achieve such positioning performance in extended GPS-denied environments such as tunnels is the main challenge for land vehicles. This paper proposes a hybrid multi-sensor fusion strategy for vehicle positioning in tunnels. First, the preliminary positioning algorithm is developed. The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID technology is introduced to achieve preliminary positioning in the tunnel. The received signal strength (RSS is used as an indicator to calculate the distances between the RFID tags and reader, and then a Least Mean Square (LMS federated filter is designed to provide the preliminary position information for subsequent global fusion. Further, to improve the positioning performance in the tunnel, an interactive multiple model (IMM-based global fusion algorithm is developed to fuse the data from preliminary positioning results and low-cost in-vehicle sensors, such as electronic compasses and wheel speed sensors. In the actual implementation of IMM, the strong tracking extended Kalman filter (STEKF algorithm is designed to replace the conventional extended Kalman filter (EKF to achieve model individual filtering. Finally, the proposed strategy is evaluated through experiments. The results validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

Commercial Space Transportation and Approaches to landing sites over Maritime Areas

OpenAIRE

Morlang, Frank; Hampe, Jens; Kaltenhäuser, Sven; Schmitt, Dirk-Roger

2015-01-01

Commercial Space Transportation becomes an international business and requires landing opportunities all over the world. Hence the integration of space vehicles in other airspace than the US NAS is an important topic to be considered. The Single European Sky ATM Research Programme (SESAR) is preparing the implementation of a new ATM system in Europe. The requirements are defined by the concept of the shared Business Trajectory and System Wide Information Management (SWIM). Space vehicle op...

The urban heat island in the city of Poznań as derived from Landsat 5 TM

Science.gov (United States)

Majkowska, Agnieszka; Kolendowicz, Leszek; Półrolniczak, Marek; Hauke, Jan; Czernecki, Bartosz

2017-05-01

To study urban heat island (UHI), Landsat 5 TM data and in situ measurements of air temperature from nine points in Poznań (Poland) for the period June 2008-May 2013 were used. Based on data from measurement points located in different types of land use, the surface urban heat island (SUHI) maps were created. All available and quality-controlled Landsat 5 TM images from 15 unique days were used to obtain the characteristics of land surface temperature (LST) and UHI intensity. In addition, spatial analysis of UHI was conducted on the basis of Corine Land Cover 2006 dataset. In situ measurements at a height of 2 m above ground level show that the UHI is a common occurrence in Poznań with a mean annual intensity of 1.0 °C. The UHI intensity is greater during the warm half of the year. Moreover, results based on the remote sensing data and the Corine Land Cover 2006 indicate that the highest value of the mean LST anomalies (3.4 °C) is attained by the continuous urban fabric, while the lowest value occurs within the broad-leaved forests (-3.1 °C). To re-count from LST to the air temperature at a height of 2 m above ground level ( T agl), linear and non-linear regression models were created. For both models, coefficients of determination equal about 0.80, with slightly higher value for the non-linear approach, which was applied to estimate the T agl spatial variability over the city of Poznań.

Modelling Angular Dependencies in Land Surface Temperatures From the SEVIRI Instrument onboard the Geostationary Meteosat Second Generation Satellites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Mads Olander; Pinheiro, AC; Proud, Simon Richard

2010-01-01

on vegetation structure and viewing and illumination geometry. Despite this, these effects are not considered in current operational LST products from neither polar-orbiting nor geostationary satellites. In this paper, we simulate the angular dependence that can be expected when estimating LST with the viewing...... geometry of the geostationary Meteosat Second Generation Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager sensor across the African continent and compare it to a normalized view geometry. We use the modified geometric projection model that estimates the scene thermal infrared radiance from a surface covered...

Multi-Terrain Earth Landing Systems Applicable for Manned Space Capsules

Science.gov (United States)

Fasanella, Edwin L.

2008-01-01

A key element of the President's Vision for Space Exploration is the development of a new space transportation system to replace the Shuttle that will enable manned exploration of the moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA has tasked the Constellation Program with the development of this architecture, which includes the Ares launch vehicle and Orion manned spacecraft. The Orion spacecraft must carry six astronauts and its primary structure should be reusable, if practical. These requirements led the Constellation Program to consider a baseline land landing on return to earth. To assess the landing system options for Orion, a review of current operational parachute landing systems such as those used for the F-111 escape module and the Soyuz is performed. In particular, landing systems with airbags and retrorockets that would enable reusability of the Orion capsule are investigated. In addition, Apollo tests and analyses conducted in the 1960's for both water and land landings are reviewed. Finally, tests and dynamic finite element simulations to understand land landings for the Orion spacecraft are also presented.

Vision Analysis System for Autonomous Landing of Micro Drone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Skoczylas Marcin

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This article describes a concept of an autonomous landing system of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. This type of device is equipped with the functionality of FPV observation (First Person View and radio broadcasting of video or image data. The problem is performance of a system of autonomous drone landing in an area with dimensions of 1m × 1m, based on CCD camera coupled with an image transmission system connected to a base station. Captured images are scanned and landing marker is detected. For this purpose, image features detectors (such as SIFT, SURF or BRISK are utilized to create a database of keypoints of the landing marker and in a new image keypoints are found using the same feature detector. In this paper results of a framework that allows detection of defined marker for the purpose of drone landing field positioning will be presented.

Effect of impervious surface area and vegetation changes on mean ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

adeniyi adeyemi

Land surface temperature (LST) is measured by the surface energy balance, .... climatic and environmental conditions (Cheng et al., 2006). ..... urban areas have generally resulted in a high reflection and emission of solar radiation and greater.

Design and Testing of a Prototype Lunar or Planetary Surface Landing Research Vehicle (LPSLRV)

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Gloria A.

2010-01-01

This handbook describes a two-semester senior design course sponsored by the NASA Office of Education, the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD), and the NASA Space Grant Consortium. The course was developed and implemented by the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department (MAE) at Utah State University. The course final outcome is a packaged senior design course that can be readily incorporated into the instructional curriculum at universities across the country. The course materials adhere to the standards of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), and is constructed to be relevant to key research areas identified by ESMD. The design project challenged students to apply systems engineering concepts to define research and training requirements for a terrestrial-based lunar landing simulator. This project developed a flying prototype for a Lunar or Planetary Surface Landing Research Vehicle (LPSRV). Per NASA specifications the concept accounts for reduced lunar gravity, and allows the terminal stage of lunar descent to be flown either by remote pilot or autonomously. This free-flying platform was designed to be sufficiently-flexible to allow both sensor evaluation and pilot training. This handbook outlines the course materials, describes the systems engineering processes developed to facilitate design fabrication, integration, and testing. This handbook presents sufficient details of the final design configuration to allow an independent group to reproduce the design. The design evolution and details regarding the verification testing used to characterize the system are presented in a separate project final design report. Details of the experimental apparatus used for system characterization may be found in Appendix F, G, and I of that report. A brief summary of the ground testing and systems verification is also included in Appendix A of this report. Details of the flight tests will be documented in a separate flight test

Impact of dedicated E85 vehicle use on ozone and particulate matter in the US

Science.gov (United States)

Nopmongcol, Uarporn; Griffin, W. Michael; Yarwood, Greg; Dunker, Alan M.; MacLean, Heather L.; Mansell, Gerard; Grant, John

2011-12-01

Increased use of ethanol as a vehicle fuel worldwide warrants the need to understand air quality impacts of replacing gasoline with ethanol. This study evaluates the impacts of dedicated E85 (85% ethanol/15% gasoline) light-duty vehicles on emissions, ozone and particulate matter (PM) concentrations in the United States for a future year (2022) using a 3-D photochemical model, detailed emissions inventories that account for changes in all sectors studied, and winter and summer meteorology that occurred in 2002. Use of E85 introduces new emissions from ethanol production and distribution, reduces petrochemical industry emissions due to lower gasoline consumption, changes on-road vehicle emissions and alters biogenic emissions due to land use changes. Three scenarios with increased ethanol production for dedicated E85 light-duty vehicles were compared to a base case without increased ethanol production. Increased use of E85 caused both increases and decreases in ozone and PM, driven mainly by changes in NO x emissions related to biogenic and upstream petrochemical industry sources. In all states modeled, adoption of dedicated E85 vehicles caused negligible change in average higher ozone and PM concentrations of importance for air quality management strategies. Ozone and PM changes are relatively insensitive to how land area is allocated for switchgrass production. The findings are subject to various uncertainties, especially those in vehicle technology and emissions from cellulosic ethanol production.

Information processing requirements for on-board monitoring of automatic landing

Science.gov (United States)

Sorensen, J. A.; Karmarkar, J. S.

1977-01-01

A systematic procedure is presented for determining the information processing requirements for on-board monitoring of automatic landing systems. The monitoring system detects landing anomalies through use of appropriate statistical tests. The time-to-correct aircraft perturbations is determined from covariance analyses using a sequence of suitable aircraft/autoland/pilot models. The covariance results are used to establish landing safety and a fault recovery operating envelope via an event outcome tree. This procedure is demonstrated with examples using the NASA Terminal Configured Vehicle (B-737 aircraft). The procedure can also be used to define decision height, assess monitoring implementation requirements, and evaluate alternate autoland configurations.

Spring Soil Temperature Anomalies over Tibetan Plateau and Summer Droughts/Floods in East Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Y.; Li, W.; LI, Q.; Diallo, I.; Chu, P. C.; Guo, W.; Fu, C.

2017-12-01

Recurrent extreme climate events, such as droughts and floods, are important features of the climate of East Asia, especially over the Yangtze River basin. Many studies have attributed these episodes to variability and anomaly of global sea surface temperatures (SST) anomaly. In addition, snow in the Tibetan Plateau has also been considered as one of the factors affecting the Asian monsoon variability. However, studies have consistently shown that SST along is unable to explain the extreme climate events fully and snow has difficulty to use as a predictor. Remote effects of observed large-scale land surface temperature (LST) and subsurface temperature variability in Tibetan Plateau (TP) on East Asian regional droughts/floods, however, have been largely ignored. We conjecture that a temporally filtered response to snow anomalies may be preserved in the LST anomaly. In this study, evidence from climate observations and model simulations addresses the LST/SUBT effects. The Maximum Covariance Analysis (MCA) of observational data identifies that a pronounce spring LST anomaly pattern over TP is closely associated with precipitation anomalies in East Asia with a dipole pattern, i.e., negative/positive TP spring LST anomaly is associated with the summer drought/flood over the region south of the Yangtze River and wet/dry conditions to the north of the Yangtze River. Climate models were used to demonstrate a causal relationship between spring cold LST anomaly in the TP and the severe 2003 drought over the southern part of the Yangtze River in eastern Asia. This severe drought resulted in 100 x 106 kg crop yield losses and an economic loss of 5.8 billion Chinese Yuan. The modeling study suggests that the LST effect produced about 58% of observed precipitation deficit; while the SST effect produced about 32% of the drought conditions. Meanwhile, the LST and SST effects also simulated the observed flood over to the north of the Yangtze River. This suggests that inclusion of

Modeling seasonal surface temperature variations in secondary tropical dry forests

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Sen; Sanchez-Azofeifa, Arturo

2017-10-01

Secondary tropical dry forests (TDFs) provide important ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, and nutrient cycle regulation. However, their biogeophysical processes at the canopy-atmosphere interface remain unknown, limiting our understanding of how this endangered ecosystem influences, and responds to the ongoing global warming. To facilitate future development of conservation policies, this study characterized the seasonal land surface temperature (LST) behavior of three successional stages (early, intermediate, and late) of a TDF, at the Santa Rosa National Park (SRNP), Costa Rica. A total of 38 Landsat-8 Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) data and the Surface Reflectance (SR) product were utilized to model LST time series from July 2013 to July 2016 using a radiative transfer equation (RTE) algorithm. We further related the LST time series to seven vegetation indices which reflect different properties of TDFs, and soil moisture data obtained from a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). Results showed that the LST in the dry season was 15-20 K higher than in the wet season at SRNP. We found that the early successional stages were about 6-8 K warmer than the intermediate successional stages and were 9-10 K warmer than the late successional stages in the middle of the dry season; meanwhile, a minimum LST difference (0-1 K) was observed at the end of the wet season. Leaf phenology and canopy architecture explained most LST variations in both dry and wet seasons. However, our analysis revealed that it is precipitation that ultimately determines the LST variations through both biogeochemical (leaf phenology) and biogeophysical processes (evapotranspiration) of the plants. Results of this study could help physiological modeling studies in secondary TDFs.

Performance evaluation on vibration control of MR landing gear

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, D Y; Nam, Y J; Park, M K [Graduate School, Pusan National University, Busan 609-735 (Korea, Republic of); Yamane, R [Kokushikan University, 4-28-1 Setagaya, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 154-8515 (Japan)], E-mail: ldy5577@yahoo.co.kr, E-mail: mkpark1@pusan.ac.kr

2009-02-01

This paper is concerned with the applicability of the developed MR damper to the landing gear system for the attenuating undesired shock and vibration in the landing and taxing phases. First of all, the experimental model of the MR damper is derived based on the results of performance evaluations. Next, a simplified skyhook controller, which is one of the most straightforward, but effective approaches for improving ride comport in vehicles with active suspensions, is formulated. Then, the vibration control performances of the landing gear system using the MR damper are theoretically evaluated in the landing phase of the aircraft. A series of simulation analyses show that the proposed MR damper with the skyhook controller is effective for suppressing undesired vibration of the aircraft body. Finally, the effectiveness of the simulation results are additionally verified via HILS (Hardware-in-the-loop-simulation) method.

Global Land Transport Infrastructure Requirements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-06-01

Over the next four decades, global passenger and freight travel is expected to double over 2010 levels. In order to accommodate this growth, it is expected that the world will need to add nearly 25 million paved road lane-kilometres and 335 000 rail track kilometres. In addition, it is expected that between 45 000 square kilometres and 77 000 square kilometres of new parking spaces will be added to accommodate vehicle stock growth. These land transport infrastructure additions, when combined with operations, maintenance and repairs, are expected to cost as much as USD 45 trillion by 2050. This publication reports on the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) analysis of infrastructure requirements to support projected road and rail travel through 2050, using the IEA Mobility Model. It considers land transport infrastructure additions to support travel growth to 2050. It also considers potential savings if countries pursue “avoid and shift” policies: in this scenario, cumulative global land transport infrastructure spending could decrease as much as USD 20 trillion by 2050 over baseline projections.

Integração de imagens NOAA/AVHRR: rede de cooperação para monitoramento nacional da safra de soja Integration of NOAA/AVHRR images: cooperation network towards national soybean crop monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anibal Gusso

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Uma avaliação inicial das condições do desenvolvimento da safra nacional, enquanto as plantas ainda estão nos campos, é altamente necessária para o cálculo correto das projeções na tomada de decisão e políticas relacionadas com o planejamento governamental e segurança alimentar. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a adequação dos dados NOAA/AVHRR (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer em detectar mudanças nas condições da vegetação, devidas à ocorrência de estresse hídrico, na soja, por meio de uma combinação do índice NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index e da LST (Land Surface Temperature. Os dados LST e NDVI foram combinados e comparados pixel a pixel, sobre uma área de cultivo de soja, no Rio Grande do Sul. A relação teórica inversa prevista na combinação de LST e NDVI foi detectada. Foi observado que ocorre um aumento médio na LST em uma safra de ciclo normal (de 301,02 K para 308,36 K, quando comparada a uma safra sob condição de estresse hídrico, no desenvolvimento da cultura. Uma redução média do NDVI foi observada no ciclo normal (de 0,65 para 0,53, comparada com uma safra sob efeitos ocasionados pela estiagem no desenvolvimento da cultura. Foi observado maior correlação da produtividade municipal com LST (R2=0,78 do que com o NDVI (R2 = 0,59. Os resultados obtidos indicam que a integração de imagens do sensor AVHRR, proveniente de diferentes instituições, proporciona a adequada combinação espacial e temporal dos dados LST e NDVI, a fim de detectar a ocorrência de estresse hídrico, bem como sua intensidade, caracterizando as condições do ciclo de desenvolvimento da soja.An early assessment of national crop development conditions while the plants are still in the fields is highly needed to calculate correctly projections for decision-making and policies related to government planning and food security. The aim of this study

Reflexions on feedforward control strategies for a class of sailing vehicles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xiao, Lin; Jouffroy, Jerome

2010-01-01

Sailing vehicles, whether they are sea or land-based, share the unique property of exhibiting totally different trajectories depending on where their direction of travel is with respect to the wind. Following our previous work, this paper discusses a few points related to feedforward control...

Overview of the Mars Sample Return Earth Entry Vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Dillman, Robert; Corliss, James

2008-01-01

NASA's Mars Sample Return (MSR) project will bring Mars surface and atmosphere samples back to Earth for detailed examination. Langley Research Center's MSR Earth Entry Vehicle (EEV) is a core part of the mission, protecting the sample container during atmospheric entry, descent, and landing. Planetary protection requirements demand a higher reliability from the EEV than for any previous planetary entry vehicle. An overview of the EEV design and preliminary analysis is presented, with a follow-on discussion of recommended future design trade studies to be performed over the next several years in support of an MSR launch in 2018 or 2020. Planned topics include vehicle size for impact protection of a range of sample container sizes, outer mold line changes to achieve surface sterilization during re-entry, micrometeoroid protection, aerodynamic stability, thermal protection, and structural materials selection.

Modeling the Behaviour of an Advanced Material Based Smart Landing Gear System for Aerospace Vehicles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varughese, Byji; Dayananda, G. N.; Rao, M. Subba

2008-01-01

The last two decades have seen a substantial rise in the use of advanced materials such as polymer composites for aerospace structural applications. In more recent years there has been a concerted effort to integrate materials, which mimic biological functions (referred to as smart materials) with polymeric composites. Prominent among smart materials are shape memory alloys, which possess both actuating and sensory functions that can be realized simultaneously. The proper characterization and modeling of advanced and smart materials holds the key to the design and development of efficient smart devices/systems. This paper focuses on the material characterization; modeling and validation of the model in relation to the development of a Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) based smart landing gear (with high energy dissipation features) for a semi rigid radio controlled airship (RC-blimp). The Super Elastic (SE) SMA element is configured in such a way that it is forced into a tensile mode of high elastic deformation. The smart landing gear comprises of a landing beam, an arch and a super elastic Nickel-Titanium (Ni-Ti) SMA element. The landing gear is primarily made of polymer carbon composites, which possess high specific stiffness and high specific strength compared to conventional materials, and are therefore ideally suited for the design and development of an efficient skid landing gear system with good energy dissipation characteristics. The development of the smart landing gear in relation to a conventional metal landing gear design is also dealt with

Walkability parameters, active transportation and objective physical activity: moderating and mediating effects of motor vehicle ownership in a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Eriksson, Ulf; Arvidsson, Daniel; Gebel, Klaus; Ohlsson, Henrik; Sundquist, Kristina

2012-10-05

Neighborhood walkability has been associated with physical activity in several studies. However, as environmental correlates of physical activity may be context specific, walkability parameters need to be investigated separately in various countries and contexts. Furthermore, the mechanisms by which walkability affects physical activity have been less investigated. Based on previous research, we hypothesized that vehicle ownership is a potential mediator. We investigated the associations between walkability parameters and physical activity, and the mediating and moderating effects of vehicle ownership on these associations in a large sample of Swedish adults. Residential density, street connectivity and land use mix were assessed within polygon-based network buffers (using Geographic Information Systems) for 2,178 men and women. Time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity was assessed by accelerometers, and walking and cycling for transportation were assessed by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Associations were examined by linear regression and adjusted for socio-demographic characteristics. The product of coefficients approach was used to investigate the mediating effect of vehicle ownership. Residential density and land use mix, but not street connectivity, were significantly associated with time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity and walking for transportation. Cycling for transportation was not associated with any of the walkability parameters. Vehicle ownership mediated a significant proportion of the association between the walkability parameters and physical activity outcomes. For residential density, vehicle ownership mediated 25% of the association with moderate to vigorous physical activity and 20% of the association with the amount of walking for transportation. For land use mix, the corresponding proportions were 34% and 14%. Vehicle ownership did not moderate any of the associations between the walkability

Walkability parameters, active transportation and objective physical activity: moderating and mediating effects of motor vehicle ownership in a cross-sectional study

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Neighborhood walkability has been associated with physical activity in several studies. However, as environmental correlates of physical activity may be context specific, walkability parameters need to be investigated separately in various countries and contexts. Furthermore, the mechanisms by which walkability affects physical activity have been less investigated. Based on previous research, we hypothesized that vehicle ownership is a potential mediator. We investigated the associations between walkability parameters and physical activity, and the mediating and moderating effects of vehicle ownership on these associations in a large sample of Swedish adults. Methods Residential density, street connectivity and land use mix were assessed within polygon-based network buffers (using Geographic Information Systems) for 2,178 men and women. Time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity was assessed by accelerometers, and walking and cycling for transportation were assessed by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Associations were examined by linear regression and adjusted for socio-demographic characteristics. The product of coefficients approach was used to investigate the mediating effect of vehicle ownership. Results Residential density and land use mix, but not street connectivity, were significantly associated with time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity and walking for transportation. Cycling for transportation was not associated with any of the walkability parameters. Vehicle ownership mediated a significant proportion of the association between the walkability parameters and physical activity outcomes. For residential density, vehicle ownership mediated 25% of the association with moderate to vigorous physical activity and 20% of the association with the amount of walking for transportation. For land use mix, the corresponding proportions were 34% and 14%. Vehicle ownership did not moderate any of the associations

Remote operated vehicle with carbon dioxide blasting (ROVCO{sub 2})

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Resnick, A.M. [Oceaneering International, Inc., Upper Marlboro, MD (United States)

1995-10-01

The Remote Operated Vehicle with Carbon Dioxide Blasting (ROVCO{sub 2}), as shown in a front view is a six-wheeled remote land vehicle used to decontaminate concrete floors. The remote vehicle has a high pressure Cryogenesis blasting subsystem, Oceaneering Technologies (OTECH) developed a CO{sub 2} xY Orthogonal Translational End Effector (COYOTEE) subsystem, and a vacuum/filtration and containment subsystem. The cryogenesis subsystem performs the actual decontamination work and consists of the dry ice supply unit, the blasting nozzle, the remotely controlled electric and pneumatic valves, and the vacuum work-head. The COYOTEE subsystem positions the blasting work-head within a planar work space and the vacuum subsystem provides filtration and containment of the debris generated by the CO{sub 2} blasting. It employs a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filtration unit to separate contaminants for disposal. All of the above systems are attached to the vehicle subsystem via the support structure.

Frost Monitoring and Forecasting Using MODIS Land Surface Temperature Data and a Numerical Weather Prediction Model Forecasts for Eastern Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Kabuchanga, Eric; Flores, Africa; Malaso, Susan; Mungai, John; Sakwa, Vincent; Shaka, Ayub; Limaye, Ashutosh

2014-01-01

Frost is a major challenge across Eastern Africa, severely impacting agricultural farms. Frost damages have wide ranging economic implications on tea and coffee farms, which represent a major economic sector. Early monitoring and forecasting will enable farmers to take preventive actions to minimize the losses. Although clearly important, timely information on when to protect crops from freezing is relatively limited. MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST) data, derived from NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites, and 72-hr weather forecasts from the Kenya Meteorological Service's operational Weather Research Forecast model are enabling the Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) and the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya to provide timely information to farmers in the region. This presentation will highlight an ongoing collaboration among the Kenya Meteorological Service, RCMRD, and the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya to identify frost events and provide farmers with potential frost forecasts in Eastern Africa.

Understanding the Impact of Urbanization on Surface Urban Heat Islands—A Longitudinal Analysis of the Oasis Effect in Subtropical Desert Cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chao Fan

2017-06-01

Full Text Available We quantified the spatio-temporal patterns of land cover/land use (LCLU change to document and evaluate the daytime surface urban heat island (SUHI for five hot subtropical desert cities (Beer Sheva, Israel; Hotan, China; Jodhpur, India; Kharga, Egypt; and Las Vegas, NV, USA. Sequential Landsat images were acquired and classified into the USGS 24-category Land Use Categories using object-based image analysis with an overall accuracy of 80% to 95.5%. We estimated the land surface temperature (LST of all available Landsat data from June to August for years 1990, 2000, and 2010 and computed the urban-rural difference in the average LST and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI for each city. Leveraging non-parametric statistical analysis, we also investigated the impacts of city size and population on the urban-rural difference in the summer daytime LST and NDVI. Urban expansion is observed for all five cities, but the urbanization pattern varies widely from city to city. A negative SUHI effect or an oasis effect exists for all the cities across all three years, and the amplitude of the oasis effect tends to increase as the urban-rural NDVI difference increases. A strong oasis effect is observed for Hotan and Kharga with evidently larger NDVI difference than the other cities. Larger cities tend to have a weaker cooling effect while a negative association is identified between NDVI difference and population. Understanding the daytime oasis effect of desert cities is vital for sustainable urban planning and the design of adaptive management, providing valuable guidelines to foster smart desert cities in an era of climate variability, uncertainty, and change.

Infrared processing and sensor fusion for anti-personnel land-mine detection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schavemaker, J.G.M.; Cremer, F.; Schutte, K.; Breejen, E. den

2000-01-01

In this paper we present the results of infrared processing and sensor fusion obtained within the European research project GEODE (Ground Explosive Ordnance DEtection) that strives for the realization of a vehicle-mounted, multi-sensor anti-personnel land-mine detection system for humanitarian

Demonstration of a Moving-Map System for Improved Lane Navigation of Amphibious Vehicles

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Clohrenz, Maura

2003-01-01

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is testing and demonstrating a prototype moving-map system on amphibious vehicles and landing craft to aid the location neutralization and navigation around mines and obstacles in the surf and beach zone...

Environmental Assessment of the US Department of Energy Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, M.K.; Bernard, M.J. III; Walsh, R.F

1980-11-01

This environmental assessment (EA) focuses on the long-term (1985-2000) impacts of the US Department of Energy (DOE) electric and hybrid vehicle (EHV) program. This program has been designed to accelerate the development of EHVs and to demonstrate their commercial feasibility as required by the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development and Demonstration Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-413), as amended (P.L. 95-238). The overall goal of the program is the commercialization of: (1) electric vehicles (EVs) acceptable to broad segments of the personal and commercial vehicle markets, (2) hybrid vehicles (HVs) with range capabilities comparable to those of conventional vehicles (CVs), and (3) advanced EHVs completely competitive with CVs with respect to both cost and performance. Five major EHV projects have been established by DOE: market demonstration, vehicle evaluation and improvement, electric vehicle commercialization, hybrid vehicle commercialization, and advanced vehicle development. Conclusions are made as to the effects of EV and HV commercialization on the: consumption and importation of raw materials; petroleum and total energy consumption; ecosystems impact from the time of obtaining raw material through vehicle use and materials recycling; environmental impacts on air and water quality, land use, and noise; health and safety aspects; and socio-economic factors. (LCL)

An algorithm to retrieve Land Surface Temperature using Landsat-8 ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ayodeji Ogunode;Mulemwa Akombelwa

The results show temperature variation over a long period of time can be ... Remote sensing of LST using infrared radiation gives the average surface temperature of the scene ... advantage over previous Landsat series. ..... Li, F., Jackson, T. J., Kustas, W. P., Schmugge, T. J., French, A. N., Cosh, M. H. & Bindlish, R. 2004.

Vehicle Staging Analysis of the Transition to Supersonic Retropropulsion During Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The landing of the Mars Science Laboratory represents the upper limit of current Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) capabilities for Mars exploration. The succession...

A new method for retrieving land surface temperature from HJ-1B data and the temporal influences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, F; Zhao, X F

2014-01-01

According to radiation transfer equation (RTE), it is an ill-conditioned problem to obtain land surface temperature (LST) accurately from the HJ-1B thermal infrared channel. Several algorithms have been proposed to resolve this problem. However, some accurate inputs (e.g. atmospheric parameters and land surface emissivity) always inaccessible to common users are indispensable to their applications. An innovative approach (named MTSC method) based on multi-temporal data was described in this paper, by means of which the LSTs are able to be estimated readily and directly from the radiometrically corrected thermal images, even without any other accurate information. To demonstrate its capability, four HJ-1B images (acquired on Nov 28, Dec 10, Dec 18 and Dec 22, 2011, respectively) mainly covering the Pearl River Delta region were selected for LSTs estimation. The LSTs retrieved by the MTSC method were then compared with the near time MODIS surface temperature products, and the samples were collected through a proper procedure. The preliminary assessments demonstrated that accurate results were obtained by using this new method. For example, for the retrieved results of Dec 22, the systematic errors for land cover and sea area were approximate to 1K and 0.5K, respectively. Further comparisons show that the temporal influence was negligible in this experiment, mainly because of the moderate impacts arisen from the atmospheric variation on the surface thermal property, which was acceptable for the MTSC method. However, modifications and improvements are still necessary to enable the full usage of this new approach

[Applicability of traditional landscape metrics in evaluating urban heat island effect].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ai-Lian; Sun, Ran-Hao; Chen, Li-Ding

2012-08-01

By using 24 landscape metrics, this paper evaluated the urban heat island effect in parts of Beijing downtown area. QuickBird (QB) images were used to extract the landscape type information, and the thermal bands from Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) images were used to extract the land surface temperature (LST) in four seasons of the same year. The 24 landscape pattern metrics were calculated at landscape and class levels in a fixed window with 120 mx 120 m in size, with the applicability of these traditional landscape metrics in evaluating the urban heat island effect examined. Among the 24 landscape metrics, only the percentage composition of landscape (PLAND), patch density (PD), largest patch index (LPI), coefficient of Euclidean nearest-neighbor distance variance (ENN_CV), and landscape division index (DIVISION) at landscape level were significantly correlated with the LST in March, May, and November, and the PLAND, LPI, DIVISION, percentage of like adjacencies, and interspersion and juxtaposition index at class level showed significant correlations with the LST in March, May, July, and December, especially in July. Some metrics such as PD, edge density, clumpiness index, patch cohesion index, effective mesh size, splitting index, aggregation index, and normalized landscape shape index showed varying correlations with the LST at different class levels. The traditional landscape metrics could not be appropriate in evaluating the effects of river on LST, while some of the metrics could be useful in characterizing urban LST and analyzing the urban heat island effect, but screening and examining should be made on the metrics.

Research on optimization of test cycles for comfort to the special vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Mitroi, Marian; Chiru, Anghel

2017-10-01

The comfort of vehicles, regardless of their type is represent a requirement to by fulfilled in the context of current technological developments special vehicles generally move under different soil, time, or season conditions, and the land in which the vehicles move is complex and varied in the physical structure. Due to the high level of involvement in the driveability, safety and comfort of automotive, suspension system is a key factor with major implications for vibration and noise, affecting the human body. The objective of the research is related to determining the test cycles of special vehicles that are approaching real situations, to determine the level of comfort. The evaluate of the degree of comfort will be realized on acceleration values recorded, especially the vertical ones that have the highest influence on the human body. Thus, in this way the tests can be established needed to determine the level of comfort required for each particular type of special vehicle. The utility of the test cycles to optimize comfort is given to the accurate identification of the specific test needs, depending on the each vehicle.

Model studies of crosswind landing-gear configurations for STOL aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Stubbs, S. M.; Byrdsong, T. A.

1973-01-01

A dynamic model was used to directly compare four different crosswind landing gear mechanisms. The model was landed as a free body onto a laterally sloping runway used to simulate a crosswind side force. A radio control system was used for steering to oppose the side force as the model rolled to a stop. The configuration in which the landing gears are alined by the pilot and locked in the direction of motion prior to touchdown gave the smoothest runout behavior with the vehicle maintaining its crab angle throughout the landing roll. Nose wheel steering was confirmed to be better than steering with nose and main gears differentially or together. Testing is continuing to obtain quantitative data to establish an experimental data base for validation of an analytical program that will be capable of predicting full scale results.

3D Vision Based Landing Control of a Small Scale Autonomous Helicopter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhenyu Yu

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Autonomous landing is a challenging but important task for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV to achieve high level of autonomy. The fundamental requirement for landing is the knowledge of the height above the ground, and a properly designed controller to govern the process. This paper presents our research results in the study of landing an autonomous helicopter. The above-the-ground height sensing is based on a 3D vision system. We have designed a simple plane-fitting method for estimating the height over the ground. The method enables vibration free measurement with the camera rigidly attached on the helicopter without using complicated gimbal or active vision mechanism. The estimated height is used by the landing control loop. Considering the ground effect during landing, we have proposed a two-stage landing procedure. Two controllers are designed for the two landing stages respectively. The sensing approach and control strategy has been verified in field flight test and has demonstrated satisfactory performance.

Braking and cornering studies on an air cushion landing system

Science.gov (United States)

Daugherty, R. H.

1983-01-01

An experimental investigation was conducted to evaluate several concepts for braking and steering a vehicle equipped with an air cushion landing system (ACLS). The investigation made use of a modified airboat equipped with an ACLS. Braking concepts were characterized by the average deceleration of the vehicle. Reduced lobe flow and cavity venting braking concepts were evaluated in this program. The cavity venting braking concept demonstrated the best performance, producing decelerations on the test vehicle on the same order as moderate braking with conventional wheel brakes. Steering concepts were evaluated by recording the path taken while attempting to follow a prescribed maneuver. The steering concepts evaluated included using rudders only, using differential lobe flow, and using rudders combined with a lightly loaded, nonsteering center wheel. The latter concept proved to be the most accurate means of steering the vehicle on the ACLS, producing translational deviations two to three times higher than those from conventional nose-gear steering. However, this concept was still felt to provide reasonably precise steering control for the ACLS-equipped vehicle.

X-38 Drop Model: Landing Sequence Collage from Cessna Drop Test

Science.gov (United States)

1995-01-01

This sequence of photographs shows a 4-foot-long model of NASA's X-38 gliding to earth after being dropped from a Cessna aircraft in late 1995. The model was used to test the ram-air parafoil landing system, which could allow for accurate and controlled landings of an emergency Crew Return Vehicle spacecraft returning to earth. The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the-shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs. Original estimates to develop a capsule-type crew return vehicle were estimated at more than $2 billion. X-38 project officials have estimated that development costs for the X-38 concept will be approximately one quarter of the original estimate. Off-the-shelf technology is not necessarily 'old' technology. Many of the technologies being used in the X-38 project have never before been applied to a human-flight spacecraft. For example, the X-38 flight computer is commercial equipment currently used in aircraft and the flight software operating system is a commercial system already in use in many aerospace applications. The video equipment for the X-38 is existing equipment, some of which has already flown on the space shuttle for previous NASA experiments. The X-38's primary navigational equipment, the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System, is a unit already in use on Navy fighters. The X-38 electromechanical actuators come from previous joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy research and development projects. Finally, an existing special coating developed by NASA will be used on the X-38 thermal tiles to

Autonomous aerial vehicles : guidance, control, signal and image processing platform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Jarrah, M.; Adiansyah, S.; Marji, Z. M.; Chowdhury, M. S.

2011-01-01

The use of unmanned systems is gaining momentum in civil applications after successful use by the armed forces around the globe. Autonomous aerial vehicles are important for providing assistance in monitoring highways, power grid lines, borders, and surveillance of critical infrastructures. It is envisioned that cargo shipping will be completely handled by UAVs by the 2025. Civil use of unmanned autonomous systems brings serious challenges. The need for cost effectiveness, reliability, operation simplicity, safety, and cooperation with human and with other agents are among these challenges. Aerial vehicles operating in the civilian aerospace is the ultimate goal which requires these systems to achieve the reliability of manned aircraft while maintaining their cost effectiveness. In this presentation the development of an autonomous fixed and rotary wing aerial vehicle will be discussed. The architecture of the system from the mission requirements to low level auto pilot control laws will be discussed. Trajectory tracking and path following guidance and control algorithms commonly used and their implementation using of the shelf low cost components will be presented. Autonomous takeo? landing is a key feature that was implemented onboard the vehicle to complete its degree of autonomy. This is implemented based on accurate air-data system designed and fused with sonar measurements, INS/GPS measurements, and vector field method guidance laws. The outcomes of the proposed research is that the AUS-UAV platform named MAZARI is capable of autonomous takeoff and landing based on a pre scheduled flight path using way point navigation and sensor fusion of the inertial navigation system (INS) and global positioning system (GPS). Several technologies need to be mastered when developing a UAV. The navigation task and the need to fuse sensory information to estimate the location of the vehicle is critical to successful autonomous vehicle. Currently extended Kalman filtering is

Geothermal Anomaly Mapping Using Landsat ETM+ Data in Ilan Plain, Northeastern Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Hai-Po; Chang, Chung-Pai; Dao, Phuong D.

2018-01-01

Geothermal energy is an increasingly important component of green energy in the globe. A prerequisite for geothermal energy development is to acquire the local and regional geothermal prospects. Existing geophysical methods of estimating the geothermal potential are usually limited to the scope of prospecting because of the operation cost and site reachability in the field. Thus, explorations in a large-scale area such as the surface temperature and the thermal anomaly primarily rely on satellite thermal infrared imagery. This study aims to apply and integrate thermal infrared (TIR) remote sensing technology with existing geophysical methods for the geothermal exploration in Taiwan. Landsat 7 (L7) Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) imagery is used to retrieve the land surface temperature (LST) in Ilan plain. Accuracy assessment of satellite-derived LST is conducted by comparing with the air temperature data from 11 permanent meteorological stations. The correlation coefficient of linear regression between air temperature and LST retrieval is 0.76. The MODIS LST product is used for the cross validation of Landsat derived LSTs. Furthermore, Landsat ETM+ multi-temporal brightness temperature imagery for the verification of the LST anomaly results were performed. LST Results indicate that thermal anomaly areas appear correlating with the development of faulted structure. Selected geothermal anomaly areas are validated in detail by field investigation of hot springs and geothermal drillings. It implies that occurrences of hot springs and geothermal drillings are in good spatial agreement with anomaly areas. In addition, the significant low-resistivity zones observed in the resistivity sections are echoed with the LST profiles when compared with in the Chingshui geothermal field. Despite limited to detecting the surficial and the shallow buried geothermal resources, this work suggests that TIR remote sensing is a valuable tool by providing an effective way of mapping

Quantifying the Contributions of Environmental Parameters to Ceres Surface Net Radiation Error in China

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, X.; Yang, Y.; Liu, Y.; Fan, X.; Shan, L.; Zhang, X.

2018-04-01

Error source analyses are critical for the satellite-retrieved surface net radiation (Rn) products. In this study, we evaluate the Rn error sources in the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) project at 43 sites from July in 2007 to December in 2007 in China. The results show that cloud fraction (CF), land surface temperature (LST), atmospheric temperature (AT) and algorithm error dominate the Rn error, with error contributions of -20, 15, 10 and 10 W/m2 (net shortwave (NSW)/longwave (NLW) radiation), respectively. For NSW, the dominant error source is algorithm error (more than 10 W/m2), particularly in spring and summer with abundant cloud. For NLW, due to the high sensitivity of algorithm and large LST/CF error, LST and CF are the largest error sources, especially in northern China. The AT influences the NLW error large in southern China because of the large AT error in there. The total precipitable water has weak influence on Rn error even with the high sensitivity of algorithm. In order to improve Rn quality, CF and LST (AT) error in northern (southern) China should be decreased.

Intelligent behaviors through vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia, Richard D.; Sturgeon, Purser; Brown, Mike

2012-06-01

The last decade has seen a significant increase in intelligent safety devices on private automobiles. These devices have both increased and augmented the situational awareness of the driver and in some cases provided automated vehicle responses. To date almost all intelligent safety devices have relied on data directly perceived by the vehicle. This constraint has a direct impact on the types of solutions available to the vehicle. In an effort to improve the safety options available to a vehicle, numerous research laboratories and government agencies are investing time and resources into connecting vehicles to each other and to infrastructure-based devices. This work details several efforts in both the commercial vehicle and the private auto industries to increase vehicle safety and driver situational awareness through vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. It will specifically discuss intelligent behaviors being designed to automatically disable non-compliant vehicles, warn tractor trailer vehicles of unsafe lane maneuvers such as lane changes, passing, and merging, and alert drivers to non-line-of-sight emergencies.

Land Surface Temperature Retrieval from MODIS Data by Integrating Regression Models and the Genetic Algorithm in an Arid Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ji Zhou

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The land surface temperature (LST is one of the most important parameters of surface-atmosphere interactions. Methods for retrieving LSTs from satellite remote sensing data are beneficial for modeling hydrological, ecological, agricultural and meteorological processes on Earth’s surface. Many split-window (SW algorithms, which can be applied to satellite sensors with two adjacent thermal channels located in the atmospheric window between 10 μm and 12 μm, require auxiliary atmospheric parameters (e.g., water vapor content. In this research, the Heihe River basin, which is one of the most arid regions in China, is selected as the study area. The Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS is selected as a test case. The Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS atmospheric profiles of the study area are used to generate the training dataset through radiative transfer simulation. Significant correlations between the atmospheric upwelling radiance in MODIS channel 31 and the other three atmospheric parameters, including the transmittance in channel 31 and the transmittance and upwelling radiance in channel 32, are trained based on the simulation dataset and formulated with three regression models. Next, the genetic algorithm is used to estimate the LST. Validations of the RM-GA method are based on the simulation dataset generated from in situ measured radiosonde profiles and GDAS atmospheric profiles, the in situ measured LSTs, and a pair of daytime and nighttime MOD11A1 products in the study area. The results demonstrate that RM-GA has a good ability to estimate the LSTs directly from the MODIS data without any auxiliary atmospheric parameters. Although this research is for local application in the Heihe River basin, the findings and proposed method can easily be extended to other satellite sensors and regions with arid climates and high elevations.

Thermal anomalies detection before strong earthquakes (M > 6.0 using interquartile, wavelet and Kalman filter methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Akhoondzadeh

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Thermal anomaly is known as a significant precursor of strong earthquakes, therefore Land Surface Temperature (LST time series have been analyzed in this study to locate relevant anomalous variations prior to the Bam (26 December 2003, Zarand (22 February 2005 and Borujerd (31 March 2006 earthquakes. The duration of the three datasets which are comprised of MODIS LST images is 44, 28 and 46 days for the Bam, Zarand and Borujerd earthquakes, respectively. In order to exclude variations of LST from temperature seasonal effects, Air Temperature (AT data derived from the meteorological stations close to the earthquakes epicenters have been taken into account. The detection of thermal anomalies has been assessed using interquartile, wavelet transform and Kalman filter methods, each presenting its own independent property in anomaly detection. The interquartile method has been used to construct the higher and lower bounds in LST data to detect disturbed states outside the bounds which might be associated with impending earthquakes. The wavelet transform method has been used to locate local maxima within each time series of LST data for identifying earthquake anomalies by a predefined threshold. Also, the prediction property of the Kalman filter has been used in the detection process of prominent LST anomalies. The results concerning the methodology indicate that the interquartile method is capable of detecting the highest intensity anomaly values, the wavelet transform is sensitive to sudden changes, and the Kalman filter method significantly detects the highest unpredictable variations of LST. The three methods detected anomalous occurrences during 1 to 20 days prior to the earthquakes showing close agreement in results found between the different applied methods on LST data in the detection of pre-seismic anomalies. The proposed method for anomaly detection was also applied on regions irrelevant to earthquakes for which no anomaly was detected

Urban Land Uses and Smart Mobility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mauro Francini

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The object of this work consists of the will to define a renewed relationship between spatial planning and transport systems, which focuses attention on road safety, whereas to date the studies on this relationship have mainly examined the transport impacts on land use. Therefore, in addition to the analysis of the physical characteristics of road infrastructure, there is a need to examine which urban land uses can generate points of risk, both in terms of attraction of vehicles and pedestrian flows as well as in terms of concentration of vulnerable road users, in order to organize a complete information and telecommunication system for road safety. In short, considering a specific testing ground, some urban land uses have been located, with relative dimensional analysis and characterization of access conditions in typological-functional terms: services (schools, healthcare structures, sports facilities; tertiary/production industry (wholesale, shopping centres, industrial sites; tourism sector (hotels, resorts, historical and cultural heritage. The collection of information, corresponding to mapping of prospective risk factors, represented the basis for the entry of specific data within a wider reference database.

Exploring the determinants of pedestrian-vehicle crash severity in New York City.

Science.gov (United States)

Aziz, H M Abdul; Ukkusuri, Satish V; Hasan, Samiul

2013-01-01

Pedestrian-vehicle crashes remain a major concern in New York City due to high percentage of fatalities. This study develops random parameter logit models for explaining pedestrian injury severity levels of New York City accounting for unobserved heterogeneity in the population and across the boroughs. A log-likelihood ratio test for joint model suitability suggests that separate models for each of the boroughs should be estimated. Among many variables, road characteristics (e.g., number of lanes, grade, light condition, road surface, etc.), traffic attributes (e.g., presence of signal control, type of vehicle, etc.), and land use (e.g., parking facilities, commercial and industrial land use, etc.) are found to be statistically significant in the estimated model. The study also suggests that the set of counter measures should be different for different boroughs in the New York City and the priority ranks of countermeasures should be different as well. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimation of Surface Soil Moisture from Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing Using an Improved Trapezoid Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuting Yang

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Surface soil moisture (SM plays a fundamental role in energy and water partitioning in the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum. A reliable and operational algorithm is much needed to retrieve regional surface SM at high spatial and temporal resolutions. Here, we provide an operational framework of estimating surface SM at fine spatial resolutions (using visible/thermal infrared images and concurrent meteorological data based on a trapezoidal space defined by remotely sensed vegetation cover (Fc and land surface temperature (LST. Theoretical solutions of the wet and dry edges were derived to achieve a more accurate and effective determination of the Fc/LST space. Subjectivity and uncertainty arising from visual examination of extreme boundaries can consequently be largely reduced. In addition, theoretical derivation of the extreme boundaries allows a per-pixel determination of the VI/LST space such that the assumption of uniform atmospheric forcing over the entire domain is no longer required. The developed approach was tested at the Tibetan Plateau Soil Moisture/Temperature Monitoring Network (SMTMN site in central Tibet, China, from August 2010 to August 2011 using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS Terra images. Results indicate that the developed trapezoid model reproduced the spatial and temporal patterns of observed surface SM reasonably well, with showing a root-mean-square error of 0.06 m3·m−3 at the site level and 0.03 m3·m−3 at the regional scale. In addition, a case study on 2 September 2010 highlighted the importance of the theoretically calculated wet and dry edges, as they can effectively obviate subjectivity and uncertainties in determining the Fc/LST space arising from visual interpretation of satellite images. Compared with Land Surface Models (LSMs in Global Land Data Assimilation System-1, the remote sensing-based trapezoid approach gave generally better surface SM estimates, whereas the LSMs showed

Towards Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Alternative Passenger Vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nuri Cihat Onat

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Sustainable transportation and mobility are key components and central to sustainable development. This research aims to reveal the macro-level social, economic, and environmental impacts of alternative vehicle technologies in the U.S. The studied vehicle technologies are conventional gasoline, hybrid, plug-in hybrid with four different all-electric ranges, and full battery electric vehicles (BEV. In total, 19 macro level sustainability indicators are quantified for a scenario in which electric vehicles are charged through the existing U.S. power grid with no additional infrastructure, and an extreme scenario in which electric vehicles are fully charged with solar charging stations. The analysis covers all life cycle phases from the material extraction, processing, manufacturing, and operation phases to the end-of-life phases of vehicles and batteries. Results of this analysis revealed that the manufacturing phase is the most influential phase in terms of socio-economic impacts compared to other life cycle phases, whereas operation phase is the most dominant phase in the terms of environmental impacts and some of the socio-economic impacts such as human health and economic cost of emissions. Electric vehicles have less air pollution cost and human health impacts compared to conventional gasoline vehicles. The economic cost of emissions and human health impact reduction potential can be up to 45% and 35%, respectively, if electric vehicles are charged through solar charging stations. Electric vehicles have potential to generate income for low and medium skilled workers in the U.S. In addition to quantified sustainability indicators, some sustainability metrics were developed to compare relative sustainability performance alternative passenger vehicles. BEV has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions and ecological land footprint per $ of its contribution to the U.S. GDP, and has the lowest ecological footprint per unit of its energy consumption. The

Motion coordination for VTOL unmanned aerial vehicles attitude synchronisation and formation control

CERN Document Server

Abdessameud, Abdelkader

2013-01-01

Motion Coordination for VTOL Unmanned Aerial Vehicles develops new control design techniques for the distributed coordination of a team of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles. In particular, it provides new control design approaches for the attitude synchronization of a formation of rigid body systems. In addition, by integrating new control design techniques with some concepts from nonlinear control theory and multi-agent systems, it presents  a new theoretical framework for the formation control of a class of under-actuated aerial vehicles capable of vertical take-off and landing. Several practical problems related to the systems’ inputs, states measurements, and  restrictions on the interconnection  topology  between the aerial vehicles in the team  are addressed. Worked examples with sufficient details and simulation results are provided to illustrate the applicability and effectiveness of the theoretical results discussed in the book. The material presented is primarily intended for researchers an...

Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) and Marine Personnel Carrier (MPC): Background and Issues for Congress

Science.gov (United States)

2016-09-09

providing critical capabilities to execute the nation’s military strategy . On January 6, 2011, after spending approximately $3 billion in...the Landing Craft , Air Cushioned (LCAC). The LAV-25 has been in service since 1983. According to the Marine Program Executive Office (PEO) Land...the Marines’ new MPC/ACV acquisition strategy and its associated challenges and risks. Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) and Marine

Mapping of Daily Mean Air Temperature in Agricultural Regions Using Daytime and Nighttime Land Surface Temperatures Derived from TERRA and AQUA MODIS Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ran Huang

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Air temperature is one of the most important factors in crop growth monitoring and simulation. In the present study, we estimated and mapped daily mean air temperature using daytime and nighttime land surface temperatures (LSTs derived from TERRA and AQUA MODIS data. Linear regression models were calibrated using LSTs from 2003 to 2011 and validated using LST data from 2012 to 2013, combined with meteorological station data. The results show that these models can provide a robust estimation of measured daily mean air temperature and that models that only accounted for meteorological data from rural regions performed best. Daily mean air temperature maps were generated from each of four MODIS LST products and merged using different strategies that combined the four MODIS products in different orders when data from one product was unavailable for a pixel. The annual average spatial coverage increased from 20.28% to 55.46% in 2012 and 28.31% to 44.92% in 2013.The root-mean-square and mean absolute errors (RMSE and MAE for the optimal image merging strategy were 2.41 and 1.84, respectively. Compared with the least-effective strategy, the RMSE and MAE decreased by 17.2% and 17.8%, respectively. The interpolation algorithm uses the available pixels from images with consecutive dates in a sliding-window mode. The most appropriate window size was selected based on the absolute spatial bias in the study area. With an optimal window size of 33 × 33 pixels, this approach increased data coverage by up to 76.99% in 2012 and 89.67% in 2013.

High-Fidelity Computational Aerodynamics of Multi-Rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Ventura Diaz, Patricia; Yoon, Seokkwan

2018-01-01

High-fidelity Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations have been carried out for several multi-rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Three vehicles have been studied: the classic quadcopter DJI Phantom 3, an unconventional quadcopter specialized for forward flight, the SUI Endurance, and an innovative concept for Urban Air Mobility (UAM), the Elytron 4S UAV. The three-dimensional unsteady Navier-Stokes equations are solved on overset grids using high-order accurate schemes, dual-time stepping, and a hybrid turbulence model. The DJI Phantom 3 is simulated with different rotors and with both a simplified airframe and the real airframe including landing gear and a camera. The effects of weather are studied for the DJI Phantom 3 quadcopter in hover. The SUI En- durance original design is compared in forward flight to a new configuration conceived by the authors, the hybrid configuration, which gives a large improvement in forward thrust. The Elytron 4S UAV is simulated in helicopter mode and in airplane mode. Understanding the complex flows in multi-rotor vehicles will help design quieter, safer, and more efficient future drones and UAM vehicles.

36 CFR 293.6 - Commercial enterprises, roads, motor vehicles, motorized equipment, motorboats, aircraft...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Commercial enterprises, roads..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WILDERNESS-PRIMITIVE AREAS § 293.6 Commercial enterprises, roads, motor vehicles... National Forest Wilderness no commercial enterprises; no temporary or permanent roads; no aircraft landing...

Artist's concept of eastward view of Apollo 16 Descartes landing site

Science.gov (United States)

1972-01-01

An artist's concept illustrating an eastward view of the Apollo 16 Descartes landing site. The white overlay indicates the scheduled tranverses by the Apollo 16 astronauts in the Lunar Roving Vehicle. The Roman numerals are the extravehicular activities (EVA's); and the Arabic numbers are the station stops along the traverse.

Study of the suit inflation effect on crew safety during landing using a full-pressure IVA suit for new-generation reentry space vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Wataru, Suzuki

Recently, manned space capsules have been recognized as beneficial and reasonable human space vehicles again. The Dragon capsule already achieved several significant successes. The Orion capsule is going to be sent to a high-apogee orbit without crews for experimental purposes in September 2014. For such human-rated space capsules, the study of acceleration impacts against the human body during splashdown is essential to ensure the safety of crews. Moreover, it is also known that wearing a full pressure rescue suit significantly increases safety of a crew, compared to wearing a partial pressure suit. This is mainly because it enables the use of a personal life support system independently in addition to that which installed in the space vehicle. However, it is unclear how the inflation of the full pressure suit due to pressurization affects the crew safety during splashdown, especially in the case of the new generation manned space vehicles. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to investigate the effect of the suit inflation on crew safety against acceleration impact during splashdown. For this objective, the displacements of the safety harness in relation with the suit, a human surrogate, and the crew seats during pressurizing the suit in order to determine if the safety and survivability of a crew can be improved by wearing a full pressure suit. For these tests, the DL/H-1 full pressure IVA suit, developed by Pablo de Leon and Gary L. Harris, will be used. These tests use image analysis techniques to determine the displacements. It is expected, as a result of these tests, that wearing a full pressure suit will help to mitigate the impacts and will increase the safety and survivability of a crew during landing since it works as a buffer to mitigate impact forces during splashdown. This work also proposes a future plan for sled test experiments using a sled facility such as the one in use by the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) for experimental validation

A Rigid Mid-Lift-to-Drag Ratio Approach to Human Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing

Science.gov (United States)

Cerimele, Christopher J.; Robertson, Edward A.; Sostaric, Ronald R.; Campbell, Charles H.; Robinson, Phil; Matz, Daniel A.; Johnson, Breanna J.; Stachowiak, Susan J.; Garcia, Joseph A.; Bowles, Jeffrey V.;

Affordable Flight Demonstration of the GTX Air-Breathing SSTO Vehicle Concept

Science.gov (United States)

Krivanek, Thomas M.; Roche, Joseph M.; Riehl, John P.; Kosareo, Daniel N.

2003-01-01

The rocket based combined cycle (RBCC) powered single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) reusable launch vehicle has the potential to significantly reduce the total cost per pound for orbital payload missions. To validate overall system performance, a flight demonstration must be performed. This paper presents an overview of the first phase of a flight demonstration program for the GTX SSTO vehicle concept. Phase 1 will validate the propulsion performance of the vehicle configuration over the supersonic and hypersonic air- breathing portions of the trajectory. The focus and goal of Phase 1 is to demonstrate the integration and performance of the propulsion system flowpath with the vehicle aerodynamics over the air-breathing trajectory. This demonstrator vehicle will have dual mode ramjetkcramjets, which include the inlet, combustor, and nozzle with geometrically scaled aerodynamic surface outer mold lines (OML) defining the forebody, boundary layer diverter, wings, and tail. The primary objective of this study is to demon- strate propulsion system performance and operability including the ram to scram transition, as well as to validate vehicle aerodynamics and propulsion airframe integration. To minimize overall risk and develop ment cost the effort will incorporate proven materials, use existing turbomachinery in the propellant delivery systems, launch from an existing unmanned remote launch facility, and use basic vehicle recovery techniques to minimize control and landing requirements. A second phase would demonstrate propulsion performance across all critical portions of a space launch trajectory (lift off through transition to all-rocket) integrated with flight-like vehicle systems.

A survey of hybrid Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Saeed, Adnan S.; Younes, Ahmad Bani; Cai, Chenxiao; Cai, Guowei

2018-04-01

This article presents a comprehensive overview on the recent advances of miniature hybrid Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). For now, two conventional types, i.e., fixed-wing UAV and Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) UAV, dominate the miniature UAVs. Each type has its own inherent limitations on flexibility, payload, flight range, cruising speed, takeoff and landing requirements and endurance. Enhanced popularity and interest are recently gained by the newer type, named hybrid UAV, that integrates the beneficial features of both conventional ones. In this survey paper, a systematic categorization method for the hybrid UAV's platform designs is introduced, first presenting the technical features and representative examples. Next, the hybrid UAV's flight dynamics model and flight control strategies are explained addressing several representative modeling and control work. In addition, key observations, existing challenges and conclusive remarks based on the conducted review are discussed accordingly.

Blast mines: physics, injury mechanisms and vehicle protection.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramasamy, A; Hill, A M; Hepper, A E; Bull, A M J; Clasper, J C

2009-12-01

Since World War II, more vehicles have been lost to land mines than all other threats combined. Anti-vehicular (AV) mines are capable of disabling a heavy vehicle, or completely destroying a lighter vehicle. The most common form of AV mine is the blast mine, which uses a large amount of explosive to directly damage the target. In a conventional military setting, landmines are used as a defensive force-multiplier and to restrict the movements of the opposing force. They are relatively cheap to purchase and easy to acquire, hence landmines are also potent weapons in the insurgents' armamentarium. The stand-offnature of its design has allowed insurgents to cause significant injuries to security forces in current conflicts with little personal risk. As a result, AV mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have become the most common cause of death and injury to Coalition and local security forces operating in Iraq and Afghanistan. Detonation of an AV mine causes an explosive, exothermic reaction which results in the formation of a shockwave followed by a rapid expansion of gases. The shockwave is mainly reflected by the soillair interface and fractures the soil cap overthe mine. The detonation products then vent through the voids in the soil, resulting in a hollow inverse cone which consists of the detonation gases surrounded by the soil ejecta. It is the combination of the detonation products and soil ejecta that interact with the target vehicle and cause injury to the vehicle occupants. A number of different strategies are required to mitigate the blast effects of an explosion. Primary blast effects can be reduced by increasing the standoff distance between the seat of the explosion and the crew compartment. Enhancement of armour on the base of the vehicle, as well as improvements in personal protection can prevent penetration of fragments. Mitigating tertiary effects can be achieved by altering the vehicle geometry and structure, increasing vehicle mass, as

Routing the asteroid surface vehicle with detailed mechanics

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Yang; Baoyin, He-Xi

2014-06-01

The motion of a surface vehicle on/above an irregular object is investigated for a potential interest in the insitu explorations to asteroids of the solar system. A global valid numeric method, including detailed gravity and geomorphology, is developed to mimic the behaviors of the test particles governed by the orbital equations and surface coupling effects. A general discussion on the surface mechanical environment of a specified asteroid, 1620 Geographos, is presented to make a global evaluation of the surface vehicle's working conditions. We show the connections between the natural trajectories near the ground and differential features of the asteroid surface, which describes both the good and bad of typical terrains from the viewpoint of vehicles' dynamic performances. Monte Carlo simulations are performed to take a further look at the trajectories of particles initializing near the surface. The simulations reveal consistent conclusions with the analysis, i.e., the open-field flat ground and slightly concave basins/valleys are the best choices for the vehicles' dynamical security. The dependence of decending trajectories on the releasing height is studied as an application; the results show that the pole direction (where the centrifugal force is zero) is the most stable direction in which the shift of a natural trajectory will be well limited after landing. We present this work as an example for pre-analysis that provides guidance to engineering design of the exploration site and routing the surface vehicles.

The engineering of a nuclear thermal landing and ascent vehicle utilizing indigenous Martian propellant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zubrin, R.M.

1991-01-01

The following paper reports on a design study of a novel space transportation concept known as a ''NIMF'' (Nuclear rocket using Indigenous Martian Fuel.) The NIMF is a ballistic vehicle which obtains its propellant out of the Martian air by compression and liquefaction of atmospheric CO 2 . This propellant is subsequently used to generate rocket thrust at a specific impulse of 264 s by being heated to high temperature (2800 K) gas in the NIMFs' nuclear thermal rocket engines. The vehicle is designed to provide surface to orbit and surface to surface transportation, as well as housing, for a crew of three astronauts. It is capable of refueling itself for a flight to its maximum orbit in less than 50 days. The ballistic NIMF has a mass of 44.7 tonnes and, with the assumed 2800 K propellant temperature, is capable of attaining highly energetic (250 km by 34000 km elliptical) orbits. This allows it to rendezvous with interplanetary transfer vehicles which are only very loosely bound into orbit around Mars. If a propellant temperature of 2000 K is assumed, then low Mars orbit can be attained; while if 3100 K is assumed, then the ballistic NIMF is capable of injecting itself onto a minimum energy transfer orbit to Earth in a direct ascent from the Martian surface

ELECTROMAGNETIC BIOSPHERE POLLUTION BY MOTOR TRANSPORT (VEHICLES, ELECTRIC VEHICLES, HYBRID VEHICLES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Selivanov

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The physics of the electromagnetic field is considered. The analysis of electromagnetic radiation on the human-being, the origin of which is the vehicle the electric vehicle, the hybrid vehicle is being considered. The monitoring of electromagnetic radiation of vehicles is carried out.

Evaluating Spectral Indices for Winter Wheat Health Status ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Helen

study explored the application of Land Surface Temperature (LST)-vegetation ... Classification methods and crop growth models are widely used for crop monitoring. ... The limitations of the study were that some of the Landsat 8 images were contaminated with cloud ..... These relationships arise due to the cooling effects.

Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) (Orion) Occupant Protection

Science.gov (United States)

Currie-Gregg, Nancy J.; Gernhardt, Michael L.; Lawrence, Charles; Somers, Jeffrey T.

2016-01-01

Dr. Nancy J. Currie, of the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC), Chief Engineer at Johnson Space Center (JSC), requested an assessment of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) occupant protection as a result of issues identified by the Constellation Program and Orion Project. The NESC, in collaboration with the Human Research Program (HRP), investigated new methods associated with occupant protection for the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), known as Orion. The primary objective of this assessment was to investigate new methods associated with occupant protection for the CEV, known as Orion, that would ensure the design provided minimal risk to the crew during nominal and contingency landings in an acceptable set of environmental and spacecraft failure conditions. This documents contains the outcome of the NESC assessment. NASA/TM-2013-217380, "Application of the Brinkley Dynamic Response Criterion to Spacecraft Transient Dynamic Events." supercedes this document.

Launch and Landing Effects Ground Operations (LLEGO) Model

Science.gov (United States)

2008-01-01

LLEGO is a model for understanding recurring launch and landing operations costs at Kennedy Space Center for human space flight. Launch and landing operations are often referred to as ground processing, or ground operations. Currently, this function is specific to the ground operations for the Space Shuttle Space Transportation System within the Space Shuttle Program. The Constellation system to follow the Space Shuttle consists of the crewed Orion spacecraft atop an Ares I launch vehicle and the uncrewed Ares V cargo launch vehicle. The Constellation flight and ground systems build upon many elements of the existing Shuttle flight and ground hardware, as well as upon existing organizations and processes. In turn, the LLEGO model builds upon past ground operations research, modeling, data, and experience in estimating for future programs. Rather than to simply provide estimates, the LLEGO model s main purpose is to improve expenses by relating complex relationships among functions (ground operations contractor, subcontractors, civil service technical, center management, operations, etc.) to tangible drivers. Drivers include flight system complexity and reliability, as well as operations and supply chain management processes and technology. Together these factors define the operability and potential improvements for any future system, from the most direct to the least direct expenses.

Remote Sensing-based Models of Soil Vulnerability to Compaction and Erosion from Off-highway Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Villarreal, M. L.; Webb, R. H.; Norman, L.; Psillas, J.; Rosenberg, A.; Carmichael, S.; Petrakis, R.; Sparks, P.

2014-12-01

Intensive off-road vehicle use for immigration, smuggling, and security of the United States-Mexico border has prompted concerns about long-term human impacts on sensitive desert ecosystems. To help managers identify areas susceptible to soil erosion from vehicle disturbances, we developed a series of erosion potential models based on factors from the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), with particular focus on the management factor (P-factor) and vegetation cover (C-factor). To better express the vulnerability of soils to human disturbances, a soil compaction index (applied as the P-factor) was calculated as the difference in saturated hydrologic conductivity (Ks) between disturbed and undisturbed soils, which was then scaled up to remote sensing-based maps of vehicle tracks and digital soils maps. The C-factor was improved using a satellite-based vegetation index, which was better correlated with estimated ground cover (r2 = 0.77) than data derived from regional land cover maps (r2 = 0.06). RUSLE factors were normalized to give equal weight to all contributing factors, which provided more management-specific information on vulnerable areas where vehicle compaction of sensitive soils intersects with steep slopes and low vegetation cover. Resulting spatial data on vulnerability and erosion potential provide land managers with information to identify critically disturbed areas and potential restoration sites where off-road driving should be restricted to reduce further degradation.

Use of Landsat Land Surface Temperature and Vegetation Indices for Monitoring Drought in the Salt Lake Basin Area, Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Osman Orhan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of this paper is to investigate multitemporal land surface temperature (LST changes by using satellite remote sensing data. The study included a real-time field work performed during the overpass of Landsat-5 satellite on 21/08/2011 over Salt Lake, Turkey. Normalized vegetation index (NDVI, vegetation condition index (VCI, and temperature vegetation index (TVX were used for evaluating drought impact over the region between 1984 and 2011. In the image processing step, geometric and radiometric correction procedures were conducted to make satellite remote sensing data comparable with in situ measurements carried out using thermal infrared thermometer supported by hand-held GPS. The results showed that real-time ground and satellite remote sensing data were in good agreement with correlation coefficient (R2 values of 0.90. The remotely sensed and treated satellite images and resulting thematic indices maps showed that dramatic land surface temperature changes occurred (about 2∘C in the Salt Lake Basin area during the 28-year period (1984–2011. Analysis of air temperature data also showed increases at a rate of 1.5–2∘C during the same period. Intensification of irrigated agriculture particularly in the southern basin was also detected. The use of water supplies, especially groundwater, should be controlled considering particularly summer drought impacts on the basin.

Shallow land burial of radioactive wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobs, D.G.; Rose, R.R.

1985-01-01

The authors discuss low-level, solid radioactive wastes buried in the ground since the startup of nuclear operations by the Manhattan Engineer District in the early 1940's. These operations were originally intended to be temporary so the primary consideration in locating land burial sites was their accessibility from the source of waste production. Early land-burial facilities were located on large reservations owned by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and operated by their prime contractors. Shallow land burial consists of excavating a trench or vault, emplacing the waste, minimizing void space within the disposal unit, and covering the waste with earth to control access to the waste. Problems encountered in the land-burial of radioactive wastes are classified into areas which relate to the environmental characteristics of the sites, waste characteristics, operational practices and control, and predictive capability. The most serious environmentally related problems involve water management. Water provides primary vehicle for both erosional processes, which affect the structural integrity of the waste trenches, and for the migration of radionuclides. Although there is consensus that the current level of off-site movement of radionuclides from operating burial grounds does not constitute an immediate health hazard, there is less certainty with respect to the ability of the facilities to provide long-term containment and isolation

Appraisal of Phlebotomus argentipes habitat suitability using a remotely sensed index in the kala-azar endemic focus of Bihar, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shreekant Kesari

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Visceral leishmaniasis, or kala-azar, is recognised as a serious emerging public health problem in India. In this study, environmental parameters, such as land surface temperature (LST and renormalised difference vegetation indices (RDVI, were used to delineate the association between environmental variables and Phlebotomus argentipes abundance in a representative endemic region of Bihar, India. The adult P. argentipes were collected between September 2009-February 2010 using the hand-held aspirator technique. The distribution of P. argentipes was analysed with the LST and RDVI of the peak and lean seasons. The association between environmental covariates and P. argentipes density was analysed a multivariate linear regression model. The sandfly density at its maximum in September, whereas the minimum density was recorded in January. The regression model indicated that the season, minimum LST, mean LST and mean RDVI were the best environmental covariates for the P. argentipes distribution. The final model indicated that nearly 74% of the variance of sandfly density could be explained by these environmental covariates. This approach might be useful for mapping and predicting the distribution of P. argentipes, which may help the health agencies that are involved in the kala-azar control programme focus on high-risk areas.

A personal airbag system for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Do, Sydney; de Weck, Olivier

2012-12-01

Airbag-based methods for crew impact attenuation have been highlighted as a potential simple, lightweight means of enabling safe land-landings for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, and the next generation of ballistic shaped spacecraft. To investigate the feasibility of this concept during a nominal 7.62 m/s Orion landing, a full-scale personal airbag system 24% lighter than the Orion baseline has been developed, and subjected to 38 drop tests on land. Through this effort, the system has demonstrated the ability to maintain the risk of injury to an occupant during a 7.85 m/s, 0° impact angle land-landing to within the NASA specified limit of 0.5%. In accomplishing this, the personal airbag system concept has been proven to be feasible. Moreover, the obtained test results suggest that by implementing anti-bottoming airbags to prevent direct contact between the system and the landing surface, the system performance during landings with 0° impact angles can be further improved, by at least a factor of two. Additionally, a series of drop tests from the nominal Orion impact angle of 30° indicated that severe injury risk levels would be sustained beyond impact velocities of 5 m/s. This is a result of the differential stroking of the airbags within the system causing a shearing effect between the occupant seat structure and the spacecraft floor, removing significant stroke from the airbags.

Modeling the Operation of a Platoon of Amphibious Vehicles for Support of Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E)

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Gaver, Donald

2001-01-01

...) of the Marine Corps' prospective Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAAV). The model's emphasis is on suitability issues such as Operational Availability in an on-land (after ocean transit) mission region...

Mobile source CO2 mitigation through smart growth development and vehicle fleet hybridization.

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, Brian; Mednick, Adam C; Holloway, Tracey; Spak, Scott N

2009-03-15

This paper presents the results of a study on the effectiveness of smart growth development patterns and vehicle fleet hybridization in reducing mobile source emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) across 11 major metropolitan regions of the Midwestern U.S. over a 50-year period. Through the integration of a vehicle travel activity modeling framework developed by researchers atthe Oak Ridge National Laboratory with small area population projections, we model mobile source emissions of CO2 associated with alternative land development and technology change scenarios between 2000 and 2050. Our findings suggest that under an aggressive smart growth scenario, growth in emissions expected to occur under a business as usual scenario is reduced by 34%, while the full dissemination of hybrid-electric vehicles throughout the light vehicle fleet is found to offset the expected growth in emissions by 97%. Our results further suggest that high levels of urban densification could achieve reductions in 2050 CO2 emissions equivalent to those attainable through the full dissemination of hybrid-electric vehicle technologies.

Integrating small satellite communication in an autonomous vehicle network: A case for oceanography

Science.gov (United States)

Guerra, André G. C.; Ferreira, António Sérgio; Costa, Maria; Nodar-López, Diego; Aguado Agelet, Fernando

2018-04-01

Small satellites and autonomous vehicles have greatly evolved in the last few decades. Hundreds of small satellites have been launched with increasing functionalities, in the last few years. Likewise, numerous autonomous vehicles have been built, with decreasing costs and form-factor payloads. Here we focus on combining these two multifaceted assets in an incremental way, with an ultimate goal of alleviating the logistical expenses in remote oceanographic operations. The first goal is to create a highly reliable and constantly available communication link for a network of autonomous vehicles, taking advantage of the small satellite lower cost, with respect to conventional spacecraft, and its higher flexibility. We have developed a test platform as a proving ground for this network, by integrating a satellite software defined radio on an unmanned air vehicle, creating a system of systems, and several tests have been run successfully, over land. As soon as the satellite is fully operational, we will start to move towards a cooperative network of autonomous vehicles and small satellites, with application in maritime operations, both in-situ and remote sensing.

Apollo 16 Lunar Module 'Orion' at the Descartes landing site

Science.gov (United States)

1972-01-01

The Apollo 16 Lunar Module 'Orion' is part of the lunar scene at the Descartes landing site, as seen in the reproduction taken from a color television transmission made by the color TV camera mounted on the Lunar Roving Vehicle. Note the U.S. flag deployed on the left. This picture was made during the second Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA-2).

Mapping paddy rice planting areas through time series analysis of MODIS land surface temperature and vegetation index data.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Geli; Xiao, Xiangming; Dong, Jinwei; Kou, Weili; Jin, Cui; Qin, Yuanwei; Zhou, Yuting; Wang, Jie; Menarguez, Michael Angelo; Biradar, Chandrashekhar

2015-08-01

Knowledge of the area and spatial distribution of paddy rice is important for assessment of food security, management of water resources, and estimation of greenhouse gas (methane) emissions. Paddy rice agriculture has expanded rapidly in northeastern China in the last decade, but there are no updated maps of paddy rice fields in the region. Existing algorithms for identifying paddy rice fields are based on the unique physical features of paddy rice during the flooding and transplanting phases and use vegetation indices that are sensitive to the dynamics of the canopy and surface water content. However, the flooding phenomena in high latitude area could also be from spring snowmelt flooding. We used land surface temperature (LST) data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor to determine the temporal window of flooding and rice transplantation over a year to improve the existing phenology-based approach. Other land cover types (e.g., evergreen vegetation, permanent water bodies, and sparse vegetation) with potential influences on paddy rice identification were removed (masked out) due to their different temporal profiles. The accuracy assessment using high-resolution images showed that the resultant MODIS-derived paddy rice map of northeastern China in 2010 had a high accuracy (producer and user accuracies of 92% and 96%, respectively). The MODIS-based map also had a comparable accuracy to the 2010 Landsat-based National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) of China in terms of both area and spatial pattern. This study demonstrated that our improved algorithm by using both thermal and optical MODIS data, provides a robust, simple and automated approach to identify and map paddy rice fields in temperate and cold temperate zones, the northern frontier of rice planting.

Accelerated Lane-Changing Trajectory Planning of Automated Vehicles with Vehicle-to-Vehicle Collaboration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haijian Bai

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Considering the complexity of lane changing using automated vehicles and the frequency of turning lanes in city settings, this paper aims to generate an accelerated lane-changing trajectory using vehicle-to-vehicle collaboration (V2VC. Based on the characteristics of accelerated lane changing, we used a polynomial method and cooperative strategies for trajectory planning to establish a lane-changing model under different degrees of collaboration with the following vehicle in the target lane by considering vehicle kinematics and comfort requirements. Furthermore, considering the shortcomings of the traditional elliptical vehicle and round vehicle models, we established a rectangular vehicle model with collision boundary conditions by analysing the relationships between the possible collision points and the outline of the vehicle. Then, we established a simulation model for the accelerated lane-changing process in different environments under different degrees of collaboration. The results show that, by using V2VC, we can achieve safe accelerated lane-changing trajectories and simultaneously satisfy the requirements of vehicle kinematics and comfort control.

Adaptive magnetorheological seat suspension for the expeditionary fighting vehicle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hiemenz, G J; Hu, W; Wereley, N M

2009-01-01

The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) is an amphibious vehicle designed to operate through harsh conditions and at much higher speeds than its predecessors. These unique capabilities and broadly varying operational conditions lead to a complex design and human factors scenario for the forward seating positions that cannot be solved using conventional passive seat suspension systems. Injurious shock loads transmitted to the occupants when traversing over water in high sea states and/or at high speeds, as well as harmful shock and vibration transmitted to the occupants when the vehicle is travelling over land, pose a threat to occupant health and significantly limit mission duration. In this study, a semi-active magnetorheological (MR) seat suspension is developed which adapts to broadly varying operational conditions, as well as occupant weight, to provide optimal protection of EFV occupants. It is shown that this MR seat suspension system will reduce the shock and vibration transmitted to the occupant by up to 33% and 65%, respectively, as compared to the existing passive suspension.

Adaptive magnetorheological seat suspension for the expeditionary fighting vehicle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hiemenz, G J [Techno-Sciences, Inc., 11750 Beltsville Dr. Ste. 300, Beltsville, MD 20705 (United States); Hu, W; Wereley, N M [Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20712 (United States)], E-mail: greg@technosci.com, E-mail: wereley@umd.edu

2009-02-01

The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) is an amphibious vehicle designed to operate through harsh conditions and at much higher speeds than its predecessors. These unique capabilities and broadly varying operational conditions lead to a complex design and human factors scenario for the forward seating positions that cannot be solved using conventional passive seat suspension systems. Injurious shock loads transmitted to the occupants when traversing over water in high sea states and/or at high speeds, as well as harmful shock and vibration transmitted to the occupants when the vehicle is travelling over land, pose a threat to occupant health and significantly limit mission duration. In this study, a semi-active magnetorheological (MR) seat suspension is developed which adapts to broadly varying operational conditions, as well as occupant weight, to provide optimal protection of EFV occupants. It is shown that this MR seat suspension system will reduce the shock and vibration transmitted to the occupant by up to 33% and 65%, respectively, as compared to the existing passive suspension.

Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Entry, Descent, and Landing Instrumentation (MEDLI): Complete Flight Data Set

Science.gov (United States)

Cheatwood, F. McNeil; Bose, Deepak; Karlgaard, Christopher D.; Kuhl, Christopher A.; Santos, Jose A.; Wright, Michael J.

2014-01-01

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) entry vehicle (EV) successfully entered the Mars atmosphere and landed the Curiosity rover safely on the surface of the planet in Gale crater on August 6, 2012. MSL carried the MSL Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) Instrumentation (MEDLI). MEDLI delivered the first in-depth understanding of the Mars entry environments and the response of the entry vehicle to those environments. MEDLI was comprised of three major subsystems: the Mars Entry Atmospheric Data System (MEADS), the MEDLI Integrated Sensor Plugs (MISP), and the Sensor Support Electronics (SSE). Ultimately, the entire MEDLI sensor suite consisting of both MEADS and MISP provided measurements that were used for trajectory reconstruction and engineering validation of aerodynamic, atmospheric, and thermal protection system (TPS) models in addition to Earth-based systems testing procedures. This report contains in-depth hardware descriptions, performance evaluation, and data information of the three MEDLI subsystems.

Use of UAV-Borne Spectrometer for Land Cover Classification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)