Digital Commons Network^™

Ancient Nitrogenases Are Atp Dependent, Derek F. Harris, Holly R. Rucker, Amanda K. Garcia, Zhi-Yong Yang, Scott D. Chang, Hannah Feinsilber, Betül Kaçar, Lance C. Seefeldt

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Life depends on a conserved set of chemical energy currencies that are relics of early biochemistry. One of these is ATP, a molecule that, when paired with a divalent metal ion such as Mg²⁺, can be hydrolyzed to support numerous cellular and molecular processes. Despite its centrality to extant biochemistry, it is unclear whether ATP supported the function of ancient enzymes. We investigate the evolutionary necessity of ATP by experimentally reconstructing an ancestral variant of the N₂-reducing enzyme nitrogenase. The Proterozoic ancestor is predicted to be ~540–2,300 million years old, post-dating the Great Oxidation Event. Growth …

Pollination And Seed Production Of Lavandula Angustifolia Mill. (Lamiaceae), Sam S. Ingram, Tyler M. Wilson, Joseph S. Wilson, Emma A. Ziebarth, Makenna C. Johnson, Jacob G. Young, Richard E. Carlson

Biology Faculty Publications

Lavandula angustifolia Mill., lavender, is an aromatic plant in the Lamiaceae family. Lavender is an important economic plant that is cultivated throughout the world. Previous studies have shown that the primary pollinators of lavender in Europe and North Africa are bee species, specifically Bombus spp. However, similar studies have not been previously performed in North America. The current study, on cultivated population lavender (grown from seed) in Utah (USA), found a diverse community of bees visiting lavender over a 4-week sequential and successive blooming period. The observed and identified bees were distinguished across 8 genera and 12 species, of which …

Theory-Based Science Communication At Comic Cons, Lisa Lundgren, Emily Slater, Man Zhang, Kadie Kunz, Gabriel-Philip Santos

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

The majority of research concerning science communication happens in spaces where people already have a vested interest in or knowledge of science, such as museums and science cafes. Thus, there is a gap in understanding what theory-based science communication looks like in non-science-centered spaces. This qualitative research study, which featured cosplaying science communicators at comic conventions, offers insights into what science communication practices occur within everyday spaces. We conducted observations of and semi-structured interviews with 15 cosplaying scientists, examining how they utilized effective framing and narrative structuring when communicating science at comic cons in cosplay. Across 700 coded utterances, cosplaying …

Keeping Pace With The Nasa Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem Mission, Jeremy Werdell

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

No abstract provided.

Diffraction Analysis For Blackbody Calibrations, Eric L. Shirley

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

Realistic blackbody calibrations in low-background infrared chambers involve multiple optical elements that affect radiometric throughput by diffraction at aperture and baffle perimeters. There are many aspects to the problem, including (1.) developing efficient numerical algorithms that describe wave propagation, (2.) identification of important/ unimportant optical elements and subsystems that affect results, (3.) classifying results in terms of first- and secondorder contributions to diffraction corrections on measurements, (4.) integrating results for spectral throughput over the Planck spectrum (or other weighting function) to determine outcomes of total-power measurements. Progress in all of the above has been achieved in the past, and recent …

Arcstone Invest: Calibration Of Lunar Spectral Reflectance From Space, Constantine Lukashin, G. Kopp, T. Jackson, R. Swanson, C.J. Young, R. Konopelski, T. C. Stone, M. Zeigler

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

Detecting and improving the scientific understanding of global trends in complex Earth systems, such as climate, increasingly depend on assimilating datasets from multiple instruments and platforms over multi-decadal timescales. Calibration accuracy, stability, and inter-consistency among different instruments are key to developing reliable composite data records, particularly from space-based sensors, which generally span different times and different spectral regions. Such instruments commonly carry on-board references for calibration at various wavelengths, but these increase mass and mission complexity and are subject to degradation in the space environment. Having similar radiance to Earth scenes, the Moon can be considered a natural solar diffuser …

Use Of Celestial Objects For Viirs Day-Night Band On-Orbit Calibration, Jack Xiong, Truman Wilson, Amit Angal, Hongda Chen, Kevin Vermeesch, Xu Geng

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

The VIIRS has 22 spectral bands: 14 reflective solar bands (RSB), 7 thermal emissive bands (TEB), and 1 day-night band (DNB). The DNB, with a broad banwidth of 500-900 nm, can sense reflected light from space during both day and nighttime, covering an extreme large dynamic range by collecting data at three different gain stages: low gain (LG), mid gain (MG), and high gain (HG). Apart from a broad range of remote sensing applications facilitated by the VIIRS RSB and TEB observations, its DNB nighttime observations have also enabled a number of unique applications, including monitoring and assessment of the …

Creating, Connecting, And Communicating: A Look At Social Support For Postpartum Women, Aubrey E. Jones Phd, Diana Frankenburger Msn, Bsw, Rnc-Ob, Cce, Cls

Transforming Communities

The prevalence of postpartum depression underscores the critical need for support systems for new mothers. Virtual support groups, such as the Fourth Trimester Support Group described in this paper, represent a promising avenue for addressing these challenges and providing much-needed support. This article describes the formation, activities, and evaluation of an online support group that leverages technology to foster a sense of community for new mothers. Further, the details within the case study provide a basic model for starting a similar support group.

Assessing Bias In Lunar Irradiance Model Outputs Using Nighttime Aerosol Optical Depth Retrievals, Thomas C. Stone, Natalia Kouremeti, Saulius Nevas

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

Typical lunar calibration applications utilize spectral irradiance for comparing sensors’ lunar measurements against a reference. Because the Moon’s brightness continuously changes with time and the sensor location, reference lunar irradiance values are generated for the particular Sun-Moon-viewer geometry of the instrument’s observations by computing a numerical model. Nighttime aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrievals using ground-based photometer measurements and the Langley method require accounting for changes in the Moon’s brightness over the Langley data collection period, typically 1-2 hours. Models used for lunar calibration provide the exo-atmospheric irradiances needed for the Langley analyses. The success of nighttime AOD retrievals is indicated …

Assessment Of Pace Oci Linearity Prelaunch And On-Orbit, Jeff Mcintire, Shihyan Lee, Robert E. Eplee, Gerhard Meister

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

The Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission, recently launched in February of 2024, has a payload of two polarimeters and the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI). OCI is the next generation sensor for ocean color science from low Earth orbit, drawing heritage from sensors such as MODIS, SeaWiFs, and VIIRS, but with increased spectral coverage and improved accuracy. OCI is a grating spectrometer with hyperspectral coverage from the ultraviolet (about 315 nm) to near-infrared (about 895 nm), with additional filtered channels in the short-wave infrared (940 nm – 2260 nm). In order to maintain the high levels of accuracy demanded …

Spatial Performance Analysis Of Satellite Images Using Causeways, Minsu Kim

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

A conventional method to evaluate the spatial performance of a small pixel satellite image uses a high contrast edge target. Because the largest manageable cal/val site is about 50 meter in length along the edge, the GSD of the applicable satellite image is about 2-meter or less in case of a desirable edge orientation relative to satellite orbit path. Thus, to overcome the lack of cal/val grade edge target for a larger GSD image, an alternative method is to utilize large farmland with an interface by two different crop types or different cultivation conditions. However, it is very hard to …

Post-Launch Calibration Of A Line-Of-Sight Model For Planetscope, Graham Mills

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

Planet’s medium resolution satellite imagery products are derived from a fleet of roughly 200 SuperDove CubeSats operating in low Earth orbit. Their hardware is frequently updated and the constellation replenished to ensure the availability of daily updates to the image catalog. Until now, on-orbit geometric calibration of these satellites has been limited to an initial estimation of lens distortion parameters performed during commissioning. A new line-of-sight model describes the SuperDove imaging system in greater detail, adding rotational parameters for boresight calibration and incorporating corrections for pointing errors in the attitude control system. Using historical imagery we study the temporal stability …

Multiple Lines Of Evidence For Bias In The Oco-2 Weak Co2 Channel (1598-1618 Nm), Robert Rosenberg, Lars Chapsky, Dejian Fu, Thomas Kurosu, Robert Nelson, Le Kuai, Abhishek Chatterjee, Vivienne Payne, Aronne Merrelli

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) was launched on July 2, 2014, and completed in-orbit checkout on September 6, 2014. To enable precise retrievals of the column-average carbon dioxide dry air mole fraction (XCO2), high-resolution spectra of reflected sunlight are acquired in three infrared channels. Channel 1, centered at 766 nm, is used to measure molecular oxygen and solar-induced fluorescence. Channels 2 and 3, centered at 1608 nm and 2064 nm, measure weak and strong carbon dioxide absorption bands. The three grating spectrometers share a common entrance telescope with a 0.8˚ field of regard, divided into 8 along-slit footprints. The …

Planet’S Hyperspectral Constellation: First Light Campaign And On-Orbit Calibration, Geert Barentsen, Joseph Harris, Hannah Bourne, Justin Haag, Emily Martin, Caroline Pritchett, Paul Giuliano, Dominic Leduc, Keely Roth, Alan Collison, Graham Mills, Arin Jumpasut

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

No abstract provided.

Nasa Scifli’S Calibrated Mission Portfolio, Matthew Boyda, Carey Scott, Hyun Jung Kim, Kylel Scott

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

The Scientifically calibrated In-Flight Imagery Team (SCIFLI) from NASA Langley Research Center has developed a novel, customizable multi-spectral EO/IR sensor package called SAMI – the SCIFLI Airborne Multispectral Imager. A SAMI Calibration Cart (SCC) was designed to facilitate thorough radiometric characterization and calibration of the SAMI system. This presentation will highlight the development of the SAMI sensor and calibration cart, and the radiometrically calibrated mission results from SCIFLI’s most recent high-profile portfolio.

Calibration Considerations And Scoring The Quality Of Calibration, Joe Tansock

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

This paper gives an introduction to “Guidelines for Radiometric Calibration of Electro-Optical Instruments for Remote Sensing” and includes a typical calibration timeline, discussion on why calibration is necessary, a couple examples of calibration success, typical imaging radiometer calibration parameters, lessons learned considerations, why on-board sources are important to calibration, examples on-board calibration source types, and considerations for scoring the quality of calibration.

Observations For A Changing Planet: Noaa’S Future Geostationary Satellites, Pam Sullivan

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

No abstract provided.

On-Orbit Temporal Trending Of The Oli Radiance Scale Cross-Cal For The Landsat Mini-Constellation Using Solar Diffuser Panels, Raviv Levy, Kurtis Thome

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

The on-orbit Landsat 9 Operational Land Imager (OLI) absolute radiometric calibration was adjusted during commissioning to improve the agreement with Landsat 8 OLI based on five days of underfly collections. These adjustments were cross-checked with data from a near simultaneous solar diffuser collects made with both platforms. Post commissioning the two platforms follow orbits that set their ground tracks to be eight days apart, limiting direct earth scene comparisons between the two OLIs. The current work describes an approach relying on the solar diffuser data to evaluate the radiometric consistency between the two OLI radiance scales for the period of …

Copernicus Sentinel-2 And Sentinel-3 Radiometric Performance: Inter-Comparison With Landsat8/ 9 And Aqua-Modis Using Vicarious Methods Over Desert-Pics And Dcc Targets, B. Alhammoud, L. Rivoire, A. Deru, S. Clerc, V. Boccia, S. Dransfield

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

As part of the Copernicus program of the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA) developed and operates the Sentinel-2 constellation (S2A, S2B); and in cooperation with the EUMETSAT, they are operating the Sentinel-3 constellation (S3A, S3B). Both are Earth Observation optical missions, where the MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) is carried on board Sentinel-2 mission and the Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) and Sea Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR) are on board the Sentinel-3 mission. In the framework of the Copernicus Optical Mission Performance Cluster (OPT-MPC), we use the Database for Imaging Multispectral Instruments and Tools for Radiometric Inter-comparison (DIMITRI) …

Initial Application Of Intra-Fleet Simultaneous Crossovers For Rapid Commissioning Of New Satellites, Alan Collison, Graham Mills, Hannah Bourne, Arin Jumpasut

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

Planet owns and operates a large fleet of medium resolution CubeSats. These satellites, named Doves and SuperDoves, provide monitoring of the world’s full land surface on a near-daily basis. For accurate production of radiance based imagery, SuperDoves are calibrated on orbit using Sentinel-2 as reference due to the close similarity between the spectral responses of their corresponding spectral bands. As older satellites age out of production use due to orbital decay or technical issues, new satellites are launched to maintain coverage. When launching these new satellites, it is important to execute commissioning activities quickly so that coverage continuity is maintained …

Inter-Calibrating Ceres Instrument Sw Radiances Using Deep Convective Clouds (Dcc) Within The Same Sun-Synchronous Orbitsun-Synchronous Orbit, David Doelling, Conor Haney, Moguo Sun, Kyle Itterly, Arun Gopalan, Mohan Shankar

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

The NASA CERES EBAF product provides the scientific community observed TOA fluxes to monitor the Earth’s energy imbalance and validate climate models. To provide a continuous EBAF record, inter-calibration of the Terra, Aqua, and NOAA20 CERES instrument observations is necessary. Currently, the CERES project uses Aqua SNOs to inter-calibrate the NOAA20 and SNPP CERES instruments. The Aqua spacecraft has drifted outside of the 1:30 PM sun-synchronous orbit, limiting the time matched observations with either NOAA20 or SNPP sensors. Deep convective clouds (DCC) are the most Lambertian, brightest, tropical Earth invariant targets located at the tropopause. Since DCC are not susceptible …

Fully Automated Earth Observation Imagery Quality Assurance, Matthias Kolbe, Duy Nguyen, Maurice Schonert, Arne De Wall

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

Planet currently operates a fleet of over 200 satellites consisting of medium resolution monitoring SuperDove cubesats and high resolution tasking SkySats, with future very high resolution and hyperspectral tasking missions in development. In terms of image quality, this requires a processing pipeline extracting QA metrics, which is capable of handling these differences to ensure overall image quality stability.

Multiple teams within Planet are involved in our quality assurance concept, starting from system design and the manufacturing process, through payload maintenance, sensor and pixel calibration, and ending with a final quality assessment step independently from the processing pipeline and taking the …

Noaa-21 Viirs Thermal Emissive Band (Teb) On-Orbit Performance, Wenhui Wang, Slawomir Blonski, Taeyoung Choi

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) onboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - 21 (NOAA-21) satellite was successfully launched on November 10, 2022. NOAA-21 VIIRS Cold Focal Plane Assembly (CFPA) temperature reached 82 K on February 10, 2023, and the Thermal Emissive Band (TEB) Sensor Data Record (SDR) products became available. This study presents NOAA-21 VIIRS TEB on-orbit performance.

Differently from the VIIRS onboard S-NPP and NOAA-20 satellites, NOAA-21 VIIRS TEBs have experienced three phases of on-orbit responsivity changes during its early mission. The first phase is from launch to March 3, 2023. Small degradation in the TEB …

Global Space-Based Inter-Calibration System: An Operational Satellite Monitoring Framework, Manik Bali

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

The Global Space-Based Inter-calibration System (GSICS) is a sixteen consortium of satellite operating agencies that have come together to monitor in-orbit satellite sensors by comparing them with stable references.

GSICS has developed and deployed algorithms that can leverage the stability of instruments such as CrIS, VIIRS, ATMS, and IASI by multiple methods. These include Simultaneous Nadir Overpass (SNO), Ray-Matching, and Indirect Double difference comparisons to monitor in-orbit geostationary satellites, including the GOES, Meteosat, FY-2/4, Himawari, and COMS geostationary series. GSICS contributors provide over 76 bias monitoring products for operational satellites. These are disseminated through its Product Catalog (Product Catalog). Each …

Who Gets To Decolonize: A Reflection On The Importance Of Positionality In The Decolonization Of Digital Learning Spaces And Learning Design, Rebecca Y. Bayeck, Tutaleni Iita Asino

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Decolonization as a term and concept gained prominence in the 20th century as new nations emerged from the cessation of the global colonial project which primarily saw European countries occupying different parts of the world. In modern times, interests in decolonization have taken different forms, particularly in learning design and digital learning spaces. In the digital space, researchers mainly suggest introducing indigenous perspectives and cultural lenses in the design of digital learning environments and the design of emerging technologies that embed indigenous perspectives (Nede, 2023). This reflexive essay discusses the importance of positionality in digital learning spaces and learning/instructional design. …

Self-Calibration Of Photodiodes Using The Dual-Mode Method, Johanne Solheim, Eivind Bardalen, Jarle Gran

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

In 2014, White et al suggested to combine the measurement principle of the two primary standards for optical power measurements [1]; the cryogenic radiometer and the predictable quantum efficient detector (PQED). The result was the dual mode operated induced junction photodiode, for which the internal losses of the diode are estimated by comparing the two modes of operation, i.e. electrical substitution and photocurrent measurements. During the electrical substitution measurements, the optical power is found through the temperature at the diode, which is measured using a thermistor located close to the diode. The diode is cycled between electrical heating (forward bias) …

The Star-Cc-Ogse Family – A Collection Of Eo Sensor Calibration Facilities, Paul Green, Clemens Rammeloo, Josh Schofield, Jerry Golden

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

STAR-cc-OGSE (Spectroscopically Tuneable Absolute Radiometric Calibration & Characterisation Optical Ground Support Equipment) is an NPL developed facility, designed as a universal pre-flight calibration and characterisation system for satellite sensors operating in the UV-VIS-SWIR (270 nm – 2500 nm) wavelength range. The STAR-cc-OGSE has the capability to provide geometric performance testing and SI-traceable radiometric calibration to better than 0.5 % (k = 1). SI-traceability is achieved via a vacuum compatible reference detector which is installable adjacent to the sensor under test, providing continuous illumination configuration monitoring during thermal vacuum chamber operations. The STAR-cc-OGSE has recently returned to NPL from successful deployment …

Development Of Multi-Edge Slant Target For Unlocalized Mtf Measurement Of Airborne Imaging System Payloads, Kylel Scott, Carey Scott, Hyun Jung Kim, Matthew Boyda

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

Calibration of imaging instruments is a critical step in effectively characterizing imaging data. A comprehensive characterization of an imaging system provides valuable insight into the overall uncertainties in the results derived from the raw data collected. The Scientifically Calibrated In-Flight Imagery (SCIFLI) team (based at NASA Langley Research Center) has designed, built, tested, and successfully flown the optical payload known as the SCIFLI Airborne Multispectral Imager (SAMI). SAMI is a multispectral imaging payload, complete with sensor configurations for the Ultraviolet-Visible spectrum as well as Near- Infrared, Shortwave Infrared, and Midwave Infrared bands and is fitted with various optical hardware designed …

Glamr Calibration As An Absolute Radiometric Calibration Approach, Zhipeng (Ben) Wang, Kurtis Thome, Brian Wenny, Raviv Levy

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

The pursuit of highly accurate remote sensing instrumentation has driven the need for an improved, SI-traceable radiometric calibration (RadCal) methodology. A notable example of this necessity is the calibration of the Hyperspectral Imager for Climate Science (HySICS) instrument under the CLARREO pathfinder project, with a stringent calibration requirement of 0.3% (k=1), which is much lower than the existing state-of-the-art instruments. Detector-based absolute RadCal in the solar reflective region has become possible with the implementation of the tunable laser source. One such system is the GLAMR system developed at NASA Goddard that can scan the spectral range of 340-2500 nm. RadCal …

A System For Pre-Launch Characterization Of Imaging Sensors Using Tunable Laser Sources, Allan W. Smith, Steven Lorentz

The Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing Annual Meeting (CALCON)

L-1 Standards and Technology has developed a detector-based calibration system utilizing tunable laser sources for characterizing moderate aperture imagers. Currently, the spectral coverage is set by reference detector standards, calibrated by NIST, that cover the range from 360 nm to 1775 nm. Future expansion is possible as the tunable lasers produce light from below 300 nm to greater than 2500 nm. The sources consist of a large Spectralon integrating sphere with a 180 mm diameter exit port and, for increased radiance, collimators/projectors with a 170 mm diameter aperture that use a smaller integrating sphere. The sources reside on a large …