Earth Sciences Commons^™

Pastoral Lease Assessment Using Geospatial Analysis, T P. Robinson, P E. Novelly, R Corner, Philip Thomas, A Russell-Browm

Resource management technical reports

Seven remote sensing based Vegetation Indices (NDSVI, STVI-3, NDVI, Green + Red, Red, Land Monitor and STVI-1) were tested for their potential to discriminate between “poor” and “good” range condition assessments in Western Australia’s pastoral rangelands. Indices were computed using the Australian Greenhouse Office National Carbon Accounting System (AGO NCAS) repository of calibrated Landsat TM/ETM+ mosaics. Discrimination potential was assessed at two levels of stratification – station level (identical to the stratification used to collect the traverse data), and functional group level (an aggregation of similar land systems);

Chlorophyll-Based Approach For Remote Estimation Of Crop Gross Primary Production: From In Situ Measurements To Satellite Imagery, Yi Peng

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The synoptic and accurate quantification of crop gross primary production (GPP) is essential for studying carbon budgets in croplands and monitoring crop status. The objective of this dissertation is to develop a quantitative technique to estimate crop GPP using remotely sensed data collected from close range to satellite altitudes. In this study, a model based on a recently developed paradigm, which relates crop GPP to a product of total crop chlorophyll content and incident radiation affecting vegetation photosynthesis, was justified for the remote estimation of GPP in crops. The model was tested with ground-observed incoming photosynthetically active radiation (PAR_{in …}

Remote Sensing Analysis Of Hydrological Functionality Of Playa Wetlands Using Landsat Tm/Etm+ Data, Benjamin F. Grover

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

A playa wetland’s ability to retain moisture and water has the greatest influence on the ecological and hydrological functionality of the playa. In this project, Landsat TM/ETM+ satellite imagery was analyzed to determine whether it could be used to detect hydrological functionality of playa wetlands based on their temporal ability to retain soil moisture and water. The project consisted of a ground truth study in which soil moisture, water content, and vegetation data was gathered from the area and related to the satellite imagery pixel values. With this data, a maximum likelihood classifier was created using the mean pixel values …

Slides: Air Monitoring And Litigation Update, John Jacus

Air Quality Impacts from Oil and Gas Development (January 27)

Presenter: John Jacus, Partner, Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP, reviews recent litigation aimed at oil and gas development activities with respect to air emissions impacts, and also several recent and ongoing studies and ambient monitoring efforts focused upon air emissions from oil and gas activities

23 slides

Holocene House Hunting: An Application Of Satellite Image Analysis Towards Locating Prehistoric Archeological Sites In Alaska's Brooks Range, Joseph Keeney

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this study, satellite image analysis was applied to archeological sites at Lake Matcharak in the Brooks Range of Alaska. The Goal was to test whether or not satellite remote sensing, which has been successful in locating large-size archeological features, could be applied to small-size prehistoric features found in Arctic Alaska. Using 1-m resolution IKONOS and 30-m resolution ASTER DEM data, vegetation indices (NDVI and tasseled cap) and slope were generated and stacked into one image. Supervised and unsupervised classifications were then applied to the resulting image to look for spectral/slope characteristics that were unique to known site locations at …

Infrasound As Upper Atmospheric Monitor, Jelle Daniel Assink

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding and specification of the higher altitudes of the atmosphere with global coverage over all local times is hampered by the challenges of obtaining direct measurements in the upper atmosphere. Methods to measure the properties of the atmosphere above the stratopause is an active area of scientific research. In this thesis, we revisit the use of infrasound as a passive remote sensing technique for the upper atmosphere. Signals from the Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador are used to investigate the behavior of the upper atmosphere. Depending on the atmospheric conditions, stratospheric, mesospheric and thermospheric arrivals are observed during intervals of explosive …

Observation Of Sulfate Aerosols And So₂ From The Sarychev Volcanic Eruption Using Data From The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (Ace), D. Doeringer, A. Eldering, C. D. Boone, G. González Abad, P. F. Bernath

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

[1] Infrared spectra measured by the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) on the SCISAT satellite were used to analyze the Sarychev volcanic aerosol after the eruption in June 2009. Evidence of the Sarychev eruptions was first detected in July 2009 from enhanced SO₂ concentrations and atmospheric extinction. By February 2010, the atmosphere had returned to pre-Sarychev conditions. In July 2009, the volcanic plume was found between 8.5 km and 17.5 km in altitude at mid- and high latitudes (55°N–70°N). The first SO₂ and sulfate aerosol retrievals carried out using the infrared solar occultation spectra recorded with …

Process-Evaluation Of Tropospheric Humidity Simulated By General Circulation Models Using Water Vapor Isotopic Observations: 2. Using Isotopic Diagnostics To Understand The Mid And Upper Tropospheric Moist Bias In The Tropics And Subtropics, Camille Risi, David Noone, John Worden, Christian Frankenberg, Gabriele Stiller, Michael Kiefer, Bernd Funke, Kaley Walker, Peter Bernath, Matthias Schneider, Sandrine Bony, Jeonghoon Lee, Derek Brown, Christophe Sturm

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Evaluating the representation of processes controlling tropical and subtropical tropospheric relative humidity (RH) in atmospheric general circulation models (GCMs) is crucial to assess the credibility of predicted climate changes. GCMs have long exhibited a moist bias in the tropical and subtropical mid and upper troposphere, which could be due to the mis-representation of cloud processes or of the large-scale circulation, or to excessive diffusion during water vapor transport. The goal of this study is to use observations of the water vapor isotopic ratio to understand the cause of this bias. We compare the three-dimensional distribution of the water vapor isotopic …

Landscape Controls On The Timing Of Spring, Autumn, And Growing Season Length In Mid-Atlantic Forests, Andrew J. Elmore, Steven M. Guinn, Burke J. Minsley, Andrew Richardson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The timing of spring leaf development, trajectories of summer leaf area, and the timing of autumn senescence have profound impacts to the water, carbon, and energy balance of ecosystems, and are likely influenced by global climate change. Limited field-based and remote-sensing observations have suggested complex spatial patterns related to geographic features that influence climate. However, much of this variability occurs at spatial scales that inhibit a detailed understanding of even the dominant drivers. Recognizing these limitations, we used nonlinear inverse modeling of medium-resolution remote sensing data, organized by day of year, to explore the influence of climate-related landscape factors on …

A Remote Sensing Approach To Characterize The Hydrogeology Of Mountainous Areas: Application To The Quito Aquifer System (Qas), Ecuador, Miriam Rios-Sanchez

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Climate change, intensive use, and population growth are threatening the availability of water resources. New sources of water, better knowledge of existing ones, and improved water management strategies are of paramount importance. Ground water is often considered as primary water source due to its advantages in terms of quantity, spatial distribution, and natural quality. Remote sensing techniques afford scientists a unique opportunity to characterize landscapes in order to assess groundwater resources, particularly in tectonically influenced areas. Aquifers in volcanic basins are considered the most productive aquifers in Latin America. Although topography is considered the primary driving force for groundwater flows …

Landsat Remote Sensing Data As An Alternative Approach For Geological Mapping In Tanzania: A Case Study In The Rungwe Volcanic Province, South-Western Tanzania, E. E. Mshiu

Tanzania Journal of Science

Rungwe Volcanic Province (RVP) is mostly covered by extrusive rocks that overlain the Precambrian basement. The use of Landsat data in this area has revealed the need of effective use of these data in geological mapping programs in Tanzania. Landsat band ratios 5/1, 3/7, 5/7 and 5/4 as well as R: G: B composite images 7:4:1, 7:5:4, 1/3:5/7:3/5 and 4/5:6/7:4/6 played an important role in identifying different rock types in the study area. Ratio images managed clearly to distinguish between mafic and felsic rocks whereby two lithological blocks were identified, Block 1 covers a combination of intrusive and metamorphic rocks …

Assessing Flood Inundation Mapping With The Use Of A Dem And Gis Along The Missouri River At Sioux City, Iowa, Kathryn A. Pfaffle

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

There are various methods that are used to predict flood inundation. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provided inundation maps for the 2011 Missouri River flood event that did not utilized aerial photo imagery. This study assesses the suitability of using a digital elevation model (DEM) in combination with aerial photo imagery within a geographic information system to predict flood inundation mapping along the Missouri River in Sioux City, Iowa. GPS data was collected during the height of this flood event in order to validate the positional accuracy of the DEM. Using the GPS receiver’s accuracy standards to determine the …

Relationships Between Snow Pack, Soil Moisture, And Forest Greenness: Implications For Smap, Jordan Anderson, Noah Molotch, Bin Guan

STAR Program Research Presentations

Snowpack in the arid/semi-arid western United States is a critical element of the hydrologic cycle as water is stored in the winter and released in the spring and summer. The warmer seasons rely heavily on this water source for various purposes including economic (farming), environmental and recreational demands. Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors were used in this project to measure seasonal variability in global vegetation phenology and productivity. MODIS data was used to calculate Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to estimate net primary production of subalpine forests in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Preliminary results indicate that variability in forest …

Evidence Of Atmospheric Gravity Waves During The 2008 Eruption Of Okmok Volcano From Seismic And Remote Sensing Observations, S. De Angelis, Stephen R. Mcnutt, P. W. Webley

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Okmok volcano erupted on July 12, 2008, following an 11-year hiatus. Detailed inspection of the syn-eruptive seismograms revealed the presence of an ultra long-period mode at a frequency of 1.7 mHz, which is not a characteristic of the background seismic noise at Okmok. Data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) and National Aeronautical and Space Administration Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors displayed the propagation of a vigorous ash-and-steam plume up to about 17 km above sea level. We suggest that the observed ultra long-period signals represent the response of the seismometer to …

Assessing Seasonal Features Of Tropical Forests Using Remote Sensing, Roberto Bonifaz-Alfonzo

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Tropical forests are key components of the biogeochemical cycles, complex in structure, diversity and dynamics, also, tropical regions have been deforested and modified by human activities particularly for agriculture. Understanding the inter-annual and intra-annual variation dynamics of tropical regions could give valuable information on temporal characteristics of ecosystems behavior which is important for mapping and monitoring. This dissertation assesses seasonal and inter-annual changes in the tropical land cover that may be related to changes in the natural environment and/or human activities. Research was focused on the Mayan forest located in southern Mexico and Northwest Guatemala, one of the northern-most important …

Developing A Remote Sensing Algorithm For Deriving Soil Moisture From Spectral Reflectance, Santosh Rijal

Theses and Dissertations

Wet weather cycle since 1993 has brought ground water level closer to the surface of the soil in many areas in the Red River Valley (RRV) of the North basin. Many farmers have to delay spring plantation or autumn harvest due to excessive moisture in', their farmland. In such case, it becomes increasingly important to have timely and accurate information on the soil moisture conditions. Conventional soil moisture measurement techniques are point-based that results in poor spatial representation of soil moisture. Remote sensing techniques offer many potential advantages over traditional means such as repetitive coverage and areal representation. The objective …

Nir-Red Reflectance-Based Algorithms For Chlorophyll-A Estimation In Mesotrophic Inland And Coastal Waters: Lake Kinneret Case Study, Yosef Z. Yacobi, Wesley Moses, Semion Kaganovsky, Benayahu Sulimani, Bryan Leavitt, Anatoly A. Gitelson

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A variety of models have been developed for estimating chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration in turbid and productive waters. All are based on optical information in a few spectral bands in the red and near-infra-red regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The wavelength locations in the models used were meticulously tuned to provide the highest sensitivity to the presence of Chl-a and minimal sensitivity to other constituents in water. But the caveat in these models is the need for recurrent parameterization and calibration due to changes in the biophysical characteristics of water based on the location and/or time of the year. In this …

An Integrated Geographic Information Systems (Igis) Analysis And Definition Of The Tectonic Framework Of Northern Mexico, Carlos Manuel Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Crustal rupture structures reactivated in the course of the tectonic history of northern Mexico are the surface expressions of planes of weakness, in the form of simple or composite rectilinear features or slightly curved, defined as lineaments. Unless otherwise defined as strike-slip faults, lineaments are part of parallel and sub-parallel oblique convergent or oblique divergent tectonic zones cross cutting the Sierra Madre Occidental and northern Mexico, in a NW trend. These shear zones are the response to the oblique subduction of the Farallon plate beneath North America.

Kinematic analysis of five selected sites in northern Mexico, three basins and two …

Land Surface Brightness Temperature Modeling Using Solar Insolation, Haroon Stephen, Sajjad Ahmad, Thomas C. Piechota

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

Retrieval of land surface emissivity and temperature from microwave brightness temperature data is a complex problem. The diurnal variation of temperature due to the diurnal cycle of solar radiation and weather conditions makes this problem even more challenging. In this paper, we use solar radiation in modeling the temporal variation of the brightness temperature state of the surface. Solar insolation modeling is used to estimate the diurnal variation of land surface brightness temperature. Solar radiation and brightness temperature are linked through temperature of the surface which is derived based on the radiation balance equation. The temperature state model behaves consistent …

Effects Of Lightning And Other Meteorological Factors On Fire Activity In The North American Boreal Forest: Implications For Fire Weather Forecasting, David Peterson, Jun Wang, Charles Ichoku, Lorraine Remer

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

The effects of lightning and other meteorological factors on wildfire activity in the North American boreal forest are statistically analyzed during the fire seasons of 2000–2006 through an integration of the following data sets: the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) level 2 fire products, the 3-hourly 32-km gridded meteorological data from North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR), and the lightning data collected by the Canadian Lightning Detection Network (CLDN) and the Alaska Lightning Detection Network (ALDN). Positive anomalies of the 500 hPa geopotential height field, convective available potential energy (CAPE), number of cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, and the number of consecutive dry …

Benthic Ecology From Space: Optics And Net Primary Production In Seagrass And Benthic Algae Across The Great Bahama Bank, Heidi M. Dierssen, Richard C. Zimmerman, Lisa A. Drake, David J. Burdige

OES Faculty Publications

Development of repeatable and quantitative tools are necessary for determining the abundance and distribution of different types of benthic habitats, detecting changes to these ecosystems, and determining their role in the global carbon cycle. Here we used ocean color remote sensing techniques to map different major groups of primary producers and estimate net primary productivity (NPP) across Great Bahama Bank (GBB). Field investigations on the northern portion of the GBB in 2004 revealed 3 dominant types of benthic primary producers: seagrass, benthic macroalgae, and microalgae attached to sediment. Laboratory measurements of NPP ranged from barely net autotrophic for grapestone sediment …

Estimation Of Chlorophyll-A Concentration In Case Ii Waters Using Modis And Meris Data—Successes And Challenges, Wesley Moses, Anatoly Gitelson, Sergey Berdnikov, Vasiliy Povazhnyi

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

We present and discuss here the results of our work using MODIS (moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer) and MERIS (medium resolution imaging spectrometer) satellite data to estimate the concentration of chlorophyll-a (chl-a) in reservoirs of the Dnieper River and the Sea of Azov, which are typical case II waters, i.e., turbid and productive. Our objective was to test the potential of satellite remote sensing as a tool for near-real-time monitoring of chl-a distribution in these water bodies. We tested the performance of a recently developed three-band model, and its special case, a two-band model, which use the reflectance at red and …

The Emerging Role Of Lidar Remote Sensing In Coastal Research And Resource Management Full Access, John C. Brock, Samuel J. Purkis

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Knowledge of coastal elevation is an essential requirement for resource management and scientific research. Recognizing the vast potential of lidar remote sensing in coastal studies, this Special Issue includes a collection of articles intended to represent the state-of-the-art for lidar investigations of nearshore submerged and emergent ecosystems, coastal morphodynamics, and hazards due to sea-level rise and severe storms. Some current applications for lidar remote sensing described in this Special Issue include bluegreen wavelength lidar used for submarine coastal benthic environments such as coral reef ecosystems, airborne lidar used for shoreline mapping and coastal change detection, and temporal waveform-resolving lidar used …

Impacts Of Meteorological Factors On Modis-Observed Fire Activity In The North American Boreal Forest: The Role Of Lightning, David A. Peterson

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The meteorological impact on wildfire activity in the North American boreal forest during the fire seasons of 2000 – 2006 is statistically analyzed through an integration of the following data sets: the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) level 2 fire products, the 3-hourly 32-km gridded meteorological data from North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR), the instantaneous lightning data collected by the Canadian Lightning Detection Network (CLDN), and the Alaska Lightning Detection Network (ALDN). Positive anomalies of the 500 hpa geopotential height field, convective available potential energy (CAPE), number of cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, and the number of consecutive dry days are found …

Impact Of Hillslope-Scale Organization Of Topography, Soil Moisture, Soil Temperature, And Vegetation On Modeling Surface Microwave Radiation Emission, Alejandro N. Flores, Valeriy Y. Ivanov, Dara Entekhabi, Rafael L. Bras

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Microwave radiometry will emerge as an important tool for global remote sensing of near-surface soil moisture in the coming decade. In this modeling study, we find that hillslopescale topography (tens of meters) influences microwave brightness temperatures in a way that produces bias at coarser scales (kilometers). The physics underlying soil moisture remote sensing suggests that the effects of topography on brightness temperature observations are twofold: 1) the spatial distribution of vegetation, moisture, and surface and canopy temperature depends on topography and 2) topography determines the incidence angle and polarization rotation that the observing sensor makes with the local land surface. …

Soil Moisture And Water Stage Estimation Using Precipitation Radar, Sumit Puri

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In south-western United States, soil moisture data is important for drought studies in the region which is experiencing a drought for many years, whereas in South Florida, water stage data is required by hydrologists to monitor the hydrological flow in wetlands. Soil moisture data and water stage data are not sufficiently available due to sparse monitoring stations. Installation of dense measuring stations over an extended area is costly and labor intensive. Therefore, there is a need to develop an alternative method of measuring soil moisture and water stage. Microwave remote sensing has proven to be a useful tool in the …

Interannual Variations In The Opening Date Of The Prudhoe Bay Shipping Season: Links To Atmospheric And Surface Conditions, Sheldon D. Drobot, James A. Maslanik, Mark R. Anderson

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

This paper examines interannual variability in the opening date for the Prudhoe Bay shipping season (1953-2005), considers how variations in antecedent sea-ice and atmospheric conditions influence the opening date, and then develops a forecasting technique to predict whether the opening date will be early, normal, or late. Analysis of antecedent sea ice and atmospheric conditions indicates that there are significant differences in the Bering Sea ice cover as early as February in years preceding early versus late opening dates. In particular, prior to early opening years, the sea-ice cover in the southern Bering Sea is reduced in February, and as …

Volcanic Activity: Processing Of Observation And Remote Sensing Data (Vapor), Mark Wylie

Reports

The World Bank makes a very clear distinction between disasters and natural phenomena. Natural phenomena are events like volcanic eruptions. A disaster only occurs when the ability of the community to cope with natural phenomenon has been surpassed, causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses. By these definitions, volcanic eruptions do not have to lead to disasters. On November 13, 1985, the second most deadly eruption of the twentieth century occurred in Colombia. Within a few hours of the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, 23,000 people were dead because no infrastructure existed to respond to such an …

Satellite Image Processing For Biodiversity Conservation And Environmental Modeling In Kyrgyz Republic National Park, Galina N. Fet

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

There is a need for extensive surveys of living organisms at a global scale; digital data exchange and storage is an essential part of such studies. Biodiversity inventory of fungi, which play an essential role in the health of the mountainous conifer forests of a developing country – Kyrgyz Republic, was linked to the vegetation classification produced from the high-resolution satellite imagery. Terra ASTER and SRTM90 imagery was used as a base map for the ecosystem modeling of the species and habitat distribution and for the three-dimensional representation, especially valuable for the mountainous landscapes of the Ala Archa National Park. …

On The Use Of Modis Evi To Assess Gross Primary Productivity Of North American Ecosystems, Daniel A. Sims, Abdullah Rahman, Vicente D. Cordova, Bassil Z. El-Masri, Dennis D. Baldocchi, Lawrence B. Flanagan, Allen H. Goldstein, David Y. Hollinger, Laurent Misson, Russell K. Monson, Walter C. Oechel, Hans P. Schmid, Steven C. Wofsy, Liukang Xu

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

[1] Carbon flux models based on light use efficiency (LUE), such as the MOD17 algorithm, have proved difficult to parameterize because of uncertainties in the LUE term, which is usually estimated from meteorological variables available only at large spatial scales. In search of simpler models based entirely on remote‐sensing data, we examined direct relationships between the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and gross primary productivity (GPP) measured at nine eddy covariance flux tower sites across North America. When data from the winter period of inactive photosynthesis were excluded, the overall relationship between EVI and tower GPP was better than that between …