Geography Commons^™

Atmospheric Water Vapor Lidar Measurements Using Analog And Photon Counting Techniques, Anuj Maheshkumar Shah

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Atmospheric water vapor measurements are essential for the understanding of Earth's weather and radiation budget, along with the water cycle. The remote sensing Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) technique is a commanding method used for water vapor measurements from aircraft, spaceborne, and ground-based platforms. The new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) water vapor DIAL system provides great feasibility due to the weight and size limitations. The system has significantly less weight, power consumption, and noise presence, thus making it great for UAV applications.

This thesis discusses a UAV water vapor DIAL system that was designed, developed, and evaluated. The research effort was …

Search And Recovery Of The Space Shuttle Columbia: A Geospatial 1st Responder Perspective, Jeffrey M. Williams

Faculty Publications

A first person account of the Texas geospatial volunteers and their efforts to recover the remains of the Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew lost over eastern Texas and western Louisiana on February 1st, 2003.

New Evidence For Enhanced Ocean Primary Production Triggered By Tropical Cyclone, I. Lin, W. Timothy Liu, Chun-Chieh Wu, George T. F. Wong, Chuanmin Hu, Zhiqiang Chen, Wen-Der Liang, Yih Yang, Kon-Kee Liu

OES Faculty Publications

[1] New evidence based on recent satellite data is presented to provide a rare opportunity in quantifying the long-speculated contribution of tropical cyclones to enhance ocean primary production. In July 2000, moderate cyclone Kai-Tak passed over the South China Sea (SCS). During its short 3-day stay, Kai-Tak triggered an average 30-fold increase in surface chlorophyll-a concentration. The estimated carbon fixation resulting from this event alone is 0.8 Mt, or 2-4% of SCS's annual new production. Given an average of 14 cyclones passing over the SCS annually, we suggest the long-neglected contribution of tropical cyclones to SCS's annual new production may …

Commercial Regional Space/Airborne Imaging, Ugur Akyazi, Ali Durmus, Birce Boga Bakirli, Arif Arin

Theses and Dissertations

In this work goal programming is used to solve a minimum cost multicommodity network flow problem with multiple goals. A single telecommunication network with multiple commodities (e.g., voice, video, data, etc.) flowing over it is analyzed. This network consists of: linear objective function, linear cost arcs, fixed capacities, specific origin-destination pairs for each commodity. A multicommodity network flow problem with goals can be successfully modeled using linear goal programming techniques. When properly modeled, network flow techniques may be employed to exploit the pure network structure of a multicommodity network flow problem with goals. Lagrangian relaxation captures the essence of the …

Analysis Of Gps Satellite Allocation For The United States Nuclear Detonation Detection System (Usnds), Aaron J. Bell

Theses and Dissertations

We present an approach for identifying salient input features in high feature to exemplar ratio conditions. Basically we modify the SNR saliency-screening algorithm to improve the solution of the optimal salient feature subset problem. We propose that applying the SNR method to randomly selected subsets (SRSS) has a superior potential to identify the salient features than the traditional SNR algorithm has. Two experimental studies are provided to demonstrate the consistency of the SRSS. In the first experiment we used a noise-corrupted version of the Fisher s Iris classification problem. The first experiment designed to prove the fidelity of the SRSS …

Trichodesmium Spp.: Numerical Studies Of Resource Competition, Carbohydrate Ballasting, And Remote-Sensing Reflectance, Tonya Denise Clayton

OES Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, a new appreciation for the role of diazotrophy in the oceans has emerged. This dissertation reports on three modeling studies designed to investigate ecological processes associated with Trichodesmium spp., the most conspicuous marine diazotroph: (1) characterization of a generalized model Trichodesmium and issues of macronutrient resource competition; (2) carbohydrate ballasting by Trchodesmium and implications for the formation of surface accumulations; and (3) the vertical distribution of Trichodesmium and implications for detection from space.

The first study focuses on issues of nitrogen and phosphorus competition and ecosystem structure. It utilizes a simple ecosystem model that includes dissolved nitrogen …

Estimation Of Forest Stand Parameters And Application In Classification And Change Detection Of Forest Cover Types In The Brazilian Amazon Basin, Dengsheng Lu

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on measurement of forest stand parameters using remote sensing which is applied to classification and change detection of tropical successional and mature forests in selected areas in the Brazilian Amazon Basin. Three study areas, Altamira, Bragantina, and Pedras, each with different biophysical environments, were selected for this research. Previous research has indicated that relationships between selected stand parameters and remotely sensed data are not clearly understood, especially in tropical areas. Rarely has remote sensing research been successfully conducted in quantitative estimation of forest stand parameters (e.g. biomass) and identification of vegetation growth stages. In this research, atmospherically …

A Compact Ozone Differential Absorption Lidar (Dial) Transmitter Using A Solid-State Dye Polymer, Alton L. Jones Jr.

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The measurement of atmospheric ozone is important because in the troposphere it is a pollutant that is toxic to living systems, but in the stratosphere ozone protects life by shielding us from the sun's harmful UV-B radiation.

Laser remote sensing from aircraft using differential absorption lidar (DIAL) has become a very important technique for measuring atmospheric ozone at different altitudes and locations. Current aircraft-based DIAL systems use pulsed Nd:YAG pumped liquid dye lasers, which are then frequency doubled into the UV region, to probe both the stratosphere and troposphere for ozone.

This thesis describes a new potential DIAL laser transmitter …

Gis Enhancements Using Gps Technology, Marc R. Beckel

Dissertations and Theses

Global Positioning System (GPS) technology is a viable tool for the collection and creation of Geographic Information System (GIS) databases. Organizations have turned their attention to using this tool to develop new databases for their existing GIS. The integration of these new GPS derived databases with older existing databases leads to both technical and organizational repercussions. With the integration of GPS derived data, an organization's existing GIS requires enhancements to GIS databases and the organization must be prepared to manage the integration.

This thesis examines the technical issues that occur due to integration and conflation of GPS data in an …

Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy Of Water Vapor And Line Center Stabilization At 1.462 Μm For Lidar Applications, Colleen Marie Fitzgerald

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Wavelength modulation spectroscopy was employed to investigate water vapor absorption lines in the 1.462 µm wavelength region using an external-cavity diode laser. These measurements were necessary in the development of a lidar (light detection and ranging) instrument for differential absorption measurement of the concentration and movement of water vapor in the Earth's atmosphere. Differential absorption measurements require that the laser frequency remain stable throughout the duration of the measurement. To ensure this stability, the laser output wavelength is monitored and a feedback control loop set up to minimize laser line drift. Three lines were investigated in the 1.462 µm region. …

Collection Of Detonation Signatures And Characterization Of Spectral Features, Jay A. Orson

Theses and Dissertations

The remote observations of the temporal and spectral characteristics of the infrared (IR) emissions from exploding ordnance have been correlated with explosion conditions. A Bomem MR-154 Fourier Transform Interferometer with two detectors, InSb and HgCdTe, and a 75 mrad telescope was used to record spectra in the 1.3 - 20 µm range. Data was collected at spectral resolutions of 16 cm^-1 and 4 cm^-1 and temporal resolutions of 0.045 s and 0.123 s respectively. Two field tests were conducted: (1) a set of dynamic drop explosions and (2) a series of static detonations. In most events, the temporal …

Assessing The Classification Accuracy Of Digitized National Aerial Photography Program Imagery: Comparison With Botanical Data, Mark Arthur Alexander

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The ability to acquire and use remotely sensed data has revolutionized large-scale ecological studies by reducing dependence on difficult and expensive field survey techniques for acquisition of land use and land cover data. Multispectral satellite imagery, typically from the Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS), Thematic Mapper (TM) and the SPOT High Resolution Visible (HRV) instruments, has proven particularly valuable in surveying and classifying vegetation cover (Frank & Thorn, 1985). Further studies have concluded that alpine vegetation communities and habitats can be mapped successfully by including the geomorphic parameters of elevation, slope, and incidence when classifying remotely sensed data.

This research analyzes …

Fiber-Optic Coupled Lidar Receiver System To Measure Stratospheric Ozone, David Brent Harper

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A fiber-optic coupled lidar receiver system was constructed to determine ozone concentrations in the stratosphere. The system was used to make ground-based measurements of lidar returns from a UV DIAL system. A fiber-optic cable was used to couple the light from the receiver telescope to the light detector. Photon counting was implemented as the light detection technique. This technique allowed detection of 301 and 311 nm lidar returns up to 27.5 and 32.5 km respectively. A software application was developed to control the photon counting system and perform real-time data analysis of measured lidar returns. DIAL measurements of stratospheric ozone …

Analysis Of Lunar Basalt Flows In Oceanus Procellarum Using Clementine Data, Noel William Jackson

OES Theses and Dissertations

Remote sensing analyses of data set taken by Clementine in 1994 permit new observations about mineral distribution on the lunar surface, basalt flow stratigraphy, and thus the geologic evolution of the Moon. The northern section of Oceanus Procellarum contains numerous impact craters which penetrated the basalt and thus can be used as natural probes to estimate the number and thicknesses of flows.

I constructed a mosaic taken in three frequencies ( 415 nm, 750 nm, 950 nm), and a Ratio Image (750/415 = red, 750/950 = green, 415/750 = blue). On such an image, red indicates the iron-poor mature highland …

Ocean Surface Maps From Blending Disparate Data Through Normal Mode Analysis, William John Schulz Jr.

OES Theses and Dissertations

Rapid environmental assessment is conducted using disparate data sources in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. An overview of significant physical features in the Gulf highlights the complexities of the large and meso-scale circulations. Spectral analysis of high resolution current meter and drifter data reveals the significant forcing features detectable by readily available observing techniques. These observations are combined with boundary data extracted from the U.S. Navy's Modular Ocean Data Assimilation System (MODAS) through Normal Mode Analysis (NMA). The NMA blending process is described, and surface maps of velocity and convergence are produced. Using statistical and qualitative techniques, the NMA generated …

Inversion And Analysis Of Remotely Sensed Atmospheric Water Vapor Measurements At 940nm, Jack Cutler Larsen

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The understanding and acceptance of remotely sensed atmospheric data depends strongly on the steps taken to characterize experiment error and validate observations through comparisons to other independent measurements. A formal error analysis of the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II (SAGE II) water vapor operational inversion algorithm is performed and compared to previous results. Random measurement errors were characterized by segmented least-squares profile fitting of the slant path absorption which found the error to be uncorrelated in the stratosphere with estimated variances significantly smaller than expected from 18-30 km. Estimates of null space error were developed from radiosonde hygrometers in …

Manipulation Of High Spatial Resolution Aircraft Remote Sensing Data For Use In Site-Specific Farming, Gabriel B. Senay, Andrew D. Ward, John G. Lyon, Norman R. Fausey, Sue E. Nokes

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Three spatial data sets consisting of high spatial resolution (1 m) remote sensing images acquired in 12 spectral bands, an on-the-go yield map, and a Digital Elevation Model were co-registered and evaluated for spatial variability studies in a Geographic Information Systems environment. Separate on-the-go yield maps were developed for 3, 5, and 12 statistically significant mean yield classes. For each yield class, the corresponding mean spectral and elevation data were extracted. The relationship between mean spectral and yield data was strongly linear (r = 0.99). Also, a strong linear relationship between mean yield and elevation data (r = 0.92) was …

Development Of A Photon Counting System For Ozone Differential Absorption Lidar Signal Detection, Bradley Allen Eccles

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A photon counting system was assembled and integrated into an existing ozone differential absorption lidar signal detection system to improve the range of ozone measurement. Results of data extraction from decaying ozone return signals are presented. Photomultiplier tube detector models EMI 9214Q and EMI 9B17Q are evaluated and characterized. Detector operating performance was based on tube quantum efficiency, gain, dark current, and linearity. The influence of photomultiplier tube characteristics on photon counting performance are discussed along with the recommended optimum photon counting operating conditions. Two photomultiplier gating schemes, focus grid and four dynode gating, are described for use in photon …

Methodology For Integrating Aerial Photography And Landsat Tm Imagery For Inventory Of Forest Land Cover, Chris W. Bennett, Robert C. Weih Jr.

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Forest cover for 7.25 million acres (2.93 million hectares) in southeastern Georgia was characterized for the years 1988 and 1994 with the intent of assessing the efficacy of remote sensing procedures for broad scale forest inventory. Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper digital satellite scenes of seven spectral bands were obtained for winter and summer of each year and were analyzed two separate 14-band multi-temporal images. Images were geo-referenced to the universal transverse mercator (UTM) coordinate system prior to classification. Spectral classification with the 1SOCLUSTER algorithm produced 250 categories. Color infrared aerial photographs were mapped to the digital imagery and were used to …

Integrating Gis And Remote Sensing With Ecosystem Research, Suzanne Wiley, Robert C. Weih Jr.

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

In the Phase II Ecosystem Management Research Program in the Ouachita and Ozark National Forests, an interdisciplinary group of scientists are evaluating the effects and trade-offs of partial cutting methods in a replicated stand level study. Information from approximately 2,000 plots is being collected by more than fifty researchers during this five-year project with plans to continue data collection long term. To evaluate the effects of different management strategies and their interactions with forest resources, data must be brought into a common format and made available to all researchers. To this end, a data support system was developed which utilizes …

Observation Of Shelfwater Overrunning The Southern Slope Sea, Ajoy Kumar

OES Theses and Dissertations

Analyses of two years (1992 and 1993) of high resolution (1.47 km²) sea surface temperature satellite images of the southern Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB), showed that unusually extensive overhang of shelf water occurs episodically, and coherently over along shelf distances of several hundred kilometers. These episodes are dubbed overrunning of the Slope Sea by shelf water. The overrunning volume has a "face" and a "back" (southern and northern limit). It transports substantial quantities of shelf water southward, and does not retreat onto the shelf, but eventually joins the western edge of the Gulf Stream in the vicinity of Chesapeake …

A Total Systems Analysis Method For The Conceptual Design Of Spacecraft: An Application To Remote Sensing Imager Systems, Knut I. Oxnevad

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Increased emphasis is being placed on improving the performance of space projects, within tighter budgets and shorter development times. This has led to a need for more efficient space system design methods. The research described here represents an effort to develop and evaluate such a method.

Systems engineering and concurrent engineering together provide the theoretical foundation for the method. The method, derived from both this theoretical foundation and ideas from experts in the space industry, emphasizes a total systems analysis approach, taking into account given mission requirements, and the mathematical modeling of interactions between system variables and between subsystems. The …

Describing And Comparing Archaeological Spatial Structures, Luann Wandsnider

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Quantitative archaeological spatial analysis today is radically different from that introduced more than 20 years ago. Today spatial analysis is couched in more general formational terms that include earlier functional pursuits. Today spatial analysts (1) focus on individual formationally sensitive artifact or element attributes, rather than on types; (2) use distributional rather than partitive methods and techniques; (3) consider a suite of such attributes to construct the formational history of archaeological deposits; and, least commonly, (4) undertake comparative spatial analysis. An elaboration of the latter tactic is proposed here, that of characterizing spatial structure in terms of structural elements (or …

Autonomous Robot Navigation In Unknown Terrains Using Parallel Numerical Artificial Potential Fields, John C. Schneider

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

We present a new artificial potential field formulation for resolution complete robot navigation that unifies the purely geometric path planning problem with the lower level force control problem. Our formulation is designed for numerical computation over a massively parallel mesh of processors and is responsive to newly discovered terrain features. It does not suffer from many of the problems commonly associated with potential fields and with adequate resolution provides provably correct, collision free convergence to the goal. In addition, our formulation supports many desirable, practical features required for implementation, such as bounded actuator torques, attainable incremental constructability, realizable computation and …

A Classification Of Ecosystem Desertification Using Satellite Imagery, Dzheltyrbas Gulf, 1980-1989, Marni D. Cavis

Masters Theses

This study focused on the development of a land cover classification method for the Dzhiltyrbas Gulf region southeast of the Aral Sea in the former Soviet Union. Desertification of the region was mapped based on ecosystem descriptions taken from a database defining four stages of desertification. Landsat MSS images (bands 1, 2, and 4) were used as the basis for classification. Standard unsupervised and supervised classification methods did not distinguish the level of detail required to map each stage of desertification in each ecosystem. Therefore, the ecosystems had to be defined and classified as separate entities (based on SBI and …

The Global-To-Local Search Method: A Systematic Search Procedure That Uses The Context Of The Textured Layout To Locate And Detect Low-Contrast Targets In Aerial Images, Keith Marron Park

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Development Of Membrane Film Fiber Optic Based Sensors For The Remote Monitoring Of The Quality Of Surface And Groundwater, Leonidas G. Bachas

KWRRI Research Reports

The objective of this study was the development of chromo- and fluoroionophores and their subsequent use in sensors capable of surface and groundwater monitoring. Several reagents (modified crown ethers and porphyrins) were synthesized based on principles of chemical recognition and used for metal and pH sensing. The modified crown ether reagents include a chromogenic or fluorogenic group. The selectivity of these reagents is controlled by the size of the crown ether ring and the type of the chromogenic or fluorogenic side-arm. In addition, a fluorogenic crown ether was synthesized that incorporates a fluorogenic side-arm and a perfluorinated carbon chain. The …

Binary Programming Models Of Spatial Pattern Recognition: Applications In Remote Sensing Image Analysis, Thomas G. Reed

Theses and Dissertations

The major purpose of this investigation was to implement subregion allocation objectives using a network model base on an existing subregion allocation binary programming model (Benabdallah and Wright (B&W), 1990), the ultimate goal being the application of subregion allocation concepts towards the spatial analysis of satellite imagery. The multi-objective aspects of subregion allocation can be accomplished via a network formulation, a formulation vastly simpler in complexity than the binary programming models previously used. Without a network programming package that could maintain integral flows, however, deriving the solution was a tiresome task for the user. Nonetheless, several new concepts and advantages …

Integrated Control Of Thermally Distorted Large Space Antennas, Robert H. Tolson

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Studies on controlling the thermal distortion of large space antennae have generally investigated a single orbital position and have optimized actuator locations based on minimizing the RMS surface deviation from the original parabolic shape. One study showed the benefits of directly using far zone electric field characteristics as the performance measure; but, this approach resulted in a nonlinear programming problem. The objective of the current study is to develop an approach to designing a control system that (1) recognizes the time dependence of the distortion and (2) controls variables that are directly related to far field performance in a quadratic …

Postfire Vegetation Change Detection Using Landsat Mss And Tm Data, Mark Edward Jakubauskas

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Three dates of Landsat digital data were classified and then analyzed using a geographic information system (GIS). The intent of this study was to determine if differences in burn severity relate to later vegetative cover within a northern pines forest. The May 5, 1980, Mack Lake Fire in the Huron National Forest, Michigan, was selected as the study site for this research. This wildfire burned over 9000 hectares of jack pine, red pine, and mixed deciduous forest within a six-hour period. Landsat MSS data from June 1973 and TM data from October 1982 were classified using an unsupervised approach to …