Assessment of Terra MODIS Thermal Emissive Band Calibration Using Cold Targets and Measurements in Lunar Roll Events

Terra MODIS has provided continuous global observations for science research and applications for more than 18 years. The MODIS Thermal emissive bands (TEB) radiometric calibration uses a quadratic function for instrument response. The calibration coefficients are updated using the response of an on-board blackbody (BB) in quarterly warm-up and cool-down (WUCD) events. As instrument degradation and electronic crosstalk of long-wave infrared (LWIR) bands 27 to 30 developed substantial issues, accurate calibration is crucial for a high-quality L1B product. The on-board BB WUCD temperature ranges from 270 K to 315 K and the derived nonlinear response has a relatively large uncertainty for the offset, especially for these LWIR bands, which affects the measurements of low brightness temperature (BT) scenes. In this study, the TEB radiometric calibration impact on the L1B product is assessed using selected cold targets and the measurements during regular lunar rolls. The cold targets include Antarctic Dome Concordia (Dome-C) and deep convective clouds (DCC) for the calibration assessment, focusing on bands 27 to 30. Dome-C area is covered with uniformly-distributed permanent snow, and the atmospheric effect is small and relatively constant. Usually the DCC is treated as an invariant earth target to evaluate the reflective solar band calibration. The DCC can also be treated as a stable target to assess the performance of TEB calibration. During a scheduled lunar observation event with a spacecraft roll maneuver to view the moon through the space view port, the instrument cavity provides a stable reference for calibration assessment. The long-term trending of BT measurements and the relative difference between scan mirror sides and detectors are used for the assessment of the calibration consistency and stability. The comparison of L1B products over the selected targets before and after the calibration coefficients update can be used to assess the impact of a calibration look-up table (LUT) update. This assessment is beneficial for future calibration algorithm and LUT update procedure improvements for enhancing the L1B product quality

Flight Dynamics Analysis Branch 2005 Technical Highlights

This report summarizes the major activities and accomplishments carried out by the Flight Dynamics Analysis Branch (FDAB), Code 595, in support of flight projects and technology development initiatives in Fiscal Year (FY) 2005. The report is intended to serve as a summary of the type of support carried out by the FDAB, as well as a concise reference of key accomplishments and mission experience derived from the various mission support roles. The primary focus of the FDAB is to provide expertise in the disciplines of flight dynamics including spacecraft navigation (autonomous and ground based); spacecraft trajectory design and maneuver planning; attitude analysis; attitude determination and sensor calibration; and attitude control subsystem (ACS) analysis and design. The FDAB currently provides support for missions and technology development projects involving NASA, other government agencies, academia, and private industry

Digital Preservation Services : State of the Art Analysis

Research report funded by the DC-NET project.An overview of the state of the art in service provision for digital preservation and curation. Its focus is on the areas where bridging the gaps is needed between e-Infrastructures and efficient and forward-looking digital preservation services. Based on a desktop study and a rapid analysis of some 190 currently available tools and services for digital preservation, the deliverable provides a high-level view on the range of instruments currently on offer to support various functions within a preservation system.European Commission, FP7peer-reviewe

Laboratory for Atmospheres 2010 Technical Highlights

The 2010 Technical Highlights describes the efforts of all members of the Laboratory for Atmospheres. Their dedication to advancing Earth Science through conducting research, developing and running models, designing instruments, managing projects, running field campaigns, and numerous other activities, is highlighted in this report

Airborne dust: from R and D to operational forecast. 2013-2015 Activity Report of the SDS-WAS Regional Center for Northern Africa, Middle East and Europe

The 17th World Meteorological Congress designated the consortium of AEMET and Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) to host the first WMO Regional Meteorological Center specialized on Atmospheric Sand and Dust Forecast. The new center operationally generates and distributes dust forecasts under the name of Barcelona Dust Forecast Center. This decision recognizes the research activities and the products implemented by AEMET and BSC as a valuable contribution to the WMO Sand and Dust Storm – Warning Advisory and Assessment System (SDS-WAS). The services provided by the Barcelona Dust Forecast Center allow for the development of strategies to minimize the severe impacts caused by atmospheric dust on lives and property in Northern Africa, Middle East and Europe. This report summarizes the activities of the SDS-WAS Regional Center for Northern Africa, Middle East and Europe for 2013-2015 and shows the great success of the SDS-WAS project

Extratropical transitions in the North Atlantic with special reference to Hurricane Igor

There is a tendency to equate the word "hurricane" with the tropical regions of the world. Few recognize the danger and risks that occur when a tropical cyclone reaches colder subtropical waters and undergoes extratropical transition. Atlantic Canada, particularly the island of Newfoundland, is most at risk from extratropical transitions. The circumstances, location and dynamics of extratropical transitions in the North Atlantic have not been extensively studied. Consequently, forecasters continue to call approaching storms "hurricanes," when most are extratropical cyclones by the time they reach Atlantic Canada. -- Extratropical transitions in the North Atlantic between 1991 and 2011 were analyzed to determine if the frequency, magnitude and intensity of potential shifts can be calculated for the purpose of more accurate forecasting and the benefit of public awareness, safety management, and preparedness. Between 1991 and 2011, 324 tropical cyclones formed, and 121 of these underwent extratropical transition, a mean of 5.76 per year. Extratropical transitions occurred more frequently in the middle of the Hurricane Season, with the peak transition month being September when 43.3% of cyclones transitioned. The largest percentage of cyclones began extratropical transition between 30 and 39.9°N, and 50.4% of cyclones completed their transition between 40 to 49.9°N. Of the 121 storms, 49.6% weakened after completing extratropical transition; 21.5% had little or no re-intensification after transition; and 29.2% re-intensified. Identifying if a cyclone will re-intensify after transition is a necessity. Cyclones have emerged from transition stronger than the tropical state, bringing widespread disaster to areas in the storms' path. -- Newfoundland, in particular, has suffered devastating impacts from extratropical transition, notably Igor in 2010. Igor impacted Newfoundland as a Category 1 hybrid system which was still undergoing extratropical transition. Twenty-seven cyclones directly impacted Newfoundland between 1991 and 2011, 8% of the total for the entire North Atlantic. A third of cyclones qualified as Cape Verde Cyclones, which are cyclones that form in the deep tropics close to the Cape Verde Islands off the west coast of Africa. Cape Verde Cyclones usually have enough time to build up strength as they cross the Atlantic and frequently reach "major hurricane" status. Igor was an example of a classic Cape Verde Cyclone. Flooding was a severe problem, destroying property and roads and isolating communities. Total damages were estimated to be at least $110 million CAD with some values reaching as high as$200 miIlion CAD. Fire and Emergency Services - Newfoundland and Labrador, the government of Canada, climatologists and meteorologists will benefit from a deeper understanding of extratropical transitions. Better forecasts could warn a given population of when and where a transition could take place and how best to prepare for the consequences

American extreme: An ethnography of astronautical visions and ecologies

This dissertation is a coordinated ethnographic case study of environmental science, medicine, technology, and design in an American human spaceflight program. Its goal is to investigate how astronautics contributes to shaping "the environment" as an extensive contemporary category of knowledge, politics, and social action. Based on fieldwork conducted primarily at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Johnson Space Center in Houston Texas from 2005 --- 2008, the study argues that, in practical and meaningful ways, ecology and cosmology are co-constituting in American astronautics. Using participant observation and archival data, the study evaluates how astronautics practitioners know and work with "the human environment" on a scope that includes vehicle habitats and the heliosphere and on scales ranging from the molecular to the cosmic. In this work, people shore up and break down unusual human/environment boundaries, making sense of what it means to do so in technoscientific as well as sociopolitical, symbolic, and transcendental terms. The four cases analyzed are: (1) how space analogue missions operate as simulations but also make arguments that extreme environments foster progress through confrontation with adversity, (2) how space biomedical subjecthood is fundamentally environmental rather than biological, (3) how "habitability" works as a key elaborating concept among space architects so that they can connect extraterrestrial and terrestrial habitation problems and solutions, and (4) how Near Earth comets and asteroids have moved from being obscure astronomical objects to objects of environmental policymaking that extends into the heliosphere and into the far future. The study's analysis brings social theory about the spatial politics of knowledge into dialogue with conceptual frameworks from the social studies of science, technology, and environment. As an ethnography of outer space as extreme environment rather than territorial frontier, the study highlights astronautics' connections to broader domains of environmental science and technology, and by discursive and practical extension, to a spectrum of American environmentalisms and engagements with extremity. In doing so, the study elaborates astronautics' role in making ecological knowledge, and attendant concepts like adaptation and evolution, cosmologically scalable

The Role of Aerospace Technology in Agriculture. The 1977 Summer Faculty Fellowship Program in Engineering Systems Design

Possibilities were examined for improving agricultural productivity through the application of aerospace technology. An overview of agriculture and of the problems of feeding a growing world population are presented. The present state of agriculture, of plant and animal culture, and agri-business are reviewed. Also analyzed are the various systems for remote sensing, particularly applications to agriculture. The report recommends additional research and technology in the areas of aerial application of chemicals, of remote sensing systems, of weather and climate investigations, and of air vehicle design. Also considered in detail are the social, legal, economic, and political results of intensification of technical applications to agriculture

Asynchronous, distributed optimization for the coordinated planning of air and space assets

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Operations Research Center, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 189-194).Recent decades have seen the development of more advanced sensor and communication systems, with the future certainly holding more innovation in these areas. However, current operations involve "stovepipe" systems in which inefficiencies are inherent. In this thesis, we examine how to increase the value of Earth observations made by coordinating across multiple collection systems. We consider both air and space assets in an asynchronous and distributed environment. We consider requests with time windows and priority levels, some of which require simultaneous observations by different sensors. We consider how these improvements could impact Earth observing sensors in two use areas; climate studies and intelligence collection operations. The primary contributions of this thesis include our approach to the asynchronous and distributed nature of the problem and the development of a value function to facilitate the coordination of the observations with multiple surveillance assets. We embed a carefully constructed value function in a simple optimization problem that we prove can be solved as a Linear Programming (LP) problem. We solve the optimization problem repeatedly over time to intelligently allocate requests to single-mission planners, or "sub-planners." We then show that the value function performs as we intend through empirical and statistical analysis. To test our methodologies, we integrate the coordination planner with two types of sub-planners, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) sub-planner, and a satellite sub-planner. We use the coordinator to generate observation plans for two notional operational Earth Science scenarios. Specifically, we show that coordination offers improvements in the priority of the requests serviced, the quality of those observations, and the ability to take dual collections. We conclude that a coordinated planning framework provides clear benefits.by Thomas Michael Herold.S.M