1,052 research outputs found
A history of NASA remote sensing contributions to archaeology
During its long history of developing and deploying remote sensing instruments, NASA has provided scientific data that have benefitted a variety of scientific applications among them archaeology. Multispectral and hyperspectral instruments mounted on orbiting and sub-orbital platforms have provided new and important information for the discovery, delineation and analysis of archaeological sites worldwide. Since the early 1970s, several of the ten NASA centers have collaborated with archaeologists to refine and validate the use of active and passive remote sensing for archaeological use. The Stennis Space Center (SSC), located in Mississippi USA has been the NASA leader in archaeological research. Together with colleagues from Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), SSC scientists have provided the archaeological community with useful images and sophisticated processing that have pushed the technological frontiers of archaeological research and applications. Successful projects include identifying prehistoric roads in Chaco canyon, identifying sites from the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery exploration, and assessing prehistoric settlement patterns in southeast Louisiana. The Scientific Data Purchase (SDP) stimulated commercial companies to collect archaeological data. At present, NASA formally solicits “space archaeology” proposals through its Earth Science Directorate and continues to assist archaeologists and cultural resource managers in doing their work more efficiently and effectively. This paper focuses on passive remote sensing and does not consider the significant contributions made by NASA active sensors. Hyperspectral data offers new opportunities for future archaeological discoveries
NASA, Remote Sensing and Archaeology: An Example from Southeast Louisiana
NASA Stennis Space Center, located in Mississippi, USA, undertook an archaeological survey of the southeastern Louisiana marshes beginning in 2003. Progress on this activity was severely hampered by the 2005 hurricane season when both Katrina and Rita devastated the study area. In 2008, the NASA team reinitiated the analysis of the project data and that work continues today. The project was conducted initially in partnership with the U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers New Orleans District and Tulane University. NASA and its partners utilized a wide variety of satellite and airborne remote sensing instruments combined with field verification surveys to identify prehistoric archeological sites in the Southeastern Louisiana delta, both known and still undiscovered. The main approach was to carefully map known sites and use the spectral characteristics of these sites to locate high probability targets elsewhere in the region. The archaeological activities were conducted in support of Coast 2050 whose stated goals is to sustain and restore a coastal ecosystem that supports and protects the environment, economy and culture of southern Louisiana. As the Coast 2050 report states: [T]he rate of coastal land loss in Louisiana has reached catastrophic proportions. Within the last 50 years, land loss rates have exceeded 40 square miles per year, and in the 1990's the rate has been estimated to be between 25 and 35 square miles each year. This loss represents 80% of the coastal wetland loss in the entire continental United States
The angular power spectrum of radio emission at 2.3 GHz
We have analysed the Rhodes/HartRAO survey at 2326 MHz and derived the global
angular power spectrum of Galactic continuum emission. In order to measure the
angular power spectrum of the diffuse component, point sources were removed
from the map by median filtering. A least-square fit to the angular power
spectrum of the entire survey with a power law spectrum C_l proportional to
l^{-alpha}, gives alpha = 2.43 +/- 0.01 for l = 2-100. The angular power
spectrum of radio emission appears to steepen at high Galactic latitudes and
for observed regions with |b| > 20 deg, the fitted spectral index is alpha =
2.92 +/- 0.07. We have extrapolated this result to 30 GHz (the lowest frequency
channel of Planck) and estimate that no significant contribution to the sky
temperature fluctuation is likely to come from synchrotron at degree-angular
scalesComment: 10 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication by Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Geospatial Analysis and Remote Sensing from Airplanes and Satellites for Cultural Resources Management
Cultural resource management consists of research to identify, evaluate, document and assess cultural resources, planning to assist in decision-making, and stewardship to implement the preservation, protection and interpretation of these decisions and plans. One technique that may be useful in cultural resource management archaeology is remote sensing. It is the acquisition of data and derivative information about objects or materials (targets) located on the Earth's surface or in its atmosphere by using sensor mounted on platforms located at a distance from the targets to make measurements on interactions between the targets and electromagnetic radiation. Included in this definition are systems that acquire imagery by photographic methods and digital multispectral sensors. Data collected by digital multispectral sensors on aircraft and satellite platforms play a prominent role in many earth science applications, including land cover mapping, geology, soil science, agriculture, forestry, water resource management, urban and regional planning, and environmental assessments. Inherent in the analysis of remotely sensed data is the use of computer-based image processing techniques. Geographical information systems (GIS), designed for collecting, managing, and analyzing spatial information, are also useful in the analysis of remotely sensed data. A GIS can be used to integrate diverse types of spatially referenced digital data, including remotely sensed and map data. In archaeology, these tools have been used in various ways to aid in cultural resource projects. For example, they have been used to predict the presence of archaeological resources using modern environmental indicators. Remote sensing techniques have also been used to directly detect the presence of unknown sites based on the impact of past occupation on the Earth's surface. Additionally, remote sensing has been used as a mapping tool aimed at delineating the boundaries of a site or mapping previously unknown features. All of these applications are pertinent to the goals of site discovery and assessment in cultural resource management
How Do Software Startups Pivot? Empirical Results from a Multiple Case Study
In order to handle intense time pressure and survive in dynamic market,
software startups have to make crucial decisions constantly on whether to
change directions or stay on chosen courses, or in the terms of Lean Startup,
to pivot or to persevere. The existing research and knowledge on software
startup pivots are very limited. In this study, we focused on understanding the
pivoting processes of software startups, and identified the triggering factors
and pivot types. To achieve this, we employed a multiple case study approach,
and analyzed the data obtained from four software startups. The initial
findings show that different software startups make different types of pivots
related to business and technology during their product development life cycle.
The pivots are triggered by various factors including negative customer
feedback.Comment: Conference publication, International Conference on Software Business
(ICSOB'16), Sloveni
Analysis of CMB foregrounds using a database for Planck
Within the scope of the Planck IDIS (Integrated Data Information System)
project we have started to develop the data model for time-ordered data and
full-sky maps. The data model is part of the Data Management Component (DMC), a
software system designed according to a three-tier architecture which allows
complete separation between data storage and processing. The DMC is already
being used for simulation activities and the modeling of some foreground
components. We have ingested several Galactic surveys into the database and
used the science data-access interface to process the data. The data structure
for full-sky maps utilises the HEALPix tessellation of the sphere. We have been
able to obtain consistent measures of the angular power spectrum of the
Galactic radio continuum emission between 408 MHz and 2417 MHz.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures. To appear in the Proceedings of the MPA/ESO/MPE
Joint Astronomy Conference "Mining The Sky
Holographic Technidilaton and LHC searches
We analyze in detail the phenomenology of a model of dynamical electroweak
symmetry breaking inspired by walking technicolor, by using the techniques of
the bottom-up approach to holography. The model admits a light composite scalar
state, the dilaton, in the spectrum. We focus on regions of parameter space for
which the mass of such dilaton is 125 GeV, and for which the bounds on the
precision electroweak parameter S are satisfied. This requires that the
next-to-lightest composite state is the techni-rho meson, with a mass larger
than 2.3 TeV. We compute the couplings controlling the decay rates of the
dilaton to two photons and to two (real or virtual) Z and W bosons. For generic
choices of the parameters, we find a suppression of the decay into heavy gauge
bosons, in respect to the analog decay of the standard-model Higgs. We find a
dramatic effect on the decay into photons, which can be both strongly
suppressed or strongly enhanced, the latter case corresponding to the large-N
regime of the dual theory. There is a correlation between this decay rate of
the dilaton into photons and the mass splitting between the techni-rho meson
and its axial-vector partner: if the decay is enhanced in respect to the
standard-model case, then the heavy spin-1 resonances are nearly degenerate in
mass, otherwise their separation in mass is comparable to the mass scale
itself.Comment: Very minor typos corrected. References adde
Wave effects on the morphodynamic evolution of an offshore sand bank
The origin and morphodynamic evolution of linear sand banks have been widely studied in recent years. Several investigations have been carried out in order to understand the influence of tide-related parameters, bathymetry and Coriolis force on sand bank formation and maintenance. However, the effect of waves on the net flux of sediments over the sand banks has often been neglected on grounds of the short duration of significant wave activity compared to that of tidal cycles. Nevertheless, the interaction between wave activity and tidal currents leads to a high increase of bottom shear stress, especially at the sand bank crests and, as a consequence, to an increase of sand tranport. This paper investigates the effects of wave activity on the morphology and morphodynamics of the Kwinte Bank (Belgian shelf). Numerical simulations were carried out under different wave conditions to assess wave influence on sand bank evolution. Model verification involved analysis and comparison with field data collected during two different periods. The study shows that wave activity is not only responsible for a large increase in sediment transport but also for a change in direction of the net flux of sediments. Moreover, the morphological analysis of several sand banks supports the idea that wave activity might also have an impact on the shape of these sand banks. Wave climate data can be used to study long-term sand bank dynamics
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