Remote Sensing of Environmental Pollution

Environmental pollution is a problem of international scope and concern. It can be subdivided into problems relating to water, air, or land pollution. Many of the problems in these three categories lend themselves to study and possible solution by remote sensing. Through the use of remote sensing systems and techniques, it is possible to detect and monitor, and in some cases, identify, measure, and study the effects of various environmental pollutants. As a guide for making decisions regarding the use of remote sensors for pollution studies, a special five-dimensional sensor/applications matrix has been designed. The matrix defines an environmental goal, ranks the various remote sensing objectives in terms of their ability to assist in solving environmental problems, lists the environmental problems, ranks the sensors that can be used for collecting data on each problem, and finally ranks the sensor platform options that are currently available

Mission 73 - Summary and data catalog

Earth resources program geographic applications program summary, recommendations, and data catalog for remote sensor mission 7

Binaries with total eclipses in the LMC: potential targets for spectroscopy

35 Eclipsing binaries presenting unambiguous total eclipses were selected from a subsample of the list of Wyrzykowski et al. (2003). The photometric elements are given for the I curve in DiA photometry, as well as approximate Teff and masses of the components. The interest of these systems is stressed in view of future spectroscopic observations.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; poster presented at the conference "Close binaries in the 21st Century: new opportunities and challenges", Syros, 27-30 June 200

Lithium in field Am and normal A-F-type stars

Preliminary abundances of lithium and a few other elements have been obtained for 31 field Am stars with good Hipparcos parallaxes, as well as for 36 normal A and F stars. Radial and projected rotational velocities were determined as well. We examine the Li abundance as a function of the stellar parameters: for normal stars, it is clearly bimodal for Teff < 7500 K, while Am-Fm stars are all somewhat Li-deficient in this range. The most Li-deficient stars - either Am or normal - tend to be at least slightly evolved, but the reverse is not true.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, poster presented at the conference "Element stratification in stars, 40 years of atomic diffusion", eds. G. Alecian, O. Richard and S. Vauclair, EAS Publication Series, in pres

Energy-balance climate models

An introductory survey of the global energy balance climate models is presented with an emphasis on analytical results. A sequence of increasingly complicated models involving ice cap and radiative feedback processes are solved and the solutions and parameter sensitivities are studied. The model parameterizations are examined critically in light of many current uncertainties. A simple seasonal model is used to study the effects of changes in orbital elements on the temperature field. A linear stability theorem and a complete nonlinear stability analysis for the models are developed. Analytical solutions are also obtained for the linearized models driven by stochastic forcing elements. In this context the relation between natural fluctuation statistics and climate sensitivity is stressed

The Angular Diameter and Fundamental Parameters of Sirius A

The Sydney University Stellar Interferometer (SUSI) has been used to make a new determination of the angular diameter of Sirius A. The observations were made at an effective wavelength of 694.1 nm and the new value for the limb-darkened angular diameter is 6.048 +/- 0.040mas (+/-0.66%). This new result is compared with previous measurements and is found to be in excellent agreement with a conventionally calibrated measurement made with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) at 2.176 microns (but not with a second globally calibrated VLTI measurement). A weighted mean of the SUSI and first VLTI results gives the limb-darkened angular diameter of Sirius A as 6.041 +/- 0.017mas (+/-0.28%). Combination with the Hipparcos parallax gives the radius equal to 1.713 +/- 0.009R_sun. The bolometric flux has been determined from published photometry and spectrophotometry and, combined with the angular diameter, yields the emergent flux at the stellar surface equal to (5.32+/- 0.14)x10^8 Wm^-2 and the effective temperature equal to 9845 +/- 64 K. The luminosity is 24.7 +/- 0.7 L_sun.Comment: Accepted for publication in PAS

Geographic analysis of multiple sensor data from the NASA/USGS earth resources program

Qualitative and quantitative analyses were made of multi-sensor data acquired during aircraft missions. While the principal analysis effort was concentrated on imagery taken over test sites in Southern California, data were also studied from records acquired on missions over test sites at Phoenix, Chicago, Asheville, and New Orleans. The objectives of the analyses were: (1) to determine the capabilities of ten remote sensors in identifying the elements of information necessary in conducting geographic investigations in land use analysis, urban problems, surface energy budget, and soil moisture; (2) to determine the feasibility of using these sensors for these purposes at orbital altitudes; and (3) to collate and analyze ground and air data previously collected and assemble it in a format useful in the accomplishment of cost effectiveness studies