Environmental Factors Affecting Asthma and Allergies: Predicting and Simulating Downwind Exposure to Airborne Pollen

This slide presentation reviews the environmental factors that affect asthma and allergies and work to predict and simulate the downwind exposure to airborne pollen. Using a modification of Dust REgional Atmosphere Model (DREAM) that incorporates phenology (i.e. PREAM) the aim was to predict concentrations of pollen in time and space. The strategy for using the model to simulate downwind pollen dispersal, and evaluate the results. Using MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), to get seasonal sampling of Juniper, the pollen chosen for the study, land cover on a near daily basis. The results of the model are reviewed

Leaf development and demography explain photosynthetic seasonality in Amazon evergreen forests

In evergreen tropical forests, the extent, magnitude, and controls on photosynthetic seasonality are poorly resolved and inadequately represented in Earth system models. Combining camera observations with ecosystem carbon dioxide fluxes at forests across rainfall gradients in Amazônia, we show that aggregate canopy phenology, not seasonality of climate drivers, is the primary cause of photosynthetic seasonality in these forests. Specifically, synchronization of new leaf growth with dry season litterfall shifts canopy composition toward younger, more light-use efficient leaves, explaining large seasonal increases (~27%) in ecosystem photosynthesis. Coordinated leaf development and demography thus reconcile seemingly disparate observations at different scales and indicate that accounting for leaf-level phenology is critical for accurately simulating ecosystem-scale responses to climate change. © 2016 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science; all rights reserved

SOIL SPECTRAL EFFECTS ON VEGETATION DISCRIMINATION (REMOTE SENSING)

The spectral behavior of a cotton canopy with four different soil types inserted underneath, respectively, was examined at various levels of vegetation density. Measured composite spectra, representing mixtures of vegetation with different soil backgrounds were compared with existing measures of greenness, including the NIR-Red band ratios, the perpendicular vegetation index and the green vegetation index. Observed spectral patterns involving constant vegetation amounts with different soil backgrounds could not be explained nor predicted by either the ratio or the orthogonal greenness measures. All greenness measures were found to be strongly dependent on soil brightness. Furthermore, soil-induced greenness changes became greater with increasing amounts of vegetation up to 60% green cover. Three versions of factor analysis were subsequently utilized to determine if soil background influences could be filtered from canopy spectral data sets. In R-mode factor analysis, canopy spectra were decomposed into orthogonal features called brightness and greenness. The greenness feature, however, was found to be dependent, not only on vegetation density, but on soil background spectral properties. Of most concern were soil brightness influences which resulted in lowered greenness values with wet or dark soil backgrounds and identical vegetation conditions. The Q-mode version of factor analysis decomposed canopy spectra into additive, soil and vegetation, reflectance components. Although soil spectral response was found to contribute and mix into the derived greenness measure, significant improvements in vegetation discrimination occurred, especially at low vegetation densities. Finally, the T-mode version of factor analysis successfully separated the spectral influences of soil background from the larger response due to vegetation canopy development. Canopy spectra were decomposed into soil-dependent and soil-independent canopy components. The soil-dependent component was found to resemble the spectral response of green vegetation due to the scattering and transmittance properties of the overlying vegetation canopy. Results showed how the soil-dependent signal mixed into various measures of greenness and hampered vegetation discrimination. The filtering of soil background response from spectral data sets significantly improved greenness indices and vegetation analyses

Soil spectral response in relation to viewing angle, soil moisture and surface roughness

Este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar as variações do fator de refletância bidirecional (FRB) de três séries de solo (McAllister, Stronghold e Epitaph) da microbacia experimental de Walnut Gulch (Arizona, EUA) em razão do ângulo de visada, da rugosidade superficial e do teor de umidade. Foram consideradas as faixas espectrais do visível e do infravermelho próximo e médio presentes no sensor TM, e os resultados foram expressos em termos de FRB em relação à resposta no Nadir (FRB relativo). O anisotropismo variou de solo para solo e foi maior nas menores faixas espectrais, nos ângulos de visada maiores localizados na direção do retroespalhamento, nos ângulos solar-zenitais maiores, e na condição de solo seco. No solo Epitaph (único solo submetido ao estudo de rugosidade) o anisotropismo foi também maior na superfície mais rugosa. Entretanto, uma melhor diferenciação entre as superfícies lisa e rugosa do solo Epitaph foi obtida na direção do espalhamento da energia refletida. Diferenças na escala e nos métodos de obtenção dos dados são apontadas como causas do realce do comportamento anisotrópico dos dados obtidos em condições de laboratório, em comparação com os dados de campo.The objective of this study was to characterize the bi-directional reflectance factor (BRF) of three soil series (McAllister, Stronghold, and Epitaph) located at the Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (Arizona, USA) as a function of the viewing angle, soil moisture and surface roughness. Soil spectra were taken in the visible, near and mid-infrared regions, convolved to match the Landsat-TM bands, and the results were normalized to the Nadir response and expressed as relative BRF. The anisotropic behavior varies from soil to soil and it was higher when the following conditions were taken combined or individually: shorter wavelengths, higher viewing and solar zenith angles, in the backscattering direction, soil in the dry condition as opposed to wet condition, and in the rough surface as compared to the smooth surface of Epitaph soil series (the only soil tested for the effect of roughness). Rough and smooth surfaces of Epitaph soil, however, were better discriminated in the forward scattering direction. Differences in scale and methods used to obtain the spectral curves were pointed out as responsible for the enhancement of the anisotropic behavior of the soils for lab results as compared to field results

Resposta espectral de solos em razão do ângulo de visada, da umidade e da rugosidade superficial

Este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar as variações do fator de refletância bidirecional (FRB) de três séries de solo (McAllister, Stronghold e Epitaph) da microbacia experimental de Walnut Gulch (Arizona, EUA) em razão do ângulo de visada, da rugosidade superficial e do teor de umidade. Foram consideradas as faixas espectrais do visível e do infravermelho próximo e médio presentes no sensor TM, e os resultados foram expressos em termos de FRB em relação à resposta no Nadir (FRB relativo). O anisotropismo variou de solo para solo e foi maior nas menores faixas espectrais, nos ângulos de visada maiores localizados na direção do retroespalhamento, nos ângulos solar-zenitais maiores, e na condição de solo seco. No solo Epitaph (único solo submetido ao estudo de rugosidade) o anisotropismo foi também maior na superfície mais rugosa. Entretanto, uma melhor diferenciação entre as superfícies lisa e rugosa do solo Epitaph foi obtida na direção do espalhamento da energia refletida. Diferenças na escala e nos métodos de obtenção dos dados são apontadas como causas do realce do comportamento anisotrópico dos dados obtidos em condições de laboratório, em comparação com os dados de campo