Publications

The Landsat-5 (L5) Thematic Mapper (TM) detectors of the short wave infrared (SWIR) bands 5 and 7 are maintained on cryogenic temperatures to minimize thermal noise and allow adequate detection of scene energy. Over the instrument's lifetime, gain oscillations are observed in these bands that are caused by an ice-like contaminant that gradually builds up on the window of a dewar that...

On 31 May 2003, the Landsat Enhanced Thematic Plus (ETM+) Scan Line Corrector (SLC) failed, causing the scanning pattern to exhibit wedge-shaped scan-to-scan gaps. We developed a method that uses coincident spectral data to fill the image gaps. This method uses a multi-scale segment model, derived from a previous Landsat SLC-on image (image acquired prior to the SLC failure), to guide...

Urbanization has transformed natural landscapes into anthropogenic impervious surfaces. Urban land use has become a major driving force for land cover and land use change in the Tampa Bay watershed of west-central Florida. This study investigates urban land use change and its impact on the watershed. The spatial and temporal changes, as well as the development density of urban land use...

We present the first comprehensive late Quaternary record of North American Great Plains temperature by assessing the behavior of the stable isotopic composition (δ13C) of buried soils. After examining the relationship between the δ13C of topsoil organic matter and July temperature from 61 native prairies within a latitudinal range of 46°–38°N, we applied the resulting regression...

Studies of interseismic strain accumulation are crucial to our understanding of continental deformation, the earthquake cycle and seismic hazard. By mapping small amounts of ground deformation over large spatial areas, InSAR has the potential to produce continental-scale maps of strain accumulation on active faults. However, most InSAR studies to date have focused on areas where the...

No abstract available.

A constellation of satellites that routinely and frequently images the Earth's land surface in consistently calibrated wavelengths from the visible through the microwave and in spatial detail that ranges from sub-meter to hundreds of meters would offer enormous potential benefits to society. A well-designed and effectively operated land surface imaging satellite constellation could have...

Urban development in the Las Vegas Valley of Nevada (USA) has expanded rapidly over the past 50 years. The air quality in the valley has suffered owing to increases from anthropogenic emissions of carbon monoxide, ozone and criteria pollutants of particular matter. Air quality observations show that pollutant concentrations have apparent heterogeneous characteristics in the urban area...

No abstract available.

The Thematic Mapper (TM) is a multi-spectral electro-optical sensor featured onboard both the Landsat 4 (L4) and Landsat 5 (L5) satellites. TM sensors have seven spectral bands with center wavelengths of approximately 0.49, 0.56, 0.66, 0.83, 1.65, 11.5 and 2.21 μm, respectively. The visible near-infrared (VNIR) bands are located on the primary focal plane (PFP), and two short-wave...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service uses the term palustrine wetland to describe vegetated wetlands traditionally identified as marsh, bog, fen, swamp, or wet meadow. Landsat TM imagery was combined with image texture and ancillary environmental data to model probabilities of palustrine wetland occurrence in Yellowstone National Park using classification trees. Model training and test...

Famine early warning in Africa presents unique challenges and rewards. Hydrologic extremes must be tracked and anticipated over complex and changing climate regimes. The successful anticipation and interpretation of hydrologic shocks can initiate effective government response, saving lives and softening the impacts of droughts and floods. While both monitoring and forecast technologies...