Publications

The Landsat albedo, or percentage of incoming radiation reflected from the ground in the wavelength range of 0.5 [mu]m to 1.1 [mu]m, is calculated from an equation using the Landsat digital brightness values and solar irradiance values, and correcting for atmospheric scattering, multispectral scanner calibration, and sun angle. The albedo calculated for each pixel is used to create an...

A large number of Earth-observation satellites orbit our world several times each day, providing new information about the land and sea surfaces and the overlying thin layer of atmosphere that makes our planet unique. Meteorological satellites have had the longest history of experimental use and most are now considered operational. The geologic information collected by the Landsat, Polar...

Remote sensing may be defined as the science of imaging or measuring objects from a distance. More commonly, however, the term is used in reference to the acquisition and use of photographs, photo-like images, and other data acquired from aircraft and satellites. Thus, remote sensing includes the use of such diverse materials as photographs taken by hand from a light aircraft...

No abstract available.

The House/Senate conference report on H.R. 4930 (96th Congress), the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, 1980, stated that the U.S. Geological Survey should "begin the use of side-looking airborne radar imagery for topographic and geological mapping, and geological resource surveys in promising areas, particularly Alaska." In response to this mandate, the...

The atmospheric effects on radiometric data recorded in the Landsat multispectral scanner system (MSS) bands are compiled for cases of representative and ideal atmospheric conditions. The effects are expressed as a difference between the Earth's surface spectral reflectivity, a0, and the surface-atmosphere system spectral reflectivity, as, derived from the satellite data, as−a0 = −a0[l+...

The Fraunhofer line discriminator (FLD), an airborne electro-optical instrument designed to measure solar-stimulated luminescence, has a sensitivity approaching that of current laboratory fluorescence spectrometers. The feasibility of using an airborne FLD for detection of near-coastal and open-ocean phytoplankton was established by using a laboratory fluorescence spectrometer to measure...

The Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Program of the U.S. Department of the Interior, administered by the Geological Survey, was established in 1966 to apply remote-sensing techniques to the inventory, monitoring, and management of natural resources. To meet its primary objective, the EROS Program includes research and training in the interpretation and application of remotely...

The Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center (EDO, administered by the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior, provides remotely sensed data to the user community and offers a variety of professional services to further the understanding and use of remote sensing technology. EDC reproduces and sells photographic and electronic copies of satellite images of...

Models of the nadir reflectivity as a function of the fractional cover by plants or plant debris are presented and are applied to assessing the Negev vs Sinai differences and the sharp recovery (darkening) of the surface in a Sinai enclosure where anthropogenic pressures were stopped in 1974 by fencing off the area.

The use of multispectral reflectance data as surrogates for land attributes must be done within strict rules of logic and with a recognition of judgmental factors such as the use of a priori or a posteriori classification schemes. The naming and describing of spectral classes as surrogates of information classes is a critical element in the logic of mapping and must be complete and...

Remote sensing techniques are valuable for locating, assessing, and monitoring desertification. Remotely sensed data provide a permanent record of the condition of the land in a format that allows changes in land features and condition to be measured. The annotated bibliography of 118 items discusses remote sensing methods that may be applied to desertification studies.