Simulating the moderating effect of a lake on downwind temperatures

A steady-state, two-dimensional numerical model is used to simulate air temperatures and humidity downwind of a lake at night. Thermal effects of the lake were modelled for the case of moderate and low surface winds under the cold-air advective conditions that occur following the passage of a cold front. Surface temperatures were found to be in good agreement with observations. A comparison of model results with thermal imagery indicated the model successfully predicts the downwind distance for which thermal effects due to the lake are significant.     

Airborne gravimetry used in precise geoid computations by ring integration

Two detailed geoids have been computed in the region of North Jutland. The first computation used marine data in the offshore areas. For the second computation the marine data set was replaced by the sparser airborne gravity data resulting from the AGMASCO campaign of September 1996. The results of comparisons of the geoid heights at on-shore geometric control showed that the geoid heights computed from the airborne gravity data matched in precision those computed using the marine data, supporting the view that airborne techniques have enormous potential for mapping those unsurveyed areas between the land-based data and the off-shore marine or altimetrically derived data. Received: 7 July 1997 / Accepted: 22 April 1998     

3-D Radargrammetric Modeling of RADARSAT-2 Ultrafine Mode: Preliminary Results of the Geometric Calibration

The geometry and the accuracy of the 3-D cartographic localization of RADARSAT-2 images are being evaluated as part of the Canadian Space Agency's Science and Operational Applications Research program. In a first step, the Toutin's 3-D physical model, previously developed for RADARSAT-1, was adapted to RADARSAT-2 sensor and applied to two ultrafine mode images (U2 and U25) acquired over an area in Beauport, Quebec. Both the 3-D modeling computed with only 12 ground control points and its geometric localization were evaluated with different check data: 1) independent check points; 2) the two quasi-epipolar images; 3) the two orthoimages; and 4) 1-m accurate orthophotos. All four results and validations are in agreement and confirm that the 3-D geometric localization and restitution accuracy are 1 m in planimetry and 2 m in elevation. The checked data error being included in these evaluations and the relative error computed from the quasi-epipolar comparison provided a high level of confidence that the precision of Toutin's 3-D radargrammetric model is better than 0.25 m.     

Hyperspectral remote sensing of evaporate minerals and associated sediments in Lake Magadi area, Kenya

Pleistocene to present evaporitic lacustrine sediments in Lake Magadi, East African Rift Valley, Kenya were studied and mapped using spectral remote sensing methods. This approach incorporated surface mineral mapping using space-borne hyperspectral Hyperion imagery together with laboratory analysis, including visible, near-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (VNIR) measurements and X-ray diffraction for selected rock and soil samples of the study area. The spectral signatures of Magadiite and Kenyaite, which have not been previously reported, were established and the spectral signatures of trona, chert series, volcanic tuff and the High Magadi bed were also analyzed.Image processing techniques, MNF (Minimum Noise Fraction) and MTMF (Mixture Tuned Matched Filtering) using a stratified approach (image analysis with and without the lake area), were used to enhance the mapping of evaporates. High Magadi beds, chert series and volcanic tuff were identified from the Hyperion image with an overall mapping accuracy of 84.3%. Even though, the spatial distribution of evaporites and sediments in Lake Magadi area change in response to climate variations, the mineralogy of this area has not been mapped recently. The results of this study shows the usefulness of the hypersspectral remote sensing to map the surface geology of this kind of environment and to locate promising sites for industrial open-pit trona mining in a qualitative and quantitative manner.     

Generation of Vegetation Fraction and Surface Albedo Products Over India from Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) Data Onboard Oceansat-2

The use of Local Area Coverage (LAC) data from Ocean Color Monitor (OCM) sensor of Oceansat-2 with its high radiometric resolution (12 bits/pixel) and 2-day repeat cycle for rapid monitoring of vegetation growth and estimating surface albedo for the Indian region is demonstrated in this study. For the vegetation monitoring, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and vegetation fraction (VF) products were estimated by maximum value composite approach fortnightly and were resampled to 1 km. The surface albedo products were realized by converting narrow-band eight-band spectral reflectance OCM data to a) visible (300–700 nm) and b) broad band (300–3,000 nm) data. For validation, the derived products were compared with respective MODIS global products and found to be in good agreement.     

Monitoring of salt affected soils — A case study using aerial photographs,salyut‐7 space photographs,and landsat TM data

Soils of part of Ukai‐kakarapar Command area, Gujarat (India) have been mapped at 1:25, 000 scale using aerial photographs of December 1977. It was observed that about 36.3% of the area was affected by soil salinity/alkalinity. The test area has been remapped using Salyut‐7 space photographs taken during Indo‐Soviet joint flight in April, 1984. The area affected by soil salinity/alkalinity was found to be substantially higher (80.3%). The earlier mapping using aerial photographs was done when the soil surface was compartively moist (December 1977) as compared to date of Salyut‐7 photography (April 1984), when the soil surface was likely to be devoid of moisture and the salts moved to the surface. To have easy comparision with the map prepared by using aerial photographs, Landsat TM data of December, 1985 was used in which 45.7% of the total area was mapped as salt affected. The extent of area delineated using Landsat TM was higher than that of 1977 but much lesser than the area delineated using Salyut‐7 (MKF‐6M) photographs. This indicated that the increase in the extent of salt affected area in the map prepared using the MKF‐6M photographs might be partly due to actual increase in the salinity/alkalinity and partly due to the seasonal affects. Among the various bands of MKF‐6M, band ‐4 was found to be the best for delineating the salt affected soils. The boundaries were sharper in the FCC and band No.4 of MKF‐6M than in the aerial photographs.