Landsat #NASA #USGS #Earth Taking Temperatures from ISS

Taking Temperatures from ISS

When remote sensing scientists observe Earth, they often look for heat signatures. Fires, volcanoes, ice, water, and even sunlit or shaded landscapes emit and reflect heat and light—energy—in ways that make them stand out from their surroundings. NASA scientists recently used a new sensor to read some of those signatures more clearly.

Through nearly a year of testing on the International Space Station (ISS), the experimental Compact Thermal Imager (CTI) collected more than 15 million images of Earth, and the results were compelling. Researchers were impressed by the breadth and quality of the imagery CTI collected in 10 months on the ISS, particularly of fires.

For instance, CTI captured several images of the unusually severe fires in Australia that burned for four months in 2019-20. With its 80-meter (260 foot) per pixel resolution, CTI was able to detect the shape and location of fire fronts and how far they were from settled areas—information that is critically important to first responders.

For the past two decades, scientists have generally relied upon coarse resolution (375–1000 m) thermal data from the satellite-based Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensors to monitor fire activity from above. During its flight test, CTI made observations of fires with 20 times more detail than VIIRS and 190 times more detail than MODIS.

The images above highlight the difference. Both images show CTI's view of large fires burning in the Gondwana Rainforests of New South Wales on November 1, 2019. The right image also includes the VIIRS fire detections (red diamonds) of the same area that day. The data were overlaid on a natural-color image acquired by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8.

The image below, acquired by the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 spacecraft on November 1, shows a more detailed view of one of the fire clusters, along with the CTI data.

"CTI's deployment on the space station was primarily a test of how well the hardware would perform in space. It was not initially designed as a science mission," explained Doug Morton, chief of the Biospheric Sciences Laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. "Nonetheless, CTI data proved scientifically useful as we monitored several high-profile fire outbreaks this past summer."

One aspect of CTI's mission that was of particular interest to Morton was the timing of the images. MODIS and VIIRS have polar orbits and make observations over a given area at the same time each day (roughly 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.). Imagers on the ISS provide more variety and less consistency in timing, as the orbit of the International Space Station is more variable, as is the lighting and angles as it passes over different locations.

"We ended up getting these amazing images of fires at times of the day when we don't usually get them," said Morton. Fire researchers are eager to have more views of fires around dawn and dusk, which are sometimes missed by MODIS and VIIRS. "It was a reminder of how much critical science we could do if we had a whole fleet of sensors like CTI giving us such detailed measurements multiple times a day."

CTI was designed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and installed on the ISS in 2019 as part of the Robotic Refueling Mission 3. It used an advanced detector called a strained layer superlattice (SLS), an improved version of the detector technology that is part of the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) of Landsat 8 and 9.

"The new SLS technology operates at a much warmer temperature with greater sensitivity and has a broader spectral response than the TIRS technology, resulting in a smaller and less costly instrument to design and build," said Murzy Jhabvala, principal investigator for CTI. "SLS has proved itself. This technology is now a viable candidate for the future Landsat 10 and a variety of other lunar, planetary, and asteroid missions."

NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey, VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS/LANCE and GIBS/Worldview and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership, topographic data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), and modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2018) processed by the European Space Agency. CTI data courtesy of the CTI team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The sensor was developed with QmagiQ and funded by the Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO). Story by Adam Voiland.

Comments

Geography of Landslides. Mitigation and Resilience.

A landslide is a geological event in which a mass of rock, earth, or debris moves down a slope under the force of gravity. Landslides can range in size from small to large and can be triggered by natural events such as heavy rainfall, earthquakes, or volcanic activity, or by human activities such as construction or mining. The geography of landslides is affected by a variety of factors that can increase the likelihood of landslides occurring in a particular area. These factors include slope angle and steepness, the type of soil and rock present, the climate and weather patterns of the region, the presence or absence of vegetation, and human activities such as construction, mining, and deforestation. Areas with steep slopes are more prone to landslides because gravity has a stronger effect on loose soil and rock, making it more likely to move downhill. Similarly, areas with loose, sandy soil or weak, fractured rock are more prone to landslides because they are less stable and more easil

Landslide

Landslides are a type of "mass wasting," where soil and rock move down-slope due to gravity. Landslides can be caused by a combination of factors, such as rainfall, snowmelt, changes in water level, and human activities. There are five modes of slope movement, including falls, topples, slides, spreads, and flows, which vary depending on the type of geologic material. Debris flows and rock falls are common types of landslides. Landslides can also occur underwater, known as submarine landslides, and sometimes cause tsunamis. Landslides occur when down-slope forces exceed the strength of the earth materials that compose the slope. Slopes already on the verge of movement are more susceptible to landslides, which can be induced by earthquakes, volcanic activity, and stream erosion. There are four main types of movement: falls, topples, slides (rotational and translational), and flows. Landslides can involve just one of these movements or a combination of several. Geologists also

Disaster Management Act, 2005. National Disaster Management Framework (NDMF) National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM). National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)

Disaster Management Act, 2005. National Disaster Management Framework (NDMF) National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM). National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) The National Disaster Management Framework (NDMF) in India is a comprehensive policy document that provides a framework for managing disasters in the country. The framework was first introduced in 2005 and was updated in 2019. The NDMF is based on the principle of an integrated approach to disaster management. It aims to bring together all stakeholders, including the government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society, and the private sector, to work towards a common goal of disaster management. The framework is designed to address all phases of disaster management, including prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. It provides guidelines for various aspects of disaster management, including risk assessment, disaster planning, early warning systems, sear

Disaster Management. Geography of Disaster Management.

Disaster management refers to the process of preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters or emergencies that may affect communities, regions, or entire countries. It involves the coordination of various activities and efforts by government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders to minimize the impact of disasters and promote the well-being of affected populations. The process of disaster management can be broken down into four phases: Mitigation: This involves taking steps to reduce the risk of disasters, such as identifying and addressing potential hazards, developing emergency plans, and improving infrastructure and systems. Preparedness: This involves preparing for the possibility of a disaster, such as training emergency responders, conducting drills and exercises, and stockpiling necessary supplies. Response: This involves taking immediate action during and immediately after a disaster, such as rescuing people, providing emergency medical

Earthquake. Terminology and Concept

Earthquake It is a transient violent movement of the Earth's surface that follows a release of energy in the Earth's crust. 2. Magnitude It is a measure of the amount of energy released during an earthquake and expressed by Richter scale. Effect of earthquake according to Richter scale . Richter Magnitude Earthquake effects Less than 3.5 Generally not felt, but recorded. 3.5-5.4 Often felt, but rarely causes damage. Under 6.0 At most, slight damage to well-designed buildings. Can cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings over small regions. 6.1-6.9 Can be destructive in areas up to about 100 across where people live. 7.0-7.9 Major earthquake. Can cause serious damage over larger areas. 8 or greater Great Earthquake. Can cause serious damage in areas several hundred across. 3. Intensity Intensity is a qualitative measure of the actual shaking at a location during an Earthquake, and is assigned in Roman Capital Numerical. It refers to the effects of earthqu

Vineesh V, Geography

Search This Blog