Researchers from the University of Iowa participated in a six-week summer program by NASA, during which they demostrated that more accurate images of the satellite surface can be achieved when the local atmospheric conditions are considered.
The outcome of the 2009 NASA Student Airborne Research Program has been published online in the Remote Sensing Letters journal on August 4.
Students belonging to Georgia Institute of Technology and Howard University participated in the program, where they flew aboard the D-8 Airborne Science Laboratory of NASA, and worked on NASA’s remote sensing devices, namely, MODIS and ASTER. Forecasts given by the UI Centre for Global and Regional Environmental Research (CGRER) guided the flight.
From the images obtained, the students noted that with the help of climate and air quality forecasts provided by the CGRER regional model, it was possible to enhance the accuracy and sensitivity of temperature calculations at the sea surface, across cities and vegetative areas. The CGRER model gave better results compared to standard approaches followed for calculating surface measurements with the help of images obtained from satellites, which use a single average for trace gas concentration and climatic conditions across various cities.
Scott Spak, Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa, said that the CGRER approach will enhance the satellite record of the surface of the Earth and oceans, thereby providing solutions to monitoring vital environmental concerns including coastal algae blooms, urban heat islands, and afforestation.