scholarly journals Planetary polar explorer – the case for a next-generation remote sensing mission to low Mars orbit

Author(s):  
Jürgen Oberst ◽  
Kai Wickhusen ◽  
Klaus Gwinner ◽  
Ernst Hauber ◽  
Alexander Stark ◽  
...  

Abstract We propose the exploration of polar areas on Mars by a next-generation orbiter mission. In particular, we aim at studying the seasonal and regional variations in snow-deposits, which – in combination with measurements of temporal variations in rotation and gravity field – will improve models of the global planetary CO2 cycle. A monitoring of polar scarps for rock falls and avalanche events may provide insights into the dynamics of ice sheets. The mapping of the complex layering of polar deposits, believed to contain an important record of climate history, may help us understand the early climate collapse on the planet. Hence, we propose an innovative next-generation exploration mission in polar circular Low Mars Orbit, which will be of interest to scientists and challenging to engineers alike. Schemes will be developed to overcome atmosphere drag forces acting upon the spacecraft by an electric propulsion system. Based on the experience of missions of similar type in Earth orbit we believe that a two-year mission in circular orbit is possible at altitudes as low as 150 km. Such a mission opens new opportunities for novel remote sensing approaches, not requiring excessive telescope equipment or power. We anticipate precision altimetry, powerful radars, high-resolution imaging, and magnetic field mapping.

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nayan Zagade ◽  
Ajaykumar Kadam ◽  
Bhavana Umrikar ◽  
Bhagyashri Maggirwar

Drought assessment for agricultural sector is vital in order to deal with the water scarcity in Ahmednagar and Pune districts, particularly in sub-watersheds of upper catchment of the River Bhima. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) satellite data (2000, 2002, 2009, 2014, 2015 and 2017) for the years receiving less rainfall have been procured and various indices were computed to understand the intensity of agricultural droughts in the area. Vegetation health index (VHI) is computed on the basis of vegetation moisture, vegetation condition and land surface temperature condition. Most of the reviewed area shows moderate to extreme drought conditions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-231
Author(s):  
Susanne Ingvander ◽  
Peter Jansson ◽  
Ian A. Brown ◽  
Shuji Fujita ◽  
Shin Sugyama ◽  
...  

AbstractIn this study, snow particle size variability was investigated along a transect in Dronning Maud Land from the coast to the polar plateau. The aim of the study was to better understand the spatial and temporal variations in surface snow properties. Samples were collected twice daily during a traverse in 2007–08 to capture regional variability. Local variability was assessed by sampling in 10×10 m grids (5 m spacing) at selected locations. The particle size and shape distributions for each site were analysed through digital image analysis. Snow particle size variability is complex at different scales, and shows an internal variability of 0.18–3.31 mm depending on the sample type (surface, grid or pit). Relationships were verified between particle size and both elevation and distance to the coast (moisture source). Regional seasonal changes were also identified, particularly on the lower elevations of the polar plateau. This dataset may be used to quantitatively analyse the optical properties of surface snow for remote sensing. The details of the spatial and temporal variations observed in our data provide a basis for further studies of the complex and coupled processes affecting snow particle size and the interpretation of remote sensing of snow covered areas.


Sensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 2699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Li ◽  
Liqiao Tian ◽  
Qingjun Song ◽  
Zhaohua Sun ◽  
Hongjing Yu ◽  
...  

Monitoring of water quality changes in highly dynamic inland lakes is frequently impeded by insufficient spatial and temporal coverage, for both field surveys and remote sensing methods. To track short-term variations of chlorophyll fluorescence and chlorophyll-a concentrations in Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China, high-frequency, in-situ, measurements were collected from two fixed stations. The K-mean clustering method was also applied to identify clusters with similar spatio-temporal variations, using remote sensing Chl-a data products from the MERIS satellite, taken from 2003 to 2012. Four lake area classes were obtained with distinct spatio-temporal patterns, two of which were selected for in situ measurement. Distinct daily periodic variations were observed, with peaks at approximately 3:00 PM and troughs at night or early morning. Short-term variations of chlorophyll fluorescence and Chl-a levels were revealed, with a maximum intra-diurnal ratio of 5.1 and inter-diurnal ratio of 7.4, respectively. Using geostatistical analysis, the temporal range of chlorophyll fluorescence and corresponding Chl-a variations was determined to be 9.6 h, which indicates that there is a temporal discrepancy between Chl-a variations and the sampling frequency of current satellite missions. An analysis of the optimal sampling strategies demonstrated that the influence of the sampling time on the mean Chl-a concentrations observed was higher than 25%, and the uncertainty of any single Terra/MODIS or Aqua/MODIS observation was approximately 15%. Therefore, sampling twice a day is essential to resolve Chl-a variations with a bias level of 10% or less. The results highlight short-term variations of critical water quality parameters in freshwater, and they help identify specific design requirements for geostationary earth observation missions, so that they can better address the challenges of monitoring complex coastal and inland environments around the world.


Author(s):  
N. Aparna ◽  
A. V. Ramani ◽  
R. Nagaraja

Remote Sensing along with Geographical Information System (GIS) has been proven as a very important tools for the monitoring of the Earth resources and the detection of its temporal variations. A variety of operational National applications in the fields of Crop yield estimation , flood monitoring, forest fire detection, landslide and land cover variations were shown in the last 25 years using the Remote Sensing data. The technology has proven very useful for risk management like by mapping of flood inundated areas identifying of escape routes and for identifying the locations of temporary housing or a-posteriori evaluation of damaged areas etc. The demand and need for Remote Sensing satellite data for such applications has increased tremendously. This can be attributed to the technology adaptation and also the happening of disasters due to the global climate changes or the urbanization. However, the real-time utilization of remote sensing data for emergency situations is still a difficult task because of the lack of a dedicated system (constellation) of satellites providing a day-to-day revisit of any area on the globe. The need of the day is to provide satellite data with the shortest delay. Tasking the satellite to product dissemination to the user is to be done in few hours. Indian Remote Sensing satellites with a range of resolutions from 1 km to 1 m has been supporting disasters both National & International. In this paper, an attempt has been made to describe the expected performance and limitations of the Indian Remote Sensing Satellites available for risk management applications, as well as an analysis of future systems Cartosat-2D, 2E ,Resourcesat-2R &RISAT-1A. This paper also attempts to describe the criteria of satellite selection for programming for the purpose of risk management with a special emphasis on planning RISAT-1(SAR sensor).


2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. e0907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mostafa K. Mosleh ◽  
Quazi K. Hassan ◽  
Ehsan H. Chowdhury

This study aimed to develop a remote sensing-based method for forecasting rice yield by considering vegetation greenness conditions during initial and peak greenness stages of the crop; and implemented for “boro” rice in Bangladeshi context. In this research, we used Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-derived two 16-day composite of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) images at 250 m spatial resolution acquired during the initial (January 1 to January 16) and peak greenness (March 23/24 to April 6/7 depending on leap year) stages in conjunction with secondary datasets (i.e., boro suitability map, and ground-based information) during 2007-2012 period. The method consisted of two components: (i) developing a model for delineating area under rice cultivation before harvesting; and (ii) forecasting rice yield as a function of NDVI. Our results demonstrated strong agreements between the model (i.e., MODIS-based) and ground-based area estimates during 2010-2012 period, i.e., coefficient of determination (R2); root mean square error (RMSE); and relative error (RE) in between 0.93 to 0.95; 30,519 to 37,451 ha; and ±10% respectively at the 23 district-levels. We also found good agreements between forecasted (i.e., MODIS-based) and ground-based yields during 2010-2012 period (R2 between 0.76 and 0.86; RMSE between 0.21 and 0.29 Mton/ha, and RE between -5.45% and 6.65%) at the 23 district-levels. We believe that our developments of forecasting the boro rice yield would be useful for the decision makers in addressing food security in Bangladesh.


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