The BOREAS Information System

The Remote Sensing Science (RSS) Group


RSS Group Objectives

The overall objective of the Remote Sensing Science (RSS) Group is to develop linkages between optical and microwave remote sensing and boreal zone biophysical parameters at scales that include leaf, canopy and regional levels using field, aircraft and satellite borne sensors and scattering models. Specifically, the objectives are:

In support of these objectives RSS Group Investigators have acquired fundamental measurements of reflectance, emittance, and backscatter of the canopy and background, atmospheric scattering and absorption, and in cooperation with other discipline groups, surface ancillary data. In terms of algorithm development the RSS group are developing and testing optical and microwave algorithms to produce biophysical parameter sets for the SSA and NSA modeling su-areas, and AVIRR community composition maps at the 1000 x 1000 km BOREAS region.


The BOREAS RSS Airforce

A List of BOREAS Research Aircraft is available with brief descriptions of their equipment. Note that the aircraft are divided into two groups; remote sensing (optical and microwave/gamma) and flux measurement.


BOREAS Field Campaign 1994

The RSS group is developing linkages between optical and microwave remote sensing and boreal zone biophysical parameters at scales that include leaf, canopy and regional levels using field, aircraft and satellite-borne sensors and a range of radiative transfer models. View preliminary results from the RSS group.

For more information on RSS data, send e-mail to Jaime Nickeson,
the BORIS representative for the RSS group.


The RSS Teams

Click on a team name below to view information on a specific team's BOREAS activities.

RSS-1
Radiative Transfer Characteristics of Boreal Forest Canopies and Algorithms for Energy Balance and PAR Absorption
P.I.(s): Donald Deering -- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Co-I(s): Elizabeth Middleton -- NASA/GSFC; Suraiya Ahmad, Tom Eck -- Hughes STX Corp.

RSS-2
Dynamics of Canopy Photosynthesis and Stomatal Conductance in the Boreal Forest: A Study Using Airborne, Multi-Angle, Imaging Spectroradiometer Data
P.I.(s): James R. Irons -- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Co-I(s): Phillip Dabney -- NASA/GSFC; J. Martonchik -- NASA/JPL; K. Jon Ranson -- NASA/GSFC; Charles Walthall, Carol Russell -- Univ. of Maryland

RSS-3
Biophysical Significance of Spectral Vegetation Indices in the Boreal Forest
P.I.(s): Charles Walthall -- University of Maryland
Co-I(s): Darrel Williams -- NASA/GSFC; Samuel Goward -- Univ. of Maryland

RSS-4
Coupling Remotely Sensed Data to Ecosystem Simulation Models
P.I.(s): Paul Curran -- University of Swansea
Co-I(s): Stephen Plummer -- British Nat'l Space Centre; Neil Lucas, R. Green -- Univ. College of Swansea

RSS-5
Boreal Forest Community Composition and Structure, Photosynthesis, Remote Sensing, Scaling and Net Carbon Flux
P.I.(s): Narendra S. Goel -- Wayne State University

RSS-6
Modeling and Remote Sensing of Radiant Energy Interactions and Physiological Functioning in a Boreal Ecosystem
P.I.(s): Darrel Williams, Ranga Myneni -- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

RSS-7
Retrieval of Boreal Forest Leaf Area Index From Multiple Scale Remotely Sensed Vegetation Indices
P.I.(s): Jing M. Chen -- Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS)
Co-I(s): Margaret Penner -- Forestry Canada/PNFI; Josef Cihlar -- CCRS

RSS-8
MODIS Land Team (Modland) Algorithm Development for Boreal Forests: Participation in BOREAS
P.I.(s): Steven W. Running -- University of Montana
Co-I(s): Jan-Peter Muller -- Univ. College London; Dorothy Hall, Yoram Kaufman -- NASA/GSFC; Alfredo Huete -- Univ. of Arizona; Zhengming Wan -- CRSEO Univ. of Calif.; Christopher Justice -- NASA/GSFC; D. Carneggie -- USGS EDC

RSS-9
High Spatial and Spectral Resolution Image Analysis Techniques for Ecological and Biophysical Data (High Spirited)
P.I.(s): Murray Strome -- National Resources Canada, Petawawa National Forestry Institute

RSS-10
Satellite Estimation of PAR and UV-B Irradiances and Long Term Estimates of Trends of UV-B from Ozone Depletion and Cloud Variability at the BOREAS Sites
P.I.(s): Brent Holben -- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Co-I(s): Pawan Bhartia -- NASA/GSFC

RSS-11
Characterization of Atmospheric Optical Properties for BOREAS
P.I.(s): Brian L. Markham, Brent Holben -- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Co-I(s): Yoram J. Kaufman -- NASA/GSFC; Rangasayi Halthore, Tom Eck -- Hughes STX Corp.; Eric Vermote -- Univ. of Maryland

RSS-12
Aerosol Determinations and Atmospheric Correction for BOREAS Imagery
P.I.(s): Michael A. Spanner -- NASA/Ames Research Center
Co-I(s): Robert E. Slye, Philip B. Russell, Gerald P. Livingston -- NASA/ARC

RSS-13
Helicopter-Based Measurements of Microwave Scattering Over the Boreal Forest
P.I.(s): S. Prasad Gogineni -- University of Kansas
GSRP Student: G. Lance Lockhart -- University of Kansas

RSS-14
Quality Assurance of BOREAS Net Radiation Measurement
P.I.(s): Eric A. Smith -- Florida State University
Collaborator: Harry Cooper, Gary B. Hodges, J. Jing -- F.S.U.

RSS-15
Distribution and Structure of Above Ground Biomass in Boreal Forest Ecosystems
P.I.(s): K. Jon Ranson -- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center; Roger Lang--George Washington University
Co-I(s): Guoqing Sun -- SSAI; Narinder Chauhan -- GWU

RSS-16
Estimation of Hydrological Parameters in Boreal Forest Using SAR Data
P.I.(s): Sasan S. Saatchi--NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Co-I(s): Jacob van Zyl, Mahta Mogaddam -- NASA/JPL; Ted Engman -- NASA/GSFC

RSS-17
Monitoring Environmental and Phenologic State and Duration of State with SAR as Input to Improved CO2 Flux Models
P.I.(s): JoBea Way -- NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Co-I(s): Eric Rignot, Reiner Zimmermann -- NASA/JPL; Gordon Bonan -- NCAR

RSS-18
Surface and Atmosphere Measurements and Radiative Transfer Modeling for the Calibration and Validation of the Airborne Visible-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) for Quantitative Data Analysis at BOREAS
P.I.(s): Robert O. Green -- NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory

RSS-19
Variation in Radiometric Properties of the Boreal Forest Landscape as a Function of the Ecosystem Dynamics
P.I.(s): John R. Miller -- York University
Co-I(s): Ellsworth LeDrew -- Univ. of Waterloo; Norman O'Neill, Alain Royer -- Univ. de Sherbrooke; P. Teillet, Karl Staenz, R. Gauthier, R. Neville -- CCRS; A. Hollinger -- Canadian Space Agency

RSS-20
Estimation of Photosynthetic Capacity using Polder Polarization
P.I.(s): Vern C. Vanderbilt -- NASA/Ames Research Center


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Send e-mail to Jaime Nickeson, the BORIS representative for the RSS group

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Last Updated: October 28, 1997