Malcolm M. Pendergast

Observations and model predictions of water skin temperatures at MTI core site lakes and reservoirs

The Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) measured water skin temperatures at four of the Multi-spectral Thermal Imager (MTI) core sites. The depression of the skin temperature relative to the bulk water temperature ((Delta) T) a few centimeters below the surface is a complex function of the weather conditions, turbulent mixing in the water and the bulk water temperature. Observed skin temperature depressions range from near zero to more than 1.0 degree(s)C. Skin temperature depressions tend to be larger when the bulk water temperature is high, but large depressions were also observed in cool bodies of water in calm conditions at night. We compared (Delta) T predictions from three models (SRTC, Schlussel and Wick) against measured (Delta) Ts from 15 data sets taken at the MTI core sites. The SRTC and Wick models performed somewhat better than the Schlussel model, with RMSE and average absolute errors of about 0.2 degree(s)C, relative to 0.4 degree(s)C for the Schlussel model. The average observed (Delta) T for all 15 databases was -0.7 degree(s)C.

Measurements of the Skin Temperature on Small Lakes

Abstract An apparatus to measure the skin temperature and related variables on inland lakes is described. The apparatus is a transparent frame with sensors to measure the skin and bulk water temperature, the wind velocity, and the air temperature and humidity for periods of several days. The sensors are positioned within 1 m of the air–water interface and sample boundary layer variables every 2 s. Data for a 4-h period at midday are discussed, and the vertical fluxes of heat and momentum are calculated using bulk relationships for 1- and 5-min periods. It is shown that the measured water temperature at a depth of 1 cm correlates well with estimates based on the bulk heat flux. The skin temperature depression is calculated from the bulk heat and momentum fluxes and is found to vary between 0.4° and 0.5°C for the 4-h period and was in good agreement with the measured values. However, the calculated and measured skin temperatures were poorly correlated for both the 1- and 5-min averages. This is believed to ...

Assessment of Ivanpah Playa as a site for thermal vicarious calibration for the MTI satellite

The Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) conducted four vicarious reflectance calibrations at Ivanpah Playa, California since July 2000 in support of the MTI satellite. The potential of the playa as a thermal calibration site was also investigated in the campaigns with a mobile Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The multi-year study shows time and spatial variability in the spectral emissivity. The ground truth temperature and emissivity correlate quite well with the data from the MTI satellite imagery. The research paper will show the time-dependent emissivities measured during our ground truth campaigns and the corresponding satellite imagery.

Temporal, spatial, and spectral variability at the Ivanpah Playa vicarious calibration site

The Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) conducted four reflectance vicarious calibrations at Ivanpah Playa, California since July 2000 in support of the MTI satellite. The multi-year study shows temporal, spatial and spectral variability at the playa. The temporal variability in the wavelength dependent reflectance and emissivity across the playa suggests a dependency witt precipitation during the winter and early spring seasons. Satellite imagery acquired on September and November 2000, May 2001 and March 2002 in conjunction with ground truth during the September, May and March campaigns and water precipitation records were used to demonstrate the correlation observed at the playa.

MTI thermal bands calibration at Ivanpah Playa with a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer

The Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) is currently calibrating the Multispectral Thermal Imager (MTI) satellite sponsored by the Department of Energy. The MTI is a research and development project with 15 wavebands in the 0.45-11.50 micrometers spectral range. The reflective bands of the MTI satellite are calibrated in desert playas such as Ivanpah Playa in the Nevada/California border. The five MTI thermal bands are calibrated with targets of know emissivity and temperature such as power plant heated lakes. In order to accomplish a full calibration at the desert playas, a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer was used to measure soil surface radiance and temperature during the satellite overpass. The results obtained with the mobile FTIR during the ground truth campaign at Ivanpah Playa will be presented.

Thermal targets for satellite calibration

The Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) is currently calibrating the Multispectral Thermal Imager (MTI) satellite sponsored by the Department of Energy. The MTI imager is a research and development project with 15 wavebands in the visible, near-infrared, short-wave infrared, mid-wave infrared and long-wave infrared spectral regions. A plethora of targets with known temperatures such as power plant heated lakes, volcano lava vents, desert playas and aluminized Mylar tarps are being used in the validation of the five thermal bands of the MTI satellite. SRTC efforts in the production of cold targets with aluminized Mylar tarps will be described. Visible and thermal imagery and wavelength dependent radiance measurements of the calibration targets will be presented.

DIRECT MEASUREMENT OF HEAT FLUX FROM COOLING LAKE THERMAL IMAGERY

Laboratory experiments show a linear relationship between the total heat flux from a water surface to air and the standard deviation of the surface temperature field, σ, derived from thermal images of the water surface over a range of heat fluxes from 400 to 1800 Wm-2. Thermal imagery and surface data were collected at two power plant cooling lakes to determine if the laboratory relationship between heat flux and σ exists in large heated bodies of water. The heat fluxes computed from the cooling lake data range from 200 to 1400 Wm-2. The linear relationship between σ and Q is evident in the cooling lake data, but it is necessary to apply band pass filtering to the thermal imagery to remove camera artifacts and non-convective thermal gradients. The correlation between σ and Q is improved if a correction to the measured σ is made that accounts for wind speed effects on the thermal convection. Based on more than a thousand cooling lake images, the correlation coefficients between σ and Q ranged from about 0.8 to 0.9.

Comparison of MTI Satellite-Derived Surface Water Temperatures and In-Situ Measurements

Temperatures of the water surface of a cold, mid-latitude lake and the tropical Pacific Ocean were determined from MTI images and from in situ concurrent measurements. In situ measurements were obtained at the time of the MTI image with a floating, anchored platform, which measured the surface and bulk water temperatures and relevant meteorological variables, and also from a boat moving across the target area. Atmospheric profiles were obtained from concurrent radiosonde soundings. Radiances at the satellite were calculated with the Modtran radiative transfer model. The MTI infrared radiances were within 1% of the calculated values at the Pacific Ocean site but were 1-2% different over the mid-latitude lake.

Ground truth collections at the MTI core sites

The Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) selected 13 sites across the continental US and one site in the western Pacific to serve as the primary or core site for collection of ground truth data for validation of MTI science algorithms. Imagery and ground truth data from several of these sites are presented in this paper. These sites are the Comanche Peak, Pilgrim and Turkey Point power plants, Ivanpah playas, Crater Lake, Stennis Space Center and the Tropical Western Pacific ARM site on the island of Nauru. Ground truth data includes water temperatures (bulk and skin), radiometric data, meteorological data and plant operating data. The organizations that manage these sites assist SRTC with its ground truth data collections and also give the MTI project a variety of ground truth measurements that they make for their own purposes. Collectively, the ground truth data from the 14 core sites constitute a comprehensive database for science algorithm validation.

Post-launch validation of Multispectral Thermal Imager (MTI) data and algorithms

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) have developed a diverse group of algorithms for processing and analyzing the data that will be collected by the Multispectral Thermal Imager (MTI) after launch late in 1999. Each of these algorithms must be verified by comparison to independent surface and atmospheric measurements. SRTC has selected 13 sites in the continental U.S. for ground truth data collections. These sites include a high altitude cold water target (Crater Lake), cooling lakes and towers in the warm, humid southeastern U.S., Department of Energy (DOE) climate research sites, the NASA Stennis satellite Validation and Verification (V&V) target array, waste sites at the Savannah River Site, mining sites in the Four Corners area and dry lake beds in Nevada. SRTC has established mutually beneficial relationships with the organizations that manage these sites to make use of their operating and research data and to install additional instrumentation needed for MTI algorithm V&V.