Susan W. Aber

Challenge of Infrared Kite Aerial Photography

Abstract Kite aerial photography (KAP) involves the use of large kites to lift compact camera systems for capturing images of ground features. Our goal has been to develop equipment and techniques for infrared kite aerial photography. Attempting to conduct infrared photography from kites has proven to be a considerable challenge for several reasons. Among the most important limitations are those inherent in infrared film and conventional cameras. Infrared film has no ISO speed rating, and camera light meters do not measure infrared energy in the scene. Furthermore, KAP equipment should be relatively compact, rugged, light weight, and inexpensive. We have designed, built, and field tested two KAP rigs based on the Canon EOS RebelX camera, which is a 35-mm, full-featured, SLR camera. Our first rig is a dual-camera setup, in which the cameras take simultaneous color-visible and color-infrared photographs. This rig has radio control of the camera shutters. Camera tilt and pan positions are set manually prior to each flight. The second rig is for a single camera (color-infrared only); the rig has full radio control for pan, tilt, and shutter. The dual-camera rig weighs 1.5 kg, and the single-camera rig is just over 1 kg. Based on considerable field testing, we have determined appropriate manual light settings under full-sun conditions–1/250 shutter speed and f-9.5 aperture. Our preliminary results suggest that infrared KAP may be valuable for detailed investigations of vegetation, soils, and other environmental features.

Small-format aerial photography for assessing change in wetland vegetation, Cheyenne Bottoms, Kansas

Abstract Cheyenne Bottoms is a Ramsar wetland site in central Kansas, where the Nature Conservancy (NC) has undertaken an effort since the mid-1990s to maintain and restore marsh and wet-meadow habitats for migrating shorebirds and waterfowl. Small-format aerial photography was conducted using kites and a helium blimp in order to document changing water and vegetation conditions during the years 2002–2005. Pictures were taken repeatedly throughout the growing seasons with various film and digital cameras from heights of 100–150 m. Invasive cattails (Typha sp.) are a major concern; the spread of cattail thickets during the 1990s reduced the open marshes on which migrating shorebirds depend for feeding. The NC adopted a strategy in which drought episodes are exploited for control of cattails. During our study, a drought cycle took place. Both color-visible and color-infrared images depict the impact of changing water level on cattails, which over the course of two years (2002 to 2004) were largely eliminated from the NC marshes. Dead cattail thickets were removed subsequently (mowing and burning), and these zones were restored into open marsh that supports beneficial emergent wetland vegetation—Scirpus, Eleocharis, Sagittaria, etc. Small-format aerial photography provided high-resolution, multi-view-angle imagery that depicts the consequences of NC management practices on marsh habitat conditions.

Challenge of Infrared Kite Aerial Photography: A Digital Update

Kite aerial photography (KAP) is a means to acquire large-scale, highly detailed imagery for various environmental applications. Previous color-infrared KAP was developed for film-based cameras, but is now effectively obsolete. The authors have built a KAP rig and field tested a digital color-infrared camera, the Tetracam ADC, which produces results that are generally comparable with color-infrared film photography. Field testing was conducted at the Cheyenne Bottoms Preserve of The Nature Conservancy in central Kansas. The resulting images are high-contrast photographs that depict emergent vegetation in bright red-pink colors and show water bodies nearly black, as would be expected in color-infrared imagery. Color-visible digital cameras produce better apparent spatial resolution, whereas the Tetracam ADC camera provides an extended spectral range into the near-infrared. For detailed environmental field investigations involving kite aerial photography, a combination of color-visible and color-infrared cameras is recommended for improved results overall.

Wetland environments: A Global Perspective: Aber/Wetland environments: A Global Perspective

Wetland Environments A Global Perspective A complete study of wetland environments requires the assessment of their physical and biological attributes, properties and functions of these ecosystems, and the economic, political and social aspects that mediate their use globally. Wetland Environments: A Global Perspective | Wiley Wetlands swamp, marsh, bayou, tundra and bog are places that are rarely visited and often misunderstood but they have, in fact, conspicuous roles in the physical, biological and cultural geography of the world. They are intrinsically beautiful environments where one may see the natural and essential values in the interaction of water, soil, vegetation, wildlife, and humans. Wetland environments: A Global Perspective | Wiley Online ... A complete study of wetland environments requires the assessment of their physical and biological attributes, properties and functions of these ecosystems, and the economic, political and social aspects that mediate their use globally. Wetland Environments: A Global Perspective: Aber, James S ... Wetland Environments: A Global Perspective Kindle edition by Aber, James S., Pavri, Firooza, Aber, Susan. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Wetland Environments: A Global Perspective. Wetland Environments: A Global Perspective 1, Aber, James ... They are intrinsically beautiful environments where one may see the natural and essential values in the interaction of water, soil, vegetation, wildlife, and humans. Wetlands occur at the confluence of unique terrestrial, hydrological and climatic conditions that give rise to some of the most biodiverse regions of the world. Wetland Environments: A Global Perspective by James S ... Description. Wetlands swamp, marsh, bayou, tundra and bog are places that are rarely visited and often misunderstood but they have, in fact, conspicuous roles in the physical, biological and cultural geography of the world. They are intrinsically beautiful environments where one

Applications of kite aerial photography: Biocontrol of salt cedar (Tamarix) in the western United States

Abstract Salt cedar (Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb.) is a small shrubby tree that is taking over wetland and riparian habitats in the western United States. Biocontrol experiments are underway based on the Chinese leaf-eating beetle, Diorhabda elongata deserticola, as a means for controlling salt cedar. Kite aerial photography and ground observations were conducted in 2003 to document the effects of beetle biocontrol on salt cedar at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation study site near Pueblo, Colorado. High-resolution August images provided clear visual evidence of salt cedar defoliation by beetles, and the images were suitable for quantitative analysis. This approach could be employed successfully to monitor other types of biocontrol study sites.

Recent Azolla Bloom at Cheyenne Bottoms, Kansas

In October 2009, low-height aerial photographs taken from a helium blimp revealed the presence of Azolla sp. over substantial portions of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) marsh complex at Cheyenne Bottoms in central Kansas. Azolla is a small, aquatic fern that has worldwide distribution; the mostly likely species for the central Great Plains is A. cristata. Although recorded previously in central Kansas, Azolla had not been seen in TNC marshes before, so its sudden appearance is remarkable. Widespread flooding in 2007 is considered the most likely means for transporting Azolla spores or plant fragments into TNC marshes; however, several other mechanisms are possible. The long-term significance of Azolla in TNC marshes is difficult to gauge at this point; both positive and negative consequences may happen in future years.

High-altitude kite aerial photography

Abstract Kite aerial photography (KAP) is a low-cost means to acquire large-scale, low-height, high-resolution aerial imagery. It is commonly practiced at low altitude for geological, environmental, and many other scientific applications. The method has been used much less at higher altitudes above 1000 m, however. We present examples of high-altitude KAP from the High Plains and Rocky Mountains in the United States and the Tatra Mountains in Slovakia and Poland. Based on these experiences, we find that KAP is feasible in the altitude range ∼1000–2500 m, particularly for those places that are relatively open and have semiarid climates. Such sites include high plains, mountain forelands, and broad intermontane valleys. Mountains, in contrast, have more frequent cloud cover, experience highly variable wind, and often have poor access, which lead to more difficult KAP conditions. Above 2500 m altitude, low air density becomes a significant limitation for kite flying. High-altitude KAP is a means to portray landscape elements and details from vantage points that would be difficult or impossible to achieve by other methods of small-format aerial photography.

Applications of kite aerial photography: Property survey

The techniques of taking aerial photographs from kites were introduced by the authors in the Transactions (Aber, Sobieski et al. 1999; Aber, Aber and Leffler 2001) and in other journals during the past few years (Aber and Galazka 2000; Aber and Aber 2001; Aber, Aaviksoo et al. 2002). The basic method involves large kites for lifting camera rigs 50150 m above the surface. Various film and digital cameras may be utilized to capture images in visible and near-infrared portions of the spectrum. The camera rigs are controlled by radio transmitter from the ground, and pictures may be taken in any orientation relative to the ground and sun position. The resulting airphotos are largescale, high-resolution images that depict ground features in surprising detail. Ground resolution of vertical kite aerial photography is typically in the range of 5-10 cm.

Applications of kite aerial photography: Golf course management

The techniques of taking aerial photographs from kites were introduced by the authors in the Transactions (Aber, Sobieski et al. 1999) and in other journals during the past few years (Aber and Aber 2001). The basic method involves large kites for lifting camera rigs 50150 m above the surface (Fig. 1). Various film and digital cameras may be utilized to capture images in visible and near-infrared portions of the spectrum and in all directions relative to the ground target and sun position. The resulting airphotos are large-scale, highresolution images that depict ground features in surprising detail.

Limestone Xenoliths in Hills Pond Lamproite, Woodson County, Kansas

The Hills Pond lamproite is part of a sill complex intruded into the northern portion of the Silver City Dome (Fig. 1). This intrusion is related closely in age, composition, and tectonic setting to a nearby intrusion at Rose Dome (Berendsen and Blair, 1991). Rose Dome includes well-known xenoliths of granite derived from the deep crust. However, xenoliths of any type have never been reported before from the Hills Pond lamproite. The seeming lack of xenoliths at Silver City has been puzzling. The following summary is based mainly on Bickford, Wetherill, and Franks (1971); Franks, Bickford, and Wagner (1971); and Wojcik and Knapp (1990). The intrusive rock of Silver City and Rose Dome was referred to earlier as mica peridotite or kimberlite. It now is recognized as lamproite, a potassium-rich, intermediate to ultramafic, alkalic rock with high K/Na and K/Al ratios. Intrusion of lamproite took place approximately 88-90 million years ago during the mid-Cretaceous, when the present surface was covered by about 1 km of overburden strata. The intrusions are hosted at the surface in