Remote Sensing Systems Development and Applications

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Fact Sheets:
AR #1361

Tech ID: 208
Project Overview
Aerial multispectral data can be used to detect and characterize environmental contamination. Signatures associated with contaminates are typically a function of change - either over time, location, or within the electromagnetic spectrum. Monitoring changes in the environment associated with DOE waste is being accomplished through the use of remote sensing and spatial data fusion.

Technology Description
This project involves testing several different types of remote sensors in parallel on populations of plants subjected to stress in a controlled environment. The testing identifies the best sensor, or group of sensors, for acquiring optical signatures from vegetation as an indicator of contamination in the soil or groundwater. Classical and more novel methods for analyzing the data acquired from all of the sensors are being pursued to make best use of the raw data obtained. These methods include neural net analysis and higher-order derivative analysis techniques. To understand the entire plant stress picture more completely, these same plant populations are also analyzed biochemically, anatomically, and morphologically. In addition to passive reflectance as a baseline, laser-based technology is being developed as a more chemically sensitive optical probe; a new state-of-the-art passive hyperspectral imager is also producing promising results. For the laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) techniques, a pulsed ultraviolet laser (normally eye-safe) is used to excite fluorescence in the vegetation being surveyed. The fluorescence is collected spectrally in the 400- to 800-nm region. Fluorescence data can be collected in full daylight. Sensor standoff can be anywhere from a few feet to hundreds of feet; the sensor system could even be used on a low-altitude airborne platform (it has already been aircraft mounted more than once). The data collected are analyzed for indications of stress in the plants that may signify an environmental problem (change detection) such as subsurface contamination.