About the Collection:

Series 1: SEASAT (The first Earth-orbiting satellite designed for remote sensing of the Earth's oceans)

This is airborne radar imagery (sea surface). There are 22 film canisters (6 boxes) available at the University of Arkansas Library.

SEASAT Georeferenced flight path map (click on image for larger version)

SEASAT was the first satellite designed to monitor the earth's oceans by using microwave and radar technology. It collected data for 100 days and provided more information about the ocean than the previous 100 years of shipboard research. A massive short circuit in its functioning system caused a failure in operation. It acquired imagery spanning land and water of North and Central America, the Caribbean, the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and Arctic Region.

SEASAT used five different instruments to gather information about the earth’s oceans. Synthetic Aperture Radar provides a unique and unprecedented fine-scale view of the dynamics of the upper ocean and ice surface. Some of the main objectives were to image the ocean’s surface, polar ice caps, coastal regions, and snow coverage. SEASAT SAR used L-band wavelength and collected at a 100 km swath, producing 25 m spatial resolution. The SEASAT radar altimeter measured ocean topography and wave heights. It operated at the Ku band wavelength at 10 cm accuracy. The SEASAT-A scatterometer system measured wind speed and direction. It operated at the L-band wavelength and measured wind speed to +/- 2 m/s and 20 degrees. The scanning multi channel microwave radiometer collected sea surface temperatures, as well as measured surface wind speed, atmospheric water content, rain rate, and ice coverage. It measured dual polarized microwave radiation in five frequencies from a swath of 600 km. The visible and infrared radiometer identified cloud, ocean, and terrestrial features. It also provided thermal ocean information. It operated in the visible and infrared bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. The swath was 1900 km. These instruments all provided researchers with significant information about earth’s ocean, arctic, and terrestrial features.

Overview of the Seasat program - http://southport.jpl.nasa.gov/scienceapps/seasat.html

SEASAT Platform Guide Document - http://nsidc.org/data/docs/daac/seasat_platform.gd.html

Seasat—A 25-year legacy of success
Remote Sensing of Environment, Volume 94, Issue 3, 15 February 2005, Pages 384-404 Diane L. Evans, Werner Alpers, Anny Cazenave, Charles Elachi, Tom Farr, David Glackin, Benjamin Holt, Linwood Jones, W. Timothy Liu, Walt McCandless, et al.

 

Series 2: Aircraft Radar

This imagery is mostly from the 60's. There are 115 film canisters (30 boxes) available at the University of Arkansas Library . There is a variety of film formats (positive, X-Polar positive, negative and B/W positive).

Aircraft Radar Georeferenced flight path map of the United States (Click on image for larger version)

Aircraft Radar Georeferenced flight path map of Panama (Click on image for larger version)

This aircraft radar collection is mostly composed of imagery from Panama and Colombia. Side Looking Aperture Radar (SLAR) was used to acquire this imagery. SLAR is used to obtain terrestrial data independent of weather conditions. It also provides researchers with a unique view of the earth. This was a breakthrough in the attempts to obtain original mapping coverage over a geographic area with a history of inclement weather.

Radar is a particularly useful remote sensing platform since it uses an active sensor. It emits microwave pulses that can penetrate clouds and heavy vegetation. This makes radar very useful in acquisition of imagery for low latitude locations. Aircraft radar is useful in practical mapping of tropical environment geological structures. This imagery allowed researchers to examine the effect of radar look direction and determine directional dependency. Researchers also used this imagery to define and analyze radar-linears and infer the nature of tectonic forces responsible for local structures.

Synthetic Aperture Radar Imagery --Sandia National Laboratories -http://www.sandia.gov/RADAR/imagery.html

 

Series 3: Skylab

This imagery is from the Skylab missions 2, 3 and 4. There are 58 film canisters (5 boxes) available at the University of Arkansas Library. Film formats vary between positive, color positive, positive IR and B/W positive.

Skylab Georeferenced flight path map (Click on image for larger version)

Skylab Georeferenced flight path map (Click on image for larger version)

Skylab Georeferenced ground path map (Click on image for larger version)

 

The Skylab mission was launched on May 14, 1973. The manned Skylab 2 mission ran from May 25, 1973 to June 22, 1973. Skylab 3’s manned mission began on July 28, 1973 and ended on September 25, 1973. The manned Skylab 4 mission ran from November 16, 1973 until February 8, 1974. These Skylab missions had many objectives. One of these objectives was to acquire earth photography using a six camera, multispectral system and determine what kind and how much photographic data could be acquired of Earth’s features.

Skylab orbited the earth in a nearly circular orbit at an altitude of 435 km. It collected imagery of the earth from 50 oN to 50 oS. Skylab orbited the earth every 93 minutes and repeated the ground track every five days. Skylab 2 acquired 5,275 images. Skylab 3 took 13,429 images and Skylab 4 acquired 17,000 images. Two major camera systems were used. The S190A Multispectral Camera featured six bore-sighted 70 mm cameras with 152 mm focal length lenses. Each camera had filters for specific wavelengths for black and white, color, black and white infrared, and color infrared film. Each image covered a square area of 163 km. The other camera was the S190B Earth Terrain Camera. It was a single 127 mm camera with a 457 mm lens. These images covered a square area of 109 km. Color, black and white, and color infrared film could be used with this camera. The ability of skylab imagery to collect data in the infrared region was particularly significant, as it allowed scientists to identify healthy and stressed vegetation, as well as deforestation patterns.

Detailed History of Skylab - http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4011/cover.htm

The Skylab Legacy - http://www.musc.edu/cando/geocam2/2skylab.html

 

Series 4: Aerial Photography

This imagery is from 1968, 1969 and the beginning of 1970s. There are 37 film canisters (10 boxes) available at the University of Arkansas Library. All of the films are positive.

 

Series 5: SIR-A (Shuttle Imaging Radar-A)

There are 111 film canisters (32 boxes) available at the University of Arkansas Library. Images vary from positive, positive transparency, positive print to negative and negative transparency.

SIR-A Georeferenced flight path map (Click on image for larger version)

Shuttle Imaging Radar-A collected data between 38° N and S latitude on the second test flight of the space shuttle Columbia. It was the first attempt to use side-looking synthetic aperture radar from a space shuttle. SIR-A collected data for only 2 and a half days, but collected more than 10 million square kilometers of imagery. This platform demonstrated radar's ability to penetrate dry surfaces and discover ancient river channels in the Sahara Desert.

The main objectives of SIR-A were to acquire radar images of different geologic regions and to demonstrate the capability of the shuttle as a scientific platform. The L-band wavelength was used to acquire data at a viewing angle of 47 degrees, thus creating a two-dimensional image of the earth’s surface. SIR-A acquired data with a 50 km swath and imagery has a 40 m spatial resolution. Geologic features that can be delineated from the imagery include anticlines, folds, faults, drainage patterns, domes, and stratification. Layover distortion in high relief areas was minimal. Imagery is identified by data-take number. SIR-A offered a large library of data to researchers.

SAR Development - http://southport.jpl.nasa.gov/reports/iwgsar/3_SAR_Development.html

The Application of Satellite Imaging Radars over Land to the Assessment, Mapping and Monitoring of Resources P. H. A. Martin-Kaye; G. M. Lawrence Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences > Vol. 309, No. 1508, The Study of the Ocean and the Land Surface from Satellites (Jul., 1983), pp. 295-314
Stable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/view/00804614/ap000109/00a00070/0