Center for Remote Sensing receives NASA honor


Vol. 17, No. 12	Nov. 20, 1997

Excellence award

Center for Remote Sensing receives NASA honor

Vic Klemas Xiao-Hai Yan

In the Center for Remote Sensing in the College of Marine Studies, scientists use satellites to take the environment's pulse from space, tracking phenomena ranging from the salt marshes bordering Delaware Bay to the climate disturbance El Niño in the Pacific Ocean.

In recognition of the center's achievements in educating students and applying satellite technology to regional and global challenges, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently named it a Center of Excellence. The honor carries a $150,000 grant for new scientific instrumentation to enhance teaching and research efforts.

"We are very honored to receive this recognition from NASA," Vic Klemas, marine studies and center director, said. "The award will be used to insure that the instructional and research components of our remote sensing program remain at the cutting edge of technology development and take full advantage of new research opportunities.

"Specifically, the new equipment will enable us to advance studies related to the management of coastal ecosystems such as the Delaware Bay and Delaware's inland bays, and to the improved understanding of ocean dynamics and their effect on climate, water quality, even the path of an oil spill. We will also be able to further our understanding of remote sensing physics-how radar and light waves interact with the ocean."

Klemas and colleague Xiao-Hai Yan, center associate director, have earmarked the grant for the purchase of such high-tech tools as multichannel radar, global positioning system receivers to better calibrate satellite data and a new graphic work station for improving computing and image processing. They also will purchase a portable sensor called a spectroradiometer that is used on land to "read" the light signals reflected from plant leaves and rapidly translate the data into a general diagnosis of an area's vegetative health.

The Center for Remote Sensing, established at the College of Marine Studies in 1976, currently employs 18 faculty and staff, graduate students, and visiting scientists. Research emphases include El Niño and global climate, coastal ecosystem health, water quality in estuaries and coastal waters, wetlands productivity and health, nonpoint source pollutant runoff modeling, applications of remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to coastal resource management, and remote sensing physics.

Since the center's inception, about 200 specialists from 14 countries have been trained in remote sensing, coastal management and environmental science.