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| Earth Science Remote Sensing Lab |
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This section refers to the Receiving station operated by this group, located at Western Michigan University. Dr. M. Sultan using internal funding from Western Michigan University, acquired a real-time receiving station which downloads data from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), Sea-viewing Wide Field of view Sensor (SeaWiFS), and China's FY-1C and FY-1D. This may be expanded in the future to include as well as the European polar orbit satellite system METOP, launched in 2005. The AVHRR sensor has been primarily designed to provide information on hydrologic, oceanographic, and meteorological studies, but the sensor has applications in solid earth monitoring as well (active volcanoes and forest fires). SeaWiFS was primarily designed to examine oceanic factors that affect global change and to assess the oceans' role in the global carbon cycle, as well as other biogeochemical cycles. SeaWiFS data are being used to clarify the variability of chlorophyll and primary production by marine phytoplankton, and to determine the distribution and timing of highly abundant growth (algae blooms). The AVHRR sensor acquires five spectral bands covering the 0.58mm to12.5mm wavelength region, whereas the SeaWiFS acquires 8 spectral bands covering the 0.402mm to 0.885mm wavelength region. Spatial resolution for both data sets is 1.1 km, swath width ranges from 1500 to 2800 km, and the revisit time is 1 day. The data from this receiving station will be posted on a WMU webpage to provide new avenues of data collection in support of research proposals in areas that have not been possible before. Below are some pictures from the installation of the satellite dish on Everett Tower on Wednesday, November 3, 2004.
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