Surface characteristics for the alkali flats and dunes regions at white sands missile range, New Mexico

Beyond black and white: divergent behaviour and performance in three rapidly evolving lizard species at White Sands

“…Geckos ( Sphaerdactylus macrolepis ) from populations inhabiting dark habitats better detect motion in dimmer light, whereas those from light habitats perform better in brighter light (Nava, Conway & Martins, ). Similarly, differences in light conditions between White Sands and dark soil habitats, for example the higher reflectivity (Wheeler et al ., ) of the former, may have led to evolved differences in visual acuity in the lizard species. Regardless of the specific mechanism underlying the response differences, failure of mismatched lizards to sprint could be maladaptive when faced with a predator.…”

The selection of appropriate spectrally bright pseudo-invariant ground targets for use in empirical line calibration of SPOT satellite imagery

“…They found both a systematic daily change in ρ s due to the variation in θ Z , with a general trend of decreasing nadir ρ s with increasing θ Z and vice versa, and seasonal variations in ρ s due to the growth of algal lichen. Changes in surface moisture conditions at vegetation-free sites, related to recent rainfall and its intensity or -in some instancesrelated to fluctuations in the local water table, can also drastically alter reflectance characteristics as wetness lowers ρ s (Wheeler et al, 1994;Moran et al, 2001). However, drying times may be fairly rapid in cloud-free and moderately windy conditions.…”

Prime candidate Earth targets for the post-launch radiometric calibration of space-based optical imaging instruments

“…Dry lake beds or playas Best calibration targets, but may be subject to soil moisture effects and snow cover [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Deserts Potentially good calibration targets, but subject to BRDF effects if there are dunes [14][15][16][17][18][19] Ice or snow fields May work well in the VNIR, but solar zenith angles tend to be large [20][21][22][23] Semi-arid rangeland May work well if limited phenological activity and terrain flat [24][25] Grassland targets Requires surface measurements to work well; subject to phenological and BRDF effects [26][27] Atmospheric scattering Works well for specialists, but less practical to use operationally [28][29][30][31] Uniform cloud cover Works well for specialists, but less practical to use operationally [28][29]32] Ocean glint Works well for specialists, but less practical to use operationally [28,32] Multiple target types Provide a range of intensities that help improve accuracies [33][34][35][36][37][38][39]...…”