niques as those devices that can provide the data directly to computer 

 tapes. 



In cooperative efforts with NOAA and EPA, NASA has evahiated the 

 capabilities of existing multispectral scanners and data analysis tech- 

 niques to detect and to quantify the concentration and distribution of 

 materials dumped and subsequently dispersed in the New York Bight. 

 These activities are coordinated with those of the NOAA MESA 

 program. Data verification has been the responsibility of other NOAA 

 elements, particularly the National Environmental Satellite Service 

 (NOAA/NESS) and the Atlantic Oceanographic and Marine Laboratory. 

 Another cooperative program with EPA in 1976 will use similar 

 multispectral techniques in an application of remote sensing to deter- 

 mine the impact on the Great Lakes of pollutants resulting from sur- 

 rounding land use practices. This is part of a larger joint effort between 

 the United States and Canada to assess and improve water quality in all 

 the Great Lakes. 



Remote-sensing methods can also be used to infer chlorophyll and 

 sediment concentrations and Secchi depth in marine and fresh waters. 

 Knowledge of these factors and the pressure of algal blooms is important 

 in studies concerned with eutrophication and productivity as well as 

 pollution. In addition to the use of multispectral scanners for this pur- 

 pose, active laser systems have been demonstrated in which the laser 

 energy is used to excite algae and phytoplankton causing them to 

 fluoresce. Similar laser applications are being investigated to determine 

 sediment, salinity, and temperature distributions. 



In addition to remote sensing, NASA has demonstrated satellite data 

 acquisition and retransmission as a link in Data Collective Systems 

 (DCS). DCS consists of a data collection platform located on the surface 

 containing a transmitter and an antenna to which a number of in situ 

 sensors are linked. The in situ sensors are not restricted to the surface; 

 they can be located at various depths and connected to the platform. 

 Satellites on geostationary orbits collect the data from numerous plat- 

 forms and transmit the results to a central data facility. The system can 

 be used with moving platforms, such as drifting buoys and balloons, as 

 well as stationary platforms. This capability is operational on numerous 

 NASA research and development satellites as well as on NOAA opera- 

 tional satellites and has been used by ACE. DOI (USGS), and numerous 

 other Federal and non-Federal organizations. 



NOAA field scientists and engineers are working with the 

 NOAA/NESS and NASA in the development of remote-sensing equip- 

 ment such as multispectral scanners for use in aircraft, or satellites such 

 as Nimbus G. Plans for an intensive development program for these 

 scanners are now in a formative stage. Three "window" experiments 

 have been already conducted by the MESA New York Bight Project 

 Office to compare results with conventionally collected information. 



57 



