454 



^ ^^^_ , indicated the western boundary of the Gulf 



Stream along the east coast of the continental United States on cloud- 

 less days. Gemini photographs, by their color gradations, have indi- 

 cated turbid water and mixing boundaries near coastal regions and 

 have yielded qualitative depth indications over shelf areas as indi- 

 cated in the next chart — SA67-1693T. 



The broad band color film employed in the Gemini cameras lacked 

 the advantages for scientific work of the multispectral photography 

 possible in future missions. Multispectral photographic activity is 

 presently underway on our aircraft missions and has indicated 

 numerous potential space applications. 



Let me say parenthetically that at the start of the Gemini program 

 we asked several astronauts to investigate the possibility of taking 

 photographs from the Gemini spacecraft. They developed, working 

 with our engineers, preliminary designs of a camera which they found 

 could be obtained commercially. These photographs were taken of 

 targets of opportunity and consequently it is remarkable that so much 

 has been achieved with them, but we believe much more can be achieved 

 with a better understanding and use of multispectral photography. 



The next chart — SA67-16672 — shows the great dissimilarity of 

 spectra from several different types of oils that are sometimes present 

 on the surface of the oceans : sometimes in conjunction with the pres- 

 ence of schools of fish, at other times in conjunction with the marine 

 disasters such as the recent sinking of the tanker Torrey Canyon. 

 We have already discovered in our studies of agricultural crop signa- 

 tures that such spectral dissimilarities can be used for computer iden- 

 tification of areas of various crops or pollutants. Thus it may be pos- 

 sible to develop automated systems for location of fruitful fishery_ re- 

 gions and mapping of pollutant boundaries on a very near real-time 

 basis. Aerial photographs have indicated a potential for satellite track- 

 ing of sea ice ; ocean area cartography, measurement of sea state ; and 

 the detection of chlorophyll containing living matter. While these ex- 

 periments using aircraft have been an indispensable element of our 

 sensor development program for spacecraft, they also serve to improve 

 our capabilities for operational oceanographic survey by aircraft. It is 

 probable that ultimate operational systems of ocean surveys will de- 

 pend on both automated spacecraft and instrumented high-flying air- 

 craft, since each observing altitude had its own unique advantages. 



Further improvements of infrared radiometry and imagery are 

 being explored to permit sharper and more reliable determination of 

 temperature gradients in the water which define boundaries, such as 

 that of the Gulf Stream, as I mentioned earlier. Biologists consider 

 this particular capability to be quite important because of the tur- 

 bulent up welling of nutrients along major current boundaries, which 

 provides feeding for schools of fish and hence determines potentially 

 profitable fishing grounds. 



UASA's program of data collection by airborne remote-sensing in- 

 strumentation over special surface test sites has been underway for 

 over 2 years. The next chart — SA68-15007 — suggests its scope. A Con- 

 vair and an Electra aircraft used in these tests have been equipped to 

 obtain data using microwave radiometers and images, radar spec- 

 trometers, infrared radiometers and images, and multiband cameras. 



