Projects

Airborne Multi-Sensor Wide Area Assessment (WAA) of Ordnance-Contaminated Sites

The Environmental Security Testing Certification Program (ESTCP) demonstration at Pueblo Precision Bombing Range #2 introduced WAA methods to the ESTCP technology demonstration process. The objective was to demonstrate advanced WAA tools and processes, which have been initially developed and successfully used at the Former Lowry Bombing and Gunnery Range in Colorado, for certification/validation to promote broader use of WAA.

The WAA remote sensing technologies demonstrated with this project included:
* Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
* Hyperspectral Imaging (HIS) in the very near infrared (VNIR)-short wave infrared (SWIR)2
* High resolution LiDAR data and derivative datasets
* High-resolution color digital orthophotography
* Geospatial technologies for fusion, feature extraction, modeling, and data management

ESTCP’s demonstration of WAA component technologies includes an advisory group approach to facilitate the widespread adoption of WAA process/technologies, which is expected to significantly reduce the cost of military munitions response actions at sites across the U.S.


Magnetometer Survey to Detect Unexploded Ordnance, Limestone Hills, MT

Sky Research performed ground-based geophysical remedial investigations in support of military munitions response activities under subcontract to Tetra Tech for the Montana Army National Guard. Sky Research’s objectives were to (1) detect all Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) items with calibers including or exceeding 76 mm, the smallest item thought to have been fired in the area, and (2) to achieve the highest detection rate possible. The data collection, processing and interpretation were all designed with these objectives in mind.

For this survey, Sky Research’s data collection technological innovations included a new, lightweight man-portable quad sensor magnetometer array, positioned with the Leica TPS1200 robotic total station laser technology and GPS. The magnetometer array and positioning provided more accurate and higher quality data than conventional magnetometer systems.

This project demonstrated innovative discrimination techniques based on the concept of magnetic remanence (also demonstrated at the nearby Chevallier Ranch site). Magnetic remanence is permanent and is a consequence of the magnetic history of the UXO, and can be used to guide excavation decisions, resulting in very low false alarm rates.


Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment (INTEX-B) / Megacity Initiative – Local and Global Research Observations (MILAGRO) – Mexico City

The INTEX-B / MILAGRO effort in Mexico was the second of a broader two-phase NASA project to study the transport and evolution of aerosols across continents, and to assess their impact on regional air quality and climate.  During INTEX-B, researchers pursued the origins of pollution that ultimately finds its way to North America and affects air quality in the troposphere.

Sky Research had previously supported the International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation (ICARTT) program on two other occasions, during their 2004 effort in New England and in Oklahoma during July of 2005.  For the recent effort, Sky Research performed a very complex modification to the nose of the BAe J-31. The aircraft was modified to accommodate NASA Goddard’s Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR). The operational deployment of this sensor was a success for both NASA and Sky Research.

In addition to the CAR, the Sky Research BAe Jetstream 31 was the platform for NASA’s Ames Airborne Tracking Sun-photometer (AATS), Position & Orientation System (POS), and Met Sensors & Nav/Met Data System, Columbia University’s Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP), and the University of Colorado’s Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer (SSFR).

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