False-color L-band image of an area near Glasgow,
Missouri October 7, 1994, Missouri ,
Images by NASA
This
is a false-color L-band image of an area near Glasgow, Missouri,
centered at about 39.2 degrees north latitude and 92.8 degrees
west longitude. The image was acquired by the Spaceborne Imaging
Radar-C and X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) aboard
the space shuttle Endeavour on its 50th orbit on October 3, 1994.
The false-color composite was made by displaying the L-band (horizontally
transmitted and received) return in red; the L-band (horizontally
transmitted and vertically received) return in green; and the
sum of the two channels in blue. The area shown is approximately
37 kilometers by 25 kilometers (23 miles by 16 miles). The radar
data, coupled with pre-flood aerial photography and satellite
data and post-flood topographic and field data, are being used
to evaluate changes associated with levee breaks in landforms,
where deposits formed during the widespread flooding in 1993 along
the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. The distinct radar scattering
properties of farmland, sand fields and scoured areas will be
used to inventory flood plains along the Missouri River and determine
the processes by which these areas return to preflood conditions.
The image shows one such levee break near Glasgow, Missouri. In
the upper center of the radar image is a region covered by several
meters of sand, shown as blue regions below the bend in the river.
West (left) of this dark area, a blue gap in the levee tree canopy
can be seen, showing the area where the levee failed. Radar data
such as these can help scientists more accurately assess the potential
for future flooding in this region and how that might impact surrounding
communities.
Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar
(SIR-C/X-SAR) is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radars
illuminate Earth with microwaves, allowing detailed observations
at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR
uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm)
and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the
international scientific community to better understand the global
environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, complemented
by aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights
into those environmental changes which are caused by nature and
those changes which are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed
by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the
Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency,
Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the
Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), with the
Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Luft und Raumfahrt e.V.(DLR),
the major partner in science, operations and data processing of
X-SAR.
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