Sensor-fusion field experiment in forest ecosystem dynamics

An extensive multisensor airborne and field campaign was conducted in the Northern Experimental Forest near Bangor, Maine, during September 1989 to acquire a data set to allow us to test various modeling hypotheses concerning the interaction of optical, thermal, and microwave electromagnetic radiation within northern coniferous forest canopies and their underlying backgrounds. This experiment represents a significant component of a Forest Ecosystem Dynamics project, which is concerned with the response of northern forests to climatic and other environmental changes. Extensive ground control information, basic remote-sensing measurements, and comprehensive calibration data were obtained to support the interpretation of numerous airborne sensor measurements and to provide both static and dynamic biophysical input parameters to electromagnetic scattering and absorption models. Aircraft instruments deployed included a multifrequency, quadpolarized synthetic aperture radar, a solid-state array bidirectional imager, and the Thematic Mapper Simulator. In addition, a suite of helicopter-borne nonimaging systems was utilized, consisting of a multifrequency laser polarimeter and both narrow- and broad-band spectrometers. This paper presents background on this first Forest Ecosystems Dynamics field campaign, provides a progress report on the analysis of the collected data and related modeling activities, and outlines plans for future experiments at different points in the phenological cycle.