The false color image on the left (full image, 144KB) illustrates
airborne remote sensing data collected by the Airborne Terrestrial and Land
Acquisition Sensor (ATLAS) over downtown Atlanta, Georgia on May 11, 1997.
The ATLAS multispectral sensor is flown onboard a Lear 23 jet aircraft operated
by the John C. Stennis Space Center located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
ATLAS data were collected at a 10m spatial resolution over Atlanta. Trees
and other vegetation appear red in the color image. Buildings, streets,
and other urban land covers appear white or blue-green to almost black in
color. The image is oriented with north at the top. The Georgia Dome, an
enclosed football stadium, appears as the large square-shaped structure
due west of the Atlanta city center. Interstate highways 75/85 which traverse
in a north-south direction around the city center, are seen as a dark "ribbon"
just to the east of downtown Atlanta. Just south of the city center, is
the junction of Interstate Highways 75/85 and 20. Shadows from tall buildings
located in the Atlanta city center can also be observed.
The black and white image at right (full image, 147KB) illustrates ATLAS
10m daytime thermal infrared data collected over Atlanta. ATLAS thermal
infrared data were acquired during the daytime near solar noon, and in the
early morning prior to sunrise, to measure the change in thermal energy
response or "temperature" for typical urban surfaces across the
Atlanta metropolitan area. In this daytime image, urban surfaces that are
"hot" or "warm" appear in varying shades of white to
light gray. These thermal infrared data will be used to analyze how heating
and cooling across the Atlanta metropolitan area affects development of
the 'Urban Heat Island" - the dome of elevated air temperatures that
presides over cities in contrast to their cooler rural surroundings.
Return to Hot 'Lanta story.
Authors: Dale Quattrochi,
Jeff Luvall
Curator: Linda Porter
NASA Official: Gregory S.
Wilson