MRI: Acquisition of an ASD FieldSpec 4 Hi-Res Spectroradiometer at NMSU

这项国家科学基金会主要研究仪器奖支持新墨西哥州立大学（NMSU）的FieldSpec 4高分辨率光谱辐射计（分析光谱设备公司）的收购，该大学是新墨西哥州南部中心的一个西班牙裔服务（HSI）和少数民族服务（MSI）机构。光谱辐射计测量各种材料在电磁波谱（350至2,500 nm）的2,151个可见光、近红外和短波红外波长中的光谱响应。例如，该仪器可以测量从植物、土壤或水中反射的不同波长的辐射的多少，然后这些信息可以用来评估这些物质在空间和时间上的性质、状态和组成。该光谱仪将支持正在进行的研究，并为NMSU及其他用户提供新的和创新的研究，包括但不限于人类学家、天文学家、生物学家、计算机科学家、工程师、地理学家、地质学家、物理学家和土壤科学家。这项研究有可能改变对物质与电磁辐射之间相互作用的理解，这对于解决诸如干旱和荒漠化等一系列社会挑战和环境问题是必不可少的。除了扩大新密西根州立大学的研究基础设施外，该仪器还将加强研究培训和教学活动，从而促进性别、种族、民族和专业背景多样化的熟练劳动力的发展，这是新密西根州立大学的一项重要使命。该光谱仪还将为推广和拓展以及与私营、公共和学术部门的合作伙伴合作创造新的机会。最后，该工具将促进发展强有力和具有成本效益的监测和评估工具，这些工具是支持旱地人力资源和自然资源可持续管理所迫切需要的。该光谱仪将支持来自四所学院十多个学术部门的三十多位合作者以及两家私营公司和四家公共机构的合作伙伴的各种研究和研究培训活动。然而，利用奇瓦瓦沙漠的地理位置，计划中的研究将首先集中在描述旱地常见物质（如土壤、植物和生物结壳）的光谱特性，并将这些信息与无人驾驶飞机系统（即无人机）的高光谱图像结合起来，绘制这些环境的两个重要方面：木本植物和生物结壳。在世界范围内，旱地覆盖了地球陆地表面的40%以上，是20多亿人的家园。由于木本植物的入侵和生物结壳的退化，这些环境中的人类福祉和生态系统服务正在下降，因此这项研究至关重要。获取过去三十年来在新墨西哥州南部收集的长期生态数据将为校准和评估研究产品提供宝贵的机会。本研究需要回答的问题包括：哪些波长最适合区分旱地物质，何时是区分旱地物质的最佳时间，地图精度如何随光谱和空间分辨率的变化而变化，哪些算法最适合绘制木本植物和生物结壳，以及这些材料的时空分布如何？这些问题的答案，以及将公开和免费提供的光谱库，将有助于为全球旱地生态系统的测绘工作提供信息和改进，最终使这些重要和脆弱的环境能够得到更可持续的管理。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation award supports the acquisition of a FieldSpec 4 Hi-Res spectroradiometer (Analytical Spectral Devices, Inc.) at New Mexico State University (NMSU), a Hispanic-Serving (HSI) and Minority-Serving (MSI) Institution in the heart of southern New Mexico. The spectroradiometer measures the spectral response of a diversity of materials in 2,151 visible, near infrared, and shortwave infrared wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum (350 to 2,500 nm). For example, the instrument can measure how much radiation is reflected from plants, soils, or water in different wavelengths and this information can then be used to assess the nature, status, and composition of these materials across space and through time. The spectroradiometer will support ongoing research and enable new and innovative research of a diversity of users at NMSU and beyond, including but not limited to anthropologists, astronomers, biologists, computer scientists, engineers, geographers, geologists, physicists, and soil scientists. This research has the potential to transform understanding of interactions between matter and electromagnetic radiation, which is indispensable for addressing a range of societal challenges and environmental concerns such as drought and desertification. In addition to expanding the research infrastructure of NMSU, the instrument will enhance research training and teaching activities, thereby promoting the development of a skilled workforce that is diverse in gender, race, ethnicity, and professional background, a critical mission of NMSU. The spectroradiometer will also create new opportunities for extension and outreach as well as collaboration with partners in the private, public, and academic sectors. Finally, the instrument will facilitate the development of robust and cost-effective monitoring and assessment tools that are urgently needed to support the sustainable management of human and natural resources in drylands.The spectroradiometer will support the diverse research and research training activities of more than thirty collaborators across more than a dozen academic departments in four colleges as well as partners in two private companies and four public agencies. However, leveraging a location in the Chihuahuan Desert, the planned research will initially focus on characterizing the spectral properties of common materials in drylands (e.g., soils, plants, and biocrusts) and on using this information in conjunction with hyperspectral imagery from unmanned aircraft systems (i.e., drones) to map two important aspects of these environments: woody plants and biocrusts. Worldwide, drylands cover more than forty percent of Earth's land surface and are home to more than two billion people. This research is critical because human well-being and ecosystem services in these environments are currently in decline due to woody plant encroachment and biocrust degradation. Access to long-term ecological data collected across the last thirty years in southern New Mexico will provide invaluable opportunities for calibrating and evaluating research products. Questions to be answered by the research include; which wavelengths are optimal for discriminating between dryland materials, when is the best time to distinguish between dryland materials, how does map accuracy change in response to changes in spectral and spatial resolution, which algorithms are best for mapping woody plants and biocrusts, and what is the spatial and temporal distribution of these materials? Answers to these questions, along with a spectral library that will be made publicly and freely available, will help inform and improve mapping efforts in dryland ecosystems worldwide, ultimately enabling more sustainable management of these important and vulnerable environments.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.