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

这个国家科学基金会主要研究仪器奖支持购买FieldSpec 4 Hi-Res光谱辐射计（Analytical Spectral Devices，Inc.）在新墨西哥州州立大学（NMSU），西班牙裔服务（HSI）和少数民族服务（MSI）机构在南部新墨西哥州的心脏。分光辐射计可测量电磁波谱中2,151个可见光、近红外和短波红外波长（350至2,500 nm）的多种材料的光谱响应。例如，该仪器可以测量不同波长的植物、土壤或水反射了多少辐射，然后可以使用这些信息来评估这些材料在空间和时间上的性质、状态和组成。分光辐射计将支持正在进行的研究，并使新的和创新的研究的多样性的用户在NMSU和超越，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和电磁辐射之间相互作用的理解，这对于解决干旱和荒漠化等一系列社会挑战和环境问题是不可或缺的。除了扩大NMSU的研究基础设施外，该工具还将加强研究培训和教学活动，从而促进发展一支在性别、种族、民族和专业背景方面多样化的熟练劳动力队伍，这是NMSU的一项重要使命。分光辐射计还将为推广和外联以及与私营、公共和学术部门的合作伙伴合作创造新的机会。最后，该工具将有助于制定强有力的、低成本的分光辐射计将支持四所学院十多个学术部门的三十多名合作者以及两家私营公司和四家公共部门的合作伙伴开展的各种研究和研究培训活动。社.然而，利用奇瓦瓦沙漠的一个地点，计划中的研究最初将侧重于描述旱地常见物质的光谱特性（例如，土壤、植物和生物结壳），以及结合来自无人驾驶飞机系统的高光谱图像使用该信息（即，无人机）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，旱地占地球陆地面积的40%以上，是20多亿人的家园。这项研究至关重要，因为这些环境中的人类福祉和生态系统服务目前由于木本植物入侵和生物壳退化而下降。访问长期生态数据收集在过去的三十年中，在南部新墨西哥州将提供宝贵的机会，校准和评估研究产品。研究要回答的问题包括：哪些波长是区分旱地材料的最佳波长，什么时候是区分旱地材料的最佳时间，地图的准确性如何随着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，这些材料的时空分布是什么？这些问题的答案，沿着一个光谱库，将被公开和免费提供，将有助于信息和改善世界各地旱地生态系统的测绘工作，最终使这些重要和脆弱的环境更可持续的管理。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

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.