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

这项国家科学基金重大研究仪器奖支持收购FieldSpec 4高分辨率光谱辐射计(分析光谱设备公司)。在新墨西哥州州立大学(NMSU)，位于新墨西哥州南部中心的西班牙裔服务机构(HSI)和少数族裔服务机构(MSI)。光谱辐射计测量各种材料在2,151个可见光、近红外和短波红外电磁光谱(350至2,500 nm)波长下的光谱响应。例如，该仪器可以测量植物、土壤或水在不同波长上反射了多少辐射，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。光谱辐射计将支持正在进行的研究，并使NMSU和其他地方的各种用户能够进行新的和创新的研究，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，从而促进发展一支性别、种族、民族和专业背景多样化的熟练劳动力队伍，这是NMSU的一项重要使命。该光谱仪还将为推广和推广以及与私营部门、公共部门和学术部门的伙伴合作创造新的机会。最后，该仪器将促进开发强有力和成本效益高的监测和评估工具，这些工具是支持旱地人类和自然资源可持续管理所迫切需要的。光谱辐射计将支持四所大学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机构的合作伙伴开展的各种研究和研究培训活动。然而，利用奇瓦瓦沙漠的一个位置，计划的研究最初将集中于表征旱地常见材料(例如土壤、植物和生物壳)的光谱特性，并结合无人机系统(即无人机)的高光谱图像来绘制这些环境的两个重要方面的地图：木本植物和生物壳。在世界范围内，旱地覆盖了地球陆地表面的40%以上，居住着20多亿人。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正在下降，原因是木本植物的侵蚀和生物灰烬的退化。获取过去30年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。这项研究需要回答的问题包括：哪些波长最适合区分旱地材料，何时是区分旱地材料的最佳时间，地图精度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壳，以及这些材料的时空分布是什么？对这些问题的回答，以及将公开和免费提供的谱库，将有助于为全球旱地生态系统的测绘工作提供信息并改善绘制工作，最终使这些重要和脆弱的环境能够更可持续地管理。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.