11-1: The most obvious advantage is that we normally
view the world in 3-D. Our experience in that mode allows us to recognize features
both by their shape and their depth, or their variation in height. This is especially
helpful when our vantage point is from above. If we were to fly over an area
at low altitude, but well above the surface (to avoid collision), we can separate
mountains from valleys by their relief (differences in elevation) and thus identify
each landform type. Three-dimensional viewing permits us to determine whether
a building is tall or low. From both a practical and a scientific outlook, in
geology, for example, knowing whether a rock type is a ridge or a depression
tells us something about its relative hardness or resistance to weathering,
and hence aids us in identifying it. BACK
11-2: The sum of the highest and lowest points is
65200 feet or, dividing by 5280 ft/mile, 12.35 miles. Dividing this latter number
by 3980 miles and multiplying by 100 gives 0.31%, a small variation indeed,
so that the Earth's surface at full scale is almost smooth, and its radius varies
by about 1 part in 320. BACK
11-3: This notation can
be read as "latitude 34 degrees, 12 minutes, and 31
seconds south, longitude 77 degrees, 3 minutes, and
41 seconds east" Each degree consists of 60 minutes,
so that in decimals 12/60 = 0.2; each minute consists
of 60 seconds, so that 31/60 = 0.052; the latitude
can then be expressed as lat 34.2052° N, and so
forth. The length of a 1° latitude varies slightly,
from 68.704 miles at the equator to 69.386 miles at
80°. The length of 1° of longitude ranges
from 69.172 miles at the equator to 12.051 miles at
80° latitude and 0 miles at the pole. This is
in the nature of spherical geometry in which the longitudinal
lines are great circles and latitudes become successively
smaller circles poleward. BACK
11-4: Looking down on your head, someone would see
a series of concentric near-circles, whose spacing varies (the top of your head
is really not a hemisphere). Dare you to try this! Might start a craze, at least
in college ranks. BACK
11-5: In the rare, but real, instance in which the
top of a cliff overhangs the lower part (unstable, but can occur where stream
undercutting is active), the upper contours will cross over lower ones. BACK
11-6: The second scene in Section 6 covers the folded
Valley and Ridge province in central Pennsylvania, including State College,
home of the Penn State Nittany Lions (Coach Paterno's football team). BACK
11-7: (1800/4000) x (40/6) = 3.0 (Vertical exaggeration
is threefold). BACK
11-8: A peak near the lower right corner. BACK
11-9: The layers are inclined downward towards the
upper right. BACK
11-10: The central hill is a bit lower than the
high points on the anticlinal rim. BACK
11-11: It is necessary first to convert inches on
the photo to feet on the ground. Divide 3600 by 12, so that the scale can be
stated as 1 inch = 300 feet. Then d becomes 150 ft and r becomes 900 ft. Substituting
in the equation h = Hd/r = (1800 x 150)/900 = 300 ft. BACK
11-12: h = (2000 x 0.4)/(70 + 0.4) = 800/70.4 =
11.36 meters. BACK
11-13: Susanville lies on the east side of the Sierra
Nevada Mtns., about 45 miles almost due east of Mt. Lassen (a volcano active
early in this century), at an elevation of 4200 feet. What you see are mountains
in light gray and valleys in dark gray to black. Individual mountain rises occur
over most of the map. A large valley occupies center right. A more continuous
mountain range, dissected by a stream's headwaters, is located in the lower
left. BACK
11-14: The key to quick location is the Big Horn
Mountains, a slightly curved range that is found at the top center of the Wyoming
map. That curvature aids in finding its equivalent in the U.S. map. To the east
of the Big Horns is an isolated rise, the Black Hills. BACK
11-15: This is a toughie. But look at the snow pattern
on the North Rim. There is a south-pointing lobe (the first in from the right)
separated by a large north-pointing canyon indentation to that rim, and then
a second snow-covered lobe. This second lobe makes up the light pinkish-brown
plateau surface that occupies the upper left corner of the perspective view.
That same kind of surface appears on the South Rim in the lower right corner.
It shows in the Landsat as a distinctive brown pattern.BACK
11-16: The more expensive models of automobiles,
such as Cadillac, now offer built-in GPS-based locator systems. Eventually,
most cars will have this capability. Pleasure boats also utilize GPS navigation.
And, anyone hiking in the wilderness would benefit from a hand-held locator
- at least one would know where one is lost. BACK
11-17: The key word, given at the beginning of the
page, is "narrow foot-paths". Altimeters send down a narrow beam that effectively
shows the topography as a profile. To make a high quality topographic map, one
must have data on elevations spread rather evenly over the two-dimensional surface.
Orbits of spacecraft are usually set far apart, so that the distance between
successive paths is typically in 10s to even 100s of kilometers. The orbits
do drift over time so that the "footprints" tend to spread out but there still
are gaps even after long periods. However, over the years, and with a series
of orbiting satellites, there should eventually be enough close-spaced orbits
so, with suitable extrapolation, detailed and highly accurate maps of the Earth's
surface - widespread enough to eliminate the present deficiencies shown in the
graph at the top of the page - will evolve. Meanwhile, the altimeter data serve
to produce exceptional control profiles that "calibrate" other methods in use.
BACK
11-18: Depends on what you are using the stereo
for. A high VE helps the eye and mind to see differences in relief that are
useful in studying landforms, urban infrastructure, and forest cover. Small
variations in relief are especially detectable when the exaggeration is pronounced.
A low VE tends to present the surface features and scenery is a more realistic
mode. Calculations of slope angles and strata dips are affected by the value
of the VE and generally must take that into account for accurate results. BACK
11-19: The Panamint Range, near the bottom, is higher
than the Funeral Mtns to the north. BACK
11-20: The plateau is in the lower half of the photos.
BACK
Collaborators: Code
935 NASA GSFC, GST,
USAF Academy,
Webmaster: Bill Dickinson Jr.
Primary Author: Nicholas M. Short, Sr.
email: nmshort@epix.net
Contributor Information
Last Updated: July '99
Site Curator: Nannette Fekete
Please direct any comments to the Site
Curator eerstweb@gst.com.