Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1979
Abstract
The Apollo astronauts photographed the Orinoco River Delta in eastern Venezuela. The photographs show discrcte water-color zones that reflect the mixing of the sediment-laden Orinoco outflow with the water of the tropical Atlantic. One transparency was analyzed with a Datacolor/Edge Enhancer Systcm to estimate the range of light reflcctance in the scene, Based on this analysis, and assuming a 5-percent reflectance value for the open ocean water, the reflectance of the area studied was found to vary between 4 per- cent for the jungle and approximately 13 percent for sediment-laden river outflow, These values ap- proximate thosc obtained by direct measurements of the Mississippi River Delta water. The results confirm thal the reflectance from coastal waters wilt not be so high as to saturate instruments on- board unmanned satellites such as the Coastal Zone scanner.
Recommended Citation
Yentsch, C. S. and El-Baz, Farouk. 1979. "Estimate of Total Reflectance from the Orinoco River Outflow." In Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Summary Science Report. Volume II: Earth Observations and Photography, NASA SP-412. El-Baz, Farouk and Warner, Delia M., editors. 499–503. Washington, D. C.: NASA Scientific and Technical Information Branch.