1006 
CLIMATE 
Figure 1. Major interactions among forest ecosystem processes, including 
soil dynamics, vegetation dynamics, and radiation scattering in coupled 
models of a forested ecosystem, with links to local or regional climate and 
georeferenced data. 
Terrestrial Ecosystems Research (OTTER) study, which examined the vegetation gradient in western Oregon 
(Peterson and Waring, 1993). 
The diversity of research represented in the FED MAC study is striking. Not only are wide 
portions of the electromagnetic(EM) spectrum considered, but the scales of analysis extend from leaves and plant 
cells to the landscape of a 10 by 10 km study site. The primary objective of NASA aircraft missions - 
assessment of advanced remote sensing concepts — provides the context for this diversity. Theoretical 
understanding of electromagnetic energy-matter interactions suggests that there is considerable information 
contained in EM measurements that is not exploited by existing spaceborne sensor systems. However, there are 
sufficient imponderables in the theoretical knowledge of terrestrial EM interactions to warrant collection of such 
empirical observations. 
Data from the MAC's, from prior research at the Maine site, and from subsequent research 
funded by NASA and the US Forest Service and Environmental Protection Agency provide an integrated suite of 
field measurements, and optical and radar remote sensing observations (Tables 1 & 2). Participating NASA 
aircraft experimental sensor systems cover a considerable range of advanced remote sensing system concepts.