Environmental Remote Sensing - Environmental and Ecological Forecasting - Ocean Optics - Aquatic Optics - CDOM Absorption - CDOM Fluorescence - Hyperspectral Imaging - Laser Remote Sensing - Remote Wildland Fire Detection - Fire Detection Using Potassium Emission - Fire Optical Properties

Contact information:
Center for Imaging Science
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, NY 14623 USA
Phone: 585-475-7816 
Fax: 585-475-5988 
Send me email

Education:
Ph.D., 1990, Environmental Engineering, Cornell University
    Advisor: William D. Philpot
M.S., 1985, Environmental Engineering, Cornell University
B.S., 1981, Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Aquatic optics research interests: Integrated forecasting for aquatic environments. Formulating algorithms for passive remote sensing of surface water quality in the Great Lakes and coastal oceans based on in situ measurements of light absorption and scattering. CDOM absorption spectra and CDOM fluorescence spectra. This work is directed toward using hyperspectral sensors and developing robust algorithms that can be applied over a wide range of water types.  Key equipment for field measurements includes a HOBI Labs HydroRad-4 spectroradiometer and a HydroScat-2 backscatter meter. A recently developed deployment device for the HydroRad-4 allows us to sample more turbid waters with short attenuation lengths  Airborne data for this work has been aquired with AVIRIS in 1999 and with our own Modular Imaging Spectrometer Instrument (MISI).

Left photo: HOBILabs HydroRad-4 and Satlantic TSRB (owned by Sarah Green) deployed on Lake Superior
Right photo: HOBILabs HydroRad-4 Gershun and plane irradiance sensors

Wildland fire research interests: Integrated forecasting of wildland fire propagation. Remote observation of wildland fires (e.g. forest fire detection). Alternatives to the traditional thermal approach including emission lines and passive microwave. Radiometrically correct synthetic scene generation of wildland fire to complement existing fire propagation models. Airborne data for this work has been aquired from the AVIRIS archive and with our own Modular Imaging Spectrometer Instrument (MISI).

Left two images: (C) An AVIRIS image (1501 nm) over a fire (Cuiaba Brazil) and (D) fire detection by the potassium emission algorithm
Right image: A ground level view of a small synthetic fire created in DIRSIG

Research Project Web Sites:
FIRES
Data Dynamic Simulation for Disaster Management
KITES Images relating to recent KITES research on Lake Superior
Mapping Nuisance Algae in Lake Ontario
Conesus Lake Watershed Study

Manuscripts in Preparation:

Vodacek, A. Remote sensing of bottom materials along the southern Lake Ontario shoreline with image enhancement for sunglint removal.

Manuscripts Recently Submitted:

Li, Y., A. Vodacek, N. Raqueno, R. Kremens, A. Garrett, S. Bosch, J.C. Makarewicz, and T.W. Lewis. Seasonal circulation and stream plume modeling in Conesus Lake. Environmental Modeling and Assessment.

Mandel, J., M. Chen, J.L. Coen, C.C. Douglas, L.P. Franca, C. Johns, R. Kremens, A. Puhalskii, A. Vodacek, W. Zhao. Dynamic Data Driven Wildfire Modeling. to appear in Dynamic Data Driven Applications Systems, F. Darema (Ed.), Kluwer, Amsterdam.

Refereed Publications:

Li, Y., Y. Zhu, and A. Vodacek. An automatic statistical segmentation algorithm for extraction of fire and smoke regions. In press. Remote Sens. Environ. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2006.10.023

Ononye, A., A. Vodacek, and E. Saber. Automated extraction of fire line parameters from multispectral infrared images. In press. Remote Sens. Environ. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2006.09.029

Li, Y., A. Vodacek, R.L. Kremens, A. Ononye, and C. Tang. 2005. A hybrid contextual approach to wildland fire detection using multispectral imagery. IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens. 43:2115-2126.

Kremens, R., J. Faulring, A. Gallagher, A. Seema, and A. Vodacek. 2003. Autonomous field-deployable wildland fire sensors. Int. J. Wildland Fire. 12:237-244.

Vodacek, A., R.L. Kremens, A.J. Fordham, S.C. VanGorden, D. Luisi, J.R. Schott, and D.J. Latham. 2002. Remote optical detection of biomass burning using a potassium emission signature. Int. J. Remote Sens. 23:2721-2726 .

Vodacek, A. 2000. Environmental applications of remote sensing. Informatik/Informatique.  4:21-26. [http://www.svifsi.ch/revue/pages/issues/index.html, ISSN 1420-6579].

D'Sa, E., R.G. Steward, A. Vodacek, N.V. Blough and D. Phinney 1999. Optical absorption of seawater colored dissolved organic matter determined using a liquid capillary waveguide. Limnol. Oceanogr. 44:1142-1148.

Bartlett, J.S., K.J. Voss, S. Sathyendranath, and A. Vodacek. 1998. Raman scattering by pure water and seawater. Appl. Opt. 37:3324-3332.

Kaiwar, S.P., A. Vodacek, N.V. Blough, and R.S. Pilato. 1997. Protonation-state-dependent luminescence and excited-state electron-transfer reactions of 2- and 4-pyridine(-ium) -substituted metallo-1,2-enedithiolates. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 119:9211-9214.

Kaiwar, S.P., A. Vodacek, N.V. Blough, and R.S. Pilato.1997. Excited state properties of quinoxaline-substituted platinum 1,2-enedithiolates. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 119:3311-3316.

Kaiwar, S.P., J.K. Hsu, A. Vodacek, G. Yap, L.M. Liable-Sands, A.L. Rheingold, and R.S. Pilato. 1997. Metallo 2,3-disulfidothienoquinoxaline, 2,3-disulfidothienopyridine, and 2-sulfido-3-oxidothienoquinoxaline complexes: Synthesis and characterization. Inorg. Chem. 36:2406-2412.

Vodacek, A., M.D. DeGrandpre, E.T. Peltzer, R.K. Nelson, and N.V. Blough. 1997. Seasonal variation of CDOM and DOC in the Middle Atlantic Bight: Terrestrial inputs and photooxidation. Limnol. Oceanogr. 42:674-686.

DeGrandpre, M.D., A. Vodacek, R.K. Nelson, E.J. Bruce, and N.V. Blough, 1996. Seasonal seawater optical properties of the U.S. Middle Atlantic Bight. J. Geophys. Res. 101:22727-22736.

Vodacek, A., F.E. Hoge, R.N. Swift, J.K. Yungel, E.T. Peltzer, and N.V. Blough. 1995. The use of in situ and airborne fluorescence measurements to determine UV absorption coefficients and DOC concentrations in surface waters. Limnol. Oceanogr. 40:411-415.

Hoge, F.E., A. Vodacek, R.N. Swift, J.K. Yungel, and N.V. Blough. 1995. Inherent optical properties of the ocean: Retrieval of the absorption coefficient of chromophoric dissolved organic matter from airborne laser spectral fluorescence measurements. Appl. Opt. 34:7032-7038.

Hoge, F.E., M.K. Williams, R.N. Swift, J.K. Yungel, and A. Vodacek. 1995. Progress toward global oceanic carbon assessment: satellite retrieval of the absorption coefficient of chromophoric dissolved organic matter in continental margins. J. Geophys. Res. 100:24847-24854.

Vodacek, A., S.A. Green, and N.V. Blough. 1994. An experimental model of the solar-stimulated fluorescence of chromophoric dissolved organic matter. Limnol. Oceanogr. 39:1-11.

Hoge, F.E., A. Vodacek, and N.V. Blough. 1993. Inherent optical properties of the ocean: Retrieval of the absorption coefficient of DOM from spectral fluorescence measurements. Limnol. Oceanogr. 38:1,394-1,402.

Hoge, F.E. R.N. Swift, J.K. Yungel, and A. Vodacek. 1993. Fluorescence of dissolved organic matter: a comparison of North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans during April 1991. J. Geophys. Res. 98:22779-22787.

Vodacek, A. 1992. An explanation of the spectral variation in freshwater CDOM fluorescence. Limnol. Oceanogr. 37:1808-1813.

Vodacek, A.. 1989. Synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy of dissolved organic matter in surface waters: application to airborne remote sensing. Rem. Sens. Environ. 29:51-65.

Philpot, W.D., and A. Vodacek. 1989. Laser-induced fluorescence: Limits to the remote detection of hydrogen ion, aluminum, and dissolved organic matter. Rem. Sens. Environ. 29:51-65.

Vodacek, A., and W.D. Philpot. 1987. Environmental effects on laser-induced fluorescence spectra of natural waters. Rem. Sens. Environ. 21:83-95.

Other Selected Publications:

Li, Y., A. Vodacek, R.L. Kremens, and A.E. Ononye. In press 2005. Double random field model adaptive detection in remote sensing imagery. Conference on Information Science and Systems, The John Hopkins University, March 16-18, 2005.

Mandel, J., L.S. Bennethum, M. Chen, J.L. Coen, C.C. Douglas, L.P. Franca, C.J. Johns, M. Kim, A.V. Knyazev, R.Kremens, V.Kulkarni, G. Qin, A. Vodacek, J. Wu, W. Zhao, and A. Zornes. 2005. Towards a dynamic data driven application system for wildfire simulation. V.S. Sunderam et al. (Eds.): Computational Science - Proceedings ICCS 2005, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer, Vol. 3515, p. 632-639.

Li, Y., Y. Zhu, and A. Vodacek. 2005. An unsupervised statistical image segmentation algorithm for fire and smoke region extraction. EastFIRE Conference, George Mason University, May 2005.

Ononye, A.E., A. Vodacek, and E. Saber. 2005. Extraction of active fire line and active fire map using AVIRIS imagery. EastFIRE Conference, George Mason University, May 2005.

Ononye, A.E., A. Vodacek, and R.L. Kremens. 2005. Fire temperature retrieval using constrained spectral unmixing and emissivity estimation. In: Algorithms and Technologies for Multispectral, Hyperspectral, and Ultraspectral Imagery XI, S.S. Shen and P.E. Lewis, Eds. Proc. SPIE Vol. 5806, p. 352-360.

Raqueno, R.V., N.G. Raqueno, A.D. Weidemann, S.W. Effler, M. Perkins, A. Vodacek, J.R. Schott, W.D. Philpot, M. Kim. 2005. Megacollect 2004: hyperspectral collection experiment over the waters of the Rochester Embayment. In: Algorithms and Technologies for Multispectral, Hyperspectral, and Ultraspectral Imagery XI, Sylvia S. Shen and Paul E. Lewis, Eds. Proc. SPIE Vol. 5806, p.

Vodacek, A., R. Kremens, A. Ononye, and J. Faulring. 2005. Remote image and field data collection for a dynamic fire modeling system. In: Remote Sensing for Field Users. Proc. 10th Biennial USDA Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Conference. Salt Lake City, UT. CD-ROM. ISBN 1-57083-075-4. ASPRS.

Ononye, A., A. Vodacek, and R. Kremens. 2005. Improved fire temperature estimation using constrained spectral unmixing. In: Remote Sensing for Field Users. Proc. 10th Biennial USDA Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Conference. Salt Lake City, UT. CD-ROM. ISBN 1-57083-075-4. ASPRS.

Li, Y., A. Vodacek, R. Kremens, and A. Ononye. 2005. A Hybrid contextual fire detection algorithm using MODIS Imagery. In: Remote Sensing for Field Users. Proc. 10th Biennial USDA Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Conference. Salt Lake City, UT. CD-ROM. ISBN 1-57083-075-4. ASPRS.

Wang, Z., A. Vodacek, R. Kremens, and A. Ononye. 2005. Modeling wildland fire with DIRSIG. In: Remote Sensing for Field Users. Proc. 10th Biennial USDA Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Conference. Salt Lake City, UT. CD-ROM. ISBN 1-57083-075-4. ASPRS.

Vodacek, A., A. Ononye, Z. Wang, and Y. Li. 2005. Automatic estimation of direction of propagation of fire from aerial imagery. In: Remote Sensing for Field Users. Proc. 10th Biennial USDA Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Conference. Salt Lake City, UT. CD-ROM. ISBN 1-57083-075-4. ASPRS.

Ononye, A., A. Vodacek, Y. Li, and Z. Wang. 2005. Mapping of active fire area by image gradient technique using multi-spectral imagery. In: Remote Sensing for Field Users. Proc. 10th Biennial USDA Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Conference. Salt Lake City, UT. CD-ROM. ISBN 1-57083-075-4. ASPRS.

Mandel, J., M. Chen, L. P. Franca, C. Johns, A. Puhalskii, J. L. Coen, C. C. Douglas, R. Kremens, A. Vodacek, W. Zhao. 2004. A Note on Dynamic Data Driven Wildfire Modeling. M. Bubak et al. (Eds.): Proceedings Computational Science - ICCS 2004, Part III. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer. Vol. 3038. p. 725-731.

Wang, Z., and A. Vodacek. 2004. Modeling wildland fire with DIRSIG. In: Visual Information Processing XIII. Proc. SPIE Vol. 5438. p. 290-296.

Li, Y., A. Vodacek, R. L. Kremens, A. E. Ononye. 2003. A new algorithm for global forest fire detection using multispectral images. In: Targets and Backgrounds IX: Characterization and Representation, Wendell R. Watkins, Dieter Clement, William R. Reynolds, Eds., Proc. SPIE, Vol. 5075, p. 367-377.

Ononye, A. E., A. Vodacek, R. L. Kremens, Y. Li, and D. Merritt. 2003. Empirical testing of subpixel detection of fire. In: Algorithms and Technologies for Multispectral, Hyperspectral, and Ultraspectral Imagery IX, Sylvia S. Shen, Paul E. Lewis, Eds. Proc. SPIE, Vol. 5093, p. 343-352.

Vodacek, A. and R. Light. 2002. Total absorption and average cosine measurements in Lake Superior. In: Ocean Optics XVI. November 18-22, 2002, Santa Fe, NM.

Raqueño, R.V., N.G. Raqueño, R.R. Fairbanks, J.R. Schott, A. Vodacek, and J. Hamel. 2000. Hyperspectral analysis tools for the multiparameter inversion of water quality factors in coastal regions. In: Imaging Spectrometry, Proc. SPIE, Vol. 4132, p. 323-333.

Fairbanks, R. R., J. Schott, and A. Vodacek, A. 2000. The Impact of Clouds on SeaWiFS Derived Water Quality. In: IGARSS 2000, Int. Geosci. Remote Sens. Symp. 2000, Vol. 1, p. 252-254.

Mitchell, B.G., et al. 2000. Determination of spectral absorption coefficients of particles, dissolved material, and phytoplankton for discrete water samples. In: Ocean Optics Protocols for Satellite Ocean Color Sensor Validation, Revision 2 (G.S. Fargion and J.L. Mueller, Eds.), NASA Technical Memorandum 2000-209966, p. 125-153.

Vodacek, A. and N.V. Blough. 1997. Seasonal variation of CDOM in the Middle Atlantic Bight: terrestrial inputs and photooxidation. In: Ocean Optics XIII (Steven G. Ackleson, Ed.), Proc. SPIE Vol. 2963, p. 132-137.

Recent Presentations:

Vodacek, A., Role of remote sensing in environmental forecasting systems, 4th Annual New York State Remote Sensing Symposium, Johnstown, NY May 19, 2005.

Li, Y., and A. Vodacek. Modeling stream plumes in Conesus Lake. Int. Assoc. Great Lakes Res., Waterloo, Ont. May 24-28, 2004.

Vodacek, A., R. Kremens, A. Ononye, Y. Li, Z. Wang, M. Richardson. FIRES: Forest Fire Imaging Experimental System, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, August 8, 2003.

Vodacek, A., and S.A. Green. In-water and remote particle scattering estimates across the Keweenaw Current in Lake Superior, IAGLR/ILEC, Chicago, June 22-26, 2003.

Vodacek, A., and A. Tentler. Hyperspectral imaging of Lake Ontario benthic algae, IAGLR/ILEC, Chicago, June 22-26, 2003.

Raqueno, R.V., A. Vodacek, A. Goodenough, J. Hamel, and J. Schott. Model-based inversion of hyperspectral imagery for water quality parameters. IAGLR/ILEC, Chicago, June 22-26, 2003.

Del Vecchio, R., A. Subramaniam, A. Vodacek, L. Ziolkowski, W.L. Miller, N.V. Blough, Inherent and apparent optical properties of surface waters from the Middle Atlantic Bight: Spatial and seasonal variation, relation to remote sensing reflectance. ASLO, Salt Lake City, 8-14 February 2003.

Advisees:

• B.S.
• MIchael Muldowney, 2005, Using SeaWiFS to assess lakewide reflectance features in Lake Ontario
• Robert Light, 2001, "Hamamatsu R5900-01-L16 Photomultiplier Tube Spectral / Spatial Characterization"
• Cindy Scigaj, 2001, "Design and Implementation of a LIDAR Imaging System"
• J. Meghan Salmon, 2000, "Derivative Spectroscopy for Remote Sensing of Water Quality"
• M.S.
• Gretchen Sprehe, 2005, "Application of Phenology to Assist in Hyperspectral Species Classification in a Northern Hardwood Forest"
• Andrew Fordham, 2002, "Band Selection and Algorithm Development for Remote Sensing of Wildfires"
• Nikole Wilson, 2000, "Hyperspectral Imaging for Bottom Type Classification and Water Depth Determination"
• Kirk Knobelspiesse, 2000, "Atmospheric Compensation for SeaWiFS Images of Lake Superior"
• Ph.D.
• Zhen Wang, Topic: Wildland fire scene simulation using the DIRSIG scene generation model
• Ying Li, Topic: Statistical methods for remote wildland fire detection and monitoring algorithms
• Yan Li, Topic: Modeling nutrient fate in Conesus Lake tributaries for watersheds experiencing agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs)
• Yushan Zhu, Topic: Imaging processing
• Alvin Spivey, Topic: Coastal remote sensing
• Postdoctoral
• Ambrose Ononye, Remote fire line and burned area mapping using image processing techniques