High-resolution airborne infrared measurements of ocean skin temperature

Airborne measurements of ocean skin temperature T/sub s/ are presented from the Coupled Boundary Layers, Air-Sea Transfer in Low Winds (CBLAST-Low) Pilot Experiment in August 2001 off Martha's Vineyard, MA. We used an infrared (IR) camera with a spatial resolution of 1 m or less and temperature resolution of roughly 0.02/spl deg/C. Using subframe sampling of the IR imagery, we achieve lower noise and higher spatial resolution than reported by previous investigators using IR radiometers. Fine-scale maps of T/sub s/ exhibit horizontal variability over spatial scales ranging from O(10 km) down to O(1 m) that are related to atmospheric and subsurface phenomena under low to moderate wind conditions. Based on supporting measurements of wind and waves, we identify coherent ramp-like structures in T/sub s/ with stratification breakdown and meandering streaky features with internal waves. Regional maps of T/sub s/ show the standard deviation for the region is /spl plusmn/1.04/spl deg/C, while the meridional and zonal variability is 0.23/spl deg/C /spl middot/ km/sup -1/ and 0.27/spl deg/C /spl middot/ km/sup -1/, respectively. This temperature variability results in meridional and zonal scalar heat flux variability of 7.0 W /spl middot/ m/sup -2/ /spl middot/ km/sup -1/ and 7.6 W /spl middot/ m/sup -2/ /spl middot/ km/sup -1/, respectively. Our results demonstrate the potential for airborne IR imagery accompanied by high-quality ocean data to identify T/sub s/ features produced by subsurface circulation.     

Soil moisture retrievals from biangular L-band passive microwave observations

A simple approach for correcting the effect of vegetation in the estimation of soil moisture (w/sub S/) from L-band passive microwave observations is presented in this study. The approach is based on statistical relationships, calibrated from simulated datasets, which requires only two observations made at distinct incidence angles (/spl theta//sub 1/,/spl theta//sub 2/). A sensitivity study was carried out, and best retrieval remote sensing configurations, in terms of polarization and couple of incidence angles (/spl theta//sub 1/,/spl theta//sub 2/), were investigated. Best estimations of w/sub S/ could be made at H polarization, for /spl theta//sub 1/ varying between 15/spl deg/ and 30/spl deg/, and with a difference (/spl theta//sub 2/-/spl theta//sub 1/) larger than 30/spl deg/. The method was tested against two experimental datasets acquired over crop fields (soybean and wheat). The average accuracy in the soil moisture retrievals during the whole crop cycle was found to be about 0.05 m/sup 3//m/sup 3/ for both crops.     

Pasture enclosures increase soil carbon dioxide flux rate in Semiarid Rangeland,Kenya

Background

Pasture enclosures play an important role in rehabilitating the degraded soils and vegetation, and may also influence the emission of key greenhouse gasses (GHGs) from the soil. However, no study in East Africa and in Kenya has conducted direct measurements of GHG fluxes following the restoration of degraded communal grazing lands through the establishment of pasture enclosures. A field experiment was conducted in northwestern Kenya to measure the emission of CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O from soil under two pasture restoration systems; grazing dominated enclosure (GDE) and contractual grazing enclosure (CGE), and in the adjacent open grazing rangeland (OGR) as control. Herbaceous vegetation cover, biomass production, and surface (0–10 cm) soil organic carbon (SOC) were also assessed to determine their relationship with the GHG flux rate.

Results

Vegetation cover was higher enclosure systems and ranged from 20.7% in OGR to 40.2% in GDE while aboveground biomass increased from 72.0 kg DM ha^?1 in OGR to 483.1 and 560.4 kg DM ha^?1 in CGE and GDE respectively. The SOC concentration in GDE and CGE increased by an average of 27% relative to OGR and ranged between 4.4 g kg^?1 and 6.6 g kg^?1. The mean emission rates across the grazing systems were 18.6 μg N m^?2 h^?1, 50.1 μg C m^?2 h^?1 and 199.7 mg C m^?2 h^?1 for N₂O, CH₄, and CO₂, respectively. Soil CO₂ emission was considerably higher in GDE and CGE systems than in OGR (P?<?0.001). However, non-significantly higher CH₄ and N₂O emissions were observed in GDE and CGE compared to OGR (P?=?0.33 and 0.53 for CH₄ and N₂O, respectively). Soil moisture exhibited a significant positive relationship with CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O, implying that it is the key factor influencing the flux rate of GHGs in the area.

Conclusions

The results demonstrated that the establishment of enclosures in tropical rangelands is a valuable intervention for improving pasture production and restoration of surface soil properties. However, a long-term study is required to evaluate the patterns in annual CO₂, N₂O, CH₄ fluxes from soils and determine the ecosystem carbon balance across the pastoral landscape.

     

Numerical simulations of radar surface air pressure measurements at O/sub 2/ bands

An active microwave method is investigated for measuring surface air pressure by using radar reflections at frequencies around 53-55 GHz O/sub 2/ bands. The numerical simulation results for homogeneous backgrounds show that with an airborne radar working at these O/sub 2/ absorption bands, the rms errors of the radar surface pressure estimations with 15-dB signal-to-noise ratio can be as low as 4-7 mb. A radar system that covers these wavelengths will have great potentials for weather observations and other meteorological applications.     

利用ASTER热红外遥感数据开展岩石化学成分填图的初步研究

ASTER遥感成像仪的发射提供了廉价的多光谱热红外数据,是热红外遥感数据的一个重要来源。ASU热红外光谱库提供了多种矿物的热红外发射率波谱的同时,还提供了矿物的化学成分即氧化物含量的分析结果。把ASU波谱库的矿物波谱重采样至ASTER各热红外波段,对矿物的波谱进行波段比值处理,与各矿物成分进行相关分析,选择波段比值与各氧化物含量最大相关系数,进行对数模拟,从而可以确定出发射率光谱与化学成分的数值关系。本文分别对SiO2,MgO,Al2O3,CaO,K2O,Na2O进行了数值分析及公式模拟。统计是根据各矿物做出的,模拟公式同样适用于岩石,进而可以在遥感热红外数据中得以应用。在四川省西范坪矿区利用模拟公式对SiO2,Na2O,K2O三种氧化物进行了岩石填图,在野外大部分得到了证实;利用SiO2进行了硅化蚀变带填图,在异常带内发现了砂岩型铜矿化。     

针对Terra/MODIS数据的改进分裂窗地表温度反演算法

针对Terra/MODIS数据提出改进的分裂窗地表温度反演算法。充分考虑了传感器观测角度(VZA)的影响,并对地表和有效大气辐射按照不同的亮度温度区间分别进行Planck函数简化。利用TIGR3大气廓线库中的875条晴空大气廓线,ASTER波谱库中的106条地物发射率波谱,结合MODTRAN4大气辐射传输模型模拟得到分裂窗算法系数。利用MODTRAN4模拟数据对算法精度进行验证,结果表明本文的改进算法和原算法的均方根误差RMSE分别为0.34K和0.65K。敏感性分析表明,在中等湿润的大气条件下,算法对大气水汽含量并不敏感。该算法降低了传感器观测角度带来的地表温度反演误差。利用2009年6月美国SURFRAD辐射观测网6个站点的实测数据对改进算法、原算法以及MOD11_L2地表温度产品进行了对比验证,RMSE分别是0.93K、1.49K和1.0K,表明本文算法可以提高反演精度。     

A stochastic model for active fire detection using the thermal bands of MODIS data

Active fire detection using satellite thermal sensors usually involves thresholding the detected brightness temperature in several bands. Most frequently used features for fire detection are the brightness temperature in the 4-/spl mu/m wavelength band (T/sub 4/) and the brightness temperature difference between 4- and 11-/spl mu/m bands (/spl Delta/T=T/sub 4/-T/sub 11/). In this letter, the task of active fire detection is examined in the context of a stochastic model for target detection. The proposed fire detection method consists of applying a decorrelation transform in the (T/sub 4/,/spl Delta/T) space. Probability density functions for the fire and background pixels are then computed in the transformed variable space using simulated Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) thermal data under different atmospheric humidity conditions and for cases of flaming and smoldering fires. The Pareto curve for each detection case is constructed. Optimal thresholds are derived by minimizing a cost function, which is a weighted sum of the omission and commission errors. The method has also been tested on a MODIS reference dataset validated using high-resolution SPOT images. The results show that the detection errors are comparable with the expected values, and the proposed method performs slightly better than the standard MODIS absolute detection method in terms of the lower cost function.     

应用人卫激光测距技术测定潮汐形变勒夫数

本文讨论了利用人卫激光测距（ＳＬＲ）资料确定分潮波形式的地球固体潮汐形变勒夫数的可能性,并用１１年的Ｌａｇｅｏｓ－１的人卫激光测跨资料直接解算了四个周日波Ｑ、,Ｏ１,Ｐ１,Ｋ１和四个半日波Ｓ２,Ｋ２,Ｎ２,Ｍ２的弹性和粘弹性地球状态下的地球潮汐形变勒夫数ｈ２ｓ,ｌ２ｓ,结果与ＶＬＢＩ结果相符,与ＩＥＲＳ及Ｗａｈｒ的模型值的潮汐响应趋势相符,这证明了利用ＳＬＲ技术确定潮汐形变勒失数是可行的,从而为传统技术和空间技术提供了一种新的有意义的方法和选择。     

Detecting peatland drains with Object Based Image Analysis and Geoeye-1 imagery

Background

Peatlands play an important role in the global carbon cycle. They provide important ecosystem services including carbon sequestration and storage. Drainage disturbs peatland ecosystem services. Mapping drains is difficult and expensive and their spatial extent is, in many cases, unknown. An object based image analysis (OBIA) was performed on a very high resolution satellite image (Geoeye-1) to extract information about drain location and extent on a blanket peatland in Ireland. Two accuracy assessment methods: Error matrix and the completeness, correctness and quality (CCQ) were used to assess the extracted data across the peatland and at several sub sites. The cost of the OBIA method was compared with manual digitisation and field survey. The drain maps were also used to assess the costs relating to blocking drains vs. a business-as-usual scenario and estimating the impact of each on carbon fluxes at the study site.

Results

The OBIA method performed well at almost all sites. Almost 500 km of drains were detected within the peatland. In the error matrix method, overall accuracy (OA) of detecting the drains was 94% and the kappa statistic was 0.66. The OA for all sub-areas, except one, was 95–97%. The CCQ was 85%, 85% and 71% respectively. The OBIA method was the most cost effective way to map peatland drains and was at least 55% cheaper than either field survey or manual digitisation, respectively. The extracted drain maps were used constrain the study area CO₂ flux which was 19% smaller than the prescribed Peatland Code value for drained peatlands.

Conclusions

The OBIA method used in this study showed that it is possible to accurately extract maps of fine scale peatland drains over large areas in a cost effective manner. The development of methods to map the spatial extent of drains is important as they play a critical role in peatland carbon dynamics. The objective of this study was to extract data on the spatial extent of drains on a blanket bog in the west of Ireland. The results show that information on drain extent and location can be extracted from high resolution imagery and mapped with a high degree of accuracy. Under Article 3.4 of the Kyoto Protocol Annex 1 parties can account for greenhouse gas emission by sources and removals by sinks resulting from “wetlands drainage and rewetting”. The ability to map the spatial extent, density and location of peatlands drains means that Annex 1 parties can develop strategies for drain blocking to aid reduction of CO₂ emissions, DOC runoff and water discoloration. This paper highlights some uncertainty around using one-size-fits-all emission factors for GHG in drained peatlands and re-wetting scenarios. However, the OBIA method is robust and accurate and could be used to assess the extent of drains in peatlands across the globe aiding the refinement of peatland carbon dynamics .

     

北极臭氧年际变化特征及其与极涡的关系

利用风云三号卫星搭载的紫外臭氧总量探测仪(TOU)和国际同类卫星的臭氧总量数据对1979年—2011年北半球春季臭氧特征进行了分析,发现北极臭氧年际变化显著,它与平流层温度变化一致(相关系数为0.75)。北极臭氧损耗异常强弱年的月均和日变化特征有明显差异,春季北极臭氧损耗强年有明显的化学损耗过程(1997年和2011年),而弱年化学作用影响不明显(1999年和2010年)。损耗弱年的日变化型在不同年份特征不同,它的臭氧变化可能更多受天气过程的影响。综合分析北极涛动、极涡和平流层温度等大气环流背景场的变化,表明春季北极臭氧损耗强弱受大气环流变化影响。北极涛动指数正位相,极涡偏强偏冷,北极臭氧损耗异常偏高。北极涛动指数负位相,极涡偏弱偏暖,北极臭氧损耗异常偏低。     

Determination of cloud geometrical thickness using backscattered solar light in a gaseous absorption band

A method previously developed by the authors is employed to determine the cloud geometrical thickness from combined measurements of the cloud brightness temperature and the backscattered solar light intensity in the O/sub 2/ A-band. The technique is applied to the analysis of four selected orbits of the European Remote Sensing 2 satellite using measurements performed by the Global Ozone Measurement Experiment spectrometer and the Along Track Scanning Radiometer. Cloud geometrical thicknesses were found to be in the range 0.5-7.5 km with most frequent values of 3 km for the cases studied.     

Wheat crop inventory using high spectral resolution irs-p3 mos-b spectrometer data

Modular Optoelectronic Scanner (MOS-B) spectrometer data over parts of Northern India was evaluated for wheat crop monitoring involving (a) sub pixel wheat fractional area estimation using spectral unmixing approach and (b) growth assessment by red edge shift at different phenological stages. Red shift of 10 nm was observed between crown root initiation stage to flowering stage. Wheat fraction estimates using linear spectral unmixing on Feb. 13, 1999 acquisition of MOS-B data had high correlation (0.82) with estimates from Wide Field Sensor (WiFS) data acquired on same date by IRS-P3 platform. It was observed that five bands (4,5,8,12,13 MOS-B bands) are sufficient for signature separability of major land cover classes viz. wheat, urban, wasteland, and water based on purely spectral separability criterion using Transformed Divergence (T.D.) approach. Higher number of bands saturated the T.D. values. In contrast, performance of sub pixel fractional area estimation using unmixing decreased drastically for eight bands (4,5,6,7,8,9,12,13 MOS-B bands) chosen from optimal band selection criteria in comparison to full set of 13 bands. The relative deviation between area estimated from Wifs and MOS-B increased from 1.72 percent when all thirteen bands were used in unmixing to 26.10 percent for the above eight bands.     

合肥地区平流层气溶胶地基激光雷达与SAGE卫星探测比较

为了解中国上空SAGE反演的平流层气溶胶数据质量,将合肥地区地基激光雷达观测10年(1996年—2005年)的气溶胶数据与SAGE资料进行比较。通过较为系统全面的比较分析,得到如下结果:(1)10—30 km内SAGE与Li DAR分析的气溶胶变化趋势较为一致,出现峰值和低值的位置也较为接近;(2)SAGE结果普遍比Li DAR测量的偏小,对应的平流层气溶胶AOD差异显著,定量表现为:激光雷达获取的平流层气溶胶AOD基本约为0.004,SAGE反演的平流层气溶胶AOD基本约为0.002,只有前者的一半;(3)两者分析的20—35 km气溶胶季节分布差异较小,再次表明平流层气溶胶比较稳定。     

FY-3C微波成像仪海面温度产品算法及精度检验

海洋表面温度(SST)是海洋学和气候学一个十分重要的物理因子,而卫星被动微波遥感能够穿透云层,实现全天候、大范围观测,因此利用中国FY-3C微波成像仪(MWRI)反演SST具有重要意义。FY-3C MWRI SST产品采用统计算法,首先利用MWRI降水和海冰产品剔除含降水和海冰的像元,之后选择时空间隔0.2 h和0.2°离海岸100 km以外的FY-3C MWRI观测亮温与浮标观测值进行匹配,再将全球在空间上分为4个纬度带,时间上分为12个月,并分升轨和降轨,分别建立浮标海温观测结果和MWRI亮温之间的统计关系,实现对SST的估算。将|估算海温-30年月平均海温|≥2.5 K的像元标识为51,发现这些像元基本分布在陆地边缘地区及大风速地区,剔除标识为51的像元后的精度验证结果表明:与全球浮标资料相比,FY-3C MWRI SST轨道产品升轨精度为–0.02±1.22 K,降轨精度为–0.15±1.28 K;与全球分析场日平均海温OISST相比,FY-3C MWRI SST日产品升轨精度为0.00±1.03 K,降轨精度为–0.09±1.08 K。微波辐射计的性能及其定位定标精度、上游卫星产品(降水检测和海冰检测)的精度、陆地的干扰及高风速对微波信号的影响均会造成SST估算误差,如何改进算法中风速大于12 m/s时的估算精度是下一步的工作重点。     

Remote sensing of cirrus optical and microphysical properties from ground-based infrared radiometric Measurements-part II: retrievals from CRYSTAL-FACE measurements

The ground-based infrared radiance measurements acquired on July 14, 20, and 28, 2002 during the Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE) campaign have been used for simultaneously retrieving the optical thickness and effective particle size on the basis of the retrieval algorithm reported in the preceding counterpart of this paper. The corresponding ice water path is derived from the retrieved optical thickness and effective particle size. Specifically, the data used for the retrieval include: 1) the infrared radiance spectrum observed by an atmospheric emitted radiance interferometer at the surface; 2) the sky condition and cloud height determined from a sky imager and a micropulse lidar; and 3) the sounding data for the profiles of temperature, pressure, and relative humidity. For these three case studies, the retrieved cirrus optical thickness, effective particle size, and ice water path are in the range of 0.2-1.5, 18-42 /spl mu/m, and 2-15 g /spl middot/ m/sup -2/, respectively. Furthermore, error analyses show that the retrieval uncertainties of the optical thickness and effective particle size are less than 15% if the uncertainty of water vapor vertical profile is within 5%. The retrieval errors are within 10% if the uncertainty of cloud temperature is within 7 K.     

一种基于相对标准差的SAR图像Speckle滤波方法

通过分析ＳＡＲ影像的Ｓｐｅｃｋｌｅ局部统计特性和现有的空间波波算法,提出了一种新的Ｓｐｅｃｋｌｅ滤波该方法以局部部相对标准差为主要依据,采用特殊的滤波窗口邻域划分方法,自适应地调整窗口尺寸和窗口内的滤波区域。该方法被用于多幅ＥＲＳ－１／２ＳＡＲ图像去Ｓｐｅｃｋｌｅ处理,并与以入的典型算法进行了比较实验,取得了令人满意的结果。     

Comparison of Calibration Techniques for Ground-Based C-Band Radiometers

We quantify the performance of three commonly used techniques to calibrate ground-based microwave radiometers for soil moisture studies, external (EC), tipping-curve (TC), and internal (IC). We describe two ground-based C-band radiometer systems with similar design and the calibration experiments conducted in Florida and Alaska using these two systems. We compare the consistency of the calibration curves during the experiments among the three techniques and evaluate our calibration by comparing the measured brightness temperatures (T_Bs) to those estimated from a lake emission model (LEM). The mean absolute difference among the T_Bs calibrated using the three techniques over the observed range of output voltages during the experiments was 1.14 K. Even though IC produced the most consistent calibration curves, the differences among the three calibration techniques were not significant. The mean absolute errors (MAEs) between the observed and LEM T_B s were about 2-4 K. As expected, the utility of TC at C-band was significantly reduced due to transparency of the atmosphere at these frequencies. Because IC was found to have a MAE of about 2 K that is suitable for soil moisture applications and was consistent during our experiments under different environmental conditions, it could augment less frequent calibrations obtained using the EC or TC techniques     

Estimates of ocean tide loading displacements and its impact on position time series in Hong Kong using a dense continuous GPS network

Three-dimensional ocean tide loading (OTL) displacements of eight diurnal and semidiurnal constituents at 12 sites in Hong Kong were estimated using 3–7 years of continuous global positioning system (GPS) observations. OTL displacements were estimated using the precise point positioning (PPP) technique on a daily basis and then combined. The OTL displacements obtained by GPS were compared with predictions using seven recent global ocean tide models. The effect of OTL displacements on GPS position time series was also investigated. The study shows that the GPS-derived OTL displacements (excluding K1 and K2 constituents) agree best with those predicted by the GOT4.7 and NAO99b models. The GPS/model agreement is generally at the sub-millimeter level, except for S2, K1, and K2 constituents with relatively large errors. After systematic biases between the GPS and model values are removed, the misfits of all sites for M2, S2, N2, O1, P1, and Q1 are less than 0.5 and 1.0 mm in the horizontal and vertical components, respectively, while larger misfits (within 2.5 mm) are observed for K1 and K2. Integer ambiguity fixing slightly improves the east component of OTL displacement estimates. The study also finds that GPS-derived OTL corrections, instead of model predicts, can be used in daily data processing with the exception of K1 and K2. Including K2 corrections, a secular vertical rate of up to 1 mm/year in position time series can be induced, which needs to be confirmed by further studies.     

Contribution of forest wood products to negative emissions: historical comparative analysis from 1960 to 2015 in Norway,Sweden and Finland

Background

Forests and forest products can significantly contribute to climate change mitigation by stabilizing and even potentially decreasing the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere. Harvested wood products (HWP) represent a common widespread and cost-efficient opportunity for negative emissions. After harvest, a significant fraction of the wood remains stored in HWPs for a period that can vary from some months to many decades, whereas atmospheric carbon (C) is immediately sequestered by vegetation re-growth. This temporal mismatch between oxidation of HWPs and C uptake by vegetation generates a net sink that lasts over time. The role of temporary carbon storage in forest products has been analysed and debated in the scientific literature, but detailed bottom-up studies mapping the fate of harvested materials and quantifying the associated emission profiles at national scales are rare. In this work, we quantify the net CO₂ emissions and the temporary carbon storage in forest products in Norway, Sweden and Finland for the period 1960–2015, and investigate their correlation. We use a Chi square probability distribution to model the oxidation rate of C over time in HWPs, taking into consideration specific half-lives of each category of products. We model the forest regrowth and estimate the time-distributed C removal. We also integrate the specific HWP flows with an emission inventory database to quantify the associated life-cycle emissions of fossil CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O.

Results

We find that assuming an instantaneous oxidation of HWPs would overestimate emissions of about 1.18 billion t CO₂ (cumulative values for the three countries over the period 1960–2015).We also find that about 40 years after 1960, the starting year of our analysis, are sufficient to detect signs of negative emissions. The total amount of net CO₂ emissions achieved in 2015 are about ??3.8 million t CO₂, ??27.9 t CO₂ and ??43.6 t CO₂ in Norway, Sweden, and Finland, respectively.

Conclusion

We argue for a more explicit accounting of the actual emission rates from HWPs in carbon balance studies and climate impact analysis of forestry systems and products, and a more transparent inclusion of the potential of HWP as negative emissions in perspective studies and scenarios. Simply assuming that all harvested carbon is instantaneously oxidized can lead to large biases and ultimately overlook the benefits of negative emissions of HWPs.

     

Analysis of secular polar motion and continental drift

The secular latitude variations of the five ILS stations of Mizusawa, Kitab, Carloforte, Gaithersburg and Ukiah were analyzed taking into account the recent continental drift theory. Using Le Pichon's 1968 reconstruction, the rate of rotation was computed from the astronomical data, fixing the pole of rotation by Le Pichon's determination. The most reasonable solution was obtained considering Mizusawa, Kitab and Carloforte lying on the Eurasia plate, the two American stations as one on the American plate (Gaithersburg) and the other on the North—East Pacific plate (Ukiah). The resulting relative rate between the Euro-American plates is found to be 0".0028/year and between the American—Pacific plates 0".0032/ years, or about 1°,3/10⁶ years and in excellent agreement with the plate tectonic theory. Luxembourg Meeting of the “Journées Luxembourgeoises de Géodynamique”, 1972.