An Overview of Passive and Active Dust Detection Methods Using Satellite Measurements

In this paper, the methods to detect dust based on passive and active measurements from satellites have been summarized. These include the visible and infrared (VIR) method, thermal infrared (TIR) method, microwave polarized index (MPI) method, active lidar-based method, and combined lidar and infrared measurement (CLIM) method. The VIR method can identify dust during daytime. Using measurements at wavelengths of 8.5, 11.0, and 12.0 μm, the TIR method can distinguish dust from other types of aerosols and cloud, and identify the occurrence of dust over bright surfaces and during night. Since neither the VIR nor the TIR method can penetrate ice clouds, they cannot detect dust beneath ice clouds. The MPI method, however, can identify about 85% of the dust beneath ice clouds. Meanwhile, the active lidar-based method, which uses the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) data and five-dimensional probability distribution functions, can provide very high-resolution vertical profiles of dust aerosols. Nonetheless, as the signals from dense dust and thin clouds are similar in the CALIOP measurements, the lidar-based method may fail to distinguish between them, especially over dust source regions. To address this issue, the CLIM method was developed, which takes the advantages of both TIR measurements (to discriminate between ice cloud and dense dust layers) and lidar measurements (to detect thin dust and water cloud layers). The results obtained by using the new CLIM method show that the ratio of dust misclassification has been significantly reduced. Finally, a concept module for an integrated multi-satellites dust detection system was proposed to overcome some of the weaknesses inherent in the single-sensor dust detection.     

卫星反演积雪信息的研究进展

综合分析了积雪信息反演的主要遥感信息源和提取方法。在光学遥感方面，应用较广的主要是改进型甚高分辨率扫描辐射仪（AVHRR）资料和中分辨率成像光谱仪（MODIS）资料；提取积雪信息大多是根据积雪在可见光波段的高反射率和近红外波段的低反射率，并通过建立回归模型反演积雪面积和深度。由于传感器的改进，MODIS卫星资料在空间分辨率、积雪反演算法等方面明显优于AVHRR资料。光学仪器受云层和大气的影响很大，由于云和积雪在可见光和近红外波段上都具有高反射率。并且由于云层的遮挡。云下的地表信息不能被光学遥感仪器所接收到。微波遥感方面，被动微波遥感仪如微波辐射计成像仪（SSM／I）、高级微波扫描辐射计（AMSR—E）等可以全天候穿过云层进行监测，具有光学仪器所没有的优势，并通过提取地表的亮温差，建立雪深反演模型得到积雪深度。被动微波传感器存在分辨率低。无法监测浅雪区信息等问题。另外影响地表微波亮温的因素很多，这些都在一定程度上影响了反演结果的精确度。主动微波遥感仪如合成孔径雷达、微波散射计等利用积雪与其它地物的后向散射系数的不同来识别积雪，但也同样存在分辨率低等问题。最后探讨了卫星反演积雪信息中仍然存在的问题和进一步发展的方向。     

A review of applications of microwave radiometry to oceanography

The thermal microwave radiation from the ocean surface as seen from space is a function of the surface temperature and wind speed and is modified by liquid water and water vapor in the intervening atmosphere. Further, if the ocean surface is frozen, the emissivity is drastically increased and the effect of the intervening atmosphere is generally negligible. The emissivity of first-year ice is somewhat larger than that of multi-year ice.The data from the Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometers (ESMR's) on the Nimbus-5 and —6 satellites operating at wavelengths of 1.55 cm and 8 mm, respectively, can be interpreted in terms of rain rate, ice coverage and first-year versus multi-year ice determination. The rain-rate data are being used to establish a climatology of rainfall over the oceans. The ice data are being used by the United States Navy in support of international scientific efforts in the Antactic region. Both ice and rain data sets have been generated for the Global Atmospheric Research Project Data Systems Test.It is possible, by making multifrequency measurements, to separate the surface and atmospheric effects and to make useful measurements of sea surface temperature, surface wind speed, and atmospheric parameters along with improved measurements of rain and ice.     

Aircraft measurements of sea surface conditions and their relationship to marine boundary-layer dynamics

Through simultaneous measurements, it is possible to demonstrate the relation between sea swell and surface temperature as measured by a thermoradiometer onboard an aircraft. Thermodynamic measurements made on board the aircraft enable analysis of the interaction between swell and surface marine layer dynamics. The cospectral functions of vertical turbulent transfer for sensible and latent heat indicate large-scale dynamic structures which would seem to be initiated by inhomogeneities in the humidity field. A cross-spectral examination of temperature and humidity produces a structure that is common to both parameters and is caused by swell propagation. The data used here were collected during the TOSCANE-T experiment, whose aim was to validate remote sensing scatterometer techniques, by means of an instrumented aircraft designed for atmospheric research.     

Time-dependence of sea-ice concentration and multiyear ice fraction in the Arctic Basin

The time variation of the sea-ice concentration and multiyear ice fraction within the pack ice in the Arctic Basin is examined, using microwave images of sea ice recently acquired by the Nimbus-5 spacecraft and the NASA CV-990 airborne laboratory. The images used for these studies were constructed from data acquired from the Electrically Scanned Microwave Radiometer (ESMR) which records radiation from earth and its atmosphere at a wavelength of 1.55 cm. Data are analyzed for four seasons during 1973–1975 to illustrate some basic differences in the properties of the sea ice during those times. Spacecraft data are compared with corresponding NASA CV-990 airborne laboratory data obtained over wide areas in the Arctic Basin during the Main Arctic Ice Dynamics Joint Experiment (1975) to illustrate the applicability of passive-microwave remote sensing for monitoring the time dependence of sea-ice concentration (divergence). These observations indicate significant variations in the sea-ice concentration in the spring, late fall and early winter. In addition, deep in the interior of the Arctic polar sea-ice pack, heretofore unobserved large areas, several hundred kilometers in extent, of sea-ice concentrations as low as 50% are indicated.     

Passive microwave remote sensing of the ocean—A review

This paper reviews the current status of passive microwave remote sensing of the ocean. The physics of emission and instrumentation are highlighted in order to establish a relationship between the thermal emission and retrieved geophysical parameters. A discussion then follows on measurements of temperature, salinity, windspeed, etc. using passive microwave systems. These measurements are related to the accuracy and spatial resolution required by the users. The status of passive microwave remote sensing is summarized and recommendations for future research are presented.Part of this work was done while on leave at the NOAA Wave Propagation Laboratory, Boulder, CO 80302     

A comparison of conventional and passive microwave sea‐ice datasets for Hudson Bay

Abstract

A sea‐ice dataset derived from passive microwave data acquired by the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) is compared with a conventional sea‐ice dataset from Ice Branch, Atmospheric Environment Service, Canada. The conventional set uses data from several sources including ships of opportunity, reconnaissance aircraft, satellite photographs and climate stations. The comparison was made for a 3‐year period from 1979 to 1981 over Hudson Bay, an area that is covered with first‐year ice only. For 8 of the 12 months of the year, monthly area‐average ice concentrations are within one tenth; larger differences are evident during periods of melting and freeze‐up. Extensive ponding on first‐year ice during the melt season is interpreted as open water by the SMMR algorithm, leading to significant “errors” in the passive microwave dataset. By comparing the two datasets, we were able to show the extent of ponding on the ice for a complete seasonal melt cycle. During freeze‐up the algorithm, under some conditions, provides a better estimate of the amount of ice than a conventional dataset owing to the difficulty of observing the presence of new ice.     

测量云液水柱含量的一个设想

云液态水柱含量是一个重要的气象学和云雾物理参数.对于云液水柱含量测量已发展了多种技术,但由于云在时空上变化很大,目前地基、飞机以及卫星测量的全部资料,都不能满足数值天气预报、人工增雨及气候变化研究等方面的工作需要.作者提出一种测云水的新方法,即从卫星-地面的微波衰减来确定云水(斜)柱量,并研究了此方法中的测量通道选择及测量方式问题,进行了初步的误差分析研究.结果表明,此方法在现有技术条件下可行,云水的测量精度不难达到20%～30%的水平.与卫星被动微波遥感结合起来,可获得精度更高的云水全球分布资料.     

Active and passive remote sensing of precipitating storms during CaPE. Part II: Intercomparison of precipitation retrievals over land from AMPR radiometer and CP-2 radar

Summary One of the recent campaigns devoted to precipitation studies using both active and passive microwave remote sensing systems was the Convection and Precipitation/Electrification Experiment (CaPE), which took place in central Florida during the summer of 1991. During CaPE, the airborne Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer (AMPR), having four channels at 10.7, 19.35, 37.1 and 85.5 GHz and the National Center for Atmospheric Research CP-2 multiparameter radar at S-band (3 GHz) and X-band (10 GHz) were operated simultaneously. In this paper, we compare estimated hydrometeor liquid/ice water contents and surface rainrates, both retrieved from the AMPR radiometer and CP-2 radar measurements, for a case study consisting of a heavy precipitating storm over land near Cape Canaveral on August 12, 1991. The multi-frequency radiometer-based retrieval scheme uses a cloud-precipitation dataset generated from a cloud model and extended by a physically-constrained Monte Carlo procedure, along with a discrete-ordinate radiative transfer model and a principal component statistical technique to help formulate non-linear regression equations for the sought-after hydrometeor quantities. By applying linear discriminant analysis, the algorithm is used to estimate column integrated liquid/ice water contents, as well as the vertical profiles of these quantities to within a specified accuracy. Rainfall rates are estimated either by non-linear regression or by a suitable fallout model. The analysis has confined itself to along-track nadir-looking AMPR measuremets to avoid complications with variable polarization mixing and geometric distortion for off-nadir observations. Considering the different model assumptions used in the two types of retrieval algorithms and the diverse geophysical information content within the two types of measurements, substantial agreement between the radar- and radiometer-derived retrievals has been achieved for the columnar liquid/ice water contents and rainrates.With 19 FiguresThe National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Dynamic-statistical model of ice redistribution in the White Sea

A numerical model of the drift ice concentration and thickness redistribution in the White Sea is described for the fall, winter, and spring periods. The results of the author’s testing are given. The method accuracy and efficiency are calculated by means of comparison with the multiyear mean data and the data of aircraft ice observations.     

Experimental study of the atmospheric marine boundary layer from in-situ aircraft measurements (TOSCANE-T Campaign): Variability of boundary conditions and eddy flux parameterization

The need for a thorough knowledge of boundary conditions over the vast oceanic surfaces makes remote sensing appear as the most suitable tool for future development. Remote sensing techniques require calibration data and consequently in-situ experiments to yield those data. Over the sea, aircraft seem to be the most convenient means of conducting validation experiments because they allow exploration of a large range of scales (from local measurements to measurements of pixel scale). This paper reports on some in-situ atmospheric aircraft measurements that were conducted as part of the TOSCANE-T experiment organized by the European Space Agency to calibrate the scatterometer for launch on ERS-1 in the early 1990's for global ocean wind measurement.The data analysed are the thermodynamic and turbulent variables measured by an instrumented aircraft, the Hurel Dubois, flying at a constant level of 50 m over the sea surface. Special attention was drawn to the variability of the boundary conditions within areas of 25 × 30 km. In fact, the two-dimensional fields of fluxes and thermodynamic parameters were inhomogeneous with some rather strong wind distortion.The eddy fluxes were parameterized with the aid of bulk aerodynamic formulations at a basic scale of 30 km samples, which corresponds to the aircraft flux computation legs. The bulk aerodynamic coefficients for momentum and heat were found to remain independent of windspeed (for wind velocities less than 12 m/s). Fluxes and thermodynamic parameters were also investigated at two other scales: the integration scale was either reduced to small areas of which size always remains larger than several characteristic lengths of turbulent transfer, or extended to a large area of 25 × 30km. The results of the bulk aerodynamic relationships appeared to be scale invariant, which would therefore justify the application of average values, within the range of scales under study.     

Enhanced Arctic Ice Concentration Estimation Merging MODIS Ice Surface Temperature and SSM/I Sea-Ice Concentration

Ice concentration data from passive microwave sensors are not reliable during the summer melt season. In this study passive microwave ice concentration estimates are improved upon through the assimilation of ice surface temperature data from the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Ice concentration from the analysis is converted to ice extent and compared with data from the Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS). Ice concentration analysis from data assimilation is in better agreement with the IMS data than the original passive microwave data, with the largest improvements occurring during sea-ice melt.     

Arctic sea-ice variations from time-lapse passive microwave imagery

This paper presents: (1) a short historical review of the passive microwave research on sea ice which established the observational and theoretical base permitting the interpretation of the first passive microwave images of Earth obtained by the Nimbus-5 ESMR; (2) the construction of a time-lapse motion picture film of a 16-month set of serial ESMR images to aid in the formidable data analysis task; and (3) a few of the most significant findings resulting from an early analysis of these data, using selected ESMR images to illustrate these findings.     

Determination of cirrus radiative parameters from combination between active and passive remote sensing measurements during FRENCH/DIRAC 2001

In the context of the next AQUA Train satellite experiment, airborne measurements were carried out to simulate satellite measurements. They were conducted between September 25 and October 12, 2001, off the coast of southern France over the Atlantic Ocean and over the Mediterranean Sea, respectively. During the intensive Field Radiation Experiment on Natural Cirrus and High-level clouds (FRENCH/DIRAC 2001), natural ice clouds were sampled from in situ and remote sensing measurements. On October 5 and 7, 2001, cirrus cloud decks were described by a complete data set acquired by: (i) in situ microphysical instruments onboard the TBM-700 aircraft: PMS probe, and Polar Nephelometer (ii) and downward-looking radiative instruments onboard the Mystère 20 aircraft: an infrared radiometer, a lidar, a visible imager with polarisation capabilities, and a middle infrared radiometer. Moreover, classical thermodynamical measurements were carried out onboard the Mystère 20. Mean microphysical characteristics of cirrus deck are derived from interpretation of remote sensing measurements. These properties are compared with those derived from in situ microphysical measurements in order to evaluate the radiative impact of natural cirrus clouds.     

A simulation of inertial oscillation in drifting pack ice

A simple model for simulating the motion of pack ice during periods of energetic inertial oscillation is developed by writing an integrated momentum equation for the ice and upper ocean driven by surface wind stress. Damping is provided by a term proportional to the component of mass transport parallel to wind stress, which is a measure of the departure from a steady-state balance of wind stress and Coriolis force. Oceanic boundary-layer transport is taken to be proportional to the square of the surface velocity on the basis of extensive current measurements made under drifting ice, providing a relationship between ice velocity and total transport. Ice drift velocities measured at AIDJEX stations during the summer of 1975 are simulated with some success using measured local winds. A simple superposition of waves generated at the corners of the triangular array of stations is considered and it is shown that at times the waves are coherent across the 150 km array and at other times there is considerable interference at lesser scales. The importance of the motions for the production of new ice is briefly discussed.     

Verification of model simulated mass balance, flow fields and tabular calving events of the Antarctic ice sheet against remotely sensed observations

The Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) has the greatest potential for global sea level rise. This study simulates AIS ice creeping, sliding, tabular calving, and estimates the total mass balances, using a recently developed, advanced ice dynamics model, known as SEGMENT-Ice. SEGMENT-Ice is written in a spherical Earth coordinate system. Because the AIS contains the South Pole, a projection transfer is performed to displace the pole outside of the simulation domain. The AIS also has complex ice-water-granular material-bedrock configurations, requiring sophisticated lateral and basal boundary conditions. Because of the prevalence of ice shelves, a ‘girder yield’ type calving scheme is activated. The simulations of present surface ice flow velocities compare favorably with InSAR measurements, for various ice-water-bedrock configurations. The estimated ice mass loss rate during 2003–2009 agrees with GRACE measurements and provides more spatial details not represented by the latter. The model estimated calving frequencies of the peripheral ice shelves from 1996 (roughly when the 5-km digital elevation and thickness data for the shelves were collected) to 2009 compare well with archived scatterometer images. SEGMENT-Ice’s unique, non-local systematic calving scheme is found to be relevant for tabular calving. However, the exact timing of calving and of iceberg sizes cannot be simulated accurately at present. A projection of the future mass change of the AIS is made, with SEGMENT-Ice forced by atmospheric conditions from three different coupled general circulation models. The entire AIS is estimated to be losing mass steadily at a rate of ~120 km³/a at present and this rate possibly may double by year 2100.     

中法海洋卫星微波散射计近海岸产品在台风遥感监测中的应用

中法海洋卫星(Chinese-French Oceanography Satellite,CFOSAT)搭载的微波散射计(CFOSAT Scatterometer,CSCAT)采用 Ku 波段扇形波束旋转扫描体制,具有观测几何信息丰富、观测样本数多的特点,是一种新型的海面风场遥感仪器。CSCAT 的原始空间分辨率可达10 km×12-5 km,是目前空间分辨率最高的微波散射计,为开发高质量的近海岸高分辨率海面风场产品提供了可能性。首先,回顾了 CSCAT 近海岸风场遥感的原理,并利用辅助数据验证了这种新的科学产品的有效性。 然后,利用 CSCAT 近海岸风场开展了台风灾害监测研究。与标准 25 km 分辨率的产品相比, CSCAT 近海岸风场可以更细致地描绘台风结构,能够为气象和海洋防灾减灾提供更精准的信息支持与决策服务。     

On the relationship of radar backscatter to wind speed and fetch

The physics of the interaction of electromagnetic waves with the ocean surface has been an active area of research for a number of years. We present here the results of satellite and aircraft experiments to investigate the ability of active microwave radars to infer surface wind speeds remotely. Data obtained from the recent National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Skylab experiment are compared with surface wind speeds measured by low-flying aircraft and ships-of-opportunity and found to give useful estimates of the oceanic wind field. We also investigate the influence of varying wave height on radar measurements of wind speed by measuring the backscattering cross-section for constant wind speed but variable wave conditions. We conclude that this effect is of little importance.     

The experimental oceanographic satellite Seasat-A

A Seasat-A Project was conceived and is being implemented to establish the utility of an array of microwave instruments in space for oceanic research and marine technology. The instruments include: a short-pulse radar altimeter, a wind-field scatterometer, an experimental synthetic-aperture imaging radar, a scanning multifrequency microwave radiometer, and a supporting visual and infrared radiometer. All weather, day-night measurements of sea-surface temperature, surface wind speed and direction, sea state and directional wave spectra will be made, the latter over limited areas and times because of operational limitations on the synthetic-aperture-radar instrument. Highly precise (&<0.1 m) range information from the radar altimeter, in combination with an accurate satellite emphemeris, will be used to infer dynamic departures of sea level from the marine geoid produced by tides, currents, and storm surges. Sea ice will be observed by the synthetic-aperture radar, radar altimeter and the scanning multifrequency microwave radiometer, with particular emphasis on demonstrating their capability to determine polar ice coverage, dynamics and navigability.The satellite will be launched into a high-inclination (108 °), non-sun-synchronous, nearly-circular 800 km orbit in May of 1978. The orbit is such that a dense network traced out by the subsatellite point (18.5-km equatorial separation of ascending orbits) will be obtained in 152 days for geodesy. The satellite is designed for a minimum lifetime of one year; with expendables, including orbit adjust capability, for three.All data, except those obtained from the synthetic-aperture radar, will be collected globally, and returned, as measured, first by a 25 kbps data stream, and then after playback at a rate of 800 kbps from the on-board tape recorder. Synthetic-aperture radar data will be returned in real time only, over a 20-MHz analog telemetry link. We expect that satellite data will be distributed through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Environmental Data Service. Processed data are expected to be generally available through this agency within a very few months of launch, following preliminary assessment of instrument operation and evaluation of performance.     

The Arctic’s rapidly shrinking sea ice cover: a research synthesis

The sequence of extreme September sea ice extent minima over the past decade suggests acceleration in the response of the Arctic sea ice cover to external forcing, hastening the ongoing transition towards a seasonally open Arctic Ocean. This reflects several mutually supporting processes. Because of the extensive open water in recent Septembers, ice cover in the following spring is increasingly dominated by thin, first-year ice (ice formed during the previous autumn and winter) that is vulnerable to melting out in summer. Thinner ice in spring in turn fosters a stronger summer ice-albedo feedback through earlier formation of open water areas. A thin ice cover is also more vulnerable to strong summer retreat under anomalous atmospheric forcing. Finally, general warming of the Arctic has reduced the likelihood of cold years that could bring about temporary recovery of the ice cover. Events leading to the September ice extent minima of recent years exemplify these processes.