Combination of multi-mission altimetry data along the Mekong River with spatio-temporal kriging

River water-level time series at fixed geographical locations, so-called virtual stations, have been computed from single altimeter crossings for many years. Their temporal resolution is limited by the repeat cycle of the individual altimetry missions. The combination of all altimetry measurements along a river enables computing a water-level time series with improved temporal and spatial resolutions. This study uses the geostatistical method of spatio-temporal ordinary kriging to link multi-mission altimetry data along the Mekong River. The required covariance models reflecting the water flow are estimated based on empirical covariance values between altimetry observations at various locations. In this study, two covariance models are developed and tested in the case of the Mekong River: a stationary and a non-stationary covariance model. The proposed approach predicts water-level time series at different locations along the Mekong River with a temporal resolution of 5 days. Validation is performed against in situ data from four gauging stations, yielding RMS differences between 0.82 and 1.29 m and squared correlation coefficients between 0.89 and 0.94. Both models produce comparable results when used for combining data from Envisat, Jason-1, and SARAL for the time period between 2002 and 2015. The quality of the predicted time series turns out to be robust against a possibly decreasing availability of altimetry mission data. This demonstrates that our method is able to close the data gap between the end of the Envisat and the launch of the SARAL mission with interpolated time series.     

Monitoring 25 years of land cover change dynamics in Africa: A sample based remote sensing approach

The study examines the changes in sub-Saharan's natural land cover resources for a 25 year period. We assess these changes in four broad land cover classes – forests, natural non-forest vegetation, agriculture and barren – by using high spatial resolution Earth observing satellites. Two sets of sample images, one ‘historical’ targeted at 1975 and a second ‘recent’ targeted at the year 2000, have been selected through a stratified random sampling technique over the study area, targeting a sampling rate of 1% in each of the strata. The results, presented at eco-region level and aggregated at sub-Saharan level, show a 57% increase in agriculture area at the expense of natural vegetation which has itself decreased by 21% over the period, with nearly 5 million hectares forest and non-forest natural vegetation lost per year. The impacts of these changes on the environment on one site and on the socio-economy on the other site are discussed and possible pressures on human well being are highlighted.     

Die Kristallstruktur von Denningit, (Mn,Ca,Zn) Te2O5. Ein Beispiel für die Koordination um vierwertiges Tellur

Zusammenfassung Denningit, (Mn, Ca, Zn) Te₂O₅ ist tetragonal mit der Raumgruppe P 4₂/n bc und den Gitterkonstanten a=8,82, c=13,04; Z=8. Die Struktur wurde mit Patterson-, Fourier- und (F_o-F_c)-Projektionen parallel [100], [110] und [001] bestimmt und verfeinert. Abschließend konnte eine least-squares-Verfeinerung durchgeführt werden. Je zwei trigonale TeO₃-Pyramiden (Te–O=1,84–2,04 ) sind zu isolierten Te₂O₅-Gruppen verbunden. Mn, Ca und Zn in 8- und in [4+2]-Koordination bilden längs [001] Ketten, die durch Te₂O₅-Gruppen miteinander verknüpft sind.

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Summary Denningite, (Mn, Ca, Zn) Te₂O₅ is tetragonal with spacegroup P 4₂/n bc and unit-cell dimensions a=8,82, c=13,04; Z=8. The structure has been determined and refined by Patterson, Fourier and (F_o-F_c) projections along [100], [110] and [001]. Finally a least-squares refinement has been carried out. Pairs of trigonal TeO₃ pyramids (Te–O=1,84–2,04) are connected to isolated Te₂O₅ groups. Mn, Ca and Zn in 8 coordination and in [4+2] coordination form chains along [001] connected by Te₂O₅ groups.

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Mit 3 Textabbildungen

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Herrn Professor Dr.F. Machatschki zum 70. Geburtstag gewidmet     

The Turbulent Lagrangian Time Scale in Forest Canopies Constrained by Fluxes,Concentrations and Source Distributions

One-dimensional Lagrangian dispersion models, frequently used to relate in-canopy source/sink distributions of energy, water and trace gases to vertical concentration profiles, require estimates of the standard deviation of the vertical wind speed, which can be measured, and the Lagrangian time scale, T _L , which cannot. In this work we use non-linear parameter estimation to determine the vertical profile of the Lagrangian time scale that simultaneously optimises agreement between modelled and measured vertical profiles of temperature, water vapour and carbon dioxide concentrations within a 40-m tall temperate Eucalyptus forest in south-eastern Australia. Modelled temperature and concentration profiles are generated using Lagrangian dispersion theory combined with source/sink distributions of sensible heat, water vapour and CO₂. These distributions are derived from a multilayer Soil-Vegetation-Atmospheric-Transfer model subject to multiple constraints: (1) daytime eddy flux measurements of sensible heat, latent heat, and CO₂ above the canopy, (2) in-canopy lidar measurements of leaf area density distribution, and (3) chamber measurements of CO₂ ground fluxes. The resulting estimate of Lagrangian time scale within the canopy under near-neutral conditions is about 1.7 times higher than previous estimates and decreases towards zero at the ground. It represents an advance over previous estimates of T _L , which are largely unconstrained by measurements.     

Aerosol optical thickness retrieval over the Atlantic Ocean using GOES imager data

An algorithm based on simulated satellite signal calculated by the 6S radiative transfer model has been developed in order to retrieve the aerosol optical thickness of dust over the Atlantic ocean. The algorithm is applied to the visible channel of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES 8) images. The inversion uses a look-up table giving the satellite signal intensity as a function of surface albedo, viewing geometry, solar illumination and the optical properties of the aerosols. The study consists of assessing the feasibility of monitoring and mapping the transport of suspended particles across the Atlantic from the Sahara to the Caribbean. The study area is between 10 and 25 N and 30 and 65 W. The optical thickness of aerosols has been calculated over a period of 11 days between 10th and 20th of June 1997 for the 14:15 UT GOES image acquisition. The calculated aerosol optical thickness ranges from 0.0 to 0.81 with an important event of dust presence occurring between 13th and 16th of June. The retrieved aerosol optical thickness is in good agreement with the values obtained between 14h UT and 15h UT from ground based sun photometer measurements on the island of Guadeloupe, and a coefficient correlation (R²) of 0.88 has been found between the data sets.