Radiometric correction of hemispherical images

Light scattering in fore-optics of imaging radiometric instruments degrades images, the signal of dark pixels is enhanced and that of bright pixels is reduced. A procedure of restoring hemispherical images obtained with a hemispheric view CCD-radiometer is suggested. The circular hemispheric image is projected onto the sphere and Wiener filtering on the sphere is performed. For building the Wiener filter the point spread function of the instrument was measured in the laboratory, and test images of (partially) controlled radiance were measured. The procedure is applied for the correction of hemispherical radiometric images taken under forest canopy. In non-corrected near infrared images the signal of sky pixels in forest canopy gaps near zenith is enhanced 1.4–2.0 times. The applied correction reduces this error to the level of 1.1–1.2. In the red channel these figures are 0.8–0.9 and 0.97–0.99, respectively.     

Towards semantic‐aware multiple‐aspect trajectory similarity measuring

The large amount of semantically rich mobility data becoming available in the era of big data has led to a need for new trajectory similarity measures. In the context of multiple‐aspect trajectories, where mobility data are enriched with several semantic dimensions, current state‐of‐the‐art approaches present some limitations concerning the relationships between attributes and their semantics. Existing works are either too strict, requiring a match on all attributes, or too flexible, considering all attributes as independent. In this article we propose MUITAS, a novel similarity measure for a new type of trajectory data with heterogeneous semantic dimensions, which takes into account the semantic relationship between attributes, thus filling the gap of the current trajectory similarity methods. We evaluate MUITAS over two real datasets of multiple‐aspect social media and GPS trajectories. With precision at recall and clustering techniques, we show that MUITAS is the most robust measure for multiple‐aspect trajectories.     

Study of the Kuroshio/Ryukyu Current system based on satellite-altimeter and <Emphasis Type="Italic">in situ</Emphasis> measurements

Data from satellite altimeters and from a 13-month deployment of in situ instruments are used to determine an empirical relationship between sea-level anomaly difference (SLA) across the Kuroshio in the East China Sea (ECS-Kuroshio) and net transport near 28°N. Applying this relationship to the altimeter data, we obtain a 12-year time series of ECS-Kuroshio transport crossing the C-line (KT). The resulting mean transport is 18.7 ± 0.2 Sv with 1.8 Sv standard deviation. This KT is compared with a similarly-determined time series of net Ryukyu Current transport crossing the O-line near 26°N southeast of Okinawa (RT). Their mean sum (24 Sv) is less than the mean predicted Sverdrup transport. These KT and RT mean-flow estimates form a consistent pattern with historical estimates of other mean flows in the East China Sea/Philippine Basin region. While mean KT is larger than mean RT by a factor of 3.5, the amplitude of the KT annual cycle is only half that of RT. At the 95% confidence level the transports are coherent at periods of about 2 years and 100–200 days, with RT leading KT by about 60 days in each case. At the annual period, the transports are coherent at the 90% confidence level with KT leading RT by 4–5 months. While the bulk of the Kuroshio enters the ECS through the channel between Taiwan and Yonaguni-jima, analysis of satellite altimetry maps, together with the transport time series, indicates that the effect of mesoscale eddies is transmitted to the ECS via the Kerama Gap southwest of Okinawa. Once the effect of these eddies is felt by the ECS-Kuroshio at 28°N, it is advected rapidly to the Tokara Strait.     

Carbonate budget of a cold-water coral carbonate mound: Propeller Mound,Porcupine Seabight

High resolution studies from the Propeller Mound, a cold-water coral carbonate mound in the NE Atlantic, show that this mound consists of >50% carbonate justifying the name ‘carbonate mound’. Through the last ~300,000 years approximately one third of the carbonate has been contributed by cold-water corals, namely Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata. This coral bound contribution to the carbonate budget of Propeller Mound is probably accompanied by an unknown portion of sediments buffered from suspension by the corals. However, extended hiatuses in Propeller Mound sequences only allow the calculation of a net carbonate accumulation. Thus, net carbonate accumulation for the last 175 kyr accounts for only <0.3 g/cm²/kyr, which is even less than for the off-mound sediments. These data imply that Propeller Mound faces burial by hemipelagic sediments as has happened to numerous buried carbonate mounds found slightly to the north of the investigated area.     

Modelling changes in suspended sediment from forest road surfaces in a coastal watershed of British Columbia

Erosion from logging road surfaces, cut slopes, banks, and ditches represents a chronic source of sediment input to streams that can degrade aquatic habitats. Road surface erosion is of particular concern because the magnitude of sediment generation when traffic levels are high can be large. Current models for predicting sediment production from roads require information on area‐specific sediment delivery, which is not often available. Here, we developed a model to quantify suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) generated by forest roads surfaces under different conditions of use and density. This model is designed for a typical medium‐size coastal watershed of British Columbia or the American Pacific Northwest, and was applied to the Chilliwack River watershed as a case study. The results illustrate that intensive use of forest roads combined with high road density can increase the number of extreme sedimentation events over a predetermined threshold. A comparison of the effects of road density and the level of road use suggests that the level of road use is more important than the road density for the generation of fine sediment from road surfaces. However, the model omits the impact of roads on mass movements in a watershed, which represent a major source of sediment in steep watersheds, so the effect of road density is likely more substantial than the model predicts. The model is an attempt to overcome field data limitations by using an empirical relation between SSC and traffic variables, and presents a starting point for more intensive field studies that could be used to validate it. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

(Near-)real-time orbit determination for GNSS radio occultation processing

The processing of GPS radio occultation measurements for use in numerical weather predictions requires a precise orbit determination (POD) of the host satellite in near-real-time. Making use of data from the GRAS instrument on Metop-A, the performance of different GPS ephemeris products and processing concepts for near-real-time and real-time POD is compared. While previous analyses have focused on the achievable along-track velocity accuracy, this study contributes a systematic comparison of the resulting estimated bending angles. This enables a more rigorous trade-off of different orbit determination methodologies in relation to the end-user needs for atmospheric science products. It is demonstrated that near-real-time GPS orbit and clock products have reached a sufficient quality to determine the Metop-A along-track velocity with an accuracy of better than 0.05 mm/s that was formerly only accessible in post-processing. The resulting bending angles are shown to exhibit standard deviation and bias differences of less than 0.3 % compared with post-processed products up to altitudes of at least 40 km, which is notably better than 1 % accuracy typically assumed for numerical weather predictions in this height regime. Complementary to the analysis of ground-based processing schemes, the potential of autonomous on-board orbit determination is investigated for the first time. Using actual GRAS flight data, it is shown that a 0.5 m 3D rms position accuracy and a 0.2 mm/s along-track velocity accuracy can in fact be obtained in real-time with the currently available GPS broadcast ephemeris quality. Bending angles derived from the simulated real-time processing exhibit a minor performance degradation above tangent point heights of 40 km but negligible differences with respect to ground-based products below this altitude. Onboard orbit determination and, if desired, bending angle computation, can thus enable a further simplification of the ground segment in future radio occultation missions and contribute to reduced product latencies for radio occultation data assimilation in numerical weather predictions.     

Thin skinned tectonics in the Ponga region (Cantabrian Zone,NW Spain)

The Variscan thrust and associated fold structures of the Ponga Region (Cantabrian Zone, NW Spain) are interpreted in terms of thin skinned tectonics, with a dominant eastward transport direction.A 2.5 km thick sequence of Paleozoic rocks was deformed by an east vergent thrust system that includes an imbricate fan and a duplex. The thrust surfaces have a very irregular map outcrop pattern due to the existence of a set of folds (longitudinal and transverse systems). A strike-normal balanced section illustrates the geometry of the thrusts and their related folds. The minimum value of accumulate transport is about 62 km. A tear fault can be recognized in a transverse cross-section.A later out-of-sequence thrust system (e.g. Peña Ten Thrust) with dominant southward direction is superimposed upon the earlier eastward verging thrust system. These thrust reactivate the earlier lateral structures as frontal structures.

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Zusammenfassung Die Vartszische Front und damit verbundene Faltenstrukturen des Pongagebietes (Kantabrische Zone, NW Spanien), werden mit Hilfe von »thin skinned tectonic« mit dominierendem ostwärts gerichtetem Transport interpretiert. Eine 2,5 km mächtige Folge paläozoischer Gesteine wurde durch ostvergente überschiebung deformiert. Dabei wurde ein Schuppenfächer und eine Duplexstruktur ausgebildet.Das Ausbei\en der überschiebungsbahn an der Oberfläche ist duch die Existenz longitudinaler und transversaler Faltensysteme sehr unregelmä\ig. Ein Profil senkrecht zum Streichen verdeutlicht die Geometrie der überschiebungen und Faltensysteme.Die gesamte Transportweite beträgt mindestens 62 km.In einem diagonalen Profil kann eine »tear fault« festgestellt werden.Ein späteres überschiebungssystem (z. B. Peña Ten überschiebung), mit hauptsächlich Südwärts gerichtetem Transport hat das frühere Ostwärts vergierende System überprägt. Das jüngere überschiebungssystem hat die älteren Lateralstrukturen als Frontstrukturen reaktiviert.

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Resumen La estructura de la Región del Ponga (Zona Cantábrica, NO de España) es interpretada en el contexto de su situación en la zona externa de una cordillera, y consiste en un sistema de cabalgamientos que han sido emplazados predominantemente hacia el Este con un conjunto de pliegues asociados. Las superficies de cabalgamiento muestran un trazado cartográfico muy irregular debido a la existencia de un conjunto de pliegues transversales a ellos. La Ventana Tectónica del Río Monasterio representa una estructura lateral de estos mantos. El desplazamiento mínimo calculado en una sección a través de la parte central de la región es de 62 Km.Posteriormente, tiene lugar el emplazamiento hacia el Sur de un nuevo sistema de cabalgamientos que reactivan estructuras laterales del sistema previamente emplazado, pasando a constituir estas las estructuras frontales de los nuevos cabalgamientos.Estas estructuras fueron formadas durante la orogénesis varíscica y afectan a un conjunto de materiales Paleozoicos de 2.5 Km. de espesor.

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