Developing the science product algorithm testbed for Chinese next-generation geostationary meteorological satellites: Fengyun-4 series

Fengyun-4A (FY-4A), the first of the Chinese next-generation geostationary meteorological satellites, launched in 2016, offers several advances over the FY-2: more spectral bands, faster imaging, and infrared hyperspectral measurements. To support the major objective of developing the prototypes of FY-4 science algorithms, two science product algorithm testbeds for imagers and sounders have been developed by the scientists in the FY-4 Algorithm Working Group (AWG). Both testbeds, written in FORTRAN and C programming languages for Linux or UNIX systems, have been tested successfully by using Intel/g compilers. Some important FY-4 science products, including cloud mask, cloud properties, and temperature profiles, have been retrieved successfully through using a proxy imager, Himawari-8/Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI), and sounder data, obtained from the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder, thus demonstrating their robustness. In addition, in early 2016, the FY-4 AWG was developed based on the imager testbed—a near real-time processing system for Himawari-8/AHI data for use by Chinese weather forecasters. Consequently, robust and flexible science product algorithm testbeds have provided essential and productive tools for popularizing FY-4 data and developing substantial improvements in FY-4 products.     

Contributions of thermoelastic deformation to seasonal variations in GPS station position

GPS Solutions - We investigate surface displacements due to land temperature variation with the 2014 global thermoelastic model, which is a solution on a uniformly elastic sphere under the...     

Land surface temperature and its impact factors in Western Sichuan Plateau,China

The understanding influence of multiple factors variations on land surface temperature (LST) remains elusive. LST was retrieved by the atmospheric correction algorithms. Based on the correlation coefficients, stepwise regression analysis was developed to examine how multiple factors variability led to LST variations. The differences in LST between impact factors vary depending on time in a day. The elevation and land use types significantly affect the LST in sunny slope or shadow areas has a significantly quadratic curve correlation or a negative linear correlation with it, the influence of slope and aspect is not very significant. LST for forestland, grassland and bare land in the sunny slope and shadow area was the cubic polynomial related to its elevation. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalized difference moisture index (NDMI) effectively express LST in mountainous. LST and NDMI or NDVI have a significantly negative correlation, NDMI is more effective and more applicable for the expression of LST.     

Monitoring canopy growth and grain yield of paddy rice in South Korea by using the GRAMI model and high spatial resolution imagery

Monitoring crop conditions and forecasting crop yields are both important for assessing crop production and for determining appropriate agricultural management practices; however, remote sensing is limited by the resolution, timing, and coverage of satellite images, and crop modeling is limited in its application at regional scales. To resolve these issues, the Gramineae (GRAMI)-rice model, which utilizes remote sensing data, was used in an effort to combine the complementary techniques of remote sensing and crop modeling. The model was then investigated for its capability to monitor canopy growth and estimate the grain yield of rice (Oryza sativa), at both the field and the regional scales, by using remote sensing images with high spatial resolution. The field scale investigation was performed using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images, and the regional-scale investigation was performed using RapidEye satellite images. Simulated grain yields at the field scale were not significantly different (p = 0.45, p = 0.27, and p = 0.52) from the corresponding measured grain yields according to paired t-tests (α = 0.05). The model’s projections of grain yield at the regional scale represented the spatial grain yield variation of the corresponding field conditions to within ±1 standard deviation. Therefore, based on mapping the growth and grain yield of rice at both field and regional scales of interest within coverages of a UAV or the RapidEye satellite, our results demonstrate the applicability of the GRAMI-rice model to the monitoring and prediction of rice growth and grain yield at different spatial scales. In addition, the GRAMI-rice model is capable of reproducing seasonal variations in rice growth and grain yield at different spatial scales.     

New urban map of Eurasia using MODIS and multi-source geospatial data

Urban areas are of paramount significance to both the individuals and communities at local and regional scales. However, the rapid growth of urban areas exerts effects on climate, biodiversity, hydrology, and natural ecosystems worldwide. Therefore, regular and up-to-date information related to urban extent is necessary to monitor the impacts of urban areas at local, regional, and potentially global scales. This study presents a new urban map of Eurasia at 500 m resolution using multi-source geospatial data, including Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data of 2013, population density of 2012, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) nighttime lights of 2012, and constructed Impervious Surface Area (ISA) data of 2010. The Eurasian urban map was created using the threshold method for these data, combined with references of fine resolution Landsat and Google Earth imagery. The resultant map was compared with nine global urban maps and was validated using random sampling method. Results of the accuracy assessment showed high overall accuracy of the new urban map of 94%. This urban map is one product of the 20 land cover classes of the next version of Global Land Cover by National Mapping Organizations.     

Analyzing Accessibility Using Parcel Data: Is There Still an Access–Space Trade-Off in Long Beach,California?

This article analyzes the impact of changing housing and neighborhood characteristics on the accessibility of neighborhood businesses using Long Beach, California, as a case study. Although advocates of smart growth and New Urbanism encourage land use mixing, aggregate-level analysis can be too coarse to pick up on fine-grained aspects of urban streetscapes. This study uses assessor parcel records and a point-based business establishment data set to analyze city-wide patterns of accessibility from individual dwelling units to thirty-one types of neighborhood businesses, including grocery stores, service shops, drug stores, doctor's offices, and banks. Regression results compare parcel-level and neighborhood-level drivers of accessibility between 2006 and 2015 to gauge the aggregated effect of recent economic, demographic, and built environment changes on this aspect of urban spatial structure. Larger homes in older, multiunit buildings and higher income neighborhoods show substantial increases in accessibility to most establishment types, suggesting a trend toward both greater accessibility and larger dwelling units—despite the traditional trade-off between access and space. Although gradual increases in home and business density increased overall accessibility over this period, weaker neighborhood-level results indicate that this trend is less pronounced in high-poverty and non-white areas.     

Generic 3D interpolation of Holocene base‐level rise and provision of accommodation space,developed for the Netherlands coastal plain and infilled palaeovalleys

We present an interpolation model that describes Holocene groundwater level rise and the creation of accommodation space in 3D in the Rhine‐Meuse delta – the Netherlands. The model area (ca. 12 400 km²) covers two palaeovalleys of Late Pleistocene age (each 30 km wide) and the overlying Holocene deposits of the Rhine‐Meuse delta, the Holland coastal plain, and the Zuiderzee former lagoon. Water table rise is modelled from 10 800 to 1000 cal. BP, making use of age‐depth relations based on 384 basal peat index points, and producing output in the form of stacked palaeo groundwater surfaces, groundwater age‐depth curves, and voxel sets. These products allow to resolve (i) regional change and variations of inland water table slopes, (ii) spatial differences in the timing and pacing of transgression, and (iii) analysis of interplay of coastal, fluvial and subsidence controls on the provision of accommodation space. The interpolation model is a multi‐parameter trend function, to which a 3D‐kriging procedure of the residuals is added. This split design deploys a generic approach for modelling provision of accommodation space in deltas and coastal lowlands, aiming to work both in areas of intermediate data availability and in the most data‐rich environments. Major provision of accommodation space occurred from 8500 cal BP onwards, but a different evolution occurred in each of the two palaeovalleys. In the northern valley, creation of accommodation space began to stall at 7500 cal BP, while in the southern valley provision of new accommodation space in considerable quantities continued longer. The latter is due to the floodplain gradient that was maintained by the Rhine, which distinguishes the fluvial deltaic environment from the rest of the back‐barrier coastal plain. The interpolation results allow advanced mapping and investigation of apparent spatial differences in Holocene aggradation in larger coastal sedimentary systems. Furthermore, they provide a means to generate first‐order age information with centennial precision for 3D geological subsurface models of Holocene deltas and valley fills. As such, the interpolation is of use in studies into past and present land subsidence and into low land sedimentation.     

1957-2014年库布齐沙漠地面风场特征

风对沙漠化过程具有重要影响,起沙风是塑造沙漠地貌格局的主要动力。根据1957-2014年库布齐沙漠周边4个基准气象站的地面风资料,从风速、风向和输沙势等方面分析库布齐沙漠的地面风场特征。结果显示：（1）库布齐沙漠的起沙风频率与平均风速有很高的相关性;（2）年平均风速为2.7 m·s^-1,全年盛行风向为WNW-NW,为中等变率锐双峰风况,合成输沙风向约为310°。4月风速最大,为中等变率环境;8月风速较小,为高变率环境;1月风速最小,为低变率环境。3-6月风速最大,风向集中度一般;11月至翌年2月风速较大,风向集中度高;7-10月风速最小,风向集中度差;（3）20世纪80年代中后期和2007年前后风速、起沙风频率和输沙势发生了较大变化,尤其是2007年前后由减小向增大发展;（4）大气环流和地表粗糙度的改变是库布齐沙漠地面风场变化的重要原因。     

风沙灾害风险评估研究进展

风沙灾害是气象灾害的重要组成部分,具有影响范围大、季节性强、灾害损失大等特点,已成为中国北方沙区的生态灾难,严重影响人居环境和社会经济的可持续发展。为了评估风沙灾害对中国社会经济的影响,已有学者对中国风沙灾害问题进行了长期研究,但对区域风沙灾害风险系统评估研究相对较少,尚未建立系统的风沙灾害风险评价体系。在综合分析近30年相关文献的基础上,借鉴其他自然灾害评估方法,从风沙灾害风险评估理论内涵、评估指标及评估方法等方面对相关研究进行了全面的分析,指出目前风沙灾害风险评估还存在理论不完善、评估模型不合理、孕灾环境指标量化不细致和指标体系繁杂、风险评估方法单一、指标分级和权重计算的主观性强、社会经济数据不能空间化等问题。因此,未来在风沙灾害评估研究时需借鉴、引入和融合其他自然灾害风险评估理论和技术方法,综合近年来在风沙物理学、风沙地貌学、防沙治沙工程学、沙漠化遥感技术和理论等方面的成果,建立多指标的综合风沙灾害评估模型,为预防区域风沙灾害、降低风沙灾害损失和保障"一带一路"经济发展提供理论依据。     

台风“麦德姆”后海岸横向沙丘年内形态变化的观测

基于2014年第10号强台风“麦德姆”登陆前后一年内不同时间的福建平潭岛长江澳海岸横向沙丘形态高精度观测数据,分析了台风后典型海岸横向沙丘的年内形态变化过程及其特征。结果表明：（1）台风“麦德姆”造成海岸横向沙丘的体积减小、高度降低,其中体积减少了1.3%、丘顶高度最大降低1.43 m,且不同部位的变化程度亦非完全一致。（2）海岸横向沙丘形态在台风“麦德姆”后的一年内主要以体积增加、高度增大为特征,半年内海岸横向沙丘的体积与高度即已超过台风登陆前,丘顶高度最大月均升高0.39 m,沙丘迎风坡基本恢复到台风登陆前状态,背风坡以堆积为主且高度超过台风之前。（3）海岸横向沙丘的形态特征是由丰富的海滩沙源、强劲的常态向岸风、沙丘原形态及植被盖度等因素相互作用的结果,其中丰富的海滩沙源和强劲的常态向岸风是决定性因素,台风对海岸横向沙丘形态的影响应是暂时性的,较长时间尺度而言低频高能的台风对海岸横向沙丘形态的塑造作用相对有限。