High-Resolution Forecast Models of Water Vapor Over Mountains: Comparison With MERIS and Meteosat Data

Propagation delay due to variable tropospheric water vapor (WV) is one of the most intractable problems for radar interferometry, particularly over mountains. The WV field can be simulated by an atmospheric model, and the difference between the two fields is used to correct the radar interferogram. Here, we report our use of the U.K. Met Office Unified Model in a nested mode to produce high-resolution forecast fields for the 3-km-high Mount Etna volcano. The simulated precipitable-water field is validated against that retrieved from the Medium-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) radiometer on the Envisat satellite, which has a resolution of 300 m. Two case studies, one from winter (November 24, 2004) and one from summer (June 25, 2005), show that the mismatch between the model and the MERIS fields ( rms = 1.1 and 1.6 mm, respectively) is small. One of the main potential sources of error in the models is the timing of the WV field simulation. We show that long-wavelength upper tropospheric troughs of low WV could be identified in both the model output and Meteosat WV imagery for the November 24, 2004 case and used to choose the best time of model output.     

Evaluating a thermal image sharpening model over a mixed agricultural landscape in India

Fine spatial resolution (e.g., <300 m) thermal data are needed regularly to characterise the temporal pattern of surface moisture status, water stress, and to forecast agriculture drought and famine. However, current optical sensors do not provide frequent thermal data at a fine spatial resolution. The TsHARP model provides a possibility to generate fine spatial resolution thermal data from coarse spatial resolution (≥1 km) data on the basis of an anticipated inverse linear relationship between the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) at fine spatial resolution and land surface temperature at coarse spatial resolution. The current study utilised the TsHARP model over a mixed agricultural landscape in the northern part of India. Five variants of the model were analysed, including the original model, for their efficiency. Those five variants were the global model (original); the resolution-adjusted global model; the piecewise regression model; the stratified model; and the local model. The models were first evaluated using Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) thermal data (90 m) aggregated to the following spatial resolutions: 180 m, 270 m, 450 m, 630 m, 810 m and 990 m. Although sharpening was undertaken for spatial resolutions from 990 m to 90 m, root mean square error (RMSE) of <2 K could, on average, be achieved only for 990–270 m in the ASTER data. The RMSE of the sharpened images at 270 m, using ASTER data, from the global, resolution-adjusted global, piecewise regression, stratification and local models were 1.91, 1.89, 1.96, 1.91, 1.70 K, respectively. The global model, resolution-adjusted global model and local model yielded higher accuracy, and were applied to sharpen MODIS thermal data (1 km) to the target spatial resolutions. Aggregated ASTER thermal data were considered as a reference at the respective target spatial resolutions to assess the prediction results from MODIS data. The RMSE of the predicted sharpened image from MODIS using the global, resolution-adjusted global and local models at 250 m were 3.08, 2.92 and 1.98 K, respectively. The local model consistently led to more accurate sharpened predictions by comparison to other variants.     

Hyperspectral anomaly detection within the signal subspace

This letter describes the extension of signal subspace processing (SSP) to the arena of anomaly detection. In particular, we develop an SSP-based, local anomaly detector that exploits the rich information available in the multiple bands of a hyperspectral (HS) image. This SSP approach is based on signal processing considerations, and its entire formulation reduces to a straightforward (and intuitively pleasing) geometric and algebraic development. We extend the basic SSP concepts to the HS anomaly detection problem, develop an SSP HS anomaly detector, and evaluate this algorithm using multiple HS data files.     

Software for validating parameters retrieved from satellite

A PC-based interactive software has been developed and presented here for validating geophysical data retrieved from satellite mounted sensors operating in visible, infrared and microwave frequencies. The program, coded in Visual Basic, is user interactive and runs on Windows-98 or higher platforms. The system prepares the database on a pre-selected Microsoft platform to enhance processing efficiency. Sub-setting option is also provided to reduce the processing time. Data retrieved from ‘Multi-channel Scanning Microwave Radiometer (MSMR) onboard the Indian satellites Oceansat-1 during 1999–2001 were validated using this software as a case study. The program has several added advantages over the conventional method of validation that involves strenuous efforts to incorporate subroutines to meet every minute requirement. Satellite-sea truth relationships on various space-time window combinations are determined and exhibited in matrix form to visualize the nature of correlation. User has the option to visualize the satellite-sea truth relationship through graphical representations before selecting optimum relationship for prediction.     

Assessment of the LandStar Real-Time DGPS Service under Several Operational Conditions

LandStar is a differential global positioning service (DGPS) that provides 24-h real-time positioning for various applications on land, water, and air in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and Africa. Its focus is on real-time applications requiring a submeter positioning capability such as agriculture, forestry, Geospatial Information Systems (GIS), survey/mapping, and land/vehicular navigation. LandStar uses a Wide Area Network of reference stations to derive DGPS corrections to model the variation of GPS error sources over a large area. These model parameters are used by the Virtual Reference Station processors to calculate standard corrections that are available for all predefined locations in the network. The corrections are transmitted to the user by L-band satellite communication in the standard RTCM SC104 DGPS correction format. This article investigates the performance of the LandStar Mk III system under various operational conditions and assesses its performance in both static and kinematic modes. Four field tests were conducted during 12 months that tested the sysem in clear static and kinematic conditions as well as suboptimal environments associated with low and heavy foliage conditions. Both the accuracy and availability of the system under these conditions is investigated, with an emphasis on whether the above variables are caused by the LandStar system differential corrections, the GPS measurements, or a combination of both. ? 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Preparation of volume table of SAL (Shorea robusta) - an approach using satellite data

Sal (Shorea robusta) is an important forest tree species in north and north-eastern India. Large-scale plantations of this species have been raised there under taungya and coppice system of management. The conventional volume table prepared for high sal forest is referred to infer the volume of production of this species. Earlier workers have used aerial remote sensing data to develop volume tables of this species. In the present study a volume table for sal is developed based on remotely sensed satellite data using a regression technique. A two-step method was developed to estimate mean tree volume from satellite data. In step 1, mean crown diameter — an intermediate variable - was estimated from satellite data. In step 2, the estimated mean crown diameter was used to estimate the mean tree volume. Addition of age of the crop as an independent variable improved the predictive ability of the regression equation.     

Late Cretaceous-Cenozoic history of the Lake Baikal depression and formation of its unique biodiversity

Independent methods of geological and molecular-biological chronologies have made it possible to define generally corresponding stages in the geological and biological evolution of the environments and communities of Lake Baikal since the Late Cretaceous, i.e., during the last 70 myr. All the abiotic elements drastically changed during geological evolution, with destruction of existing and formation of new natural complexes. Nevertheless, some specific zones retained relicts of former settings. The resulting present-day natural complex includes elements of different ages and geneses. Similar to different natural zones of the present-day Earth, which are populated by different biocoenoses, stages in the development of abiotic elements are also characterized by different faunal and floral assemblages. Some taxa were replaced by others, and the resulting aqueous biota of Lake Baikal includes different-age and ecologically different elements. The oldest groups of Baikal organisms appeared approximately 70 Ma ago, although the largest proportion of the lake biota started forming 4–3 Ma ago in response to the most drastic changes in the abiotic elements of the environment. The youngest taxa appeared 1.8 to 0.15 Ma ago, i.e., during the period when superdeep lake environments and mountainous glaciations were developing. The chronological coincidence of main stages in development of abiotic and biotic elements of the nature indicates their relationships. Particular transformations of abiotic elements and the probable mechanism of their influence on the evolution of living communities are also considered.     

Size and shape of near-spherical Allegan chondrules

Chondrules were extracted from a disaggregated sample of the Allegan meteorite. Individual chondrules were examined with apparatus incorporating two orthogonal binocular microscopes, and their three major axes measured. Maximum chondrule diameters ranged from 0.15 to 2.75 mm with a peak in distribution between 0.35 and 0.75 mm. The chondrule size distribution was found not to conform to Rosin's law. The chondrules were found to depart from sphericity by only small amounts. The authors still believe that the melting of nebula dust-ball agglomerates by some high-energy event was the most probable mechanism for the formation of chondrules.