Recovery of elevation from estimated gradient fields constrained by digital elevation maps of lower lateral resolution

Depth measurement techniques like stereo analysis and laser range scanning often yield a lateral resolution below image resolution. In contrast, shading-based methods estimate the elevation model at image resolution. We present a computationally efficient approach to recover a surface of high vertical and high lateral resolution from a noisy gradient field and independently measured elevation data of lower lateral resolution, relying on a minimization of the mean squared difference between the low-pass component of the surface obtained based on shading information and that of the independently measured elevation data. The presented method is compared to a reference approach that minimizes a weighted sum comprised of the mean squared difference between the low-pass components of the estimated gradient field and the optimized model, respectively. The presented algorithm is applied using lunar orbital image data and stereo elevation data and is evaluated regarding orbital laser altimeter measurements of high vertical accuracy.     

Surface reconstruction and landslide displacement measurements with Pléiades satellite images

Recent advances in image-matching techniques and VHR satellite imaging at submeter resolution theoretically offer the possibility to measure Earth surface displacements with decimetric precision. However, this possibility has yet not been explored and requirements of ground control and external topographic datasets are considered as important bottlenecks that hinder a more common application of optical image correlation for displacement measurements. This article describes an approach combining spaceborne stereo-photogrammetry, orthorectification and sub-pixel image correlation to measure the horizontal surface displacement of landslides from Pléiades satellite images. The influence of the number of ground-control points on the accuracy of the image orientation, the extracted surface models and the estimated displacement rates is quantified through comparisons with airborne laser scan and in situ global navigation satellite measurements at permanent stations. The comparison shows a maximum error of 0.13 m which is one order of magnitude more accurate than what has been previously reported with spaceborne optical images from other sensors. The obtained results indicate that the approach can be applied without significant loss in accuracy when no ground control points are available. It could, therefore, greatly facilitate displacement measurements for a broad range of applications.     

闽江口表层沉积物重金属分布及其潜在生态风险评价

为加强闽江流域的环境治理以及支撑闽江口重金属污染的管控工作,文章基于闽江口14个采样站位的实测数据,综合运用相关性分析、主成分分析和潜在生态风险指数等方法,系统评价闽江口表层沉积物重金属分布及其潜在生态风险。研究结果表明:闽江口表层沉积物重金属含量差异显著,除个别站位的锌和汞外,其他重金属含量均符合第一类海洋沉积物质量标准;影响铅分布的主要因素是工业排污,影响其他重金属元素分布的主要因素是有机质和沉积环境;闽江口表层沉积物重金属潜在生态风险的低风险程度和中风险程度占比分别为71.43%和28.57%,其中琅岐岛的东部和南部为中风险区,琅岐岛的北部和东北部以及川石水道外侧为低风险区;镉和汞为主要潜在生态风险重金属元素,达到较高风险程度,须加强风险监控。     

Performance of dense digital surface models based on image matching in the estimation of plot-level forest variables

Recent research results have shown that the performance of digital surface model extraction using novel high-quality photogrammetric images and image matching is a highly competitive alternative to laser scanning. In this article, we proceed to compare the performance of these two methods in the estimation of plot-level forest variables. Dense point clouds extracted from aerial frame images were used to estimate the plot-level forest variables needed in a forest inventory covering 89 plots. We analyzed images with 60% and 80% forward overlaps and used test plots with off-nadir angles of between 0° and 20°. When compared to reference ground measurements, the airborne laser scanning (ALS) data proved to be the most accurate: it yielded root mean square error (RMSE) values of 6.55% for mean height, 11.42% for mean diameter, and 20.72% for volume. When we applied a forward overlap of 80%, the corresponding results from aerial images were 6.77% for mean height, 12.00% for mean diameter, and 22.62% for volume. A forward overlap of 60% resulted in slightly deteriorated RMSE values of 7.55% for mean height, 12.20% for mean diameter, and 22.77% for volume. According to our results, the use of higher forward overlap produced only slightly better results in the estimation of these forest variables. Additionally, we found that the estimation accuracy was not significantly impacted by the increase in the off-nadir angle. Our results confirmed that digital aerial photographs were about as accurate as ALS in forest resources estimation as long as a terrain model was available.     

基于混沌理论的煤矿井筒地表沉降分析及预测

通过对主井及其附近两个稳定点进行了变形监测,利用混沌理论对两个时间序列进行了混沌特征的分析,发现两个时间序列的关联维数分别为1.3282和1.4587,嵌入维数都为3,最大Lyapunov指数分别为λ=0.0833和λ=0.0745。说明这两个监测点的时间序列具有混沌的特征,存在混沌现象。采用混沌一阶局域法进行预测时,采用不同时间间隔得到预测结果有较大差异。其中,采用最小时间间隔得到预测结果最差,而采用平均时间间隔得到的预报精度等级和预报准确率均为最优。     

Tectonics,geomorphology and water mill location in Scotland,and the potential impacts of mill dam failure

In this paper we assess the ways in which the topography of glaciated northern Britain has affected the siting and operations of water mills, and compare those factors and mill locations for mills in unglaciated southern Britain. We then explore the impacts of these findings on the potential downstream impacts of mill dam failure.We used a GIS to plot the locations of all 1712 localities in Britain's Ordnance Survey Gazetteer that include “mill”, “milton” (‘milltown’) and “miln” in their name. We then examined the geomorphology of mill locations in two study areas, one in northeast Scotland (glaciated; 421 localities) and one in southern England (unglaciated; 438 localities), assessing (i) mill location within the drainage net, and (ii) the steepness of an adjacent stream within a radius of 500 m of the mill locality. The large majority of mills are located within the first 10 km of the drainage net in both study areas, presumably on relatively stable bedrock channels. The data for most of the mills in both study areas indicate that catchment areas of less than 200 km² are sufficient to supply the water necessary for operation of a mill, but the higher rainfalls and runoff in Scotland (almost twice the values in the England study area) mean that mill dams in S England must have been higher and of higher capacity than those in NE Scotland. That finding is consistent with the results related to channel steepness, which show that mills in Scotland are associated with steeper channels than is the case in England. The generally greater channel steepness in Scotland (and the greater downstream extent of those steeper channels, as also confirmed by the data) reflect both the many glacially steepened bedrock channel reaches in Scotland and the steepening of Scotland's coastal bedrock channels as a result of glacio-isostatic rebound.The technical requirements of water mill operation favour situations where water can be delivered to the top of, or at least part-way up, the mill wheel. Scotland's steeper rivers and its higher rainfalls mean that Scotland's mills require smaller mill dams, if they are needed at all. It would therefore be expected that catastrophic or managed failure of mill dam walls in northern Britain would release lower volumes of trapped sediment to the downstream fluvial system. These lower volumes would in turn result in lower geomorphological impacts downstream of the dam, both in terms of changing channel patterns and burial of the bed. Such dam failure is a key current issue in geomorphology and one case study of a small failed mill dam in western Scotland confirms the minimal downstream impacts of that failure.     

沙漠陆面过程参数化与模拟

沙漠地区植被稀疏、干旱少雨,其陆面物理过程具有与全球其它地区显著不同的特点.本文利用巴丹吉林沙漠观测资料,分析和计算了地表反照率、比辐射率、粗糙度和土壤热容量、热传导系数等关键陆面过程参数,建立了适合于沙漠地区的陆面过程模式DLSM (Desert Land Surface Model),并与NOAH陆面过程模式的模拟结果和观测资料进行了比较.结果表明:巴丹吉林沙漠地表反照率为0.273,比辐射率为0.950,地表粗糙度为1.55×10^-3 m,土壤热容量和热扩散系数分别为1.08×10⁶ J·m^-3·K^-1和3.34×10^-7 m²·s.辐射传输、感热输送和土壤热传导过程是影响沙漠地区地表能量平衡的主要物理过程.通过对这三种过程的准确模拟检验,DLSM能够较准确地模拟巴丹吉林沙漠地气能量交换特征;短波辐射、长波辐射和感热通量的模拟结果与观测值间的标准差分别为7.98,6.14,33.9 W·m^-2,与NOAH陆面过程模式的7.98,7.72,46.6 W·m^-2的结果接近.地表反照率是沙漠地区最重要的陆面过程参数,地表反照率增大5%,向上短波辐射通量随之增加5%,感热通量则减小2.8%.本文研究结果对丰富陆面过程参数化方案,改进全球陆面过程模式、气候模式具有参考意义.     

Surface waves on MHD tangential discontinuities: case for moderate to low plasma-β values

Variation of phase speed of the magnetoacoustic surface waves on a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD), tangential discontinuity (TD) is examined against the variation of Alfvén speeds on opposite sides of the discontinuity with the acoustic speeds remaining constant. The discontinuous thermal profile of the plasma is employed to classify various surface wavemodes. The existence conditions for the surface waves manifest themselves through the appearance of critical values for various parameters restricting the propagation of such waves on the TD. The limiting situation of extremely low-β plasmas is studied to improve upon earlier results based on simplified calculations. Theoretical understanding of the basic structure of surface waves is then applied to specific observations of discontinuities in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) to arrive at simple estimates of phase speed of the surface waves on such discontinuities that may be tested in further observations.     

Issues in the application of Digital Surface Model data to correct the terrain illumination effects in Landsat images

The accuracy of topographic correction of Landsat data based on a Digital Surface Model (DSM) depends on the quality, scale and spatial resolution of the DSM data used and the co-registration between the DSM and the satellite image. A physics-based bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) and atmospheric correction model in conjunction with a 1-second DSM was used to conduct the analysis in this paper. The results show that for the examples used from Australia, the 1-second DSM, can provide an effective product for this task. However, it was found that some remaining artefacts in the DSM data, originally due to radar shadow, can still cause significant local errors in the correction. Where they occur, false shadows and over-corrected surface reflectance factors can be observed. More generally, accurate co-registration between satellite images and DSM data was found to be critical for effective correction. Mis-registration by one or two pixels could lead to large errors of retrieved surface reflectance factors in gully and ridge areas. Using low-resolution DSM data in conjunction with high-resolution satellite images will also fail to correct significant terrain components where they occur at the finer scales of the satellite images. DSM resolution appropriate to the resolution of satellite image and the roughness of the terrain is needed for effective results, and the rougher the terrain, the more critical will be the accurate registration.