Theory and application for retrieval and fusion of spatial and temporal quantitative information from complex natural environment

This paper briefly presents the research progress of the State Major Basic Research Project 2001CB309400, “Theory and Application for Retrieval and Fusion of Spatial and Temporal Quantitative Information from Complex Natural Environment”. Based on the rapid advancement of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery technology, information theory of fully polarimetric scattering and applications in polarimetric SAR remote sensing are developed. To promote the modeling of passive microwave remote sensing, the vector (polarized) radiative transfer theory (VRT) of complex natural media such as inhomogeneous, multi-layered and 3-dimensional VRT is developed. With these theoretical progresses, data validation and retrieval algorithms for some typical events and characteristic parameters of earth terrain surfaces, atmosphere, and oceans from operational and experimental remote sensing satellites are studied. Employing remote sensing, radiative transfer simulation, geographic information systems (GIS), land hydrological process, and data assimilation, the Chinese land data assimilation system (CLDAS) is established. Towards the future development of China’s microwave meteorological satellites, employing remote sensing data of currently available SSM/I (special sensor microwave/imager), AMSU (advanced microwave sounding unit), MTI (microwave temperature imager), etc., with ground-based measurements, several operational algorithms and databases for atmospheric precipitation, water vapor and liquid water in clouds, and other hydrological/hydrological applications are developed. To advance China’s SAR and InSAR (interferometric SAR) technologies, the image processing and analysis of ERS (European remote sensing), Radarsat SAR, and Chinese SAR, etc., the software platforms are accomplished. Based on the researches of multi-information fusion, some simulations, identification, and information extractions of the targets from complex background clutter scenes are studied. Some experiments of radio wave propagation in anomalous atmospheric status are also carried out. Translated from Advances in Earth Science, 2007, 22(2): 111–125 [译自: 地球科学进展]     

Outgoing long wave radiation variability from IR satellite data prior to major earthquakes

Our analysis of the continuous outgoing long wave earth radiation (OLR) indicates anomalous variations prior to a number of medium to large earthquakes. The most recent analysis of OLR is from the M9.0 Sumatra Andaman Islands mega trust event. We compared the reference fields for December 2001 to 2004 and found OLR anomalous values, > 80 W/m², (2σ) within the epicentral area on Dec 21, 2004, 5 days before the event. We used the NOAA/IR daily (one degree) and monthly (two and half degree) gridded data to differentiate between the global and seasonal variability and the transient local anomalies. The cause of such anomalies is not fully understood; one possible explanation is the existence of thermal outgoing radiation as a result of near ground air ionization and latent heat change due to change of air humidity and temperature. This phenomenon is hypothesized to be part of a relationship between tectonic stresses, electrochemical and thermodynamic processes in the atmosphere and increasing mid IR flux, all part of a family of electromagnetic (EM) phenomena related to earthquake activity. The time scale of the observed variations is a few weeks before the onset of the seismic event. In comparison with several years of data, the observed time-series preceding the earthquake had unusually high OLR. The OLR anomaly corresponds to a large area of ground coverage and coincides with the main epicentral zone. The significance of these observations is explored using data from most recent East Asian earthquake swarm of December 2004 and three other earthquakes.     

银川平原植被生长与地下水关系研究

干旱区植被生长与地下水的关系是生态水文地质学研究的热点之一。西北内陆干旱地区降水稀少,植被的生长发育与地下水的关系极为密切,从大尺度上研究地下水变化的生态效应问题对生态环境的保护和恢复具有重要的意义。借助遥感方法,结合地下水观测数据,在区域尺度上定量地研究了中国银川平原地区地下水埋深及矿化度与植被生长的关系。结果表明:适宜植被生长的地下水埋深范围约为1~6m,当地下水位埋深为3.5m左右时,植被长势最好。而在水位埋深为3.5m左右的地区,植被生长的相对好坏又受地下水矿化度的影响。当地下水矿化度为0.9g/L时对该地区植被的生长最为有利。     

高分辨率遥感在西藏罗布莎地区地质调查中的应用

研究区位于西藏罗布莎地区,其罗布莎蛇绿岩体蕴藏着我国目前规模最大的铬铁矿床。以WorldView-2高空间分辨率遥感数据为基本信息源,对研究区进行遥感地质解译。与传统多光谱数据ETM+、ASTER等相比,WorldView-2具有更高的空间分辨率和相对较窄且连续的光谱。对研究区WorldView-2图像进行正射校正、大气校正和影像融合后,采用最佳指数法选择8-6-4波段组合进行假彩色合成,同时结合真彩色5-3-2波段,突出各地质体单元色调差异。我们利用其空间分辨率优势建立区内主要岩性和构造的高空间分辨率遥感解译标志。通过野外地质验证,解译结果充分显示了WorldView-2高分辨率影像在海拔较高、工作环境恶劣地区进行矿产资源勘查的技术优势和应用前景。     

Passive L-band microwave soil moisture retrieval error arising from topography in otherwise uniform scenes

Soil moisture is an important component of the water cycle and will be measured for the first time on a global scale by a dedicated passive L-band microwave radiometer that is planned for launch in 2008. Here, the contribution of topography to the error budget is examined for a vegetated scene with uniform microwave emission. Dual-polarization brightness temperature curves were generated over a range of look angles for 1-D scenes with simple geometrical features, and the soil moisture was retrieved assuming a flat surface. The errors were small for the scenarios considered. Theoretical errors were tested for realistic topography with a DEM transect of a mountainous region, and were found to be comparable. Knowledge of the mean slope from high-resolution DEM data can be used to improve the accuracy of the retrieval.     

Estimating uncertainty associated with water stages from a single SAR image

It is the goal of remote sensing to infer information about objects or a natural process from a remote location. This invokes that uncertainty in measurement should be viewed as central to remote sensing. In this study, the uncertainty associated with water stages derived from a single SAR image for the Alzette (G.D. of Luxembourg) 2003 flood is assessed using a stepped GLUE procedure. Main uncertain input factors to the SAR processing chain for estimating water stages include geolocation accuracy, spatial filter window size, image thresholding value, DEM vertical precision and the number of river cross sections at which water stages are estimated. Initial results show that even with plausible parameter values uncertainty in water stages over the entire river reach is 2.8 m on average. Adding spatially distributed field water stages to the GLUE analysis following a one-at-a-time approach helps to considerably reduce SAR water stage uncertainty (0.6 m on average) thereby identifying appropriate value ranges for each uncertain SAR water stage processing factor. For the GLUE analysis a Nash-like efficiency criterion adapted to spatial data is proposed whereby acceptable SAR model simulations are required to outperform a simpler regression model based on the field-surveyed average river bed gradient. Weighted CDFs for all factors based on the proposed efficiency criterion allow the generation of reliable uncertainty quantile ranges and 2D maps that show the uncertainty associated with SAR-derived water stages. The stepped GLUE procedure demonstrated that not all field data collected are necessary to achieve maximum constraining. A possible efficient way to decide on relevant locations at which to sample in the field is proposed. It is also suggested that the resulting uncertainty ranges and flood extent or depth maps may be used to evaluate 1D or 2D flood inundation models in terms of water stages, depths or extents. For this, the extended GLUE approach, which copes with the presence of uncertainty in the observed data, may be adopted.     

Estimation of surface roughness (z0) over a stabilizing coastal dune field based on vegetation and topography

Accurate knowledge of the surface roughness and the resultant wind speed are important for many applications, such as climatic models, wind power meteorology, agriculture and erosion hazards, especially on sand dunes in arid and semi‐arid environments, where vegetation cover is scarce. In this study we aimed at quantifying the effects of vegetation cover and topography on surface roughness over a stabilizing dune field on the southern coast of Israel. Forty‐six wind measurements were made at various distances from the coastline, ranging from 10 to 2800 m, and z₀ values were calculated from the wind measurements based on the ratio between the wind gust and the average wind speed. We estimated vegetation cover using the soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI) from Landsat satellite images for the upwind sector at various lengths, ranging from 15 to 400 m, and based on digital elevation models and differential GPS field measurements we calculated the topographic variable of the relative heights of the stations. z₀ values were positively correlated with the winter SAVI values (r = 0·87 at an upwind length of 200 m) and negatively correlated with the relative height (r = ?0·68 at an upwind length of 200–400 m for the inland dune stations). Using these variables we were able to create a map of estimated z₀ values having an accuracy of over 64%. Such maps provide a better understanding of the spatial variability in both wind speed and sand movement over coastal dune areas. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emergency Seismic Damage Assessment of the M_S8.0 Great Wenchuan Earthquake Based on Remote Sensing Imagery

The fast processing, seismic damage data extraction and loss evaluation from RS imagery acquired immediately after a destructive earthquake occurs, are important means for compen-sating the insufficiency of seismic damage information from ground-based investigations and provide an important basis for emergency command and rescue. The paper introduces the method of emergency seismic damage assessment using remote sensing data and its application to the great Wenchuan earthquake of magnitude 8.0 occurring in southwest Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008. The practical effectiveness of the method is also evaluated in the paper.     

High time resolution monitoring of tropospheric temperature with a Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS)

We have observed the time-height variation of the temperature field in the upper troposphere using a Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS) which consists of the MU radar and a high-power acoustic transmitter. The fast beam steerability of the MU radar has made it possible to measure temperature profiles in a fairly wide height range in the upper troposphere (5–11 km), even under intense wind conditions. Observations were continued for about 32 hr on 24–26 December, 1986 with a time-height resolution of 30 min and 150 m. During the observation period, the tropospheric jet was so intense that the acoustic wavefronts were severely distorted. Using wind velocity profiles observed by the MU radar we have numerically estimated the propagation of acoustic wavefronts, and further determined favorable pointing directions for the MU radar to receive significant backscattering from refractive index fluctuations produced by the acoustic waves. Conventional radiosonde soundings were carried out every 6 hr, which showed a temperature decrease of 4 K/day in the upper troposphere during the observation period. Temperature profiles taken by RASS agree well with the radiosonde results.     

Recent advances in earthquake monitoring I: Ongoing revolution of seismic instrumentation

Seismic networks have significantly improved in the last decade in terms of coverage density, data quality, and instrumental diversity. Moreover, revolutionary advances in ultra-dense seismic instruments, such as nodes and fiber-optic sensing technologies, have recently provided unprecedented high-resolution data for regional and local earthquake monitoring. Nodal arrays have characteristics such as easy installation and flexible apertures, but are limited in power efficiency and data storage and thus most suitable as temporary networks. Fiber-optic sensing techniques, inclu-ding distributed acoustic sensing, can be operated in real time with an in-house power supply and connected data storage, thereby exhibiting the potential of becoming next-generation permanent networks. Fiber-optic sensing techniques offer a powerful way of filling the observation gap particularly in submarine environments. Despite these technological advancements, various challenges remain. First, the data characteristics of fiber-optic sensing are still unclear. Second, it is challenging to construct software infrastructures to store, transfer, visualize, and process large amount of seismic data. Finally, innovative detection methods are required to exploit the potential of numerous channels. With improved knowledge about data characteristics, enhanced software infrastructures, and suitable data processing techniques, these innovations in seismic instrumentation could profoundly impact observational seismology.