Retrieval of hyperthermia-induced temperature distribution from noisy microwave radiometric data

The subcutaneous temperature distribution of a simulated hyperthermic treatment is retrieved from a set of noisy radiometric measurements at six equally spaced frequencies in the range 1.5?6.5 GHz. Temperature profiles reconstructed by the combined use of both the singular value decomposition of the radiometric integral equation and Kalman filtering are shown.     

Retrieval of land and sea brightness temperatures from mixedcoastal pixels in passive microwave data

A technique is presented to separate uncontaminated land and sea brightness temperatures from mixed coastal pixels in 37-GHz vertically polarized passive microwave data from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) instrument. Combining a mathematical model of the instrument response over several neighboring footprints with a GIS representation of the coastline yields a relationship between land and sea brightness temperatures and radiation measurements made at the satellite. Inverting this relationship allows separate land and sea brightness temperature values to be derived for each mixed coastal pixel in the original image. The technique has been successfully applied to 37-GHz vertically polarized SSM/I imagery for test areas covering the Gulf of Aden and the British Isles. Errors in the retrieved brightness temperatures were estimated to be of the order of 1-2 K     

The statistical treatment of passive microwave data

A statistical treatment of microwave remote sensing data of the Earth's surface is described. The statistical characteristics of radiothermal emission from such surfaces as pure water, oil spills on water, soils, and forests are analyzed, and the relationships between the statistics of the radiothermal emission and surface parameters are discussed. As an example of the utility of the statistical approach of microwave retrieval the author suggests a method of determining the danger of fires in forests     

中红外双通道夜间数据地表温度反演方法

地表温度反演是红外定量遥感的核心内容之一.与热红外(8~14μm)数据相比,中红外(3~5μm)波谱区大气透过率更高、对发射率的敏感性更低,在温度反演方面具有独特的优势.引入热红外地表温度反演思路,发展了仅利用夜间中红外双通道数据的地表温度反演算法,分析了宽通道组合(3~4μm和4~5μm)和窄通道组合(3.929~3.989μm和4.020~4.080μm)模式下的温度反演精度以及模型对噪声和发射率的敏感性.结果表明,宽、窄两种通道组合模型的温度反演精度分别为~0.5 K和~0.3 K;噪声等效温差和地表发射率误差对窄通道组合模型的影响更大.     

Retrieval of dry-snow parameters from microwave radiometric data using a dense-medium model and genetic algorithms

A numerical technique based on genetic algorithms (GAs) is used to invert the equations of an electromagnetic model based on dense-medium radiative transfer theory (DMRT) to retrieve snow depth, mean grain size, and fractional volume from microwave brightness temperatures. In order to study the sensitivity of the GA to its parameters, the technique is initially tested on simulated microwave data with and without adding a random noise. A configuration of GA parameters is selected and used for the retrieval of snow parameters from both ground-based observations and brightness temperatures recorded by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS (AMSR-E). Retrieved snow parameters are then compared with those measured on ground. Although more investigation is required, results suggest that the proposed technique is able to retrieve snow parameters with good accuracy.     

先进微波探测器资料反演地表微波辐射率试验

利用美国环境卫星A型先进微波探测器AMSU-A资料反演中国陆地区域地表微波辐射率.通过辐射传输正演模拟,提出了AMSU-A窗区通道反演地表微波辐射率的指数分析方法.利用模拟数据对比了指数分析方法和以往通道亮温组合方法.结果表明:对于地表比较干燥的地区,指教分析的反演结果略优于通道亮温组合的反演结果.在此基础上利用IGBP(International Geosphere-Biosphere Program)的地表分类数据,提取AMSU-A像元裸土组分的面积百分比信息,并进一步应用于AMSU-A像元裸土组分地表微波辐射率的反演试验,提高了反演精度,并可进一步应用于区域地表湿度信息提取和大气参数反演,以及AMSU-A窗区通道陆地区域遥感信息在数值预报模式中的同化应用.     

Cumulus cloud base height estimation from high spatial resolutionLandsat data: a Hough transform approach

This study develops a semiautomated methodology for estimating cumulus cloud base heights using high-spatial-resolution Landsat multispectral scanner data. The approach employs a variety of image processing techniques to match cloud edges with their corresponding shadow edges. Cloud base height is then estimated by computing the separation between the corresponding generalized Hough transform reference points. Sixteen subregions, each 30 km×30 km in size, are selected for four Landsat scenes. Standard deviations of cloud base height within each of the subregion range from about 100 m to 150 m. Differences between cloud base heights computed using the Hough transform and a manual verification technique are small. It is estimated that cloud base height accuracies of 50-70 m may be possible using HIRIS and ASTER instruments in the Earth Observation Satellite (EOS) Global Climate Change program     

Fusion of satellite active and passive microwave data for sea icetype concentration estimates

Young first-year sea ice is nearly as important as open water in modulating heat flux between the ocean and atmosphere in the Arctic. Just after the onset of freeze-up, first-year ice is in the early stages of growth and will consist of young first-year and thin ice. The distribution of sea ice in this thickness range impacts heat transfer in the Arctic. Therefore, improving the estimates of ice concentrations in this thickness range is significant. The NASA Team Algorithm (NTA) for passive microwave data inaccurately classifies sea ice during the melt and freeze-up seasons because it misclassifies multiyear ice as first-year ice. We developed a hybrid fusion technique for incorporating multiyear ice information derived from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images into a passive microwave algorithm to improve ice type concentration estimates. First, we classified SAR images using a dynamic thresholding technique and estimated the multiyear ice concentration. Then we used the SAR-derived multiyear ice concentration to constrain the NTA and obtained an improved first-year ice concentration estimate. We computed multiyear and first-year ice concentration estimates over a region in the eastern-central Arctic in which field observations of ice and in situ radar backscatter measurements were performed. The fused estimates of first-year and multiyear ice concentration appear to be more accurate than NTA, based on ice observations that were logged aboard the US Coast Guard Icebreaker Polar Star in the study area during 1991     

UWB passive microwave imagery from static discharge effects

It is well known that spark transmitters can be sources of ultra-wideband (UWB) radiation. It is also known that high-voltage low energy static discharges are ubiquitous in nature, whenever there is friction between surfaces. Provided is a simple electromagnetic model and it is suggested that it is feasible to construct an ultra-wideband correlator capable of imaging a region of space containing such sources. This would permit a new window of observation on several physical processes, with applications ranging from observations of ice flows to covert operations.     

Galactic noise and passive microwave remote sensing from space at L-band

The spectral window at L-band (1.413 GHz) is important for passive remote sensing of soil moisture and ocean salinity from space, parameters that are needed to understand the hydrological cycle and ocean circulation. At this frequency, radiation from celestial (mostly Galactic) sources is strong and, unlike the constant cosmic background, this radiation is spatially variable. This paper presents a modern radiometric map of the celestial sky at L-band and a solution for the problem of determining what portion of the sky is seen by a down-looking radiometer in orbit. The data for the radiometric map are derived from recent radio astronomy surveys and are presented as equivalent brightness temperature suitable for remote sensing applications. Examples using orbits and antennas representative of those contemplated for remote sensing of soil moisture and sea surface salinity from space are presented to illustrate the signal levels to be expected. Near the Galactic plane, the contribution can exceed several kelvin.     

基于可见光红外与被动微波遥感的土壤水分协同反演

利用MODIS传感器的可见光、红外波段数据反演土壤水分在一定时段内的基准值,用被动微波传感器AMSR-E数据反演其变化量,提出将被动微波遥感数据与热红外遥感数据在模型级别协同反演大范围地表土壤水分的方法,这样每天可输出1 km×1 km的升、降轨土壤水分反演结果.以新疆为研究区,对上述方法进行了土壤水分协同反演实验,以地面实测数据为参考的验证结果表明,所提模型得到的土壤水分值与地面实测值之间相关性较高,均方根误差较小,优于单一传感器数据的反演结果,可更好地满足新疆土壤水分监测的需求.     

One-dimensional variational retrieval algorithm of temperature, water vapor, and cloud water profiles from advanced microwave sounding unit (AMSU)

The measurements from satellite microwave imaging and sounding channels are simultaneously utilized through a one-dimensional (1-D) variation method (1D-var) to retrieve the profiles of atmospheric temperature, water vapor and cloud water. Since the radiative transfer model in this 1D-var procedure includes scattering and emission from the earth's atmosphere, the retrieval can perform well under all weather conditions. The iterative procedure is optimized to minimize computational demands and to achieve better accuracy. At first, the profiles of temperature, water vapor, and cloud liquid water are derived using only the AMSU-A measurements at frequencies less than 60 GHz. The second step is to retrieve rain and ice water using the AMSU-B measurements at 89 and 150 GHz. Finally, all AMSU-A/B sounding channels at 50-60 and 183 GHz are utilized to further refine the profiles of temperature and water vapor while the profiles of cloud, rain, and ice water contents are constrained to those previously derived. It is shown that the radiative transfer model including multiple scattering from clouds and precipitation can significantly improve the accuracy for retrieving temperature, moisture and cloud water. In hurricane conditions, an emission-based radiative transfer model tends to produce unrealistic temperature anomalies throughout the atmosphere. With a scattering-based radiative transfer model, the derived temperature profiles agree well with those observed from aircraft dropsondes.     

Theory for microwave thermal emission from a layer of cloud or rain

Microwave thermal emission from a layer of cloud or rain consisting of spherical particles has been investigated. Scattering effects are studied in great detail with both numerical and analytical approaches. In the absence of ground emission, it is found that scattering induces brightening for optically thin layers and vice versa for optically thick layers. As a function of observation angle brightening occurs near nadir while darkening occurs at large angles in the case of small optical thickness. For large optical thickness, darkening occurs at all angles because of backscattering effects. When the layer of cloud or rain is above an air layer and an ocean surface at a higher temperature, it is found that the darkening effect at large optical thickness is much more pronounced. The darkening effect is also larger for vertical polarizations because the ocean emits more vertically polarized components. The effect of thermal emission and molecular absorption by atmospheric gases is also taken into account. Results obtained from analytical formulas under single scatteirng assumptions are compared and illustrated.     

The beamfilling algorithm for retrieval of hydrometeor profileparameters from passive microwave measurements

The horizontal inhomogeneity of the atmosphere within a satellite microwave radiometer's field of view (FOV) has always been considered as a source of rainfall retrieval errors. The hydrometeor profile retrieval algorithm presented exploits it to obtain an approximation of a radiative transfer model, which allows relatively simple inversion. The atmosphere within the FOV is treated as a combination of horizontally homogeneous domains. Assuming that one of known “basic” hydrometeor profiles occurs in each domain, the inverse problem is reduced to a determination of “beamfilling coefficients.” The online procedure includes determination of beamfilling coefficients and a footprint-averaged hydrometeor profile as a linear combination of “basic” ones. Off-line procedures involve the selection of a minimum number of necessary “basic” brightness temperature vectors and correction of “basic” hydrometeor profiles to provide the best retrieval accuracy for a given cloud/radiative simulation. The performance of the algorithm is tested for both numerical simulations and TRMM/TMI data. Numerical simulation has allowed a comparison of the information content of radiometer measurements from SSM/I, TMI, and the future AMSR. The effectiveness of the algorithm is being tested for rain water integral and rain rate retrievals from TRMM TMI measurements     

基于非球形冰晶的星载94/220GHz双频云雷达云微物理参数反演研究

利用94/220GHz双频云雷达的探测优势,结合短柱、三瓣子弹花和星状雪花三种非球形冰晶粒子的散射特性,对双频云雷达云微物理参数反演算法进行了研究。通过建立双频比和中值直径的关系,再通过后向迭代的双频反演算法计算出谱参数的最优解,进而反演云微物理参数并分析反演误差。最后,通过数值试验,对考虑系统噪声和随机噪声后的反演误差进行了比较分析,并提出了仪器信噪比的指标需求。结果表明:双频联合可以较好地反演非球形冰晶的云微物理参数,为了保证0.2 g/m~3以下冰水含量的反演误差小于30%,仪器的信噪比不能低于11.39dB,为国内开展星载云雷达指标设计和云微物理参数反演研究提供参考。     

云底高度的激光云高仪、红外测云仪以及云雷达观测比对分析

为了比较几种自动化测云仪器的性能,中国气象局气象探测中心在南京信息工程大学的气象探测基地首次组织了一次为期近5个月的比对试验,试验仪器包括四台激光云高仪、两部红外测云仪、一台全天空成像仪以及一部毫米波云雷达。对其中大部分仪器取得的三个月云底高度数据进行了初步的分析,结果表明：三台激光云高仪测量结果比较一致;两部红外测云仪在测量低云时一致性稍差;云雷达与激光云高仪测量的最低层云底高度数据一致性较差,但与红外测云仪的测量结果匹配较好。     

Retrieval of atmospheric and surface parameters from satellite microwave radiometers over the Mediterranean Sea

A procedure to estimate atmospheric and sea surface parameters in the Mediterranean area from satellite microwave radiometric measurements is described. The method is founded on a simulator of brightness temperatures at the top of the atmosphere. The simulator is based on microwave sea emissivity and scattering model functions, derived from the outputs of the SEAWIND software, which implements a two-scale microwave sea surface model and a radiative transfer scheme in a nonscattering atmosphere. The development of the model functions aims to reduce the SEAWIND computational time, still maintaining its sensitivity to the main geophysical variables. Different adaptations of the simulation model have been performed to better reproduce the radiometric data in the region of interest. A comparison between the simulations and the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) observations acquired throughout year 2000 over the Mediterranean Sea has permitted us to refine the model functions as well as to assess the whole simulation procedure. As for the inversion problem, a regression analysis has been applied to two different synthetic datasets to retrieve integrated precipitable water vapor, liquid water path and wind speed. The first dataset simulates the observations of SSM/I, whilst the second one concerns the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E). Both have been generated by using the ECMWF atmospheric profiles and the measurements of the SeaWinds scatterometer aboard QuickSCAT. The SSM/I data have been used to carry out a statistical validation of the estimators. AMSR-E observations of a Tramontane-Mistral event, typical of the Mediterranean Sea, have been analyzed to evaluate the benefits of its expanded channel capability.     

热红外联合被动微波重构裸土区地表温度时间序列数据算法

在进行一定区域地表温度时间序列的研究中,常遇到由于天气原因造成的温度数据缺失问题,针对这一突出问题,在分析土壤发射率数据库的基础上,提出了一种裸露地表晴空时段热红外、微波亮温数据与非晴空时段微波亮温数据相结合来获取时间序列中缺失的地表温度数据的算法.此算法不仅解决了被动微波进行地表温度反演过程中下垫面发射率难以确定的问...     

Impact of horizontal and vertical heterogeneities on retrievals using multiangle microwave brightness temperature data

This paper investigates the impact of heterogeneity at the land surface on geophysical parameters retrieved from multiangle microwave brightness temperature data, such as would be obtained from the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission. Synthetic brightness temperature data were created using the Common Land (land surface) Model, coupled with a microwave emission model and set within the framework of the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS). Soil moisture, vegetation optical depth, and effective physical temperature were retrieved using a multiobjective calibration routine similar to the proposed SMOS retrieval algorithm for a typical on-axis range of look angles. The impact of heterogeneity both in the near-surface profiles of soil moisture and temperature and in the land cover on the accuracy of the retrievals was examined. There are significant errors in the retrieved parameters over regions with steep gradients in the near-surface soil moisture profile. These errors are approximately proportional to the difference in the soil water content between the top (at 0.7 cm) and second layer (at 2.7 cm) of the land surface model. The errors resulting from heterogeneity in the land cover are smaller and increase nonlinearly with increasing land-surface heterogeneity (represented by the standard deviation of the optical depth within the pixel). The most likely use of retrieved soil moisture is through assimilation into an LDAS for improved initiation of weather and climate models. Given that information on the soil moisture profile is already available within the LDAS, the error in the retrieved soil moisture as a result of the near-surface profile can be corrected for. The potential errors as a result of land-surface heterogeneity can also be assessed for use in the assimilation process.