9,606 research outputs found
A new technique based on mini-UAS for estimating water and bottom radiance contributions in optically shallow waters
The mapping of nearshore bathymetry based on spaceborne radiometers is commonly used for QC ocean colour products in littoral waters. However, the accuracy of these estimates is relatively poor with respect to those derived from Lidar systems due in part to the large uncertainties of bottom depth retrievals caused by changes on bottom reflectivity. Here, we present a method based on mini unmanned aerial vehicles (UAS) images for discriminating bottom-reflected and water radiance components by taking advantage of shadows created by different
structures sitting on the bottom boundary. Aerial surveys were done with a drone Draganfly X4P during October 1 2013 in optically shallow waters of the Saint Lawrence Estuary, and during low tide. Colour images with a spatial resolution
of 3 mm were obtained with an Olympus EPM-1 camera at 10 m height. Preliminary results showed an increase of the relative difference between bright and dark pixels (dP) toward the red wavelengths of the camera's receiver. This is
suggesting that dP values can be potentially used as a quantitative proxy of bottom reflectivity after removing artefacts related to Fresnel reflection and bottom adjacency effects.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
The agricultural impact of the 2015–2016 floods in Ireland as mapped through Sentinel 1 satellite imagery
peer-reviewedIrish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research | Volume 58: Issue 1
The agricultural impact of the 2015–2016 floods in Ireland as mapped through Sentinel 1 satellite imagery
R. O’Haraemail
, S. Green
and T. McCarthy
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ijafr-2019-0006 | Published online: 11 Oct 2019
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Abstract
The capability of Sentinel 1 C-band (5 cm wavelength) synthetic aperture radio detection and ranging (RADAR) (abbreviated as SAR) for flood mapping is demonstrated, and this approach is used to map the extent of the extensive floods that occurred throughout the Republic of Ireland in the winter of 2015–2016. Thirty-three Sentinel 1 images were used to map the area and duration of floods over a 6-mo period from November 2015 to April 2016. Flood maps for 11 separate dates charted the development and persistence of floods nationally. The maximum flood extent during this period was estimated to be ~24,356 ha. The depth of rainfall influenced the magnitude of flood in the preceding 5 d and over more extended periods to a lesser degree. Reduced photosynthetic activity on farms affected by flooding was observed in Landsat 8 vegetation index difference images compared to the previous spring. The accuracy of the flood map was assessed against reports of flooding from affected farms, as well as other satellite-derived maps from Copernicus Emergency Management Service and Sentinel 2. Monte Carlo simulated elevation data (20 m resolution, 2.5 m root mean square error [RMSE]) were used to estimate the flood’s depth and volume. Although the modelled flood height showed a strong correlation with the measured river heights, differences of several metres were observed. Future mapping strategies are discussed, which include high–temporal-resolution soil moisture data, as part of an integrated multisensor approach to flood response over a range of spatial scales
Exploring Aerosols near Clouds with High-Spatial-Resolution Aircraft Remote Sensing During SEAC4RS
Since aerosols are important to our climate system, we seek to observe the variability of aerosol properties within cloud systems. When applied to the satelliteborne Moderateresolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the Dark Target retrieval algorithm provides global aerosol optical depth (AOD; at 0.55 m) in cloudfree scenes. Since MODIS' resolution (500m pixels, 3 or 10km product) is too coarse for studying nearcloud aerosol, we ported the Dark Target algorithm to the highresolution (~50m pixels) enhancedMODIS Airborne Simulator (eMAS), which flew on the highaltitude ER2 during the Studies of Emissions, Atmospheric Composition, Clouds, and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys Airborne Science Campaign over the United States in 2013. We find that even with aggressive cloud screening, the ~0.5km eMAS retrievals show enhanced AOD, especially within 6 km of a detected cloud. To determine the cause of the enhanced AOD, we analyze additional eMAS products (cloud retrievals and degradedresolution AOD), coregistered Cloud Physics Lidar profiles, MODIS aerosol retrievals, and groundbased Aerosol Robotic Network observations. We also define spatial metrics to indicate local cloud distributions near each retrieval and then separate into nearcloud and farfromcloud environments. The comparisons show that low cloud masking is robust, and unscreened thin cirrus would have only a small impact on retrieved AOD. Some of the enhancement is consistent with clearcloud transition zone microphysics such as aerosol swelling. However, 3D radiation interaction between clouds and the surrounding clear air appears to be the primary cause of the high AOD near clouds
Innovative observing strategy and orbit determination for Low Earth Orbit Space Debris
We present the results of a large scale simulation, reproducing the behavior
of a data center for the build-up and maintenance of a complete catalog of
space debris in the upper part of the low Earth orbits region (LEO). The
purpose is to determine the performances of a network of advanced optical
sensors, through the use of the newest orbit determination algorithms developed
by the Department of Mathematics of Pisa (DM). Such a network has been proposed
to ESA in the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) framework by Carlo Gavazzi
Space SpA (CGS), Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), DM, and Istituto di
Scienza e Tecnologie dell'Informazione (ISTI-CNR). The conclusion is that it is
possible to use a network of optical sensors to build up a catalog containing
more than 98% of the objects with perigee height between 1100 and 2000 km,
which would be observable by a reference radar system selected as comparison.
It is also possible to maintain such a catalog within the accuracy requirements
motivated by collision avoidance, and to detect catastrophic fragmentation
events. However, such results depend upon specific assumptions on the sensor
and on the software technologies
Effective Cloud Detection and Segmentation using a Gradient-Based Algorithm for Satellite Imagery; Application to improve PERSIANN-CCS
Being able to effectively identify clouds and monitor their evolution is one
important step toward more accurate quantitative precipitation estimation and
forecast. In this study, a new gradient-based cloud-image segmentation
technique is developed using tools from image processing techniques. This
method integrates morphological image gradient magnitudes to separable cloud
systems and patches boundaries. A varying scale-kernel is implemented to reduce
the sensitivity of image segmentation to noise and capture objects with various
finenesses of the edges in remote-sensing images. The proposed method is
flexible and extendable from single- to multi-spectral imagery. Case studies
were carried out to validate the algorithm by applying the proposed
segmentation algorithm to synthetic radiances for channels of the Geostationary
Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES-R) simulated by a high-resolution
weather prediction model. The proposed method compares favorably with the
existing cloud-patch-based segmentation technique implemented in the
PERSIANN-CCS (Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using
Artificial Neural Network - Cloud Classification System) rainfall retrieval
algorithm. Evaluation of event-based images indicates that the proposed
algorithm has potential to improve rain detection and estimation skills with an
average of more than 45% gain comparing to the segmentation technique used in
PERSIANN-CCS and identifying cloud regions as objects with accuracy rates up to
98%
Multi-feature combined cloud and cloud shadow detection in GaoFen-1 wide field of view imagery
The wide field of view (WFV) imaging system onboard the Chinese GaoFen-1
(GF-1) optical satellite has a 16-m resolution and four-day revisit cycle for
large-scale Earth observation. The advantages of the high temporal-spatial
resolution and the wide field of view make the GF-1 WFV imagery very popular.
However, cloud cover is an inevitable problem in GF-1 WFV imagery, which
influences its precise application. Accurate cloud and cloud shadow detection
in GF-1 WFV imagery is quite difficult due to the fact that there are only
three visible bands and one near-infrared band. In this paper, an automatic
multi-feature combined (MFC) method is proposed for cloud and cloud shadow
detection in GF-1 WFV imagery. The MFC algorithm first implements threshold
segmentation based on the spectral features and mask refinement based on guided
filtering to generate a preliminary cloud mask. The geometric features are then
used in combination with the texture features to improve the cloud detection
results and produce the final cloud mask. Finally, the cloud shadow mask can be
acquired by means of the cloud and shadow matching and follow-up correction
process. The method was validated using 108 globally distributed scenes. The
results indicate that MFC performs well under most conditions, and the average
overall accuracy of MFC cloud detection is as high as 96.8%. In the contrastive
analysis with the official provided cloud fractions, MFC shows a significant
improvement in cloud fraction estimation, and achieves a high accuracy for the
cloud and cloud shadow detection in the GF-1 WFV imagery with fewer spectral
bands. The proposed method could be used as a preprocessing step in the future
to monitor land-cover change, and it could also be easily extended to other
optical satellite imagery which has a similar spectral setting.Comment: This manuscript has been accepted for publication in Remote Sensing
of Environment, vol. 191, pp.342-358, 2017.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003442571730038X
Fine-scale mapping of vector habitats using very high resolution satellite imagery : a liver fluke case-study
The visualization of vector occurrence in space and time is an important aspect of studying vector-borne diseases. Detailed maps of possible vector habitats provide valuable information for the prediction of infection risk zones but are currently lacking for most parts of the world. Nonetheless, monitoring vector habitats from the finest scales up to farm level is of key importance to refine currently existing broad-scale infection risk models. Using Fasciola hepatica, a parasite liver fluke as a case in point, this study illustrates the potential of very high resolution (VHR) optical satellite imagery to efficiently and semi-automatically detect detailed vector habitats. A WorldView2 satellite image capable of <5m resolution was acquired in the spring of 2013 for the area around Bruges, Belgium, a region where dairy farms suffer from liver fluke infections transmitted by freshwater snails. The vector thrives in small water bodies (SWBs), such as ponds, ditches and other humid areas consisting of open water, aquatic vegetation and/or inundated grass. These water bodies can be as small as a few m(2) and are most often not present on existing land cover maps because of their small size. We present a classification procedure based on object-based image analysis (OBIA) that proved valuable to detect SWBs at a fine scale in an operational and semi-automated way. The classification results were compared to field and other reference data such as existing broad-scale maps and expert knowledge. Overall, the SWB detection accuracy reached up to 87%. The resulting fine-scale SWB map can be used as input for spatial distribution modelling of the liver fluke snail vector to enable development of improved infection risk mapping and management advice adapted to specific, local farm situations
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