Combined analysis of C-band polarimetric radar and disdrometer data of convective and stratiform precipitation

The aim of the present Thesis is to observe the characteristics of the precipitation and to check the quality of the radar data under different meteorological conditions. This aim is achieved through a combined analysis of the data collected by two instruments that have different operating principles: a C-band polarimetric radar and a PARSIVEL2 disdrometer. Radar variables are compared with the characteristics and the microphysics evolution of the precipitation retrieved by the disdrometer. The disdrometer is located in the city center of Bologna, at about 28 km far from the radar site. The combined analysis of the two instruments is done for a dataset that includes 11 months of the years 2019 and 2020. The dataset contains convective and stratiform precipitation events. The lower radar elevations are affected by anthropogenic interferences that slightly reduce the dataset extension. The analyses show a good correlation between the reflectivity factors retrieved by the radar and by the disdrometer through the Drop Size Distribution (DSD). The correlation coefficient between the two estimations is 0.84. A verification of the operational algorithm of the hydrometeor classification is obtained through the radar data. Moreover, the convective and stratiform discrimination developed through the disdrometer data is consistent with the polarimetric variables of the radar. For example, the distribution of the differential reflectivity peaks for higher values in a regime of convective precipitation in comparison to the stratiform regime. The convective distribution of the differential reflectivity has a median of 1.5 dB, while the stratiform one has a median of 0.9 dB. Lastly, the case study of a thunderstorm occurred in Bologna on May 28th 2019 is described. This case study shows precipitation structures of different intensities and different types of hydrometeors, allowing a verification of the previous results and a more-detailed analysis of the DSD characteristics

Analisi dei dati della rete pluviometrica italiana

L'obiettivo di questa tesi è quello di analizzare i dati dell'intensità oraria delle precipitazioni della rete pluviometrica italiana per l'arco temporale gennaio 2009 - maggio 2016, al fine di valutarne l'adeguatezza per studi sistematici sulle caratteristiche spaziali e temporali della precipitazione. Inizialmente si svolge un'analisi generale, per poi focalizzarsi sullo studio delle precipitazioni intense e dei periodi siccitosi. Il data set della rete pluviometrica italiana comprende dati da stazioni meteorologiche in numero variabile (dalle 1284 di gennaio 2009 alle oltre 3600 di maggio 2016), equipaggiate con pluviometri del tipo "Tipping Bucket". L'insieme dei dati sono organizzati e studiati con l'ambiente di calcolo MatLab e l'omonimo linguaggio di programmazione. I risultati ottenuti mostrano che l'estate e l'autunno sono le stagioni con i più alti valori d'intensità oraria delle precipitazioni. L'analisi della distribuzione spaziale rileva che le precipitazioni più intense si registrano nelle zone delle Alpi friulane e degli Appennini liguri e calabresi, i più lunghi periodi siccitosi, nelle aree della Sardegna, della Sicilia, del Salento e della pianura Padana

Virtually Lossless Compression of Astrophysical Images

We describe an image compression strategy potentially capable of preserving the scientific quality of astrophysical data, simultaneously allowing a consistent bandwidth reduction to be achieved. Unlike strictly lossless techniques, by which moderate compression ratios are attainable, and conventional lossy techniques, in which the mean square error of the decoded data is globally controlled by users, near-lossless methods are capable of locally constraining the maximum absolute error, based on user's requirements. An advanced lossless/near-lossless differential pulse code modulation (DPCM) scheme, recently introduced by the authors and relying on a causal spatial prediction, is adjusted to the specific characteristics of astrophysical image data (high radiometric resolution, generally low noise, etc.). The background noise is preliminarily estimated to drive the quantization stage for high quality, which is the primary concern in most of astrophysical applications. Extensive experimental results of lossless, near-lossless, and lossy compression of astrophysical images acquired by the Hubble space telescope show the advantages of the proposed method compared to standard techniques like JPEG-LS and JPEG2000. Eventually, the rationale of virtually lossless compression, that is, a noise-adjusted lossles/near-lossless compression, is highlighted and found to be in accordance with concepts well established for the astronomers' community

Right bundle-branch block in coronary artery disease: a hemodynamic and angiographic study

Thirty-four patients with right bundle-branch block (RBBB) and coronary artery disease (CAD) (RBBB was not pre-existent to clinical development of CAD) and 52 consecutive CAD patients without conduction disturbances were studied and compared to verify whether the presence of RBBB implies more severe and extensive left ventricular myocardial damage as well as more severe CAD. The two groups did not differ either in age or in New York Heart Association functional class. The incidence or location of previous myocardial infarction (MI) was not different in the two groups. No significant differences were found in left ventricular volumes or ejection fraction. Higher end-diastolic left ventricular pressure and more severe and diffuse left ventricular wall asynergy were present in RBBB patients. At coronary arteriography, more severe involvement of the right coronary artery in CAD patients without conduction disturbances was the only significant finding. The group of patients with CAD and RBBB without MI showed significantly less involvement of the left anterior descending coronary artery and significantly more severe damage of the inferior wall of the left ventricle than the group with CAD without RBBB and MI. Patients with inferior wall MI and RBBB had more severe asynergy of the posterobasal region of the left ventricle than did patients with inferior wall MI without RBBB. The group of patients with anterior wall MI and RBBB had a higher left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, a lower left ventricular ejection fraction, and a greater extent of myocardial damage compared to similar patients of the control group. The groups with MI and RBBB had the same Gensini's score as similar groups without RBBB. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS

Image Fusion - The ARSIS concept and some successful implementation schemes

International audienceThis article aims at explaining the ARSIS concept. By fusing two sets of images A and B, one with a high spatial resolution, the other with a low spatial resolution and different spectral bands, the ARSIS concept permits to synthesise the dataset B at the resolution of A that is as close as possible to reality. It is based on the assumption that the missing information is linked to the high frequencies in the sets A and B. It searches a relationship between the high frequencies in the multispectral set B and the set A and models this relationship. The general problem for the synthesis is presented first. The general properties of the fused product are given. Then, the ARSIS concept is discussed. The general scheme for the implementation of a method belonging to this concept is presented. Then, this article intends to help practitioners and researchers to better understand this concept through practical details about implementations. Two Multi-Scale Models are described as well as two Inter-Band Structure Models. They are applied to an Ikonos image as an illustration case. The fused products are assessed by the means of a known protocol comprising a series of qualitative and quantitative tests. The products are found of satisfactory quality. This case illustrates the differences existing between the various models, their advantages and limits. Tracks for future improvements are discussed

Information-theoretic assessment of on-board near-lossless compression of hyperspectral data

A rate-distortion model to measure the impact of near-lossless compression of raw data, that is, compression with user-defined maximum absolute error, on the information avail- able once the compressed data have been received and decompressed is proposed. Such a model requires the original uncompressed raw data and their measured noise variances. Advanced near- lossless methods are exploited only to measure the entropy of the datasets but are not required for on-board compression. In substance, the acquired raw data are regarded as a noisy realization of a noise-free spectral information source. The useful spectral information at the decoder is the mutual information between the unknown ideal source and the decoded source, which is affected by both instrument noise and compression-induced distortion. Experiments on simulated noisy images, in which the noise-free source and the noise realization are exactly known, show the trend of spectral information versus compression distortion, which in turn is related to the coded bit rate or equivalently to the compression ratio through the rate-distortion characteristic of the encoder used on satellite. Preliminary experiments on airborne visible infrared imaging spec- trometer (AVIRIS) 2006 Yellowstone sequences match the trends of the simulations. The main conclusion that can be drawn is that the noisier the dataset, the lower the CR that can be tolerated, in order to save a prefixed amount of spectral information. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI. (DOI: 10.1117/1.JRS.