Microwave Remote Sensing for Oceanographic and Marine Weather-Forecast Models

408 Pages·1990·17.429 MB·English

by  R. Frassetto (auth.), Robin A. Vaughan (eds.)

Microwave Remote Sensing for Oceanographic
and Marine Weather-Forecast Models
NATO ASI Series
Advanced Science Institutes Series
A Series presenting the results of activities sponsored by the NA TO Science Committee.
which aims at the dissemination of advanced scientific and technological knowledge,
with a view to strengthening links between scientific communities.
The Series is published by an international board of publishers in conjunction with the
NATO Scientific Affairs Division
A Life Sciences Plenum Publishing Corporation
B Physics London and New York
C Mathematical Kluwer Academic Publishers
and Physical Sciences Dordrecht, Boston and London
o Behavioural and Social Sciences
E Applied Sciences
F Computer and Systems Sciences Springer-Verlag
G Ecological Sciences Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, London,
H Cell Biology Paris and Tokyo
Series C: Mathematical and Physical Sciences -Vol. 298
Microwave Remote Sensing
for Oceanographic and
Marine Weather-Forecast Models
edited by
Robin A. Vaughan
Department of Applied Physics and
Electronic & Manufacturing Engineering,
University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland, U.K.
Kluwer Academic Publishers
Dordrecht / Boston / London
Published in cooperation with NATO Scientific Affairs Division
Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on
Microwave Remote Sensing for Oceanographic and
Marine Weather-Forecast Models
Dundee, U.K.
August 14-September3, 1988
1SBH-13: 978-94.j)10-6715-7 o-lSBN-13: 978-94-OQ9.{)509-2
001: 1O . 10 07/978-94-OQ9.{)509-2
Published by Kluwer Academic Publishers,
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All Rights Reserved
~ 1990 by Kluwer Academic Publishers
Softcover ~ of the hardcover 1s t edition 1990
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface VII
Organisation XI
1. R. Frassetto On the Role of Science in Preparin~ 1
Operational Uses of Earth Observations
from Space
2. 1. Askne General Principles of Relevant 23
Satellite Systems
3. C.G. Rapley Satellite Radar Altimeters 4S
4. T.H. Guymer Measurin~ Ocean Waves with Altimeters 6S
and Synt etic Aperture Radars
S. R.A. Brown The Scatterometer: Data and 99
Applications
6. A.P. Cracknell Sunglint and the Study of Near-Surface 125
Windspeeds over the Oceans
7. P.l. Minnett Satellite Infrared Scanning 141
Radiometers - AV HRR and ATSRIM
8. 1.M. Anderson Handling Airborne Thematic 16S
Mapper Data
9. L.T. Pedersen Microvvave Radiometers 177
10. R. Bernard Microvvave Atmospheric Sounding 191
(Water Vapor and Liquid Water)
11. K.B. Katsaros In-situ Measurements for Validation 217
of Microvvave Data: Problems,
Accuracies
12. E.C. Barrett Passive Microvvave Satellite Imagery 239
for Improved Rainfall Monitoring and
Forecasting over Sea Areas
vi
13. A. Ratier The Potential Impact of Advanced 253
Spacebome Microwave Sensors onto
Marine Weather Nowcasting and Very
Short Range Forecast
14. D.O. Adefolalu Desertification Studies 273
15. I.A. Leese In:£ation of Satellite-Derived 325
Pr ucts
16. E. Oriol-Pibemat The ERS-1 Satellite: Oceanography 339
from Space
17. D. Offiler Wind Fields and SUrface Fluxes 355
INDEX 375
GLOSSARY 389
COLOUR SECTION 393
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS 401
EDITOR'S PREFACE
The power of microwave remote sensing for studying the oceans of
the world was demonstrated conclusively by the SEASAT mission in 1978.
Since then, no further satellite-flown instruments have been available
to provide further data of this type. However, the proposed launch of
ESA's ERS-1 satellite will lead to a new set of active microwave
instruments being flown in space in 1990.
Even though similar data has been obtained from aircraft-flown
instruments SAR, scatterometers, altimeters etc. - a great deal of
activity has been taking place to develop the necessary expertise in
handling and analysing such data when it comes on-stream from ERS-1 and
from subsequent satellites.
It was against this background that the scientific Affairs Division
of NATO again agreed to sponsor an ASI in Dundee in 1988. Its purpose
was to review existing knowledge of the extraction of marine and
atmospheric geophysical parameters from satellite-gathered microwave
data and to enable scientists to prepare themselves and their computing
systems to utilise the new data when it becomes available. The
importance of the data is largely as input parameters to assist in the
fitting of boundary conditions in large computer models. The course was
concerned more with the non-imaging instruments, that is with passive
radiometers, altimeters and scatterometers, than with the (imaging)
synthetic aperture radar.
The lectures were concerned with general background and some
discussion of the instruments used, supporting instruments, the nature
and format of the data generated, the extraction of geophysical
parameters, the nature of oceanographic and weather-forecast models and
the results that can be obtained and can be expected to be obtainable in
the future from such models. Seminars on related special topics were
also presented by a few of the participants.
Considerable effort was put into the design of the course given at
the summer school to give balanced coverage of the topic, and it is
particularly disappointing that these proceedings do not contain the
texts of all the lectures given and thus does not reflect the balance of
the course. publication has been delayed in order to try to cajole some
of these lecturers to produce material, and our sincere apologies are
due to the majority of the lecturers who produced their text in good
time and in good faith. No manuscripts were received from E
Mollo-Christensen (general principles of microwave scattering by the sea
wi
surface), W Alpers (modelling of physical processes), G J Komen (WAM)
and S R Brooks (wind scatterometers). A Hollingsworth and 0 M Phillips
decided that since the material they covered has now been published (see
references below) they did not wish to publish them again. E Barrett
could not attend the summer school in person, and his lecture was
delivered by his colleague J Bailey.
The present summer school is the latest in a series on leading-edge
topics in remote sensing. The Dundee summer schools, held biennially
since 1980, developed as a result of a proposal to develop postgraduate
training modules made at the General Assembly of the European
Association of Remote sensing Laboratories (EARSeL) in 1977, and have
now become an institution in the field of remote sensing. The broad
ambitions of the original initiative were summarised in the proceedings
of the first summer school (Cracknell 1981) and have subsequently been
reviewed at European Workshops in Education and Training held in Lyngby
(Cracknell 1986) and in Helsinki (vaughan 1989)~
Three of the five courses have had NATO as their main sponsor, and
all five have been generously supported by the Council of Europe, EARSeL
and the European Space Agency (ESA). With the exception of 1984, they
have all covered some aspect of marine applications, which is, of
course, the speciality of Dundee, and have all been directed by Arthur
Cracknell. The proceedings of the previous summer schools have now
become valued reference books, presenting both reviews and
state-of-the-art information, and it is to be hoped that the present
book will take its place alongside these others.
THE DUNDEE SUMMER SCHOOLS
1980 Remote sensing Applications in Meteorology,
Oceanography and Hydrology
1982 Remote sensing Applications in Marine Science
and Technology
1984 Remote Sensing Applications in Civil Engineering
1986 Remote sensing Applications in Meteorology and
Climatology
1988 Microwave Remote Sensing for Oceanography and
Marine Weather Forecast Models
From these summer schools also has been developed a range of
practical exercises, many contributed by the lecturers, using digital
data, computer print-out, hard copy photographs· and images, image
processing systems and computer simulations. These have been designed to
illustrate the range of data and applications. Some of these are at
present being assembled into a workpack to be distributed eventually by
ESA as a "Technical Training Manual". This is in line with the feeling
amongst all members of the EARSeL working group that such material
should be made available to as wide an audience as possible.
The field of remote sensing seems to be particularly fraught with
abbreviations and mnemonics, and in past proceedings these have been
cross-referenced in the index. To try to tidy this up, and to help the
reader, this time these have all been collected together into a glossary
of acronyms which will be found at the back, after the index. This is
not guaranteed to be completely comprehensive nor does it list
abbreviations not used in this book.
The gratitude of the organisers must go not only to the sponsors of
this summer school, but also to the many people who worked hard to make
it a success - the organising committee, the lecturers, the technical
and secretarial assistants, the domestic staff of Chalmers Hall of
Residence, and, of course, the students themselves.
I should like to conclude by giving my own very sincere thanks to
all those who have contributed to the production of this volume - the
authors, the publishers and all those who have helped in the typing. An
unfortunate result of producing a book like this from camera-ready
material is the inevitable non-uniformity of presentation. It also
precludes the exercise of any real editorial powers. I hope that you,
the reader, will be understanding if you find cause to criticise and
appreciative if you find the contents educative.
Robin Vaughan
Dundee 1989
References
A P Cracknell, 1981, "Remote sensing Applications in Meteorology,
Oceanography and Hydrology". Ellis Horwood, Chichester.
A P Cracknell, 1983, "Remote sensing Applications in Marine Science and
Technology". DReidel, Dordrecht.
ESA, 1985, "Remote sensing Applications in Civil Engineering" ESA
SP-216, European Space Agency, Paris.
A P Cracknell, 1986, proceedings of Workshop in Education and Training,
Lyngby.
A Hollinsworth, 1986, "Objective Analysis for Numerical Weather
prediction", in "Short and Medium Range Weather predictions": collected
papers presented at the WMO/IUGG NWP Symposium, Tokyo. J Met Soc, Japan,
special issue ed T Matsuno, pp11-59.
x
o M Phillips, 1988, "Radar Returns from the Sea Surface - Brag9
scattering and Breaking waves" J Phys Oceanog, 18, 8. pp1065-1074.
R A Vaughan, 1987, "Remote Sensing Applications in Meteorology and
Climatology", DReidel, Dordrecht.
R A Vaughan, 1989, "The Dundee Summer Schools", proceedings of workshop
in Education and Training, Helsinki.