EG2211 Earth Observation

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EG2211Earth Observation

• Applications of
• Remote sensing

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TOPICS

• Quantitative remote sensing
• Rainfall estimation
• Land surface temperature
• Proxy air temperature
• NDVI, albedo, wind-speed and others
• Disaster Management
• Human Health
• Hydrodynamics

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Quantitative remote sensing?

• Estimation of a physical quantity
• Proxy environmental variables
• Application driven
• Less science and more operational
• Makes use of algorithms
• Interfaces with environmental models

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Applications that use quantitative RS

• Agriculture
• NDVI, temperature, rainfall
• Health
• NDVI, temperature, rainfall, dust, wind
• Hydrology
• Rainfall
• Climate change
• NDVI, temperature, rainfall
• Weather forecasting
• Winds, rainfall

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Rainfall estimation

• Cold Cloud Duration (CCD) using Meteosat
• Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission using radar
  (TRMM)
• Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) rainfall
  measurement using microwave instruments

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Rainfall estimation
Cold Cloud Duration (CCD)

• Pioneered by work of Lethbridge, 1967
• Became an operational system thanks to Milford
  and Dugdale at TAMSAT (University of Reading)
• Based on relationship between period during which
  convective cloud tops are below a specific
  threshold and rainfall measured beneath them

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Rainfall estimation
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)

• TRMM mission is a joint US/Japan effort
  coordinated by NASDA (National Space Development
  Agency of Japan)
• TRMM was launched in 1997 with an initial
  mission life of 3 years
• TRMM data is relayed to NASA Goddard Space Flight
  Center (GSFC)

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Rainfall estimation
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)

• Precipitation Radar (PR)
• TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI)
• Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS)
• Clouds and the Earths Radiant Energy System
  (CERES)
• Lightning Image Sensor (LIS)

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Rainfall estimation
Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I)

• System coordinated by NOAA
• Became operational in 1987
• Uses a 7-channel passive microwave radiometer

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Rainfall estimation
Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I)

• Data collected from the SSM/I are used to
  estimate several geophysical parameters
  including
• Rainfall Rate
• Rainfall Frequency
• Cloud Liquid Water
• Cloudiness Frequency
• Total Precipitable Water
• Snow Cover
• Sea-Ice
• Sampling Frequency
• Ocean Surface Wind Speed (1.0 degree only!)

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Land Surface Temperature

• Thermal infrared images provide an estimate of
  the magnitude of radiant energy
• Radiance (usually expressed as watts per square
  metre) can be converted to temperature via an
  instrument-specific algorithm
• Energy (and hence temperature) is of the land
  surface (LST)
• LST may be converted to a proxy air temperature
  by means of a solar correction algorithm

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Other quantitative measurements

• NDVI
• Albedo
• Wind speed
• Potential Evapotranspiration (PET)
• Soil moisture
• Tropospheric humidity

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NDVI

• Monitoring
• Habitat modelling
• Hydrology

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VISIBLE

• Albedo
• Weather Fcst.

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WATER VAPOUR

• Cloud motion
• Troposphere

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Disaster Management
Uses of RS for Disaster Management

• Wildfires Volcanic eruptions
• Avalanche Tsunami
• Earthquake Landslides
• Flooding Extreme weather
• Drought Disease
• Refugees Military

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Disaster Management
PLANNING
Disaster Management
MITIGATION
LEARNING
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Disaster Management
PLANNING
MITIGATION
Monitoring situations Deployment of
resources Decision-making Public relations
Modelling Assessment Prediction Contingency
COST EFFECTIVENESS !!!
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QuickBird used extensively throughout Asian
Tsunami Disaster
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Human Health

• Health and disease often has a spatial component
• Climatic, environmental and socio-economic
  variables affect health
• Epidemics and outbreaks spread across a region
  either as a function of movement of people or
  environmental factors

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Human Health

• Many countries are vulnerable to diseases
  directly influenced by the environment
• Vector-borne diseases (like malaria)
• Respiratory illnesses (like meningitis)
• Water-borne diseases (like cholera)
• Stress illnesses (heat-stroke or hypothermia)
• Illnesses caused by mechanical effects of
  extreme weather events

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Hydrodynamics
stream
stream
stream
river
river
river
stream
estuary
THE SEA
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Hydrodynamics
From DeMers, 2002
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Hydrodynamics
From DeMers, 2002
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Case Studies

• Until mid-February we will be examining specific
  case studies where RS is used
• Case studies will be
• Agriculture
• Weather Forecasting
• Human Health
• Disaster Management and Emergencies

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Case Studies

• Lecture session will provide basic material
  related to topic but groups will have to
  prepare their own material and presentations for
  the workshop
• Everybody will be assigned to a case-study group
  and will have to turn up to one workshop session
  following the lecture

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Case Studies Timetable
Topic Lecture/workshop Week beginning
Agriculture 22/1/2007
Weather forecasting 29/1/2007
Human health 5/2/2007
Disasters 12/2/2007
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Case Studies Timetable

• You will ALL have to attend the second hour
  (workshop) covering each topic. You will have to
  take notes from the other groups presenting and
  record their literature references
• Workshops will be based around QA sessions
  (questions from YOU) and a short group
  presentation

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Further Reading
Cresswell MP, Morse AP, Thomson MC and Connor SJ.
(1999). Estimating surface air temperatures from
Meteosat land surface temperatures using an
empirical solar zenith angle model. International
Journal of Remote Sensing, Vol 20 (6),
1125-1132. Lethbridge M. (1967). Precipitation
probability and satellite radiation data. Monthly
Weather Review, Vol 95 (7), 487-490 Milford J
and Dugdale G. (1990). Estimation of rainfall
using geostationary satellite data. In
Applications of Remote Sensing in Agriculture.
Edited by Steven M and Clark J. Published by
Butterworths, London Dugdale G, Hardy S and
Milford J. (1991). Daily catchment rainfall
estimated from Meteosat. Hydrological Processes,
Vol 5, 261-270
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Further Reading
TRMM Website http//www.eorc.nasda.go.jp/TRMM/ind
ex_e.htm SSM/I Website http//orbit-net.nesdis.no
aa.gov/arad2/ TAMSAT (CCD Rainfall)
Website http//www.met.reading.ac.uk/tamsat/