Search results for " ra"
showing 10 items of 21965 documents
Estimating Gravimetric Moisture of Vegetation Using an Attenuation-Based Multi-Sensor Approach
2018
Estimating parameters for global climate models via combined active and passive microwave remote sensing data has been a subject of intensive research in recent years. A variety of retrieval algorithms has been proposed for the estimation of soil moisture, vegetation optical depth and other parameters. A novel attenuation-based retrieval approach is proposed here to globally estimate the gravimetric moisture of vegetation (m g ) and retrieve information about the amount of water [kg] per amount of wet vegetation [kg]. The parameter m g is particularly interesting for agro-ecosystems, to assess the status of growing vegetation. The key feature of the proposed approach is that it relies on mu…
First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. VI. The Shadow and Mass of the Central Black Hole
2019
We present measurements of the properties of the central radio source in M87 using Event Horizon Telescope data obtained during the 2017 campaign. We develop and fit geometric crescent models (asymmetric rings with interior brightness depressions) using two independent sampling algorithms that consider distinct representations of the visibility data. We show that the crescent family of models is statistically preferred over other comparably complex geometric models that we explore. We calibrate the geometric model parameters using general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) models of the emission region and estimate physical properties of the source. We further fit images generated fro…
Characterization of a Newly Developed Aircraft-Based Laser Ablation Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (ALABAMA) and First Field Deployment in Urban Pollution…
2011
We present here the development and first field deployment of a novel Aircraft-based Laser ABlation Aerosol MAss spectrometer (ALABAMA), which is capable of measuring the chemical composition and size of individual ambient aerosol particles in the size range between 150 and 900 nm. The instrument uses a continuous wave 532 nm laser to size and detect the particles, a pulsed 266 nm laser to ablate and ionize the particles, and a bipolar, Z-shaped time-of-flight mass spectrometer to detect positive and negative ions. The ALABAMA fits into a 19"-aircraft rack of 150 cm height and has a total weight of 140 kg, thus currently being one of the smallest and lightest-weight instruments of its type.…
A Comparison between Drifter and X-Band Wave Radar for Sea Surface Current Estimation
2016
This paper deals with exploitation of the wave radar system for sea surface current estimation in a coastal zone. In particular, we present the results of the processing of the radar data collected by an X-band marine radar installed in Capo Granitola site, which is located in the south-west part of Sicily, on 15 May 2015. The effectiveness of the data processing is analyzed by comparing the wave radar estimated sea surface current with that provided by the Lagrangian drifters along its movement trajectory. During the measurement campaign, three drifter releases are carried out and for each one the comparison is provided in terms of the mean error and standard deviation. In addition, we rep…
Evaluation of different methods to retrieve the hemispherical downwelling irradiance in the thermal infrared region for field measurements
2013
International audience; The thermal infrared hemispherical downwelling irradiance (HDI) emitted by the atmosphere and surrounding elements contributes through reflection to the signal measured over an observed surface by remote sensing. This irradiance must be estimated in order to obtain accurate values of land-surface temperature (LST). There are some fast methods to measure the HDI with a single measurement pointing to the sky at a specified viewing direction, but these methods require completely cloud-free or cloudy skies, and they do not account for the radiative contribution of surrounding elements. Another method is the use of a diffuse reflectance panel (usually, a rough gold-coated…
Global Sensitivity Analysis of Leaf-Canopy-Atmosphere RTMs: Implications for Biophysical Variables Retrieval from Top-of-Atmosphere Radiance Data.
2019
Knowledge of key variables driving the top of the atmosphere (TOA) radiance over a vegetated surface is an important step to derive biophysical variables from TOA radiance data, e.g., as observed by an optical satellite. Coupled leaf-canopy-atmosphere Radiative Transfer Models (RTMs) allow linking vegetation variables directly to the at-sensor TOA radiance measured. Global Sensitivity Analysis (GSA) of RTMs enables the computation of the total contribution of each input variable to the output variance. We determined the impacts of the leaf-canopy-atmosphere variables into TOA radiance using the GSA to gain insights into retrievable variables. The leaf and canopy RTM PROSAIL was coupled with…
Predicted temperature-increase-induced global health burden and its regional variability
2019
An increase in the global health burden of temperature was projected for 459 locations in 28 countries worldwide under four representative concentration pathway scenarios until 2099. We determined that the amount of temperature increase for each 100 ppm increase in global CO2 concentrations is nearly constant, regardless of climate scenarios. The overall average temperature increase during 2010–2099 is largest in Canada (1.16 °C/100 ppm) and Finland (1.14 °C/100 ppm), while it is smallest in Ireland (0.62 °C/100 ppm) and Argentina (0.63 °C/100 ppm). In addition, for each 1 °C temperature increase, the amount of excess mortality is increased largely in tropical countries such as Vietnam (10.…
Identification of processes that control the stable isotope composition of rainwater in the humid tropical West-Central Africa.
2020
12 pages; International audience; This study interprets 11 years (2006 to 2016) and 6 months (March to August in 2017) of respectively monthly and daily isotopic (δD and δ18O) monitoring of rain at Douala (Cameroon), a humid tropical station in Western Africa. The main scope is to analyze the climate controls on precipitation isotopes at different timescales. Firstly, we examine the annual cycles of δ18O. Over the 11 years of survey, the annual cycle exhibits a W shape that is quite reproducible from year to year, with two minima in spring and autumn periods. Based on back trajectory calculations and remote sensing observations of water vapor isotopic composition, we show that the observed …
Simulating speleothem growth in the laboratory: Determination of the stable isotope fractionation (δ13C and δ18O) between H2O, DIC and CaCO3
2019
Abstract Here we present novel cave-analogue experiments directly investigating stable carbon and oxygen isotope fractionation between the major involved species of the carbonate system (HCO3−, CO2, CaCO3 and H2O). In these experiments, which were performed under controlled conditions inside a climate box, a thin film of solution flew down an inclined marble or glass plate. After different distances of flow and, thus, residence times on the plate, pH, electrical conductivity, supersaturation with respect to calcite, precipitation rate as well as the δ18O and δ13C values of the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and the precipitated CaCO3 were obtained. Progressive precipitation of CaCO3 along…
Multi-centennial summer and winter precipitation variability in southern South America
2010
[1] We present the first spatially and temporally highly resolved gridded reconstruction of multi-centennial precipitation variability for southern South America (SSA). A novel reconstruction approach of deriving 10,000 ensemble members based on varying predictor networks and methodological settings allows the identification of spatiotemporal changes in SSA precipitation and associated uncertainties. The summer and winter reconstructions back to AD 1498 and AD 1590, respectively, provide new evidence for multi-centennial increase in summer precipitation and an opposing decrease in winter precipitation into the 20th century. The drying in winter is significant over large parts of SSA, wherea…