Search results for "STATISTICS"

Coastal zone water quality: Calibration of a water-turbidity equation for MODIS data

2013

AbstractA nephelometric turbidity algorithm has been specifically calibrated for coastal waters in Sicily. To this purpose, intensive field campaigns were performed in July, August and September 2008. Measurements were collected in situ in three different gulfs. Statistical analysis suggests that field data should be spatially grouped but temporally separated; hence, new calibration parameters have been proposed.Turbidity retrieved by applying the algorithm using literature coefficients and the ones calibrated in situ are shown and compared. The comparison demonstrated that a specific calibration was necessary for quantitatively monitoring turbidity in Sicilian gulfs.

Retrieval of atmospheric CH4profiles from Fourier transform infrared data using dimension reduction and MCMC

2016

We introduce an inversion method that uses dimension reduction for the retrieval of atmospheric methane (CH4) profiles. Uncertainty analysis is performed using the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) statistical estimation. These techniques are used to retrieve CH4 profiles from the ground-based spectral measurements by the Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) instrument at Sodankyla (67.4 degrees N, 26.6 degrees E), Northern Finland. The Sodankyla FTS is part of the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON), a global network that observes solar spectra in near-infrared wavelengths. The high spectral resolution of the data provides approximately 3 degrees of freedom about the vertical struc…

A network of magnetometers for multi-scale urban science and informatics

2018

The magnetic signature of an urban environment is investigated using a geographically distributed network of fluxgate magnetometers deployed in and around Berkeley, California. The system hardware and software are described and initial operations of the network are reported. The sensors measure vector magnetic fields at a 3960 Hz sample rate and are sensitive to 0.1 nT/Hz. Data from individual stations are synchronized to ±120 µs using global positioning system (GPS) and computer system clocks and automatically uploaded to a central server. We present the initial observations of the network and preliminary efforts to correlate sensors. A wavelet analysis is used to stud…

2017

Abstract. In situ observations of cloud properties in complex alpine terrain where research aircraft cannot sample are commonly conducted at mountain-top research stations and limited to single-point measurements. The HoloGondel platform overcomes this limitation by using a cable car to obtain vertical profiles of the microphysical and meteorological cloud parameters. The main component of the HoloGondel platform is the HOLographic Imager for Microscopic Objects (HOLIMO 3G), which uses digital in-line holography to image cloud particles. Based on two-dimensional images the microphysical cloud parameters for the size range from small cloud particles to large precipitation particles are obtai…

The Southern Annular Mode seen through weather regimes

2012

This article investigates the prominent features of the Southern Hemisphere (south of 20°S) atmospheric circulation when extracted using EOF analysis and a k-means clustering algorithm. The focus is on the southern annular mode (SAM), the nature of its recent trend, and the zonal symmetry of associated spatial patterns. The study uses the NCEP–Department of Energy Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project II Reanalysis (NCEP-2) (period 1979–2009) to obtain robust patterns over the recent years and the Twentieth Century Reanalysis Project (period 1871–2008) to document decadal changes. Also presented is a comparison of these signals against a station-based reconstruction of the SAM index an…

Effective cloud optical depth and enhancement effects for broken liquid water clouds in Valencia (Spain)

2017

Partly cloudy skies with liquid water clouds have been analysed, founding that it is essential to distinguish data if the Sun is obstructed or not by clouds. Both cases can be separated considering simultaneously the Cloud Modification Factor (CMF) and the clearness index (kt). For partly cloudy skies and the Sun obstructed the effective cloud optical depth (τ) has been obtained by the minimization method for overcast skies. This method was previously developed by the authors but, in this case, taking into account partial cloud cover. This study has been conducted for the years 2011–2015 with the multiple scattering model SBDART and irradiance measurements for the UV Erythemal Radiation (UV…

Methodological Aspects for the Implementation of the Air Pesticide Control and Surveillance Network (PESTNet) of the Valencian Region (Spain)

2021

A large amount of pesticide, applied mainly during agricultural practice, is released into the atmosphere, decreasing air quality and potentially causing public health problems. The Valencian region, after Andalusia, is the Spanish region with the highest consumption of pesticides owing to its large areas of agricultural land and the existence of crops that require intensive use of pesticides. In this work, we describe the sampling and analytical tools developed in the last decade and their transference to the Regional Department for Environment, where the main objective of the research was the creation and implementation of an Air pesticide control and surveillance network (PESTNet) in the…

Improving spatial temperature estimates by resort to time autoregressive processes

2012

Temperature estimation methods usually involve regression followed by kriging of residuals (residual kriging). Despite the performance of such models, there is invariably a residual which is not necessarily unpredictable because it may still be correlated in time. We set out to analyse such residuals through resort to autoregressive processes. It is shown that the optimal period varies depending on whether it is identified by functions of the form resd = f(resd−1, resd−2, ..., resd−p) or by partial correlations. Autoregressive processes significantly improve estimates, which are evaluated by cross-validations. Finally, the two following points are discussed: (1) the assumptions of the autor…

Recent climate variability around the Kerguelen Islands (Southern Ocean) seen through weather regimes

2021

AbstractDaily weather regimes are defined around the Kerguelen Islands (Southern Ocean) based on daily 500 hPa geopotential height anomalies derived from the ERA5 ensemble reanalysis over the period 1979-2018. Ten regimes are retained as significant. Their occurrences are highly consistent across reanalysis ensemble members. Regimes show weak seasonality and non-significant long-term trends in their occurrences. Their sequences are usually short (1-3 days), with extreme persistence values above 10 days. Seasonal regime frequency is mostly driven by the phase of the Southern Annular Mode over Antarctica, mid-latitude dynamics over the Southern Ocean like the Pacific South American mode, and …

The Effect of Turbulence on the Accretional Growth of Graupel

2019

Abstract Wind tunnel experiments were carried out to investigate the influence of turbulence on the collection kernel of graupel. The collection kernel defines the growth rate of a graupel accreting supercooled droplets as it falls through a cloud. The ambient conditions were similar to those occurring typically in the mixed-phase zone of convective clouds, that is, at temperatures between −7° and −16°C and with liquid water contents from 0.5 to 1.3 g m−3. Tethered spherical collectors with radii between 220 and 340 μm were exposed in a flow carrying supercooled droplets with a mean volume radius of 10 μm. The vertical root-mean-square fluctuation velocity, the dissipation rate, and the Tay…