Search results for "Software"

PHYSICS-based retrieval of scattering albedo and vegetation optical depth using multi-sensor data integration

2017

Vegetation optical depth and scattering albedo are crucial parameters within the widely used τ-ω model for passive microwave remote sensing of vegetation and soil. A multi-sensor data integration approach using ICESat lidar vegetation heights and SMAP radar as well as radiometer data enables a direct retrieval of the two parameters on a physics-derived basis. The crucial step within the retrieval methodology is the calculus of the vegetation scattering coefficient KS, where one exact and three approximated solutions are provided. It is shown that, when using the assumption of a randomly oriented volume, the backscatter measurements of the radar provide a sufficient first order estimate and …

Soil moisture modelling of a SMOS pixel: interest of using the PERSIANN database over the Valencia Anchor Station

2010

In the framework of Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) Calibration/Validation (Cal/Val) activities, this study addresses the use of the PERSIANN-CCS<sup>1</sup>database in hydrological applications to accurately simulate a whole SMOS pixel by representing the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the soil moisture fields over a wide area (50×50 km<sup>2</sup>). The study focuses on the Valencia Anchor Station (VAS) experimental site, in Spain, which is one of the main SMOS Cal/Val sites in Europe. <br><br> A faithful representation of the soil moisture distribution at SMOS pixel scale (50×50 km<sup>2</sup>) requires an accurate estimation…

Software development and its description for Geoid determination based on Spherical-Cap-Harmonics Modelling using digital-zenith camera and gravimetr…

2017

Over several years the Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformatics (GGI) was engaged in the design and development of a digital zenith camera. At the moment the camera developments are finished and tests by field measurements are done. In order to check these data and to use them for geoid model determination DFHRS (Digital Finite element Height reference surface (HRS)) v4.3. software is used. It is based on parametric modelling of the HRS as a continous polynomial surface. The HRS, providing the local Geoid height N, is a necessary geodetic infrastructure for a GNSS-based determination of physcial heights H from ellipsoidal GNSS heights h, by H=h-N. The research and this publication is dealing…

Search without rescue? Evaluating the international search and rescue response to earthquake disasters

2020

Earthquakes around the world are unnecessarily lethal and destructive, adversely affecting the health and well-being of affected populations. Most immediate deaths and injuries are caused by building collapse, making search and rescue (SAR) an early priority. In this review, we assess the SAR response to earthquake disasters. First, we review the evidence for the majority of individuals being rescued locally, often by relatives and neighbours. We then summarise evidence for successful live rescues by international SAR (ISAR) teams, along with the costs, ethics and other considerations of deployment. Finally, we propose an alternative approach to postdisaster ISAR, with the goal of reducing …

Global-Scale Evaluation of Roughness Effects on C-Band AMSR-E Observations

2015

Quantifying roughness effects on ground surface emissivity is an important step in obtaining high-quality soil moisture products from large-scale passive microwave sensors. In this study, we used a semi-empirical method to evaluate roughness effects (parameterized here by the parameter) on a global scale from AMSR-E (Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS) observations. AMSR-E brightness temperatures at 6.9 GHz obtained from January 2009 to September 2011, together with estimations of soil moisture from the SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) L3 products and of soil temperature from ECMWF’s (European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasting) were used as inputs in a retrieval…

2021

Abstract. The collection of modern, spatially extensive pollen data is important for the interpretation of fossil pollen assemblages and the reconstruction of past vegetation communities in space and time. Modern datasets are readily available for percentage data but lacking for pollen accumulation rates (PARs). Filling this gap has been the motivation of the pollen monitoring network, whose contributors monitored pollen deposition in modified Tauber traps for several years or decades across Europe. Here we present this monitoring dataset consisting of 351 trap locations with a total of 2742 annual samples covering the period from 1981 to 2017. This dataset shows that total PAR is influence…

Entorno 3D para el análisis y la recreación virtual de las actuaciones arqueológicas en Cueva de la Cocina (Dos Aguas, Valencia, España)

2017

Con este trabajo pretendemos presentar nuestro procedimiento de digitalización de información de campo (gestión de datos) y su imbricación en la reconstrucción estratigráfica virtual (virtualización) de la Cueva de la Cocina (Dos Aguas, Valencia, España). La herramienta principal para la implementación del Sistema de Información Geográfica (SIG) ha sido OpenJUMP, mientras que para la recreación tridimensional (3D) del entorno virtual de la cueva se han utilizado MeshLab, ParaView, CloudCompare y R. De acuerdo con los datos recuperados durante las excavaciones de los últimos años en la cueva -2015 y 2016-, se presenta el estado actual de la virtualización de la estratigrafía en los sectores …

Geomeasure: GIS and Scripting for Measuring Morphometric Variability

2019

This paper presents Geomeasure, a methodological tool developed to recover typometric information with a twofold objective. First, to speed up the process of gathering data by automatizing the way in which it is recovered. Second, it adds higher accuracy and the possibility of re-measuring archeological items without further directly interacting with the piece. Based on a combination of R scripting with GIS features, Geomeasure is at the time able to automatically gather 125–130 typometric variables per archaeological item, with the only input of vectorized photographs. It can be used as a reliable methodological aid to extract detailed information on patterns and trends of shape variabilit…

The SISAL database: a global resource to document oxygen and carbon isotope records from speleothems

2018

Stable isotope records from speleothems provide information on past climate changes, most particularly information that can be used to reconstruct past changes in precipitation and atmospheric circulation. These records are increasingly being used to provide “out-of-sample” evaluations of isotope-enabled climate models. SISAL (Speleothem Isotope Synthesis and Analysis) is an international working group of the Past Global Changes (PAGES) project. The working group aims to provide a comprehensive compilation of speleothem isotope records for climate reconstruction and model evaluation. The SISAL database contains data for individual speleothems, grouped by cave system. Stable isotopes of oxyg…

Rereading a tree-ring database to illustrate depositional histories of subfossil trees

2017

Late Quaternary tree-ring chronologies have been constructed using data collected from subfossil trees preserved under favourable conditions in lake sediments and peat deposits. Tree-ring widths and densities are commonly used for reconstructions of past climate variability. An alternative way of using these data is to explore the replication curves of these chronologies. Here, we make use of previously collected data that is currently available from tree-ring databases to demonstrate the depositional histories of pine trees once accumulated into the sediment in lake (i.e., riparian trees) and peatland sites. Divergent courses of depositional histories were obtained for different sedimentar…