scholarly journals A novel technique for extracting clouds base height using ground based imaging

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 4231-4260 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Hirsch ◽  
E. Agassi ◽  
I. Koren
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Thermal Imaging ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Convective Clouds ◽  
Boundary Layer Clouds ◽  
Remote Sensing Techniques ◽  
Power Needs ◽  
Cloud Base Height

Abstract. The height of a cloud in the atmospheric column is a key parameter in its characterization. Several remote sensing techniques (passive and active, either ground-based or on space-borne platforms) and in-situ measurements are routinely used in order to estimate top and base heights of clouds. In this article we present a novel method that combines thermal imaging from the ground and sounded wind profile in order to derive the cloud base height. This method is independent of cloud types, making it efficient for both low boundary layer and high clouds. In addition, using thermal imaging ensures extraction of clouds' features during daytime as well as at nighttime. The proposed technique was validated by comparison to active sounding by ceilometers (which is a standard ground based method), to lifted condensation level (LCL) calculations, and to MODIS products obtained from space. As all passive remote sensing techniques, the proposed method extracts only the height of the lowest cloud layer, thus upper cloud layers are not detected. Nevertheless, the information derived from this method can be complementary to space-borne cloud top measurements when deep-convective clouds are present. Unlike techniques such as LCL, this method is not limited to boundary layer clouds, and can extract the cloud base height at any level, as long as sufficient thermal contrast exists between the radiative temperatures of the cloud and its surrounding air parcel. Another advantage of the proposed method is its simplicity and modest power needs, making it particularly suitable for field measurements and deployment at remote locations. Our method can be further simplified for use with visible CCD or CMOS camera (although nighttime clouds will not be observed).

scholarly journals A novel technique for extracting clouds base height using ground based imaging

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Hirsch ◽  
E. Agassi ◽  
I. Koren
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Thermal Imaging ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Convective Clouds ◽  
Boundary Layer Clouds ◽  
Remote Sensing Techniques ◽  
Power Needs ◽  
Cloud Base Height

Abstract. The height of a cloud in the atmospheric column is a key parameter in its characterization. Several remote sensing techniques (passive and active, either ground-based or on space-borne platforms) and in-situ measurements are routinely used in order to estimate top and base heights of clouds. In this article we present a novel method that combines thermal imaging from the ground and sounded wind profile in order to derive the cloud base height. This method is independent of cloud types, making it efficient for both low boundary layer and high clouds. In addition, using thermal imaging ensures extraction of clouds' features during daytime as well as at nighttime. The proposed technique was validated by comparison to active sounding by ceilometers (which is a standard ground based method), to lifted condensation level (LCL) calculations, and to MODIS products obtained from space. As all passive remote sensing techniques, the proposed method extracts only the height of the lowest cloud layer, thus upper cloud layers are not detected. Nevertheless, the information derived from this method can be complementary to space-borne cloud top measurements when deep-convective clouds are present. Unlike techniques such as LCL, this method is not limited to boundary layer clouds, and can extract the cloud base height at any level, as long as sufficient thermal contrast exists between the radiative temperatures of the cloud and its surrounding air parcel. Another advantage of the proposed method is its simplicity and modest power needs, making it particularly suitable for field measurements and deployment at remote locations. Our method can be further simplified for use with visible CCD or CMOS camera (although nighttime clouds will not be observed).

scholarly journals A new approach to retrieve cloud base height of marine boundary layer clouds

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (16) ◽  
pp. 4448-4453 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Li ◽  
Y. H. Yi ◽  
K. Stamnes ◽  
X. D. Ding ◽  
T. H. Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Marine Boundary Layer ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Boundary Layer Clouds ◽  
Cloud Base Height

scholarly journals Mind the gap – Part 1: Accurately locating warm marine boundary layer clouds and precipitation using spaceborne radars

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2363-2379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katia Lamer ◽  
Pavlos Kollias ◽  
Alessandro Battaglia ◽  
Simon Preval
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Cloud Cover ◽  
Marine Boundary Layer ◽  
Short Pulse ◽  
Pulse Mode ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Boundary Layer Clouds ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Eastern North Atlantic ◽  
Long Pulse

Abstract. Ground-based radar observations show that, over the eastern North Atlantic, 50 % of warm marine boundary layer (WMBL) hydrometeors occur below 1.2 km and have reflectivities of < −17 dBZ, thus making their detection from space susceptible to the extent of surface clutter and radar sensitivity. Surface clutter limits the ability of the CloudSat cloud profiling radar (CPR) to observe the true cloud base in ∼52 % of the cloudy columns it detects and true virga base in ∼80 %, meaning the CloudSat CPR often provides an incomplete view of even the clouds it does detect. Using forward simulations, we determine that a 250 m resolution radar would most accurately capture the boundaries of WMBL clouds and precipitation; that being said, because of sensitivity limitations, such a radar would suffer from cloud cover biases similar to those of the CloudSat CPR. Observations and forward simulations indicate that the CloudSat CPR fails to detect 29 %–43 % of the cloudy columns detected by ground-based sensors. Out of all configurations tested, the 7 dB more sensitive EarthCARE CPR performs best (only missing 9.0 % of cloudy columns) indicating that improving radar sensitivity is more important than decreasing the vertical extent of surface clutter for measuring cloud cover. However, because 50 % of WMBL systems are thinner than 400 m, they tend to be artificially stretched by long sensitive radar pulses, hence the EarthCARE CPR overestimation of cloud top height and hydrometeor fraction. Thus, it is recommended that the next generation of space-borne radars targeting WMBL science should operate interlaced pulse modes including both a highly sensitive long-pulse mode and a less sensitive but clutter-limiting short-pulse mode.

Why sometimes its simply sunny (in the trades)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjorn Stevens ◽  
Ilya Serikov ◽  
Anna Lea Albright ◽  
Sandrine Bony ◽  
Geet George ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Water Vapor ◽  
Marine Boundary Layer ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Lidar Signal ◽  
Cloud Base Height

&lt;p&gt;Cloud free skies are rare in the trades. &amp;#160;We analyze conditions in which cloud-free conditions prevail. &amp;#160;For this purpose Raman water vapor measurements from the Barbados Cloud Observatory, complemented by ship-based measurements during EUREC4A are used to explore water vapor variability in the marine boundary layer. &amp;#160; We explore the consistency of the inferred cloud base height with estimates of temperature and water vapor from the lidar signal, and examine the co-variability of these quantities. &amp;#160;After having established the properties of these measurements, we seek to use them as well as others, to explain in what ways periods of cloud-free conditions are maintained, investigating the hypothesis that only when the wind stills is it simply sunny.&lt;/p&gt;

Drizzle in Stratiform Boundary Layer Clouds. Part I: Vertical and Horizontal Structure

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (9) ◽  
pp. 3011-3033 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Wood
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Precipitation Rate ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
Horizontal Structure ◽  
Boundary Layer Clouds ◽  
Droplet Concentration

Abstract Detailed observations of stratiform boundary layer clouds on 12 days are examined with specific reference to drizzle formation processes. The clouds differ considerably in mean thickness, liquid water path (LWP), and droplet concentration. Cloud-base precipitation rates differ by a factor of 20 between cases. The lowest precipitation rate is found in the case with the highest droplet concentration even though this case had by far the highest LWP, suggesting that drizzle can be severely suppressed in polluted clouds. The vertical and horizontal structure of cloud and drizzle liquid water and bulk microphysical parameters are examined in detail. In general, the highest concentration of r &gt; 20 μm drizzle drops is found toward the top of the cloud, and the mean volume radius of the drizzle drops increases monotonically from cloud top to base. The resulting precipitation rates are largest at the cloud base but decrease markedly only in the upper third of the cloud. Below cloud, precipitation rates decrease markedly with distance below base due to evaporation, and are broadly consistent in most cases with the results from a simple sedimentation–evaporation model. Evidence is presented that suggests evaporating drizzle is cooling regions of the subcloud layer, which could result in dynamical feedbacks. A composite power spectrum of the horizontal spatial series of precipitation rate is found to exhibit a power-law scaling from the smallest observable scales to close to the maximum observable scale (∼30 km). The exponent is considerably lower (1.1–1.2) than corresponding exponents for LWP variability obtained in other studies (∼1.5–2), demonstrating that there is relatively more variability of drizzle on small scales. Singular measures analysis shows that drizzle fields are much more intermittent than the cloud liquid water content fields, consistent with a drizzle production process that depends strongly upon liquid water content. The adiabaticity of the clouds, which can be modeled as a simple balance between drizzle loss and turbulent replenishment, is found to decrease if the time scale for drizzle loss is shorter than roughly 5–10 eddy turnover time scales. Finally, the data are compared with three simple scalings derived from recent observations of drizzle in subtropical stratocumulus clouds.

scholarly journals Perturbations in relative humidity in the boundary layer represent a possible mechanism for the formation of small convective clouds

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 28729-28749 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Hirsch ◽  
I. Koren ◽  
O. Altaratz ◽  
Z. Levin ◽  
E. Agassi
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Inversion Layer ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Thermal Inversion ◽  
Convective Clouds ◽  
Air Pockets ◽  
Lifting Condensation Level ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Cloud Base Height

Abstract. An air parcel model was developed to study the formation of small convective clouds that appear under conditions of weak updraft and a strong thermal inversion layer above the clouds. Observations suggest that these clouds are characterized by a cloud base height far lower than the lifting condensation level. Considering such atmospheric conditions, the air parcel model shows that these clouds cannot be the result of classical thermals or plumes that are caused by perturbations in the temperature near the surface. We suggest that such clouds are the result of perturbations in the relative humidity of elevated air pockets. These results explain the existence of small clouds that standard methods fail to predict and shed light on processes related to the formation of convective clouds from the lowest end of the size distribution.

Atmospheric boundary layer parameters retrieval from Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer measurements in tropical cyclones

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikita Rusakov ◽  
Evgeny Poplavsky ◽  
Olga Ermakova ◽  
Yuliya Troitskaya ◽  
Daniil Sergeev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Atmospheric Boundary Layer ◽  
Microwave Radiometer ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Radar Signal ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Sensing Data ◽  
Radar Images

&lt;p&gt;Active microwave sensing using satellite instruments has great advantages, since in this range the absorption by clouds and atmospheric gases is noticeably reduced, it allows for round-the-clock and all-weather monitoring of the ocean. One of the main problems is concerned with obtaining the dependency between the RCS of radar signal scattered by the wavy water surface and the parameters of the atmospheric boundary layer in hurricane conditions. To obtain this dependence, we used field measurements of wind speed in a hurricane from falling NOAA GPS-sondes and SAR images from the Sentinel-1 satellite. However, there is the problem of correct collocation of remote sensing data with field measurements of the atmospheric boundary layer parameters, since they are separated in time and space. In this regard, the amount of data suitable for analysis is very limited, which forces us to look for new data sources for processing. A six-channel SFMR radiometer is also installed on board of NOAA research aircraft that measures the emissivity of the ocean surface beneath the aircraft. Thus, it becomes possible to relate the radiometric measurements of SFMR with the parameters of the atmospheric boundary layer in a tropical cyclone obtained from wind velocity profiles, since they are carried out as close as possible in time and space. Using this relation, the SFMR data and the hurricane radar images were analyzed together and an alternative method was found for constructing the dependence of the RCS on the parameters of the boundary layer.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This work was supported by the RFBR projects No. 19-05-00249, 19-05-00366, 18-35-20068 (remote sensing data analysis) and RSF No. 19-17-00209 (GPS-sondes data assimilation and processing).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Slope stability and rockfall assessment of volcanic tuffs using RPAS with 2-D FEM slope modelling

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 583-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ákos Török ◽  
Árpád Barsi ◽  
Gyula Bögöly ◽  
Tamás Lovas ◽  
Árpád Somogyi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Digital Terrain Model ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Surface Model ◽  
Rockfall Hazard ◽  
Terrain Model ◽  
Remote Sensing Techniques

Abstract. Steep, hardly accessible cliffs of rhyolite tuff in NE Hungary are prone to rockfalls, endangering visitors of a castle. Remote sensing techniques were employed to obtain data on terrain morphology and to provide slope geometry for assessing the stability of these rock walls. A RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) was used to collect images which were processed by Pix4D mapper (structure from motion technology) to generate a point cloud and mesh. The georeferencing was made by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) with the use of seven ground control points. The obtained digital surface model (DSM) was processed (vegetation removal) and the derived digital terrain model (DTM) allowed cross sections to be drawn and a joint system to be detected. Joint and discontinuity system was also verified by field measurements. On-site tests as well as laboratory tests provided additional engineering geological data for slope modelling. Stability of cliffs was assessed by 2-D FEM (finite element method). Global analyses of cross sections show that weak intercalating tuff layers may serve as potential slip surfaces. However, at present the greatest hazard is related to planar failure along ENE–WSW joints and to wedge failure. The paper demonstrates that RPAS is a rapid and useful tool for generating a reliable terrain model of hardly accessible cliff faces. It also emphasizes the efficiency of RPAS in rockfall hazard assessment in comparison with other remote sensing techniques such as terrestrial laser scanning (TLS).

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