A study on remote sensing models of sea ice thickness by microwave radiometry

Extrapolating from the propagation theories of electromagnetic waves in a layered medium, a three-layer medium model is deduced in this paper by using microwave radiometric remote sensing technology which is suitable to first-year sea ice condition of the northern part of China seas. Comparison with in situ data indicates that for microwave wavelength of 10 cm, the coherent model gives a quite good fit result for the thickness of sea ice less than 20 cm, and the incoherent model also works well for thickness within 20 to 40 cm. Based on three theoretical models, the inversion soft ware from microwave remote sensing data for calculating the thickness of sea ice can be set up. The relative complex dielectrical constants of different types of sea ice in the Liaodong Gulf calculated by using these theoretical models and measurement data are given in this paper. The extent of their values is (0. 5-4. 0)-j(0. 07~0. 19).

MODELING AND QUANTITATIVE RETRIEVAL OF FINITE FIELD FOR THE TROPICAL SEA SURFACE WIND SPEED OF THE FY-3B MICROWAVE IMAGER

The purpose of this study is to select a suitable sea wind retrieval method for FY-3B(MWRI). Based on the traditional empirical model of retrieving sea surface wind speed, and in the case of small sample size of FY-3B satellite load regression analysis, this paper analyzes the channel differences between the FY-3B satellite microwave radiation imager(MWRI) and TMI onboard the TRMM. The paper also analyzes the influence of these differences on the channel in terms of receiving temperature, including channel frequency, sensitivity and scaling precision. Then, the limited range of new model coefficient regression analysis is determined(in which the channel range settings include the information and features of channel differences), the regression methods of the finite field are proposed, and the empirical model of wind speed retrieval applicable to MWRI is obtained, which achieves robust results. Compared to the TAO buoy data, the mean deviation of the new model is 0.4 m/s, and the standard deviation is 1.2 m/s. In addition,the schematic diagram of the tropical sea surface wind speed retrieval is provided.

A method for correcting regional bias in SMOS global salinity products

Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity （SMOS） Level 3 （L3） sea surface salinity （SSS） products are provided by the Barcelona Expert Centre （BEC）. Strong biases were observed on the SMOS SSS products, thus the data from the Centre Aval de Traitement des Donnees SMOS （CATDS） were adjusted for biases using a large-scale correction derived from observed differences between the SMOS SSS and World Ocean Atlas （WOA） climatology data. However, this large-scale correction method is not suitable for correcting the large gradient of salinity biases. Here, we present a method for the correction of SSS regional bias of the monthly L3 products. Based on the stable characteristics of the large SSS biases from month to month in some regions, corrected SMOS SSS maps can be obtained from the monthly mean values after removing the regional biases. The accuracy of the SMOS SSS measurements is greatly improved, especially near the coastline, at high latitudes, and in some open ocean regions. The SMOS and ISAS SSS data are also compared with Aquarius SSS to verify the corrected SMOS SSS data. The correction method presented here only corrects annual mean biases. The measurement accuracy of the SSS may be improved by considering the influence of atmospheric and ocean circulation in different seasons and years.

An investigation on microwave transmissivity at frequencies of 18.7 and 36.5 GHz for diverse forest types during snow season

Forests have invariably been considered as an obstacle in retrieving land surface parameters from spaceborne passive microwave brightness temperature(T_(B))observations.For quantifying the effect of forests on microwave signals,several models have been developed.However,these models rarely reveal the dependence of microwave radiation on forest types,which can hardly meet the needs of high-accuracy retrieval of terrestrial parameters in forested regions.A ground-based microwave radiometric observation experiment was designed to investigate the dependence of microwave radiation on frequency,polarization,and forest type.Downward TB at 18.7-and 36.5-GHz for horizontal-and vertical-polarization from the forest canopy was measured at 14 sample plots in Northeast China,along with snowpack and forest structural parameters.By providing fits to experimental data,new empirical transmissivity models for three forest types were developed,as a function of woody stem volume and depending on the frequency/polarization.The proposed models give diverse asymptotic transmissivity saturation levels and the corresponding saturation point of woody stem volume for different forest types.Root-mean-square error results between T_(B) simulations and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-2 observations are approximately 3-6 K.This study provides an experimental and theoretical reference for further development of inversion models for snow parameters in forested areas.

Evaluation of stereology for snow microstructure measurement and microwave emission modeling:a case study

Reliablemicrostructuremeasurement of snow is a requirement for microwave radiative transfer model validation.Snow specific surface area(SSA)can be measured using stereological methods,in which snow samples are cast in the field and photographed in the laboratory.Processing stereology photographs manually by counting intersections of test cycloids with air-ice boundaries reduces the problems in binary segmentation.This paper is a case study to evaluate the repeatability of the manually stereology interpretation by two independent research groups.We further assessed how uncertainty in snow SSA influences simulated brightness temperature(TB)driven by the Microwave Emission Model of Layered Snowpacks(MEMLS),and how stereology compares to Near Infrared(NIR)camera and hand lens.Data was obtained from two alpine snow profiles from Steamboat Springs,Colorado.Results showed that stereological SSA values measured by two groups are highly consistent,and the ground radiometer measured T_(B)at 19 and 37 GHz was successfully predicted(RMSE<3.8 K);simulations using NIR SSA and hand-lens geometric grain size(Dg)measurements have larger errors.This conclusion was not sensitive to uncertainty in the free parameters of TB modeling.