Tag: Satellite Calibration and Validation

Machine Learning-Based Estimation of Tropical Cyclone Intensity from Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder Using a U-Net Algorithm

February 20, 2024

ESSIC/CISESS scientists Yong-Keun Lee and Christopher Grassotti are co-authors on a new paper in Remote Sensing led by first author Zichao Liang, a student who interned with the MiRS team during the summer of 2023. NOAA scientists Lin Lin and Quanhua Liu also co-authored the paper. The paper, titled “Machine Learning-Based Estimation of Tropical Cyclone Intensity from Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder Using a U-Net Algorithm”, assesses the use of the U-Net model to estimate surface wind speed and surface pressure over pure ocean conditions.

Figure: Field experiments with the RHG-BRDF system over grass, soil and sand scenes and its calibration with a reflectance reference board.

CISESS Seed Grant Project Develops a Robotic RHG-BRDF Measurement System

February 19, 2024

During its one-year funding period, this CISESS Seed Grant project expanded the work of the student-oriented CISESS Remote Sensing Laboratory by building equipment for post-launch radiometric validation using in situ measurements of reflective solar band calibration. ESSIC/CISESS Scientist Xi Shao, along with Sirish Uprety, Tung-Chang Liu, and Xin Jin, developed a Robotic Hyperspectral Ground Bi-directional Reflectance Distribution Function (RHG-BRDF) measurement system. Once built, they worked with three undergraduate students to perform field hyperspectral measurements of different ground targets. The student also developed python modules for converting measurements to hyperseptral reflectance, data visualization and analysis.

Figure 1. The local perturbations in observed microwave brightness temperatures from an ascending orbit of (a) MetOp-B AMSU-A channel 14, (b) MetOp-C AMSU-A channel 14, a descending orbit of (c) NOAA-20 ATMS channel 15, and (d) SNPP ATMS channel 15 on January 15, 2022. The black triangle at the center for each panel is the Tonga volcano location. The outermost black-curved lines from the Tonga volcano location correspond to a phase speed of 330 m/s assuming that the perturbation has been generated at the time and location of initial volcanic eruption. From the 2nd outermost black-curved lines to the innermost lines, the phase speeds are 300, 270, and 230 m/s, respectively. The time information in each panel indicates the approximate observation time for the Lamb wave (between 300 m/s and 330 m/s indicated by black right-pointing triangles) and for the lead gravity wave (between 230 m/s and 270 m/s indicated by red right-pointing triangles). Red dots indicate the pixels where the brightness temperature perturbation is larger than 1.2 K.

Satellite Microwave Observations of the Hunga Tonga Eruption’s Atmospheric Waves

December 20, 2023

ESSIC/CISESS scientists Yong-Keun Lee and Christopher Grassotti are authors on a new paper in Geophysical Research Letters describing the first attempt to perform a detailed analysis of the stratospheric impact of the eruption from satellite microwave observations. The other authors on the paper are Neil Hindley from University of Bath and Quanhua (Mark) Liu from NOAA’s Center for Satellite Applications and Research.

Zhang Presents Her New Book at the CTR Wilson Meeting

December 13, 2023

ESSIC/CISESS scientist Daile Zhang and her coauthor Ron Holle virtually presented their new
book–Flashes of Brilliance: The Science and Wonder of Arizona Lightning –at the CTR Wilson
meeting on November 16, 2023. They discussed the motivation of writing the book and
introduced the content of each chapter. The audiences were interested in creating
undergraduate level courses and materials based on the book.

The Lightning Team at the Spooky Science Expo. Left to right: Damian Joseph Figueroa, Guangyang Fang, Ashmita Pyne, Daile Zhang, and Joseph Patton

Lightning Team Outreach Event at the 8th Spooky Science Expo

October 27, 2023

The ESSIC/CISESS Lightning Team – Guangyang Fang, Joseph Patton, Daile Zhang, and two students Damian Joseph Figueroa and Ashmita Pyne – went to celebrate the 8th Spooky Science Expo in Alexandria, VA. This was the first time CISESS/ESSIC scientists participated in this event.

Figure: The International Space Station Lightning Imaging Sensors 128 X 128-pixel array of (a) event count, (b) total event energy density, (c) mean event energy density, (d) pixel minimum energy density, (e) pixel maximum energy density, and (f) pixelwise 95% quantile energy density during March 2017–September 2020, computed separately for each pixel, indexed by CCD pixel numbers.

Evaluating Lightning Observations from Space

October 10, 2023

ESSIC/CISESS Scientists Daile Zhang, Scott Rudlosky (NOAA), and colleagues published a study that uses the well-documented Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Lightning Imaging Sensors (LIS) performance to determine if the International Space Station (ISS) LIS performs well enough to bridge the gap between TRMM LIS and the new generation of Geostationary Lightning Mappers (GLMs).

No, rubber doesn't stop lightning, and your cell phones doesn't attract bolts from the blue. These are just some of the correctives a UMD expert applies to lightning safety myths. Illustrations by Valerie Morgan

Expert Strikes Down Myths on Avoiding Lightning Strikes

July 6, 2023

Summer brings to mind sunny days and relaxing vacations, but the season’s dark side makes it one of the busiest times of the year for a University of Maryland “fulminologist”—a scientist specializing in lightning research.

Building & Deploying Tools to Better Observe Lightning in the Washington D.C. Region & Beyond

July 6, 2023

In January 2022, ESSIC/CISESS Scientist Daile Zhang won a CISESS Seed Grant to evaluate NOAA’s Geostationary Lightning Mappers (GLMs) on the GOES-16 and -17 Satellites and the upgraded Mid-Atlantic Lightning Mapping Array (MALMA) using a network of low-cost and innovative atmospheric electricity and lightning measurement tools to take lightning videos. Recently, the initial Seeds Grant period ended and Zhang reported her results.

Zhang Publishes Book on Arizona Lightning

April 6, 2023

ESSIC/CISESS Scientist Daile Zhang has published a new book titled Flashes of Brilliance: The Science and Wonder of Arizona Lightning with Springer.

Jifu Yin presents “Refinement of NOAA AMSR-2 Soil Moisture Data Product using an Optimal Machine Learning Model”

ESSIC Scientists Present at NCWCP-UMD Mini-Conference

March 27, 2023

Recently, researchers from NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction (NCWCP) and University of Maryland gathered for a mini-conference to share presentations from recent conferences such as the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and American Meteorological Society (AMS) annual meetings.