Engineering topics

Kuo, K. S.

Publications and source records attributed to Kuo, K. S..

5 records

NASA NTRS1997

Aerosol Retrieval Using Synthetic Polder Multi-Angular Data

The POLarizations and Directionality of the Earth's Reflectances (POLDER) instrument onboard the Japanese ADEOS satellite offers unique possibilities for the retrieval of aerosol parameters with its polarization and multi-angular capability. In this study we examine a technique that simultaneously retrieve multiple aerosol parameters, namely asymmetry factor, single scattering albedo, surface albedo, and optical thickness. using simulated POLDER reflectances. It is found that. over dark or bright surfaces, simultaneous retrieval of multiple parameters is indeed possible, but not over surfaces with intermediate reflectivity. Among the four parameters, the single-scattering albedo is retrieved with the best accuracy and is the least vulnerable when the reflectance value is subjected to a 0.1% white noise.

Kuo, K. S.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Simultaneous Retrieval of Multiple Aerosol Parameters Using a Multi-Angular Approach

Atmospheric aerosol particles, both natural and anthropogenic, are important to the earth's radiative balance through their direct and indirect effects. They scatter the incoming solar radiation (direct effect) and modify the shortwave reflective properties of clouds by acting as cloud condensation nuclei (indirect effect). Although it has been suggested that aerosols exert a net cooling influence on climate, this effect has received less attention than the radiative forcing due to clouds and greenhouse gases. In order to understand the role that aerosols play in a changing climate, detailed and accurate observations are a prerequisite. The retrieval of aerosol optical properties by satellite remote sensing has proven to be a difficult task. The difficulty results mainly from the tenuous nature and variable composition of aerosols. To date, with single-angle satellite observations, we can only retrieve reliably against dark backgrounds, such as over oceans and dense vegetation. Even then, assumptions must be made concerning the chemical composition of aerosols. The best hope we have for aerosol retrievals over bright backgrounds are observations from multiple angles, such as those provided by the MISR and POLDER instruments. In this investigation we examine the feasibility of simultaneous retrieval of multiple aerosol optical parameters using reflectances from a typical set of twelve angles observed by the French POLDER instrument. The retrieved aerosol optical parameters consist of asymmetry factor, single scattering albedo, surface albedo, and optical thickness.

Kuo, K. S.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Pattern recognition of clouds and ice in polar regions

The study is based on AVHRR imagery and results from Landsat high-spatial-resolution scenes. Among the textual features investigated are the gray level difference vector (GLDV), and sum and difference histogram (SADH) approaches as well as gray level run length, spatial-coherence, and spectral-histogram measures. The traditional stepwise discriminant analysis and neural-network analysis are used for the identification of 20 Arctic surface and cloud classes. A principal-component analysis and hybrid architecture employing a modularized competitive learning layer are utilized. It is pointed out that the cloud-classification accuracy comparable to that of back-propagation could be achieved with a training time two orders of magnitude faster.

Welch, R. M.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Cloud classification in polar regions using AVHRR textural and spectral signatures

Arctic clouds and ice-covered surfaces are classified on the basis of textural and spectral features obtained with AVHRR 1.1-km spatial resolution imagery over the Beaufort Sea during May-October, 1989. Scenes were acquired about every 5 days, for a total of 38 cases. A list comprising 20 arctic-surface and cloud classes is compiled using spectral measures defined by Garand (1988).

Welch, R. M.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Marine stratocumulus cloud fields off the coast of southern California observed using Landsat imagery. I - Structural characteristics

The structural characteristics of stratocumulus cloud fields off the coast of southern California are investigated using Landsat Multispectral Scanner imagery. Twelve scenes in this area are examined along with three other stratocumulus scenes near San Francisco, over central Oregon, and in the Gulf of Mexico. Results from this initial study of stratocumulus clouds indicate that cloud-background threshold selection techniques based upon edge detection gradient assumptions are not appropriate for cloud segmentation and classification algorithms, cloud size distributions obey a power law, and cell horizontal aspect ratio increases with cell diameter. It was also found that stratocumulus clouds are bifractal in nature with fractal dimension of d of about 1.2 for cells with diameter D smaller than 0.5 km and d of about 1.5 for cells with D greater than 0.5 km; stratocumulus cloud fields appear to be homogeneous over regions of about 100 km x 100 km, a much smaller region than the 2.5-deg x 2.5-deg boxes to be used in the ISCCP regional averaging algorithms; and that structural properties of stratocumulus clouds observed off the coast of southern California are similar to those observed for stratocumulus clouds at three other locations.

Welch, R. M.↗