Engineering topics

Piraino, P.

Publications and source records attributed to Piraino, P..

6 records

NASA NTRS1985

Applications of Fuzzy Clustering Techniques to Stratified by Tropopause MSU Temperature Retrievals

The fuzzy partitioned clustering method was applied to predict tropopause height only using microwave information with an eye towards using it on real data under cloudy conditions. In the second stage stratified by tropopause regression temperature retrievals included using only the three or four microwave channels for each 40 mb range. The first step in the experiment is the fuzzy partitioned clustering of the microwave brightness temperatures. This method is a combination of standard hard clustering and discriminant analysis. The fuzzy partitioned clustering uses all the generated probabilities of membership of each pattern vector in any of the given clusters. These probabilities are generated by discriminant analysis to locate the correct cluster. The ultimate goal of standard discriminant analysis is to provide the unique (correct) cluster to which the pattern vector belongs. It was only the maximum of all the generated probabilities. The method uses all the probabilities and weight the regressions generated within each cluster. These regression formulas predict the tropopause height from the microwave brightness temperatures. In the second step the microwave regression temperature retrievals are stratified by tropopause height every 40 mb. The control experiment is defined, the data are stratified by land/ocean, summer/winter, and latitude bands.

Munteanu, M. J.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Regional correlation between TOMS total ozone from NIMBUS-7 satellite and geopotential height from the GLAS analysis

In order to study the relation between zone and the atmospheric circulation on a global scale the global correlation has been computed between TOMS total ozone measurements from NIMBUS-7 satellite and collocated geopotential heights analysis at all mandatory pressure levels between 1000-50 mb. The heights are obtained from the 4 deg x 5 deg GLAS analysis that uses both conventional (rawinsonde) and the operational TIROS-N satellite soundings but no ozone data. Zonal averages have been substracted to eliminate the correlation due merely to latitudinal dependence, and emphasize the correlation associated with synoptic features. Tables are presented with correlation coefficients for the four synoptic times covering the Pacific Ocean, Asia, Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, and United States regions. These coverages are approximate since NIMBUS-7 does not observe exactly the same region each day.

Munteanu, M. J.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Improved HIRS2/MSU soundings using tropopause information

In the GLAS physical retrieval scheme, all temperature profiles are expressed as an expansion about a global mean using empirical orthogonal functions derived from a sample of radiosondes. Total ozone burden, a parameter highly correlated with tropopause height, should be useful in improving sounding accuracy. The ability to estimate tropopause information from layer mean temperatures suggests incorporating the layer mean temperatures estimated from the sounding itself to give estimates of tropopause pressure and temperature. While information completely independent of sounding and first guess data is preferable, additional information is in fact added to the system by the statistical relationships between tropopause temperature and pressure and layer mean temperature profiles. This should not be confused with use of statistical relationships between temperature profiles and satellite observations, which form the basis of a statistical retrieval system but is in no way used in the physical retrieval scheme.

Susskind, J.↗

NASA NTRS1984

A new algorithm for tuning of computed radiances for HIRS2/MSU

Small biases of the order of 1 C exist in brightness temperatures computed for a number of atmospheric sounding channels using radiosonde reports of atmospheric temperature humidity profile compared to those of collocated HIRS2/MSU observations on TIROS N. These biases are attributed to errors in the computed atmospheric transmittances functions. Channel dependent empirical tuning coefficients were found such that the biases in the channel brightness temperatures are removed if the transmittances used to calculate these brightness temperatures are modified. Possible shortcomings of this method are that some of the bias errors may be due to instrumental calibration problems and that the part that is computational may not be of the form assumed in the equation used. Form of tuning was implemented in the calculation which has the potential of distinguishing between calibration and calculation errors and is also computationally faster and more easily vectorizable.

Susskind, J.↗

NASA NTRS1984

The prediction of tropopause height from clusters of brightness temperatures and its application in the stratified regression temperature retrievals using microwave and infrared satellite measurements

A total of 1575 radiosondes and the corresponding simulated brightness temperatures were used in an effort to derive a temperature retrieval based on the clusters of brightness temperatures. The 8 simulated channels, namely, 3 MSU and 5 IR of the TIROS-N satellite are used by the GLAS temperature retrieval method. The 3 MSU and 5 IR brightness temperatures were clustered into 17 cluster groups and a regression for the prediction of the tropopause height in mb was generated. The overall r.m.s. for the tropopause prediction is excellent, namely, around 16 mb for the summer and 23 mb for the winter. The correct cluster of brightness temperatures can be identified 98% of the time by the method of discriminatory classification if it is approximately a normal distribution or, in general, by the method of the nearest neighbor.

Munteanu, M. J.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Applications of cluster analysis to satellite soundings

The advantages of the use of cluster analysis in the improvement of satellite temperature retrievals were evaluated since the use of natural clusters, which are associated with atmospheric temperature soundings characteristic of different types of air masses, has the potential for improving stratified regression schemes in comparison with currently used methods which stratify soundings based on latitude, season, and land/ocean. The method of discriminatory analysis was used. The correct cluster of temperature profiles from satellite measurements was located in 85% of the cases. Considerable improvement was observed at all mandatory levels using regression retrievals derived in the clusters of temperature (weighted and nonweighted) in comparison with the control experiment and with the regression retrievals derived in the clusters of brightness temperatures of 3 MSU and 5 IR channels.

Munteanu, M. J.↗