Global estimation of precipitation using opaque microwave bands

This thesis describes the use of opaque microwave bands for global estimation of precipitation rate. An algorithm was developed for estimating instantaneous precipitation rate for the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) on the NOAA-15, NOAA-16, and NOAA-17 satellites, and the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit and Humidity Sounder for Brazil (AMSU/HSB) aboard the NASA Aqua satellite. The algorithm relies primarily on channels in the opaque 54-GHz oxygen and 183-GHz water vapor resonance bands. Many methods for estimating precipitation rate using surface-sensitive microwave window channels have been developed by others. The algorithm involves a set of signal processing components whose outputs are fed into a neural net to produce a rain rate estimate for each 15-km spot. The signal processing components utilize techniques such as principal component analysis for characterizing groups of channels, spatial filtering for cloud-clearing brightness temperature images, and data fusion for sharpening images in order to optimize sensing of small precipitation cells. An effort has been made to make the algorithm as blind to surface variations as possible. The algorithm was trained using data over the eastern U.S. from the NEXRAD ground-based radar network, and was validated through numerical comparisons with NEXRAD data and visual examination of the morphology of precipitation from over the eastern U.S. and around the world. It performed reasonably well over the eastern U.S. and showed potential for detecting and estimating falling snow. However, it tended to overestimate rain rate in summer Arctic climates. Adjustments to the algorithm were made by developing a neural-net-based estimator for estimating a multiplicative correction factor based on data from

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2004

Author dc:creator

• Chen, Frederick Wey-Min, 1975-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• David H. Staelin.

• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/16696

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/16696