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Abstract
Two previously developed Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks (PERSIANN) algorithms that incorporate cloud classification system (PERSIANN-CCS) and multispectral analysis (PERSIANN-MSA) are integrated and employed to analyze the role of cloud albedo from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-12 (GOES-12) visible (0.65 μm) channel in supplementing infrared (10.7 mm) data. The integrated technique derives finescale (0.04° × 0.04° latitude–longitude every 30 min) rain rate for each grid box through four major steps: 1) segmenting clouds into a number of cloud patches using infrared or albedo images; 2) classification of cloud patches into a number of cloud types using radiative, geometrical, and textural features for each individual cloud patch; 3) classification of each cloud type into a number of subclasses and assigning rain rates to each subclass using a multidimensional histogram matching method; and 4) associating satellite gridbox information to the appropriate corresponding cloud type and subclass to estimate rain rate in grid scale. The technique was applied over a study region that includes the U.S. landmass east of 115°W. One reference infrared-only and three different bispectral (visible and infrared) rain estimation scenarios were compared to investigate the technique’s ability to address two major drawbacks of infrared-only methods: 1) underestimating warm rainfall and 2) the inability to screen out no-rain thin cirrus clouds. Radar estimates were used to evaluate the scenarios at a range of temporal (3 and 6 hourly) and spatial (0.04°, 0.08°, 0.12°, and 0.24° latitude–longitude) scales. Overall, the results using daytime data during June–August 2006 indicate that significant gain over infrared-only technique is obtained once albedo is used for cloud segmentation followed by bispectral cloud classification and rainfall estimation. At 3-h, 0.04° resolution, the observed improvement using bispectral information was about 66% for equitable threat score and 26% for the correlation coefficient. At coarser 0.24° resolution, the gains were 34% and 32% for the two performance measures, respectively.
Abstract
Two previously developed Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks (PERSIANN) algorithms that incorporate cloud classification system (PERSIANN-CCS) and multispectral analysis (PERSIANN-MSA) are integrated and employed to analyze the role of cloud albedo from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-12 (GOES-12) visible (0.65 μm) channel in supplementing infrared (10.7 mm) data. The integrated technique derives finescale (0.04° × 0.04° latitude–longitude every 30 min) rain rate for each grid box through four major steps: 1) segmenting clouds into a number of cloud patches using infrared or albedo images; 2) classification of cloud patches into a number of cloud types using radiative, geometrical, and textural features for each individual cloud patch; 3) classification of each cloud type into a number of subclasses and assigning rain rates to each subclass using a multidimensional histogram matching method; and 4) associating satellite gridbox information to the appropriate corresponding cloud type and subclass to estimate rain rate in grid scale. The technique was applied over a study region that includes the U.S. landmass east of 115°W. One reference infrared-only and three different bispectral (visible and infrared) rain estimation scenarios were compared to investigate the technique’s ability to address two major drawbacks of infrared-only methods: 1) underestimating warm rainfall and 2) the inability to screen out no-rain thin cirrus clouds. Radar estimates were used to evaluate the scenarios at a range of temporal (3 and 6 hourly) and spatial (0.04°, 0.08°, 0.12°, and 0.24° latitude–longitude) scales. Overall, the results using daytime data during June–August 2006 indicate that significant gain over infrared-only technique is obtained once albedo is used for cloud segmentation followed by bispectral cloud classification and rainfall estimation. At 3-h, 0.04° resolution, the observed improvement using bispectral information was about 66% for equitable threat score and 26% for the correlation coefficient. At coarser 0.24° resolution, the gains were 34% and 32% for the two performance measures, respectively.
Abstract
A method to improve the GOES Precipitation Index (GPI) technique by combining satellite microwave and infrared (IR) data is proposed and tested. Using microwave-based rainfall estimates, the method, termed the Universally Adjusted GPI (UAGPI), modifies both GPI parameters (i.e., the IR brightness temperature threshold and the mean rain rate) to minimize summation of estimation errors during the microwave sampling periods. With respect to each grid, monthly rainfall estimates are obtained in a manner identical to the GPI except for the use of the optimized parameters. The proposed method is compared with the Adjusted GPI (AGPI) method of , which adjusts the GPI monthly rainfall estimates directly using an adjustment ratio. The two methods are compared using the First Algorithm Intercomparison Project (AIP/1) dataset, which covers two month-long periods over the Japanese islands and surrounding oceanic regions. Two types of microwave-related errors are addressed during the comparison: (1) sampling error caused by insufficient sampling rate and (2) measurement error of instantaneous rain rate. Radar–gauge composite rainfall observations were used to simulate microwave rainfall estimates for studying the sampling error. The results of this comparison show that UAGPI is more capable of utilizing the limited information contained in sparse microwave observations to reduce sampling error and that UAGPI demonstrates stronger resistance to microwave measurement error. Comparison between the two methods using three different sizes of moving-average windows indicates that, while the smoothing operation is crucial to AGPI, it is not essential for UAGPI to consistently perform better than AGPI. This indicates that UAGPI provides stable estimates of monthly rainfall at various spatial scales.
Abstract
A method to improve the GOES Precipitation Index (GPI) technique by combining satellite microwave and infrared (IR) data is proposed and tested. Using microwave-based rainfall estimates, the method, termed the Universally Adjusted GPI (UAGPI), modifies both GPI parameters (i.e., the IR brightness temperature threshold and the mean rain rate) to minimize summation of estimation errors during the microwave sampling periods. With respect to each grid, monthly rainfall estimates are obtained in a manner identical to the GPI except for the use of the optimized parameters. The proposed method is compared with the Adjusted GPI (AGPI) method of , which adjusts the GPI monthly rainfall estimates directly using an adjustment ratio. The two methods are compared using the First Algorithm Intercomparison Project (AIP/1) dataset, which covers two month-long periods over the Japanese islands and surrounding oceanic regions. Two types of microwave-related errors are addressed during the comparison: (1) sampling error caused by insufficient sampling rate and (2) measurement error of instantaneous rain rate. Radar–gauge composite rainfall observations were used to simulate microwave rainfall estimates for studying the sampling error. The results of this comparison show that UAGPI is more capable of utilizing the limited information contained in sparse microwave observations to reduce sampling error and that UAGPI demonstrates stronger resistance to microwave measurement error. Comparison between the two methods using three different sizes of moving-average windows indicates that, while the smoothing operation is crucial to AGPI, it is not essential for UAGPI to consistently perform better than AGPI. This indicates that UAGPI provides stable estimates of monthly rainfall at various spatial scales.
Abstract
Satellite estimates and weather forecast models have made it possible to observe and predict precipitation over large spatial scales. Despite substantial progress in observing patterns of precipitation, characterization of spatial patterns is still a challenge. Quantitative assessment methods for spatial patterns are essential for future developments in prediction of the spatial extent and patterns of precipitation. In this study, precipitation patterns are characterized using three geometrical indices: (i) a connectivity index, (ii) a shape index, and (iii) a dispersiveness index. Using multiple examples, the application of the proposed indices is explored in pattern analysis of satellite precipitation images and validation of numerical atmospheric models with respect to geometrical properties. The results indicate that the presented indices can be reasonably employed for a relative comparison of different patterns (e.g., multiple fields against spatial observations) with respect to their connectivity, organization, and shape.
Abstract
Satellite estimates and weather forecast models have made it possible to observe and predict precipitation over large spatial scales. Despite substantial progress in observing patterns of precipitation, characterization of spatial patterns is still a challenge. Quantitative assessment methods for spatial patterns are essential for future developments in prediction of the spatial extent and patterns of precipitation. In this study, precipitation patterns are characterized using three geometrical indices: (i) a connectivity index, (ii) a shape index, and (iii) a dispersiveness index. Using multiple examples, the application of the proposed indices is explored in pattern analysis of satellite precipitation images and validation of numerical atmospheric models with respect to geometrical properties. The results indicate that the presented indices can be reasonably employed for a relative comparison of different patterns (e.g., multiple fields against spatial observations) with respect to their connectivity, organization, and shape.
Abstract
A new multiplatform multisensor satellite rainfall estimation technique is proposed in which sequences of Geostationary Earth Orbit infrared (GEO-IR) images are used to advect microwave (MW)-derived precipitation estimates along cloud motion streamlines and to further adjust the rainfall rates using local cloud classification. The main objective of the Rain Estimation using Forward-Adjusted advection of Microwave Estimates (REFAME) is to investigate whether inclusion of GEO-IR information can help to improve the advected MW precipitation rate as it gets farther in time from the previous MW overpass. The technique comprises three steps. The first step incorporates a 2D cloud tracking algorithm to capture cloud motion streamlines through successive IR images. The second step classifies cloudy pixels to a number of predefined clusters using brightness temperature (Tb) gradients between successive IR images along the cloud motion streamlines in combination with IR cloud-top brightness temperatures and textural features. A mean precipitation rate for each cluster is calculated using available MW-derived precipitation estimates. In the third step, the mean cluster precipitation rates are used to adjust MW precipitation intensities advected between available MW overpasses along cloud motion streamlines. REFAME is a flexible technique, potentially capable of incorporating diverse precipitation-relevant information, such as multispectral data. Evaluated over a range of spatial and temporal scales over the conterminous United States, the performance of the full REFAME algorithm compared favorably with products incorporating either no cloud tracking or no intensity adjustment. The observed improvements in root-mean-square error and especially in correlation coefficient between REFAME outputs and ground radar observations demonstrate that the new approach is effective in reducing the uncertainties and capturing the variation of precipitation intensity along cloud advection streamlines between MW sensor overpasses. An extended REFAME algorithm combines the adjusted advected MW rainfall rates with infrared-derived precipitation rates in an attempt to capture precipitation events initiating and decaying during the interval between two consecutive MW overpasses. Evaluation statistics indicate that the extended algorithm is effective to capture the life cycle of the convective precipitation, particularly for the interval between microwave overpasses in which precipitation starts or ends.
Abstract
A new multiplatform multisensor satellite rainfall estimation technique is proposed in which sequences of Geostationary Earth Orbit infrared (GEO-IR) images are used to advect microwave (MW)-derived precipitation estimates along cloud motion streamlines and to further adjust the rainfall rates using local cloud classification. The main objective of the Rain Estimation using Forward-Adjusted advection of Microwave Estimates (REFAME) is to investigate whether inclusion of GEO-IR information can help to improve the advected MW precipitation rate as it gets farther in time from the previous MW overpass. The technique comprises three steps. The first step incorporates a 2D cloud tracking algorithm to capture cloud motion streamlines through successive IR images. The second step classifies cloudy pixels to a number of predefined clusters using brightness temperature (Tb) gradients between successive IR images along the cloud motion streamlines in combination with IR cloud-top brightness temperatures and textural features. A mean precipitation rate for each cluster is calculated using available MW-derived precipitation estimates. In the third step, the mean cluster precipitation rates are used to adjust MW precipitation intensities advected between available MW overpasses along cloud motion streamlines. REFAME is a flexible technique, potentially capable of incorporating diverse precipitation-relevant information, such as multispectral data. Evaluated over a range of spatial and temporal scales over the conterminous United States, the performance of the full REFAME algorithm compared favorably with products incorporating either no cloud tracking or no intensity adjustment. The observed improvements in root-mean-square error and especially in correlation coefficient between REFAME outputs and ground radar observations demonstrate that the new approach is effective in reducing the uncertainties and capturing the variation of precipitation intensity along cloud advection streamlines between MW sensor overpasses. An extended REFAME algorithm combines the adjusted advected MW rainfall rates with infrared-derived precipitation rates in an attempt to capture precipitation events initiating and decaying during the interval between two consecutive MW overpasses. Evaluation statistics indicate that the extended algorithm is effective to capture the life cycle of the convective precipitation, particularly for the interval between microwave overpasses in which precipitation starts or ends.
Abstract
Visible and infrared data obtained from instruments onboard geostationary satellites have been extensively used for monitoring clouds and their evolution. The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) that will be launched onboard the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R) series in the near future will offer a larger range of spectral bands; hence, it will provide observations of cloud and rain systems at even finer spatial, temporal, and spectral resolutions than are possible with the current GOES. In this paper, a new method called Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed information using Artificial Neural Networks–Multispectral Analysis (PERSIANN-MSA) is proposed to evaluate the effect of using multispectral imagery on precipitation estimation. The proposed approach uses a self-organizing feature map (SOFM) to classify multidimensional input information, extracted from each grid box and corresponding textural features of multispectral bands. In addition, principal component analysis (PCA) is used to reduce the dimensionality to a few independent input features while preserving most of the variations of all input information. The above method is applied to estimate rainfall using multiple channels of the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) onboard the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite. In comparison to the use of a single thermal infrared channel, the analysis shows that using multispectral data has the potential to improve rain detection and estimation skills with an average of more than 50% gain in equitable threat score for rain/no-rain detection, and more than 20% gain in correlation coefficient associated with rain-rate estimation.
Abstract
Visible and infrared data obtained from instruments onboard geostationary satellites have been extensively used for monitoring clouds and their evolution. The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) that will be launched onboard the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R) series in the near future will offer a larger range of spectral bands; hence, it will provide observations of cloud and rain systems at even finer spatial, temporal, and spectral resolutions than are possible with the current GOES. In this paper, a new method called Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed information using Artificial Neural Networks–Multispectral Analysis (PERSIANN-MSA) is proposed to evaluate the effect of using multispectral imagery on precipitation estimation. The proposed approach uses a self-organizing feature map (SOFM) to classify multidimensional input information, extracted from each grid box and corresponding textural features of multispectral bands. In addition, principal component analysis (PCA) is used to reduce the dimensionality to a few independent input features while preserving most of the variations of all input information. The above method is applied to estimate rainfall using multiple channels of the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) onboard the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite. In comparison to the use of a single thermal infrared channel, the analysis shows that using multispectral data has the potential to improve rain detection and estimation skills with an average of more than 50% gain in equitable threat score for rain/no-rain detection, and more than 20% gain in correlation coefficient associated with rain-rate estimation.
Abstract
Data from geosynchronous Earth-orbiting (GEO) satellites equipped with visible (VIS) and infrared (IR) scanners are commonly used in rain retrieval algorithms. These algorithms benefit from the high spatial and temporal resolution of GEO observations, either in stand-alone mode or in combination with higher-quality but less frequent microwave observations from low Earth-orbiting (LEO) satellites. In this paper, a neural network–based framework is presented to evaluate the utility of multispectral information in improving rain/no-rain (R/NR) detection. The algorithm uses the powerful classification features of the self-organizing feature map (SOFM), along with probability matching techniques to map single- or multispectral input space into R/NR maps. The framework was tested and validated using the 31 possible combinations of the five Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 12 (GOES-12) channels. An algorithm training and validation study was conducted over the conterminous United States during June–August 2006. The results indicate that during daytime, the visible channel (0.65 μm) can yield significant improvements in R/NR detection capabilities, especially when combined with any of the other four GOES-12 channels. Similarly, for nighttime detection the combination of two IR channels—particularly channels 3 (6.5 μm) and 4 (10.7 μm)—resulted in significant performance gain over any single IR channel. In both cases, however, using more than two channels resulted only in marginal improvements over two-channel combinations. Detailed examination of event-based images indicate that the proposed algorithm is capable of extracting information useful to screen no-rain pixels associated with cold, thin clouds and identifying rain areas under warm but rainy clouds. Both cases have been problematic areas for IR-only algorithms.
Abstract
Data from geosynchronous Earth-orbiting (GEO) satellites equipped with visible (VIS) and infrared (IR) scanners are commonly used in rain retrieval algorithms. These algorithms benefit from the high spatial and temporal resolution of GEO observations, either in stand-alone mode or in combination with higher-quality but less frequent microwave observations from low Earth-orbiting (LEO) satellites. In this paper, a neural network–based framework is presented to evaluate the utility of multispectral information in improving rain/no-rain (R/NR) detection. The algorithm uses the powerful classification features of the self-organizing feature map (SOFM), along with probability matching techniques to map single- or multispectral input space into R/NR maps. The framework was tested and validated using the 31 possible combinations of the five Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 12 (GOES-12) channels. An algorithm training and validation study was conducted over the conterminous United States during June–August 2006. The results indicate that during daytime, the visible channel (0.65 μm) can yield significant improvements in R/NR detection capabilities, especially when combined with any of the other four GOES-12 channels. Similarly, for nighttime detection the combination of two IR channels—particularly channels 3 (6.5 μm) and 4 (10.7 μm)—resulted in significant performance gain over any single IR channel. In both cases, however, using more than two channels resulted only in marginal improvements over two-channel combinations. Detailed examination of event-based images indicate that the proposed algorithm is capable of extracting information useful to screen no-rain pixels associated with cold, thin clouds and identifying rain areas under warm but rainy clouds. Both cases have been problematic areas for IR-only algorithms.
PERSIANN, an automated system for Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks, has been developed for the estimation of rainfall from geosynchronous satellite longwave infared imagery (GOES-IR) at a resolution of 0.25° × 0.25° every half-hour. The accuracy of the rainfall product is improved by adaptively adjusting the network parameters using the instantaneous rain-rate estimates from the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) microwave imager (TMI product 2A12), and the random errors are further reduced by accumulation to a resolution of 1° × 1° daily. The authors' current GOES-IR-TRMM TMI based product, named PERSIANN-GT, was evaluated over the region 30°S–30°N, 90°E–30°W, which includes the tropical Pacific Ocean and parts of Asia, Australia, and the Americas. The resulting rain-rate estimates agree well with the National Climatic Data Center radar-gauge composite data over Florida and Texas (correlation coefficient p > 0.7). The product also compares well (p ~ 0.77–0.90) with the monthly World Meteorological Organization gauge measurements for 5° × 5° grid locations having high gauge densities. The PERSIANN-GT product was evaluated further by comparing it with current TRMM products (3A11, 3B31, 3B42, 3B43) over the entire study region. The estimates compare well with the TRMM 3B43 1° × 5 1° monthly product, but the PERSIANN-GT products indicate higher rainfall over the western Pacific Ocean when compared to the adjusted geosynchronous precipitation index–based TRMM 3B42 product.
PERSIANN, an automated system for Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks, has been developed for the estimation of rainfall from geosynchronous satellite longwave infared imagery (GOES-IR) at a resolution of 0.25° × 0.25° every half-hour. The accuracy of the rainfall product is improved by adaptively adjusting the network parameters using the instantaneous rain-rate estimates from the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) microwave imager (TMI product 2A12), and the random errors are further reduced by accumulation to a resolution of 1° × 1° daily. The authors' current GOES-IR-TRMM TMI based product, named PERSIANN-GT, was evaluated over the region 30°S–30°N, 90°E–30°W, which includes the tropical Pacific Ocean and parts of Asia, Australia, and the Americas. The resulting rain-rate estimates agree well with the National Climatic Data Center radar-gauge composite data over Florida and Texas (correlation coefficient p > 0.7). The product also compares well (p ~ 0.77–0.90) with the monthly World Meteorological Organization gauge measurements for 5° × 5° grid locations having high gauge densities. The PERSIANN-GT product was evaluated further by comparing it with current TRMM products (3A11, 3B31, 3B42, 3B43) over the entire study region. The estimates compare well with the TRMM 3B43 1° × 5 1° monthly product, but the PERSIANN-GT products indicate higher rainfall over the western Pacific Ocean when compared to the adjusted geosynchronous precipitation index–based TRMM 3B42 product.
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