The latitude-energy dispersion of precipitating ions inferred from the Intercosmos-Bulgaria-1300 satellite data

The Intercosmos-Bulgaria-1300 (ICB-1300) data are used to study the features of the 0.4–15.0 keV precipitating ion spectrum in auroral regions. The ion spectra recorded during disturbed periods exhibit monochromatic peaks at different energies, with lower energies being shifted to lower invariant latitudes. The results obtained are interpreted in terms of the hypothesis of ion acceleration in the inverted-V regions and their subsequent drift in the crossed electric and magnetic fields when moving to conjugate hemisphere.     

Robust extension of the simple sea-surface irradiance model to handle cloudy conditions for the global ocean using satellite remote sensing data

Sea-surface solar radiation (abbreviated as photosynthetically available radiation, PAR) in the visible wavelength (400–700 nm) is an essential parameter to estimate marine primary productivity and understanding phytoplankton dynamics, upper ocean physics and biogeochemical processes. Although many remote-sensing models were developed to estimate daily PAR (DPAR) from ocean colour data, these models often produce biases in the DPAR products under cloudy-sky and complex atmospheric conditions due to the lack of parameterization to deal with the cloud cover conditions and insufficient in-situ DPAR data. This study presents an Extended Sea-surface Solar Irradiance Model (ESSIM) for estimating DPAR over the global ocean. The ESSIM uses the direct and diffuse components from the Simple sea-surface Solar Irradiance Model (SSIM) along with a new parameter to handle cloudy conditions. The ESSIM produced DPAR products with greater accuracy under both clear and cloudy conditions. Its performance was tested on the time-series MODIS-Aqua images and compared with the concurrent in-situ data and the results from two global models. Results showed that the DPAR values produced by ESSIM agree with in-situ data better than the global models for all-sky conditions (with a mean relative error of 11.267 %; a root mean square error of 5.563 Em^?2day^?1; and a mean net bias of 2.917 Em^?2day^?1). The ESSIM performed slightly better than the SSIM for clear conditions and the Frouin's Operational Algorithm (FOA) for all-sky conditions. As the new parameterization accounts for cloudy conditions, the ESSIM produced more accurate results for cloud cover conditions across latitudes (up to 60°). The time-series Level-3 binned MODIS-Aqua data (global gridded) also demonstrated that the ESSIM improved the accuracy of DPAR products and produced spatially and temporally consistent DPAR products over the global ocean regardless of the seasons and sky conditions.     

基于光学测角数据的风云四号同步轨道卫星精密定轨

针对风云四号同步卫星的精密定轨和精度评估需求,首先利用地面光学测角数据对FY-4A卫星进行精密定轨,定轨后方位角和高度角的残差rms分别为0.25＂和0.45＂。与基于测距数据的轨道相比,位置精度在有测角数据的弧段内小于50m。进一步联合测角数据和测距数据对FY-4A卫星进行联合定轨,定轨后轨道重叠精度优于15m。利用联合定轨结果评估了基于测距数据的实时轨道产品精度,可以明显发现轨道精度随着测距数据的积累而逐步提高。     

Spatial and temporal monitoring of drought conditions using the satellite rainfall estimates and remote sensing optical and thermal measurements

Drought is an important natural disaster that causes devastating impacts on the ecosystem, livestock, environment, and society. So far, various remote-sensing methods have been developed to estimate drought conditions, each of which has advantages and restrictions. This study aims to monitor the real-time drought indices at the field scales via the integration of various earth observations. Our proposed method consists of two steps. In the first step, the relationships between long-term standardized precipitation indices (SPI) derived from PERSIANN-CDR rainfall data and two drought-dependent parameters derived from MODIS products, including normalized NDVI and soil-air temperature gradient, are obtained at the spatial resolution of PERSIANN-CDR grid (approximately 25 km). As the next step, the corresponding relationships are applied to estimate the drought index maps at the spatial resolution of MODIS products (1 km). Numerous analyses are carried out to evaluate the proposed method. The results revealed that, from various drought indices, including SPIs of different timescales (1, 3, 6, and 12-months), SPI-3 and SPI-6 are more appropriate to the proposed method in terms of correlation with temperature and vegetation parameters. The findings also demonstrate the competency of the proposed method in estimating SPI indices with average RMSE 0.67 and the average correlation coefficient of 0.74.     

Using the MIR bands in vegetation indices for the estimation of grassland biophysical parameters from satellite remote sensing in the Alps region of Trentino (Italy)

Development of new methods for estimating biophysical parameters can be considered one of the most important targets for the improvement of grassland parameters estimation at full canopy cover. In fact, accurate assessment methods of biophysical characteristics of vegetation are needed in order to avoid the uncertainties of carbon terrestrial sinks.

Remote sensing is a valid tool for scaling up ecosystem measurements towards landscape levels serving a wide range of applications, many of them being related to carbon-cycle models. The aim of this study was to test the suitability of satellite platform sensors in estimating grassland biophysical parameters such as LAI, biomass, phytomass, and Green herbage ratio (GR). Also, we wanted to compare some of the most common NIR and red/green-based vegetation indices with ones that also make use of the MIR band, in relation to their ability to predict grassland biophysical parameters.

Ground-truth measurements were taken on July 2003 and 2004 on the Monte Bondone plateau (Italian Alps, Trento district) in grasslands varying in land use and management intensities. From satellite platforms, an IRS-1C-LISS III image (18/07/2003; 25 m resolution in the visible-NIR and 70 m resolution in the MIR) and a SPOT 5 image (27/07/2004, 10 m resolution in the visible-NIR and MIR) were used.

LAI, biomass, and phytomass measurements showed logarithmic relationships with the investigated NIR and red/green-based indices. GreenNDVI showed the highest R² values (0.59, IRS 2003; 0.60, SPOT 2004). Index saturation occurred above approximately 100–150 g m⁻² of biomass (LAI 1.5–2). On the other hand, GR relationships were shown to be linear. MIR-based indices performed better than NIR and red/green-based ones in estimating biophysical variables, with no saturation effect. Biomass showed a linear regression with Canopy Index (MIR/green ratio) and with the Normalised Canopy Index (NCI) calculated as a normalised difference between MIR and green bands (IRS: R² = 0.91 and 0.90, respectively. SPOT: R² = 0.63 and 0.64). Similar correlations could also be found for LAI and phytomass, and GR predictability was shown to be higher than NDVI and GreenNDVI. According to these results obtained in the investigated areas, phytomass, biomass, LAI, and GR are linearly correlated with the investigated MIR band indices and as a result, these parameters could be estimated from the adopted satellite platforms with limited saturation problems.     

Spin motion determination of the Envisat satellite through laser ranging measurements from a single pass measured by a single station

The Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) technology is used to accurately determine the position of space objects equipped with so-called retro-reflectors or retro-reflector arrays (RRA). This type of measurement allows to measure the range to the spacecraft with high precision, which leads to determination of very accurate orbits for these targets. Non-active spacecraft, which are not attitude controlled any longer, tend to start to spin or tumble under influence of the external and internal torques and forces.If the return signal is measured for a non-spherical non-active rotating object, the signal in the range residuals with respect to the reference orbit is more complex. For rotating objects the return signal shows an oscillating pattern or patterns caused by the RRA moving around the satellite’s centre of mass. This behaviour is projected onto the radial component measured by the SLR.In our work, we demonstrate how the SLR ranging technique from one sensor to a satellite equipped with a RRA can be used to precisely determine its spin motion during one passage. Multiple SLR measurements of one target over time allow to accurately monitor spin motion changes which can be further used for attitude predictions. We show our solutions of the spin motion determined for the non-active ESA satellite Envisat obtained from measurements acquired during years 2013–2015 by the Zimmerwald SLR station, Switzerland. All the necessary parameters are defined for our own so-called point-like model which describes the motion of a point in space around the satellite centre of mass.     

An investigation into the roles of ECH and whistler mode waves in the formation of “pancake” electron distributions using data from the CRRES satellite

Electron pitch angle distributions sharply peaked at 90° pitch angle were first recorded in the energy range 50 eV < E < 500 eV by the GEOS-1 and GEOS-2 spacecraft in 1977/8, from the plasmapause out to geostationary orbit. At the time they were explained as the remnants of pitch angle diffusion driven solely by Electron Cyclotron Harmonic (ECH) waves. Here we use observations by instruments on board the CRRES spacecraft to study these distributions in more detail. The pancake distributions are now seen to develop from injected distributions that are nearly isotropic in velocity space, on a time scale that is greater than 2 hours. The freshly injected distributions are associated with strong ECH and whistler mode waves suggesting that the pancake distributions are likely to be caused by a combination of both wave types. Our results suggest that whistler mode waves play a dominant role in the formation of pancake distributions outside L = 6.0, whereas inside L = 6.0 and, in particular, in the vicinity of the plasmapause, the ECH waves also play a significant role. Consequently both types of waves should be considered in any attempt to explain the diffuse aurora and the variation with L taken into account.     

Study of the ionosphere during a magnetospheric storm using data on the ground and in space

For the magnetospheric storm of May 14–16, 1997 geophysical data of satellites DMSP and IMP-8 are compared with data of radio propagation on the high-latitude HF radio path of Heiss Island – St. Petersburg and data from European ionosondes. Peculiarities of variations of the operational frequencies range MOF–LOF (maximum and lowest observed frequencies) on the path were considered. The range has been determined by the method of oblique ionospheric sounding (OIS). The latter is more informative for observations during a magnetic storm compared to the vertical sounding method. Nevertheless, an analysis of variations of the critical frequency of the ionospheric F2 layer from the chain of European ionosondes was carried out. For interpretation of results, data of magnetospheric parameters, AE-indexes and riometer data were used. The variations of both frequency range on the path and critical frequencies of the F2 layer through the ionosondes chain during the disturbed period had certain regularities of behaviour. These regularities are being explained from the physical point of view. The analysis of the satellite DMSP data has showed that a magnetospheric disturbance causes displacement equatorward of precipitation and some growth of its width and energy.