Cumulus cloud base height estimation from high spatial resolution Landsat data: a Hough transform approach

Author

Berendes, Todd ; Sengupta, Sailes K. ; Welch, Ron M. ; Wielicki, Bruce A. ; Navar, Murgesh

Author_Institution

Inst. of Atmos. Sci., South Dakota School of Mines & Technol., Rapid City, SD, USA

Volume

30

Issue

3

fYear

1992

fDate

5/1/1992 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

430

Lastpage

443

Abstract

This study develops a semiautomated methodology for estimating cumulus cloud base heights using high-spatial-resolution Landsat multispectral scanner data. The approach employs a variety of image processing techniques to match cloud edges with their corresponding shadow edges. Cloud base height is then estimated by computing the separation between the corresponding generalized Hough transform reference points. Sixteen subregions, each 30 km×30 km in size, are selected for four Landsat scenes. Standard deviations of cloud base height within each of the subregion range from about 100 m to 150 m. Differences between cloud base heights computed using the Hough transform and a manual verification technique are small. It is estimated that cloud base height accuracies of 50-70 m may be possible using HIRIS and ASTER instruments in the Earth Observation Satellite (EOS) Global Climate Change program

Keywords

atmospheric techniques; clouds; remote sensing; Hough transform; atmosphere; cloud base height estimation; cumulus; high spatial resolution Landsat data; image processing; match cloud edges; measurement; multispectral scanner; optical method; satellite remote sensing; shadow edges; technique; Cloud computing; Earth Observing System; Moisture; NASA; Ocean temperature; Remote sensing; Satellites; Sea surface; Space technology; Spatial resolution;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Geoscience and Remote Sensing, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0196-2892

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/36.142921

Filename

142921