NOAA and National Ice Center (NIC) Activities and Future Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Applications and Operational Needs

Transcription

1 NOAA and National Ice Center (NIC) Activities and Future Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Applications and Operational Needs PSTG 4th Session GSFC, Greenbelt, MD September 30, 2014 Pablo Clemente-Colón U.S. National/Naval Ice Center NOAA/NESDIS/STAR USN USCG NOAA

2 NOAA Ocean Products Derived from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Satellite Imagery Currently Operational: Sea/Lake Ice Interactive Products Operational in National Ice Center (since 1996) Interactive Oil Spill Mapping Operational in NESDIS Satellite Analysis Branch (since 2011) Automated Coastal Winds Operational in NESDIS/OSPO (since May 1, 2013) May 12, 2013 Arctic Ice Analysis June 28, 2010 Deepwater Horizon Daily Composite Marine Pollution Surveillance Report May 12, 2013 Wind Product Aleutian Islands

3 NIC Operational Product Generation Satellite Buoys Modeling Air Recon Surface Observations International Partners

4 NOAA/NIC Interactive Multi-sensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS) Primary Users NOAA NWS NCEP Environmental Modeling Center (EMC) Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Known Secondary Users US Army, US Air Force, USDA, NOAA SSD, US DoT, Environment Canada, EMCWF, UK Met, FNMOC, NAVO Numerous Universities, Weather Channel, CNN, AccuWeather, private companies, and general public

5 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Data Sources Canada: RADARSAT-2 Operational Data Sources ESA: Sentinel -1A On orbit Approved Planned/Pending US: SMAP SAOCOM 1A & 1B ESA: Sentinel -1B Canada: RCM (3 Sat) Expected Operational Data Sources US: NISAR Japan: ALOS-2 Commercial Data Sources Germany: TerraSAR-X/TANDEM-X (2-Sats) Italy: COSMO-SkyMed (4-Sats)

6 NASA L-band Research at NIC NASA ROSES L-Band Sea Ice Research Project Underway Using L-band RADAR to develop semi-automated methods of sea ice characterization Original collaboration with NASA JPL, NIC, and UAF/ASF with CIS joining recently Currently looking at ALOS L-band data and coincident RADARSAT-2 C-band data Database of ALOS (L-Band) and RADARSAT-2 (C-Band) constructed to further develop automated sea ice algorithms for application to SMAP, ALOS-2 (and later on to SAOCOM and NISAR)

7 L-Band Sea Ice Classification and Mapping Minimize Man-in-the-Loop thorough Automated or Semi-Automated Algorithms: Constant Single Incidence Angle at 40 Degrees Accurate and Stable Backscatter Data Near-Real-Time End-to-End Data Processing Sea-Ice Mapping Production Can be Fully Automated 8 40 o Nghiem, Technical Report, March 2007.

8 C-band versus L-band Radar for ice applications Good contrast between First- Year ice and Multi-Year ice Excellent delineation of pressure ridges and floe shape due to increased penetration MYI MYI FYI C-Band: Jan 13 th 15:31Z FYI L-Band: Jan 13 th 20:10Z Better penetration into sea ice should yield unique and complementary information to C-band information L-band signatures are significantly less sensitive to wet snow than C-band Good separation of MYI and water. Less capable of identifying thin ice and separating FYI and MYI, especially at high incidence angles. Dierking and Busche (TGARS, 2006) -- Sea Ice Monitoring by L-Band SAR: An Assessment Based on Literature and Comparisons of JERS-1 and ERS-1 Imagery L-Band and C-Band SAR Scattering Signature of Sea Ice for Operational Applications -- Son Nghiem, JPL, 2007

9 C-band Frost Flower Signature Weak thin ice areas covered by frost flowers can appear as bright as strong pressure ridges in C- band HH R1: Jan 28 th 14:53

10 Frost Flower Signatures in C-band and L-band R1: Jan 28 th 14:53 PALSAR: Jan 27 th 19:49 PALSAR s longer wavelength not sensitive to frost flower formation Could reduce ambiguity if used with C-band HH

11 ALOS sigma HH over QuikSCAT ice classes 31 March 2007

12 NOAA /NIC Efforts to Access ALOS-2 and SMAP Shizuo Yamamoto from JAXA Space Applications Mission Directorate has expressed interest in contributing to NOAA operations and research with ALOS-2 data NOAA has expressed high interest in near real time availability of ALOS-2 data for NOAA ice-related operations and research and in coordination with Environment Canada through the North American Ice Service (NAIS). Negotiations on ALOS-2 data access continue??? NESDIS has communicated NASA high interest in the SMAP mission. Based on non-committing exploratory discussion of feasible options within existing NOAA and NASA resources, NOAA plans to propose a NOAA-NASA SMAP Memorandum of Understanding NIC has applied to be A SMAP Mission Early Adopter of the data

13 Expected Operational Use of SMAP at NIC Applications/Requirements Fulfilled by SMAP High Resolution Radar data L-Band 1. All weather (clouds, wind, snow cover, solar illumination) capability 2. Ice surface/type characteristics 3. Complement C-Band SAR imagery (RADARSAT-2 and Sentinel-1a) 4. Ice Charting at 1-3 km, higher spatial resolution than Scatterometers 5. Global Mapping can fill sporadic gaps in available SAR High-Resolution Measurements 6. Coincident SMAP Radar and Radiometer data to improve classification 7. Direct applicability to snow and sea ice melt and freeze detection 8. SAR Ocean Surface Winds Coincident observations of ocean surface winds and sea ice conditions from improve analysis over the Marginal Ice Zone SAR-derived winds are a current operational tool for sea ice analysis at NIC (using C-Band) NIC is prepared to implement SAR-derived wind products from SMAP L- Band data

14 SMAP Data Products and Latency L1C Data Product Latency desired for operational use at NIC: 6 hours (3 hours preferred)

15 Arctic Coverage for Sea Ice Application Request to reduce Data-Void hole in Arctic basin Slightly Increase 1000 KM offshore acquisition threshold in Arctic waters to maximize cover of the high Arctic, Transpolar Current, and the Fram Strait (except for the unavoidable blind spot around the Pole) Advantages Summer ice edge receding further north in recent years Increase in Trans-Polar sea route activity Fractures/Leads are high importance for Subs

16 Antarctic Coverage for Sea Ice Application 50ºS Desired Coverage 30º Coastline/Ice Shelf 50ºS Austral Winter 1. Maximum Sea Ice Extent 2. Ice Shelves

17 Antarctic Coverage for Sea Ice Application 60ºS Desired Coverage 20º Coastline/Ice Shelf 60ºS Austral Summer 1. Minimum Sea Ice Extent 2. Ice Shelves 80ºS

18 SAOCOM Mission The Argentine SAOCOM (SAR Observation & Communications Satellite) constellation comprises two L-band SAR satellites (1A and 1B) SAOCOM-1 spacecraft and its SAR payload, currently under development for scheduled launches in 2015 and 2016 The SAR instrument has modes with resolution ranging from 7 m to 100 m, and swath within 50 km to 400 km It has a dedicated high capacity Solid State Recorder (50 to 100 Gbits) for image storage, and a high bit rate downlink system (two X-band channels at 150 Mbits/s each) The SAOCOMsystem will operate jointly with the Italian COSMO-SkyMedconstellation in X-band to provide frequent information relevant for emergency management.

19 NASA ISPRO (NISAR) Joint Mission Planned A NISAR Applications Workshop is scheduled for October 28-29, 2014 at the USGS offices in Reston, VA An overview of proposed Mission, Baseline Science, Operational Plan, Data Products will be provided Community discussion topics in the agenda include: Hydrology Security Forestry Disaster Response Ocean applications (ice, winds, oil spills, etc.)

20 RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) The RADARSAT Constellation mission is being designed for three main uses: Maritime surveillance (ice, wind, oil pollution and ship monitoring); Disaster management (mitigation, warning, response and recovery); and Ecosystem monitoring (forestry, agriculture, wetlands and coastal change monitoring).

21 RCM CIS Summer CIS Winter - Sea/Lake/River Ice zones, 3 RCM, 500 km swath (Low Resolution Mode) - Average over 12 days, per satellite, overlap with RCM CIS zones removed (for a daily coverage): we assume that the selected mode/pol. for CIS zones will be adequate for US (preference is Low Res, HH-VV pol.). - Daily: 4 min/orbit (satisfied for 99% of the zone) - 4 times/day when possible: 17 min/orbit (satisfied for 37% of ROI, needed only for iceberg product) -N.B. average over 179 orbits (repeat cycle of 12 days), but many orbits may have higher imaging time (max:19min/orbit).

22 Implementation SAR Winds Requirements User Request User Request SPSRB High Resolution Coastal Winds from SAR : submitted by Gary Hufford, Chief Scientist, NWS Alaska Region and Alaska CoastWatch Node Manager Implementation of high-resolution (less than 1 km) winds from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instruments. This product is particularly useful in coastal regions with significant coastal topography. Responsibility for this User Request has been transferred to Carven Scott, Acting Anchorage Meteorologist in Charge and Chief, Environmental and Science Services Division Mission priority: Mission Critical Impacts quality of weather forecasts along the rugged Alaska coastline where dangerous high-spatially-variable coastal winds endanger coastal transportation, fishing activities, and low-flying aircraft. NOAA Mission Goals supported: Weather Ready Nation, Resilient Coastal Communities and Economies, Healthy Oceans, Climate Adaptation and Mitigation 24

23 NOAA ROAD TO OPERATIONAL SAR WINDS 1. Initiated AKDEMO with RADARSAT-1 SAR Winds Published Wind Validation Results Added ENVISAT Winds NWS Request to Transition Winds to Operations Added ALOS Winds Operational Winds Design Review Operational Winds System Development Training Visit to NWS Alaska Region Added RADARSAT-2 Winds SAR Wind Operational Implementation

24 NOAA/NESDIS Operational SAR Winds Website Near-Real-Time Products: Products/ocean/sar/index.html Current Product Output Formats: NetCDF4, PNG, GeoTiFF, KMZ Future Product Output Formats: CoastWatch HDF, AWIPS2 26

25 SAR Surface Winds Product Captures Fast Freeze-up at Drilling Site NIC RADARSAT-2 (R-2) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Surface Winds Products October 31 st 1736Z October 30 th 0430Z October 31 st 0401Z Nilas and Pancake Ice Very Low Wind Speeds Sea Ice No Ice Winds > 30 knots Lower Wind Speeds Grease Ice

26 Implementation of Sentinel-1 SAR Winds SAR Winds Product Requirements Coverage: All U.S. coastal areas and regions near ice as data availability and data funding permits with priorities varying seasonally. Resolution: Horizontal: 500m Vertical: Ocean surface, corrected to 10m height Accuracy: 1 m/s for 3-15 m/s, less accurate for m/s Latency (elapsed time from data observation to delivery of product): 1-4 hours, depending on data source Timeliness (Latest time after observation that product is still useful) : 4 hours 28

27 Primary Satellite Data: Sentinel-1 SAR Winds Implementation Interface Requirements (Input) Sentinel-1 SAR Received from ESA via Sentinel Data Hub Accessed by NOAA (and NASA) for U.S. Govt. RADARSAT-2 SAR Purchased by NIC and NGA from MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates (MDA - Canada) All sources received by NIC and forwarded to Environmental Satellite Processing Center Typical daily volume: 15 images ( 2 GB) Secondary Satellite Data (if available): ALOS-2 Cosmo-SkyMed TerraSAR-X, TANDEM-X Ancillary Data: Global Forecast System (GFS) Model Data (10 m height wind directions) available in ESPC IMS Global Ice Mask from National Ice Center (updated daily) available in ESPC Validation Data Scatterometer (ASCAT-A and ASCAT-b) winds obtained from JPL PODAAC for validation NDBC Buoy winds obtained monthly from NDBC by STAR for validation CDR June 2009

28 Implementation of Sentinal-1 SAR Winds Value of SAR Winds High Resolution 500 m or less. SAR winds show spatial variability of winds in coastal regions with rugged topography Proximity to Land Accurate winds right up to the coast and in bays, straits, and lakes Accuracy comparable to scatterometer winds New Capabilities Cross-polarization observations may allow accurate hurricane force wind measurement Wind products are useful as input to other products such as oil spill mapping, and ice identification Expect significant repeat coverage for routine coastal monitoring over the next 10 years Sentinel-1a and 1b (ESA 2 satellites) Radarsat Constellation Mission (Canada - 3 satellites) 2018

29 Implementation of Sentinel-1 SAR Winds Project Plan and Schedule APR 2014: Development Phase Begins APR 14: IPT Lead informed to begin product development APR 14: Launch of Sentinel-1a satellite SEP 14: Delta Preliminary Design Review (1) Sentinel-1 Ingest and Winds production, (2) CoastWatch/AWIPS2 output, (3) CLASS/NODC Archive and Access FEB 15: Expect Sentinel-1a end of Commissioning Phase FEB 15: Delta Critical Design Review for (1), (2), and (3) JUN 2015: Pre-Operational Phase Begins for Ingest and Winds JUN 15: Operational and backup processing capabilities in place for Ingest and Winds AUG 15: Pre-operational wind product output evaluated & tested AUG 15: System/Algorithm Readiness Review AUG 15: NODC archive process ready for testing 31

30 Implementation of Sentinel-1 SAR Winds Project Plan and Schedule (cont.) SEP 2015: Pre-operational Phase Begins for CW, AWIPS, Archive SEP 15: Operational and backup processing capabilities in place for Archive, CW, and AWIPS2 DEC 15: AWIPS2, NODC access system, and CoastWatch output evaluated & tested DEC 15: Code transitions to operations; documentation is complete Ingest, Winds, CW, AWIPS2, Archive JAN 16: Operational and backup capabilities reach ops status for Ingest, Winds, CW, AWIPS2, Archive FEB 16: Launch of Sentinel 1b satellite (estimate) MAR 2016: Operational Phase Begins for Sentinel-1a MAR 2017: Operational Phase Begins for Sentinel-1b 32

31 Sample Sentinel-1 SAR Wind Product Developmental Sentinel-1 SAR Winds 19 July :5 UTC Coast of Greenland SAR Winds 500 m resolution Basic output is NetCDF4 with layers: 1. SAR wind speed 2. Latitude 3. Longitude 4. Model wind speed 5. Model wind direction 6. Land mask 7. Ice/snow mask 8. NRCS (sigma naught) Wind speeds validated against ASCAT, buoy, and GFS Model Winds Example PNG Output

32 Research into automated SAR ice identification using wind speed input STAR has implemented experimental production of automated ice identification products using SAR imagery along with the differnece between SAR and GFS model wind speeds as input. These products are being evaluated by the National Ice Center for their ice analysis activities and by STAR for use in automated Great Lakes ice classification products. Additional ice/water discrimination infcrmation derived from local SAR backscatter statistics may be used in the future to refine these products. Left: SAR wind image for 6/8/17, 13:46 UT in the Bering Sea. Red, yellow and green wind speeds are really ice. Middle: GFS model winds close in time to the SAR wind image. Right: SAR-derived ice mask based on difference between SAR winds and model winds. Grey pixels are determined to be ice. It is hoped that this product will be useful at the National Ice Center, in the NWS in Alaska and in the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory for improving ice analyses and ice product production efficiency.

33 NOAA Near Future SAR Perspectives 1. Sentinel-1 SAR Winds Implementation Project Developing Automated Products (R&D and then Applications Demonstration): a. Automated oil spill mapping b. Ice mask c. Vessel positions d. Swell wave parameters e. Great Lakes Ice Classification 3. Developing Interactive Products a. Oil platform change detection b. Coastline change detection c. Hurricane wind and structure information d. Coastal Bathymetry e. Ocean Features 4. Coastal Wind Climatology (wind farm applications) 5. Exploit Multiband/Multipol Satellite Capabilities a. Frequency diversity (X, C, S, L) b. Polarization diversity (single pol, cross pol, dual pol, fully polarimetric)

34 Open Discussion