Abstract
The Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) is an experimental, airborne, microwave remote sensor that was developed to measure hurricane surface wind speed and rain rate, and thereby, provide data for scientific research and for the next generation operational hurricane surveillance. The object of this dissertation is to develop objective procedures and techniques that can be used to evaluate and characterize the HIRAD brightness temperature (Tb) image product provided by NASA MSFC. First, the approach that was developed for geolocation (latitude and longitude) accuracy determination of HIRAD image pixels is presented. Using statistical estimation theory, high-contrast HIRAD imagery are compared with high resolution maps at land/water boundaries, and an error model and measurement results are presented for a variety of pixel locations. Also, a procedure is presented for estimating the HIRAD feature resolution, i.e., the effective spatial resolution (instantaneous field of view, IFOV) in the HIRAD Tb images. Next, the objective technique developed to evaluate HIRAD reconstructed ocean brightness temperature (Tb) images is described and presented. Examples are presented for several ocean scenes, which covers a wide range of ocean wind speed conditions that include Hurricanes. For these cases, surface truth in the form of independent ocean brightness temperatures measurements are obtained by airborne microwave radiometers for comparison.
Notes
If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu
Graduation Date
2017
Semester
Spring
Advisor
Jones, W. Linwood
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
College
College of Engineering and Computer Science
Department
Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering
Degree Program
Electrical Engineering
Format
application/pdf
Identifier
CFE0006653
URL
http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0006653
Language
English
Release Date
May 2017
Length of Campus-only Access
None
Access Status
Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)
STARS Citation
Sahawneh, Saleem, "Evaluation of the Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) Brightness Temperatures" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5389.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/5389