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Cloud Imagery and Motion. Mark Anderson, Scott Cornelsen, and Tom Wilkerson Space Dynamics Laboratory Utah State University, Logan, UT 84341 435-797-4679 manderson@sdl.usu.edu , scornelsen@sdl.usu.edu , tdw@sdl.usu.edu Presentation for Working Group on Space-Based Lidar Winds
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Cloud Imagery and Motion Mark Anderson, Scott Cornelsen, and Tom Wilkerson Space Dynamics Laboratory Utah State University, Logan, UT 84341 435-797-4679 manderson@sdl.usu.edu, scornelsen@sdl.usu.edu, tdw@sdl.usu.edu Presentation for Working Group on Space-Based Lidar Winds Bar Harbor, ME June 23-25, 2003 Research Support: IPO, NASA, and SDL
MCP (Moving Cloud Patterns) Overview: • Incorporates a block matching technique to quantify cloud motion in pixels • Camera lens distortion and field of view information used to convert from pixel to angular displacements • Cloud height measurement needed for final velocity calculation • Image subtraction to eliminate background and sun glare • MCP data filtering software • Automatic contrail detection (to be incorporated in near future) Improvements:
Algorithm Improvement: Image Subtraction • Absolute difference between frames, along with difference threshold, are used to create a binary mask • Mask eliminates stationary objects (i.e. sun glare, etc.) from consideration during block matching • Produces substantial improvements in cloud motion detection and measurement
MCP Output Variability • Absence of visible clouds • Low contrast of cloud features • Multiple cloud layers visible during image sequence
Analysis of MCP Output • Time Based Filtration • Distribution Based Filtration • Velocity Distribution • Direction Distribution
MCP Analysis Program • Simultaneously filter on three parameters • Automatic calculation of velocity and direction • File format preserves filter settings and user input • Plots exportable in all standard image formats • Exports final results in text file format • Increased efficiency and versatility of analysis
Utility of Contrail Analysis • Automatic detection of contrails to avoid improper analysis in sky-scanning observation. • Determination of the number of contrails present. • Identification of contrail location.
Hough Transform picks out each straight line in the image as an intersection of curves in , space y r q x r each line-point generates a Hough curve () line to be identified (m,b) q p/2 p Image Space Transform Space y(x) = mx + b becomes () = x cos + y sin
Hough Transform ρ θ Detected Maximums ρ θ Contrail Detection Sequence Original Image Edges Detected Composite Image 3 1 4 5 3 6 2 4 5 1 6 2
Summary • Notable improvement in quality of MCP measurements due to image subtraction algorithms • Efficiency and versatility of MCP output analysis improved with new software • Contrail detection identifies possible times of inaccurate analysis by other instruments