Journal article
Leveraging Deep Learning as a New Approach to Layer Detection and Cloud–Aerosol Classification Using ICESat-2 Atmospheric Data
Remote sensing (Basel, Switzerland), Vol.16(13), 2344
06/27/2024
DOI: 10.3390/rs16132344
Abstract
NASA’s Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat-2), designed for surface altimetry, plays a pivotal role in providing precise ice sheet elevation measurements. While its primary focus is altimetry, ICESat-2 also offers valuable atmospheric data. Current conventional processing methods for producing atmospheric data products encounter challenges, particularly in conditions with low signal or high background noise. The thresholding technique traditionally used for atmospheric feature detection in lidar data uses a threshold value to accept signals while rejecting noise, which may result in signal loss or false detection in the presence of excessive noise. Traditional approaches for improving feature detection, such as averaging, lead to a trade-off between detection resolution and accuracy. In addition, the discrimination of cloud from aerosol in the identified features is difficult given ICESat-2’s single wavelength and lack of depolarization measurement capability. To address these challenges, we demonstrate atmospheric feature detection and cloud–aerosol discrimination using deep learning-based semantic segmentation by a convolutional neural network (CNN). The key findings from our research are the effectiveness of a deep learning model for feature detection and cloud–aerosol classification in ICESat-2 atmospheric data and the model’s surprising capability to detect complex atmospheric features at a finer resolution than is currently possible with traditional processing techniques. We identify several examples where the traditional feature detection and cloud–aerosol discrimination algorithms struggle, like in scenarios with several layers of vertically stacked clouds, or in the presence of clouds embedded within aerosol, and demonstrate the ability of the CNN model to detect such features, resolving the boundaries between adjacent layers and detecting clouds hidden within aerosol layers at a fine resolution.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Leveraging Deep Learning as a New Approach to Layer Detection and Cloud–Aerosol Classification Using ICESat-2 Atmospheric Data
- Creators
- Bolaji Oladipo - University of IowaJoseph Gomes - University of Iowa, Chemical and Biochemical EngineeringMatthew McGill - University of IowaPatrick Selmer - Science Systems and Applications
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Remote sensing (Basel, Switzerland), Vol.16(13), 2344
- DOI
- 10.3390/rs16132344
- ISSN
- 2072-4292
- eISSN
- 2072-4292
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 06/27/2024
- Academic Unit
- Physics and Astronomy; Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
- Record Identifier
- 9984650059302771
Metrics
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