This presentation delivers the Appreciation of the The Pan Ocean Remote Sensing Conference Association for the cooperation with the Korean Society of Remote Sensing in organizing a joint conference with the International Symposium of Remote Sensing. It includes a brief history of the PORSEC Association with its mission and aims and the system of governance of the organization. Our vision for the future, is presented from this president's point of view. It includes a discussion of building expert capacity to use remote sensing techniques in developing nations by the sharing of knowledge and our ability to promote predictability of natural hazards with our workshops and science sessions. The article ends with an appreciation of our many sponsors.

Four programs, i.e. TRMM, ADEOS2, ASTER, and ALOS are going on in Japanese Earth Observation programs. TRMM and ASTER are operating well, and TRMM operation will be continued to 2009. ADEOS2 was failed, but AMSR-E on Aqua is operating. ALOS (Advanced Land Observing Satellite) was successfully launched on $24^{th}$ Jan. 2006. ALOS carries three instruments, i.e., PRISM (Panchromatic Remote Sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping), AVNIR-2 (Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer), and PALSAR (Phased Array L band Synthetic Aperture Radar). PRISM is a 3 line panchromatic push broom scanner with 2.5m IFOV. AVNIR-2 is a 4 channel multi spectral scanner with 10m IFOV. PALSAR is a full polarimetric active phased array SAR. PALSAR has many observation modes including full polarimetric mode and scan SAR mode. After the unfortunate accident of ADEOS2, JAXA still have plans of Earth observation programs. Next generation satellites will be launched in 2008-2012 timeframe. They are GOSAT (Greenhouse Gas Observation Satellite), GCOM-W and GCOM-C (ADEOS-2 follow on), and GPM (Global Precipitation Mission) core satellite. GOSAT will carry 2 instruments, i.e. a green house gas sensor and a cloud/aerosol imager. The main sensor is a Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) and covers 0.76 to 15 ${\mu}m$ region with 0.2 to 0.5 $cm^{-1}$ resolution. GPM is a joint project with NASA and will carry two instruments. JAXA will develop DPR (Dual frequency Precipitation Radar) which is a follow on of PR on TRMM. Another project is EarthCare. It is a joint project with ESA and JAXA is going to provide CPR (Cloud Profiling Radar). Discussions on future Earth Observation programs have been started including discussions on ALOS F/O.

We present an overview on the observation and research for the China seas using both field experiments and multi-sensor satellite data at ORSI/OUC, covering two topics: (1) Spatial and temporal distribution of internal waves in the China Seas and retrieval of internal wave parameters; (2) Retrieval, validation, and cross-comparison of multi-sensor ocean color data as well as ocean optics in situ experiments in the East China Sea. We also present an incoherent Doppler wind lidar, developed by ORSI, and its observation for marine-atmospheric boundary layer.

Three HF ocean radar stations were installed at the Soya/La Perouse Strait in the Sea of Okhotsk in order to monitor the Soya Warm Current. The frequency of the HF radar is 13.9 MHz, and the range and azimuth resolutions are 3 km and $5^{\circ}$, respectively. The radar covers a range of approximately 70 km from the coast. It is shown that the HF radars clearly capture seasonal and short-term variations of the Soya Warm Current. The velocity of the Soya Warm Current reaches its maximum, approximately 1 m $s^{-1}$, in summer, and weakens in winter. The velocity core is located 20 to 30 km from the coast, and its width is approximately 50 km. The surface transport by the Soya Warm Current shows a significant correlation with the sea level difference along the strait, as derived from coastal tide gauge records. The cross-current sea level difference, which is estimated from the sea level anomalies observed by the Jason-1 altimeter and a coastal tide gauge, also exhibits variation in concert with the surface transport and along-current sea level difference.

Processes controlling the interannual variation of mixed layer temperature (MLT) averaged over the NINO3 domain ($150-90^{\circ}W$, $5^{\circ}N-5^{\circ}S$) are studied using an ocean data assimilation product that covers the period of 1993 to 2003. Advective tendencies are estimated here as the temperature fluxes through the domain's boundaries, with the boundary temperature referenced to the domain-averaged temperature to remove the dependence on temperature scale. The overall balance is such that surface heat flux opposes the MLT change but horizontal advection and subsurface processes assist the change. The zonal advective tendency is caused primarily by large-scale advection of warm-pool water through the western boundary of the domain. The meridional advective tendency is contributed mostly by Ekman current advecting large-scale temperature anomalies though the southern boundary of the domain. Unlike many previous studies, we explicitly evaluate the subsurface processes that consist of vertical mixing and entrainment. In particular, a rigorous method to estimate entrainment allows an exact budget closure. The vertical mixing across the mixed layer (ML) base has a contribution in phase with the MLT change. The entrainment tendency due to temporal change in ML depth is negligible comparing to other subsurface processes. The entrainment tendency by vertical advection across the ML base is dominated by large-scale changes in wind-driven upwelling and temperature of upwelling water. Tropical instability waves (TIWs) result in smaller-scale vertical advection that warms the domain during La Ni? cooling events. When the advective tendencies are evaluated by spatially averaging the conventional local advective tendencies of temperature, the apparent effects of currents with spatial scales smaller than the domain (such as TIWs) become very important as they redistribute heat within the NINO3 domain. However, such internal redistribution of heat does not represent external processes that control the domain-averaged MLT.

We propose a new method of masking cloud-affected pixels in satellite ocean color imageries such as of GLI. Those pixels, mostly found around cloud pixels or in scattered cloud area, have anomalous features in either in chlorophyll-a estimate or in water reflectance. This artifact is most likely caused by residual error of inter-band registration correction. Our method is to check the pixel-wise 'soundness' of the spectral water reflectance Rw retrieved after the atmospheric correction. First, we define two spectral ratio between water reflectance, IRR1 and IRR2, each defined as RW(B1)/RW (B3) RW (B3) and as RW (B2)/RW(B4) respectively, where $B1{\sim}B4$ stand for 4 consecutive visible bands. We show that an almost linear relation holds over log-scaled IRR1 and IRR2 for shipmeasured RW data of SeaBAM in situ data set and for GLI cloud-free Level 2 sub-scenes. The method we propose is to utilize this nature, identifying those pixels that show significant discrepancy from that relationship. We apply this method to ADEOS-II/GLI ocean color data to evaluate the performance over Level-2 data, which includes different water types such as case 1, turbid case 2 and coccolithophore bloom waters.

The potential impact of past Caribbean tsunamis generated by earthquakes and/or massive submarine slides/slumps, as well as the tsunamigenic potential and population distribution within the Intra-Americas Sea (IAS) was examined to help define the optimal location for coastal sea level gauges intended to serve as elements of a regional tsunami warning system. The goal of this study was to identify the minimum number of sea level gauge locations to aid in tsunami detection and provide the most warning time to the largest number of people. We identified 12 initial, prioritized locations for coastal sea level gauge installation. Our study area approximately encompasses $7^{\circ}N$, $59^{\circ}W$ to $36^{\circ}N$, $98^{\circ}$ W. The results of this systematic approach to assess priority locations for coastal sea level gauges will assist in developing a tsunami warning system (TWS) for the IAS by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission's Regional Sub-Commission for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (IOCARIBE-GOOS).

When tsunami waves propagate across open ocean they are steered by Coriolis force and refraction due to gentle gradients in the bathymetry on scales longer than the wavelength. When the wave encounters steep gradients at the edges of continental shelves and at the coast, the wave becomes non-linear and conservation of momentum produces squirts of surface current at the head of submerged canyons and in coastal bays. HF coastal ocean radar is well-conditioned to observe the current bursts at the edge of the continental shelf and give a warning of 40 minutes to 2 hours when the shelf is 50-200km wide. The period of tsunami waves is invariant over changes in bathymetry and is in the range 2-30 minutes. Wavelengths for tsunamis (in 500-3000 m depth) are in the range 8.5 to over 200 km and on a shelf where the depth is about 50 m (as in the Great Barrier Reef) the wavelengths are in the range 2.5 - 30 km. It is shown that the phased array HF ocean surface radar being deployed in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and operating in a routine way for mapping surface currents, can resolve surface current squirts from tsunamis in the wave period range 20-30 minutes and in the wavelength range greater than about 6 km. There is a trade-off between resolution of surface current speed and time resolution. If the radar is actively managed with automatic intervention during a tsunami alert period (triggered from the global seismic network) then it is estimated that the time resolution of the GBR radar may be reduced to about 2 minutes, which corresponds to a capability to detect tsunamis at the shelf edge in the period range 5-30 minutes. It is estimated that the lower limit of squirt velocity detection at the shelf edge would correspond to a tsunami with water elevation of less than 5 cm in the open ocean. This means that the GBR HF radar is well-conditioned for use as a monitor of small and medium scale tsunamis, and has the potential to contribute to the understanding of tsunami genesis research.

The paper reports on the first experimental evidence for space-observed manifestation of the open ocean tsunami in the microwave radar backscatter (in C- and Ku-bands). Significant variations of the radar cross section synchronous with the sea level anomaly were found in the geophysical data record of the altimetry satellite Jason-1 for the track which crossed the head wave of the catastrophic tsunami of 26 December 2004. The simultaneous analysis of the available complementary data provided by the satellite three-channel radiometer enabled us to exclude meteorological factors as possible causes of the observed signal modulation. A possible physical mechanism of modulation of short wind waves due to transformation of the thin boundary layer in the air by a tsunami wave is discussed. The results open new possibilities of monitoring tsunamis from space..

The main tsunami wave triggered by the December 2004 Sumatra tsunami was detected in the ocean south of India by satellite altimeters on Jason, Topex/Poseidon and Envisat. All three altimeters also detected shorter-wavelength (10 to 100 km), slower-propagating surface waves, spreading from the site of the earthquake. The shorter waves give additional information about the tsunami event, and can be used to better define the generating region in this, and future tsunamis. The properties of the area of shorter tsunami-generated waves may also be important in designing a future satellite-based detection system.

Tsunami disaster caused great damages and very large victims especially when occurs in urban area along coastal region. Therefore information of evacuation in a map is very important for disaster preparedness in order to minimize the number of victims in affected area. Here, information generated from remote sensing satellite data (SPOT 5 and DEM) and secondary data (administration boundary and field survey data) are used to simulate evacuation route and to produce a map for Padang City. Vulnerability and evacuation areas are determined based on DEM. Landuse/landcover, accessibility areas, infrastructure and landmark are extracted from SPOT 5 data. All the data obtained from remote sensing and secondary data are integrated using geospatial modelling to determine evacuation routes. Finally the simulation of evacuation route in Padang City for tsunami preparedness is provided based on the parameters derived from remote sensing data such as distances from shelters, save zones, city's landmarks and the local community experiences how they can survive with the disaster.

It's used to be said that tsunami is a rare event. The recurrence time of tsunami in Sumatra area is approximately 230 years as CalTech Research Group‘s study from paleocoral. However, the tsunami occurred in Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004, 28 March 2005 and 17 July 2006, because the earthquakes still release the energy. To cope with the tsunami disaster, we have to put the much effort on better disaster preparedness. The Tsunami Reduction Of Impacts through three Key Actions (TROIKA) was suggested by Eddie N. Bernard, the director of NOAA/PMEL (Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory). They are Hazard Assessment, Mitigation and Warning Guidance. The satellite remote sensing has potential on these actions. The medium and high resolution satellite data were used to assess the degree of damage at the six-damaged provinces on the Andaman seacoast of Thailand. Fast and reliable interpretation of the damage by remote sensing method can be used for inundation mapping, rehabilitation and housing plans for the victims. For tsunami mitigation, the satellite data can be used with GIS to construct the evacuation map (evacuation route and refuge site) and coastal zone management. It is also helpful for educational program for local residents and school systems. Tsunami is a kind of ocean wave, therefore any satellite sensors such as SAR, Altimeter, MODIS, Landsat, SPOT, IKONOS can detect the tsunami wave in 2004. The satellite images have shown the characteristics of tsunami wave approaching the coast. For warning, satellite data has potential for early warning to detect the tsunami wave in deep ocean, if there are enough satellite constellation to monitor and detect the first tsunami wave like the pressure gauge, seismograph and tide gauge with the DART buoy can do. Moreover, the new methods should be developed to analyse the satellite data more faster for early warning procedure.

In this paper, Korea's first geostationary Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellte(COMS) program is introduced. COMS program is one of the Korea National Space Programs to develop and operate a pure civilian satellite of practical-use for the compound missions of meteorological observation and ocean monitoring, and space test of experimentally developed communication payload on the geostationary orbit. The target launch of COMS is scheduled at the end of 2008. COMS program is international cooperation program between KARI and ASTRIUM SAS and funded by Korean Government. COMS satellite is a hybrid satellite in the geostationary orbit, which accommodates multiple payloads of MI(Meteorological Imager), GOCI(Geostationary Ocean Color Imager), and the Ka band Satellite Communication Payload into a single spacecraft platform. The MI mission is to continuously extract meteorological products with high resolution and multi-spectral imager, to detect special weather such as storm, flood, yellow sand, and to extract data on long-term change of sea surface temperature and cloud. The GOCI mission aims at monitoring of marine environments around Korean peninsula, production of fishery information (Chlorophyll, etc.), and monitoring of long-term/short-term change of marine ecosystem. The goals of the Ka band satellite communication mission are to in-orbit verify the performances of advanced communication technologies and to experiment wide-band multi-media communication service mandatory.

Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) is under development to provide a monitoring of oceancolor around the Korean Peninsula from geostationary platforms. It is planned to be loaded on Communication, Ocean, and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) of Korea. In this paper radiometric calibration concept of the GOCI is introduced. The GOCI radiometric response is modeled as a nonlinear system in order to reflect a nonlinear characteristic of detector. In this paper estimation approaches for radiometric parameters of GOCI model are discussed. For the GOCI, the offset signal depends on each spectral channel because dark current offset signal is a function of integration time which is different from channel to channel. The offset parameter can be estimated by using offset signal measurements for two integration time setting is described.

DATS will connect with IMPS and LHGS to perform the reception of sensor data and the transmission of user's meteorological data, LRIT and HRIT. MODEM/BB will perform the de-commutation of received sensor data as MI and GOCI raw data according to VCID before sending them to MI and GOCI IMPS, respectively. Especially, MODEM/BB in SOC needs to be connected to six clients that consist of the primary and backup IMPS of MSC, KOSC and SOC. On the other hand, LRIT and HRIT delivered from LHGS are encoded as VITERBI and modulated by MODEM/BB. Considering sensor data transmitted from COMS, the assumed format and size of CADU are described in this paper. Finally, results related to the status of received LRIT and HRIT by frame synchronizer in user station are also described.

KARI is developing Image Data Acquisition and Control System (IDACS) for pre-processing meteorological and ocean data acquired on geostationary orbit. This paper describes the functions and architecture of IDACS and gives its operation policy including backup operation to overcome limitation of single-configured antenna system. The COMS IDACS provides the capability to receive the raw sensor data and disseminate processed MI data to users via a satellite. From the processed image data, users can produce a set of meteorological and ocean products for a wide range of applications. Most of IDACS subsystems are being developed by Korean technologies and experience acquired from previous projects. In case of COMS geometric correction software module, as it is closely dependent on the characteristics of imagers and spacecraft bus system, it is being co-developed with overseas prime contractor who develops spacecraft bus system.

Communication Ocean Meteorological Satellite (COMS) is planned to be launched onto Geostationary Earth Orbit in 2008. The meteorological imager (MI) is one of COMS payloads and has 5 spectral channels to monitor meteorological phenomenon around the Korean peninsular intensively and of Asian-side full Earth disk periodically. The MI has on-board radiometric calibration capabilities called 'blackbody calibration' for infrared channels and 'space look' for infrared/visible channels, and radiometric response stability monitoring device called 'albedo monitor' for visible channel. Additionally the MI has on-board function called 'electrical calibration' for the check of imaging path electronics of both infrared and visible channels. The characterization of MI performance is performed to provide the pre-launch radiometric calibration data which will be used for in-orbit radiometric calibration with the on-board calibration outputs. The radiometric calibration of the COMS MI is introduced in the view point of instrument side in terms of in-orbit calibration devices and capabilities as well as the pre-launch calibration activities and expected outputs.

The Korea Ocean Satellite Center (KOSC) is under development to establish in line with the launch of the first Korean multi-function geostationary satellite COMS (Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite) scheduled in 2008. KOSC aims to receive, process and distribute Geostationary Ocean Color Sensor (GOCI) data on board COMS in near-real time. In this report, current status of KOSC development is presented in the following categories; site selection for KOSC, antenna design, GOCI data receiving and processing system, data distribution, future works.

Geostationary ocean satellite, unlike other sun-synchronous polar-orbit satellites, will be able to take a picture of a large region several times a day (almost with every one hour interval). For geostationary satellite, the target region is fixed though the location of sun is changed always. Thus, the ocean signal of a given target point is largely dependent on time. In other words, the ocean signal detected by geostationary satellite sensor must translate to the signal of target when both sun and satellite are located in nadir, using another correction model. This correction is performed with a standardization of signal throughout relative geometric relationship among satellite - sun - target points. One signal value of a selected pixel point of the target region of Geostationary Ocean Colour Imager (GOCI) would be set up as a standard, and the ratio of all remained pixel point can be calculated. This relative ratio called bidirectional factor, the result of modelling of spatiotemporal variation of bidirectional factor is shown.

The Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) will be loaded in Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite (COMS). To efficiently apply the GOCI data in the variety of fields, it is essential to develop the standard algorithm for estimating the concentration of ocean environmental components (, , and ). For developing the empirical algorithm, about 300 water samples and in situ measurements were collected from sea water around the Korean peninsula from 1998 to 2006. Two kinds of chlorophyll algorithms are developed by using statistical regression and fluorescence technique considering the bio-optical properties in Case-II waters. The single band algorithm for is derived by relationship between Rrs (555) and in situ concentration. The CDOM is estimated by absorption coefficient and ratio of Rrs(412)/Rrs(555). These standard algorithms will be programmed as a module of GOCI Data Processing System (GDPS) until 2008.

Ocean color remote sensing community currently uses the different solar irradiance spectra covering the visible and near-infrared in the calibration/validation and deriving products of ocean color instruments. These spectra derived from single and / or multiple measurements sets or models have significant discrepancies, primarily due to variation of the solar activity and uncertainties in the measurements from various instruments and their different calibration standards. Thus, it is prudent to examine model-to-model differences and select a standard reference spectrum that can be adopted in the future calibration and validation processes, particularly of the first Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) onboard its Communication Ocean and Meterological Satellite (COMS) planned to be launched in 2008. From an exhaustive survey that reveals a variety of solar spectra in the literature, only eight spectra are considered here seeing as reference in many remote sensing applications. Several criteria are designed to define the reference spectrum: i.e., minimum spectral range of 350-1200nm, based completely or mostly on direct measurements, possible update of data and less errors. A careful analysis of these spectra reveals that the Thuillier 2004 spectrum seems to be very identical compared to other spectra, primarily because it represents very high spectral resolution and the current state of the art in solar irradiance spectra of exceptionally low uncertainty ${\sim}0.1%.$ This study also suggests use of the Gueymard 2004 spectrum as an alternative for applications of multispectral/multipurpose satellite sensors covering the terrestrial regions of interest, where it provides spectral converge beyond 2400nm of the Thuillier 2004 spectrum. Since the solar-activity induced spectral variation is about less than 0.1% and a large portion of this variability occurs particularly in the ultraviolet portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is the region of less interest for the ocean color community, we disregard considering this variability in the analysis of solar irradiance spectra, although determine the solar constant 1366.1 $Wm^{-2}$ to be proposed for an improved approximation of the extraterrestrial solar spectrum in the visible and NIR region.

The first Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) onboard its Communication Ocean and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) is scheduled for launch in 2008. GOCI includes the eight visible-to-near-infrared (NIR) bands, 0.5km pixel resolution, and a coverage region of 2500 ${\times}$ 2500km centered at 36N and 130E. GOCI has had the scope of its objectives broadened to understand the role of the oceans and ocean productivity in the climate system, biogeochemical variables, geological and biological response to physical dynamics and to detect and monitor toxic algal blooms of notable extension through observations of ocean color. The special feature with GOCI is that like MODIS, MERIS and GLI, it will include the band triplets 660-680-745 for the measurements of sun-induced chlorophyll-a fluorescence signal from the ocean. The GOCI will provide SeaWiFS quality observations with frequencies of image acquisition 8 times during daytime and 2 times during nighttime. With all the above features, GOCI is considered to be a remote sensing tool with great potential to contribute to better understanding of coastal oceanic ecosystem dynamics and processes by addressing environmental features in a multidisciplinary way. To achieve the objectives of the GOCI mission, we develop the GOCI Data Processing System (GDPS) which integrates all necessary basic and advanced techniques to process the GOCI data and deliver the desired biological and geophysical products to its user community. Several useful ocean parameters estimated by in-water and other optical algorithms included in the GDPS will be used for monitoring the ocean environment of Korea and neighbouring countries and input into the models for climate change prediction.

Timber stand age information of timber in industrialized plantation forest is generally collected by field surveying which is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and very costly. It is also inconsistent in analyses perspective. As an alternative, The objective of this research is to present a practical solution for estimating timber age of loblolly pine plantation using Landsat thematic mapper (TM) images, shuttle radar topography mission (SRTM), and national elevation dataset (NED). A multivariate regression model was developed based upon satellite image-based information (i.e.normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), tasseled cap (TC) transformation, and derived tree heights). A residual studentized technique was applied to remove potential outliers. After that, a refined age estimation model with a correlation coefficient R-square of 84.6% was obtained. Finally, the feasibility test of estimated model was performed by comparing estimated and measured stand ages of timber plantations using test datasets of plantation stands (2,032 stands). The result shows that the proposed method of this study can estimate loblolly pine stand age within an error of $2{\sim}3$ years in an effective and consistent way in terms of time and cost.

In general, stereo images are widely used to remote sensing or photogrametric applications for the purpose of image understanding and feature extraction or cognition. However, the most cases of these stereo-based application deal with 2-D satellite images or the airborne photos so that its main targets are generation of small-scaled or large-scaled DEM(Digital Elevation Model) or DSM(Digital Surface Model), in the 2.5-D. Contrast to these previous approaches, the scope of this study is to investigate 3-D stereo processing and visualization of true geo-referenced 3-D features based on anaglyph technique, and the aim is at the prototype development for stereo visualization system of complex typed 3-D GIS features. As for complex typed 3-D features, the various kinds of urban landscape components are taken into account with their geometric characteristics and attributes. The main functions in this prototype are composed of 3-D feature authoring and modeling along with database schema, stereo matching, and volumetric visualization. Using these functions, several technical aspects for migration into actual 3-D GIS application are provided with experiment results. It is concluded that this result will contribute to more specialized and realistic applications by linking 3-D graphics with geo-spatial information.

Forest canopy density is an essentially important for maintaining the diversify flora and fauna in the tropic. But, the natural and human disturbances have an influence over the inconsistency of forest canopy density. So, forest canopy density (FCD) has been threatened in the tropic since a decade. The objective of this study was to examine the dynamics change of the forest canopy density in tropical forest Chitwan, Nepal combine with field survey and remote sensing data. The field survey data of 2001 such as canopy cover percentage, dbh so on and some human disturbances were used. Similarly, Landsat TM 1988 and ETM+ 2001 have also used to predict the dynamic changes of the FCD over the period. Moreover, nonparametric Kruskal- Wallis test has performed for the validation of the results. Data analysis revealed that very few factors i.e. the number of trees, path, and fire had realized statistically significance at P=<0.05. Therefore we concluded that detail analysis could be needed incorporate with additional socioeconomic, climatic, biophysical and institutional factors for the better understanding of the forest canopy dynamic in particular location.

Over the years, many researches have been performed to create 3D digital maps. Nevertheless, it is still time-consuming and involves a high cost because a large part of 3D digital mapping is conducted manually. To compensate this limitation, we propose methodologies to represent 3D objects as 3D symbols and locate these symbols into a base map automatically. First of all, we constructed the 3D symbol library to represent 3D objects as 3D symbols. In the 3D symbol library, the attribute and geometry information are stored, which defines factors related to the types of symbols and related to the shapes respectively. These factors were used to match 3D objects and 3D symbols. For automatic mapping of 3D symbols into a base map, we used predefined parameters such as the size, the height, the rotation angle and the center of gravity of 3D objects which are extracted from Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) data and 2D digital maps. Finally, the 3D map in urban area was constructed and the mapping results were tested using aerial photos as reference data. Through this research, we can identify that the developed the algorithms can be used as effective techniques for 3D digital cartographic techniques

This study is to grasp and analyse the temporal and spatial distribution of record-breaking heavy snowfall rarely occurred in the middle and southwest region of South Korea during March of 2004 and December of 2005 respectively. Snow cover area was extracted using the channels 1, 3 and 4 of NOAA AVHRR images and the snow depth distribution was spatially interpolated using snowfall data of meteorological stations. Using administration boundary and Digital Elevation Model from 1:5,000 NGIS digital map, the snowfall impact was assessed spatially and compared with the reports at that time.

One of the most important tasks of ocean color observations is to determine the distribution of phytoplankton primary production. A variety of bio-optical algorithms have been developed estimate primary production from these parameters. In this communication, we investigated the possibility of using a novel universal approximator-support vector machines (SVMs)-as the nonlinear transfer function between oceanic primary production and the information that can be directly retrieved from satellite data. The VGPM (Vertically Generalized Production Model) dataset was used to evaluate the proposed approach. The PPARR2 (Primary Production Algorithm Round Robin 2) dataset was used to further compare the precision between the VGPM model and the SVM model. Using this SVM model to calculate the global ocean primary production, the result is 45.5 PgC $yr^{-1}$, which is a little higher than the VGPM result.

Variations in the extent and dispersal of river plume are important in the study of coastal environment. The objectives of this study are to examine relationship between satellite detected plume area and river discharge and to clarify the temporal and spatial dynamic of plume from Tokachi River, Hokaido, Japan. We used 1.1 km spatial resolution of SeaWiFS normalized water-leaving radiance (nLw) images from 1998 to 2002. Supervised maximum likelihood classification was implemented to define classes of surface water optical properties. Satellite observed plume area was correlated to the amount of river discharge from April to October. First mode (44% of variance) of EOF analysis shows the turbid plume distribution resulting from re-suspension by strong wind mixing along the coast during winter. This mode also shows plume distribution along-shelf direction in spring and late summer. Second mode (17% of variance) shows spring pattern across-shelf direction due to strong discharge of snow melting water.

The distribution of phytoplankton pigments were studied bimonthly at four stations from the mouth of Mahanadi River at Paradip to the 36.7km off coast in Bay of Bengal during April 2001 to December 2002. Bottom depth was shallower than 40m in all stations. The pigment concentration of Chl-a was measured. It increased from surface to bottom in the water column. The water column integrated chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a) varied between 6.1 and $48.5mg{\cdot}m-^2$ with peaks during monsoon period (Aug & Oct). Spatial distribution of salinity depended strongly on freshwater runoff. The salinity was 5psu at river mouth and 25.15psu at offshore in monsoon period; however it was 30psu at the river mouth in summer. We found a linear relationship between the amount of river discharge and integrated Chl-a in coastal region from 2 years observations. Extending this result, we analyzed rainfall and coastal Chl-a using satellite data. The relationship between the river discharge and monthly accumulated rainfall estimated from TRMM and others data sources was analyzed in 2001 and 2002 using Giovanni infrastructure provided by NASA. The result depended on the specified area on TRMM images; the river delta area had sharper relationship than wider rain catchments area. Moreover, the relationship between monthly averaged Chl-a derived from SeaWiFS and monthly accumulated rainfall estimated from TRMM was analyzed from 1998 to 2005. It was clear that the broom in monsoon period was strongly controlled by rainfall on river delta.

The marine environment is under considerable threat from intentional or accidental oil spills, ballast water discharged, dredging and infilling for coastal development, and uncontrolled sewage and industrial wastewater discharges. Monitoring spills and illegal oil discharges is an important component in ensuring compliance with marine protection legislation and general protection of the coastal environments. For the monitoring task an image processing system is needed that can efficiently perform the detection and the tracking of oil spills and in this direction a significant amount of research work has taken place mainly with the use of radar (SAR) remote sensing data. In this paper the level set image segmentation technique was tested for the detection of oil spills. Level set allow the evolving curve to change topology (break and merge) and therefore boundaries of particularly intricate shapes can be extracted. Experimental results demonstrated that the level set segmentation can be used for the efficient detection and monitoring of oil spills, since the method coped with abrupt shape’s deformations and splits.

Three scatterometers will be launched by Europe, India, and China in the next few years and they will fly in tandem with QuikSCAT of the United States. The potential improvement in coverage will open up new operational and research applications.

HY-2, the China's satellite for oceanic dynamic environment measurement, is planed to be launched around 2010. The main payloads of HY-2 include a dual-frequency radar altimeter equipped with a three-band nadir-looking radiometer for atmospheric delay correction, a Ku-band radar scatterometer, and a five-band scanning radiometer. This presentation outlines the specifications, parameters, and design of the HY-2 radar altimeter and scatterometer.

In developing algorithms to retrieve the sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface wind speed from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) aboard the AQUA and the Advanced Earth Observation Satellite-II (ADEOS-II), data from the SeaWinds aboard ADEOS-II were helpful. Since features of the ocean microwave emission (Tb) related with ocean wind are not well understood, in case of using only AMSR data, combination of AMSR and SeaWinds revealed pronounced features about the ocean Tb. Two results from combinations of the two sensors were shown in this paper. One result was obtained at wind speeds over about 6m/s, in which the ocean Tb varies with the air-sea temperature difference, even though the SeaWinds wind speed is fixed at the same values. The ocean Tb increases as the air-sea temperature difference becomes negative, i.e., the boundary condition becomes unstable. This result indicates that the air temperature should be included in AMSR SST algorithm. The second result was obtained from comparison of two wind speeds between AMSR and SeaWinds. There is a small difference of two wind speeds, which might be related with several mechanisms, such as evaporation and plankton.

The synergism of active and passive microwave techniques for hurricane ocean wind remote sensing is explored. We performed the analysis of Windsat data for Atlantic hurricanes in 2003-2005. The polarimetric third Stokes parameter observations from the Windsat 10, 18 and 37 GHz channels were collocated with the ocean surface winds from the Holland wind model, the NOAA HWind wind vectors and the Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) operated by the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). The collocated data were binned as a function of wind speed and wind direction, and were expanded by sinusoidal series of the relative azimuth angles between wind and observation directions. The coefficients of the sinusoidal series, corrected for atmospheric attenuation, have been used to develop an empirical geophysical model function (GMF). The Windsat GMF for extreme high wind compares very well with the aircraft radiometer and radar measurements.

Marine surface winds observed by two microwave sensors, SeaWinds and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR), on the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-II (ADEOS-II) are evaluated by comparison with off-shore moored buoy observations. The wind speed and direction observed by SeaWinds are in good agreement with buoy data with root-mean-squared (rms) differences of approximately 1 m $s^{-1}$ and $20^{\circ}$, respectively. No systematic biases depending on wind speed or cross-track wind vector cell location are discernible. The effects of oceanographic and atmospheric environments on the scatterometry are negligible. The wind speed observed by AMSR also exhibited reasonable agreement with the buoy data in general with rms difference of 1.2 m $s^{-1}$. Systematic bias which was observed in earlier versions of the AMSR winds has been removed by algorithm refinements. Intercomparison of wind speeds globally observed by SeaWinds and AMSR on the same orbits also shows good agreements. Global wind speed histograms of the SeaWinds data and European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) analyses agree precisely with each other, while that of the AMSR wind shows slight deviation from them.

The DISCOVER Project (${\underline{D}}istributed$ ${\underline{I}}nformation$ ${\underline{S}}ervices$ for ${\underline{C}}limate$ and ${\underline{O}}cean$ products and ${\underline{V}}isualizations$ for ${\underline{E}}arth$ ${\underline{R}}esearch$) is a NASA funded Earth Science REASoN project that strives to provide highly accurate, carefully calibrated, long-term climate data records and near-real-time ocean products suitable for the most demanding Earth research applications via easy-to-use display and data access tools. A key element of DISCOVER is the merging of data from the multiple sensors on multiple platforms into geophysical data sets consistent in both time and space. The project is a follow-on to the SSM/I Pathfinder and Passive Microwave ESIP projects which pioneered the simultaneous retrieval of sea surface temperature, surface wind speed, columnar water vapor, cloud liquid water content, and rain rate from SSM/I and TMI observations. The ocean products available through DISCOVER are derived from multi-sensor observations combined into daily products and a consistent multi-decadal climate time series. The DISCOVER team has a strong track record in identifying and removing unexpected sources of systematic error in radiometric measurements, including misspecification of SSM/I pointing geometry, the slightly emissive TMI antenna, and problems with the hot calibration source on AMSR-E. This in-depth experience with inter-calibration is absolutely essential for achieving our objective of merging multi-sensor observations into consistent data sets. Extreme care in satellite inter-calibration and commonality of geophysical algorithms is applied to all sensors. This presentation will introduce the DISCOVER products currently available from the web site, http://www.discover-earth.org and provide examples of the scientific application of both the diurnally corrected optimally interpolated global sea surface temperature product and the 4x-daily global microwave water vapor product.

This paper describes the ground system for COMS (Communication, Ocean, and Meteorological Satellite), the first Korean multi-purposed geostationary satellite, at MSC (Meteorological Satellite Center) in Korea. The overview of COMS MI (Meteorological Imager) will be introduced as well. KMA would implement mission planning for COMS MI operation and receive, process, interpret, disseminate, and archive MI data operationally for domestic and foreign user groups. Major missions of COMS MI are mitigation of natural hazard such as typhoon, dust storm, and heavy rain, and short-term warning of severe weather to protect human health and commerce. Moreover, research of climate variability and long-term changes will be supported. In accordance with those missions, the concept and design of COMPASS (COMS operation and meteorological products application service system), the ground system for COMS MI in MSC, have been setting up since 2004. Currently, COMPASS design is being progressed and will have finished the end of 2006. The development of COMPASS has three phases: first phase is development of fundamental COMPASS components in 2007, second phase is to integrate and test all of the COMPASS components in 2008, and the last phase is to operate COMPASS after COMS In-Orbit Tests in 2009.

We aim to archive all the satellite images that had been scattered into Satellite Imagery Information System with setting naming rules and metadata. More than one million of scenes were collected, rectified into error-free status with metadata . Converting various formats into HDF format after considering GEOTIFF and HDF. Intranet and Internet System had been development to allow all the images to be searched and downloaded with less effort. These system will expand the usage of meteorological satellite images for expert groups and the public outside of KMA.

Our country's coast is vulnerable area to natural disaster which the repetitive damages occur every year including a loss of lives, the damage of facilities and erosion mostly except for the east coast because of a typhoon, tidal waves, sea water overflowing by topographic structure of low-lying gentle slope and shallow sea. However, as for prevention of natural disaster occurring every year, the situation is that it's centered on the restorationcentered measures and the general disaster prevention research to minimize damages at the time of disaster occurrence is insufficient. This study intendedlop t to devehe techniques possible for real time sampling of damage prediction areas on Web in order to support decision making for damage prevention and establishment of disaster prevention policy. For this, the thematic map was produced related to disaster based on high-resolution satellite picture, and the environmental DB similar to real world was constructed through topographic construction of three-dimension integrating the parts of land and the sea. In addition, the system was developed possible for the expression of damageable regions by real time grasp of dangerous regions at the time of disaster occurrence through over flowing simulation of three-dimension, and it's intended to prepare a basis to minimize damages to disaster situations through it.

The remote sensing is powerful oceanographic tools not only for Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) but also for various areas of oceanography. Thank to effort of Government and local authorities as well as active support of international institutions, many projects on the applied oceanography had and have been caring out in coastal and offshore waters of Vietnam sea. One of the modern methods which has been used in these project is ocean color remote sensing technique. This paper will present some preliminary results obtain from application of these techniques in study of coastal and offshore environment of Vietnam sea.

Information on the distribution characteristics of tuna resources in Kiribati EEZ waters in three zones (Zone 1: west Gilbert region, Zone 2: central Phoenix region, and Zone 3: east Line region) as well as their relationship with the ocean environment is critical for sustainable managing the migratory tuna resource and fishing practices in this region. Therefore, this study is designed to investigate the spatial and temporal distribution and concentration of bigeye (BET) and yellowfin tuna (YFT) in Kiribati EEZ waters in relation to sea surface temperature (SST) and thermocline depth so as to better understand the tuna resources management basis in Kiribati waters. The geographic and temporal distribution and concentration were first displayed. Paired t-test was utilized to compare the distribution between the two tuna species based on Catch per Unit Effort (CPUE) derived from the Korean longliners during 1996 to 2004, and also among the three zones of Kiribati EEZ waters. Environmental conditions of the three zones were then compared and correlated with the CPUE of YFT and BET. In addition, the effect of ENSO phenomena on the environmental conditions and the distribution of YFT and BET within the three zones were also examined. The BET was relatively higher in the Zone 3 whereas YFT predominate in the Zone 1 and the Zone 2 due to oceanographic differences among the three zones and the ecological habitats of the two tuna species. It was suggested that El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomena altered the oceanographic conditions of the three zones that in turn change the distribution of the two tuna species. During El Ni?o, the warm phase of ENSO, resulted in having more BET in all the three zones and the opposite observed during La Ni?a (cold phase) replacing by having relatively higher catch rate for YFT, particularly in the Zone 2. Although the results of the study are from short periods (1996 to 2004) in considering oceanographic anomality, these environmental variations should be considered into sustainable fisheries management of tuna fisheries in Kiribati EEZ waters.

Digital topographic map in Korea contains layers of spatial and attribute data for 8 land features such as railroads, watercourses, roads, buildings and etc. Some of the layers such as building and forest don't include any information about height, which can be just prepared by interpretation of remote sensed data or field survey. LiDAR(Light Detection And Ranging) data using active pulse and digital camera provides data about height and form of land features. LiDAR data can be used not only to extract the outline of land features but also to estimate the height. This study presents technical availability for extraction and estimation of land feature's outline and height using LiDAR data which composes of natural and artificial land features, and digital aerial photograph which was taken simultaneously with the LiDAR. The estimated location, outline and height of land features were compared with the field survey data, and we could find that LiDAR data and digital aerial photograph can be a useful source for estimating the height of land features as well as extracting the outline.

The radiometric correction is prerequisite to derive both land and ocean surface properties from optical remote sensing data. Radiometric calibration of remotely sensed data has traditionally been accomplished by means of vicarious ground calibration techniques. The purpose of this study is to calibrate the radiometric characteristic of Airborne Multispectral Scanner (AMS) by field campaign. In order to calibrate the AMS data, four different spectral tarps which are 3.5%, 23%, 35%, and 53% were validated by GER-3700 that is the surface reflectance measurement equipment and were utilized. After validation of the spectral tarps, each reflectance from the spectral tarps was compared with Digital Number (DN) value of AMS. There was very high correlation between tarp reflectance and DN value of AMS so that radiometric calibration of AMS data has been accomplished by those results. The calibrated AMS data were validated with in-situ measured reflectance data from artificial and natural target. Also QuickBird image data were used for verifying the results of AMS radiometric calibration. This presentation discusses the results of the above tests.

A multistage hierarchical clustering technique, which is an unsupervised technique, was suggested in this paper for classifying large remotely-sensed imagery. The multistage algorithm consists of two stages. The local segmentor of the first stage performs regiongrowing segmentation by employing the hierarchical clustering procedure of CN-chain with the restriction that pixels in a cluster must be spatially contiguous. This stage uses a sliding window strategy with boundary blocking to alleviate a computational problem in computer memory for an enormous data. The global segmentor of the second stage has not spatial constraints for merging to classify the segments resulting from the previous stage. The experimental results show that the new approach proposed in this study efficiently performs the segmentation for the images of very large size and an extensive number of bands

This paper discusses wheel offloading approaches of COMS which has a single side solar array system for the accommodation of the optical payloads. First of all, in an effort to reduce fuel consumption and reflect practical implementation point of view, thruster sets for wheel offloading are proposed based on numerical analyses taking into account the COMS configuration. In this analysis, it is assumed that the wheel offloading is conducted twice a day. Secondly, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed thruster sets, orbit simulations have been conducted for several wheel offloading approaches and compared.

Various communication mechanisms have been developed to acquire a meaningful data from sensors. The key requirement during the sensor data acquisition is determinism and reduction of time dependency. It is a fundermental level of satellite data management for controlling satellite operation software data acquisition from sensors or subsystem. Satellite operation software has various software modules to be operated in addition to data acquisition. Therefore, unnecessary time delay shall be minimized to perform the data acquisition. As the result, interrupt method might be prefered than polling method because the former can decrease the restriction of design during implementation of data acquisition logic. The possible problems while using interrupt method like as interrupt latency caused by delaying of interrupt processing time are analyzed. In this paper, communication mechanism which can be used to interface with satellite computer and subsidary subsystem by using interrupt is presented. As well, time dependency between software scheduling and data acquisition is analyzed.

Cloud detection algorithm is being developed as major one of the 16 baseline products of CMDPS (COMS Meteorological Data Processing System), which is under development for the real-time application of data will be observed from COMS Meteorological Imager. For cloud detection from satellite data, we studied two different algorithms. One is threshold technique based algorithm, which is traditionally used, and another is artificial neural network model. MPEF scene analysis algorithm is the basic idea of threshold cloud detection algorithm, and some modifications are conducted for COMS. For the neural network, we selected MLP with back-propagation algorithm. Prototype software of each algorithm was completed and evaluated by using the MTSAT-1R and GOES-9 data. Currently the software codes are standardized using Fortran90 language. For the preparation as an operational algorithm, we will setup the validation strategy and tune up the algorithm continuously. This paper shows the outline of the two cloud detection algorithm and preliminary test result of both algorithms.

COMS will receive two different meteorological signals in S-Band from IDACS (Image Data Acquisition and Control System) in ground station before transmitting them in L-Band to user station. MODCS (Meteorological Ocean Data Communication Subsystem) in satellite released the value of required PFD (Power Flux Density) to receive two signals. Thus, DATS (Data Acquisition and Transmission Subsystem) needs to send two signals to satellite with a satisfied EIRP. The value of minimum HPA (High Power Amplifier) output power was estimated by subtracting antenna directional gain and path loss between antenna and HPA from the needed EIRP in this paper. Besides the minimum output power of HPA, the maximum output power was also calculated with considering IMD (Inter-Modulation Distortion) characteristics. IMD is always occurred in the output of HPA when LRIT and HRIT are amplified by using single HPA as COMS application. In this paper, the setting of maximum output power was determined when the IMD of modelled HPA was corresponded to the requirement of MODCS.

The contents of RF test set which can be used for checking the function and performance of 13m antenna installed in KARI site are described in this paper. For the purpose of considering RF test set as the transceiver in COMS, it is designed to retransmit the LRIT and HRIT in L-Band after receiving them in S-Band from 13m antenna. Additionally, this set has a function to turnaround raging tone used for the measurement of distance between satellite and 13m antenna. The required all equipments of RF test set are summarized with configuration. Measurements of several equipments which have already been delivered are described in this paper. The assembled RF test set will be used for the verification of 13m antenna

This paper describes several reliability models to estimate COMS ground segment availability and shows assessed availability according to GS function. Due to a back-up concept among three ground center, SOC will have all H/W and S/W module to be installed in MSC and KOSC site. Therefore, all configurations and availability parameters for H/W and S/W modules in MSC and KOSC are assumed as equal with those in SOC, if related modules have same function. Prior to access availability over COMS GS function, Availability related to fundamental configuration such as series, parallel, partial operation, and module combined H/W and S/W is described. Consequently, all functions are expected to operate with more than 99% of availability.

This paper analyzes on LHGS (LRIT/HRIT Generation Subsystem) processing timeline for COMS LHGS design. The LHGS shall transmit LRIT/HRIT (Low Rate Information Transmission/ High Rate Information Transmission) data to the users within 15 minutes after the end of the image acquisition. So, this paper performs experiment using MTSAT-1R LRIT/HRIT (11 days) and calculates minimum LHGS processing time. Only HRIT FD (Full Disk) image is considered in this paper because data size of HRIT FD image is the largest. As a result of experiment, COMS LHGS should be able to receive MI Level 1B product within 157 seconds at least.

The COMS(Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite) EPS(Electrical Power Subsystem) is derived from an enhanced Eurostar 3000 EPS which is fully autonomous operation in normal conditions or in the event of a failure and provides a high level of reconfiguration capability and flexibility. This paper introduces the COMS EPS preliminary design result. The COMS EPS consists of a battery, a solar array wing, a PSR(Power Supply Regulator), a PRU(Pyrotechnic Unit), a SADM(Solar Array Drive Mechanism) and relay and fuse brackets. This can offer a bus power capability of 3 kW. The solar array is made of a deployable wing with two panels. One type of solar cells is selected as GaAs/Ge triple junction cells. Li-ion battery is base lined with ten series cell module of five cells in parallel. PSR associated with battery and solar array generates a power bus fully regulated 50 V. Power bus is centralised protection and distribution by relay and fuse brackets. PRU provides power for firing actuators devices. The solar array wing is routed by the SADM under control of the AOCS(Attitude Orbit Control Subsystem). The control and monitoring of the EPS especially of the battery, is performed by the PSR in combination with on-board software.

For estimation of three inherent optical properties (IOPs), the absorption coefficients for phytoplankton ($a_{ph}$) and suspended solid particle ($a_{ss}$) and dissolved organic matter ($a_{dom}$), from ocean reflectance, we used inversion of remote sensing reflectance model (Ahn et al., 2001) at this study. The IOP inversion model assumes that (1) the relationship between remote sensing reflectance ($R_{rs}$) and absorption (a) and backscattering ($b_{b}$) is well known, (2) the optical coefficients for pure water ($a_{w}$, $b_{bw}$) are known, (3) the spectral shapes of the specific absorption coefficients for phytoplankton ($a^*_{ph}$) and suspended solid particle ($a^*_{ss}$) and the specific backscattering coefficients for phytoplankton ($b_b^*_{ph}$) and suspended solid particle ($b_b^*_{ss}$) are known. The input data of IOP inversion model is used in-situ ocean optical data at the seawater around the Korea Peninsula for 5 years (2001-2005). We compared the output data of the IOP inversion model and the in-situ observation for seawater around the Korea Peninsula.

In this paper, requirements of Meteorological Administration about Meteorological Imager (MI) of Communications, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) is analyzed for the design of COMS ground station and according to the analysis results, the distribution image size of each observation area suitable for satellite Field Of View (FOV) stated at the requirements of meteorological administration is determined and the precise satellite FOV and the size of distribution image is calculated on the basis of the image size of the determined observation area. The results in this paper were applied to the detailed design for COMS ground station and also are expected to be used for the future observation scheduling and the scheduling of distribution of user data.

Using 30 days of hourly visible channel data and DIScrete Ordinate Radiative Transfer (DISORT) model (6S), Aerosol optical depth (AOD) at $0.55{\mu}m$ was retrieved over the East Asia. In contrast with the AOD retrieval using low-earth-orbit satellites such as MODIS (Moderate-Res olution Spectroradiometer) or MISR (Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer), this algorithm with geostationary satellite can improve the monitoring of AOD without the limitation of temporal resolution. Due to the limited number of channels in the conventional meteorological imager onboard the geostationary satellite, an AOD retrieval algorithm utilizing a single visible channel has been introduced. This single channel algorithm has larger retrieval error of AOD than other multiple-channel algorithm due to errors in surface reflectance and atmospheric property. In this study, the effects of manifold atmospheric and surface properties on the retrieval of AOD from the geostationary satellite, are investigated and compared with the AODs from AERONET and MODIS. To improve the accuracy of retrieved AOD, efforts were put together to minimize uncertainties through extensive sensitivity tests. This algorithm can be utilized to retrieve aerosol information from previous geostationary satellite for long-term climate studies.

An algorithm for detection of yellow sand aerosols has been developed with infrared bands from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Multi-functional Transport Satellite-1 Replacement (MTSAT-1R) data. The algorithm is the hybrid algorithm that has used two methods combined together. The first method used the differential absorption in brightness temperature difference between $11{\mu}m$ and $12{\mu}m$ (BTD1). The radiation at 11 ${\mu}m$ is absorbed more than at 12 ${\mu}m$ when yellow sand is loaded in the atmosphere, whereas it will be the other way around when cloud is present. The second method uses the brightness temperature difference between $3.7{\mu}m$ and $11{\mu}m$ (BTD2). The technique would be most sensitive to dust loading during the day when the BTD2 is enhanced by reflection of $3.7{\mu}m$ solar radiation. We have applied the three methods to MTSAT-1R for derivation of the yellow sand dust and in conjunction with the Principle Component Analysis (PCA), a form of eigenvector statistical analysis. As produced Principle Component Image (PCI) through the PCA is the correlation between BTD1 and BTD2, errors of about 10% that have a low correlation are eliminated for aerosol detection. For the region of aerosol detection, aerosol index (AI) is produced to the scale of BTD1 and BTD2 values over land and ocean respectively. AI shows better results for yellow sand detection in comparison with the results from individual method. The comparison between AI and OMI aerosol index (AI) shows remarkable good correlations during daytime and relatively good correlations over the land.

Impervious surface is an important index for the estimation of urbanization and environmental change. In addition, impervious surface has an influence on the parameters of rainfall-runoff model during rainy season. The increase of impervious surface causes peak discharge increasing and fast concentration time in urban area. Accordingly, impervious surface estimation is an important factor of urban rainfall-runoff model development and calibration. In this study, impervious surface estimation is performed by using remote sensing images such as landsat-7 ETM+ and high resolution satellite image and regression tree algorithm based on case study area ? Jungnang-cheon basin in Korea.

Wavelet approach is regarded as a useful methodology for geo-environment analysis with respect to spatial objects with periodicity and spatial pattern, compared to autocorrelation analysis, Fourier analysis, variogram analysis and so on. However, there are a few case studies for geo-lineament characterization with the actual geo-based information such as remotely sensed imagery and DEM. In this study, wavelet approach in the Uiseung caldera region are carried out to delineate characterization for geolineament spatial pattern. There are high possibilities of the development of radial lineaments from the centre of round crater due to the eruption of a volcano and the subsidence of a crater. We have grasped the directionality of the whole linear structures of the caldera via rose diagram, and then performed wavelet analysis on the profiles of orthogonal directions for main directions of the lineaments. The result of this study is likely to be used as a fundamental data in order to grasp the outline of caldera structure prior to the close estimation

The objective of this study is to detect a inter-tidal topographic change in a decade. Waterline extraction is a one of widely used method to generate digital elevation model (DEM) of tidal flat using multi-temporal optical data. This method has been well known that it is possible to construct detailed topographic relief of tidal flat using waterlines In this study, we generated two sets of tidal flat DEM for the southern Ganghwado. The DEMs showed that the Yeongjongdo northern tidal flat is relatively high elevation with steep gradients. The Ganghwado southern tidal flat is relatively low elevation and gentle gradients. To detect the morphologic change of tidal flat during a decade, we compared between early 1990's DEM and early 2000's DEM. Erosion during a decade is dominant at the west of southern Ganghwado tidal flat, while sedimentation is dominant at the wide channel between the southern Ganghwado and Yeongjongdo tidal flats. This area has been commonly affected by high current and sedimentation energy. Although we are not able to verify the accuracy of the changes in topography and absolute volume of sediments, this result shows that DEM using waterline extraction method is an effective tool for long term topographic change estimation.

The land surface temperature (LST) can be defined as a weighted average temperature of components which constitute a pixel. The coefficients of split-window algorithm for MTSAT-1R were obtained by means of a statistical regression analysis from radiative transfer simulations using MODTRAN 4.0 for a wide range of atmospheric, satellite viewing angle (SVA) and lapse rate conditions. 6 types of atmospheric profile data imbedded in the MODTRAN 4 are used for the radiative transfer simulations. The RMSE is clearly larger on warm and humid profiles than cold and dry profiles, especially when the satellite viewing angle and lapse rate are large. The derivation of LST equations according to the atmospheric profiles clearly decreased the RMSE without regard to the SVA and lapse rate. The bias and RMSE are decreased as the more controls factors included. This preliminary result indicates that the characteristics of atmosphere, SVA and lapse rate should be included in the LST equation.

When the background tropospheric ozone column over the Pacific Ocean is subtracted from the latitudinal total ozone distribution, the results show remarkable agreement with the latitudinal stratospheric ozone distribution using the CCD. The latitudinal tropospheric ozone distribution using the CCD method, with a persistent maximum over the southern tropical Atlantic, is also seen in the latitudinal tropospheric ozone distribution using the T-P method. It suggests that the CCD method can be replaced by the simple T-P method. However, the tropical Atlantic paradox exists in the results of both the CCD and T-P methods during the northern burning season. In order to investigate this paradox, we compare the latitudinal ozone distributions using the CCD and T-P methods by using the SAGE measurements (e.g. TSA method) and the SHADOZ ozonesoundings (e.g. T-S method) assuming zonally invariant stratospheric ozone, which is the same assumption as of the CCD method. During the northern burning season, the latitudinal distributions in the tropospheric ozone derived from the T-SA and T-S methods show higher tropospheric ozone over the northern tropical Atlantic than the southern Atlantic due to a stronger gradient in stratospheric ozone relative to that from the CCD and T-P methods. This indicates that the latitudinal tropospheric ozone distribution can be changed depending on the data that is used to determine the latitudinal stratospheric ozone distribution. Therefore, there is a possibility that the north-south gradient in stratospheric ozone over the Atlantic can be a solution of the paradox.

The Communication Ocean Meteorological Satellite (COMS) is a geostationary satellite being developed by Korea Aerospace Research Institute. Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) is one of the payloads embarked on the COMS satellite. It acquires ocean images around Korea in 8 visible spectral bands with a spatial resolution of about 500 m. The acquired data are used to provide forecasting and now casting of the ocean state. The GOCI operations are controlled by the satellite embedded software, i.e. on-board software. This paper introduces the GOCI payload of the COMS satellite and describes the control software for the GOCI.

One of future remote sensing techniques for transportation application is vehicle detection from the space, which could be the basis of measuring traffic volume and recognizing traffic condition in the future. This paper introduces an approach to vehicle detection using image object segmentation approach. The object-oriented image processing is particularly beneficial to high-resolution image classification of urban area, which suffers from noisy components in general. The project site was Dae-Jeon metropolitan area and a set of true color aerial images at 10cm resolution was used for the test. Authors investigated a variety of parameters such as scale, color, and shape and produced a customized solution for vehicle detection, which is based on a knowledge-based hierarchical model in the environment of eCognition. The highest tumbling block of the vehicle detection in the given data sets was to discriminate vehicles in dark color from new black asphalt pavement. Except for the cases, the overall accuracy was over 90%.

Now, on the developing COMS(Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite) has solar panel on the South panel only. Therefore, the wheel off-loading has to be performed periodically to reduce a induced momentum energy by a asymmetric solar panel. One of two East/West station keeping maneuver to correct simultaneously longitude and eccentricity, orbit corrections may be performed during one of the two wheel off-loading manoeuvres per day to get enough observation time for meteorological and ocean sensor. In this paper, we applied a linearized orbit maneuver equation to acquire maneuver time and delta-V. Nonlinear simulation for the station keeping is performed and compared with general station keeping strategy for fuel reduction.

COMS has two imaging payloads, MI (Meteorological Imager) and GOCI (Geostationary Ocean Colour Imager). In GOCI case, data are packaged per each slot - one part of 16 two-dimensional arrays for imaging sensors - so its generation algorithm is simple. But MI case, data are made up with sequences of 480 bit blocks and are transmitted to its ground station sequentially. Moreover there is no time information in each 480 bit MI block, so a system in its ground system should be attaching time information at received MI blocks. DM (Decomposition Module) is one module of IMPS that receives Raw Data from DATS and generates Level 0 Products that include time tagging. This paper explains DM design for MI of COMS payloads.

In this paper, we describe the MI2U ORB function which is a part of the flight software executed on SCU and controls MI2U/MI which is one of three payloads on COMS. The MI2U ORB function manages MI2U/MI redundancy and reconfiguration, monitors MI2U/MI equipment, performs FDIR, and provides the routing service of commands from Ground/IP (Interpreted Program) through the current used 1553 channel. The MI2U hardware achieves the interface between the SCU and the MI. The MI2U is connected to SCU through MIL-STD-1553B system bus. The MI2U has the internal redundancy but is used in cold redundancy. The MI2U ORB function considers that they are not expected to be simultaneously switched on. The connection combination between MI2U and MI is electrically cross-strapped. However the MI2U ORB function considers only two combinations (MI2U A + MI 1, MI2U B + MI 2). Other combinations can be manually achieved by ground in case of the emergency case.

KARI is currently developing a geostationary ocean color imager (GOCI) for COMS. We report the progress in integrated optical modeling and analysis for stray light suppression and the end-to-end instrument performance verification including in-orbit calibration. The Sun is modeled as the emitting light source and the selected area around Korean peninsular as the observation target that scatters the sun light towards GOCI in orbit. The optical ray tracing employing active geometric scaling was then used for precise characterization of the spatial and radiometric performance at the instrument focal plane. The analysis results show positive reduction in the simulated stray light level with the design improvement including baffles. It also indicates that the ray traced in-orbit radiometric performances are effective tools for the independent assessment of more traditional linear and quadratic equation based estimation of water leaving radiance. The concept of integrated GOCI optical model and the computational method are presented.

Korea Meteorological Administration(KMA) has issued the tropical storm(typhoon) warning or advisories when it was developed to tropical storm from tropical depression and a typhoon is expected to influence the Korean peninsula and adjacent seas. Typhoon information includes current typhoon position and intensity. KMA has used the Dvorak Technique to analyze the center of typhoon and it's intensity by using available geostationary satellites' images such as GMS, GOES-9 and MTSAT-1R since 2001. The Dvorak technique is so subjective that the analysis results could be variable according to analysts. To reduce the subjective errors, QuikSCAT seawind data have been used with various analysis data including sea surface temperature from geostationary meteorological satellites, polar orbit satellites, and other observation data. On the other hand, there is an advantage of using the Subjective Dvorak Technique(SDT). SDT can get information about intensity and center of typhoon by using only infrared images of geostationary meteorology satellites. However, there has been a limitation to use the SDT on operational purpose because of lack of observation and information from polar orbit satellites such as SSM/I. Therefore, KMA has established Advanced Objective Dvorak Technique(AODT) system developed by UW/CIMSS(University of Wisconsin-Madison/Cooperative Institude for Meteorological Satellite Studies) to improve current typhoon analysis technique, and the performance has been tested since 2005. We have developed statistical relationships to correct AODT CI numbers according to the SDT CI numbers that have been presumed as truths of typhoons occurred in northwestern pacific ocean by using linear, nonlinear regressions, and neural network principal component analysis. In conclusion, the neural network nonlinear principal component analysis has fitted best to the SDT, and shown Root Mean Square Error(RMSE) 0.42 and coefficient of determination($R^2$) 0.91 by using MTSAT-1R satellite images of 2005. KMA has operated typhoon intensity analysis using SDT and AODT since 2006 and keep trying to correct CI numbers.

This paper analyzed the characteristics of the Lossy JPEG of the meteorological satellite image, and analyzed the quality of the Lossy JPEG compression, which is proper for the LRIT(Low Rate Information Transmission) to be serviced to the SDUS(Small-scale Data Utilization Station) system of the COMS(Communication, Oceans, Meteorological Satellite). Since COMS is to start running after 2008, we collected the data of the MTSAT-1R(Multi-functional Transport Satellite -1R) for analysis, and after forming the original image to be used to LRIT by each channel and time zone of the satellite image data, we set the different quality with the Lossy JPEG compression, and compressed the original data. For the characteristic analysis of the Lossy JPEG, we measured PSNR(Peak Signal to Noise Rate), compression rate and the time spent in compression following each quality of Lossy JPEG compression. As a result of the analysis of the satellite image data of the MTSAT-1R, the ideal quality of the Lossy JPEG compression was found to be 90% in the VIS Channel, 85% in the IR1 Channel, 80% in the IR2 Channel, 90% in the IR3 Channel and 90% in the IR4 Channel.

This paper analyzed the JPEG compression performance of MTSAT-1R(Multi-functional Transport Satellite - 1 Replacement), which is offering the LRIT/HRIT(Low Rate Information Transmissio / High Rate Information Transmission) service now, in order to design the system regarding LRIT/HRIT of COMS(Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite). To do so, we analysed Lossy and Lossless JPEG compression performance regarding the MTSAT-1R LRIT/HRIT data for 10 days, and made comparison to the image characteristics, and understood the JPEG compression characteristics regarding JPEG compression of geostationary meteorological satellite. This result of compression performance analysis is expected to be a reference not only to the system design and realization of COMS LRIT/HRIT but also to those who develop other meteorological satellite receiving systems.

COMS (Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite) shall be operated with two remote sensing payloads, MI (Meteorological Imager) and GOCI (Geostationary Ocean Color Imager). Since both payloads have rotating mechanisms, the dynamic coupling between two payloads is very important considering the pointing stability during GOCI operation. In addition, COMS adopts a single solar wing to improve the image quality, which leads to the unbalanced solar pressure torque in COMS. As a result, the off-loading of the wheel momentum needs to be performed regularly (2 times per day). Since the frequent off-loading could affect MI/GOCI imaging performance, another suboptimal off-loading time needs to be considered to meet the AOCS design requirements of COMS while having margin enough in the number of thruster actuations. In this paper, preliminary analysis results on the pointing stability and the wheel off-loading time selection with respect to MI/GOCI operations are presented.

Recently the development of GIS and spatial information technology is used to construct very detail forest information. In addition, in order to classify forest characteristic, the geographical characteristic information of forest could be very useful for the forest classification, In this study sampling points were arranged to clarify the difference between the orm area and the land forest area. Also, forest feature pattern could be discriminated by using satellite images and SML. This study result should be constructed to efficiency forest management in especially forest area in Jeju Island

The knowledge of fuel load and composition is important for planning and managing the fire hazard and risk. However, fuel mapping is extremely difficult because fuel properties vary at spatial scales, change depending on the seasonal situations and are affected by the surrounding environment. Remote sensing has potential of reduction the uncertainty in mapping fuels and offers the best approach for improving our abilities. This paper compared the results of object-oriented classification to a pixel-based classification for fuel type map derived from Hyperion hyperspectral data that could be enable to provide this information and allow a differentiation of material due to their typical spectra. Our methodological approach for fuel type map is characterized by the result of the spectral mixture analysis (SMA) that can used to model the spectral variability in multi- or hyperspectral images and to relate the results to the physical abundance of surface constitutes represented by the spectral endmembers. Object-oriented approach was based on segment based endmember selection, while pixel-based method used standard SMA. To validate and compare, we used true-color high resolution orthoimagery

For the purpose of investigating the contributions of various gases to climate change, the thermal radiation associated with greenhouse gases are extracted from AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) infrared radiances over the tropical pacific region. AIRS instrument which was launched on the EOS-Aqua satellite in May 2002 covers the spectral range from 650 cm-1 to 2700 cm-1 with a spectral resolution of between 0.4 cm-1 and 1 cm-1. In order to extract the thermal radiation absorbed by individual gases, the interfering background radiances at the top of the atmosphere are simulated using the radiative transfer code MODTRAN (MODerate spectral resolution atmospheric TRANsmittance). The simulations incorporated the temperature and water vapor profiles taken from NCEP (National Centers for Environmental Prediction) reanalyses. The differences between the simulated background radiance and AIRS-measured radiance result in the absorption of upward longwave radiation by atmospheric gases (i.e. greenhouse effect). The extracted absorption bands of individual gases will allow us to quantify the radiative forcing of individual greenhouse gases and thus those data will be useful for climate change studies and for the validation of radiative transfer codes used in general circulation models.

A multi-spectral photometer was set up as an NASA/AERONET site at Kinki University campus in Higashi-Osaka in 2002 for measuring urban aerosols. In addition, the SPM-613D (Kimoto Electric) commenced measurement of suspended particles matter (SPM) as $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$ on March 15, 2004 at the same AERONET site. The obtained results revealed that the poor air quality of the Higashi-Osaka site is due not only to anthropogenic particles from local emissions, such as diesel vehicles and chemical industries, but also to dust particles brought from continental desert areas by large scale climatic conditions. To understand the characteristics of background atmosphere over Higashi-Osaka, we examined the relationship between $PM_{2.5}$ concentration and aerosol optical thickness (AOT) at a wavelength of 0.87 μm based on AERONET data for background atmosphere (AOT<0.2). We obtained a linear regression line between AOT and $PM_{2.5}$ concentration. Using the linear relationships between AOT and $PM_{2.5}$, we show ground-level concentrations of $PM_{2.5}$ of background atmosphere from Terra/MODIS satellite measurements.

This study compared between tropospheric column ozone by applying the SAM method to TOMS and OMI data for northern summer. Tropospheric ozone from the SAM represents a peak over the tropical Atlantic, where it is related with biomass burning. This feature is also seen in the distribution of the model and CO. Additionally, enhancement of the SAM ozone over the Middle East, and South and North America agrees well with the model and CO distribution. However, the SAM results show more ozone than the model results over the northern hemisphere, especially the ocean (e.g. the North Pacific and the North Atlantic). The tropospheric ozone distribution from OMI data shows more ozone than that from TOMS data. This can be caused by different viewing angle, sampling frequency, and a-priori ozone profiles between OMI and TOMS. The correlation between the SAM tropospheric ozone and CO is better than that between the model and CO in the tropics. However, that correlation is reversed in the midlatitude.

Radio occultation technique has been used in planetary science to obtain reliable and accurate temperature profiles of the other planets' atmosphere for decades. It relies on the fact that radio waves are bent and delayed due to the gradient of atmospheric refractivity along-ray-path. With the advent of Global Positioning System (GPS), it becomes possible to retrieve the refractivity and temperature profiles of the Earth's atmosphere from the occultation data. We have developed a retrieval algorithm and compared the results of our algorithm with the data of CHAMP to verify the accuracy of our algorithm is good enough. In our algorithm, there are some smoothing steps when retrieving. We analysis the data of FORMOSAT-3 and compare the results with and without smoothing and the results of TACC to see is there any phenomenon deleted after smoothing.

Monthly-mean aerosol parameters derived from the 1998-2004 SeaWiFS observations over East Asian waters are analyzed. SeaWiFS GAC Level 1 data covering the Northeast Asian area are collected and processed by the standard atmospheric correction algorithm released by the SeaWiFS Project to produce daily aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and ${{\AA}}ngstr{\ddot{o}}m$ exponent imageries. Monthly mean AOT and ${{\AA}}ngstr{\ddot{o}}m$ exponent values are extracted from the daily composite images for six study areas chosen from the surrounding waters of Japan. A slight increasing trend of ${{\AA}}ngstr{\ddot{o}}m$ exponent is found and interpreted as about 4-5% increase in submicron fraction of aerosol optical thickness at 550nm. Two cloud screening methods, including the standard cloud masking method of SeaWiFS and the one based on the local variance method, are applied to the SeaWiFS data processing, in an attempt to inspect the influence to the observed statistical uptrend which probably induced by different cloud mask algorithms. The variability comes from the different cloud masking algorithms are discussed.

Temperature inversion may cause air pollution problems because air pollutants cannot be dissipated through vertical motion of the atmosphere and are accumulated near the surface. The air quality is worsen gradually if an inversion event lasts for a long time. An inversion event is defined as consecutive temperature profiles with occurrence of the temperature inversion condition. In this paper, temperature inversion events over three major cities on Taiwan are analyzed. They are measured by ground-based microwave radiometers installed in Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung from 2002 to 2004 by the Environment Protection Administration (EPA) of Taiwan. Characteristics of temperature inversion events at the three cities are extracted using different classification methods.

This research is about the optical characteristic of red tide which is collected from Nam-Hae for basic research of red tide remote sensing technique development. 21 kinds of red tide organisms are cultivated to investigate optical characteristic of them on the level of laboratory, and chlorophyll specific absorption coefficient($a^*$) and backscattering coefficient($b_b^*$) are estimated by using spectrophotometer. Absorption spectrums according to species are appeared diversely from 0.005 to 0.06 (mg/ $m^2$), and the shapes of spectrums are also different. The range of $b_b^*$ are appeared $10^{-2}{\sim}10^{-4}$ mg/ $m^2$, which have around 100 times differences between species, and the shape of spectrum also have significant difference between species. These results are able to use as an input data of inverse model from ocean color.

Eight years of SeaWiFS data quantify variability in the time/space patterns of spring bloom development in the Gulf of Maine (GOM). Maximum and earliest spring bloom are usually observed over Georges Bank, later on the deep basins from the west to the east GOM, and latest development along the eastern Maine coast in cold, tidally mixed water. Pronounced interannual variability of spring bloom timing, spatial position, and magnitude are shown in the GOM. Strongest negative anomalies are present in April 1998 and 2001 over Georges Bank and the eastern GOM, and in January to April of 2005 over the most of GOM. Positive anomalies are strong in April 2001, 2003 and 2004 in varying locations as well as in February and March 1999. It is suggested that interannaul variability in spring phytoplankton bloom concentrations is strongly associated with changes in water mass and stratification which might be influenced by basin-scale forcing due to large climate change.

Red tide(harmful algae) in the Korean Coastal Waters has a given a great damage to the fishery every year. However, the aim of our study understands the influence of meteorological factors (air and water temperature, precipitation, sunshine, solar radiation, winds) relating to the mechanism of red tide occurrence and monitors red tide by satellite remote sensing, and analyzes the potential area for red tide occurrence by GIS. The meteorological factors have directly influenced on red tide formation. Thus, We want to predict and apply to red tide formation from statistical analyses on the relationships between red tide formation and meteorological factors. In future, it should be realized the near real time monitoring for red tide by the development of remote sensing technique and the construction of integrated model by the red tide information management system (the data base of red tide - meteorological informations). Finally our purpose is support to the prediction information for the possible red tide occurrence by coastal meteorological information and contribute to reduce the red tide disaster by the prediction technique for red tide.

In this paper, the preliminary transfer orbit analysis results for the COMS mission were presented. As the first step of transfer orbit analysis, the preliminary analyses of LAE burn strategy, geometrical visibility, and launch window were performed. For the analysis process, all launcher nominates were divided into three groups according to the declination of LAE thrust angle. So, the three launch cases were assigned as the representative launcher of each group, respectively. They are Ariane-5, Atlas summer and winter launch cases. And all analyses were performed at the representative launcher of each group. One nominal and three back-up plans were considered for the establishment of LAE burn strategy. And for geometrical visibility analysis, four TT&C ground stations were considered. Finally, the preliminary launch window analysis was performed about the duration of one year from the first day of September 2008. The analysis results show that the all launch cases comply with the transfer orbit operation requirements.

Remote sensing science is a rapidly growing field of Earth sciences. Since emergence and to present day, an extensive literature has evolved which traces the wide application of remote sensing in human activities. According to the ISI Web of Science in the 1975-2005 time span more then 20,000 papers were published on remote sensing. The number of papers grew exponentially with doubling period of about 6 years. Notwithstanding all specialized proceedings, there is a lot more remote sensing papers published in a vast list of source titles (up to 350 proceedings). Only 25% of retrieved papers are published in 10 proceedings which ISI assigns to subject category of remote sensing. In 2005 all these proceedings published 1291 articles and received cca 24,000 citations. Average impact factor of the proceedings is equal to 1.181 and average cited half-life is 7.1. It means that an average paper in remote sensing proceedings is cited more then once per year and half of citations the paper receive within the next 7 years after publication. The time line of remote sensing periodicals issued in 1927-1995 shows an exponential growth with doubling period about 15 years. After 1995 there is a prominent deviation from the exponential curve which shows the demand saturation for specialized proceedings. The features revealed are discussed in terms of dynamics and impact of remote sensing in current Earth sciences development.

China Coastal Water (CCW) usually appears in the seas surrounding Jeju Island annually (June?October) and is very pronounced in August. The power spectrum density (PSD), sea level anomalies (SLAs), and sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were found to peak annually and semiannually. The peaks at intervals of 80-, 60-, and 43-days are considered to be influenced by CCW and the Kuroshio Current. Generally, low-salinity water appears to the west of Jeju Island from June through October and gradually propagates to the east, where CCW meets the Tsushima Current. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of SLAs and SSTs indicated that the variance in SLAs and SSTs was 55.70 and 98.09% in the first mode, respectively. The PSD for the first mode of EOF analysis of SLAs was stronger in the western than in the eastern waters because of the influence of CCW. The PSD for the EOF analysis of SSTs was similar in all areas (the Yangtze Estuary and the waters to the west and east of Jeju Island), with a period of approximately 260 days.

Initial results of processing data from an experiment performed in November, 2005 are given. A microwave Doppler radar with a knife-like beam ($1.5^0$ - $24.5^0$) was installed on a helicopter. Measurements were made during a flight above the Gorky water storage basin. Power and Doppler spectra of the radar reflected signal were analyzed. The processing has shown that the algorithm developed for the retrieval of the slopes of rough water surface enables one to determine the direction of wave propagation and retrieve the variance of the wave slopes.

In this study, the seasonal and inter-annual variation of sea surface current in the Gulf of Thailand were revealed through the use of WOD temperature and salinity data and monthly sea surface dynamic heights (SSDH) from TOPEX/Poseidon and ERS-2 altimetry data during 1995-2001. The mean dynamic height and mean geostrohic current were derived from the climatological data while SSDH data gave monthly dynamic heights and their geopstrophic currents. The mean geostrophic current showed strong southward and westward flow of South China Sea water along the gulf entrance. Counterclockwise eddy in the inner gulf and the western side of the gulf entrance associated with upwelling in the area. Seasonal geostrophic currents show basin-wide counterclockwise circulation during the southwest monsoon season and clockwise circulation during the northeast monsoon season. Upwelling was enhanced during the southwest monsoon season. The circulation patterns varied seasonally and inter-annually probably due to the variation in wind regime. And finally we found that congregation, spawning, and migration routes of short-bodied mackerel conform well with coastal upwelling and surface circulation in the gulf.

The high prices and lack of information for satellite images prevent researchers from studying remote sensing and most non-professional people can't have the simple and easy solutions for the manipulation of satellite images. 'Satellite Imagery Information Management Center'(SIMC) project which is promoted by ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute) from 2002 to 2005 in Korea have the purpose to provide the satellite images freely to the public domain and the solutions for the above mentioned problems. Our project have the following five systems; Data Acquisition System, Data Preservation System, Integrated Solution System, Technology Development System, Operation Plan System. Data Acquisition System collects the satellite images such as LANDSAT, IKONOS, etc. Data Preservation System consists of database which registers the diverse satellite images. Integrated Solution System gives the user of public domain for the web service which search, order and transfer the satellite images. Technology Development System has the many processing technologies for the satellite images. Finally, the Operation Plan system has the role to plan the future of our SIMC project. In this paper, we will give the result of SIMC Project for each five systems during the fast four years from 2002 to 2005.

The red tide related with Cochlodinium Polykrikoides bloom has been frequently occurred around the South Sea of Korea and caused the economic loss in the coastal breeding grounds. The outbreak scale was usually change by physical, biological and environmental condition at each years. Relatively large-scale red tide occurred in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003 through spatial scale, duration and maximum density. Compared the scale of red tide with physical condition around the South Sea, the lower coastal temperature on August around the South Sea corresponded with the large scale red tide. By serial oceanographic investigations on August in the South Sea and estimated wide area temperature information by satellite, SSTA around the South Sea and wide area was negative when the outbreak of red tide was large scale. From the results of temperature difference between surface and 30m layers, the occurrence of enormous red tide has a tendency when the temperature gradient around the seasonal thermocline was weakened. Larger Kuroshio volume transport in the upstream was also corresponded with the large scale red tide.

Nonlinear internal waves (NLIWs) are usually generated by nonlinear process on linear internal waves (IW). Near HengChun Ridge that links Taiwan and Luzon Islands, we found that there are linear internal waves following NLIW and they travel westward at different speed, about 1.5 m/s for IW and 2.9 m/s for NLIW. This phenomenon was observed on site with ship radar and echo sounders, and later verified with thermistor chain. West of Luzon Strait, the separation of NLIW are 5 km or more, while linear internal waves are lines of wave crests at nearly equal distance that is only a few hundred meters apart. The current hypothesis is that most of the energy of internal tide forms a beam that propagates upward from the eastern shoulder of ocean ridge and later interacts with sea surface and thermocline. The interaction with thermocline generates linear internal wave that propagate along the pycnocline at about 1.5 m/s. The interaction with sea surface scatters internal wave energy downward, ensonifies the water column and generates large nonlinear waves that propagate westward at 2.9 m/s as mode 1 in a waveguide.

A coastline is the boundary between land and ocean masses. Knowledge of coastline is essential for autonomous navigation, geographical exploration, coastal erosion monitoring and modelling, water line change, etc. Many methods have been researched to extract coastlines from the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and optic images. Most methods were based on the intensity contrast between land and sea regions. However, in these methods, a coastline detection task was very difficult because of insufficient intensity contrast and the ambiguity in distinguishing coastline from other object line. In this paper, we propose an efficient method for the delineation of coastline using interferometric coherence values estimated from ERS tandem pair. The proposed method uses the facts that a tandem pair of ERS is acquired from a time interval of an accurate day and that the coherent and incoherent values in coherence map are land and water, respectively. The coherence map was generated from ERS tandem pair, filtered by MAP filter, and divided into land and water by the determination of threshold value that is based on the bimodality of the histogram. Finally, a coastline was detected by delineating the boundary pixels. There was a good visual match between the detected coastline and the manually contoured line. The interferometric coherence map will be helpful to identify land and water regions easily, and can be used to many applications that are related with a coastline.

The MSC is a high resolution multi-spectral camera system which is mounted on the KOMPSAT-II satellite. The electro-optic camera system has a refocusing mechanism which can be used in-orbit by ground commands. By adjusting locations of some elements in optics, the system can be focused precisely. The focus mechanism in MSC is implemented with stepper motor and potentiometer. By reading the value of the potentiometer, rough position of the motor can be understood. The exact location of the motor can not be acquired because the information from the potentiometer can not be so accurate. However, before and after certain events of the satellite, like a satellite launch, the direction of the movement or order of the magnitude of the movement can be understood. In this paper, the trend analysis of the focus motor position during the ground test phase is introduced. This result can be used as basic information for the focus calibration after launch. By studying the long term trend, deviation from the best focal point can be understood. The positions of the focus motors after launch are also compared.

A numerous oil slicks of natural origin were revealed in the southwest (SW) part of Caspian Sea by the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images acquired by Envisat satellite in 2003-2004. On the basis of computer processing, visual analysis of SAR images and comparisons with bathymetry, geophysical and seismic data in geographic information system (GIS), a link between these slicks and unloading of liquid hydrocarbons in the SW Caspian is established. Oil slicks are basically concentrated above domes of local geological formations of the sedimentary cover. In total more than 90 seeps and mud volcanoes having a repeating regime and representing an active type were identified; they are distributed across the SW Azerbaijan and West Iranian sectors. Periodical occurrence of slicks can reflect alternation of mud volcanism pulses forced by intensive seismicity with the quiet periods. Seepage rate of oil in the SW part of the Caspian Sea according to SAR images is estimated to be up to 16,000 metric tons per year. The importance of unloading of oils on hydrochemistry and ecological conditions of the Caspian Sea is demonstrated. Conclusion is done that the Envisat SAR to be an excellent tool for studying oil seeps through observation oil slicks floating on the sea surface.

The sea surface wind speed (SSWS) derived by microwave radiometer can be contaminated by change of microwave brightness temperature owing to the angle between the sensor azimuth and the wind direction (Relative Wind Direction). We attempt to correct the contamination to the SSWS derived by Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) on Advanced Earth Observing Satellite II (ADEOS-II), by applying the method proposed by Konda and Shibata (2004). The improvement of accuracy of the SSWS estimation amounts to roughly 60% of the error caused by the RWD effect.

It is well known that synthetic aperture radar (SAR) provides information on ocean winds and surface waves. SAR data are of particularly high value in extreme weather conditions, as radar is able to penetrate the clouds providing information on different ocean surface processes. In this presentation some recent results on SAR observation of extreme wind and ocean wave conditions is summarised. Particular emphasize is put on the investigation of typhoons and extratropical cyclones in the North Pacific. The study is based on the use of ENVISAT ASAR wide swath images. Wide swath and scansar data are well suited for a detailed investigation of cyclones. Several examples like, e.g., typhoon Talim will be presented, demonstrating that these data provide valuable information on the two dimensional structure of the both the wind and the ocean wave field. Comparisons of the SAR observation with parametric and numerical model data will be discussed. Some limitations of standard imaging models like, e.g., CMOD5 for the use in extreme wind conditions are explained and modifications are proposed. Finally the study summarizes the capabilities of new high resolution TerraSAR-X mission to be launched in October 2006 with respect to the monitoring of extreme weather conditions. The mission will provide a spatialresolution up to 1m and has full polarimetric capabilities.

Gridded products of surface wind/wind-stress over the world ocean have been constructed by using satellite scatterometer as the Japanese Ocean Flux data sets with Use of Remote-sensing Observation (J-OFURO) data. Our previous validation study in the tropical Pacific using TAO/Triton and NDBC buoys revealed high reliability of our products. In this study, the Kuroshio Extension Observatory (KEO) buoy data are used for validation of other gridded wind-stress products including the NCEP-1 and 2 in the western North Pacific region where there have been few in-situ data. Results reveal that our J-OFURO product has almost zero mean difference and smallest root-mean-square (RMS) difference, while the NCEP-1 and 2 ones significantly positive biases and relatively high RMS difference. Intercomparison between the J-OFURO and NCEP products in a wide region of the North Pacific covered by the westerly winds exhibits that the NCEPs have larger magnitudes in the wind stress than the J-OFURO's, suggesting overestimation of the NCEPs.

Dual channel Radiometer for Earth and Atmospheric Monitoring (DREAM) is the main payload on Science and Technology SATellite-2 (STSAT-2) of Korea. DREAM is two-channel microwave radiometer with linear polarization, and operating at center frequencies of 23.8 GHz and 37 GHz. An equation for DREAM calibration is derived which accounts for losses and re-radiation in the microwave components of the radiometer due to physical temperature. This paper describes the radiometric calibration equation to get antenna temperature ($T_A$) from the measured output data. At lower altitude, the measured deep space temperature is contaminated by middle atmosphere and earth radiation. In this paper, we presented the detail mathematical formulation to find the altitude up to which cold source brightness temperature is not affected by earth and middle atmosphere radiation. The DREAMPFM data is used to calculate the performance parameters (linearity, sensitivity, dynamic range, and etc.) of the system.

Radiometric calibration of optical image data is necessary to convert raw digital number (DN) value of each pixel into a physically meaningful measurement (radiance). To extract rather quantitative information regarding biophysical characteristics of the earth surface materials, radiometric calibration is often essential procedure. A sensor detects the radiation of sunlight interacted atmospheric constituents. Therefore, the amount of the energy reaching at the sensor is quite different from the initial amount reflected from the surface. To achieve the target reflectance after atmospheric correct, an initial step is to convert DN value to at-sensor radiance. A linear model, the simplest radiometric model, is applied to averaged spectral radiance for this conversion. This study purposes to analyze the sensitivity of several factors affecting on radiance for carrying out absolute radiometric calibration of panchromatic images from KOMPSAT2 launched at July, 2006. MODTRAN is used to calculate radiance at sensor and reflectance of target is measured by a portable spectro-radiometer at the same time the satellite is passing the target for the radiometric calibration. As using different contents of materials composing of atmosphere, the differences of radiance are investigated. Because the spectral sensitivity of panchromatic images of KOMPSAT2 ranges from 500 to 900 nm, the materials causing scattering in visible range are mainly considered to analyze the sensitivity. According to the verified sensitivity, direct measurement can be recommenced for absolute radiometric calibration.

Various geological thematic maps such as grain size or ground water level maps have been generated by interpolating sparsely sampled ground survey data. When there are sampled data at a limited number of locations, to use secondary information which is correlated to primary variable can help us to estimate the attribute values of the primary variable at unsampled locations. This paper applies two multivariate geostatistical algorithms to integrate remote sensing imagery with sparsely sampled ground survey data for spatial estimation of grain size: simple kriging with local means and kriging with an external drift. High-resolution IKONOS imagery which is well correlated with the grain size is used as secondary information. The algorithms are evaluated from a case study with grain size observations measured at 53 locations in the Baramarae beach of Anmyeondo, Korea. Cross validation based on a one-leave-out approach is used to compare the estimation performance of the two multivariate geostatistical algorithms with that of traditional ordinary kriging.

Today's commercial high resolution satellite imagery such as IKONOS and QuickBird, offers the potential to extract useful spatial information for geographical database construction and GIS applications. Recognizing this potential use of high resolution satellite imagery, KARI is performing a project for developing Korea multipurpose satellite 3(KOMPSAT-3). Therefore, it is necessary to develop techniques for various GIS applications of KOMPSAT-3, using similar high resolution satellite imagery. As fundamental studies for this purpose, we focused on the extraction of 3D spatial information and the update of existing GIS data from QuickBird imagery. This paper examines the scheme for rectification of high resolution image, and suggests the convenient semi-automatic algorithm for extraction of 3D building information from a single image. The algorithm is based on triangular vector structure that consists of a building bottom point, its corresponding roof point and a shadow end point. The proposed method could increase the number of measurable building, and enhance the digitizing accuracy and the computation efficiency.

As even small features can be classified as high resolution imagery, urban remote sensing is regarded as one of the important application fields in time of wide use of the commercialized high resolution satellite imageries. In this study, we have analyzed the variogram properties of high resolution imagery, which was obtained in urban area through the simple modeling and applied to the real image. Based on the grasped variogram characteristics, we have tried to decomposed two high-resolution imagery such as IKONOS and QuickBird reducing window size until the unique variogram that urban feature has come out and then been indexed. Modeling results will be used as the fundamental data for variographic analysis in urban area using high resolution imagery later on. Index map also can be used for determining urban complexity or land-use classification, because the index is influenced by the feature size.

In these days, mobile application dealing with information contents on mobile or handheld devices such as mobile communicator, PDA or WAP device face the most important industrial needs. The motivation of this study is the design and implementation of mobile application using high resolution satellite imagery, large-sized image data set. Although major advantages of mobile devices are portability and mobility to users, limited system resources such as small-sized memory, slow CPU, low power and small screen size are the main obstacles to developers who should handle a large volume of geo-based 3D model. Related to this, the previous works have been concentrated on GIS-based location awareness services on mobile; however, the mobile 3D terrain model, which aims at this study, with the source data of DEM (Digital Elevation Model) and high resolution satellite imagery is not considered yet, in the other mobile systems. The main functions of 3D graphic processing or pixel pipeline in this prototype are implemented with OpenGL|ES (Embedded System) standard API (Application Programming Interface) released by Khronos group. In the developing stage, experiments to investigate optimal operation environment and good performance are carried out: TIN-based vertex generation with regular elevation data, image tiling, and image-vertex texturing, text processing of Unicode type and ASCII type.

This study was to propose the spatial analysis method of extracting the spectral characteristic of cultural grounds of lavers in marine especially ApHae-myeon, ShinAn-gun, JellaNam-do, through using various satellite images. In addition, the information of cultural grounds of laver such as the existence of illegal cultural grounds of laver distribution was extracted through using satellite images and GIS analysis methods. For the further work, the spatial analysis to extract not only cultural grounds of laver business but also artificial facilities in marine will be proposed.

Flood caused by Typhoon and severe rain during summer is the most destructive natural disasters in Korea. Almost every year flood has resulted in a big lost of national infrastructure and loss of civilian lives. It usually takes time and great efforts to estimate the flood-related damages. Government also has pursued proper standard and tool for using state-of-art technologies. High resolution satellite imagery is one of the most promising sources of ground truth information since it provides detailed and current ground information such as building, road, and bare ground. Once high resolution imagery is utilized, it can greatly reduce the amount of field work and cost for flood related damage assessment. The classification of high resolution image is pre-required step to be utilized for the damage assessment. The classified image combined with additional data such as DEM and DSM can help to estimate the flooded areas per each classified land use. This paper applied object-oriented classification scheme to interpret an image not based in a single pixel but in meaningful image objects and their mutual relations. When comparing it with other classification algorithms, object-oriented classification was very effective and accurate. In this paper, IKONOS image is used, but similar level of high resolution Korean KOMPSAT series can be investigated once they are available.

KOMPSAT-2 was successively launched on July 28,06. She carries Fine Spatial Resolution Sensor with three channels. It is 4m monochromatic and 1m panchromatic. The main purposes would derive fine urban map and digital elevation model(DEM).Therefore we extend to coastal environment monitoring using the adjacent effect of radiation due to an interaction of radiation between heterogeneous surface and atmosphere. With data analysis of ASTER on TERA, which is 15m resolution in visible and near infrared wavelengths, we found atmospheric aerosols were always large. Note that data analysis was limited in Nagoya bay, Lake Tahoe, California & La Pozuelos, La Picasa, Argentina. Thus this time we expect data analyses around isolated island and peninsula in west and south coast of Korea.

Potential application topics of KOMPSAT-3 image in the field of precision agriculture are suggested. The topics can be categorized as fundamental and applied ones that have contents of static and dynamic characteristics respectively. As fundamental topics, precision information of agriculture that is related to farmland and its crop attributes, precision information of rural infrastructure that is related to rural village and its facilities, precision information of stream environment that is related to rural water resources and its facilities, and precision information of eco-environment that is especially related to riparian ecology and environmental status are included. As applied topics, precision rural water resources that has thematic contents of continuous and event-based runoff, spatial and temporal soil moisture and evapotranspiration, precision agricultural watershed environment that has the contents of spatial and temporal soil loss, sediment and pollutants transport, and precision temporal and spatial crop growth that has the contents of temporal crop texture, spectral reflectance, leaf area index, spatial crop protein information.

Diffuse pollution has been considering as a major source of the quality deterioration of water resources. The establishment of riparian vegetation strips of buffers along those areas of water bodies is used to reduce the threat of diffuse pollution. Remote sensing offers a means by which critical areas could be identified, so that subsequent action toward the establishment of riparian zones can be taken. Even though the principal purpose of this research comes from the feasibility of the imagery of KOMPSAT-2 satellite, Landsat TM satellite data, which has 7 bands, are used to characterize the land cover for the study area on the behalf of KOMPSAT-2. This investigation focuses on the assessment of the existing riparian buffer zones for a portion of the upper Geum river watershed from the viewpoint of pollution mitigation by riparian vegetation strip establishment. Through comparing the delineation of riparian buffer zones developed with the existing zones established by the government, we can find the critical distortion points of the existing riparian buffer zone.

The MERIS MCI (Maximum Chlorophyll Index), measuring the radiance peak at 709 nm in water-leaving radiance, indicates the presence of a high surface concentration of chlorophyll ${\underline{a}}$ against a scattering background. The index is high in 'red tide' conditions (intense, visible, surface, plankton blooms), and is also raised when aquatic vegetation is present. A bloom search based on MCI has resulted in detection of a variety of events in Canadian, Antarctic and other waters round the world, as well as detection of extensive areas of pelagic vegetation (Sargassum spp.), previously unreported in the scientific literature. Since June 1 2006, global MCI composite images, at a spatial resolution of 5 km, are being produced daily from all MERIS (daylight) passes of Reduced Resolution (RR) data. The global composites significantly increase the area now being searched for events, though the reduced spatial resolution may cause smaller events to be missed. This paper describes the composites and gives examples of plankton bloom events that they have detected. It also shows how the composites show the effect of the South Atlantic Anomaly, where cosmic rays affect the MERIS instrument.

It is backscattering of solar radiation by water body that makes ocean color observable from above, either by airplanes or satellites. Given the very low direct contribution to backscattering by phytoplankton cells, it is curious why the retrieval of phytoplankton concentration from remotely observed ocean color is evidently successful. From semianalytical bio-optical models, a dataset is created of spectral absorption, scattering and backscattering coefficients as a function of chlorophyll concentration. Four scenarios are considered, 1) only molecular and no particle scattering, 2) random particle backscattering uncorrelated with chlorophyll concentration, 3) constrained random particle scattering with known backscattering ratio, and 4) constrained random scattering with random backscattering ratio. Scenario 1 only introduces moderate errors of -20% - 90%. And for scenarios 3 and 4, the errors are largely within 30% and 100%. Scenario 2 introduces the largest errors, with the retrieved chlorophyll concentration virtually uncorrelated with the true values, implying the backscattering must somehow be related to the trophic state. The results of the study suggested These 3 cases confirmed that while it is the absorption by phytoplankton that in large part decides the accuracy of chlorophyll concentration retrieval, for the success of monitoring of global ocean primary productivity we have to improve our knowledge on particle backscattering.

Hydrographic data including particulate organic carbon (POC) from the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico (NEGOM) study were used along with remotely sensed data obtained from NASA's Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) to develop POC algorithms to estimate POC concentration based on empirical and model-based principal component analysis (PCA) methods. In Case I and II waters empirical maximized simple ratio (MSR) and model-based PCA algorithms using full wavebands (blue, green and red wavelengths) provide more robust estimates of POC. The predicted POC concentrations matched well the spatial and seasonal distributions of POC measured in situ in the Gulf of Mexico. The ease in calculating the MSR algorithm compared to PCA analysis makes MSR the preferred algorithm for routine use. In order to determine the inter-annual variations of POC, MSR algorithms applied to calculate 100 monthly mean values of POC concentrations (September 1997-December 2005). The spatial and temporal variations of POC and sea surface temperature (SST) were analyzed with the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) method. POC estimates showed inter-annual variation in three different locations and may be affected by El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o/Southern$ Oscillation (ENSO) events.

Stretching on the coastline of 70 km, the Tam Giang - Cau Hai Lagoon plays a very important role for the coastal ecology and socio-economic development of Hue region where was Vietnam's Ancient Kingdom Capital and recognized as a World's Cultural Heritage. Recently, coastal hazard in the lagoon have occurred seriously such as inlet movement and fill up, coastal erosion, flood and inundation, etc. These hazards have impacted on lagoon environment, resources, ecosystems, socio-economic and sustainable development of this coastal area. This paper present a case study using remote sensing data in combination with ground survey for monitoring the coastal hazards in Tam Giang - Cau Hai lagoon in recent decades. Analysis results find that during its natural evolution, the lagoon has been being in three situations of only one, two and three inlets. When inlets opened or displaced, coastal erosion have occurred seriously toward new balance condition. Flood and inundation occurs every rainy season in lowland plain around lagoon. The historical flood happened in early of November 1999 with six days long, created very terrible damages for Thua Thien Hue province. Remote sensing data with capability of regular update, large area coverage is effective provide real-time and continuous information for coastal hazards monitoring.

The diffuse attenuation coefficient for down-welling irradiance ($K_d$) is an important parameter for ocean studies including remote sensing applications. For the vast ocean, ocean color remote sensing is the only possible means to get the fine-scale measurements of $K_d$. To develop a technique of estimating $K_d$ from remotely sensed data, the following underwater optical parameters (absorption coefficient (a), attenuation coefficient (c), scattering coefficient (b), diffuse attenuation coefficient ($K_d$), etc.) have been studied. For this research we conducted the field campaign around the Yellow Sea at $8{\sim}9$ June, 2006. We obtained a set of underwater optical parameter data: down-welling irradiance ($E_d$), up-welling irradiance ($E_u$) and up-welling radiance ($L_u$) using TriOS optical sensors and a, c coefficient using Spectral Absorption and Attenuation Meter (AC-S). We then derived $K_d$ values from $E_d$ for each depth.

During Mid October of 2005 a mass mortality of the corals occurred surrounding Con Dao Islands (South Vietnam) where is the recognized as one of the most famous marine parks of Vietnam. Results from the field survey in October 2005 showed that the mass mortality of corals and benthos focused only on the North-West of the islands whereas there was almost no death recorded in the South - East parts. Based on field data it was assumed that an overlap between high water temperature ($>30^{\circ}C$) and low salinity (<25%o) during short term was the impact causing the situation. In this paper, we try to explain this phenomenon based on the hydrographical view together with analyzing ocean colour images. A coral bleaching warning system also is proposed for Condao site.

Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) onboard its Communication Ocean and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) is scheduled for launch in 2008. GOCI includes the eight visible-to-near-infrared (NIR) bands, 0.5km pixel resolution, and a coverage region of 2500 ${\times}$ 2500km centered at 36N and 130E. GOCI has had the scope of its objectives broadened to understand the role of the oceans and ocean productivity in the climate system, biogeochemical variables, geological and biological response to physical dynamics and to detect and monitor toxic algal blooms of notable extension through observations of ocean color. To achieve these mission objectives, it is necessary to develop an atmospheric correction technique which is capable of delivering geophysical products, particularly for highly turbid coastal regions that are often dominated by strongly absorbing aerosols from the adjacent continental/desert areas. In this paper, we present a more realistic and cost-effective atmospheric correction method which takes into account the contribution of NIR radiances and include specialized models for strongly absorbing aerosols. This method was tested extensively on SeaWiFS ocean color imagery acquired over the Northwest Pacific waters. While the standard SeaWiFS atmospheric correction algorithm showed a pronounced overcorrection in the violet/blue or a complete failure in the presence of strongly absorbing aerosols (Asian dust or Yellow dust) over these regions, the new method was able to retrieve the water-leaving radiance and chlorophyll concentrations that were consistent with the in-situ observations. Such comparison demonstrated the efficiency of the new method in terms of removing the effects of highly absorbing aerosols and improving the accuracy of water-leaving radiance and chlorophyll retrievals with SeaWiFS imagery.

Several planktonic dinoflagellates, including Cochlodinium polykrikoides (p), are known to produce red tides responsible for massive fish kills and serious economic loss in turbid Northwest Pacific (Korean and neighboring) coastal waters during summer and fall seasons. In order to mitigate the impacts of these red tides, it is therefore very essential to detect, monitor and forecast their development and movement using currently available remote sensing technology because traditional ship-based field sampling and analysis are very limited in both space and temporal frequency. Satellite ocean color sensors, such as Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), are ideal instruments for detecting and monitoring these blooms because they provide relatively high frequency synoptic information over large areas. Thus, the present study attempts to evaluate the red tide index methods (previously developed by Ahn and Shanmugam et al., 2006) to identify potential areas of red tides from SeaWiFS imagery in Korean and neighboring waters. Findings revealed that the standard spectral ratio algorithms (OC4 and LCA) applied to SeaWiFS imagery yielded large errors in Chl retrievals for coastal areas, besides providing false information about the encountered red tides in the focused waters. On the contrary, the RI coupled with the standard spectral ratios yielded comprehensive information about various ranges of algal blooms, while RCA Chl showing a good agreement with in-situ data led to enhanced understanding of the spatial and temporal variability of the recent red tide occurrences in high scattering and absorbing waters off the Korean and Chinese coasts. The results suggest that the red tide index methods for the early detection of red tides blooms can provide state managers with accurate identification of the extent and location of blooms as a management tool.

Total primary production resulting from the photosynthetic process can be defined as the amount of organic matter produced in a given period of time. It is proportional to the chlorophyll-a (chl-a) values in the surface layer of the ocean. The MODIS board on Aqua satellite measures visible and infrared radiation in 36 wavebands, providing simultaneous images of chl-a concentration and sea surface temperature (SST) in the upper layer of the sea. The seasonal distribution of chl-a concentration during one year from April 2005 to March 2006 was examined. Light has a role of starting the seasonal cycle. The Kuroshio Current in this area induces many oceanographical features affecting to the change of seasonal control. The chl-a concentration is also seasonal, which is low in summer and high in winter. In summer, the meandering of Kuroshio Current induces strong eddies and increases the chl-a concentration. In autumn, the delayed small autumn bloom occurred until last December due to the Kuroshio Current. When the Kuroshio axis moves far from the coast, the coastal water dominates and increases the concentration even in the winter. The spring bloom starts early at the beginning of March and decreases during the spring.

The absorption coefficient and backscattering properties of phytoplankton were calculated from the Mie theory. Given a simple case that phytoplankton and mineral particles are the only constitutions in seawater, the reflectance $b_b({\lambda})/[a({\lambda})+b_b({\lambda})]$was analyzed. Then the chlorophyll concentrations were estimated from remote sensing OC2 algorithm. The results show that reflectance in short wavelength region is more sensitive to the Chl variation; High mineral concentrations in seawater have significant influence on the reflectance spectrum; the existence of high mineral concentration may result in the mistake in chlorophyll estimation from OC2 algorithm.

The study describes the monitoring of the Bay of Bengal as a ballast water exchangeable sea using MODIS/Aqua-derived diffuse attenuation coefficient (K(490)) synchronized with in situ ballast water sampling and analysis along the LNG carrier's route between Japan and Qatar from 2002 to 2005. Based on the relationship between K(490) and corresponding in situ plankton cell densities, the Bay of Bengal is recognized as a ballast water exchangeable sea to meet the regulation of ballast water performance standard of International Maritime Organization (IMO). Furthermore the Bay of Bengal with more than 200m depth and more than 200 nautical mile distance from shore is extracted based on the regulation of ballast water exchange area of IMO. However, an anomalously high K(490) area is found off the coast of Sri Lanka during the northeast monsoon in 2005, which corresponds higher cell densities than the criterion set by the regulation of IMO. The phenomenon of high cell density in the Bay of Bengal seems to be related with the phytoplankton bloom during the northeast monsoon. Seasonal and annual variability of phytoplankton bloom will be investigated to establish an early routing system for avoiding the high cell density area in advance.

Ocean Color Monitor (OCM) onboard the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite IRS-P4 has been used to retrieve chlorophyll concentration in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea using a bio-optical algorithm. Cloud masking and atmospheric corrections have been performed before applying mapping function to derive chlorophyll concentration from IRS-P4 OCM data. We have retrieved chlorophyll concentration from OCM, and MODIS during the summer and winter season along the eastern and western coast of India at every 1 degree latitude at increasing distance (25, 50, 100, 150 and 200km) away from the coast as well as near river mouths for the period 2000-2003. We have also studied spatial and temporal dynamics of monthly MODIS Aqua (for period July 2002-April 2004). The seasonal dynamics of chlorophyll concentration over the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea have been discussed using OCM and MODIS for both the coastal region and the open sea.

The west coast of Northern Borneo is strongly influenced by Asian monsoon. Present research using the satellite ocean color (OC) remote sensing has identified some interesting oceanographic phenomena in this area that could be related to the harmful algal blooms (HAB). Occurrence of seasonal upwelling event was noticed off the northern tip of Borneo Island that could be related to the northeast monsoon wind. Harmful algal blooms by Pyrodinium bahamense var. compressum occurred since 1976. Subsequently, during December 2003, there was a report of new HAB by Cochlodinium polykrikoides in Northern Borneo. Analysis of OC images revealed that the Cochlodinium bloom had very high chlorophyll a signal and strong absorption characteristics. Results showed that the Baram River plume and upwelling at Northern Borneo were the source of nutrient for the Cochlodinium bloom in the offshore region. Ocean color images of 2004 showed that the bloom from Northern Borneo had crossed the Balabac Straits, reaching Palawan Island in Philippine. Due to the possibility of transboundary HAB problem, we propose a regional HAB monitoring network for an effective HAB management.

Optical profile and spectral absorption of suspended solids in waters of Sanya bay was measured on August 8-14, 2003. Optical profile was taken by using MicroPro optical profile. Apparent optical indexes, vertical diffuse attenuation coefficient ($K_d$) and water leaving radiance (Lw), were calculated. $K_d$ at the blue end of the spectrum was greater than that at the red end of the spectrum in waters near Sanya River mouth, however, in waters near open sea, $K_d$ at the blue end of the spectrum was smaller than that at the red end of the spectrum. Distribution of water leaving radiance was relatively higher in waters near Sanya River mouth, but relatively weaker in near open sea water. Spectral absorption of suspended particulates was also measured. Results showed that the spectral absorption of chlorophyll a was greater in waters near Sanya river mouth, but relatively weaker in waters near open sea, which indicated higher concentration of phytoplankton in waters near Sanya river mouth. Except for water at the 5th sampling station, the ratio of spectral absorption of chlorophyll a to total suspended particulates in surface waters was greater than that in bottom waters at all stations.

To adjust the discrepancy between Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) strips, previous researches generally have been conducted using conjugate features, which are called feature-based approaches. However, irrespective of the type of features used, the adjustment process relies upon the existence of suitable conjugate features within the overlapping area and the ability of employed methods to detect and extract the features. These limitations make the process complex and sometimes limit the applicability of developed methodologies because of a lack of suitable features in overlapping areas. To address these drawbacks, this paper presents a methodology using area-based algorithms. This approach is based on the scheme that discrepancies make complex the local height variations of LIDAR data whithin overlapping area. This scheme can be helpful to determine an appropriate transformation for adjustment in the way that minimizes the geographical complexity. During the process, the contour tree (CT) was used to represent the geological characteristics of LIDAR points in overlapping area and the Iterative Closest Points (ICP) algorithm was applied to automatically determine parameters of transformation. After transformation, discrepancies were measured again and the results were evaluated statistically. This research provides a robust methodology without restrictions involved in methods that employ conjugate features. Our method also makes the overall adjustment process generally applicable and automated.

Airborn Lidar technology has been applied to diverse applications with the advantages of accurate 3D information. Further, Lidar intensity, backscattered signal power, can provid us additional information regarding target's characteristics. Lidar intensity varies by the target reflectance, moisture condition, range, and viewing geometry. This study purposes to generate normalized airborne LiDAR intensity image considering those influential factors such as reflectance, range and geometric/topographic factors (scan angle, ground height, aspect, slope, local incidence angle: LIA). Laser points from one flight line were extracted to simplify the geometric conditions. Laser intensities of sample plots, selected by using a set of reference data and ground survey, werethen statistically analyzed with independent variables. Target reflectance, range between sensor and target, and surface slope were main factors to influence the laser intensity. Intensity of laser points was initially normalized by removing range effect only. However, microsite topographic factor, such as slope angle, was not normalized due to difficulty of automatic calculation.

Generally, stereo pair images are necessary for 3D viewing. In the absence of quality stereo-pair images, it is possible to synthesize a stereo-mate suitable for 3D viewing with a single image and a depth-map. In remote sensing, DEM is usually used as a depth-map. In this paper, LiDAR data was used instead of DEM to make a stereo pair from a single aerial photo. Each LiDAR point was assigned a brightness value from the original single image by registration of the image and LiDAR data. And then, imaginary exposure station and image plane were assumed. Finally, LiDAR points with already-assigned brightness values were back-projected to the imaginary plane for synthesis of a stereo-mate. The imaginary exposure station and image plane were determined to have only a horizontal shift from the original image's exposure station and plane. As a result, the stereo-mate synthesized in this paper fulfilled epipolar geometry and yielded easily-perceivable 3D viewing effect together with the original image. The 3D viewing effect was tested with anaglyph at the end.

Forest stand height and volume are important indicators for management purpose as well as for the environmental analysis. Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) is backscattered over forest canopy and DSM can be acquired from such scattering characteristic, while National Elevation Dataset (NED) provides bare earth elevation data. The difference between SRTM and NED is estimated as tree height, and it is correlated with forest parameters, it is correlated with forest parameters, including average DBH, Trees per acre, net BF per acre, and total Net MBF. Especially, among them, net Board Foot(BF) per acre is the index that well represents forest volume. The Project site was Douglas-fir dominating plantation area in the western Washington an the northern Oregon in the U.S. This study shows a relationship of high correlation between the forest parameters and the product from SRTM, NED, and ETM+. This research performs multi regression analysis and regression tree algorithm, and can get more improved relationship between several parameters.

Military targets in SAR images are not distinguished easily unlike those in optical images, because targets are only dozens of pixels and they have many corner reflectors sensitive to the incidence angle of radar signals. Due to those problems, SAR image analysts have difficulties in recognizing military targets captured by SAR images. Furthermore, manual analysis cannot respond promptly enough to rapidly changing situations such as battle field. We need automated analysis to solve these problems. In this paper, we analyzed algorithms for prescreening of military targets in SAR images. We implemented some prescreening algorithms and tested the algorithms using SAR data. As a result, we will report performance of the tested prescreening algorithms.

Whereas it is well known that the surface roughness parameters, the RMS height and the correlation length, of a natural soil surface are underestimated with a short surface profile, it is not clear how much the underestimated surface parameters affect the backscattering coefficients of the surface for various incidence angles and polarizations. The backscattering coefficients of simulated and measured surface profiles are computed using the integral equation method (IEM) and analyzed in this paper to answer this question. It is shown that the RMS error of the backscattering coefficients between 5-m- and 1-m-long measured surface profiles is 1.7 dB for vv-polarization and 0.5 dB for hh-polarization at a medium range of incidence angle ($15^{\circ}{\leq}{\theta}{\leq}70^{\circ}$), while the surface roughness parameters are significantly reduced; from 2.4 cm to 1.5 cm for the RMS height s and from 35.1 cm to 10.0 cm for the autocorrelation length l. This result is verified with numerous simulations with various roughness conditions and various wavelengths.