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Atmospheric Front over the Caspian Sea Studied with SAR and Optical Images and Meteorological Data

  • USE OF SPACE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EARTH STUDYING ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES AND CLIMATE CHANGE FROM SPACE
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Abstract

An analysis of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image from the Radarsat-2 satellite acquired at the end of September 2013 has been carried out. A manifestation of the atmospheric front passing over the Northern Caspian Sea is found on the image. An analysis of SAR image using the data of the NOAA, Terra, and Aqua satellites; sub-satellite data; meteorological measurements; and reanalysis allows us to obtain not only qualitative but also quantitative information about the phenomenon displayed in the SAR data. The front had a characteristic set of radar signatures and was identified as a cold front; it had a narrow zone of frontal squalls and moved in the southeastern direction. Estimates of the front motion speed, wind speed in the regions before and after the front, and other characteristics have been obtained.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Radarsat-2 SAR image was provided by ScanEx. The weather data were downloaded from the Raspisanie Pogody website (http://rp5.ru). This work was partially funded by the Government of the Russian Federation in the framework of state support for scientific research under the guidance of leading scientists at the Russian State Hydrometeorological University (grant no. 11.G34.31.0078).

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  1. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    A. Yu. Ivanov

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  1. A. Yu. Ivanov
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Correspondence to A. Yu. Ivanov.

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Translated by E. Morozov

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Ivanov, A.Y. Atmospheric Front over the Caspian Sea Studied with SAR and Optical Images and Meteorological Data. Izv. Atmos. Ocean. Phys. 55, 1228–1237 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001433819090214

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