Satellite remote sensing of rainfall: Objective techniques

In another lecture a general introduction was given to satellite rainfall estimation techniques. The families of techniques which have been devised to accommodate relatively large numbers of images each day fall into two categories, namely the ''Life History'' techniques and the ''Bispectral'' techniques. In the former, potential rainclouds are identified in infrared satellite imagery by temperature thresholding, after which each individual element of rain cloud is monitored through its individual life cycle. Unfortunately, this is demanding computationally, and has only been employed in research campaigns. The objective techniques which will be described hereafter are under development in the Remote Sensing Unit of the University of Bristol for operational application to areas of continental or sub-continental size. 6 refs, 1 fig