06 Fakultät Luft- und Raumfahrttechnik und Geodäsie
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Item Open Access Dynamic water masks from optical satellite imagery(München : Verlag der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2019) Elmi, Omid; Sneeuw, Nico (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)Investigation of the global freshwater system has a vital role in critical issues e.g. sustainable development of water resources, acceleration of the hydrological cycle, variability of global sea level. Measurement of river streamflow is vital for such investigations as it gives a reliable estimate of freshwater fluxes over the continents. Despite such importance, the number of river discharge gauging station has been decreasing. At the same time, information on the global freshwater system has been increasing because of various types of ground observations, water-use information and spaceborne geodetic observations. Nevertheless, we cannot answer properly crucial questions about the amount of freshwater available on a certain river basin, or the spatial and temporal dynamics of freshwater variations and discharge, or the distribution of world’s freshwater resources in the future. The lack of comprehensive measurements of surface water storage and river discharge is a major impediment for a realistic understanding of the hydrological water cycle, which is a must for answering the aforementioned questions. This thesis aims to improve the methods for monitoring the surface extent of inland water bodies using satellite images. Satellite imaging systems capture the Earth surface in a wide variety of spectral and spatial resolution repeatedly. Therefore satellite imagery provides the opportunity to monitor the spatial change in shorelines, which can serve as a way to determine the water extent. Each band of a multispectral image reveals a unique characteristic of the Earth surface features like surface water extent. However selecting the spectral bands which provide the relevant information is a challenging task. In this thesis, we analyse the potential of multispectral transformations like Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) to tackle this issue by condensing the information available in all spectral bands in just a few uncorrelated variables. Moreover, we investigate how the change between multispectral images at different epochs can be highlighted by using the transformations. This study proposes an automatic algorithm for extracting the lake water extent from MODIS images and generating dynamics lake masks. For improving the accuracy of the lake masks and computational efficiency of the algorithm, two masks are defined for limiting the search area. The restricting masks are developed according to DEM of the surrounding area together with a map of the long-term variation of pixel values. Subsequently, an unsupervised pixel-based classification algorithm is applied for defining the lake coastline. The algorithm particularly deals with the challenges of generating long time series of lake masks. We apply the algorithm on five lakes in Africa and Asia, each of which demonstrates a challenge for lake area monitoring. However in the validation section, we demonstrate that the algorithm can generate accurate dynamic lake masks. Rivers show diverse behaviour along their path due to the contribution of different parameters like gradient of the elevation, river slope, tributaries and river bed morphology. Therefore for generating accurate river reach mask, we need to consider additional sources of information apart from pixel intensity. The region-based classification algorithm that we propose in this study takes advantages of all types of available information including pixel intensity and spatial and temporal interactions. Markov Random Fields provide a flexible frame for interaction between different sources of data and constraint. To find the most probable configuration of the field, the Maximum A Posteriori solution for the MRF must be found. To this end, the problem is reshaped as an energy minimization. The energy function is minimized applying graph cuts as a powerful optimization technique. The uncertainty in the graph cuts solution is also measured by calculating the minimum marginal energies. The proposed method is applied to four rivers reaches with different hydrological characteristics. We validate the obtained river area time series by comparing with in situ river discharge and satellite altimetric water level time series. Moreover, in this study, we present river discharge estimation models using the generated river reach masks. Our aim is to find an empirical relationship between the average river reach width and river discharge. The statistics in the validation periods support the idea of using river width-discharge prediction models as a complementary technique to the other spaceborne geodetic river discharge prediction approaches.Item Open Access Forming a hybrid intelligence system by combining Active Learning and paid crowdsourcing for semantic 3D point cloud segmentation(2023) Kölle, Michael; Sörgel, Uwe (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)While in recent years tremendous advancements have been achieved in the development of supervised Machine Learning (ML) systems such as Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), still the most decisive factor for their performance is the quality of labeled training data from which the system is supposed to learn. This is why we advocate focusing more on methods to obtain such data, which we expect to be more sustainable than establishing ever new classifiers in the rapidly evolving ML field. In the geospatial domain, however, the generation process of training data for ML systems is still rather neglected in research, with typically experts ending up being occupied with such tedious labeling tasks. In our design of a system for the semantic interpretation of Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) point clouds, we break with this convention and completely lift labeling obligations from experts. At the same time, human annotation is restricted to only those samples that actually justify manual inspection. This is accomplished by means of a hybrid intelligence system in which the machine, represented by an ML model, is actively and iteratively working together with the human component through Active Learning (AL), which acts as pointer to exactly such most decisive samples. Instead of having an expert label these samples, we propose to outsource this task to a large group of non-specialists, the crowd. But since it is rather unlikely that enough volunteers would participate in such crowdsourcing campaigns due to the tedious nature of labeling, we argue attracting workers by monetary incentives, i.e., we employ paid crowdsourcing. Relying on respective platforms, typically we have access to a vast pool of prospective workers, guaranteeing completion of jobs promptly. Thus, crowdworkers become human processing units that behave similarly to the electronic processing units of this hybrid intelligence system performing the tasks of the machine part. With respect to the latter, we do not only evaluate whether an AL-based pipeline works for the semantic segmentation of ALS point clouds, but also shed light on the question of why it works. As crucial components of our pipeline, we test and enhance different AL sampling strategies in conjunction with both a conventional feature-driven classifier as well as a data-driven CNN classification module. In this regard, we aim to select AL points in such a manner that samples are not only informative for the machine, but also feasible to be interpreted by non-experts. These theoretical formulations are verified by various experiments in which we replace the frequently assumed but highly unrealistic error-free oracle with simulated imperfect oracles we are always confronted with when working with humans. Furthermore, we find that the need for labeled data, which is already reduced through AL to a small fraction (typically ≪1 % of Passive Learning training points), can be even further minimized when we reuse information from a given source domain for the semantic enrichment of a specific target domain, i.e., we utilize AL as means for Domain Adaptation. As for the human component of our hybrid intelligence system, the special challenge we face is monetarily motivated workers with a wide variety of educational and cultural backgrounds as well as most different mindsets regarding the quality they are willing to deliver. Consequently, we are confronted with a great quality inhomogeneity in results received. Thus, when designing respective campaigns, special attention to quality control is required to be able to automatically reject submissions of low quality and to refine accepted contributions in the sense of the Wisdom of the Crowds principle. We further explore ways to support the crowd in labeling by experimenting with different data modalities (discretized point cloud vs. continuous textured 3D mesh surface), and also aim to shift the motivation from a purely extrinsic nature (i.e., payment) to a more intrinsic one, which we intend to trigger through gamification. Eventually, by casting these different concepts into the so-called CATEGORISE framework, we constitute the aspired hybrid intelligence system and employ it for the semantic enrichment of ALS point clouds of different characteristics, enabled through learning from the (paid) crowd.Item Open Access Rekonstruktion der Ablagerungsverhältnisse im nordalpinen Vorlandbecken Südwest-Deutschlands(2006) Maurer, Holger; Seyfried, Hartmut (Prof. Dr.)Während der Erdöl- und Ergasprospektion zu Beginn der 50er Jahre rückte das Nordalpine Vorlandbecken (Molassebecken) in den Mittelpunkt des Forschungsinteresses. In den kommenden Jahrzehnten wurden zahlreiche Tiefbohrungen im Molassebecken abgeteuft und somit die Grundlage für eine lithostratigraphische Gliederung der sedimentären Abfolge geschaffen. Bis zur heutigen Zeit gibt es nur wenige sedimentologische und sequenzstratigraphische Untersuchungen zum Ablagerungsmilieu der klastischen Sedimente im Nordalpinen Vorlandbecken Süddeutschlands. Das Ziel der vorliegenden kumulativen Arbeit war es, in verschiedenen Themenbereichen mit sedimentologischen, paläopedologischen, geophysikalischen und mathematischen Methoden die Ablagerungsverhältnisse im Molassebecken zu rekonstruieren. In fünf Veröffentlichungen werden verschiedene stratigraphische Altersabschnitte des Nordalpinen Vorlandbeckens in Südwestdeutschland behandelt. Der Schwerpunkt der Untersuchungen wurde dabei auf die ältesten und die jüngsten Sedimentabfolgen im Molassebecken gelegt, die gleichzeitig den Beginn und das Ende der sedimentären Vorlandbecken-Entwicklung repräsentieren.Item Open Access Analyzing and characterizing spaceborne observation of water storage variation : past, present, future(2024) Saemian, Peyman; Sneeuw, Nico (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)Water storage is an indispensable constituent of the intricate water cycle, as it governs the availability and distribution of this precious resource. Any alteration in the water storage can trigger a cascade of consequences, affecting not only our agricultural practices but also the well-being of various ecosystems and the occurrence of natural hazards. Therefore, it is essential to monitor and manage the water storage levels prudently to ensure a sustainable future for our planet. Despite significant advancements in ground-based measurements and modeling techniques, accurately measuring water storage variation remained a major challenge for a long time. Since 2002, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and its successor GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) satellites have revolutionized our understanding of the Earth's water cycle. By detecting variations in the Earth's gravity field caused by changes in water distribution, these satellites can precisely measure changes in total water storage (TWS) across the entire globe, providing a truly comprehensive view of the world's water resources. This information has proved invaluable for understanding how water resources are changing over time, and for developing strategies to manage these resources sustainably. However, GRACE and GRACE-FO are subject to various challenges that must be addressed in order to enhance the efficacy of our exploitation of GRACE observations for scientific and practical purposes. This thesis aims to address some of the challenges faced by GRACE and GRACE-FO. Since the inception of the GRACE mission, scholars have commonly extracted mass changes from observations by approximating the Earth's gravity field utilizing mathematical functions termed spherical harmonics. Various institutions have already processed GRACE(-FO) data, known as level-2 data in the GRACE community, considering the constraints, approaches, and models that have been utilized. However, this processed data necessitates post-processing to be used for several applications, such as hydrology and climate research. In this thesis, we evaluate various methods of processing GRACE(-FO) level-2 data and assess the spatio-temporal effect of the post-processing steps. Furthermore, we aim to compare the consistency between GRACE and its successor mission, GRACE-FO, in terms of data quality and measurement accuracy. By analyzing and comparing the data from these two missions, we can identify any potential discrepancies or differences and establish the level of confidence in the accuracy and reliability of the GRACE-FO measurements. Finally, we will compare the processed level-3 products with the level-3 products that are presently accessible online. The relatively short record of the GRACE measurements, compared to other satellite missions and observational records, can limit some studies that require long-term data. This short record makes it challenging to separate long-term signals from short-term variability and validate the data with ground-based measurements or other satellite missions. To address this limitation, this thesis expands the temporal coverage of GRACE(-FO) observations using global hydrological, atmospheric, and reanalysis models. First, we assess these models in estimating the TWS variation at a global scale. We compare the performance of various methods including data-driven and machine learning approaches in incorporating models and reconstruct GRACE TWS change. The results are also validated against Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) observations over the pre-GRACE period. This thesis develops a hindcasted GRACE, which provides a better understanding of the changes in the Earth's water storage on a longer time scale. The GRACE satellite mission detects changes in the overall water storage in a specific region but cannot distinguish between the different compartments of TWS, such as surface water, groundwater, and soil moisture. Understanding these individual components is crucial for managing water resources and addressing the effects of droughts and floods. This study aims to integrate various data sources to improve our understanding of water storage variations at the continental to basin scale, including water fluxes, lake water level, and lake storage change data. Additionally, the study demonstrates the importance of combining GRACE(-FO) observations with other measurements, such as piezometric wells and rain-gauges, to understand the water scarcity predicament in Iran and other regions facing similar challenges. The GRACE satellite mission provides valuable insights into the Earth's system. However, the GRACE product has a level of uncertainty due to several error sources. While the mission has taken measures to minimize these uncertainties, researchers need to account for them when analyzing the data and communicate them when reporting findings. This thesis proposes a probabilistic approach to incorporate the Total Water Storage Anomaly (TWSA) data from GRACE(-FO). By accounting for the uncertainty in the TWSA data, this approach can provide a more comprehensive understanding of drought conditions, which is essential for decision makers managing water resources and responding to drought events.Item Open Access Towards improved targetless registration and deformation analysis of TLS point clouds using patch-based segmentation(2023) Yang, Yihui; Schwieger, Volker (Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Dr. h.c.)The geometric changes in the real world can be captured by measuring and comparing the 3D coordinates of object surfaces. Traditional point-wise measurements with low spatial resolution may fail to detect inhomogeneous, anisotropic and unexpected deformations, and thus cannot reveal complex deformation processes. 3D point clouds generated from laser scanning or photogrammetric techniques have opened up opportunities for an area-wise acquisition of spatial information. In particular, terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) exhibits rapid development and wide application in areal geodetic monitoring owing to the high resolution and high quality of acquired point cloud data. However, several issues in the process chain of TLS-based deformation monitoring are still not solved satisfactorily. This thesis mainly focuses on the targetless registration and deformation analysis of TLS point clouds, aiming to develop novel data-driven methods to tackle the current challenges. For most deformation processes of natural scenes, in some local areas no shape deformations occur (i.e., these areas are rigid), and even the deformation directions show a certain level of consistency when these areas are small enough. Further point cloud processing, like stability and deformation analyses, could benefit from the assumptions of local rigidity and consistency of deformed point clouds. In this thesis, thereby, three typical types of locally rigid patches - small planar patches, geometric primitives, and quasi-rigid areas - can be generated from 3D point clouds by specific segmentation techniques. These patches, on the one hand, can preserve the boundaries between rigid and non-rigid areas and thus enable spatial separation with respect to surface stability. On the other hand, local geometric information and empirical stochastic models could be readily determined by the points in each patch. Based on these segmented rigid patches, targetless registration and deformation analysis of deformed TLS point clouds can be improved regarding accuracy and spatial resolution. Specifically, small planar patches like supervoxels are utilized to distinguish the stable and unstable areas in an iterative registration process, thus ensuring only relatively stable points are involved in estimating transformation parameters. The experimental results show that the proposed targetless registration method has significantly improved the registration accuracy. These small planar patches are also exploited to develop a novel variant of the multiscale model-to-model cloud comparison (M3C2) algorithm, which constructs prisms extending from planar patches instead of the cylinders in standard M3C2. This new method separates actual surface variations and measurement uncertainties, thus yielding lower-uncertainty and higher-resolution deformations. A coarse-to-fine segmentation framework is used to extract multiple geometric primitives from point clouds, and rigorous parameter estimations are performed individually to derive high-precision parametric deformations. Besides, a generalized local registration-based pipeline is proposed to derive dense displacement vectors based on segmented quasi-rigid areas that are corresponded by areal geometric feature descriptors. All proposed methods are successfully verified and evaluated by simulated and/or real point cloud data. The choice of proposed deformation analysis methods for specific scenarios or applications is also provided in this thesis.Item Open Access Volcanic evolution of Southern Tenerife (Canary Islands) during the Pleistocene and Holocene(2009) Kröchert, Jörg; Buchner, Elmar (PD Dr.)The Canary Islands are a group of volcanic ocean islands in the Central Atlantic near the continental margin of northwest Africa. Tenerife, with a volcanic history of more than 12 Ma of subaerial eruptions, is the largest island of the Canaries and is situated in the centre of the Archipelago. The Quaternary Bandas del Sur Formation in the South of Tenerife comprises a complex sequence of pyroclastic rocks and lavas and is part of the southern rift zone. In contrast to the northwest and northeast rift zones on Tenerife, the southern rift zone comprises a number of characteristics with respect to the morphological features, eruption cyclicity, and the geochemistry of the volcanic deposits. Various flank eruptions of the Las Cañadas volcano associated with basaltic lavas and the formation of cinder cones within the Bandas del Sur are important volcanic units for understanding the explosive volcanic cycles during the Pleistocene on Tenerife. Paleomagnetic studies, geochemical analysis of major and trace elements, and two radioisotopic dating (K-Ar) have been carried out on prominent cinder cones, to determine their stratigraphic position. By combining the results with previous K-Ar data in the Literature, the cones and lavas can be subdivided into three stratigraphic units. Cinder cones that belong to the first unit show reverse magnetization and Y/Nb ratios between 0.37-0.41; cinder cones of the second unit show normal magnetization and Y/Nb ratios of <0.35. The third unit comprises cinder cones with normal magnetization and Y/Nb ratios of about 0.47. The first two units were constructed between ~0.948-0.779 Ma and 0.323-0.300 Ma. These units define volcanic cycles that culminated in violent Plinian eruptions. The third and youngest unit possibly marks the beginning of a further volcanic cycle that started ~0.095 Ma ago. In order to reconstruct the uplift history of Tenerife, numerous uplifted fossil beaches and tuff cones were investigated. In the North and Northeast of Tenerife, the positions of fossil beaches indicate stable conditions since 130 ka. The uplift rates in southern Tenerife (within the Bandas del Sur) amount to a minimum of 15 m since 778 ka at Montaña Pelada and to a maximum of up to 45 m since 10 ka in the area of El Médano, suggesting an asymmetrical uplift of the island complex. The uplift in the South could be caused by seismic activity or mass loss due to flank collapse events. However, uplift due to ascending magma is more plausible. The fossil beach deposits of the El Médano area exhibit tubular-shaped concretions and concretionary dykes. These sediment structures have been interpreted as the result of a) the interaction between hot ignimbrites that overflowed wet beaches, b) fast accumulation of beach sands on hot and degassing ignimbrites, c) paleoliquefaction caused by an earthquake (seismites). Based on the interpretation as seismites, an intense paleoearthquake was proposed to be responsible for the generation of the paleoliquefaction structures. However, the sedimentary structures in question show the general criteria diagnostic for rhizocretions and root tubules with respect to their orientation, size, branching system, and style of cementation. Faults of a well-defined strike direction that precisely coincides with the southern rift fault system occur in the El Médano site. This fault system was generated contemporaneously with a chain of cinder cones ~948 ka ago. Open fractures in ignimbrites (~668 ka) and the fossil beach deposits (~10 ka) of the El Médano area suggest that the rift-associated fault system has been seismically active in the aftermath and probably is still active. A further fault system striking perpendicular to the rift-associated faults probably originates from a Holocene paleoearthquake of moderate intensity. Earthquake-induced ground effects in the fossil beach deposits of the study area are consistent with seismically induced ground effects of several recent and well-documented earthquakes and gravitational sliding triggered by an intense earthquake in Nicoya/Costa Rica in 1990. Both, the rift-associated and the earthquake-induced fault system, initially produced open cracks in the fossil beach deposits that were occupied by plants and subsequently stabilized by cementation. These results accentuate that the densely settled southern part of Tenerife is latently endangered by volcanic and seismic activity, though, currently, there are no indications of increasing volcanic activity in this region. Uplift due to recent magma loading is not observable and the intensity of a paleoearthquake in the El Médano area was probably considerably lower than mentioned in the literature.Item Open Access Dreidimensionale Finite-Elemente-Simulation der Standsicherheit von Auslaugungshohlräumen und deren geologische Bewertung (Gipskeuper-Formation, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt)(2008) Schweikardt, Steffen; Rogowski, Eckard (Prof. Dr. rer. nat.)In Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt kommt es seit Jahrzehnten durch Auslaugung gipsführender Gesteine zu Erdfällen und Bauschäden. Erdfälle entstehen aus dem vertikalen Verbruch natürlicher Hohlräume bis zur Geländeoberfläche. Der letzte Erdfall ereignete sich in der Nacht vom 12. auf den 13. Mai 2000 auf dem Freigelände eines Kindergartens. Dieser Erdfall war Anlass für eine umfangreiche Untersuchungskampagne mit geoelektrischen, seismischen und mikrogravimetrischen Methoden. In der Nähe des Kindergartens wurde in einer Kernbohrung innerhalb der Grundgipsschichten des Mittleren Keupers ein Auslaugungshohlraum erbohrt und mit der Sonarmethode vermessen. Diese Daten sind die Grundlage einer numerischen Untersuchung der Standsicherheit mit der Methode der finiten Elemente, bei der axialsymmetrische und dreidimensionale Finite-Elemente-Netze erstellt und idealisierte Fallbeispiele berechnet werden. Die Randbedingungen bei der numerischen Standsicherheitsprozedur der phi-c-Reduktion werden mit Finite-Element-Netzen bestimmt. Variablen sind die im Stoffgesetz nach Mohr-Coulomb verwendeten Bodenparameter, die Größe des Finite-Elemente-Netzes, die Geometrieelemente des Auslaugungshohlraums (Kontur und Radius) und die Tiefenlage des Hohlraumes. Im Rahmen von Berechnungsreihen mit idealisierten Fallbeispielen werden die Einflüsse des Grundwassers und der Lockergesteinsüberdeckung auf die Standsicherheit untersucht. Im letzten Schritt wird eine bessere Annäherung der numerischen Simulation an die natürlichen Verhältnisse erreicht, indem unterschiedlich lange Hohlraumachsen in das dreidimensionale Finite-Elemente-Netz Eingang finden. Die Berechnungsergebnisse zeigen, dass die Scherparameter Kohäsion und Reibungswinkel, wie sie im Stoffgesetz nach Mohr-Coulomb verwendet werden, maßgeblich die Stabilität der Auslaugungshohlräume bestimmen. Die Zugspannung ist ein weiteres wichtiges Kriterium für die Entwicklung des Verbruchs. Erdruhedruckbeiwert und Dilatanzwinkel haben keinen wesentlichen Einfluss auf die Standsicherheit. Die mechanischen Gebirgseigenschaften bestimmen die Standsicherheit. Die geometrischen Bedingungen (Hohlraumgröße und Mächtigkeit der Überdeckung) entscheiden über die Verbruchsart bei unterschrittener Standsicherheit. Bei tiefliegenden Hohlräumen ist lediglich ein Gewölbeverbruch (Verbruch des Gesteins im Entlastungsgewölbe) über dem Hohlraumdach vorhanden, bei größeren Hohlräumen oder geringerer Überdeckung geht dieser in einen Schlotverbruch (zylinderförmiger Verbruch des Gesteins zur Geländeoberfläche) über. Der Auslaugungshohlraum verändert seine Tiefenlage zuerst durch Hochbrechen im Festgestein, und zwar je nach Stabilität der Gesteine von Schicht zu Schicht und schließlich durch Nachbrechen der hangenden Lockergesteine, bis die Absenkung als Erdfall zutage tritt. Für die analytische Betrachtung wird der stark vereinfachte Bruchmechanismus eines zylinderförmigen Gebirgspfropfens über dem Hohlraum verwendet. Dieser Ansatz stimmt gut mit dem sich abzeichnenden Bruchkörper überein, wie er bei der phi-c-Reduktion in Erscheinung tritt. Die analytische Lösung wird der numerisch bestimmten Standsicherheit angenähert, um eine maximale Standsicherheit für eine beliebige Gesteinsschicht zu errechnen und zu ermitteln, bei welcher Tiefe der Verbruch zum Erdfall eintritt. Im Ergebnis zeigt sich, dass der untersuchte Hohlraum unter den derzeitigen geologischen und geotechnischen Bedingungen stabil ist.Item Open Access Analyzing and modeling environmental loading induced displacements with GPS and GRACE(2015) Chen, Qiang; Sneeuw, Nico (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)The redistribution of atmospheric, oceanic and hydrological masses on the Earth's surface varies in time and this in turn loads and deforms the surface of the solid Earth. Analyzing such environmental loading signal and modeling its induced elastic displacements are of great importance for explaining geophysical phenomena. Based on the well-established loading theory, this thesis makes use of two different space-borne measurements, i.e. GPS and GRACE, along with other environmental loading data to investigate three different aspects of environmental loading and its induced elastic deformations: Firstly, an increasing concern is observed recently over time variable seasonal signals in geodesy. Several model based approaches were applied to extract amplitude and phase modulated annual and semiannual signals. In view of this phenomenon, this thesis introduces an alternative approach, namely, singular spectrum analysis (SSA). With respect to these model-dependent approaches, the advantage of SSA lies in data-driven and model-independence. Several aspects regarding the application of SSA, e.g. optimal choice of window size, are investigated before showing its abilities. Through applying SSA to the lake level time series of Lake Urmia (Iran) and the basin averaged equivalent water height time series of the Congo basin, the capabilities of SSA in separating time varying seasonal signals are demonstrated. In addition, we find that SSA is also able to extract the non-linear trend as well as long-term oscillations from geodetic time series. Secondly, we look into the comparison between GPS and GRACE with an emphasis on GRACE data filtering. Three types of deterministic filters and two types of stochastic filters are studied and compared over GPS sites from two regions, i.e. the Europe area and the Amazon area. The comparisons indicate that no single filtering scheme could provide consistently better performance over other considered filters. However, we find that the stochastic filters generally show better performance than the deterministic filters. The DDK 1 filter outperforms other filters in the Europe area and the regularization filter of parameter lambda=4, which follows the concept of the DDK filters, shows optimal performance in the Amazon area. The combination of the isotropic Gaussian filter of a low smoothing radius, e.g. around 300 km with the destriping filter is proved to be optimal filter choice if only the deterministic filters are considered. Thirdly, based on an overview of displacements modeling at various spatial scales, we evaluate three methods, i.e. two types of half-space approaches and the classic Green function approach, by using a high spatial resolution local load data along the lower Mississippi river when a severe flood happened in 2011. The equivalence between the two half-space approaches, i.e. point load approach and surface load approach, are demonstrated with the local load data. However, the point load approach is recommended for practical use in terms of computational efficiency. In addition, within such a limited spatial extent, we investigate the differences between the half-space approach and the Green function approach. It is shown that the half-space approach predicts larger displacements than the Green function approach and agrees better with the observed deformations at 11 considered GPS sites. Meanwhile, strong global environmental loading effects are found via two global hydrological models, i.e. GLDAS and MERRA. Thus, a reduction of these far-field loading effects beforehand is suggested before probing the local crustal structure using the half-space approach. Last but not least, based on the local load data, the effects of site-dependent Green functions are studied with two types of site-dependent Green functions, which were generated by modifying the local crustal structure of the REF Earth model using the CRUST 1.0 and CRUST 2.0 models. A relative RMS of differences of more than 5% in vertical component and 25% in horizontal components are found with respect to the PREM Earth model based Green functions. It indicates that the Green functions could contribute more uncertainties in loading induced displacements modeling than reported in the literature.Item Open Access Automatische Interpretation von Semantik aus digitalen Karten im World Wide Web(2014) Luo, Fen; Fritsch, Dieter (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)Im Internet befindet sich eine sehr große Menge an raumbezogenen Daten, die in Form von Raster- und Vektorkarten unterschiedliche Ausschnitte der Welt darstellen. Die in diesen Karten enthaltenen Informationen sind jedoch nicht automatisch auffindbar, da sie mittels bestimmter Kartenelemente kodiert sind. Ihre Semantik wird erst bei der Interpretation durch einen Betrachter explizit. Die Kar-teninformationen sollen jedoch nicht nur von Menschen, sondern auch von Maschinen interpretiert werden können. Dies erfordert schon die große Menge der zu interpretierenden Daten. Die automati-sche Ableitung der Semantik aus den Karten wird unter dem Begriff Automatische Karteninterpreta-tion zusammengefasst. Es handelt sich dabei also um einen Prozess, der implizites Wissen eines Kar-tenbestandes explizit macht. Hierzu soll die vorliegende Arbeit Lösungen in Form der Karteninterpre-tation anbieten. Die Karteninterpretation dieser Arbeit erfolgt an Vektorkarten, die im Internet zu finden sind. Für die gezielte Suche der Vektorkarten des Internets wird eigens ein Webcrawler entwickelt. Der Webcrawler ist eine Suchmaschine, die speziell nach Vektorkarten sucht. Dazu wird ausschließlich das Shapefile-Dateiformat gesucht, das sich zu einer Art Standardformat im GIS-Umfeld entwickelt hat und in dem die Vektorkarten zumeist abgespeichert sind. Um möglichst viele Shapefiles zu finden, wird die Suche auf Servern betrieben, auf denen die Wahrscheinlichkeit Shapefiles zu finden hoch ist. Diese Server werden zuvor durch Google-Suche nach dem Schlüsselwort „shapefile download“ gefunden. Die Karteninterpretation umfasst Verfahren zur Interpretation der Kartenobjekte, der Kartentypen so-wie des Maßstabs. Zunächst soll das Verfahren zur Interpretation der Objekte einer Karte vorgestellt werden. Hier geht es darum, die Objekte anhand ihrer spezifischen Charakteristika automatisch zu erkennen. Die Ob-jekterkennung basiert auf SOM (Self-Organizing Map), bekannt aus der künstlichen Intelligenz. Die Kartenobjekte werden in Klassen wie beispielsweise Gebäudegrundriss oder Straßennetz gegliedert. Für jede Klasse sollen die ihr jeweils eigenen Merkmale gefunden und in eine der SOM zugängliche Form, hier als Parametervektor, gebracht werden. Die Parametervektoren bilden die Eingabemuster, die in der Lernphase von SOM gelernt werden. Nachdem die Eingabemuster aller Objektklassen von SOM gelernt wurden, wird der Parametervektor für jedes auf der Karte vorliegende Objekt ausgewertet und in die SOM eingegeben. Durch das zunächst erfolgte Lernen der Eingabemuster können die Ob-jekte anhand ihrer jeweils berechneten Parametervektoren der entsprechenden Objektklasse zugeord-net werden. Als weiteres Verfahren soll die Interpretation des Kartentyps vorgestellt werden. Karten sind nach ihrem inhaltlichen Gehalt und Zweck in Kartentypen wie beispielsweise Flusskarten, Straßenkarten, Höhenlinienkarten etc. kategorisiert. Wie bei der Interpretation der Objekte wird auch hierzu die SOM verwandt. Es werden also auch Eingabemuster gelernt, die die geometrischen Merkmale der Karten-typen repräsentieren. Die Merkmale ergeben sich sowohl aus der Struktur der einzelnen Objekte als auch aus der Topologie zwischen den Objekten auf einer Karte. Wird nun eine Karte in die SOM eingegeben, so erkennt die SOM anhand des gelernten Eingabemusters den entsprechenden Kartentyp. Zusätzlich erhält man den Dateinamen der Karten sowie den Inhalt der Webseite, auf welcher die Karte gefunden wurde. So wird in der vorliegenden Arbeit ebenfalls untersucht, inwiefern diese Zusatzin-formationen bei der Interpretation des Kartentyps helfen können. Die automatische Interpretation des Maßstabs ist neben der Interpretation der Kartenobjekte und Kar-tentypen ein weiteres Verfahren, das in der vorliegenden Arbeit diskutiert werden soll. Die Interpreta-tion des Maßstabs wird auf zwei Wegen vorangetrieben: Die Mehrfachrepräsentation und die Detail-lierungsgrade. Im ersten Fall kann der Maßstab aus der entsprechenden Repräsentation hergeleitet werden, da ein identisches Objekt in unterschiedlichen realitätsgetreuen Repräsentationen auf der Karte dargestellt wird. Im zweiten Fall kann der Maßstab aus den Detaillierungsgraden abgeleitet wer-den. Dies basiert darauf, dass die Karten mit verschiedenen Maßstäben unterschiedlich detailliert dar-gestellt werden.Item Open Access Performance evaluation of different satellite radar altimetry missions for monitoring inland water bodies(2017) Roohi, Shirzad; Sneeuw, Nico (Prof. Dr.-Ing.)Inland water bodies, e.g. lakes and rivers, play vital roles in society and in nature. Moreover, these water bodies can be considered as integrators of environmental change to study climate effects and hydrological cycle at global and regional scales. Because changes in the water level of lakes and rivers indicate changes in climatic parameters, such as precipitation and evaporation, it is necessary to monitor water level variation of inland water bodies continuously to understand long term changes. Traditional methods, e.g. using in-situ gauges, provide precise water level determination. But they can not monitor these water bodies in a way that today’s human needs are to be satisfied, because in-situ gauge networks do not cover all inland water bodies and their data are not publicly available. Furthermore, they are expensive to install and to maintain, especially in remote areas. In-situ gauge networks follow national policy and there is not a unified data base of their measurements. Satellite altimetry as a space-borne technology helps us to partially solve the issue of water level monitoring. This technique was originally designed to observe ocean water surface. But due to advances in satellite radar systems and in data processing methodologies, the application of satellite altimetry has been extended to monitor small lakes and narrow rivers over the past 20 years. So far, studying water level variations of inland water bodies has been a challenge for satellite altimeters in terms of spatial and temporal resolution as well as accuracy of water level determination. Due to a relatively large radar footprint, the illuminated area inside the footprint can be inhomogeneous, i.e. consisting of water, land and vegetation. Therefore, responses to the radar pulses from such a surface are complex and lead to multi-peak waveforms (corrupted waveforms). Seriously corrupted waveforms need to be analyzed to extract optimal ranges. Retracking is an effective method to improve the accuracy of the range measurement from contaminated waveforms and, consequently, to determine a more accurate water level. The design of an optimal retracking algorithm appropriate for a specific inland water body is very important in this respect. The quality of retracked water level depends on the type of altimeters and on the algorithm that is used in the retracking process. Moreover, the shape and size of the inland water bodies can affect the quality of the water level determination. In this thesis, we analyzed the waveforms in two different ways: full-waveform and sub-waveform retracking. For this purpose, different physical and empirical retracking algorithms have been employed to retrack the waveforms. In full-waveform retracking, for a given waveform one retracked range correction is estimated. But in sub-waveform retracking more than one retracked range correction can be calculated. We analyze all sub-waveforms in a given waveform and select the optimal one to retrack and consequently to determine water level variations. Three different analyses have been performed to select the optimal sub-waveform. In the first analysis we retracked only the first sub-waveform for all of the waveforms. In the second analysis all detected sub-waveforms in a given waveform are retracked to calculate the mean retracked range correction. In the last analysis we retrack the sub-waveform that provides the water level with minimum RMS with respect to model fits. For a given satellite, first we determine the water level according to on-board retrackers. The results of the on-board retrackers have been validated against available in-situ gauge data to find the best on-board retracker. Then, the full and sub-waveforms have been processed by different retracking algorithms to define the retracked water level. The retracked water level derived from different retracking scenarios have been compared with in-situ gauge data to evaluate the accuracy of each scenario. Finally, the results of the best on-board retracker were compared with the results from post-processing the waveforms to find the most accurate water level estimator. Radar characteristics and geometry of the satellite orbit, that affect on the altimeter’s performance, are designed based on main objectives of a given mission. Monitoring inland water bodies have not been the main objectives for the altimetry missions till now. We therefore do our analysis over data from different altimeters and evaluate their performance in water level monitoring of different inland water bodies. To complete our analysis, a comparison between different satellite altimeters has been performed to assess the performance of each altimeter in continental water level determination. We selected challenging objects with different shapes and sizes in different continents. For a given object, two or three satellite altimetry data sets have been analyzed to study water level variations. We used different satellite altimetry missions in our study, divided into pulse-limited and beam-limited altimeters. For the pulse-limited altimeters we selected Envisat, Jason-2, SARAL and CryoSat-2 LRM and for the beam-limited ones we used CryoSat-2 SAR and SARI n modes and I CES at satellite altimeters. GDR and SGDR data of these altimeters have been analyzed over four lakes: Neagh (Northern Ireland), Nasser (Egypt), Urmia (Iran) and Qinghai (China). We also analyzed the same data type of Envisat, Jason-2 and SARAL missions over different sections of the Danube river. We have found that over inland water bodies it is necessary to retrack the waveforms to achieve a qualified water level determination. Comparing the results from the on-board retrackers with those of the post-processed waveforms indicates that there tracked water level is more accurate. Our numerical results of the waveform retracking show that the sub-waveform outperforms the full-waveform especially over small lakes and complex shape (even large) lakes as well as over narrow rivers, e.g. Danube river. Over lakes Neagh and Nasser the beam-limited altimeters show better performance than the pulse-limited altimeters. In the case of Urmia lake, we analyzed only pulse-limited altimeters. Envisat provides the water level more accurately than CryoSat-2 LRM . Over Qinghai lake, covered by beam- and pulse-limited altimeters, both Envisat and CryoSat-2 LRM have the same performance. They show better performance than I CES at. Over Danube river, Envisat and SARAL show the same performance which is better than that of Jason-2. If we compare the results of all retracking scenarios for all missions, we can conclude that the mean sub-waveform retracked with the threshold retracker is the best retracking scenario to monitor small and complex shape inland water bodies. The first sub-waveform retracked with this retracker is an alternative scenario for the inland water bodies.