A general formalism for the distribution of the total length of a geophysical parameter along a finite transect

Author

Astin, Ivan ; Girolamo, Larry Di

Author_Institution

NERC Environ. Syst. Sci. Centre, Reading Univ., UK

Volume

37

Issue

1

fYear

1999

fDate

1/1/1999 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

508

Lastpage

512

Abstract

The distribution of the total length of a geophysical parameter along a finite linear transect is required to determine confidence intervals for its true mean fractional coverage. The distribution is analogous to the total time a queue is busy within a finite time interval. As posed as a queuing problem, this distribution has been the subject of study for the last 40 years using a variety of approaches. Using a heuristic approach, the general equation for the distribution is derived within a geophysical context. As an example, the general equation for the distribution is applied to an exponential field and validated against a published simulation of an exponential field of leads in ice floes. The formalism allows for exact confidence intervals to be derived, and its application to hypothesis testing and experimental design in remote sensing is discussed

Keywords

geophysical techniques; remote sensing; confidence interval; distribution; exact confidence interval; exponential field; finite linear transect; finite transect; general formalism; geophysical measurement technique; geophysical parameter; heuristic approach; hypothesis testing; land surface; queuing problem; remote sensing; sampling; terrain mapping; total length; true mean fractional coverage; Atmosphere; Clouds; Design for experiments; Equations; Ice surface; Ocean temperature; Remote sensing; Sea surface; Testing; Vegetation;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Geoscience and Remote Sensing, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0196-2892

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/36.739102

Filename

739102