This paper considers implications of different forms of the ensemble transformation in the ensemble square root filters (ESRFs) for the performance of ESRF-based data assimilation systems. It highlights the importance of using mean-preserving solutions for the ensemble transform matrix (ETM). The paper shows that an arbitrary mean-preserving ETM can be represented as a product of the symmetric ...

This paper compares and contrasts predictions of forest height in Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) plantations based on mediumresolution Landsat ETM+, high-resolution IKONOS satellite imagery and airborne Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) data. The relationship between field-measured height and LiDAR height is linear and highly significant (R 0.98) and so LiDAR height measurements were used to...

Remote sensing has been considered a low-cost, large-area coverage forest information resource ideally suited to broad-scale forest inventory objectives. The objective of this study is to determine stand type parameters such as crown closure, development stage and stand types, and land cover obtained from Landsat 7 ETM image and forest cover type map (stand type map). The research also focuses ...

The development of appropriate ground-based validation techniques is critical to assessing uncertainties associated with satellite databased products. Here we present a method for validation of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Leaf Area Index (LAI) product with emphasis on the sampling strategy for field data collection. This paper, the first of two-part series, details...

The Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) is currently in the process of mapping woody change across the State of Queensland for the era 1999 to 2001. SLATS covers such a large area that Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery was chosen as the most effective data for this purpose. Since 1995 the woody change in Queensland has been mapped every two years. The 1999 to 2001 change era is the f...