METHOD FOR DETERMINING THICKNESS OF ICE IN FREEZING WATER AREAS Russian patent published in 2008 - IPC G06K9/68 G01B7/06 

FIELD: hydrology, possible use for determining thickness of ice cover over freezing water areas on basis of data of remote measurement instruments, installed on meteorological Earth satellites.

SUBSTANCE: in accordance to the invention, provided mathematical formulas are used to a priori calculate a set of standards of nonlinear similarity coefficients between relief of true ice thickness and relief of temperature field of ice cover. Then similarity coefficients are determined on basis of data of infrared image being analyzed, where test sections are selected, surface temperature of which corresponds to sections of water at freezing temperature and to sections of "thick" (thickness > 120 cm) snow-covered ice. Under identical hydro-meteorological conditions from a set of standard values for data for the time of image receipt, similarity coefficients are selected which are equal to the calculated ones, and temperature intervals, which correspond to selected discrete intervals of ice thickness, are determined. On the image of ice cover, sections with given ice thickness intervals are singled out using a color pattern. As test sections on the infrared image which correspond to surface temperature or brightness of pixels of "thick" snow-covered ice, sections of image of snow-covered earth surface, which is positioned closely to ice cover being examined, are selected.

EFFECT: creation of monitoring over thickness of ice in freezing water areas on basis of images in heat channel of infrared range of frequencies of meteorological Earth satellites, which is automated in interactive mode.

3 cl, 1 dwg