The Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT, "IBUKI") captured the floodings in Thailand and Cambodia.
The Cloud and Aerosol Imager (CAI) on "IBUKI" acquired the following images on November 4, 2011 (Image 1) and on November 21, 2010 (Image 2) . From these two images it is possible to see that the larger area is colored blue (indicating water) this year. On November 04, 2011, in Bangkok's vicinity at the lower reach of the Chao Phraya river, the red areas (indicating vegetation) are barely visible, and the large area is colored blue in the Ayutthaya province located around 70 km north of Bangkok city. In the 2011 image, not only in Thailand, but also in Cambodia, the blue area spreads wide along the margin of the lake Tonle Sap located north west of Phnom Penh, and in the lower reach of Mekong River that drains out from Phnom Penh southeastward. The following images are composite images in which red, green, and blue are assigned to the bands of center wavelengths 870 nm, 678 nm, and 380 nm (*) of CAI onboard "IBUKI."
Image 1. The image made from CAI data acquired by "IBUKI" when it flew over Thailand and Cambodia on November 04, 2011 06:10 (UTC). The water is shown in blue, terrestrial vegetation in red, and clouds in white. The white line is the contour line of mean sea level. Click on image to enlarge.
Image 2. The image made from CAI data acquired by "IBUKI" when it flew over Thailand and Cambodia on November 27, 2010 06:08 (UTC). The water is shown in blue, terrestrial vegetation in red, and clouds in white. The white line is the contour line of mean sea level.Click on image to enlarge.
The enlarged image of Bangkok, Thailand of Image 1(November 04, 2011 06:10 (UTC) ). The water is shown in blue, terrestrial vegetation in red, and clouds in white. The green line is the contour line of 15 m above mean sea level.Click on image to enlarge.
Image 2a. The enlarged image of Bangkok, Thailand of Image 2 (November 27, 2010 06:08 (UTC) ). The water is shown in blue, terrestrial vegetation in red, and clouds in white. The green line is the contour line of 15 m above mean sea level. Click on image to enlarge.
The Ministry of the Environment Japan, the National Institute for Environmental Studies, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency jointly conduct the GOSAT Project. GOSAT itself was launched on January 23, 2009.
Using observational data from GOSAT and ground-based data, the estimation of monthly regional CO2 sources and sinks (net fluxes) and their uncertainty was carried out. It was demonstrated that the CO2 concentration data retrieved from GOSAT soundings can reduce the uncertainty of fluxes estimated from ground-based data alone.
The outcomes of this research were published in the Meteorological Society of Japan's Scientific Online Letters on the Atmosphere (SOLA) on October 29, 2011. These estimations will now be disseminated to affiliated researchers selected by means of GOSAT Research Announcements. Following the assessment and validation of these results by the researchers, the improved flux data will be made available to the general public.