Spatio-Temporal Change of Support Methods in Aquarius Sea Surface Salinity Data

• Activity Number: 164
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Monday, August 5, 2013 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistics and the Environment
• Author(s): Elizabeth Mannshardt*+ and Katarina Sucic and Frederick Bingham and Montserrat Fuentes
• Companies: North Carolina State University and North Carolina State University and The University of North Carolina at Wilmington and North Carolina State University
• Keywords: spatial ; Aquarius satellite ; salinity ; spatio-temporal ; change of support ; downscaling

Abstract

Salinity affects the interaction between ocean circulation and the global water cycle, which in turn affects the regulation of the Earth's climate through the ocean's capacity to store and transport heat. In 2011, NASA launched an exciting satellite mission to measure sea-surface salinity and provide the global view of salinity variability needed for climate studies. Using Aquarius level 2 sea surface salinity data, we investigate the time and space scales of variability in the Intertropical Convergence Zone between 30S and 30N. In order to better forecast the oceanic circulation and ultimately improve climate models, it is essential to quantify the relationship between salinity meteorological factors such as wind and precipitation. Spatio-temporal downscaling methods to account for the sampling bias and change-of-support issue between satellite data and smaller-scale rainfall events and wind-speed measurements will be considered. A case study of the region near the Costa Rica Dome examines the relationship between salinity and location, wind-speed and rainfall. To characterize the tails of the distribution of salinity, a spatially varying threshold approach is explored.