Estimating Velocity Vector Fields of Atmospheric Winds using Transport Gaussian Processes

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Fahmy, Youssef, Battagliola, Maria Laura, Guinness, Joseph
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Fahmy, Youssef
Battagliola, Maria Laura
Guinness, Joseph
author_facet Fahmy, Youssef
Battagliola, Maria Laura
Guinness, Joseph
contents Accurately estimating latent velocity vector fields of atmospheric winds is crucial for understanding weather phenomena. Direct measurement of atmospheric winds is costly, especially in the upper atmosphere, so researchers attempt to estimate atmospheric winds by observing the movement patterns of clouds and other features in satellite images of the atmosphere. These Derived Motion Winds use feature tracking algorithms to search for movement within small windows in space and time. Consequently, these algorithms cannot leverage information from broader-scale features and cannot ensure that the collection of wind vectors over space and time represents a physically realistic velocity field. In this work, we use spatial-temporal Gaussian processes to model the evolution of a scalar quantity transported over time by fluid flow. Our framework simultaneously estimates covariance parameters and latent velocities by maximizing the likelihood. Specifically, flows are represented using time-dependent residual neural networks, and velocities are subsequently derived through closed-form formulas. Performance evaluations using weather model data demonstrate our method's accuracy and efficiency. We apply our method to GOES-16 images, demonstrating computational efficiency and the ability to produce wind estimates where Derived Motion Winds fail.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_10898
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Estimating Velocity Vector Fields of Atmospheric Winds using Transport Gaussian Processes
Fahmy, Youssef
Battagliola, Maria Laura
Guinness, Joseph
Applications
Accurately estimating latent velocity vector fields of atmospheric winds is crucial for understanding weather phenomena. Direct measurement of atmospheric winds is costly, especially in the upper atmosphere, so researchers attempt to estimate atmospheric winds by observing the movement patterns of clouds and other features in satellite images of the atmosphere. These Derived Motion Winds use feature tracking algorithms to search for movement within small windows in space and time. Consequently, these algorithms cannot leverage information from broader-scale features and cannot ensure that the collection of wind vectors over space and time represents a physically realistic velocity field. In this work, we use spatial-temporal Gaussian processes to model the evolution of a scalar quantity transported over time by fluid flow. Our framework simultaneously estimates covariance parameters and latent velocities by maximizing the likelihood. Specifically, flows are represented using time-dependent residual neural networks, and velocities are subsequently derived through closed-form formulas. Performance evaluations using weather model data demonstrate our method's accuracy and efficiency. We apply our method to GOES-16 images, demonstrating computational efficiency and the ability to produce wind estimates where Derived Motion Winds fail.
title Estimating Velocity Vector Fields of Atmospheric Winds using Transport Gaussian Processes
topic Applications
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.10898