The Gabor Function Application for Interpretation of Atmospheric Gravity Waves in Satellite images

The paper studies the possibility of applying the Gabor transform for satellite images processing of atmospheric internal gravity waves. The influence of internal gravity waves on atmospheric circulation, vertical structure of meteorological fields, their variability and turbulent regime of all atmospheric layers was noted. In contrast to the Fourier transform, the Gabor filter analyzes the image in both frequency and spatial spaces and can work with the non-stationary signal. The parameters of the Gabor filter are analyzed and their physical interpretation in the field of meteorological variables is given. The parameters of the Gabor filter reflect the spatial orientation of waves, the size of the propagation region, lengths and amplitudes. It is convincingly shown that this method allows distinguish gravity waves of different genesis and shape: from quasi-linear in lee waves to circular in volcanic eruptions and cyclonic storms, as well as when their interference. To demonstrate the capabilities of the Gabor filter, images of different spatial resolutions were used. The Gabor filter can be applied not only to images in the visible range, but also to images in water vapor channels where invisible waves that do not form cloudiness are detected. Such situations form clear sky turbulence and are dangerous for aircraft flights.