Monitoring of Clouds Deformation and Movement in Tokyo using Ground-based Network Cameras

Abstract

We installed network cameras around the Tokyo Bay to monitor clouds in center of Tokyo. The main focus of the present study is to examine the applicability of this system to study the cloud deformation and movement for the sake of rainfall prediction. Stereo-image analysis of clouds allowed detecting their location, horizontal and vertical sizes of cumulous clouds, and speed of their spatial expansion. Our measurement system observed a temporal evolution of cumulonimbus in Tokyo. The developing speed and the maximum altitude of this cloud was estimated. It is also observed that clouds in different layers going to different directions. The direction of cloud movement at the lower layer seems to be more important to invoke a rainfall. This certifies the advantage of the ground-based network camera system compared to the satellite observations in terms of measuring the clouds in the lowest layer.