Intercomparison of Surface broadband Albedo products from MODIS, CGLS over Northeast Asia

Author(s):  
Noh-Hun Seong ◽  
Sungwon Choi ◽  
Donghyun Jin ◽  
Daeseong Jung ◽  
Kyung-soo Han

<p>Surface broadband albedo is one of the climate variables that understand Earth’s radiation budget. Currently, the polar-orbit satellite-derived surface broadband albedo products are retrieved by several organizations. As there are many kinds, it is necessary to identify the characteristics of each products. In this study, we were to compare representative products for long-term that the albedo products based on polar-obit satellite such as moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS). We studied the Northeast Asia region where the land type remains unchanged from 2000 to 2018. The overall trend of the two products was similar. However, differences occurred depending on the land types and season. The relatively high value of MODIS albedo was calculated in winter because it was sensitive to the snow. In other seasons, the CGLS albedo was higher than the MODIS albedo. The MODIS albedo was calculated higher than CGLS albedo for all land types except forest. The comparison results showed that caution should be given before operational use of the albedo data sets in these regions.</p>

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1114
Author(s):  
Wei Yang ◽  
Akihiko Kondoh

Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) provides a state-of-the-art technique for measuring forest canopy height. Nevertheless, it may miss some forests due to its spatial separation of individual spots. A number of efforts have been made to overcome the limitation of global LiDAR datasets to generate wall-to-wall canopy height products, among which a global satellite product produced by Simard et al. (2011) (henceforth, the Simard-map) has been the most widely applied. However, the accuracy of the Simard-map is uncertain in boreal forests, which play important roles in the terrestrial carbon cycle and are encountering more extensive climate changes than the global average. In this letter, we evaluated the Simard-map in boreal forests through a literature review of field canopy height. Our comparison shows that the Simard-map yielded a significant correlation with the field canopy height (R2 = 0.68 and p < 0.001). However, remarkable biases were observed with the root mean square error (RMSE), regression slope, and intercept of 6.88 m, 0.448, and 10.429, respectively. Interestingly, we found that the evaluation results showed an identical trend with a validation of moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) tree-cover product (MOD44B) in boreal forests, which was used as a crucial input data set for generating the Simard-map. That is, both the Simard-map and MOD44B yielded an overestimation (underestimation) in the lower (upper) tails of the scatterplots between the field and satellite data sets. This indicates that the MOD44B product is the likely source of error for the estimation biases of the Simard-map. Finally, a field calibration was performed to improve the Simard-map in boreal forests by compensating for the estimation biases and discarding non-forest areas, which provided a more reliable canopy height product for future applications.


Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (16) ◽  
pp. 3569
Author(s):  
Calleja ◽  
Corbea-Pérez ◽  
Fernández ◽  
Recondo ◽  
Peón ◽  
...  

The aim of this work is to investigate whether snow albedo seasonality and trend under all sky conditions at Johnsons Glacier (Livingston Island, Antarctica) can be tracked using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) snow albedo daily product MOD10A1. The time span is from December 2006 to February 2015. As the MOD10A1 snow albedo product has never been used in Antarctica before, we also assess the performance for the MOD10A1 cloud mask. The motivation for this work is the need for a description of snow albedo under all sky conditions (including overcast days) using satellite data with mid-spatial resolution. In-situ albedo was filtered with a 5-day windowed moving average, while the MOD10A1 data were filtered using a maximum filter. Both in-situ and MOD10A1 data follow an exponential decay during the melting season, with a maximum decay of 0.049/0.094 day−1 (in-situ/MOD10A1) for the 2006–2007 season and a minimum of 0.016/0.016 day−1 for the 2009–2010 season. The duration of the decay varies from 85 days (2007–2008) to 167 days (2013–2014). Regarding the albedo trend, both data sets exhibit a slight increase of albedo, which may be explained by an increase of snowfall along with a decrease of snowmelt in the study area. Annual albedo increases of 0.2% and 0.7% are obtained for in-situ and MOD10A1 data, respectively, which amount to respective increases of 2% and 6% in the period 2006–2015. We conclude that MOD10A1 can be used to characterize snow albedo seasonality and trend on Livingston Island when filtered with a maximum filter.


2004 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 223-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian C. Brown ◽  
Ted A. Scambos

AbstractWe use satellite images to track seasonal and interannual variations in blue-ice extent over the past 30 years near Byrd Glacier on the East Antarctic plateau. The study areas have low slope and few nearby nunataks, which may increase their climate sensitivity. A threshold-based algorithm sensitive to snow grain-size is used to analyze 56 Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images over three recent summer seasons. Seasonal blue-ice exposure grows rapidly in late spring, and peaks by late December. Exposure is relatively constant between late December and mid-January, then declines in February. We interpret this cycle as due to removal and re-accumulation of patchy snow. Interannual changes in blue-ice area may be estimated by tracking the near-constant summer maximum extent period. Fifteen mid-summer Landsat images, spanning 1974–2002, were analyzed to determine long-term variations. Interannual area changes are 10–30%; however, the MODIS data revealed that the exposed blue-ice area can be sharply reduced for up to 2 weeks after a snowfall event; and in the 2001/02 season, patchy snow cover persisted for the entire summer. The combination of MODIS seasonal and Landsat interannual data indicates that blue-ice areas can be climate-sensitive. The strong feedback between snow cover and surface energy balance implies that blue-ice areas could rapidly decrease due to climate-related increases in snowfall or reduced ablation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (82) ◽  
pp. 210-226
Author(s):  
Megan O'Sadnick ◽  
Chris Petrich ◽  
Camilla Brekke ◽  
Jofrid Skarðhamar

AbstractResults examining variations in the ice extent along the Norwegian coastline based on the analysis of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images from 2001 to 2019, February through May, are presented. A total of 386 fjords and coastal areas were outlined and grouped into ten regions to assess seasonal and long-term trends in ice extent. In addition, three fjords were examined to investigate how ice extent may vary over short distances (<100 km). Of the 386 outlined, 47 fjords/coastal areas held >5 km2 of ice at least once between 2001 and 2019. Over this span of time, no statistically significant trend in ice extent is found for all ten regions; however, variations between regions and years are evident. Ice extent is assessed through comparison to three weather variables – freezing degree days (FDD), daily new snowfall and daily freshwater supply from rainfall plus snowmelt. Six out of ten regions are significantly positively correlated (p < 0.05) to FDD. In addition, ice in two regions is significantly positively correlated to daily new snowfall, and in one region negatively correlated to rainfall plus snowmelt. The importance of fjord geometry and bathymetry as well as other weather variables including wind is discussed.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pawan Gupta ◽  
Lorraine A. Remer ◽  
Robert C. Levy ◽  
Shana Mattoo

Abstract. The two MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors, aboard Earth Observing Satellites (EOS) Terra and Aqua, have been making aerosol observations for more than 15 years. From these observations, the MODIS dark target (DT) aerosol retrieval algorithm provides aerosol optical depth (AOD) products, globally over both land and ocean. In addition to the standard resolution product (10 × 10 km2), the MODIS collection 6 (C006) data release included a higher resolution (3 × 3 km2). Other than accommodations for the two different resolutions, the 10 km, and 3 km DT algorithms are basically the same. In this study, we perform global validation of the higher resolution AOD over global land by comparing against AERONET measurements. The MODIS-AERONET collocated data sets consist of 161,410 high-confidence AOD pairs from 2000 to 2015 for MODIS Terra and 2003 to 2015 for MODIS-Aqua. We find that 62.5 % and 68.4 % of AODs retrieved from MODIS-Terra and MODIS-Aqua, respectively, fall within previously published expected error bounds of ±(0.05 + 0.2*AOD), with a high correlation (R = 0.87). The scatter is not random but exhibits a mean positive bias of ~ 0.06 for Terra and ~ 0.03 for Aqua. These biases for the 3 km product are approximately 0.03 larger than the biases found in similar validations of the 10 km product. The validation results for the 3 km product did not have a relationship to aerosol loading (i.e. true AOD) but did exhibit dependence on quality flags, region, viewing geometry, and aerosol spatial variability. Time series of global MODIS-AERONET differences show that validation is not static, but has changed over the course of both sensors' lifetimes, with MODIS-Terra showing more change over time. The likely cause of the change of validation over time is sensor degradation, but changes in the distribution of AERONET stations and differences in the global aerosol system itself could be contributing to the temporal variability of validation.


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 5351-5378 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Mebust ◽  
A. R. Russell ◽  
R. C. Hudman ◽  
L. C. Valin ◽  
R. C. Cohen

Abstract. We use observations of fire radiative power (FRP) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and tropospheric NO2 column measurements from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) to derive NO2 wildfire emission coefficients (g MJ−1) for three land types over California and Nevada. Retrieved emission coefficients were 0.279 ± 0.077, 0.342 ± 0.053, and 0.696 ± 0.088 g MJ−1 NO2 for forest, grass and shrub fuels, respectively. These emission coefficients reproduce ratios of emissions with fuel type reported previously using independent methods. However, the magnitude of these coefficients is lower than prior estimates, which suggests either a negative bias in the OMI NO2 retrieval over regions of active emissions, or that the average fire observed in our study has a smaller ratio of flaming to smoldering combustion than measurements used in prior estimates of emissions. Our results indicate that satellite data can provide an extensive characterization of the variability in fire NOx emissions; 67% of the variability in emissions in this region can be accounted for using an FRP-based parameterization.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-92

Climatology of aerosols, their trends and classification based on the long-term Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) measurements (from February 2000 to July 2015) of aerosol optical depths at 550 nm (τ550) and Angstrom exponent (α470-660) using the wavelengths of 470 and 660nm in Nairobi, Skukuza and Ilorin AERONET stations were analyzed in this work. The level-2 collection-6 Deep Blue (L2 C006 DB) of the parameters listed above from the aqua- (MYD04) and terra- (MOD04) MODIS of the study area were statistically analyzed using SPSS. To be able to understand the temporal variation in the characteristics of aerosols in the three stations and during each season separately, MODIS measurements of τ, retrieved for the study area, were compared with AERONET τ. Overall, aqua-MODIS τ corroborate the AERONET measurements well in Nairobi and Ilorin stations with underestimation of 29.80 % and overestimation of 2.90 % respectively, whereas Skukuza station has terra-MODIS τ as the best representation of the AERONET measurements with underestimation of 1.90 %. ....


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 3145-3159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pawan Gupta ◽  
Lorraine A. Remer ◽  
Robert C. Levy ◽  
Shana Mattoo

Abstract. In addition to the standard resolution product (10 km), the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Collection 6 (C006) data release included a higher resolution (3 km). Other than accommodations for the two different resolutions, the 10 and 3 km Dark Target (DT) algorithms are basically the same. In this study, we perform global validation of the higher-resolution aerosol optical depth (AOD) over global land by comparing against AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) measurements. The MODIS–AERONET collocated data sets consist of 161 410 high-confidence AOD pairs from 2000 to 2015 for Terra MODIS and 2003 to 2015 for Aqua MODIS. We find that 62.5 and 68.4 % of AODs retrieved from Terra MODIS and Aqua MODIS, respectively, fall within previously published expected error bounds of ±(0.05 + 0.2 × AOD), with a high correlation (R= 0.87). The scatter is not random, but exhibits a mean positive bias of ∼ 0.06 for Terra and ∼ 0.03 for Aqua. These biases for the 3 km product are approximately 0.03 larger than the biases found in similar validations of the 10 km product. The validation results for the 3 km product did not have a relationship to aerosol loading (i.e., true AOD), but did exhibit dependence on quality flags, region, viewing geometry, and aerosol spatial variability. Time series of global MODIS–AERONET differences show that validation is not static, but has changed over the course of both sensors' lifetimes, with Terra MODIS showing more change over time. The likely cause of the change of validation over time is sensor degradation, but changes in the distribution of AERONET stations and differences in the global aerosol system itself could be contributing to the temporal variability of validation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 6049-6062 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. Toth ◽  
J. Zhang ◽  
J. R. Campbell ◽  
E. J. Hyer ◽  
J. S. Reid ◽  
...  

Abstract. Satellite-derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) observations have been used to estimate particulate matter smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5). However, such a relationship could be affected by the representativeness of satellite-derived AOD to surface aerosol particle mass concentration and satellite AOD data quality. Using purely measurement-based methods, we have explored the impacts of data quality and representativeness on the AOD-inferred PM2.5 / AOD relationship for the contiguous United States (CONUS). This is done through temporally and spatially collocated data sets of PM2.5 and AOD retrievals from Aqua/Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR), and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP). These analyses show that improving data quality of satellite AOD, such as done with data assimilation-grade retrievals, increases their correlation with PM2.5. However, overall correlation is relatively low across the CONUS. Also, integrated extinction observed within 500 m above ground level (a.g.l.), as measured by CALIOP, is not well representative of the total column AOD. Surface aerosol in the eastern CONUS is better correlated with total column AOD than in the western CONUS. The best correlation values are found for estimated dry mass CALIOP extinction at 200–300 m a.g.l. and PM2.5, but additional work is needed to address the ability of using actively sensed AOD as a proxy for PM2.5 concentrations.


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