scholarly journals Bi-Directional Reflectance Factor Determination of the Railroad Valley Playa

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (22) ◽  
pp. 2601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruegge ◽  
Coburn ◽  
Elmes ◽  
Helmlinger ◽  
Kataoka ◽  
...  

Vicarious calibration is the determination of an on-orbit sensor’s radiometric response using measurements over test sites such as Railroad Valley (RRV), Nevada. It has the highest accuracy when a remote sensor’s view angle is aligned with that of the surface measurements, namely at a nadir view. For view angles greater than 10, the dominant error is the uncertainty in the off-nadir correction factor. The factor is largest in the back-scatter principal plane and can reach 20%. The Orbiting-Carbon Observatory has access to a number of datasets to determine this deviation. These include measurements from field instruments such as the Portable Apparatus for Rapid Acquisition of Bidirectional Observation of the Land and Atmosphere (PARABOLA), as well as satellite measurements from Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) and MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The correction factor derived from PARABOLA is consistent in time and space to within 2% for view angles as large as 30. Field spectrometer data show that the correction term is spectrally invariant. For this reason, a time-invariant model of RRV surface reflectance, along with empirically derived coefficients, is sufficient to use in the calibration of off-nadir sensors, provided there has been no recent rainfall. With this off-nadir correction, calibrations can be expected to have uncertainties within 5%.

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 1065-1079 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. A. J. Schutgens ◽  
D. G. Partridge ◽  
P. Stier

Abstract. It is often implicitly assumed that over suitably long periods the mean of observations and models should be comparable, even if they have different temporal sampling. We assess the errors incurred due to ignoring temporal sampling and show that they are of similar magnitude as (but smaller than) actual model errors (20–60 %).Using temporal sampling from remote-sensing data sets, the satellite imager MODIS (MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and the ground-based sun photometer network AERONET (AErosol Robotic NETwork), and three different global aerosol models, we compare annual and monthly averages of full model data to sampled model data. Our results show that sampling errors as large as 100 % in AOT (aerosol optical thickness), 0.4 in AE (Ångström Exponent) and 0.05 in SSA (single scattering albedo) are possible. Even in daily averages, sampling errors can be significant. Moreover these sampling errors are often correlated over long distances giving rise to artificial contrasts between pristine and polluted events and regions. Additionally, we provide evidence that suggests that models will underestimate these errors. To prevent sampling errors, model data should be temporally collocated to the observations before any analysis is made.We also discuss how this work has consequences for in situ measurements (e.g. aircraft campaigns or surface measurements) in model evaluation.Although this study is framed in the context of model evaluation, it has a clear and direct relevance to climatologies derived from observational data sets.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Sayer ◽  
N. C. Hsu ◽  
C. Bettenhausen ◽  
R. E. Holz ◽  
J. Lee ◽  
...  

Abstract. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is being used to continue the record of Earth Science observations and data products produced routinely from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) measurements. However, the absolute calibration of VIIRS's reflected solar bands is thought to be biased, leading to offsets in derived data products such as aerosol optical depth (AOD) when similar algorithms are applied to the different sensors. This study presents a vicarious calibration of these VIIRS bands against MODIS Aqua over dark water scenes, finding corrections to VIIRS between approximately +2 % and −7 % (dependent on band) are needed to bring the two into alignment, and indications of relative trending of up to ~ 0.45 % per year in some bands. The derived vicarious gains are also applied in an AOD retrieval, and are shown to decrease the bias and total error in AOD across the midvisible spectral region compared to the standard VIIRS NASA calibration. The resulting bias characteristics are similar to those of NASA MODIS AOD data products, which is encouraging in terms of multisensor data continuity.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie R. Banks ◽  
Helen E. Brindley ◽  
Georgiy Stenchikov ◽  
Kerstin Schepanski

Abstract. The inter-annual variability of dust aerosol presence over the Red Sea is analysed, with respect to the summer-time latitudinal gradient in dust loading, which is at a maximum in the far south of the Red Sea and at a minimum in the far north. Two satellite aerosol optical depth (AOD) products from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) and the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments are used to quantify this loading over the region. Over an eleven-year period from 2005–2015 the July mean SEVIRI AODs at 630 nm vary between 0.48 and 1.45 in the southern half of the Sea, while in the north this varies between 0.22 and 0.66. Validating the AOD retrievals using ship-based measurements from 2010–2015, both instrument retrievals are highly correlated with the surface measurements, with biases of +0.02 for SEVIRI and +0.03 for MODIS. However, inter-retrieval biases are observed to occur at higher dust loadings, with pronounced positive MODIS-SEVIRI AOD biases at AODs greater than ~1. Co-located MISR data indicate broadly equal but opposite biases by the two retrievals when the MISR AOD > 1, +0.12 for MODIS and −0.10 for SEVIRI as compared with MISR, indicating substantial and systematic differences between the retrievals over the Red Sea at high dust loadings.


2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 1585-1595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick W. Nagle ◽  
Robert E. Holz

Abstract The usefulness of measurements from satellite-borne instruments is enhanced if these measurements can be compared to measurements from other instruments mounted aboard the same or different satellite, with measurements from aircraft, or with ground measurements. The process of associating measurements from disparate instruments and platforms is referred to as collocation. In a few cases, two instruments mounted aboard the same spacecraft have been engineered to function in tandem, but commonly this is not the case. The collocation process may then become an awkward geometric problem of finding which of many observations within one dataset corresponds to an observation in another set, possibly from another platform. This paper presents methods that can be applied to a wide range of satellite, aircraft, and surface measurements that allow for efficient collocation with measurements having varying spatial and temporal sampling. Examples of applying the methods are presented that highlight the benefits of efficient collocation. This includes identifying the occurrence of simultaneous nadir observations (SNOs); collocation of sounder, imager, and active remotely sensed measurements on the NASA Earth Observation System (EOS); and collocation of the polar orbiting imager, sounder, and microwave measurements with geostationary observations. It is possible, using an inexpensive laptop computer, to collocate Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imager observations from the Aqua satellite with geostationary observations rapidly enough to deal with these measurements in real time, making either dataset, enhanced by the other, a potentially operational product. A “tool kit” is suggested consisting of computer procedures useful in collocation.


1999 ◽  
Vol 38 (30) ◽  
pp. 6294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhengming Wan ◽  
Yulin Zhang ◽  
Xialin Ma ◽  
Michael D. King ◽  
Jeffrey S. Myers ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Zhenzhen Wang ◽  
Jianjun Zhao ◽  
Jiawen Xu ◽  
Mingrui Jia ◽  
Han Li ◽  
...  

Northeast China is China’s primary grain production base. A large amount of crop straw is incinerated every spring and autumn, which greatly impacts air quality. To study the degree of influence of straw burning on urban pollutant concentrations, this study used The Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer/Terra Thermal Anomalies & Fire Daily L3 Global 1 km V006 (MOD14A1) and The Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer/Aqua Thermal Anomalies and Fire Daily L3 Global 1 km V006 (MYD14A1) data from 2015 to 2017 to extract fire spot data on arable land burning and to study the spatial distribution characteristics of straw burning on urban pollutant concentrations, temporal variation characteristics and impact thresholds. The results show that straw burning in Northeast China is concentrated in spring and autumn; the seasonal spatial distributions of PM2.5, PM10 andAir Quality Index (AQI) in 41 cities or regions in Northeast China correspond to the seasonal variation of fire spots; and pollutants appear in the peak periods of fire spots. In areas where the concentration coefficient of rice or corn is greater than 1, the number of fire spots has a strong correlation with the urban pollution index. The correlation coefficient R between the number of burned fire spots and the pollutant concentration has a certain relationship with the urban distribution. Cities are aggregated in geospatial space with different R values.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 2895
Author(s):  
Maria Gavrouzou ◽  
Nikolaos Hatzianastassiou ◽  
Antonis Gkikas ◽  
Christos J. Lolis ◽  
Nikolaos Mihalopoulos

A satellite algorithm able to identify Dust Aerosols (DA) is applied for a climatological investigation of Dust Aerosol Episodes (DAEs) over the greater Mediterranean Basin (MB), one of the most climatologically sensitive regions of the globe. The algorithm first distinguishes DA among other aerosol types (such as Sea Salt and Biomass Burning) by applying threshold values on key aerosol optical properties describing their loading, size and absorptivity, namely Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), Aerosol Index (AI) and Ångström Exponent (α). The algorithm operates on a daily and 1° × 1° geographical cell basis over the 15-year period 2005–2019. Daily gridded spectral AOD data are taken from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Aqua Collection 6.1, and are used to calculate the α data, which are then introduced into the algorithm, while AI data are obtained by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) -Aura- Near-UV aerosol product OMAERUV dataset. The algorithm determines the occurrence of Dust Aerosol Episode Days (DAEDs), whenever high loads of DA (higher than their climatological mean value plus two/four standard deviations for strong/extreme DAEDs) exist over extended areas (more than 30 pixels or 300,000 km2). The identified DAEDs are finally grouped into Dust Aerosol Episode Cases (DAECs), consisting of at least one DAED. According to the algorithm results, 166 (116 strong and 50 extreme) DAEDs occurred over the MB during the study period. DAEDs are observed mostly in spring (47%) and summer (38%), with strong DAEDs occurring primarily in spring and summer and extreme ones in spring. Decreasing, but not statistically significant, trends of the frequency, spatial extent and intensity of DAECs are revealed. Moreover, a total number of 98 DAECs was found, primarily in spring (46 DAECs) and secondarily in summer (36 DAECs). The seasonal distribution of the frequency of DAECs varies geographically, being highest in early spring over the eastern Mediterranean, in late spring over the central Mediterranean and in summer over the western MB.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 920
Author(s):  
Zhongting Wang ◽  
Ruru Deng ◽  
Pengfei Ma ◽  
Yuhuan Zhang ◽  
Yeheng Liang ◽  
...  

Aerosol distribution with fine spatial resolution is crucial for atmospheric environmental management. This paper proposes an improved algorithm of aerosol retrieval from 250-m Medium Resolution Spectral Image (MERSI) data of Chinese FY-3 satellites. A mixing model of soil and vegetation was used to calculate the parameters of the algorithm from moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) reflectance products in 500-m resolution. The mixing model was used to determine surface reflectance in blue band, and the 250-m aerosol optical depth (AOD) was retrieved through removing surface contributions from MERSI data over Guangzhou. The algorithm was used to monitor two pollution episodes in Guangzhou in 2015, and the results displayed an AOD spatial distribution with 250-m resolution. Compared with the yearly average of MODIS aerosol products in 2015, the 250-m resolution AOD derived from the MERSI data exhibited great potential for identifying air pollution sources. Daily AODs derived from MERSI data were compared with ground results from CE318 measurements. The results revealed a correlation coefficient between the AODs from MERSI and those from the ground measurements of approximately 0.85, and approximately 68% results were within expected error range of ±(0.05 + 15%τ).


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hirofumi Hashimoto ◽  
Weile Wang ◽  
Jennifer L. Dungan ◽  
Shuang Li ◽  
Andrew R. Michaelis ◽  
...  

AbstractAssessing the seasonal patterns of the Amazon rainforests has been difficult because of the paucity of ground observations and persistent cloud cover over these forests obscuring optical remote sensing observations. Here, we use data from a new generation of geostationary satellites that carry the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) to study the Amazon canopy. ABI is similar to the widely used polar orbiting sensor, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), but provides observations every 10–15 min. Our analysis of NDVI data collected over the Amazon during 2018–19 shows that ABI provides 21–35 times more cloud-free observations in a month than MODIS. The analyses show statistically significant changes in seasonality over 85% of Amazon forest pixels, an area about three times greater than previously reported using MODIS data. Though additional work is needed in converting the observed changes in seasonality into meaningful changes in canopy dynamics, our results highlight the potential of the new generation geostationary satellites to help us better understand tropical ecosystems, which has been a challenge with only polar orbiting satellites.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document