Evaluating MODIS snow products for modelling snowmelt runoff: Case study of the Rio Grande headwaters

Snow-covered area (SCA) is a key variable in the Snowmelt-Runoff Model (SRM) and in other models for simulating discharge from snowmelt. Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM), Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM + ) or Operational Land Imager (OLI) provide remotely sensed data at an appropriate spatial resolution for mapping SCA in small headwater basins, but the temporal resolution of the data is low and may not always provide sufficient cloud-free dates. The coarser spatial resolution Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) offers better temporal resolution and in cloudy years, MODIS data offer the best alternative for mapping snow cover when finer spatial resolution data are unavailable. However, MODIS’ coarse spatial resolution (500 m) can obscure fine spatial patterning in snow cover and some MODIS products are not sensitive to end-of-season snow cover. In this study, we aimed to test MODIS snow products for use in simulating snowmelt runoff from smaller headwater basins by a) comparing maps of TM and MODIS-based SCA and b) determining how SRM streamflow simulations are changed by the different estimates of seasonal snow depletion. We compared gridded MODIS snow products (Collection 5 MOD10A1 fractional and binary SCA; SCA derived from Collection 6 MOD10A1 Normalised Difference Snow Index (NDSI) Snow Cover), and the MODIS Snow Covered-Area and Grain size retrieval (MODSCAG) canopy-corrected fractional SCA (SCA_MG), with reference SCA maps (SCA_REF) generated from binary classification of TM imagery. SCA_MG showed strong agreement with SCA_REF; excluding true negatives (where both methods agreed no snow was present) the median percent difference between SCA_REF and SCA_MG ranged between −2.4% and 4.7%. We simulated runoff for each of the four study years using SRM populated with and calibrated for snow depletion curves derived from SCA_REF. We then substituted in each of the MODIS-derived depletion curves. With efficiency coefficients ranging between 0.73 and 0.93, SRM simulation results from the SCA_MG runs yielded the best results of all the MODIS products and only slightly underestimated discharge volume (between 7 and 11% of measured annual discharge). SRM simulations that used SCA derived from Collection 6 NDSI Snow Cover also yielded promising results, with efficiency coefficients ranging between 0.73 and 0.91.In conclusion, we recommend that when simulating snowmelt runoff from small basins (<4000 km²) with SRM, we recommend that users select either canopy-corrected MODSCAG or create their own site-specific products from the Collection 6 MOD10A1 NDSI.     

Spatial and Temporal Variation Analysis of Snow Cover Using MODIS over Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau during 2003–2014

The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) snow cover information acquisition of the high precision spatial and temporal characteristics is of great significance for the research on its land surface atmosphere coupled system and global climate change effects. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) daily snow cover products (MOD10A1 and MYD10A1) have been widely used in long time series of spatial and temporal variation analysis, but they are limited to be used because of high cloud cover ratio. In this paper, a 7-day rolling combination algorithm was presented to eliminate cloud obscuration, and the whole cloud amount falls below 7 %. The ground station in situ measurements verify that the overall precision is more than 90 %. The presented algorithm guaranteed the same spatial resolution and temporal resolution, and has higher precision than products MOD10A1 and MYD10A1. The MODIS 7-day rolling combination snow cover datasets products were obtained between 2003 and 2014 in the QTP, and the snow cover area of spatial and temporal variation was analyzed. The change characteristics of snow cover duration was also studied combining with the Digital Elevation Model data. Results show that the snow cover area of the whole QTP has a slowly decreased trend, but increases in autumn. Thus, the snow cover proportion of annual periodic and unstable in different elevations has the highest correlation with area of the elevation.     

近10年新疆积雪面积时空变化研究

区域尺度积雪信息的时空监测对确定雪灾的影响范围及灾情等级划分具有重要意义。本文利用近10年的MODIS积雪产品,按月最大面积的规则合成;分析了新疆积雪覆盖面积的时空变化特征,结果表明:时间上,新疆积雪面积有减少的趋势。空间上,近10年新疆积雪季节内永久性积雪覆盖区域主要分布在阿勒泰山脉、天山北麓及沿昆仑山脉西南部。其中天山及阿尔泰山之间的河谷及盆地的草原积雪面积波动主导了新疆整体积雪总面积的波动。     

Accuracy assessment of MODIS/Terra snow cover product for parts of Indian Himalayas

Snow cover mapping is important for snow and glacier-related research. The spatial and temporal distribution of snow cover area is a fundamental input to the atmospheric models, snowmelt runoff models and climate models, as well as other applications. Daily snow cover maps from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra satellite were retrieved for the period between 2004 and 2007, and pixels in these images were classified as cloud, snow or snow-free. These images have then been compared with ground snow depth (SD) measurements from the four observatories located at different parts of Himalayas. Comparison of snow maps with in situ data showed good agreement with overall accuracies in between 78.15 and 95.60%. When snow cover was less, MODIS data were found to be less accurate in mapping snow cover region. As the SD increases, the accuracy of MODIS snow cover maps also increases.     

基于MODIS影像的内蒙古草原积雪监测

光学遥感源MODIS具有高光谱分辨率、高时间分辨率、高空间分辨率、全球范围内免费接收等优势,被广泛应用于洪涝、干旱、森林草原火灾、雪灾等自然灾害的动态监测领域。MODIS数据用于内蒙古草原积雪监测,提取积雪信息在国内尚属空白。本文利用MODIS L1B 500m分辨率数据,经过几何校正、去"双眼皮"预处理,根据归一化差分积雪指数(NDSI)算法和综合阈值判别法对内蒙古自治区2008年1月下旬大范围降雪进行积雪信息提取,制作积雪覆盖图。利用内蒙古生态与农业气象中心发布的雪情遥感监测信息验证积雪覆盖图的准确度。验证结果表明,MODIS数据用于大范围积雪监测非常有效。     

Updating Landsat-based forest cover maps with MODIS images using multiscale spectral-spatial-temporal superresolution mapping

With the high deforestation rates of global forest covers during the past decades, there is an ever-increasing need to monitor forest covers at both fine spatial and temporal resolutions. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Landsat series images have been used commonly for satellite-derived forest cover mapping. However, the spatial resolution of MODIS images and the temporal resolution of Landsat images are too coarse to observe forest cover at both fine spatial and temporal resolutions. In this paper, a novel multiscale spectral-spatial-temporal superresolution mapping (MSSTSRM) approach is proposed to update Landsat-based forest maps by integrating current MODIS images with the previous forest maps generated from Landsat image. Both the 240 m MODIS bands and 480 m MODIS bands were used as inputs of the spectral energy function of the MSSTSRM model. The principle of maximal spatial dependence was used as the spatial energy function to make the updated forest map spatially smooth. The temporal energy function was based on a multiscale spatial-temporal dependence model, and considers the land cover changes between the previous and current time. The novel MSSTSRM model was able to update Landsat-based forest maps more accurately, in terms of both visual and quantitative evaluation, than traditional pixel-based classification and the latest sub-pixel based super-resolution mapping methods The results demonstrate the great efficiency and potential of MSSTSRM for updating fine temporal resolution Landsat-based forest maps using MODIS images.     

高光谱遥感积雪制图算法及验证

雪盖面积是高山地区和季节雪盖区水文和气象模型的重要输入因子。机载和星载遥感数据提取的雪盖面积是融雪径流模型的重要组成部分。对应不同传感器件的光谱特征，多种分类方法被相继提出。但是，缺乏相对独立的验证手段来评价各种分类方法，其主要原因是缺乏地面真实状态。针对该现状，本研究利用高光谱图像的细分光谱特征，建立高光谱影像及其对应“地面真相”的像对数据库来发展和验证积雪制图算法，并展示MODIS积雪制图算法验证和ASTER混合像元分解雪盖制图算法研究的应用实例。     

Snow Cover Monitoring in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Based on Chinese Fengyun-3/VIRR Data

Snow cover monitoring in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is very important to global climate change research. Because of the geographic distribution of ground meteorological stations in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is too sparse, satellite remote sensing became the only choice for snow cover monitoring in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. In this paper, multi-channel data from Visible and Infrared Radiometer (VIRR) on Chinese polar orbiting meteorological satellites Fengyun-3(FY-3) are utilized for snow cover monitoring, in this work, the distribution of snow cover is extracted from the normalized difference snow index(NDSI), and the multi-channel threshold from the brightness temperature difference in infrared channels. Then, the monitoring results of FY-3A and FY-3B are combined to generate the daily composited snow cover product. Finally, the snow cover products from MODIS and FY-3 are both verified by snow depth of meteorological station observations, result shows that the FY-3 products and MODIS products are basically consistent, the overall accuracy of FY-3 products is higher than MODIS products by nearly 1 %. And the cloud coverage rate of FY-3 products is less than MODIS by 2.64 %. This work indicates that FY-3/VIRR data can be reliable data sources for monitoring snow cover in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.     

Improving MODIS Spatial Resolution for Snow Mapping Using Wavelet Fusion and ARSIS Concept

We propose to fuse the high spatial content of two 250-m spectral bands of the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) into its five 500-m bands using wavelet-based multiresolution analysis. Our objective was to test the effectiveness of this technique to increase the accuracy of snow mapping in mountainous environments. To assess the performance of this approach, we took advantage of the simultaneity between the advanced spaceborne thermal emission and reflection radiometer (ASTER) and MODIS sensors. With a 15-m spatial resolution, the ASTER sensor provided reference snow maps, which were then compared to MODIS-derived snow maps. The benefit of the method was assessed through the investigation of various metrics, which showed an improvement from 3% to 20%. Therefore, the enhanced snow map is of great benefit for environmental and hydrological applications in steep terrain.     

MODIS土地覆盖分类的尺度不确定性研究

以空间异质性较强的枯水期鄱阳湖为研究区,以搭载于同一卫星平台、具有同一观测时间和较高空间分辨率的ASTER数据为参照,分析研究了MODIS数据在土地覆盖分类中由空间尺度带来的不确定性。首先基于MODIS三角权重函数,建立了从ASTER到MODIS的尺度转换方法;然后对不同空间分辨率的数据进行土地覆盖分类,并基于误差矩阵和线性模型分析了MODIS土地覆盖分类结果的误差来源。结果表明,空间分辨率和光谱分辨率与成像方式这两类因素对MODIS与ASTER分类结果差异的贡献比例约为(6.6—11.2):2;MODIS像元尺度对研究区水体的分类不确定性影响较低,而对森林的不确定性影响可达63%。由此可见,在基于MODIS数据的土地覆盖分类研究中,空间尺度所产生的不确定性是比较显著的。这些研究结果对于土地覆盖分类及变化检测、尺度效应和景观生态学不确定性研究,有积极的参考意义。     

MODIS数据在积雪检测中的应用

积雪作为影响环境的一个因素,是非常重要的。自1999年Terra卫星升空以来,MODIS数据在环境监测的各个方面得到了广泛的应用。由于MODIS数据的高光谱、高空间分辨率、高时间分辨率等特征,越来越多地应用到积雪监测方面。本文就MODIS数据的积雪检测算法进行了探讨,对森林中雪的检测以及云和雪的区分进行了大量的研究。结果显示：MODIS数据对积雪检测非常有效。     

Integration of the MODIS Snow Cover Produced Into Snowmelt Runoff Modeling

Because of the difficulty of monitoring and measuring snow cover in mountainous watersheds, satellite images are used as an alternative to mapping snow cover to replace the ground operations in the watershed. Snow cover is one of the most important data in simulation snowmelt runoff. The daily snow cover maps are received from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and are used in deriving the snow depletion curve, which is one of the input parameters of the snowmelt runoff model (SRM). Simulating Snowmelt runoff is presented using SRM model as one of the major applications of satellite images processing and extracting snow cover in the Ghara - Chay watershed. The first results of modeling process show that MODIS snow covered area product can be used for simulation and forecast of snowmelt runoff in Ghara - Chay watershed. The studies found that the SCA results were more reliable in the study area.     

A Validation of MODIS Snowcover Products in Romania: Challenges and Future Directions

The MODIS snowcover product is one of many geophysical products derived from MODIS data. A cross‐validation of the MODIS snowcover daily products with data obtained from the meteorological network stations was conducted for the entire territory of Romania. The validation time interval covered the period between 29 October, 2004 and 1 May, 2005. The overall accuracy for the whole set of cloud‐free useful data proved to be 95%. The validation time interval included the three common snow situations: (1) late autumn months where 37.1% of the initial set of the data was used, and the overall accuracy was 98.6%; (2) the “winter” months where the clouds reduced the set of useful data – 31.75%– and the overall accuracy was 93.7%; and (3) the months of February and March which returned the highest accuracy (> 95%). Additionally, a cross‐validation using Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) high‐resolution imagery was carried out. Furthermore, the MODIS, meteorological data and ASTER data were integrated into a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment to perform flexible and comprehensive cross‐checking followed by a thematic analysis based on additional sets of data such as digital elevation models (DEMs) and land‐cover datasets.     

A cloud mask methodology for high resolution remote sensing data combining information from high and medium resolution optical sensors

This study presents a novel cloud masking approach for high resolution remote sensing images in the context of land cover mapping. As an advantage to traditional methods, the approach does not rely on thermal bands and it is applicable to images from most high resolution earth observation remote sensing sensors. The methodology couples pixel-based seed identification and object-based region growing. The seed identification stage relies on pixel value comparison between high resolution images and cloud free composites at lower spatial resolution from almost simultaneously acquired dates. The methodology was tested taking SPOT4-HRVIR, SPOT5-HRG and IRS-LISS III as high resolution images and cloud free MODIS composites as reference images. The selected scenes included a wide range of cloud types and surface features. The resulting cloud masks were evaluated through visual comparison. They were also compared with ad-hoc independently generated cloud masks and with the automatic cloud cover assessment algorithm (ACCA). In general the results showed an agreement in detected clouds higher than 95% for clouds larger than 50 ha. The approach produced consistent results identifying and mapping clouds of different type and size over various land surfaces including natural vegetation, agriculture land, built-up areas, water bodies and snow.     

Timing of erosion and satellite data: A multi-resolution approach to soil erosion risk mapping

Erosion reduces soil productivity and causes negative downstream impacts. Erosion processes occur on areas with erodible soils and sloping terrain when high-intensity rainfall coincides with limited vegetation cover. Timing of erosion events has implications on the selection of satellite imagery, used to describe spatial patterns of protective vegetation cover. This study proposes a method for erosion risk mapping with multi-temporal and multi-resolution satellite data. The specific objectives of the study are: (1) to determine when during the year erosion risk is highest using coarse-resolution data, and (2) to assess the optimal timing of available medium-resolution images to spatially represent vegetation cover during the high erosion risk period. Analyses were performed for a 100-km² pasture area in the Brazilian Cerrados. The first objective was studied by qualitatively comparing three-hourly TRMM rainfall estimates with MODIS NDVI time series for one full year (August 2002–August 2003). November and December were identified as the months with highest erosion risk. The second objective was examined with a time series of six available ASTER images acquired in the same year. Persistent cloud cover limited image acquisition during high erosion risk periods. For each ASTER image the NDVI was calculated and classified into five equally sized classes. Low NDVI was related to high erosion risk and vice versa. A DEM was used to set approximately flat zones to very low erosion risk. The six resulting risk maps were compared with erosion features, visually interpreted from a fine-resolution QuickBird image. Results from the October ASTER image gave highest accuracy (84%), showing that erosion risk mapping in the Brazilian Cerrados can best be performed with images acquired shortly before the first erosion events. The presented approach that uses coarse-resolution temporal data for determining erosion periods and medium-resolution data for effective erosion risk mapping is fast and straightforward. It shows good potential for successful application in other areas with high spatial and temporal variability of vegetation cover.     

Estimation of regional evapotranspiration over the North China Plain using geostationary satellite data

Data from the first operational Chinese geostationary satellite Fengyun-2C (FY-2C) satellite are applied in combination with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite products for the assessment of regional evapotranspiration over the North China Plain. The approach is based on the improved triangle method, where the temperature–vegetation index space includes thermal inertia. Two thermal infrared channels from FY-2C are used to estimate surface temperature (Ts) based on a split window algorithm originally proposed for the MSG-SEVIRI sensor. Subsequently the high temporal resolution of FY-2C data is exploited to give the morning rise in Ts. Combined with the 16 days composite MODIS vegetation indices product (MOD13) at a spatial resolution of 5 km, evaporative fraction (EF) is estimated by interpolation in the ΔTs–NDVI triangular-shaped scatter space. Finally, regional actual evapotranspiration (ET) is derived from the evaporative fraction and available energy estimated from MODIS surface albedo products MCD43. Spatial variations of estimated surface variables (Ts, EF and ET) corresponded well to land cover patterns and farmland management practices. Estimated ET and EF also compared well to lysimeter data collected for the period June 2005–September 2007. The improved triangle method was also applied to MODIS products for comparison. Estimates based on FY-2C products proved to provide slightly better results than those based on MODIS products. The consistency of the estimated spatial variation with other spatial data supports the use of FY-2C data for ET estimation using the improved triangle method. Of particular value is the high temporal frequency of image acquisitions from FY-2C which improves the likelihood of obtaining cloud free image acquisitions as compared to polar orbiting sensors like MODIS.     

MTSAT-2静止气象卫星中国区域雪盖监测

利用MTSAT-2静止气象卫星数据开展了中国区域的雪盖监测研究,结合MODIS雪盖产品及站点雪深观测数据对判识结果进行对比分析和验证。首先,根据MTSAT-2静止气象卫星数据特点,进行角度效应校正及多时相数据合成,以减少云对图像的影响;其次,根据多个雪盖判识因子建立中国区域雪盖判识算法;最后,对比分析2011年1月份MTSAT-2和MODIS雪盖判识结果,并使用站点观测数据进行精度验证。研究表明:(1)MTSAT-2雪盖判识受云影响比例约30%,MODIS雪盖产品受云影响比例约60%,MTSAT-2去云效果明显。(2)无云情况下,MTSAT-2雪盖判识和MODIS雪盖产品判识精度均高于92%;有云覆盖时,MTSAT-2判识精度约65%,优于MODIS雪盖产品35%的判识精度。(3)MTSAT-2静止气象卫星在保持高积雪判识精度的前提下,可以更有效减少云对雪盖判识影响,实时获取更多地表真实信息。该研究对中国区域雪盖信息准确监测、气候变化研究以及防灾减灾等具有重要意义。     

GF-2支持下的干旱区稀疏植被区植被覆盖度估算

现有像元二分模型MODIS植被覆盖度模型因其形式简单、适用性较强的特点被广泛应用于区域植被覆盖度（FVC）的估算。然而，研究表明在沙漠和低植被覆盖的西部干旱区，从250 m的影像上很难精准地获取NDVI_veg（全植被覆盖植被指数）和NDVI_soil（全裸土区植被指数）参数。利用常用的直方图累计法获取模型所需参数NDVI_veg和NDVI_soil，估算结果存在普遍高估现象。为此，本文首先引入同期获取的GF-2号卫星数据，从GF-2号影像上提取植被覆盖像元；然后，利用Pixel Aggregate方法重采样至250 m分辨率，获取250 m空间分辨率下纯植被和纯裸土像元；最后，将纯植被和纯裸土像元各自空间位置相对应的MODIS NDVI数据最大值作为模型所需NDVI_veg和NDVI_soil参数，实现研究区内植被覆盖度的估算。试验通过与线性回归法、多项式回归法和直方图累计像元二分模型法估算结果进行精度对比，结果表明：利用GF-2影像辅助的像元二分模型，精准地获取了低植被覆盖区NDVI_veg和NDVI_soil模型参数，提高了干旱区植被覆盖度的估算精度，并有效地抑制了受稀疏植被影响NDVI在干旱区普遍偏高问题导致的FVC高估的现象。     

基于MODIS影像多特征的CART决策树分类

以山东省为研究区域,利用2009年9月MODIS的8 d合成波段反射率产品MOD09,选择特征变量植被指数(NDVI、EVI)、NDWI、NDMI、NDSI及辅助信息DEM,通过选取其中的影像特征组合来确定分类方案,构建各波段组合的CART决策树,对MODIS影像进行分类,得到CART决策树的最优波段组合。结果表明,特征变量DEM、NDVI、EVI对分类结果贡献较大;将CART决策树的分类结果与其相对应的最大似然分类结果进行比较可知,基于影像多特征的CART决策树分类方法能明显提高分类精度。     

MODIS大气校正精度评价及其对表层雪密度提取影响

以古尔班通古特沙漠为研究区,以中分辨率成像光谱仪（MODIS）为遥感数据源,结合ASD FieldSpec准同步实测积雪反射光谱数据对FLAASH大气校正能力进行了评价。研究表明： ①校正后的MODIS各波段积雪反射率与准同步实测积雪反射率波形相似, 在第1～7波段整体相关系数达0.82,表明FLAASH大气校正能极大地提高MODIS地物识别能力; ②校正后的MODIS 第6波段反射率和归一化差值积雪指数（NDSI）与实测雪密度呈线性相关,可用回归拟合构建MODIS雪密度遥感计算模式。