Estimation of Systematic Errors of MODIS Thermal Infrared Bands

This letter reports a statistical method to estimate detector-dependent systematic error in Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) thermal infrared (TIR) Bands 20-25 and 27-36. There exist scan-to-scan overlapped pixels in MODIS data. By analyzing a sufficiently large amount of those most overlapped pixels, the systematic error of each detector in the TIR bands can be estimated. The results show that the Aqua MODIS data are generally better than the Terra MODIS data in 160 MODIS TIR detectors. There are no detector-dependent systematic errors in Bands 31 and 32 for both Terra and Aqua MODIS data. The maximum detector errors are 3.00 K in Band 21 of Terra and -8.15 K in that of Aqua for brightness temperatures of more than 250 K     

A new method for retrieving band 6 of aqua MODIS

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is a key research instrument for the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) mission. It was successfully launched onboard the Terra satellite in December 1999 and Aqua satellite in May 2002. Both MODIS instruments have been working well except that 15 of the 20 detectors in Aqua MODIS band 6 (1.628-1.652 /spl mu/m) are either nonfunctional or noisy. The striping in Aqua MODIS band 6 caused by its nonfunctional or noisy detectors has been a serious problem for MODIS snow products, which use band 6 primarily for snow detection. MODIS scientists have been using Aqua MODIS band 7 (2.105-2.155 /spl mu/m) instead of band 6 for computing the normalized difference snow index to continue detecting global snow coverage. The main objective of this letter is to retrieve Aqua MODIS band 6 using other bands based on their relationships in Terra MODIS. The band retrieval approach proposed in this letter is also very useful for the next generation of MODIS sensor-the Visible/Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) band M10 proxy data generation. Such proxy data can support the VIIRS prelaunch end-to-end testing, postlaunch calibration/validation, and data quality checking.     

用被动微波AMSR数据反演地表温度及发射率的方法研究

 针对对地观测卫星多传感器的特点，提出了借助MODIS地表温度产品从被动微波数据中反演地表温度的方法。即利用MODIS地表温度产品和AMSR不同通道之间的亮度温度，建立地表温度的反演方程。该方法克服了以往需要测量同步数据的困难，为不同传感器之间的参数反演相互校正和综合利用多传感器的数据提供实际应用和理论依据。文中以MODIS地表温度产品作为评价标准，对方法进行检验，其平均误差为2~3℃。另外，微波的发射率是土壤水分反演的关键参数，在对微波地表温度反演的基础上，进一步对发射率进行了研究。     

Anomaly Detection in MODIS Land Products via Time Series Analysis

With remote sensing information products becoming increasingly varied and arguably improved, scientific applications of such products rely on their quality assessment. In an operational context such as the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) information production based on the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instrument on board Earth Observing System (EOS) Terra and Aqua satellites, efficient ways of detecting product anomaly, i.e., to discriminate between product artifacts and real changes in Earth processes being monitored, are extremely important to assist and inform the user communities about potential unreliability in the products. A technique for anomaly detection, known as MAD (the median of absolute deviate from the median), in MODIS land products via time series analysis is described, which can handle intra- and in-ter-annual variation in the data by using MAD statistics of the original data and their first-order difference. This method is shown to be robust and work across major land products, including NDVI, active fire, snow cover, and surface reflectance, and its applicabil-ity to multi-disciplinary products is anticipated.     

基于二次多项式的AOD数据融合方法

针对Aqua和Terra MODIS AOD数据利用线性回归算法拟合结果不够精确的问题,本文提出了二次多项式回归算法对其进行拟合,二次多项式是指这个多项式的项数超过1,且最高次方数为2。采用二次多项式回归和线性回归算法分别对2015年随机选择的一天和4-6月的AOD数据进行拟合,并将两种方法拟合的结果进行对比分析。研究结果显示,针对同一组Aqua和Terra MODIS AOD数据的拟合,二次多项式回归方法拟合得到的RMSE、MAE、R值比线性回归拟合方法得到的值精度都要高很多,说明二次多项式回归拟合方法在Aqua和Terra MODIS AOD数据的拟合方面优于线性回归方法的拟合,证明了二次多项式回归拟合方法适用于此方面的研究,而且能够提升Aqua和Terra MODIS AOD数据拟合结果的精度。     

The Global Impact of Clouds on the Production of MODIS Bidirectional Reflectance Model-Based Composites for Terrestrial Monitoring

A global data set of cloud occurrence probability derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra and Aqua gridded daily data is analyzed to investigate the probability of obtaining at least a minimum number of cloud-free observations within various compositing periods. The probabilities derived from Terra and Aqua, with morning and afternoon overpass times, respectively, are similar and increase with compositing period. Compositing both Terra and Aqua observations results in considerably higher probabilities of obtaining a sufficient number of observations for bidirectional reflectance model-based compositing. Given that the only alternative to obtaining sufficient samples is to extend the observation period, which can cause significant problems when the surface state changes, it is concluded that using data from the two MODIS sensors provides the most effective way of generating composited products. Findings with respect to the availability of cloud-free composites when n-day composites are generated on a temporally overlapping daily rolling basis, i.e., every day, rather than every n-days, are also discussed for regional and global applications     

利用TERRA和AQUA共同反演陆地上空的气溶胶光学厚度

利用TERRA和AQUA共同反演气溶胶光学厚度和地表反射率特征，对其原理及方法进行了详细的讨论。通过Terra和Aqua两颗卫星对同一地点的不同角度的观测，结合多个光学通道的信息，反演了北京地区光学厚度及地表反射率信息。反演的气溶胶光学厚度同地面观测的结果相比具有很好的一致性。同时，对地表反射率及气溶胶波长指数等也进行了讨论和对比，结果显示，对北京地区，MODIS1通道地表反射率和7通道地表反射率的比在0．66左右，3通道和7通道的比在0．28左右。相比于NASA暗背景全球反演算法中1、3通道和7通道的比为0．50和0．25的处理方法，反演得到的气溶胶光学厚度结果也较好。     

Water quality classification of lakes using 250-m MODIS data

The traditional method used in the water quality classification of Finnish lakes includes the collection of water samples from lakes and their analysis in laboratory conditions. The classification is based on statistical analysis of water quality parameter values and on expert opinion. It is possible to acquire similar information by using radiance values measured with the Earth Observing System Terra/Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). In this letter, the classification accuracy with MODIS data is about 80%. Only about 0.2% of the 20 391 pixels were misclassified by two or more classes, as a four-class classification system is used.     

Snow and ice mask for the MODIS aerosol products

Atmospheric products have been derived operationally from multichannel imaging data collected with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Terra and Aqua spacecraft. Preliminary validations of the products were previously reported. Through analysis of more extensive time-series of MODIS aerosol products (Collection 4), we have found that the aerosol products over land areas are slightly contaminated by snow and ice during the springtime snow-melting season. We have developed an empirical technique using MODIS near-infrared channels centered near 0.86 and 1.24 /spl mu/m and a thermal emission channel near 11 /spl mu/m to mask out these snow-contaminated pixels over land. Improved aerosol retrievals over land have been obtained. Sample results from application of the technique to MODIS data acquired over North America, northern Europe, and northeastern Asia are presented. The technique has been implemented into the MODIS Collection 5 operational algorithm for retrieving aerosols over land from MODIS data.     

Atacama Field Campaign: laboratory and in-situ measurements for remote sensing applications

This work presents the preliminary results of the first field calibration campaign performed in the Atacama Desert, Chile, between the 18 and 22 August 2014, called the Atacama Field Campaign (ATAFIC 2014). In situ measurements were performed in order to spectrally characterize the surface reflectance spectra between 0.3 and 2.5?µm, radiometric temperature (8.0–14.0?µm) and atmospheric measurements. A soil sample was collected and analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and X-Ray Diffraction techniques to characterize the surface reflectance spectra and mineralogical composition, respectively. ASTER land surface emissivity in addition to GOES, MODIS and Landsat-8 land surface temperature (LST) were also used. Results showed that the spectral features of the Atacama soil and the characteristics of this geographical zone, which is featured as the most hyper-arid and cloudless place in the world, make this area a potential target for surface reflectance characterization. Day and night LST comparison between field and remote sensing data are lower than 2?K and the Root Mean Square Error for land surface emissivity is close to 2%. This work opens the possibilities to consider the Atacama Desert as a reference target for calibration and validation activities for earth observation missions’ purposes.     

Parameterization of air temperature in high temporal and spatial resolution from a combination of the SEVIRI and MODIS instruments

Some applications, e.g. from traffic or energy management, require air temperature data in high spatial and temporal resolution at two metres height above the ground (T_2m), sometimes in near-real-time. Thus, a parameterization based on boundary layer physical principles was developed that determines the air temperature from remote sensing data (SEVIRI data aboard the MSG and MODIS data aboard Terra and Aqua satellites). The method consists of two parts. First, a downscaling procedure from the SEVIRI pixel resolution of several kilometres to a one kilometre spatial resolution is performed using a regression analysis between the land surface temperature (LST) and the normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI) acquired by the MODIS instrument. Second, the lapse rate between the LST and T_2m is removed using an empirical parameterization that requires albedo, down-welling surface short-wave flux, relief characteristics and NDVI data. The method was successfully tested for Slovenia, the French region Franche-Comté and southern Germany for the period from May to December 2005, indicating that the parameterization is valid for Central Europe. This parameterization results in a root mean square deviation RMSD of 2.0 K during the daytime with a bias of −0.01 K and a correlation coefficient of 0.95. This is promising, especially considering the high temporal (30 min) and spatial resolution (1000 m) of the results.     

针对Terra/MODIS数据的改进分裂窗地表温度反演算法

针对Terra/MODIS数据提出改进的分裂窗地表温度反演算法。充分考虑了传感器观测角度(VZA)的影响,并对地表和有效大气辐射按照不同的亮度温度区间分别进行Planck函数简化。利用TIGR3大气廓线库中的875条晴空大气廓线,ASTER波谱库中的106条地物发射率波谱,结合MODTRAN4大气辐射传输模型模拟得到分裂窗算法系数。利用MODTRAN4模拟数据对算法精度进行验证,结果表明本文的改进算法和原算法的均方根误差RMSE分别为0.34K和0.65K。敏感性分析表明,在中等湿润的大气条件下,算法对大气水汽含量并不敏感。该算法降低了传感器观测角度带来的地表温度反演误差。利用2009年6月美国SURFRAD辐射观测网6个站点的实测数据对改进算法、原算法以及MOD11_L2地表温度产品进行了对比验证,RMSE分别是0.93K、1.49K和1.0K,表明本文算法可以提高反演精度。     

青藏高原那曲地区MODIS 地表温度估算

地表温度是区域和全球尺度陆面过程研究中的一个关键参数,利用遥感卫星资料反演得到的地表温度数据在气象、水文和生态领域研究中有重要作用.本文基于改进后的针对MODIS 数据的分裂窗口算法,对MODIS L1B 卫星数据进行实用而简便的云检测处理,并根据青藏高原陆地、水体和冰雪等常见下垫面状况的遥感影像分类结果,反演得到了2007-01-03 、04-18 、06-12 和10-02 四日的无云下垫面地表温度.最后,将Sobrino 结果在青藏高原那曲地区与MODIS 日地表温度产品及CAMP/Tibet 观测站地表温度数据进行了对比验证分析.结果表明,该方法得到的地表温度结果与MODIS 数据产品具有较好的一致性,并且地表温度结果与地面观测数据(去除可疑点后)的平均误差仅为1.435 K .     

Accuracy assessment of four cloud-free snow cover products over the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Four up-to-date daily cloud-free snow products – IMS (Interactive Multisensor Snow products), MOD-SSM/I (combination of the MODIS and SSM/I snow products), MOD-B (Blending method basing on the MODIS snow cover products) and TAI (Terra–Aqua–IMS) – with high-resolutions over the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) were comprehensively assessed. Comparisons of the IMS, MOD-SSM/I, MOD-B and TAI cloud-free snow products against meteorological stations observations over 10 snow seasons (2004–2013) over the QTP indicated overall accuracies of 76.0%, 89.3%, 92.0% and 92.0%, respectively. The K_hat values of the IMS, MOD-SSM/I, MOD-B and TAI products were 0.084, 0.463, 0.428 and 0.526, respectively. The TAI products appear to have the best cloud-removal ability among the four snow products over the QTP. Based on the assessment, an I-TAI (Improvement of Terra–Aqua–IMS) snow product was proposed, which can improve the accuracy to some extent. However, the algorithms of the MODIS series products show instability when identifying wet snow and snow under forest cover over the QTP. The snow misclassification is an important limitation of MODIS snow cover products and requires additional improvements.     

Asian Dust Storm Monitoring Combining Terra and Aqua MODIS SRB Measurements

Sand and dust storms (SDSs), which present environmental risks and affect the regional climate, have been worsened in the East Asian regions over the last decade. Monitoring SDS from space using satellite remote sensing (RS) has become one of the most important issues in this field. At present, satellite RS of SDS is limited to using true-color images or aerosol optical thickness (AOT), or a new algorithm called "Deep Blue". Using current existing approaches makes it difficult to identify SDS from clouds. The authors have detected SDS by combining Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) solar reflectance band (SRB) measurements. Based on the dust spectral characteristic, this letter proposes a normalized difference dust index (NDDI) using MODIS reflectance measurements and applies it to the Asian SDS cases. The simple NDDI index is found to be able to identify SDS and clouds easily. The results suggest that NDDI could be used to detect SDS over bright surfaces where the MODIS AOT product is not available     

中国陆地区域陆表温度业务化遥感反演算法及产品运行系统

地表温度反演的裂窗算法已成功应用于NOAA系列卫星热红外遥感数据。目前，裂窗算法中应用较为广泛的一种是Becker等人于1990年提出的局地裂窗算法，主要是通过辐射传输模型模拟不同地表条件和大气状况下，地表温度和发射率对红外辐射亮温的影响，从而发展出一个利用AVHRR4，5通道亮温数据反演地表温度的线性模型。在晴空无云和地表比辐射率能精确估算的情况下，Becker算法反演地表温度的精度在1K以内。Becker算法用Lowtran程序模拟计算地表辐射量，且模型中参数主要针对NOAA-9传感器特性得到。本文在Becker算法的基础上，针对NOAA-16／17传感器热红外通道光谱响应函数特性，利用最新的、计算光谱分辨率更高的MODTRAN程序模拟不同大气状况下，不同地表温度和发射率对NOAAAVHRR4，5通道辐射亮温响应特性的影响，改进Becker算法中模型参数，使之能适用于NOAA-16／17热红外数据。同时，本文利用植被指数NDVI，在中国陆地区域lkm分辨率最新地表分类数据的基础上，得到模型中需要的地表比辐射率参数，将改进的模型应用于1km分辨率NOAA17数据，得到了旬合成中国陆地区域范围地表温度，通过地面气象台站实测数据对比验证．取得了较好的结果。     

Multi-year MODIS active fire type classification over the Brazilian Tropical Moist Forest Biome

ABSTRACT

The Brazilian Tropical Moist Forest Biome (BTMFB) spans almost 4 million km² and is subject to extensive annual fires that have been categorized into deforestation, maintenance, and forest fire types. Information on fire types is important as they have different atmospheric emissions and ecological impacts. A supervised classification methodology is presented to classify the fire type of MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) active fire detections using training data defined by consideration of Brazilian government forest monitoring program annual land cover maps, and using predictor variables concerned with fuel flammability, fuel load, fire behavior, fire seasonality, fire annual frequency, proximity to surface transportation, and local temperature. The fire seasonality, local temperature, and fuel flammability were the most influential on the classification. Classified fire type results for all 1.6 million MODIS Terra and Aqua BTMFB active fire detections over eight years (2003–2010) are presented with an overall fire type classification accuracy of 90.9% (kappa 0.824). The fire type user’s and producer’s classification accuracies were respectively 92.4% and 94.4% (maintenance fires), 88.4% and 87.5% (forest fires), and, 88.7% and 75.0% (deforestation fires). The spatial and temporal distribution of the classified fire types are presented and are similar to patterns reported in the available recent literature.     

一个针对ASTER数据同时反演地表温度和比辐射率的四通道算法

本文利用对地观测卫星多传感器的特点，提出了针对ASTER数据同时反演地表温度和比辐射率的多通道算法。即利用ASTER数据的第11，12，13，14热红外波段建立热辐射传输方程，并通过对于地表比辐射率分析可知，ASTER4个热红外波段的比辐射率可以用近似线性方程表示，得到了6个方程6个未知数，从而形成了针对ASTER数据的同时反演地表温度和比辐射率的多通道算法。对于关键参数大气透过率，则是通过同一颗星的MODIS传感器的3个近红外波段反演大气水汽含量，然后用MODTRAN模拟大气水汽含量与ASTER热红外波段的统计关系，并进而根据这二关系来计算ASTER热红外波段的大气透过率。由于MODIS和ASTER是在同一颗星上。因此这种大气透过率估计方法保证了地表温度反演过程中所需大气参数的同步获取。     

NPPVIIRS数据反演气溶胶光学厚度

利用NPP卫星的VIIRS传感器数据,基于暗像元法反演陆地气溶胶光学厚度AOD。首先,根据红外波段的归一化植被指数NDVI来对暗像元进行识别;然后,利用6S软件进行辐射传输计算构建查找表;最后,根据VIIRS数据从查找表插值得到AOD,并对其进行海拔校正。选取华北地区作为反演实验区,获得了2013年9月1日的气溶胶分布。利用AERONET北京站太阳光度计地基观测结果对反演结果对比验证,发现二者具有显著的相关性,相关系数达到0.7920。将2013年9月1日的MODIS AOD产品与本研究反演的AOD进行比对,发现二者分布趋势一致,相关系数为0.7059,相关性显著。反演结果表明,本文算法反演陆地AOD效果较好,为大气颗粒物环境监测提供了良好方法手段和数据源。     

A radiance-based split-window algorithm for land surface temperature retrieval: Theory and application to MODIS data

The split-window algorithm is the most commonly used method for land surface temperature (LST) retrieval from satellite data. Simplification of the Planck’s function, as an important step in developing the SWA, allows us to directly relate the radiance to the temperature toward solving the radiative transfer equation (RTE) set. In this study, Planck’s radiance relationship between two adjacent thermal infrared channels was modeled to solve the RTE set instead of simplification of the Planck’s function. A radiance-based split-window algorithm (RBSWA) was developed and applied to Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. The performance of the RBSWA was assessed and compared with three most common brightness temperature-based split-window algorithms (BTBSWAs) by using the simulated data and satellite measurements. Simulation analysis showed that the LST retrieval using RBSWA had a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 0.5 K and achieved an improvement of 0.3 K compared with three BTBSWAs, and the LST retrieval accuracy using RBSWA was better than 1.5 K considering uncertainties in input parameters based on the sensitivity analysis. For application of RBSWA to MODIS data, the results showed that: 1) comparison between LST from MODIS LST product and LST retrieved using RBSWA showed a mean RMSE of 1.33 K for 108 groups of MODIS image covering continental US, which indicates RBSWA is reliable and robust; 2) when using the measurements from US surface radiation budget network as real values the RMSE of the RBSWA algorithm was 2.55 K and was slightly better than MODIS LST product; and 3) through the cross validation using Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer LST product, the RMSE of the RBSWA algorithm was 2.23 K and was 0.28 K less than that of MODIS LST product. We conclude that the RBSWA for LST retrieval from MODIS data can attain a better accuracy than the BTBSWA.