Field validation of the GLASS land surface broadband emissivity database using pseudo-invariant sand dune sites in northern China

The land surface broadband emissivity (LSBE) is a key parameter for estimating surface radiation, and there have been many studies of the LSBE at global or local scales. However, few studies have validated the surface emissivity database with multi-point field measurement data using infrared radiometry, especially in China. In this study, we focus on the validation of the emissivity product of the global land surface satellite (GLASS) LSBE database for northern China for the period from 2006 to 2011. Specifically, we have employed an eight-day averaged, gridded emissivity product in the 8–13.5 µm spectral range produced at a spatial resolution of 1000 m from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer albedo product using a new algorithm. The GLASS LSBE database was validated over bare surfaces with field measurement data from sand samples collected at many pseudo-invariant sand dune sites located in western and northwestern China. By comparing measured emissivity for different land surface types at different sites and different times, it was shown that the results were consistent and that the accuracy of the field measurements was reliable. The results of the validation of GLASS LSBE with these field emissivity data showed very good agreement.     

Impact of the spatial resolution on the energy balance components on an open-canopy olive orchard

The recent technical improvements in the sensors used to acquire images from land surfaces has made possible to assess the performance of the energy balance models using unprecedented spatial resolutions. Thus, the objective of this work is to evaluate the response of the different energy balance components obtained from METRIC model as a function of the input pixel size. Very high spatial resolution airborne images (≈50 cm) on three dates over olive orchards were used to aggregate different spatial resolutions, ranging from 5 m to 1 km. This study represents the first time that METRIC model has been run with such high spatial resolution imagery in heterogeneous agricultural systems, evaluating the effects caused by its aggregation into coarser pixel sizes. Net radiation and soil heat flux showed a near insensitive behavior to spatial resolution changes, reflecting that the emissivity and albedo respond linearly to pixel aggregation. However, greater discrepancies were obtained for sensible (up to 17%) and latent (up to 23%) heat fluxes at spatial resolutions coarser than 30 × 30 m due to the aggregation of non-linear components, and to the inclusion of non-agricultural areas in such aggregation. Results obtained confirm the good performance of METRIC model when used with high spatial resolution imagery, whereas they warn of some major errors in crop evapotranspiration estimation when medium or large scales are used.     

Angular effect of MODIS emissivity products and its application to the split-window algorithm

The angular effects of emissivity are ignored in current land surface temperature (LST) products. As a result, the directionality of these LST products limits their further application in many fields. Accurate correction of the angular problem of LST products requires explicit understanding of the angular effects of emissivity at the pixel scale. Currently, nearly ten years of global emissivity products of MODIS are available. However, the pixel-scale directionality of emissivity has never been analyzed. By performing a statistical analysis of 5-year MODIS emissivity products over most of East Asia, we generated the empirical relationships between the directional emissivity, land cover, and seasonal variations. Two look-up tables (LUTs) of directional emissivity were created for typical land cover types and applied to the generalized split-window algorithm to modify the MODIS LST. The results showed that the angular effect of emissivity could introduce a significant bias of −1-3 K to the 1 km resolution LST. Finally, the spatial scale effects of emissivity were analyzed, and it was found that the temperature differences caused by scale effects fell within +/−0.5 K for most pixels if 5 km emissivity was used in 1 km LST retrieval. Therefore, wide use of the LUTs can be expected.     

Estimating global land surface broadband thermal-infrared emissivity using advanced very high resolution radiometer optical data

An algorithm for retrieving global eight-day 5 km broadband emissivity (BBE) from advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) visible and near-infrared data from 1981 through 1999 was presented. Land surface was divided into three types according to its normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values: bare soil, vegetated area, and transition zone. For each type, BBE at 8–13.5 µm was formulated as a nonlinear function of AVHRR reflectance for Channels 1 and 2. Given difficulties in validating coarse emissivity products with ground measurements, the algorithm was cross-validated by comparing retrieved BBE with BBE derived through different methods. Retrieved BBE was initially compared with BBE derived from moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) albedos. Respective absolute bias and root-mean-square error were less than 0.003 and 0.014 for bare soil, less than 0.002 and 0.011 for transition zones, and ?0.002 and 0.005 for vegetated areas. Retrieved BBE was also compared with BBE obtained through the NDVI threshold method. The proposed algorithm was better than the NDVI threshold method, particularly for bare soil. Finally, retrieved BBE and BBE derived from MODIS data were consistent, as were the two BBE values.     

Field Measurements of Plant Emissivity Spectra: An Experimental Study on Remote Sensing of Vegetation in the Thermal Infrared Region

Spectral features of plant species in the visible to SWIR (0.4–2.5 μm) region have been studied extensively, but scanty attention has been given to plant thermal infrared (TIR: 4–14 μm) properties. This paper presents preliminary results of a study that was conducted first time in India to measure radiance and emissivity properties of eight plant species in TIR spectral region in the field conditions using a FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) field spectroradiometer working in 4–14 μm at an agriculture experimental farm. Several spectral features in the emissivity spectra of plant species were observed that are probably related to the leaf chemical constituents, such as cellulose and xylan (hemicellulose) and structural aspects of leaf surface like abundance of trichomes and texture. Observations and results from the field measurements were supported by the laboratory measurements like biochemical analysis. These preliminary field emissivity measurements of leaves in TIR show that there is useful spectral information that may be detectable by field-based instrument. More detailed field and laboratory measurements are underway to explore this research theme.     

全球气候数据集生成及气候变化应用研究

科技部在"十三五"期间部署的国家重点研发计划"全球变化及应对"专项资助了"全球气候数据集生成及气候变化关键过程和要素监测"研究项目。项目围绕由全球气候观测系统提出的基本气候变量,完善地空天基观测体系,生成中国首套以遥感数据为主体的涵盖大气、海洋和陆表长时间序列、高精度、高时空一致性的产品,即气候数据集,动态监测全球变化关键过程和要素。     

中国区域MuSyQ叶面积指数产品验证与分析

对多源遥感数据协同生产的2010年—2015年中国区域1 km空间分辨率5天合成的MuSyQ（Multi-source data Synergized Quantitative remote sensing production system）叶面积指数LAI产品进行验证。参考现有的LAI产品（MODIS c5,GLASS LAI）和中国生态系统研究网络部分农田和森林站点可用的LAI地面测量数据,从时空连续性、时空一致性、精度和准确性等方面对中国区域的MuSyQ LAI产品进行定性和定量分析与评价。结果表明：（1） MuSyQ LAI产品在保证精度优于MODIS产品的情况下,时间分辨率和时空连续性均有提高。MuSyQ LAI与其他LAI产品（MODIS c5,GLASS LAI）在整体上有很好的一致性（RMSE=1.0,RMSE=0.81）,但对常绿阔叶林高值处的描述不稳定;（2） 与LAI地面测量数据相比,MuSyQ LAI产品与地面参考图对比结果较好（最高相关性（R²=0.54）和较低总体误差（RMSE=0.96））,其在阔叶作物生长季高值处有些许低估且在某些阔叶林站点有些高估。整体上,MuSyQ LAI产品呈现出较高的精度,可靠的空间分布和连续稳定的时间分布,且对森林LAI的描述具有更可靠的动态范围。     

A disaggregation approach for estimating high spatial resolution broadband emissivity for bare soils from Landsat surface reflectance

High spatial resolution land surface broadband emissivity (BBE) is not only useful for surface energy balance studies at local scales, but also can bridge the gap between existing coarser resolution BBE products and point-based field measurements. This study proposes a disaggregation approach that utilizes the established BBE–reflectance relationship for estimating high spatial resolution BBE for bare soils from Landsat surface reflectance data. The disaggregated BBE is compared to the BBE calculated from spatial–temporal matched Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflectance Radiometer emissivity product. Comparison results show that better agreement is achieved over relative homogeneous areas, but deteriorated over heterogeneous and cloud-contaminated areas. In addition, field-measured emissivity data over large homogeneous desert were also used to validate the disaggregated BBE, and the bias is 0.005. The comparison and validation results indicated that the disaggregation approach can obtain high spatial resolution BBE with better accuracy for homogeneous area.     

Incorporating dynamic factors for improving a GIS‐based solar radiation model

Solar radiation has been a major input to agricultural, hydrological, and ecological modeling. However, solar radiation is usually influenced by three groups of dynamic factors: sun–earth position, terrain, and atmospheric effects. Therefore, an integrated approach to accurately consider the impacts of those dynamic factors on solar radiation is essential to estimate solar radiation over rugged terrain. In this study, a spatial and temporal gap‐filling algorithm was proposed to obtain a seamless daily MODIS albedo dataset. A 1 km‐resolution digital elevation model was used to model the impact of local topography and shading by surrounding terrain on solar radiation. A sunshine‐based model was adopted to simulate radiation under the influence of clouds. A GIS‐based solar radiation model that incorporates albedo, shading by surrounding terrain, and variations in cloudiness was used to address the spatial variability of these factors in mountainous terrain. Compared with other independent solar radiation products, our model generated a more reliable solar radiation product over rugged terrain, with an R² of 0.88 and an RMSE of 2.55 MJ m^?2 day^?1. The improved solar radiation products and open source app can be used further in practice or scientific research.     

基于NOAA/AVHRR数据的北极反照率反演及其变化研究

极地海冰反照率直接影响极区的热收支,反照率的变化对地气系统热量收支平衡及气候变化等的研究具有重要意义。本文采用由美国国家海洋与大气管理局NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)发射的NOAA卫星携带的先进的甚高分辨率辐射仪AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) Level-1B (L1B) 数据,经宽带反射率转换、各向异性校正、大气订正、云检测等处理,得到4 km宽带晴空地表反照率产品。将AVHRR反照率与北冰洋地表热收支SHEBA (Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean)实验数据进行印证,印证结果显示在冰雪冻结期二者平均偏差为-0.07,标准偏差为0.05。本文处理了2008年—2010年的AVHRR数据,结合第4次北极科学考察现场观测数据研究了北极冰面月平均反照率的变化,从降雪和冰脊两个方面分析了反照率的变化,结果显示反照率在冰雪融化过程中变化约为0.3,变化较大且较为迅速,表面粗糙的多年冰海域和较为平滑的一年冰海域的反照率在雪融化时期变化约为0.2且变化相对缓慢。研究结果表明,由冰雪融化引起的反照率变化较为快速且幅度较大,是引起北极反照率变化的主导因素。     

地面站点观测数据代表性评价方法研究进展

在遥感产品真实性检验中,地面站点网络的连续观测数据是进行算法及产品验证的重要数据来源。通常站点观测的空间范围有限,测量数据直接与产品像元值比较会存在尺度误差。因此,分析与评价站点观测在多大尺度上具有代表性,对有效利用观测数据进行算法与产品精度评价具有重要意义。目前全球地面观测站点类型繁多,虽有一定的代表性评价方法,但各类方法的优缺点及适用参数、适用条件各异。因此,为使站点观测代表性评价方法广泛的应用于地面站点观测,进而开展更加有效的遥感产品真实性检验,有必要对当前站点代表性评价方法进行系统的综述及梳理。本文首先阐述遥感产品真实性检验对站点连续观测数据的需求以及站点观测代表性评价的必要性。其次,分析站点观测代表性的评价指标特征,包含点面特征比较以及空间异质性两种评价指标。基于不同评价指标,综述了各种研究方法在站点观测数据代表性评价中的应用,即对点面特征比较评价的物理模型法、站点与区域分布图统计评价法和多站点多时相联合评价法,以及对空间异质性进行评价的一阶统计法和半方差函数法,总结不同代表性评价方法的原理及优缺点。然后,介绍了目前站点数据及代表性评价方法在蒸散、反照率和地表温度等遥感产品真实性检验中的应用,并且以黑河中游农田区观测LAI为例,分析了基于不同评价指标的不同评价方法的特点。最后,针对当前观测代表性评价方法面临的问题提出了下一步的研究方向。     

Monitoring land surface albedo and vegetation dynamics using high spatial and temporal resolution synthetic time series from Landsat and the MODIS BRDF/NBAR/albedo product

Seasonal vegetation phenology can significantly alter surface albedo which in turn affects the global energy balance and the albedo warming/cooling feedbacks that impact climate change. To monitor and quantify the surface dynamics of heterogeneous landscapes, high temporal and spatial resolution synthetic time series of albedo and the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) were generated from the 500 m Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) operational Collection V006 daily BRDF/NBAR/albedo products and 30 m Landsat 5 albedo and near-nadir reflectance data through the use of the Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model (STARFM). The traditional Landsat Albedo (Shuai et al., 2011) makes use of the MODIS BRDF/Albedo products (MCD43) by assigning appropriate BRDFs from coincident MODIS products to each Landsat image to generate a 30 m Landsat albedo product for that acquisition date. The available cloud free Landsat 5 albedos (due to clouds, generated every 16 days at best) were used in conjunction with the daily MODIS albedos to determine the appropriate 30 m albedos for the intervening daily time steps in this study. These enhanced daily 30 m spatial resolution synthetic time series were then used to track albedo and vegetation phenology dynamics over three Ameriflux tower sites (Harvard Forest in 2007, Santa Rita in 2011 and Walker Branch in 2005). These Ameriflux sites were chosen as they are all quite nearby new towers coming on line for the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), and thus represent locations which will be served by spatially paired albedo measures in the near future. The availability of data from the NEON towers will greatly expand the sources of tower albedometer data available for evaluation of satellite products. At these three Ameriflux tower sites the synthetic time series of broadband shortwave albedos were evaluated using the tower albedo measurements with a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) less than 0.013 and a bias within the range of ±0.006. These synthetic time series provide much greater spatial detail than the 500 m gridded MODIS data, especially over more heterogeneous surfaces, which improves the efforts to characterize and monitor the spatial variation across species and communities. The mean of the difference between maximum and minimum synthetic time series of albedo within the MODIS pixels over a subset of satellite data of Harvard Forest (16 km by 14 km) was as high as 0.2 during the snow-covered period and reduced to around 0.1 during the snow-free period. Similarly, we have used STARFM to also couple MODIS Nadir BRDF Adjusted Reflectances (NBAR) values with Landsat 5 reflectances to generate daily synthetic times series of NBAR and thus Enhanced Vegetation Index (NBAR-EVI) at a 30 m resolution. While normally STARFM is used with directional reflectances, the use of the view angle corrected daily MODIS NBAR values will provide more consistent time series. These synthetic times series of EVI are shown to capture seasonal vegetation dynamics with finer spatial and temporal details, especially over heterogeneous land surfaces.     

Surface albedo from the geostationary Communication,Ocean and Meteorological Satellite (COMS)/Meteorological Imager (MI) observation system

The surface albedo is an essential climate variable that is considered in many applications used for predicting climate and understanding the mechanisms of climate change. In this study, surface albedo was estimated using a bidirectional reflectance distribution function model based on Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite/Meteorological Imager data. Geostationary orbiting satellite data are suitable for a level 2 product like albedo, which requires a synthetic process to estimate. The authors modified established methods to consider the geometry of the solar-surface-sensor of COMS/MI. Of note, the viewing zenith angle term was removed from the kernel integration used for estimating spectral albedo. Finally, the spectral (narrow) albedo was converted into the broadband albedo with shortwave length (approximately 0.3–2.5 μm). This study determined conversion coefficients using only one spectral albedo of visible channel. The estimated albedo had a relatively high correlation with Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre/Vegetation and low unweighted error values specific for land types or times. The validation results show that estimated albedo has a root mean square error of 0.0134 at Jeju flux site that indicates accuracy similar to that of other satellite-based products.     

Regional scale evapotranspiration estimation using satellite derived albedo and surface temperature

In the studies reteted to surface energy balance, satellite data provides important inputs for estimating regional surface albedo and evapotranspiration. The paper describes the use of satellite data in determining the surface emissivity over heterogeneous a’reas by taking Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as modulating parameter at pixel resolution. The estimated emissivity values have been used to find the surface temperature at the pixel scale. Landsat-TM-visible, NIR, TIR bands data and some ground meteorological data have been used in an energy balance model for estimating surface albedo and evapotranspiration. The ET values derived from the model are in good agreement with the values obtained with. ‘CENTURY MODEL’ and ground observations over the area, suggesting the possible use of this approach fot regional scale studies on evapotranspiration.     

MODIS V006和V005全球反照率产品精度对比分析

反照率作为一种非常重要的地表能量平衡、全球变化研究的参数,在众多研究领域中得到了广泛的应用,到目前为止已经有多种全球范围的反照率产品进行业务化生产和发布,针对不同反照率产品质量评价的研究也变得愈加重要。MODLAND团队在MODIS V005反照率产品反演算法的基础上通过改进16天周期内观测数据加权的方法生产出新版本的反照率产品MODIS V006。本文针对MODIS两个版本V005及V006的反照率产品,利用FLUXNET地面站点数据,比较验证两个版本反照率的总体精度以及在不同地表类型条件下的精度差异,同时通过交叉验证的方法分析二者的差异及稳定性。验证结果表明,MODIS V006反照率产品虽然在全反演高质量的数据比例上较V005有所下降,但是在同等条件下V006在提高时间分辨率的同时其精度也有所提高,在不同的地表类型条件下精度也优于V005,且在时间序列分布上具有稳定比例的高质量数据,可以满足大多数应用的精度需求。     

Demonstration of uncertainty resulting from MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer-like geometries: an albedo case study

This research examines uncertainty in MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations, and demonstrates the direct influence of geometric distortions resulting from the standard practice of geolocating swath observations. MODIS observations vary dependent on the ground sample distance, which varies dependent on the view zenith angle that changes with every orbit. MODIS Level 2G (L2G) land products are generated by applying a geolocation algorithm that resamples the variable observation geometries to a consistent grid of fixed pixel size and location, a process which itself introduces variability associated with the changing observational footprint. For this study, broadband albedo was simulated for five validation sites, representing five distinct land cover types, exhibiting quantifiable variability, with additional seasonal variability exhibited in some sites. All site simulations exhibit compounded uncertainty attributable to the geometric distortion sufficient to influence climate models (i.e. ranges from 0.01 to 0.045 albedo). These results indicate there is a minimum level of uncertainty associated with the variable geometry that should be factored into L2G-based products, particularly for nominal 250?m band data. Aggregating the data to coarser resolutions and smoothing the data through average resampling can mitigate the uncertainty.     

A Spatio-Temporal Enhancement Method for medium resolution LAI (STEM-LAI)

Satellite remote sensing has been used successfully to map leaf area index (LAI) across landscapes, but advances are still needed to exploit multi-scale data streams for producing LAI at both high spatial and temporal resolution. A multi-scale Spatio-Temporal Enhancement Method for medium resolution LAI (STEM-LAI) has been developed to generate 4-day time-series of Landsat-scale LAI from existing medium resolution LAI products. STEM-LAI has been designed to meet the demands of applications requiring frequent and spatially explicit information, such as effectively resolving rapidly evolving vegetation dynamics at sub-field (30 m) scales. In this study, STEM-LAI is applied to Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) based LAI data and utilizes a reference-based regression tree approach for producing MODIS-consistent, but Landsat-based, LAI. The Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model (STARFM) is used to interpolate the downscaled LAI between Landsat acquisition dates, providing a high spatial and temporal resolution improvement over existing LAI products. STARFM predicts high resolution LAI by blending MODIS and Landsat based information from a common acquisition date, with MODIS data from a prediction date. To demonstrate its capacity to reproduce fine-scale spatial features observed in actual Landsat LAI, the STEM-LAI approach is tested over an agricultural region in Nebraska. The implementation of a 250 m resolution LAI product, derived from MODIS 1 km data and using a scale consistent approach based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), is found to significantly improve accuracies of spatial pattern prediction, with the coefficient of efficiency (E) ranging from 0.77–0.94 compared to 0.01–0.85 when using 1 km LAI inputs alone. Comparisons against an 11-year record of in-situ measured LAI over maize and soybean highlight the utility of STEM-LAI in reproducing observed LAI dynamics (both characterized by r² = 0.86) over a range of plant development stages. Overall, STEM-LAI represents an effective downscaling and temporal enhancement mechanism that predicts in-situ measured LAI better than estimates derived through linear interpolation between Landsat acquisitions. This is particularly true when the in-situ measurement date is greater than 10 days from the nearest Landsat acquisition, with prediction errors reduced by up to 50%. With a streamlined and completely automated processing interface, STEM-LAI represents a flexible tool for LAI disaggregation in space and time that is adaptable to different land cover types, landscape heterogeneities, and cloud cover conditions.     

Estimation and comparison of leaf area index of agricultural crops using irs liss-III and EO-1 hyperion images

Motivated by the increasingly availability and importance of hyperspectral remote sensing data, this study aims to determine whether current generation narrowband hyperspectral remote sensing data could be used to estimate vegetation Leaf Area Index (LAI) accurately than the traditional broadband multispectral data. A comparative study has been carried out to evaluate the performance of the narrowband Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDV1) derived from Hyperion hyperspectral sensor with that of derived from IRS LISS-III for the estimation of LAI of some major agricultural crops (e.g. cotton, sugarcane and rice) in part of Guntur district, India. It has been found that the narrowband NDVI derived from Hyperion has shown better results over its counterpart derived from broadband LISS-III. Linear regression models have been used which with selected subsets of individual Hyperion bands performed better to predict LAI than those based on the broadband datasets, although the potential to overfit models using the large number of available Hyperion bands is a concern for further research.     

基于Landsat TM的城市热岛效应与地表特征参数稳健关系模型

 首先,利用Landsat TM热红外影像结合地面气象观测资料反演地面温度,揭示了济南市夏季城市热岛效应| 然后,基于稳 健的LTS与最小二乘回归（LS）分析探讨了城乡地面热辐射与地表特征参数的线性变化趋势,认为植被指数（NDVI、SAVI和TCG）、 湿度指数（NDMI和TCW）以及近红外反照率与地表温度的变化趋势相反,亮度指数（NDBI和TCB）和可见光反照率与地表温度的变化 趋势一致,而短光波段反照率与地表温度不存在明显相关趋势。研究结果表明,NDMI能很好地解释地表温度变化,且最为稳健; 其次是NDVI、SAVI、TCG和NDBI,它们对地表温度的解释程度高且稳健性较强; 可见光反照率虽能较好解释地表温度,但其稳健性 较差; 近红外反照率、TCW和TCB对地表温度的解释程度和稳健性相对较低。     

Generation of Vegetation Fraction and Surface Albedo Products Over India from Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) Data Onboard Oceansat-2

The use of Local Area Coverage (LAC) data from Ocean Color Monitor (OCM) sensor of Oceansat-2 with its high radiometric resolution (12 bits/pixel) and 2-day repeat cycle for rapid monitoring of vegetation growth and estimating surface albedo for the Indian region is demonstrated in this study. For the vegetation monitoring, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and vegetation fraction (VF) products were estimated by maximum value composite approach fortnightly and were resampled to 1 km. The surface albedo products were realized by converting narrow-band eight-band spectral reflectance OCM data to a) visible (300–700 nm) and b) broad band (300–3,000 nm) data. For validation, the derived products were compared with respective MODIS global products and found to be in good agreement.