Evaluating MODIS Dust-Detection Indices over the Arabian Peninsula

Steven Palmer,Toby Waine,Jeroen Meersmans,Sarah Albugami

doi:10.3390/rs10121993

Steven Palmer, Toby Waine + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10121993

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Journal: Remote Sensing	Publication Date: Dec 8, 2018
Citations: 21	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Cranfield University, University of Exeter

Abstract

Sand and dust storm events (SDEs), which result from strong surface winds in arid and semi-arid areas, exhibiting loose dry soil surfaces are detrimental to human health, agricultural land, infrastructure, and transport. The accurate detection of near-surface dust is crucial for quantifying the spatial and temporal occurrence of SDEs globally. The Arabian Peninsula is an important source region for global dust due to the presence of extensive deserts. This paper evaluates the suitability of five different MODIS-based methods for detecting airborne dust over the Arabian Peninsula: (a) Normalized Difference Dust Index (NDDI); (b) Brightness Temperature Difference (BTD) (31–32); (c) BTD (20–31); (d) Middle East Dust Index (MEDI) and (e) Reflective Solar Band (RSB). We derive detection thresholds for each index by comparing observed values for ‘dust-present’ versus ‘dust-free’ conditions, taking into account various land cover settings and analyzing associated temporal trends. Our results suggest that the BTD (31–32) method and the RSB index are the most suitable indices for detecting dust storms over different land-cover types across the Arabian Peninsula. The NDDI and BTD (20–31) methods have limitations in identifying dust over multiple land-cover types. Furthermore, the MEDI has been found to be unsuitable for detecting dust in the study area across all land-cover types.

Highlights

Dust storms and sandstorms are defined as events during which constituent particles of dust and sand are raised to altitudes of up to 3000 m by strong winds [1,2,3]
We have evaluated the suitability of multiple Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) dust-detection indices across the entire Arabian Peninsula
The main finding of this study is that the Brightness Temperature Difference (BTD) (31–32) test and the Reflective Solar Band (RSB) test are the most useful MODIS indices to detect airborne dust over different land cover settings

Summary

Introduction

Dust storms and sandstorms are defined as events during which constituent particles of dust and sand are raised to altitudes of up to 3000 m by strong winds [1,2,3]. The Arabian Peninsula, classified as an arid and semi-arid climate [8,9], is characterized by vast sand and gravel deserts located at high-elevation plateaus. These factors mean that sand and dust storms constitute a significant natural hazard to communities across the Arabian Peninsula. Buildings, vehicles, electricity poles and trees were damaged during this event [10,11,12] During another event, on 18 March 2012, a dust storm swept over the Arabian Peninsula, closing schools across Saudi Arabia and sending many people to hospitals with breathing problems [13]

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